2/23/09

weekend bliss




i can practically feel the mania setting in and boy, does it feel good!
nothing like a free, all you can eat, drug-free high! and luckily for me, it will likely last from now until mid september when once again, the noticeable loss of daylight will inflict that irresistible nesting syndrome, which will flow effortlessly into pure, unadulterated, depression.

ahhhh, alaska! what a place this is.

we've got sunshine and miles of blue sky- and snow covered peaks, and daylight.
do you hear me? daylight!
february, how i love thee!

this weekend i was lucky enough to get karen from over at nyncak to join me for a winter hike in girdwood, my favorite little hippie hamlet!
getting two amateur photographers together makes for a s-l-o-w hiking. but, with the sunshine peaking through the trees, distance was not the point.

its funny how old mr. sunshine can take and elevate my mood just like that.
it was a very chilly day (in the teens-) but bathing in the golden glow made the frozen fingers and runny nose worth it.
and here is the happy face of a boy who has been skiing for 3 solid afternoon hours.


jade had his 3rd week of powder blasters and he is rockin' the skis!
it was too much fun watching how much he enjoys being out there, and his instructor says he is getting strong and now making parallel turns.
he'll be kicking my ass on the slope before long.
the vibe at alyeska is also, just so good.
grateful dead playing in the day lodge, happy people screaming down the slopes.
now, that's good stuff.

lastly, we recently ventured over to our neighbor's pasture to say hello to our resident horses. these two pals have endured months of cold and darkness- they've got the longest hair i've ever seen on horses.
they like visitors and carrots.

2/20/09

i am

reading bliss

savoring our recent netflicks pick: buena vista social club

listening to long road and diggin' it (thanks honey...)

dreaming of spending time in the desert

disgusted with the prospect that republican governors are considering withholding stimulus package money from their states

saddened by uninformed americans who believe bailing out wall street and american car companies is okay, but bailing out your neighbor is bullshit

absolutely inspired by michael pollan

grateful for my family

proud of my son

amazed by the gain of sunlight over the past 3 weeks

excited by the prospect of change

2/14/09

where's the love?


"If we really wanted to get this country going, stimulating jobs, we'd take and put the money on the ground. And this bill doesn't do it.
You know they talk about green power, we're going to have all these windmills, we're going to employ all these people. That's not going to stimulate the economy. I can tell you right now it will take them years to get it going."

-House Republican Don Young, AK


"This is an excessive package. It's loaded with unrelated items like education provisions."
-Senator Lisa Murkowski, AK

bhhhhaaaaaaahhaaaahhhaaaahhhaaaaaaaa!

happy valentines day (:

2/7/09

family


when i was 6 years old, my mother married a man who would become my father.
this is a somewhat sensitive subject to write about- as, i also have a relationship with my biological dad and it is not my intention to offend either father in my life- both have equal parts in my upbringing, in very different ways.

my father came into our lives with an extended family.
it was a package deal- he has 5 siblings. every one of those aunts and uncles and their families have impacted and shaped my life in different ways.

but the real icing on the cake was the grandmother i got out of the deal.
memere became my grandmother- instantly, in the blink of a 6 year old eye.

i am the 3rd eldest grandchild from (a quick and likely inaccurate count,) 17??
and although i was "adopted" into the family, i've never felt anything but love and acceptance here.

i have no memory of meeting my grandmother, instead, i was simply assimilated into this chaotic, fun, loving, and somewhat crazy family whose matriarch is a strong, ever-smiling, tall, quick-witted woman who i am proud to call memere.

today, her kids, (coordinated by her eldest daughter) threw her a surprise 80th birthday party. -and i got to be here.

it was wonderful.

it was a reaffirmation for me that family is bound by no limits. there are no edges, there is nothing concrete.
there is only the human connection over time, evolving, changing and growing.

today, i am grateful.

2/1/09

random


the weekend started off in festive style with kindergartners celebrating the chinese new year. my kid chanted gung hay fat choy!!! for days.

saturday was spent at the office for me. (booo hissss!)

today was nearly perfect-except for the fact that its really, really cold again.
but we had miles of blue sky.

it would have been a great day for redoubt to blow, but instead, she's still huffing and puffing and rapidly melting her northern glacier. there are some impressive photos over on the alaska volcano observatory site.

here are some random shots taken on the way home from a grocery store run. yes, the scenery here is that bad...
the crystals formed on the branches are a result of a phenomenon called hoarfrost. in this instance, i believe it could also be called surface hoar. this occurs when fern-like ice crystals form on already frozen surfaces. its very pretty up close.
click to take a closer peek.

the moose were just outside the dining room window- taken through the (very dirty) glass.