Christmas

This year was my first Christmas away from my family and while it was hard, it was made easier due to some great friends. I planned a brunch for Christmas Day so those of us left behind could commiserate and celebrate together. I made tofu scramble and others brought: hashbrowns, cinnamon rolls, pumpkin cheese cake, fruit, and granola. It was all quite spectacular and left us lulled into a stupor on various furniture pieces around the apartment. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was on as a holiday movie, playing in the background, and I knew then that we had a tradition in the making. There are no photos worth posting of it other than these spices (garam marsala, paprika, turmeric) before I mixed them with onions and garlic--the beginnings of a tofu scramble:



But I am getting ahead of myself here. Upon waking up, I woke up Ryan with a phone call and soon we were video chatting while opening our gifts. I received a 50 mm lens for my dSLR and a book of portrait photography by Henri Cartier-Bresson from Ryan, both of which I am enjoying. The lens is the one used for every photo in this post. Thanks, baby! Ryan enjoyed his lightbox, film and skillet mitt. The next gifts I opened were from Ryan's mom.



The hat actually fits my head, which is quite an anomaly, I assure you. After every hat in the local outdoor outfitter store would not fit my head (except ugly, non-descript things), I wasn't sure if I would find a proper winter hat. A matching scarf came with it and both are beautifully colored. The handwarmers will come in handy (ha) as well. Thanks, Moo!

So, fast forwarding to after the brunch...my Wrangell momma and her husband came to pick me up for some family Christmastime. I played with remote controlled helicopters, watched Nintendo gaming systems being played, talked, ate, and petted animals. It was nice to soak up some family atmosphere, even if they aren't my own family. By the time I went home, it was 54 degrees, windy and night time. Alaskan weather is almost as strange as my home state's. It must be the ocean's influence.

With that, I leave you with some of my holiday decorating. The rest (not photographed) include cards and a small, red glittered tree.



I am wondering about one of the cards...there is no return address, no origin stamp and no full name is assigned. So, "A", if you are the one who sent me this card, please let me know so I may attribute it properly!

nearly three months...and winter

As I walked on the airport loop after church, I thought about how almost three months ago I was being driven on this very same loop to what was going to be my apartment. In some ways, I could hardly believe it's only been three months. With the weekend potlucks, surprise parties, dates, visits, new people arriving and work (especially work), time has flown by and I imagine it to be somewhere around end of the March instead of nearly mid-December. But here I am, crunching through half an inch of snow, looking at the clear, blue sky broken up with mountains and muskeg trees. No doubt, it is winter.

I finally feel like I am getting a grasp of what my job is and what I do. With the job comes new things almost constantly, so it is almost like waiting for something new to overwhelm me. However, it shouldn't overwhelm me as much as it did in the beginning. Feeling more confident about what I am doing helps, too.

It is definitely winter in that the sun rises while I walk to work and it is dark by 3:30 pm. We have been fortunate to see some amazing sunrises, sunsets and just plain sun during the day. However, the thing about it getting dark so early is that you're about ready to take a nap when you get home from work and would just rather stay home when you get there. December 21st is the winter solstice and nearly everywhere I go, lately, someone is talking about it. Keeping hope for when those longer days return.

Another sign of winter is running the heater all of the time. I do not have heat other than the electric heaters in my apartment. After receiving my November electric bill, I realized just how much it takes to run these heaters. Since then, I decided to keep them on low over night so they don't have to work as hard in the morning or in the evening when I am home. Perhaps I'll see a decrease in my bill next month? I'm hoping so. I briefly considered moving, but with my rent as low as it is, it does make more sense to stay here and pay the higher heat bill than move elsewhere by myself.

Ryan sent me some photos from when I visited him a few weeks ago. Following is a goober-tastic photo of myself in Ryan's snowshoes in our trek through the Homestead Trail:



I hope to do some more snoeshoeing sometime soon.

What has helped with the darkness lately is having better lighting at home. I purchased one of those rice paper lamps (online) and set it up in my apartment this week. Its glow lights up the room, but is much softer and gives the apartment a more home-like feel. Settling in seems to be an ongoing process, even when you think you're done.

photos from my adventures up north

The sun setting, late afternoon.


Mountains, Ocean, Beach


Ryan, composing the shot


The beach was very reflective that day. Close to sunset.