The Sun Returns

Yes, it's true: about 8 1/2 hours now and it is so nice! Just seeing the brightness shining through the windows makes one think more posatively.

The temperature has been great as well. Saturday, it was 20 degrees. John took the kids skiing. At 3 and 4 years old, I didn't expect them to stay out too long. Five hours later, John was dragging Paris into the lodge and leaving Judah to follow after "one more time." They were awesome and I was jealous to be confined to a chair by the window to watch. Still, knowing I had taught both of them this sport was pretty gratifying. Paris did insist that "Daddy teached her," and I suppose that's ok since she is a little girl and I understand how little girls idolize their Daddies whether they deserve it or not. LOL

When we finally left the ski lodge, Paris was asleep before we left the parking lot. We managed to keep Judah talking for the 20 minute drive home in order to prevent him from a late nap. At exactly 9 pm, they were both in bed for the night. Within 5 minutes, they were both asleep. They slept. And they slept. And they slept some more. We opted out of Sunday-School just so they could finish resting. It was a quarter 'til 10 when I woke them up. Nearly 13 hours of sleep and they were still well worn!

Today, I will send them in the backyard to go sledding for a while. This time of year really is great!

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Unfortunately, I am still quite "under-the weather." I really have no idea what that truly means, or where it originated, but I am applying it to my current state none the less. I currently have pneumonia and a misplaced rib, on top of a pregnancy complication known as "Placenta Previa." The pneumonia is the worse of it, and since one generally catches pneumonia from bad weather, I have decided the aforementioned proverbial phrase is entirely appropriate for my condition.
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During this time of much sitting, my last post has been bothering me. Though it is a very small town, North Pole is so much more than the last post. There are so many more memories and things to say about why I am happy to have grown up here, and even happier to raise my children here. I suppose I may just have to compile a book about it one day. :)
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In the meantime, to Jennifer, I'd like to say that I am not arguing that North Pole is better than any other home-town. I am sure there is charm and deep memories in most peoples' home-towns. Perhaps that is what I am digging at: a reflection from my heart of why North Pole was great for me, and a challenge to others to reflect on their places of origin as well. We all come from somewhere. Though that Somewhere will never be the same as it was when we were there, it will always be "perfect" in our hearts.
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For Shane: The Great Alaska Pizza Company took over all of the area Little Ceaser's when the national chain downsized. The only topping unique to the Alaska-based company is reindeer sausage. The pizzeria itself is fantastic competition to the more well known, Pizza Hut, offering such deals as an every-day Large, one-topping pizza for $7.99 and a once-a-month "customer appreciation" day where Large , one-toppings are $4.99 each. Still, the place is nothing real special, in my opinon anyway. It is not specialty pizza or something anyone considers a local favorite.
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And, for my "anonymous husband:" Elkhart, Texas has its charm as well. It's just that no one explained to anyone there that life is ever-changing, so the people there all seem to be "stuck" in the same reality that they have been for years!

Zip Code 99705

North Pole, Alaska

Candy-Cane street lamps decorate the roads in the city itself. On some buildings, Christmas lights are present year-round. The world famous Santa Claus House still stands on St. Nicholas Drive, and is now a home to four of "Santa's" reindeer. Though the store has posted the animals' traditional names, I prefer to call them things I find more suitable than Dancer and Prancer, etc.. My names for them are: "Breakfast," "Maple," "Sage," and "Italian." Of course they all share the same last name: Sausage.

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North Pole has very little to offer in the entertainment world, but it is the home to five franchise restaurants: Subway, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, McDonald's, and Wendy's. In addition, there is The Great Alaska Pizza Company, a fairly new diner, Harley's, two Chinese places, FireWok and Pagoda, The Thai Cuisine, a bar/diner, The Elf's Den, Dallman's Family Restaurant, and a country cafe' that I honestly don't remember the name of. Oh, yes, we have more than our share of eateries!

