Mt. Redoubt--Too Funny!

I just had to share this--

At school today, in my mailbox was a large plastic bag--I pulled it out--looked at it--and asked the secretary what it was for?????  She replied, "To cover your computer when the volcano blows!"  You would never hear that one in Michigan!!!  LOL!  

You've got to love it!

PS--If it blow, and the wind goes the right way, we may get a "Volcano Day"!!!!!

Never a Dull Moment in Alaska!

Earthquakes,volcanoes, and moose.......we have it all up here! The weather has been beautiful--20 degrees and sunny! We had an earthquake on Saturday morning about 9ish. It was about 65 miles out in the Cook Inlet. I felt a big bump and then thump--I just thought it was Denise leaving--she drives a big ole Hummer! I didn't really hear anything about it until Dawn and Kathy called to see if I was okay!
Then the local volcano, Mt. Redoubt--which I can see from my window at the B & B is ready to blow--now this is all over the news (go to Anchorage Daily News )--so we just wait!

And to top it off, no pun intended, I made moose stew with Shirley's recipe--yum, yum!

So, AK is filled with all sorts of fun--you just never know what's going to happen next!!

Getting a Life...

Hi All--
It's been a while since I've written--the ice days through me off! Monday was MLK day so no school again! Needless to say, Tuesday was a killer at school.

Last weekend I ventured to Wasilla--home of Governor Sarah Palin--didn't see her--bummer! It's a cute town north of here--they have a big, brand new Target (we only have 2 in AK)--yes, I had to go in!! I had dinner at a friend's house --he made halibut--of course he caught it too (the halibut)! I also managed to get to Talkeetna last weekend. This is the cute little town that the show Northern Exposure was modeled after. It's also a launching point for climbers heading up Denali--it was clear last weekend so we thought viewing might be good--just ok though. Weird thing is, I didn't see one moose or any other wildlife--hummmmmm.....
When Kathy, Jenny, Sue and I were up here on '06...we were unable to get to Talkeetna--the road was washed out--you guys have to come back up and see it--too cute!

This week at school I was observed by my principal--I wasn't a bit nervous and all went well--the little heathens even behaved--I think they all thought they were in trouble!! LOL!

Last night I went to the UAA vs. Michigan Tech hockey game. I put it on my board at school on Friday--my students love Michigan hockey teams! Two boys said they wanted to go to Tech and one said MSU--isn't that funny! They all told me that UAA sucks! Well the game ended in a tie, so they didn't suck that bad!!!!! Funny how the word "suck " has made it into main stream vocabulary--didn't we get in trouble for saying it?????

The weather has been in the 20's--no snow--we need it bad--the lawns are almost bare. I haven't been out playing since Christmas.

I hope all is well with you!

Hugs,
SC

Another Ice Day!

Yep...no school again today--the winds were howling and the rain was pouring... all night long. It's called a Chinook wind--a warm wind from the south. Our snow is almost gone and the back roads are like ice rinks. But no worries--it gets cold again next week!

Ice Day!

Finally no school today...not because of cold, not because of snow, but because of warm!! It's 31 degrees and raining--:( All of our good snow is turning to yuck!! The city is at a stand still--100 mile an hour winds in the Valley--Wasillia, Mat-Su, Palmer.......hang on to your hat Sarah!!

AK Quirks cont.

• The Glen Highway is the only highway out of Anchorage--towards the north-- Wasillia--Fairbanks. It's always icy--so the traffic is always backed up due to road conditions and what the the radio calls "Ditch Diving"... yet another Alaskan sport!
  

BALMY!

It's just not right when you think +17 degrees is balmy!! We finally had a warm-up today--Yippee! My car is much happier--it doesn't growl when I try to start it now!!

I'm settling into Alaskan life here--last night we (the B & B gang) cooked 2 huge red salmon filets. A teacher at school brought some she had in her freezer--yum! Her husband and son went dipping for them--you have to be a resident for a year in order to dip net. Everyone does this dip netting fishing thing--you are allowed 25 salmon a season which equals several hundred pounds. Therefore, by January many Alaskans are sick of salmon and just give them away!!

Anchorage has another festival--more than TC I think! It's called Freeze (isn't it ironic)(http://freezeproject.org/alaska/) which has real cool (no pun intended) ice and snow sculptures. We are taking our 7th graders on Friday--How fun--I'm kidding--yuck-- field trip with 7th graders outside in the freezing cold--where's the Excedrin! My team at school previewed this on Saturday when the temp. was -2...we didn't stay real long--it was pretty neat though!

