Living in Alaska - Life in the Last Frontier

As we approach winter solstice, the sun seems to disappear more quickly than ever. Yesterday, I didn’t leave the house until noon, and while running errands the day barely brightened. By the time I started home at 2:30pm, we were already heading into sunset.

I am not a fan of these dark days. They zap me of energy, leave me feeling unmotivated, and impact my mood. Today I suffered through a short period of the ‘winter blues’; feeling sad and weepy and alone.  My mood was triggered by thoughts of those people in my family who I miss this time of year. I miss my parents of course, and I miss my kids too.  I was watching a video on YouTube (the group Libera - a boys choir - singing Silent Night), and it made me remember Christmases of long ago.

When my dad would put the tree up (Dad always put the tree up), the task was always accompanied by Christmas music. He had a wide array of music, collected over the years, and he’d stack the turntable 3-4 albums high at a time.  We’d listen to Johnny Mathis, Nat King Cole, Dean Martin, Andy Williams, Bing Crosby and all the crooners of the time.  Those classic numbers always make me remember my dad at Christmas.

Traditional Christmas hymns also bring memories of Dad and attending Christmas mass. When we were little, we’d go to church on Christmas morning, after opening our presents.  As we got older, my dad started the tradition of attending mass on Christmas Eve. At first it was the 6pm mass, but as we got closer to teenhood, it became Midnight Mass. I loved going to church at midnight.

Our parish had two churches. There was the newer, more modern church, and there was the “old” church. The old church was built in 1870. I’m not sure if it’s still standing, as I’m fairly certain they stopped offering mass there due to structural problems some years back(?).  The old church was hot in the summer time, as there was no ventilation system. Huge fans blew across the congregation. In the winter, it was always drafty.  When the back door opened on a cold Christmas Eve night, the wind would rush around the church in a quick circle, blowing the stacks of programs and whipping our veils around our heads.

Mass at the old church was quite popular on Christmas Eve. There was always a choir accompanied by the pipe organ. You could feel the pew vibrating beneath you when the lower notes were hit. The voices of the choir echoed beautifully in the small space. Even in those days, I’d feel myself get choked up when they’d sing Silent Night or O Holy Night.

In those years of midnight mass, we’d come home and open our gifts after church. We’d stay up till the wee hours of the morning, drinking tea and eating cookies, and just enjoying each others company. I think my parents preferred the tradition of midnight mass because they got to sleep in on Christmas Day… Unless my mom was hosting Christmas dinner, in which case she’d only sleep a few hours before getting started on the meal. Mom worked so hard to make the holiday wonderful. And it was.

Despite the seasonal tears, I would much rather have memories of years gone by, than no memories at all.

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I am really looking forward to seeing my kids next month. I was sad today thinking about them living so far away, but knowing I’m going to see them in a few weeks eases the sadness. I went through some old photos I have of them from a long-ago Christmas. These photos were taken in 1983 - Brandon’s first Christmas, and Chris’s first Christmas as a big brother.  It’s hard to believe that it’s been 26 years since these photos were taken.

Christmas is so magical when there are children in your life. I miss reading “The Night Before Christmas” to my boys,  before putting them to bed. I miss the rituals of putting out cookies and milk for Santa, and carrots for the reindeer. I miss the way they’d run to the tree, wearing their ‘footie’ pajamas, exclaiming with surprise over all the colored packages waiting for them there (my parents spoiled them)!

Wrapping paper would be flung to the far corners of the living room, and boxes would be pulled open, revealing the prizes within. Even at a young age, they recognized the box shapes and knew the shirt boxes often held clothing - something that didn’t excite them very much!

The best Christmases were those when Pop Pop (my dad) would gift them with something so big, or oddly shaped, that it was placed under the tree with only a bow on it.  For Chris one year, it was a “Clippety Clop” horse (Chris’s name for it), that whinnied when he bounced up and down on it. For Brandon, when he was older, it was a bike.  Instant gratification as soon as they hit the living room! I have such fantastic memories. I hope they do too.

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Just after making my last blog entry, I came across some photos from Las Vegas that I took and didn’t post. In the first photo, you can see a man in a fountain in front of The Venetian. This main wasn’t a workman or a maintenance man. This was just an everyday guy, wading in the fountain and collecting the money at the bottom. Do you think maybe he did a little too much gambling and needed a few bucks?

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I had a very nice birthday on the 14th. Thank you all for your birthday wishes! Steve came home from work bearing cupcakes for me - chocolate with whipped vanilla icing  - which weren’t so great for my hips, but they sure tasted good in my mouth!  He was going to bake me a cake (he usually does), but I told him I didn’t want an entire cake in the house for me to pick at day after day.

We had Autostart installed on my car - a birthday gift from Steve. In the 6+ years, we’ve lived in AK, this is my first vehicle with autostart. Steve had one put on his truck the first winter we were here. I managed to live without it all these years, but I decided I’d like the luxury of being able to get into a warm car after dance class, or after going shopping. It’s nice to be able to push a button and have my car start itself and get warm before I have to get in it.  I’m still getting used to it, but from what others tell me, I’m going to soon wonder how I lived without it for so long.

I ran errands yesterday, and my travels took me to the Airport PO. The line was at least a dozen people deep, but they had three clerks working the windows. I was in and out in practically no time. So nice.

It was snowing on and off all day, and we got quite a bit of accumulation. I wish people were a little more careful when they drive. The roads were slick in many places, and I found myself being tailgated, passed at high rates of speed, and avoiding drivers who didn’t know how to keep their car in their own lane. Driving on snow/ice is so stressful. I’m glad I don’t have to go out in it all the time.

I stopped at Creamers Field to take a short walk with Sedona. I watched a few skijorers hook their dogs up to leads and take off on the trails. It looks like so much fun. Too bad Sedona is an old dog, or I’d give it a try.

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Steve is off on Sunday and Monday. Sunday, we’re planning to visit the LARS (Large Animal Research Station) for their open house from 11 a.m. to 2 pm.

It’s a free event and the public will have the chance to meet scientists, muskoxen, caribou and reindeer.  It’s a self-guided walking tour, of both the inside and outside, so long undies are going to be a must!  Especially since we could see temps as low as -35F this weekend.

LARS is part of the Institute of Arctic Biology at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. It was founded in 1979 with a grant from the National Science Foundation to improve understanding of the biology of arctic animals. There are 48 muskoxen, 24 caribou and 61 reindeer at LARS.

I haven’t had a chance to stop by Christmas in Ice here in North Pole yet. Maybe I’ll stop by tomorrow while I’m out and about if I get a chance.

We have roundabouts in North Pole, that make traveling through town a little easier, in my opinion. Some people complain about them, but I think they keep traffic running much smoother than it used to. In the center of the roundabouts is an open space with small spruce trees. At this time of year, the trees are draped with lights.

Steve and I met Gip and Carmen, and Carmen’s son Dan, for lunch at The Pagoda a few days ago. On the way home, I snapped some photos out the window of Steve’s truck. Because we were moving, most of the photos were blurred. Nevertheless, the way the lights streaked made for some interesting photos.

Here’s another shot of the roundabout where you can see the candy cane light poles in downtown North Pole. They look like candy canes all year round:

I took this photo on Fort Wainwright, while driving past the golf course near the back gate. So pretty!:

Until next time…