Happy ALMOST New Year!
Can you believe that 2012 is almost over?! The year went by so quickly! Too quickly in my opinion. But all in all, it was a good year. I did quite a bit this year, both here in Alaska and elsewhere. It seems 2012 was a year of travel for us/me. I also had great fun visiting with family and friends throughout the year.
I put together this collage of 12 photos - one for each month - that I felt were representative of 2012. What an awesome year it was! I look forward to 2013 and more travel and adventure.
We are having temps in the mid 20s today. I love the warmth, and for the first time in months, Raven was able to go out without booties on. We usually have these warm spells a time or two during the winter, and they are a welcome respite.
The sky has been beautiful lately, with orange sunrises and sunsets and occasional blue skies. Much nicer than the ice fog we had only a week or so ago. When the sun comes over the horizon in the morning, it often paints the treetops with an orange glow.
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This was taken from the end of my driveway:
CHRISTMAS
I hope you all had a lovely Christmas (if you celebrate). Steve had to work both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. The place where he works never closes down. It operates 24/7. Some years he’s been lucky and has had many of the holidays off, and other years he’s had to work them all. This year, he had to work Christmas, but he’s off this week and will be home to bring in the New Year with me.
I was feeling a little blue on Christmas Eve, especially after calling my sons and daughter-in-love. Becky was busy in the kitchen making cookies for all their friends in the complex. She was also making dog biscuits for my granddog Perseus’s playmates. I wished I could be with them rather than home alone. I posted something in FB about being alone, and my friend Linda posted that she was feeling a little blue and asked me if I wanted company. Of course I welcomed her to stop by and have lunch with me.
Raven was so happy to see someone new. She kept jumping up on Linda (I’m trying to break her of that) and the more I apologized, the more Linda told me it was OK. Linda later told me she missed having a four-legged furkid and welcomed the love. So when Raven climbed up into her lap, she thought that was just perfect.
Speaking of dogs and Christmas, I just had to share this really pretty, and practical, wreath my friend Kathee gifted me with. Those are dog biscuits tucked into the ribbon. They’re not glued, so you can remove them one at a time and feed them to your favorite canine. I think it looks awesome on our red door.
On Christmas Day, I was invited to have dinner with my friend Julie and her family. I was so thankful for the invitation, and looked forward to seeing Julie, her husband Adam, her daughter, son-in-law, and grandson, and her two sons.
She cooked up a smorgasbord of food: ham and many side dishes, salad, desserts, appetizers, etc. I went hungry and left exploding out of my pants.
Santa brought her youngest son Brayden (age 4) lots of games, and we all enjoyed challenging the game Perfection by putting the shapes into the openings before the timer expired and they all exploded out. No one beat it while I was there. Maybe with practice!
Julie’s daughter Lexus had her hands full with baby Emrich, who had a tummy ache and was quite fussy when he wasn’t sleeping. Poor baby had diaper rash too, which didn’t help. I remembered back to my days with infants and felt bad for her. I hope he was feeling better by the time they went to bed, or I’m sure it was a long night for them. From the photos I saw the next day, he was feeling much better and was all smiles.
I took a bunch of photos at Julie’s house and decided to convert them all to B&W. Here are some of the highlights of the night:
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The full moon has been absolutely beautiful the last few days. Seeing Jupiter in the sky is also a thrill, especially being able to capture it with my camera. I wish I had a telescope though. It would be neat to see really close up. I love the night sky. I look at the moon and the planets and I can’t help but think about how beautiful and vast our universe is.
I took a short detour on the way to Julie’s to photograph the moon over the golf course on Fort Wainwright. I didn’t have my zoom lens, so I didn’t take any close ups that night. But I loved the blue early evening light and the frosted spruce trees. These were taken hand-held. I really should have used a tripod.
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DAY AFTER CHRISTMAS - BIRTHDAY GATHERING
The day after Christmas, I was invited to a birthday gathering at my friend Kathee’s friend’s home high above Fairbanks. It was also a “chick party”, which means no men allowed. I had a lot of fun. As the moon rose in the sky, a bonfire was lit and then later fireworks were launched. What fun!
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The FULL COLD MOON; or the FULL LONG NIGHTS MOON
During this month the winter cold fastens its grip, and nights are at their longest and darkest. It is also sometimes called the Moon before Yule. The term Long Night Moon is a doubly appropriate name because the midwinter night is indeed long, and because the Moon is above the horizon for a long time. The midwinter full Moon has a high trajectory across the sky because it is opposite a low Sun.
MOOSE VISITORS
It has been months since we’ve seen moose. I have been missing them immensely! Over Thanksgiving, a few friends saw moose in the woods along a few of the highways, and over Christmas - again - they were spotted at various places around town. I kept my fingers crossed that I’d be lucky enough to see one.
Yesterday, I was sitting on the loveseat working on photos, and I caught movement out of the corner of my eye. When I glanced up, my breath caught in my throat. I calmly said to Steve, “Get a hold of Raven”. I didn’t want her to see them and bark and scare them away before I got my camera ready!
After snapping a few photos, we let Raven see what was in the yard. Of course she went a little crazy - barking and jumping around. But then she calmed down and stood with her front paws up on the windowsill to watch them. At one point she did pick up her squirrel toy and shake it vigorously while making growly noises, but that’s as aggressive as she got.
We enjoyed their visit, as brief as it was, and I do hope they’ll come back and visit again soon. This was a mama cow and her young bull calf. I hope they find some good things to eat out there.
MY NEW YEARS WISH FOR YOU
Wishing you and your family a year filled with much happiness, good health, joy, love, and adventure! I saw the quotation below and it resonated with me. Perhaps it will incite you to also make mistakes in the upcoming year!
