Living in Alaska - Life in the Last Frontier

Again, time has flown by and I’ve been remiss in writing! Things have been crazy around here, as I’d been packaging and shipping off calendars, as well as preparing prints and notecards for the Holiday Marketplace, which was held this past weekend here in Fairbanks. The Holiday Marketplace is a fabulous venue for “one-stop-shopping” for holiday gifts. It’s held at the Carlson Center - a huge arena with plenty of room for booths and tables. I’m glad all the prep for that is over. I now have a little bit of time to breathe, before I start working on my holiday newsletter and cards for friends and family.

This time of year is so hectic, and I’m not always in the best of spirits to deal with it. This is also the time of year when insomnia kicks in for me. Many people have the opposite reaction to the long, dark days of winter and find themselves sleeping a lot. Not me.  In looking back at journal entries over the years, I have seen that I suffer from insomnia the most during the winter months. I’m so thankful I don’t work outside the home. I don’t know how I could work a full-time job with my winter sleep habits.

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I’ve got some catching up to do with my November Gratitude posts. I’ve been writing them down so I don’t forget:

November 12th: No need to elaborate here - today I am thankful for the wildlife that lives in the woods around my house - large and small! Whether as huge as a moose on my deck, or as small as vole digging tunnels in the wood line - all of God’s creatures bring me immense joy.

November 13th: This may seem like a silly thing to be thankful for…. I am thankful for the Hallmark Channel on TV. During the week, when I have insomnia, I can watch The Waltons and Little House on the Prairie. (instead of boring infomercials!) The shows air between 4am-8am here.

I never watched The Waltons when it aired back in the 70s, so it’s been entertaining to watch the show now. As for Little House - I was hooked on the show back then, and even had a huge crush on Michael Landon. I didn’t blab to the world that I watched the show - I was nearly 15 when it first came on, and many viewed it as a “kid” show.  It wasn’t until the show aired that I borrowed all the “Little House” books from the library and read them. I even did some research about the Ingalls and Wilders families, and when Steve and I drove from GA to Idaho on a cross-country camping trip back in the late 90s, I made him stop in Pepin, WI so I could see Laura Ingalls’ birthplace. He made fun of me (just a little), but nevertheless altered our travel route to make me happy.

November 14th: Today I am thankful for a full tank of gas (at least when we started out) and miles and miles of open road. We took a scenic drive today - up the Elliott Highway.  We drove for about 5 hours RT, and once we drove through Fox, we only passed 6 cars/trucks. There’s nothing so peaceful as driving 170 miles and having the road to yourself.

We drove as far as the Haul Road (Dalton Hwy). The Elliott Highway forks just past the town of Livengood. You can continue going straight and get on the Dalton Hwy, or make a left and drive another 93 miles to Manley Hot Springs. We decided to just turn around and head home - before the sun dipped below the hills and darkened the road. We traversed rolling hills lined by frosted trees, under blue skies. The drive was purely for a change of scenery, and that it was. It was a good day!

November 15th: Today I am thankful for software that converts VHS tapes to DVD! I spent several hours this afternoon converting old VHS tapes and uploading them to my computer to be edited and burned to DVD. It’s a tedious endeavor, as you have to play the movies in real time as you capture them on your computer. But it’s been so wonderful to relive those moments of the past - when my kids were little, and my parents were still alive.  I had some tearful moments today… I miss when my boys were babies. I can’t believe how quickly the time has passed.  I also converted VHS tapes from Christmas of 1992 (Steve and I were married, but not yet living together as I was trying to sell my house in Philly). Steve came to Philly to spend the holiday with us. My mom and dad are on the tape, as are my grandparents. I found myself smiling when I saw my family - happy and laughing - and then I felt myself get choked up because I miss them so much.  But what a fantastic invention! Now I can save all those precious memories to disk, so they don’t deteriorate any further.  (The software I’m using is Honestech VHS to DVD 3.0. It comes with a converter box and USB cables. All you need is a red/white/yellow double-ended cable to go from your VCR out to the box. It’s SIMPLE! I got it on sale at Sams for $49.83, but I’ve seen it for $20 more at Office Depot)

November 16th: Today I am thankful that I was raised by a wonderful father. I spent several hours converting my wedding tape, and seeing the father/daughter dance with my dad really made me miss him so much. But it also made me remember the sweet and special relationship we had. Being the only daughter, my brothers insist I had him wrapped around my little finger, and I guess I did. But I also tried not to abuse those ‘powers’ I had over my daddy. *giggle*  From the time I was little, my dad told me I could do anything I wanted. He never pigeonholed me into men vs. women careers, even though women were struggling for equality in the work force even as recently as the 60s and 70s. (And still are in many cases) He taught me to take care of my own car - showing me how to change tires, and change the oil, check belts, check the fluids - all the minor stuff that costs next to nothing to do yourself.  He taught me to be assertive, and stand up for myself.

But the most important thing he taught me was how to be treated by a man. I watched the way he treated my mother - always with love and affection and RESPECT. Even when they disagreed and argued, he never held a grudge. He made sure that we learned that you can argue and not hate. My father was a gentleman, and even though he taught me that I was as strong as any man, and didn’t need a man to exist in this world, I know he always hoped that I may find a life partner who would/could take care of me. He was happy when I found that in Steve.