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We do have our own radio station located here! 100.3 KJNP is a Christian station which also hosts a TV channel. The station is made of rustic, old log buildings. Their broadcast does come in clear, however, owning the largest antenna in the area, and possibly all of Alaska. In fact, if you still have a phone with a cord, you can often hear the radio through that phone!

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The central location of North Pole is the grocery store which now displays the store label of Safeway. Since I have lived here, the same store has also been called Super Value and Carrs, and I must note, that it is perfectly acceptable to use any of its names interchangeably. Any true Local will not notice if you do not call it by its current title. The store and its adjoining strip-mall is owned by the Gavora family of Fairbanks. They own several locations in the more popular town as well. The mall itself has changed very little except for the lack of stores it is home to. Sentry Hardware is the only store that has been a constant since I have lived here. Everything else, from movie rentals to pet stores, have come and gone. I think the Gavora family is hoping to change that turn-over with their recent addition of North Pole's first Hotel, which is just being finished just outside of the mall's entrance.

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There are three gas stations here; all of which are over-priced and typical of small-town charm. (ie: semi-warm hot dogs at $3.00 each and the restrooms are no place to rest!) I used to work at one of them, Sourdough Fuel. Petro Star owns that one as well as a credit card only pump station under the notable name of Texaco. The third used to be our 7-11, and again, it is perfectly acceptable to refer to it as such.

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The United States Postal Service has a wonderful, little branch in North Pole. Giant Candy Canes in front of the building, and a sign stating its address make the location a very popular photo-op for our many tourists. Though the clerks at the Post Office are the friendliest, I know them each by name, and they have seen me grow up, it is a horrible place to need in November and December. No one can resist sending a Christmas package from North Pole, after all.

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My family moved just outside the small town of North Pole in 1990. Nineteen years later, with the absence of just under a year, I am still living in Alaska's Christmas town. It has been through its course of changes; new buildings up, old ones torn down, growth of population, roads re-routed, etc. But nothing has changed of its personality.

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The Mayor, Mr. Doug Isaacson, (once my youth-group leader, by the way) is often seen walking down the sidewalk and will always smile and wave to anyone and everyone driving by. He is a wonderful mayor, I will note. He has implemented several things for the community including a Christmas Ice Park that has been fantastic the last two years!

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Going into "The Super Carrs Way" (grocery store), you are nearly guaranteed to run into more than a couple familiar faces, in addition to "knowing" all the cashiers. In fact, at the onset of this pregnancy, I noted to my visiting friend that I might be pregnant and she insisted we purchase a home pregnancy test. I refused to buy such an item in North Pole! She bought one. I told that wasn't much better: instead of whispers of the possibility that I may pregnant, North Pole would now be contemplating the state of my single friend visiting from Arizona! Ah well, even today, as I discussed pregnancy issues with one my favorite cashiers, three others and several customers listened in and added their input. Some may find these situations "nosey" or annoying, but it is just the small-town way.

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These same people will be the ones to help raise money when your loved one has cancer. They will help put a porch on your house when the snow caves it in. They will stop to ensure his safety when your child's chain comes off his bike. They will "rescue" your lost dog and most likely keep it in their own home instead of turning it in to the Animal Shelter. North Pole-ians are people with great heart for their community. I'm so happy that my kids are growing up here as I did. As they say, it takes a village to raise a child, and this is one great, charming village. :)

"Raven"Like A Lunatic

Hello to you too, Mr. Raven in the backyard. I'm not sure why he is looming around the branches of our super-tall Spruce trees. Maybe he is scoping out the after-Christmas gingerbread houses and rotten apples I just threw out. Around town, we refer to these birds as "dumpster chickens" because of their filthy way of life in the city. They are most commonly found at McDonald's, Burger King, or any other place that frequently dumps food remnants into a dumpster. Sometimes we call them "soul chickens" or "Spirit Birds" as well. That is because the Native Alaskans believe that at some point after death, the human soul enters a raven and can then guide and be with the tribe forever. What they then say happens when a raven dies, I'm not sure! It is that belief that has earned the raven a place on the State's protected species list as well. In any case, ravens in the city are fat, grossly dirty birds.

