A quiet Sunday....

Hello from Alaska...

I woke up to this...

When Rob and Kate dropped me off after the bonfire, the driveway was clear and there were just patches on the grass.  Rob took Kate to the airport early and arrived at the house around 4:30 AM to sleep the rest of his night.  He said there was still very little on the ground.  Well, between 4:30 AM and 8:15 AM everything has been covered.  For those of you in PA, it is a heavy wet snow like we are used to getting.  Rob says normally the snow here in Alaska is fluffy and more dry.  I may like that snow better, but snow is snow and I will have to get used to seeing it all the time and dealing with it continuously.

I was up and after feeding the dogs, I reclined with my cup of coffee and began watching my NASCAR station on TV.  One of the good things about being 4 hours behind most people I am used to seeing is that live sports broadcasts I like to watch are on from mid-morning to mid-afternoon, leaving the remainder of the day free to do things instead of eating up most of one's productive time.

I am earning a great deal about Alaska,  Yesterday I learned how different weather can be within just a few miles of me.  It was spitting teeny, tiny little snow balls here at the house all day yesterday.  When we headed out to the bonfire we drove up into mountains.  we did not go as high as Rob and Kate live, but we were higher than where I live.  I am at 437 ft above sea level.  Rob and Kate are somewhere above 1,000 ft.  The bonfire was somewhere in between.

Arriving at the bonfire location, we had the same tiny ball snow for a short time.  Then it turned more flaky.  It came down slowly, but we were in and under many trees so the limbs were keeping the real rate of snowfall hidden.

We left at around 7:30 PM ( and yes, it is already dark at that hour here) and as we drove out of the trees and into a more open area, the snow as coming down hard and fast.  The land was covered.  The road was covered.  We traveled by following the tracks of the vehicle in front of us.  Rob did not hesitate driving through it where as I would have been going a tad slower, hazard light flashing (telling all round me that I was a new, Alaska driver) and doing a lot of praying.  I am sure, after being in snow for a few weeks, I will be driving like every other driver in the area.

As we drove down the mountain, the snow got less intense, the coverage got less intense and by the time we reached my level, the roads were clear and very little snow on the ground.  Rob told me this morning that they have 4 to 6 inches at their house.  It is all a matter of degrees and locations.  But it can be quite dramatic here in Alaska during transitions of seasons.

Kate is in Seattle for the week.  Rob has been here all day, but I have not seen much of him.  He has been in his bedroom, working in his computer, catching up on things that have been neglected over the last several weeks as he escorted me to my new home from Minneapolis.

Speaking of Minneapolis.  I had a call from Brian this morning.  He dropped in on my Echo Show.  I had thought about calling him all last week, but the time change has not set in with me quite yet.  every time I thought about it, it was too late to call him.  He is doing well, but still no good news on a job.  Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers.  He is staying busy and seems happy.  He was happy to see me happy here in my new home.  I am hoping that we can do  better job of keeping in touch.

I am in my groove here as far a Alaska Time.  I am not waking at an early hour thinking it is time to get up and I am tired at the normal bed time.  I just have trouble figuring out the best time to call my friends at home and my family in Central time.  I think I am going to have to get a few, cheapy clocks and set them to the times of my friends and family so I can do a better job of calling and talking.

I do have to say one thing that I am truly appreciating is the exit from my driveway.  Those of you who have ever visited me in Parkesburg, know the dangers of entering and then leaving my driveway on Route 10.  I was so used to it, that it was not an issue for me.  But here, I am in a subdivision.  My lot is a corner lot so I am the intersection.  In fact, I have seen a car or two come into the driveway only to realize it is not the road.  So I really only need to pause at the end of the driveway to make sure there is nothing coming.  But I can see both ways and it is back into the subdivision that it would only be someone who was lost or just looking or lived here that might be driving around the area.  What a pleasure it is to drive away and into my house.

So, I continue to work at getting things ready for my stuff to arrive.  I will call tomorrow to see if things are still in Montana and perhaps get a time frame.... hopefully.  I will let you all know when I find out.

Hope that your week is very special.