Hello Everyone. Taloofa! (Welcome in Samoan)
I have been out of service (computer crashed) UGH!! I don't deal well with no computer for over a week. So I have been delayed posting and I apologize for this mishap.
If any of you are keeping track of Alaska weather we have been hit with a cold spell. I mean the temperature is cold but it doesn't feel cold. This past week I woke up to sub-zero temps (minus 10) and we have been up to a high of 10 above zero! I know you don't understand but it isn't that cold (at least when the wind isn't blowing). Monday I actually wore a coat to school with gloves. I went out for bus duty today (10 above) and I didn't have my coat and it was fine. Several parents walked to pick up their little peep and the parents were wearing FLIP FLOPS!!! I kid you not. The coldest day (minus 5 as a high) Monday, I called David and as we spoke about noon my time, two Samoans crossed the street wearing shorts, flip flops, short sleeves. Nothing else. I wore a coat that day. The Alaskan natives don't feel the cold at all. So you want to know what the fashionable winter wear for women in Alaska is - Snow skirts! Debbie, our school nurse, models the snow skirt for your viewing. It is made in Sweden and it is a down skirt (not too many women wear snow pants) and it zips up and down on both sides, plus zip pockets. You wear it over pants, skirts, etc. It really keeps up warm. Some teachers wear them all day long. I would roast inside wearing a snow skirt. I do wear my snow skirt for bus duty in the mornings. Then I take it off for class. I will be wearing it for walking and I am sure I will wear it during the Iditarod. By the way, if you want one, you will have to order it from Anchorage, AK because only one store in all of the USA carries them. I can bring them home at Christmas if you place your order now!!
Is that sunset gorgeous?!!! That is my view out my classroom window. We are losing daylight every day. We have sunup at 9:30 am and sundown around 5:00 pm. We will lose about another hour and half of daylight and then we will start gaining back time after Dec 21. That pink is so relaxing and I can't help but stare out the window between classes. We may have cold and snow but we have the BEST sunsets I have ever seen.
So let me tell you about our cold weather experiences here. Since the outside temp is so cold and the inside of a car is also cold, windshields have a tendency to chip easily as rocks and stones fly into the windshields. Glass repair companies do really well up here. My windshield chip is small but I have been told it will probably spread as the cold weather continues. Oh well. Next, I have been told not to call a locksmith when you lock your keys in your car. In Anchorage and Wasilla, a smart person calls a Taxi Cab. Go figure. Why a taxi cab? They are equipped with a tool that unlocks a locked door (slides in through the window) and they only charge $25. I put a few taxi cab numbers on my cell just in case. If you remember, a locksmith cost me $100 in August when I locked myself out of my apartment.
So the other thing I find cute up here is the school bike rack. Before snow, the bike racks were filled with bicycles. We are a neighborhood school so a lot of them walk or ride to school. Now that there is snow on the ground the bike racks are loaded every day with SLEDS!!! Our PE department does an entire unit on sledding and snow building. The students are allowed to sled during recess time as well. By the way, recess occurs every day outside until the temperature gets minus 10 or colder. We cancelled recess once this week otherwise outside they go. They all wear boots, coats, gloves, mittens and a scarf to school. We call it the Susitna "5"! If they don't have their "5" they have to go to the nurse and check out the missing items. Our nurse is more than a nurse (model for snow skirt, clothing store, time out area, hall monitor, etc). So think about the time involved in our daily rituals. They show up in their Susitna "5" and have to take it off before school starts (they have snowsuit spaces in the hallways), then they have to put on the Susitna "5" before going out for recess, take it off to come in for lunch, and put it back on before going out for the bus at the end of the day. That is a lot of class instruction time that disappears when snow arrives.
I am sure you are wondering where my moose pictures are. I went this entire week and half without a moose encounter. I am disappointed. Our schools show moose safety and bear safety movies for the little peeps. I bet you are also wondering about our bears. Eagle River is very populated with bears. There are 630 in Anchorage and more in the Eagle River area. Most of them have selected their area for winter hibernation. During hibernation most female bears give birth. Think about that. They are in such a state of relaxation and semi-consciousness and they give birth. Gosh they are so much luckier than human females! Now what you probably don't know is that no all bears stay in hibernation all winter. Especially the Anchorage bears. Because it doesn't get that cold here, it is not uncommon to see bears throughout the winter looking for food. In the interior areas of Alaska like Fairbanks and upper slope area it gets to minus 45 degrees and lower (without wind chill) and those bears do stay in hibernation. So I will keep my eyes out for moose and bears as the winter settles in around me.
I am getting excited about my family arriving in a few days. David arrives on Saturday. Of course, it is suppose to snow on Saturday so his plane may be late. The kids arrive on Tuesday. We have a Fantasy Family Funcation planned for the week we are all together (snowmobiling, dog sledding, etc) I will share pictures on my next blog. So until then, Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family. Count your blessings not your crosses; count your gains instead of your losses; count your joys instead of your woes; count your friends instead of your foes; count your smiles instead of your tears; and count your health instead of your wealth. Hugs to all of you.
Sheryl the Nanook of the North
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