On the flip side, ravens are amazing creatures in the wild. They have mimicking capabilities. I have heard them "bark" at my dog, Tigerlily while we walked our trapline. Sometimes they whistle. Mostly tthough, their sound is just a throaty "caw" similar to a crow or a deep clucking. The most amazing time to hear them is when they have found a fresh animal kill. I don't quite understand what, other than God, directs them to kill sites, but they seem to appear as soon as an animal is killed. After they find the site, they just seem to multiply in the sky. From six to a dozen black birds, soaring high above the blood on the ground; circling and calling loudly. Calling: yes, calling to stir the other forest inhabitants. "Aww-Aww-'Freshly killed moose below,'" they say, hoping to reach the ears of a wolf pack or a hungry bear. They repeat this ritual for hours at times, scarcely ever swooping down to peck at the meat. Ravens prefer to have someone else do the dirty work. If they can call in a hungry carnivore to rip the hide and make a mess of the carcass, they will gladly wait. Then, and only then, does the ravens' feast begin.

It is a shame to see the raven in such a negative light around the cities. Instead of scavenging after bears and wolves, they scavenge after humans. They are pecking at the remnants of OUR meals, and living a very poor life due to that. I once asked a lady from the Alaska Bird Observatory about the lifespan of the raven. Though I don't remember her exact answer, I wasn't surprised to hear that city birds die much sooner than those in the wild. Not because they have a rougher life, but because they have high cholesterol, heart disease, and other nasty illnesses caused by their custom of eating our table scraps.

Well, consider yourself a little more educated on the most common bird in Alaska. And if you come to visit this Great Land, and you share a french-fry or hamburger with a raven, just remember, somewhere beyond the city lights, there are moose who dread the sound of the raven's cry. It means death to them, but life to a wolf and to the ravens there, who know nothing of our human filth.

Every Rose Has Its Thorn

WOW, what a heat wave! A ninety degree difference from last week's -50, temperatures climbed to 40 yesterday! Even more significant, according to this article in the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, it has been 87 days since the temperatures here in the heart of Alaska have risen above 20 degrees. With this information spinning through my head, I have to laugh a little about the national news coverage of the "cold snap sweeping the country."

Go ahead, Outsider's, blame us for your "arctic cold front." However, this picture just tickles my funny bone: According to the accompanying CNN article, these ladies are "enduring the cold" which is hitting Massachusetts at 20 degrees. LOL, we haven't had 20 degrees since October! Now I will recognize that the humidity level near the east coast and the wind in the mid-west contribute greatly to a cold feeling which is more than ambient, but, there is nothing like the way your lungs fail to open at -40 and colder. Sorry you're cold, Lower 48ers, but I can't deny that your misfortune comes at a time of great pleasure for us!

Of course, as the title of this post indicates, this "heat wave" is not all fun and games to those of us who now have to drive to work on wet roads which are still so cold that the melting snow immediately freezes over. I am sure as my husband drives to work at 5am, that he will be praying for his safety. I am sure he will pass a half a dozen motorists whose cars will have slipped off the roads. His patrol should be quite eventful as well. Ahh, weather sure is a complication to our lives here in Alaska. Still, it amazes me to no end!

On a personal note, I haven't had the chance to enjoy the weather myself at all! Two days ago, I woke up with a sore throat which quickly turned into some sort of strange flu. I ache all over, feel chilled to my bones, then in the next ten minutes, I sweat harder than I would after running the Midnight Sun Run! I sent Judah and Paris out to go sledding this afternoon and the 30 degree weather felt like -12 to me. Pregnancy is adding to my discomfort. Oh well, it will pass: probably about the time the temperatures fall back below zero!

UPDATE 01/16/09: It's nearly 50 degrees at my house today! Another problem is occuring: Our stash of ice cream and crab legs had to be relocated from the front porch to the freezer! :)

Seven Weird or Random Things...