Moose Sighting-- two mailboxes down on Saturday--they're everywhere--looking to get warm!
I'd post a picture but I can't get them to download on the blog :( I'll be working on it!
The Mountain was out yesterday too! It's always an awesome sight!

Still lookin' for Sarah--you betcha!

Oddities--Alaska Quirks!

No, not me-I'm not a resident yet!! I thought I'd start an ongoing list of Alaskan quirks, etc. What, with my short memory capacity--I'll post 'em as I remember 'em--It will be the Quirk List!

• There are a hundreds of Mexican restaurants in this town--at least 2 on every corner--no kidding--you need spicy food to stay warm here! It's sooooo weird how many there are here???????
  
• Next to, plus on every other corner is a small drive thru coffee/espresso hut. They have cute, catchy names like "Bad Ass Coffee" or for the "cooler" caffeine drinker "Organic blah-blah (I forget now) Coffee". You can get a cup of coffee every 1/4 mile--I kid you not! Some even have food--like hot dogs, burritos (see above), or muffins--convenient aye--because you never, never want to turn your car off in the winter if you don't have a remote start! Plus we have lotsa oil here!!
  
• Alaska is a perfect place to live if you are a menopausal women--well...this I've been told--

To be continued.............

Fireworks at Minus 20--Who Does That?

Me! That's Who! Anchorage had the big 50th birthday celebration last night. The road downtown was closed off and the park had ice sculptures. There was free music -- 25 different types of bands and performers at 2 different indoor venues. We saw a bluegrass group all from Alaska--Barefoot is their name--they just recorded a CD due out in May. The group formed in high school and are in their 20's now--very good! The cutest thing--the gals in the group all wore dresses--flowey (sp) type--with their Sorrel boots--they called it the Alaska cocktail outfit--lol!

The place was mobbed--then everyone went outside to watch the fireworks--the biggest Alaska has ever seen! Okay--they were awesome--even in the subzero temperatures!! They shot them off 3 different buildings simultaneously--I was impressed (like Alaska really cares what I think!).
By the way, the event was sponsored by Blue Cross--they passed out hand warmers to the crowd--LOL! My fingers just now thawed-out....hey...where are my toes!!!!!!

I'm spending today psyching myself up to deal with 7th graders.................

What Was I Thinking?????

Oh my, the high temp today is -20...that's right...the high! The low was -27--Maybe next year I'll teach in Hawaii!! Alaskans are a funny sort--they say "it's not been this cold for this long since...blah, blah, blah". Who cares--it's really cold NOW!! I can take 0 or even -1-maybe, but this is ridiculous!

Okay, I might be a bit cranky because I haven't been outside playing, but I have managed to get a social life--yep that's right--me. I've been on 2 dates--yep count em--2. I went to a New Years Eve gathering before the fireworks--which happen at 8pm--because, for the real world that's when the New Year started. Watch the fireworks ( Cherry Fest. is better) from the car because it was a balmy -12!
Last night the Art and History Museum opened for a Singles night--wine, food, and tons of single women--just like every other city--LOL! It was very fun--This matchmaking company put it on--1200 bucks and they'll find you a long-term match...I think I'll take my chances and save my $$$$-HA!

Since it's the New Year, I thought I'd review a few of the "oddities" I've found about living here:

• The highways stop and start for no apparent reason
• The roads also change names for no apparent reason ( I'm told this as due to the economic growth stopping and starting over the various years)
• There are not any drug stores--like Rite-aid or Walgreens--???????
• Haven't seen a K-mart
• The big festival is Fur Rendezvous or Fur Rondy as the locals call it--this is a week long event this leads up to the Iditirod--I'm told it's an outdoor carnival and festival--(I hope it gets a tad bit warmer!!) It's at the end of Feb.
  
• Everyone counts how many minutes of daylight are added each day
• Alaskans think they have the market on cold and snow--cold maybe, not snow though, as you Michiganders know!!
• No sales tax or state tax
• Every man, women and child got over $3000. for the state personal fund--oil $$$
• Drill, baby,drill, is the motto
• Along with... fish, baby, fish!
  

Tonight's the big kick-off celebration for Alaska's 50th birthday--more fireworks and events downtown--should be fun!

Happy 2009!
PEACE