April Fools From Mother Nature!

I think I have used the phrase "You have got to be kidding me!" about 3,000 times this past year alone. I'm afraid I am going to be using it again. YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME! I walked in to the Commissary to do my thing this morning with partly cloudy skies and the snow melted from the parking lots and sidewalks. By the time I came back out, this is what I saw.

Mother Nature thinks she is so funny! At least by the time I had driven home and put the groceries away, the sun was back out and the skies were blue. April Fools! Jokes over. You got me. Now give us Spring! This is the latest picture of Redoubt. She is still going strong. I have a feeling that if she pulls an April Fools on us, it's not going to be pretty. She is releasing ash and gases, but at a low level. Still cranky. Maybe if Mt. Spurr sent her a nice box of volcanic chocolates, she forget about all this eruption nonsense and relax. (Then I'd start getting more mail again!)

I Spoke Too Soon!

What light through yonder window breaks? Tis but the reflection of the morning sun off 4-5 inches of freshly fallen snow. Not exactly romantic, and definitely a bit of a surprise. I should have known better. I blame myself. The streets were clear of snow. We took both vehicles to the car wash and cleaned them. I was so excited about the prospect of Spring that I got a little cocky. I mentioned riding the motorcycle. Apparently that angered Mother Nature and she decided to send me a little message. Point taken. I have hung my head in shame. Embrace the winter. Don't get ahead of yourself.

Tink took advantage of my distraction to sneak outside and look for Romeo, her plump rodent boyfriend. He was no where to be seen. I think the romance is on the downhill slide. Ever since his robust frame broke the rope hanger on my bird feeder and he robbed us of all the seeds inside, he seems to have traveled on to "greener pastures". He never calls any more. She is starting to get depressed. Most days you can find her sitting by the back window, looking longingly for her lost love. O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy species and refute thy hunger!

Speaking of Romeo and the bird feeder, I decided to salvage what I could. I couldn't find a rope small enough to thread through the little opening at top of the feeder, so I tried a shoestring. It worked wonderfully. I was very proud of myself until my daughter took one look and said "Mom! That is SOOOOOO redneck! I can't believe you did that! How embarrassing!" Well, I am from the south. She's just lucky I didn't slather it with duct tape. Besides, I think the bow on the top is a nice touch. My hopes of Spring are covered with snow. Are you admiring how shiny and clean the truck is? Or was. Or might be once we dig it out from under.

On another note, we are still riding the Redoubt Volcano see saw of fun. We have once again been upgraded to "Watch" alert status. It would seem that we have been having continuous small earthquakes, approximately one every minute, prompting Observatory Geologists to release this statement.

"Seismic activity has continued to increase and conditions may evolve rapidly culminating in an eruption within days to weeks," an observatory geologist reported Sunday morning. “We are watching closely.”

Does this sound familiar? It should, because it's the same statement that they have been using for a while now. I am starting to feel sorry for the geologists. Can you imagine the flack they are receiving about this. Is it going to erupt or not? Hey, Frank, did you feel something? Release statement number three.

Snow In The Forecast

I think Gretchen has been doing some voodoo or something, because she is sending her snow our way. Last night, the forecast said an inch or so was all that was expected. This morning, they are sending out warnings of 4-8 inches. It's another one of those cases of "Be careful what you wish for..." Russ and I were talking about the weather this past weekend, and I said I wish it would either drop another foot of snow so we could get out and go sledding, or just let it all melt. (This in between stuff is driving me crazy.) Maybe they are wrong. I'll just peek out the window and see...Nope. It's begun. Soon it will be a winter wonderland once more.

On to other subjects. If you are following our Redoubt volcano saga, reports now say that it is not a question of if it will erupt, but a question of when. It could be hours, or days, but it is definitely going to happen. Keep in mind, we don't do things quietly in Alaska. We go all out. Here is part of the article:

"If history is a guide, Redoubt should erupt in style, geologists say. Unlike volcanoes in Hawaii, which tend to ooze out slow-rolling lava, volcanoes in Alaska -- Redoubt included -- usually erupt explosively, shooting ash nearly eight miles high.
That's because the gas that's trying to escape the volcano gets blocked, either by a lava dome or thick, syrupy magma -- characteristic of the highly viscous material in Alaska volcanoes -- which increases the power below, AVO geologist Jennifer Adleman said."


Personally, I think the snow and volcano are all part of a bigger plot to keep me inside the house, cleaning and not shopping. What kind of connections does my husband have, for goodness sake? No telling. After all, his picture is hanging in the Pentagon.

Snow and Chicken Soup

The snow is finally back. The flakes are tiny, and it's coming down like a heavy sprinkle, but it's still snow. That's all that matters. The cats are not impressed. They've seen all of this before. You will be happy to know that the temps are in the positive numbers again. It's actually 23 degrees right now. That's practically balmy. We should get out the patio furniture and have a barbecue. The high for tomorrow is supposed to get up to 36 (that's swimsuit season). I will believe that when I see/feel it. It does mean that I probably won't bother to shovel off the driveway tonight. I'll see if it gets warm enough to melt on it's own tomorrow. Stranger things have happened.

