The first full weekday in Fairbanks......

Good Morning from Fairbanks.....

So, I have started my first, full week in Alaska.  During the day the temperature has been getting up into the high 40s or the low 50s.  It is quite comfortable with a lightweight jacket.  We are supposed to be having snow Wednesday night into Thursday but it is not supposed to last long as the temps will rise enough to melt it all.

As for daylight, I arrived at the time where it is pretty much the same as what I left behind.  The sun is fully up by around 8 AM and setting around 7:30 PM.  Since we drove, I have not had the jet lag that one has when you fly.  We drove through all of the time zones and adjusted our sleep cycle on the road, so I have gotten into my new time zone easily.

While I was working on my last post, I was in the upper part of the house (living room, dining room, kitchen, 2 beds and a bath) at a card table that Rob and Kate brought to the house.  I was typing away while Miles was stretched out in the beautiful sunlight that was streaming through the sliding glass door from the deck.  Suddenly he began to bark.  And he was barking and barking and more barking, all the while he is backing away from the door.  I knew there was a critter somewhere that he had seen.  I figured that as the critter moved away, he would stop barking.  But no, he kept making a fuss and now was moving carefully  from side to side while not getting any closer to the door.  So, I turned and moved my head to try and see what he was barking at.... sitting right where the sliding door would have opened and a beautiful, orange Tabby cat.  Just sitting there... looking inside as if to say.... who in the heck are you and what happened to the cat that used to live in this house?  In time, the cat moved away which then had Miles running from the deck door to the front window (which he is too short to see out of) and back to the deck.  Drove the poor dog nuts to not see where the critter had gone.

Yesterday I set out to the DMV to try to get my car registered and my drivers license replaced.  I managed to do 1 1/2 of the goals.  Alaska has begun to issue Real ID licenses that will be accepted by TSA at airports.  They have a full page of documents that you must provide in order to get one.  I had all but one.  Sometime back, when identity theft became a big thing, it was suggested that you no longer carry your Social Security Card.  So mine is safely locked in one of two lock boxes that lived under my bed.  I brought them with my, but the bag of keys, that they keys are in are either on the moving van or in a box that should arrive today from Brian's house (I shipped several boxes of items that I had loaded in my car so they would not end up on the van.  I had Brian mail 5 boxes from Minneapolis.  4 have arrived, the 5th will hopefully arrive today)  I had to take a written test, which I passed... barely, as they phrase some questions oddly and the school zones in Alaska are 25 MPH not the 20 MPH in Pennsylvania.  The results of that test are good for one year.

I did manage to get my car registered.  I have a beautiful "artistic" tag showing a mountain view behind my tag number.  Miss Gaddy feels very special wearing it.  I need to find someplace that can add a license plate holder to the front of my car so I can mount the front plate.  As I filled out the application I noted a "senior exemption" 65+ line in tiny letters with a little box, so I checked it.  When my number was called, the lovely lady assisted my in filling out all of the boxes and proceeded to tell me that I was... as a senior... allowed one registration for free.  Good news.  Because my car was more than 8 years old, I also qualified for a Permanent license plate.  It has a little sticker on it that has a 'P' on it with a serial number.  As long as I have that car/plate I will never have to pay any yearly registration fees, here in Alaska!!!  No inspections either.  I am really beginning to love being a resident of Alaska.

Headed home, parked Miss Gaddy and opened the garage door.  Took the boys for a walk around the yard, secured them inside and back into the garage to get a screwdriver to put my new plates on the car.  Found the screwdriver and turned to go to the car and stopped dead in my tracks.  This was my view....

Just take a good look, Miss Gaddy in the foreground, Mama Moose in the background.  On that side of the driveway are three raised beds of various kinds, collard greens and Kale, peas, some small flowers that could be bachelor buttons and either a broad leaf parsley or coriander.  The structure she is standing over is a small greenhouse type structure with no roof.  There was a cabbage looking tall plant inside there.  Well, not any more.  The only things she left were the flowers and the parsley.  She is Huge.  The greenhouse is just a tad below my shoulder in height and as you can see, she could have easily stepped inside the structure,  She choose to just bury her head inside to eat the nummy treats.

The second picture was taken from inside my bedroom where I could lean against the window for a more steady shot.

I headed out to Walmart (4th trip) to get some things.  The shower in my bathroom has a step down to the bathroom floor,  I have to step on the tile that covers the step to get to the bathroom rug,  That first step is a tad slippery.  So I picked up a longer bathroom rug to try to carpet the step and then found one of those suction cup bath tub mats which I now have "attached" across the top of the step to try to make that step easier.  I also shopped but did not buy a replacement for the toaster oven that I left in PA and a bigger microwave oven as the one is this house is really tiny.  I use my microwave quite a bit, so replacing that may be the better move for me to be comfortable in my kitchen,

After getting the shopping done and getting the bath step set up for my next shower, I headed upstairs to place an Amazon order for the Sous Vide water container that the movers missed as they thought it was a trash can but I did not have room in my car to bring with me.  Thank goodness it was not expensive!!  As I do, when on my computer, I turned to look outside and this is what I saw....

This time I dashed as fast as an old lady can to get my good camera.  Seems that Momma Moose has to young moose with her.  These were the kids in my front yard.  I the top picture you can see the one raised bed in the front yard that has carrots growing (I will be pulling them today).  The "kids" had come over, through an open space in the fence and checked out the carrots and then nibbled some leaves and limbs from a small tree in the corner of the front yard.  They wandered around for quite a while and then one just hopped over the fence.  I watched the second one who investigated the new deck and then followed suit and hopped over the fence.

These pictures were taken from the living room window and the light was fading.  The lights were on inside and so you can sometimes see reflections on the inside of the glass. In the top picture you can sort-of see the steps to the deck coming down to the yard while baby moose 2 was peeking out from hos walk around the deck edge.

They wandered across the street and evidently found Momma over in the yard of a neighbor.  Soon one of the dogs in the neighborhood spotted them and had a whole bunch of dogs barking.  My boys did not join in the chorus.  But this sent the three of them dashing back to their woods which butts up against my fence.  What you are seeing is a large blob of brown fur with many legs, as they escape the barking dogs.

I shared the pictures with Rob and Brian.  I think Rob is amazed that I have now had closer encounters with Moose in my several days in Alaska than he and Kate have had in their 18 years.  They are big, beautiful animals.  I am just happy that Momma chose not to come into my garage on her first visit.  Can you just imagine????

The rest of the day was dull by comparison.  Just sorting through stuff and making phone calls.  My furniture is still sitting in Great Falls, MT.  Victoria from Allison's Relocations will touch base with me on Friday to update me on any movement.  It may be another three weeks or more before it arrives.

Tomorrow the local furniture store will be delivering Rob & Kate's bed for their room on the upper floor as well as my electric recliner that will lift, go flat, massage and heat.  At least it will not be a lawn chair or a folding chair or my blowup queen bed!!!

More tomorrow.  The mail lady just delivered the box, so I will see if I can get my driver's license today.