The next time I write here it will be 2013. Hopefully I’ll be sharing fireworks photos with you all. Be safe and have fun!
I love your photos and your blog Susan.
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Susan Stevenson Reply:
December 30th, 2012 at 3:07 pm
Thank you Nancy! I’m happy you come by to read and see my photos.
Happy 2013!
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Comment by Nancy Straka — December 30, 2012 @ 1:20 am
Greast pics of the moon espicely the one with the frozen tree in it, what a great shot!!!!! Yes the year did seem togo by perrty fastmine seem to have speed by but yes a new yesar is ahead of us and how right it is that you cant make mistakes if you arnt doing anything new so lets all get out there and try some new things. SMILES.
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Susan Stevenson Reply:
December 30th, 2012 at 3:08 pm
THanks Bruce! I hope you had a great Christmas!
And make plenty of (fun) mistakes trying new things! Happy 2013 to you and yours!
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Comment by Bruce Rufer — December 30, 2012 @ 6:33 am
Splendid pictures, as usual! I just love reading about your life in Alaska. We fell in love with it there over the summer and now I’m hooked on everything Alaska! Your photos give me a glimpse into Alaskan daily life that I hope to experience some day (the good, bad and ugly!!!). Blessings to you and your family, Susan. I will pray for you all in the coming new year! Thank you for sharing this blog. It brings much joy to me and my little boy each morning!
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Susan Stevenson Reply:
December 30th, 2012 at 5:43 pm
Hi Shawn and thank you for stopping by and commenting!
I’m happy to hear that you visited this summer. Alaska is truly a special place. I’m so blessed to live here! I’m glad that your little boy enjoys the photos in my blog too.
Happy New Year to you and yours. Much good health and happiness to your family!
Susan
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Comment by Shawn Wild — December 30, 2012 @ 9:37 am
Love your photos!!! I’m so glad that you and Linda was able to spend time together and you were able to enjoy Christmas at your friends house
I Love Raven looking out the windows at the moose and I Love the moon peeking through the tree branches.
Just Beautiful!!
Have a Wonderful time bringing in the New Year!!
miz liz
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Susan Stevenson Reply:
December 30th, 2012 at 3:09 pm
Thank you Miz Liz! I hope you have a fantastic 2013! It was so nice spending time with friends over Christmas since Steve was working. Linda loved having Raven time, and Julie’s family is definitely Family to me. I am blessed!
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Comment by Liz — December 30, 2012 @ 9:58 am
What a treat! Thank you!
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Susan Stevenson Reply:
December 30th, 2012 at 3:09 pm
Happy 2013! Have a wonderful year!
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Comment by Suddenlysusan — December 30, 2012 @ 11:19 am
As usual, awesome photos! I thoroughly enjoy your blog. Thanks for sharing.
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Susan Stevenson Reply:
December 30th, 2012 at 3:09 pm
Thank you Regina! I appreciate you coming by to read and see my photos.
Have a fabulous 2013!
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Comment by Regina Van Lone — December 30, 2012 @ 2:07 pm
Hi Susan,
I don’t think I’ve ever commented before, but I wanted to let you know how much I love your blog! I started reading back when my youngest was a newborn (he is 4 years old now). He didn’t sleep much, so I slowly read through your entire blog from the beginning. I live in south Florida and love reading all about Alaska and how very different it is from here. I cannot wait to visit Alaska in the future. Thank you for the spectacular photography and descriptive writing. I can truly “feel” Alaska through your eyes:) Happy New Year!
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Susan Stevenson Reply:
January 5th, 2013 at 9:32 pm
Hi Michelle, and thank you for commenting. I am happy that you enjoy my blog. How special that you’ve been reading for 4 years. That makes me smile!
I hope that you can visit Alaska sometime soon. When it comes time, I’d be happy to help you plan a trip that will be unforgettable!
Happy 2013 to you and your family!
Susan
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Comment by Michelle — January 1, 2013 @ 4:08 am
I found your site by accident. I googled Fred Purdy Chicken Alaska,and the you were the second on the list, I am trying to find out what happened to Lynn Purdy. She was the 2nd youngest of Anne and Freds children. She was developmentally disabled and I have often wondered what became of her. While I don’t remember Fred, I do remember Anne, Lynn and Barbara. They would come down to 29 Palms every year for the winter and would usually rent the house next to ours. Anne was absolutely the strongest, toughest woman I have ever known. She was also a gentle and loving and huge help to me. She was one of my Moms best friends and was with my dad and a couple of Moms other friends on February 15, 1969 the day Mom passed away. She got home before my Dad did and she just kept hugging me. She was my caretaker for the next several months, I was 6. Lynne who was so fun to be around, kept me entertained (Lynn thought she was a horse) She would gallop and whinney and chuff. Barb was from what I remember Fred and Annes only biological child. She was tall and just beautiful. She and my sister hanna were friends, my brothers and their friends were constantly following the 2 of them around. I know that Barb graduated high school and I believe she moved to Florida and was going to college. My father remarried a year or 2 after Mom died and Helen, well lets just keep the stepmother conception alive… Helen thought that it was detrimental to me to keep a relationship going with my mothers friends, so along with the other women who cared for me Anne was just a memory. I just would like to if possible find someone who could tell me about Lynn. If you think of someone maybe you would forward this to them? Or I will leave you my # Thank you for reading and I appreciate any help you would be willing to give me. Take care and Blessed Be!
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Comment by Kathie Carlson — January 9, 2013 @ 4:16 pm