I thought I'd share a recipe for Chicken Soup, because nothing warms you better in the winter. My family is not a big fan of soups in general. They normally go for the heartier meals. I tend to love soups, so I keep trying recipes in the hope of finding one they they will like. I hit the jackpot with this one. I got it out of a Taste of Home: Simple and Delicious magazine (thanks for the subscription, Mom!) and thought I'd share it with all of you. Give it a try. It's hearty, extremely easy to make, very healthy, and really fills you up.

Chunky Chicken Soup

3/4 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, but into 1/2 inch cubes

1/2 cup chopped onion

1-1/2 teaspoons minced garlic

2 teaspoons olive oil

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 cans (14-1/2 ounces each) vegetable broth

2 cans (15-1/2 ounces each) great northern beans, rinsed and drained

1-1/2 cups frozen mixed vegetables, thawed

1 cup frozen chopped broccoli, thawed

1 can (4 ounces) chopped green chilies

3/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

In a Dutch oven, saute the chicken, onion and garlic in oil until chicken juices run clear. Stir in flour until blended; gradually add broth. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes.

Reduce heat; stir in the beans, vegetables and seasonings. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 8-10 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Garnish with cheese. Yield: 7 cups.

That's the official recipe. Now here is how I make it. It's even easier. I get frozen grilled chicken strips at COSTCO. I thaw about 1 to 1-1/2 cups of frozen chicken strips for a few minutes in the microwave. I leave the olive oil out completely. Toss the chicken into a big pot, and add the other ingredients. My family doesn't like the broccoli, so I leave that out as well and add another cup of the veggie mix instead. I also leave off the cheese garnish. It's a great healthy meal in a matter of minutes. Give it a try and have a wonderful winter's day!

Cold But Clean

It's a little hard to make it out, but the temp on the dash of Russ' truck reads -20 degrees. What does one do at -20 degrees at night on the weekend? Why... wash the truck, of course. Because there is one thing that we all know...a clean truck is a happy truck. Back in Florida, washing the vehicles meant putting on your shorts, cranking up the music, and getting a bucket of warm soapy suds out in the driveway. That is not the case up here. You have to find a nice heated car wash. This one was a little dark, but nice and toasty warm. I'm sure the Tundra appreciated it. (It doesn't get to hang out in the garage like my van.) Why is the bed still full of snow? Russ tells me he doesn't get rid of it because it is added weight, but I secretly think it's because he wants to see how thick it will get by the end of the winter.

After the Tundra was nice and sparkly, we headed for home... but stopped by the base Christmas trees on the way to check them out.
This is Ft. Rich's Christmas tree. Very nicely done in blues and whites.
Not to be outdone, Elmendorf's tree is decorated in multicolored lights with gifts underneath. (Notice our star's bigger than their star? I'm just saying...)This is the temp this afternoon. This is a little gauge that we have on the kitchen counter. It says the outside temp is -16. (Yes, the clock on it is wrong, and it is not am.)

Everything outside looks like it was dipped in white powder. It's very pretty. When the sun hits it just right, everything sparkles.

Even the icicles have frost on them.

Needless to say, we are hanging out inside today, and the kids are having a lovely time on the Wii. That has been the best Christmas gift we've probably ever gotten. All four of us have been playing tennis and bowling. Now if I can just order that tanning bed, my life will be complete...

T'was the Day After Christmas...

We survived the Blizzard of 2008! OK, that was a little dramatic, I admit, but it got your attention. We got a whopping 7 1/2 inches of snow yesterday. Most of it was directly on our driveway. I know this because I got to help clean it up. Yes, Gretchen, we actually used the snow blower this time. (Even I'm not that slow!) :0) There was no way we were doing all of this by hand.

It's beautiful outside right now. Everything looks like it's covered with frosting. Not too many kids playing at the park, though.
This is a tree in our neighbors front yard. By summer...normal tree. By winter...Super Bunny, fighting crime where he might find it!

This is my frozen mail box. You REALLY have to want to mail to go and get it.

Poor Santa is snowed in. Good thing he delivered all of the toys the night before! I think this is what they call "zero visibility".

Finally made it to the back patio. The snow was even with the top (third) step up to the porch. Definitely thick stuff. It was very tiring watching Russ do all this work. I think I'll go relax on the couch with a cup of hot coffee. Happy Blizzard Day!

Merry Christmas!

We are having a lovely White Christmas here! The snow has been falling for several hours, but we haven't ventured out in it yet. We had thoughts of going sledding today, but there are too many distractions inside right now with all the Christmas food and gifts, so it will have to wait. We got a Wii for Christmas this year. Tink has been very helpful in reading the directions and installing all of the hardware. I don't know what we'd do without her. I must say, she is very dedicated to her job. She was very thorough in making sure all of the parts were out of the box. See what I mean? Dedication!

