Oh, Alaska!

Ive always loved the snow.

I can remember my mom bundling me up and sending me outside to play when I was little. Cover-alls, boots, mittens and hat, with her warm maroon scarf wrapped around my neck, face and head for good measure. Those memories make me smile...and occasionally bring tears to my eyes.
Snow reminds me of warm stoves, baking cookies, snow days, wonderful smells from the kitchen, the Holidays, family.

It's a really good thing I love snow.

As I'm writing, it's negative 30 outside. We have about 8 inches of snow on the ground that has been accumulating for about a month. We would have more, but the majority melted last week when a ton of freezing rain turned the roads to sheets of perfectly deadly ice.  More snow has fallen, so the ice will probably stick around until March at the earliest, where it will be scraped away into the huge gravel and snow piles that tower over every parking lot in Fairbanks. It's awe inspiring the first time you see it...all that snow...

Did I mention that I really like snow?

There are so many things to occupy your time in Alaska...if you are creative and know where to look.  There is a ski resort here on post (I'm horrible at skiing), they also offer tubing and ice skating, but just stepping out your door can be an adventure this time of the year. My next door neighbor spent her morning off work last week sitting at her window with a cup of coffee watching people check their mailboxes....and I was mad that I didn't think of it first! With everything covered in ice, the trek to the mailbox was treacherous at best.  We have all fallen at least once...so it's kind of ok to laugh when someone else bites it.

Anyway, I guess my point is that I am lucky enough to live in one of the most beautiful places on Earth and I intend on making the most of it. I get so tired of people up here complaining about being in Alaska. It's ALASKA! Most people dream of visiting this place, and God has blessed me enough to let me live here for a while...outside of anything I've ever experienced, or will ever experience again. We have 24 hours of daylight in the summer, 24 hours of darkness in the winter. You don't need air conditioning because the summers usually stay around 70 degrees and there is zero humidity! When the leaves on the trees change color...breathtaking. And the cold...You just have to steel yourself and accept that it's part of life here. It really doesn't bother me, but I do love people's reactions to the sub-zero temps. All of these experiences in under a year and I'm stockpiling knowledge that will last me the rest of my life...that will see me through every cold day yet to come...and I'm learning so much about myself, my own inner strength, as each day passes.

Amazing.

Much Love,