Winter?

This was February last year.  I needed a sled to get up and down the steps outside our house! 

You can see the piles of snow around the eagle and more snow falling in the background.

This was February this year.  No snow on the ground, and our little crocuses decided it was okay to come out.  Not good!

We have had the mildest, warmest winter on record.  It seems very weird when everyone I know in the lower 48 is having snow, snow, and more snow.  Although I am not crazy about being super cold and slogging through snow and ice and slush every day, it worries me that our climate is changing so drastically.  Have you read this article about the little town of Shishmaref on the verge of falling into the sea?  If that doesn't give you pause, I worry about you.

It's Spring Break here in Unalaska, and winter finally decided to descend upon us yesterday.  March 13.  Friday, March 13.  :)  This was the view out our bedroom window before I drove off in a blizzard to go to work.  (Side note: I never had to have 4WD before living in Alaska, and I always have trouble putting the truck into gear. Why can I not remember that it needs to go into H4, not L4?  Almost every time I have to switch it over, I have to ask Rich, "Now what do I do again?!" For a smart girl, I somehow have a mental block about 4 wheel drive).

Welcome, winter...just in time for spring.

Sorry for the long absence from the blog. I have had a few faithful readers send me a note and ask me what's up.  I think I am just a bit bored with the whole thing lately and having trouble finding anything to write about.  We are rocking along with life as usual, mostly working, planning our next big trip (which I will talk about soon!) and thinking seriously about retirement in the next year.  Yippeee!  What's new in your little corner of the world?

This is what February looks like

I am still slowly working my way through vacation photos and may eventually get the rest of the trip documented but thought I would take a little break and catch up with the latest from Unalaska. We have had a relatively mild winter but have had a couple of good snowstorms, too.  We live on a hill and have a bunch of wooden steps leading up to our house.  Usually the guys from housing keep them cleared off but I'm sure they were super busy on this particular day.  It's a little concerning to try to make my way downstairs without being able to see exactly where the stairs are.  Lead with one foot, step down in snow up to my knees until I find something solid, steady myself, repeat.  I posted this photo on Facebook and someone suggested that I get a sled. :)  Thankfully I made it down without any mishaps.

We often have eagles sitting outside our door. I am glad I am not an eagle and get to stay inside my warm house.

Meanwhile, back in Texas, this little cutie turned 6 and lost her first tooth soon after!  Happy late birthday to our Elle, a sweet, smart, funny girl with a tender heart and a happy disposition. We love her so much!

ESL/GED classes have begun again so I am teaching on TTh nights once more.  I have a smaller class this time, and mostly new students.  I have to admit that I was quite bummed out to realize that many of my favorite students are working night shift this session so they will be attending the morning class.  I really do miss them but I love my returnees and am enjoying getting to know my new students. 

I had no idea that such a website existed but one of my cousins posted something on Facebook about DonorsChoose.org and I have become somewhat addicted to it.  School teachers from all over the country post items they need for their classrooms or projects they would like to have funded, and individuals or groups make donations to help them achieve their goals. First off, I think it is a crying shame that school teachers have to pretty much beg the public to help them buy sometimes the most basic of needs like books, art supplies, music supplies, PE equipment and so on.  The state of public education in some locales is just appalling. Most of the schools are classified as high or moderate poverty schools.  I know that teachers, for years, have purchased supplies out of their own pockets so I am glad there's a way for them to get some assistance. On the other hand, I am ashamed that some school districts have so little money that they cannot buy enough books for the whole classroom, paintbrushes for an art class, or fans to keep a room cooled off enough so that the students can concentrate.  If you have a few extra bucks, check out the site and see if there's a classroom project that resonates with you.  You can sort by "lowest cost" to see which projects only need a small amount of money to be completed.

Finally, a bit of fun. The organization Protect My Public Media had a Valentine's Day campaign for communities to show their love for their public station.  Our station went all out, getting over 60 photos of locals showing their reasons for loving public media.  Here's mine, above, "I love my public media because I can go downstairs and plug in any song I want!"

 Of course, I had to get the cats into it. Kali "loves to rock with the Stray  Cats, Cat Power, Cat Stevens, Pussy  Cat Dolls, Def Leppard and Atomic Kittens!"

And Ajax simply said that "Cat Scratch Fever" is his fave. One of my friends reminded me that "Cat Scratch Fever" is sung by that crazy right-winger Ted Nugent so I am a little sorry I didn't think of a better song! 

Rich was more philosophical and gave a shout out to Nikola Tesla, who reportedly REALLY invented radio and was ripped off by Thomas Edison and Guglielmo Marconi.  (Hey, Suzasippi, he is wearing the apron you sent him from South Africa!)

KUCB did such a good job that we got a shout-out on Protect My Public Media's blog.  If you click on the link at the very bottom of their blog, it will take you to our full album on FB and you can see lots of great folks from our little island town.  

What's happening in your corner of the world?

The view from our window

We've been enjoying these cute grey-crowned rosy finches as they winter in our yard. They are really fat! The cats have been watching and chattering away--they would love a bite.





Photos by Rich