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this weekend i saw a tiny glimmer of hope by way of a very large star known commonly, as the sun.
sol.
iki.
sura.

it felt as though this was the first sighting here in alaska in months. (although assuredly, it is not) there it was, bright and brilliant, casting shadows in the trees, illuminating every frozen droplet and sending tiny prisms of light through the woods.
it was a joy to my eyes, to my face and to my heart, which has been somewhat jaded by this season known as the alaskan winter.

the 12 hot and sun filled days in mexico filled my vitamin d fuel tank up, saturated me and (sadly) left me greedy for more.

snowy seward was the perfect place to remind me of the beauty of winter here and old mister sunshine put me in my place good and hard.

we are settling back in to our digs, detoxing from lime juice and tequila, cutting down on tortillas and beans and remembering how to layer.
wool socks and silk underware, fleecy hats and cozy sweaters.

do you hikau?
send one my way about winter where you are.

trying to stay warm
late january so cold
fat cat on my lap

we're back. (reluctantly)
alaska is a long way from mexico. (sigh.)
18 hours from the "lunch counter" to my front door step.
oh my god. tacos de pollo. so very good.

work is busy and after all that travel, 11 hours at the clinic is, well.. 11 hours at the clinic. goddess bless vacation time.

its still dark here, but the sun is coming. 9:40 rising and 4:41 setting.
mornings are still slow and dark, but we are beginning to see the light in the afternoons.
yeee haw!

i ordered seeds from johnny seeds in maine, and they got lost in the mail. the mail service here SUCKS.
BAD.
johnny seeds however, does not suck and are replacing my seeds. hopefully i will have lights and little seedlings soon to help usher in some warmer weather. i realize things dont even think about getting warm here till may, but hey, im coming off vacation. i can dream, right?

meanwhile, we are off to see the snow on turnagain pass this weekend.
will post some pics soon.
cheers!

last day

playa de tulum

tequila sunrise

we are leaving the chilly, dark north for sunshine and sand.
hope you all have a great couple of weeks. i will endeavor to post some photos between margaritas along the way.
whhhhhhoooooo hooooooooo!

my carbon footprint

these are some well traveled pears.
they looked so good, i just had to pretend i was a photographer, getting out the tripod and everything.
i dont know anything about photography, but my new motto is "quantity is quality" because if you take enough pictures, one of them is bound to be half decent.

we are now gaining about 2 1/2 minutes of daylight each day which is pretty exciting. it ends up stacking largely on the back side of the day, so the mornings dont seem to be getting any lighter (sunrise at 10:12 now), but by february, we'll be outshining the lower 48.

final preparations are happening for our journey to quintana roo mexico. our travels will take us over 4000 miles. we've packed the snorkels, the suits and the beer cozys. i think we're ready.
its been a long and chilly winter so far without much snow. it makes it hard to get out there and enjoy what winter has to offer. i will report back as to what winter in mexico is like.
i think it will be most excellent.

happy. new year.

well happy 2008 everyone.
the sunlight is streaming low over the talkeetnas and the house is quiet. (sigh)
we've had a lovely weekend with friends, food and fun.
hope yours was fantastic too!