An Alaskan Thanksgiving

A snowy winter wonderland

Thanksgiving day I was up earlier than normal to prepare for the day ahead. We had decided to eat at a local restaurant that was serving up an all you can stuff yourself with dinner including all the trimmings. Since this was an easy way to get out of making the thanksgiving day meal I was behind this idea all the way. That and the fact that I would not have to clean up afterwards.

The meal was delicious, and made even better by the fact that I was not responsible for any cooking, cleaning, or serving. After dinner we drove home and retired to our bedroom for the annual after thanksgiving day nap. This one lasted a little longer then the average. We slept for over 5 hours. I think they may have drugged the turkey. When I woke up it was dark outside. This told me that it was sometime after 4pm (we are getting darker sooner now…).

I took this picture around 10:30am

Actually it was around 5:30. I hoped out of bed to check the weather. It seems that it had really warmed up that day. When I had gotten up this morning at 7am it was a chilly -6 outside. Luckily it had warmed up to a temped zero this afternoon. It was not nearly as cold as it was this morning.

The weather being what it is (freezing) I have started to use it to my advantage. I really don’t like my coffee hot, but I hate waiting for it to cool off. Now all I do is leave it on the back porch for a few minutes, and I have nicely chilled coffee. I once left a batch of freshly made hot tea out on the porch too long, and it turned into a huge ice tea cube. I like my tea cold, but it is even better if I can drink it. I am still perfecting the care and use of my new outdoor freezer.

I have also learned that one should not go outside with wet hair unless that someone wishes to have frozen hair. I learned this lesson after getting out of the shower and venturing onto the porch for several minutes. It seems that the average time for hair to freeze at -6 is about 5 minutes. Longer than that, and other things will start to freeze, especially with only shorts and a tee shirt...

Halloween In Alaska

Written by Dianne - Glenn’s better half………

The scary trick or treat sign did not keep the kids from knocking on our door

This is the "welcome" bear. It is frightingly cute

Today is Halloween, October 31st, the day of ghouls, goblins and of course, Trick or Treating. Being new to Alaska and not knowing how tradition followed suit, we prepared accordling. Glenn and I decided to buy a few decorations to get into the “Spirit” of things. A few pumpkins, a ghost, scary eyes that blink and who could forget, candy. We had a huge bowl of treats for what we hoped would be an eventful night. Our first victim arrived at 5:30 and was rewarded with many sweets. For the next two hours we would wait and wait and wait. I said to Glenn, I guess we are going to have to eat all this candy ourselves. Moments later, we were disturbed by a bell ringing. We looked at each other and wondered where it was coming from. Wait, that’s our doorbell - more victims…….Much to our surprise, we had 6 more Trick or Treaters within the next 30 minutes. Not only did these little “Monsters” brave 30 degree temperatures, 6 inches of snow and ice, they actually were dressed up. In our old neighborhood, we were lucky if the kids showed up carrying a sign asking for food. We have always loved Halloween and now know that “Alaskan” ghouls and goblins do exist.

I am just waiting for a moose to eat one (or all) of the pumpkins