My dad had the best sense of humor, and laughter followed him. His sense of humor rubbed off on all of us, and made our childhood so entertaining. I raised my own sons with a sense of humor because growing up with my dad was FUN.

I wish that he hadn’t left this earth at such a young age (62). I wish that he could have stayed long enough to see his grandchilden become the young men and women they are. I wish he could have stayed long enough to visit me in Alaska. I wish he was still on this earth so I could hear him call me his pet name: “Moogie” (pronounced MOO-gee).

I wish he was still here so I could dance with him again. Even though he’s gone, I will always be thankful that he was my daddy.

November 17th: Today I am grateful for a husband, who - while watching footage of our wedding - asks me to dance to our wedding song. Last night, as the music played, he took my hand and pulled me to my feet. And we danced to our wedding song - gazing in each others eyes (and getting a little teary eyed too), remembering how beautiful that day was, and how strong our new love was.

It’s been nearly 17 years, but I still remember that giddy lovey-dovey day as if it were yesterday.  While dancing, I realized that the giddy wedding day love has been enhanced a hundred fold by devotion, commitment and an easy comfort. It’s a good feeling. As the Eagles sing “I’ve got a peaceful, easy, feeling.”

November 18th: Yesterday, I had to go to the post office. I decided to go to the one on Fort Wainwright, since it’s close to my house and it was starting to snow. I waited 1.5 hours to get to the counter. In line were about 25 [mostly] women, each with care packages for their deployed soldier either stacked at their feet or in their arms. At least half had a small child by the hand, or in their arms. Other children played with each other as they waited in line with their moms. Despite the long wait (something several of the women told me was totally normal at this post office due to short staffing), there was very little grumbling. Instead, the ladies talked to the people standing before and after them in line. I found myself passing the time by conversing with two young wives. Both had three parcels at their feet - kicking them along as the line moved - while holding baby girls in their arms.

They talked about the items they had placed in their husband’s care packages.  One young wife’s box included a Christmas stocking, a tiny fiber-optic Christmas tree, a DVD of Christmas music, and a few stocking stuffers. Also included were pictures of their daughter wearing a Santa hat and holding a stuffed reindeer. Parcels have been taking about 3 weeks to get to the troops.

I stood there feeling a little out of place, surrounded by women who were approaching the holiday season alone. I thought back to when I was doing the same thing; standing in line with Rachael with our care packages bound for Iraq. We shared a bond, much like the ladies standing around me today.

And so today I am grateful that my husband is here - safe on American soil. My prayers are with all of the families who will have an empty chair at their Thanksgiving table this year, and who will be greeting Christmas morning without their soldier.

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I took a few photos when Steve and I drove the Steese Highway on Friday.  We didn’t leave the house until after 11am, so by the time we had turned around and began making our way home, the sun was already on its way down behind the hills. When we got to the outskirts of town, we stopped at an overlook which looks down on the city of Fairbanks. Unfortunately, the bushes haven’t been trimmed back enough, so it’s hard to get a good view. The sky was a beautiful pinkish-orange color, and a thick fog had settled over the city - caused by the steam coming out of the power plant.

Here are photos from our drive:

Mountain View - Steese Highway

Frosted Trees as the sun shines through:

Sunset and fog over Fairbanks:

Another view:

Nordale Road - Alaska Range on the Horizon:

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On Saturday night, Lisa and I went to a Middle Eastern Dance performance at the Empress Theater in downtown Fairbanks.  It’s not a large theater, but because of that, there are good views from the seats. I took my camera with me to photograph the dancers and the movement. I really enjoy photographing dancers - especially when I can capture the swirl of their veils and skirts.

	The truest expression of a people is in its dance and in its music. Bodies never lie. ~Agnes de Mille~

Saturday night, when I arrived home, I couldn’t help but notice the beautiful moon in the sky. I decided to take a few photos of it, as it’s been awhile since I’ve put on my zoom lens to see the details. Here’s the result:

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In closing, I want to share a very edited version of the footage from our wedding day. I had to split it into two clips, because YouTube only allows 10 minute videos to be uploaded.  It’s about 16 minutes total. In Part One, you can see highlights from the ceremony and our first dance as a married couple. The ceremony itself is hard to hear, because the tape is full of static.

Part Two starts with my dance with my father, and continues on to show footage of more dancing, the tossing of the bouquet, Steve going for the garter (we were such flirts! LOL), tossing the garter, and cutting the cake. When I watch the footage, I feel like it all happened just yesterday.

Since it was a second marriage for both of us, we organized and paid for it on a very tight budget. If not for the generosity of our friends and family, I would have never been able to pull it all together. A friend videotaped (hence the non-professional quality - but how wonderful to HAVE it!), other friends took still photos, another friend did my wedding cake (she was in culinary arts school so my wedding counted as a project towards her grade), my SIL made all the bouquets, another friend owned a limosine service and supplied the car for the day. It may have been low on cost, but it was high on happiness!

My father and my eldest son, Chris (age 13 at the time), presented me to Steve. My youngest son, Brandon (age 8), was my ring bearer, and my niece Rachel (age 3), was my flower girl. Steve’s best friend Marty and my friend Pam stood for us.  The “poofy” hair of the early 90s cracks me up. (What were we thinking with those hair styles?!)

And here they are:

Part One:

Part Two:

Until next time…