Finally Moving!

Well, here it is February of two-thousand lebben, and I'm still not living in that house I bought back in... September? Granted, the place was unlivable for a few months, and at first, downright deadly, but it's good to go now. Then, December happened and I got sidetracked by sickness and surgery, and January seemed to be the month of perpetual weather insanity. Thus, ensuring that every single time I tried to do any moving, a great and terrible snowpocalypse would rear its frozen head and shut me down...

...which of course meant it was time to play in the snow like a kid with a get out of school free card. Be sure to enjoy my cousin eddy style headgear, lack of make-up, and nerd glasses.

And, as I sit here today, and look outside the window I'm pretending I have beside me, I can see that the whole of the landscape is again, covered in a nice layer of "winter precipitation" as the cautious weathermen here usually refer to any sort of snow or ice. However, this weekend, they, the television prophets of doom, the conjurers of meteorological fortune have promised me fair winds and a balmy 65 degrees. That being said, I have a u-haul with my name on it waiting for me Saturday morning at 9 AM, and some friends who I've tricked into, er... who love me enough to help.

Here's what I woke up to this morning. The roads however were clear and dry, so work went on as usual.

Anyway, back to the house (of which I have no new pictures yet.) The place actually looks pretty good, and despite the albatross hanging from my moving van's rear-view mirror, I've even managed to get a few things in the place. It's a far cry from the mold infested, grease covered, cat pee saturated monstrosity I originally purchased. Still, like any older house... and it's hard for me to believe a house built in 1970 is over 40 years old, it has its little quirks. The other night, I was repairing a tile on the counter in the kitchen, just a quick fix until I can find an actual match, but as soon as I'd finished and stepped back to admire my handiwork, three tiles fell off the side. House, your sense of humor is a jerkface.

Well, for now, that's all I've got. Anyone reading this, enjoy your weekend, and if you're one of my friends, come help me move! I'll pay you back with baked spaghetti, chocolate cake, and the begrudged obligation to help you move when you need me.

Denali, The High One

And so we get to the mountain...

As I said in the previous post, getting a good look wasn't looking...good. The entire park was shrouded in a thick grey miasma from the fires and you could barely make out anything in the distance, let alone Denali, still, I had that unyielding hope that I'd see it. I just felt it in my bones.

Score one for the bones.


When we arrived at Eielson, it was as if a great hand had pushed away the veil of cover that was obscuring the mountain. It was breathtaking to watch it be revealed. I was literally speechless. It was honestly, quite overpowering to be standing in front of such a creation, feeling the wind as it howled around us, and seeing that great cloud sweep across the sky.

I might have cried a little.

Shut up.


It was amazingly beautiful.

It even had this jazzy little lenticular cloud cap.



Thanks to my friend Dawn for lending me her DSLR!


This cloud, (I see a cheetah!) was stretched across the expanse of the horizon. It was really something in its own right. That entire morning was an incredible display of God's handiwork.

I was pretty excited. (Even if my eyes and makeup-free face pretty much scream, 'insanely tired!')

I was also pretty excited to see the wildlife...like Caribou, a lot of them. Here are two for your viewing pleasure.

I was going to post a few more pics of the various animals we saw, which is what has delayed this...uh... already delayed post, but all of those shots and subsequent pics from the Ice Hotel are on the cd that Dawn gave me.

The missing cd.

THE. MISSING. CD.

I will be tearing apart my house tonight in an effort to find it...because apparently I never backed it up on my hard drive. D'oh!

*Sigh...well, until then, I leave you with this...

For behold, He who forms mountains, and creates the wind, who declares to man what his thought is, and makes the morning darkness, who treads the high places of the earth—The LORD God of hosts is His name. Amos 4:13

SNOW!!!

SNOW!!!!! Finally, finally SNOW!!!!!! *jumps up and down like a little girl!!!*

To say I am giddy would be an understatement. This is the most snow we've had since 1993. Granted, it was only about 3 inches and most of it's already melted away, but...SNOW!!!!! I got so much enjoyment just watching it swirl and whip about in the wind. I'd forgotten the sound of snow, that wonderful, quiet roar. To think only a couple of days ago, it was balmy and in the 60s and by the end of the week we're expecting the 70s. I was skeptical that we'd actually get our little dose of snow this winter, but we did!

I loved watching it swirl about in the wind!

Oreo put one paw out in it, gave me a dirty look and ran back in towards the fireplace.

The back deck totally covered!

The neighbor's tree

A gorgeous cardinal in the backyard.

A panorama of the back.

The birdfeeder (all of my birds will apparently starve to death. *note* buy birdseed.)

I'd kill a man for a cigar and an RV right about now.

March is in like a lion, but it looks more like a lamb! :)


UPDATE*Here is "Pookie" the saddest/awesomest snowman ever!

Snow.

Snow, snow, snow...

...they're telling me that it's headed my way. I hear this promise all the time from the weathermen, forecasting their storms like a well suited group of wizards, whispering spells from behind their great crystal balls...but usually, it's more like one of those magic eightballs that says "outlook not good." We always manage to "dodge the bullet" in their words. How I have come to hate that phrase!

I think most of you that read this blog actually live in areas that have their fair share of snow...and then some. For me, it's a rarity and I love the stuff! I'm hoping that at midnight, it really does start falling like they say it's going to do. Cross your fingers for me!