Snow...snow......SNOW!

This winter was beginning to disappoint me with it's lack of cold and snow.  As January comes to an end, winter is BACK!

Yesterday clouds covered the sky; descending over mountains and trees; bringing inches, and inches and feet of snow in a matter of hours...

Branches hung low to the ground with the weight of so much fluffy snow, and my poor little spruce was once again covered with a thick blanket of snow...

And oh, what fun freeing my truck from it's cold, soft, snowy bonds...

Even my shovels needed to be shoveled out!

Today, I've awoken to glorious sunlight reflecting off all of the beautiful freshly fallen snow in the trees, on the ground, and well, pretty much everywhere...

The little mountains of snow collected on my porch railings rolled over like waves crashing on a snowy shore in the sunlight...

After some work, I cleared my driveway and truck freeeeeee...

These people look like they've some work left to do...:)

And yes... the SUN!

And yes... the COLD!  Here's the temperature at the house I'm sitting for...

My outside thermometer at the cabin froze up at a disconcertingly "warm" temperature...

Here's what it actually is... a little warmer than the house I'm caring for!

The kitties enjoyed the snow from their nice warm beds.   Ernie "butterball" Dinglepuss has been enjoying the new bed I made just for him, as he looked pretty silly trying to squeeze into Hadley's bed...

Speaking of Hadley... looks as if she didn't just enjoy the snow from her bed!

Despondent in 20-Bakers-Doz

Only my second winter in Alaska, and I'm really FEELING the lack of sunlight.  This winter so far has less Aurora, less snow and I have less vitamin D.  I still have my knitting, puzzling, kitties and my boyfriend... so all is not lost!

Can you believe this is the FIRST puzzle of the winter!?!?   I guess that's what happens when I actually have someone to hang out with:)

Hadley has been enjoying her first winter in Healy.   She has been particularly enjoying the warm spell we've had for some weeks now.   The snow is slowly melting away, and the ground's not TOO cold for her little kitty feet...

 


















Though I think her favorite part is warming back up in front of the heater....:)

Back to knitting!   I finished my sweet over-size hat... now all I need is some dreadlocks to fill it...

Who Has Time for the End of the World?

 And a Happy 2013 to all!!  We made it!!  

So far life in Alaska has kept me pretty busy.

It's been non-stop crazy wind-style here in Healy.  I've been spending a lot of time house-sitting lately, so I wasn't spending the night at home.  One day I came home to find ALL of the snow and ice that had been on the roof was now surrounding the cabin!   The cats must have been pretty scared that night...

So I set to work, and with a little muscle, and my handy "plow" I got it all cleared away...

These warm days keep stretching on and on.   While it's kinda nice to not be freezing cold all the time, it's also kinda rough having "spring time" in the middle of winter.  All the snow and ice is melting just enough to be really slippery, and I've gotten my truck stuck a couple of times now in the slush, AND it's only January!  Yikes!

So as I said before, we've been doing some house-sitting lately.   Right now we're watching a real Healy-Style house... like COAL burning style!:)  So I've gotten to try my hand at a coal boiler.   It's some good, hard work just to have a hot shower...


                The cat named, Walk-the-Plank-Matey showed me the way...

 Um, it's right this way...

                                     Well, just head that way anyway... Good Luck!

First, gotta empty the ashes out...

Next, get a fire going...

While that's heating up, gotta get the coal!

                                 Hey, so you uh, need any help?  

Thanks Planky, I think I got it!   Time to load up!   I feel like I'm on a coal train...

Got her nice and full...

                                   WHEW, now I need one of those hot showers!

I feel more and more like a Healy-ite every day!:)

Merry Holidays From Antares!

Christmas has come and gone, and with it the shortest days of the year!  The sun is now slowly, but surely, showing it's self more and more each day.  

Mister Walt, Ernie, Hadley and I were lucky enough to receive many lovely holiday cards this year.  Thanks to everyone for making us feel connected even though we're thousands of miles away!:)  

Walt and I went up to Jersey and Maizura's for Christmas fun again this year.  Good times were had by all... even her cats who enjoyed a special dinner and sleeping on a pillow on a bigger pillow...

See you next year!!

End of the World, or at Least the Warmth...

Well, it's Winter Solstice time again!  Four hours of sunlight, and then twenty long hours of darkness.   And this is a COLD one!

The end times are supposed to be filled with fire and zombies and rising tides, but here in Healy we're all just slowly freezing to death.  It's still hard for me to get used to the fact that when I go outside, even for a MINUTE, I need to be wearing gloves or my hands begin burning and throbbing from the shear chill cold in the air.   Yesterday, after I finished washing dishes, I remembered that I had to plug my car in, and went right out.   My hand nearly froze to the handle of the door as I was closing it!  Gloves, gloves, gloves!

Winter in Alaska has it's many challenges, but the rewards are plentiful as well!  The daily visual splendors keep me in awe as I tediously plug, unplug, warm up and dig out my truck multiple times a day:)

OMG... IT'S HAPPENING, THE END!!!!  Oh, never mind... just old Aurora...

Take a Look, It's Blown Away By Chinook

So, last year I was in awe of the dramatic temperature rise that occurred for a week or so in December.   This year I learned that this is actually a normal yearly occurrence... like, what? 

Chinook Winds!

I'm not sure of the exact science behind it, but something to do with warm winds blowing through and pushing out the cold air.   Over the weekend, the winds of which I speak blew through Healy, causing all of the snow from the trees and tundra to swirl and blow across the land.  The temperature went from -20° to 20° above 0 in a matter of HOURS!  

The Chinook caused not only disarray and unrest across the tundra, but also in my cabin.   Walt and I stayed up past three in the morning rearranging our cabin and playing with the cats who also seemed antsy due to the crazy winds.  Full moons may bring out Werewolves, but Chinooks bring out Werecats!:)    

Most of the frost/snow on branches and such around the cabin blew away, but there was some hold outs... like the frost formed from the heater exhaust.  Are there shoes in there?!?

The locals all say that this is the "coldest" Chinook Wind they can remember as usually it warms up to 50 above 0, and this year it only got up to 25 above.   At any rate, it's nice to be able to go outside in just a light jacket and not have icicles hanging off of my eyelashes and nostrils:) 

Is... is that YOU sun!?!?!?  What are you hiding from?  It's okay to come out from behind the mountains... I swear!   Just take a peek...