Shane tagged me on his blog and I am supposed to list seven weird or random facts about myself, then tag seven others who are to do the same on their blogs. Trying to stay on theme with my blog, here it goes:

1. If I step on the snow beginning with my left foot, I must leave the snow from my right foot.
2. Lynx chili is pretty good and I know because my dad made it for his own retirement party.
3. I can't swim: I just don't know how, and this is not very smart since there is so much water in Alaska.
4. The longest I've gone not owning a Brittany (Spaniel) was the first year of my life.
5. The longest I've been without a shower is 10 days while on float-hunting trip during which time I shot my first moose.
6. (slightly off topic, but funny) When we first got married, my arm muscles were bigger than John's and I owned more firearms....Now he has a couple more guns than me.-and FINE, he's managed to gain some muscle too. :)
7. I was 18 years old before I saw a black bear in the wild...and I shot him!

Alright, that was everything you really didn't need to know about me and now I am tagging: My Sister-in-law, Jennifer (Because she's the "survey queen"), Rebecca (Because she'll probably do it), Gretchen (Because -45 for the last week and a half is driving her to boredom), Jennifer's sister, Lauren (Because she's the "survey queen's" sister), Crystal (Because she's online all the time), John's Aunt Kristi (Because she might be up to the challenge), and James (Because I just don't know anyone else who might keep this thing going).

A Cold New Year's Day

Global Warming!? Well, I am sure I know nothing of it. And if it has a grain of truth, I am totally for it! As temperatures reached -50 degrees at my home, I was barely able to see a neighbor's fireworks through the lingering ice fog outside. Today, we are having a slight heat wave, with temperatures RISING to -28! That's in Fairbanks, actually. Here, it has only risen to -40. When it comes to it, anything -35 or colder feels the same: FRIGID.

So, what do we do when it is this cold? I could point out the number of Alaskan babies born August-October, but that's pretty much a given. What really occurs is a whole lot of cabin fever. My kids are sharing germs, arguing over toys they received for Christmas, and wearing so many layers of clothes that they each weigh 10 pounds more than usual. My dogs are mad at me for forgetting about them when they were outside. Don't worry, the dryer was on, and despite their "bird brains," they had enough sense to huddle together under the vent. This kept them plenty warm. Moses must have actually forgiven me because he keeps ringing his bell to alert me that he wants out yet again. Crazy fool, doesn't the air choke his breath as it does mine? Mrs. Jones is not as forgiving: she is huddled in front of the electric fireplace (which is not turned on) and sending evil glares my way.

As for me and John, I assume, we are like most spouses who are forced to deal with the in and outs of life at sub-zero temperatures. Meaning, we are frustrated that elements of our home are not functioning properly, that one of our cars decided it would rather be living in Florida and is refusing to run, and secretly knowing that our utility bills will arrive with a whole new stress of their own.

Still, this isn't the worst of winter. No, after all, we are warm, at least. We are saving money because I am not driving anywhere, using gas or spending money on groceries and the like. In fact, one would think I could accomplish a lot of household duties during this period of self-inflicted "lock-down." However, THE DARKNESS DRIVES ME INSANE! Sure, every light in my house is on, the sun is shining somewhere above the fog, but the dreary, dim light that stays so flat for only about 5 hours is very depressing. Somehow, it is even snowing right now. Tiny crystals of dry ice flaking from the sky don't even cheer the mood. They are menacing, in a way; taunting me to realize that this winter is far from over. 6 months pregnant, truly not long to go, but the months of January and February in Alaska seem to drag like the tip of a snail's tail.

Ahh, I will survive, as I always do. And When March finally does pull through, the fresh smell of Break-Up and the sunshine will rejuvenate me once again. I will not be thinking about today: it's darkness, its depression. I will only see Alaska and its winter beauty. I will see the dogsled teams mushing in the daylight, the sun sparkling on the hills, spend a day with my family enjoying ice sculptures, and as I absorb it all, a twinge of guilt will touch my heart as I recollect today's dark feelings. I will realize that there is no where else like Alaska. There is no where else where a person's body can sway with the seasons like this. There is no where else that I can show my kids how boiling water freezes in mid air. And there is no where else I'd rather be right now.............

Well, Hawaii was great in January...