She had a few problems that she had to work out with her supervisor (Ashley), but for the most part, it was a problem free installation. I think she just needs to work on her "people skills".

This is the beauty that Russ got me for Christmas. It's an ulu, hand carved out of a sun bleached walrus jaw. This was something I've been wanting since we moved to Alaska. An ulu is an Inuit all purpose knife that dates back to around 2500 BC. The handles are traditionally carved out of caribou antlers.

Before I forget, turn on your speakers for the full effect, because I've now added music to the blog. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Frosty Friday

Here are a couple of pictures that I took yesterday near our house. Things are rather monochromatic this time of the year. Everything seems to look cleaner with a nice coating of snow.

Brandon is hoping for a big blizzard to hit some time today or tomorrow. A nice, thick blanket of fresh snow would be awesome for the sledding hill. Nothing says Christmas Break better than shooting down a steep bank on a slick piece of plastic. Jess, on the other hand, is hoping global warming will kick in and bring a heat wave of around 85 degrees. The forecast shows sunny and a high in the 20's, so neither kid is going to get their wish. Those are the breaks.

I'm throwing in this picture of Bob in the front yard as a bonus. I took this last winter, but I haven't seen him lately and missed him. Maybe this picture will bring Bob home.

Tales from the Tundra

It's warmed up a little bit. It's around 14 degrees now. That's practically balmy. Everything is covered with a layer of frost, and that layer is now being covered with a thin layer of snow. It started snowing again an hour or two ago.

I remember once when I had a nice looking Christmas tree. Now there are hardly any ornaments from about the middle of the tree down. Tink steals them. If you aren't there to appreciate this act, then she will hunt you down and proceed to chew on the ornament in front of you. Whoever saves the ornament then tosses it back at the top of the tree where Tink might not be able to reach it. All of the ornaments are on the top third of the tree. I will be surprised if the tree survives Christmas this year. I will be surprised if the Tink survives Christmas this year.

Another Snowy December Day

It snowed again yesterday. Fresh snow always makes it feel more Christmasy. (Is that even a word? Spell check says no, but I beg to differ.) This is the overhang on our front porch. Whenever it warms up a little bit, the ice and snow slowly slide down the metal roof and ease over the edge. Then it refreezes at night, and we are left with what look like huge fingers or paws reaching over the roof of the house. It gets very exciting when it warms up again, because then the ice and snow slide off and hit the ground with a big boom. One big chunk almost took out a neighbor on his back patio last year. It's best to keep an eye on things while you are shoveling off your patios and porches. As you can see, we are getting a lot of use out of our fire pit right now. You can almost hear the crackling fire and smell the marshmallows roasting. As I was standing in the doorway, taking pictures of interesting things out back, a big gust of arctic wind came through. I jumped back into the house, reached out to shut the door, and happened to look down. What interesting tracks. Some small creature has been checking out my back porch. Then I looked down at the stairs. That's my small creature! Apparently Tink crept out when I was taking a picture. She's lucky I looked back before I shut the door! We could have ended up with a Tinksicle. Of course I yelled at her. I explained to her that I was wearing socks and was in no way going out there to get her. She was not impressed. I explained to her that her spoiled little rear would be frozen in minutes if I left her out there. She took a bite of snow.

I told her she was being a royal pain and I was shutting the door now, cat or no cat. She decided her toes were a little chilly and began to casually pick her way through the snow to the door. Of course, you can't rush the Tink. With each step, she would raise a paw, shake the snow off of it and carefully place it back down. Ugh. I wouldn't have half this trouble if I had just gotten the kids a reindeer.

Cold Winter Day

It's 8 degrees. It's a dry 8, not a humid one, but no matter how you label it, 8 is cold. Stay in the house, curl up with a blanket, drink hot coffee cold. Did I mention how cold it is? It's cold. The weather station has lots of gadgets to measure how deep the snowfall is. Here at our house, we have The Table. It's our summer table located on the back patio. How much did it snow last night? I don't know, let's go check The Table. The Table never lies or approximates, it just tells it like it is. You can trust The Table. We got a LOT of snow this weekend.

It warmed up into the low 30's over the weekend, too, and we ended up with some great icicles on the front porch. They won't last long. The neighborhood kids like to break them off and sword fight with them. Among other things. One neighborhood kid just likes to eat them. No, it is not my kid.

Russ' poor truck doesn't care much for winter. It ended up partially buried in a snow drift yesterday. We had to dig it out. Did I mention we got a LOT of snow? Did I also mention it's COLD? Anyway, here the truck sits and dreams of summer days in Florida, or California, or Arizona...

The trees always look so great after a heavy snowfall. It reminds me of icing on Christmas cookies. I took this picture on Saturday out at Hillburg. This handsome fellow was hanging out by the lake there and watching for a meal.