Hello from sunny Fairbanks...

I was beginning to think that the sun had disappeared from the skies over Fairbanks and might nor appear again until spring.  But after s gray and cloudy morning, the clouds have given way to the bright, orange sun and there is light and shadows everywhere and what little snow I had left on the ground, is almost gone.  There is always going to be that one or two spaces where the sun does not shine and where the snow built up more than the rest of the yard that seems to linger on the ground long after the majority of the snow has gone.  But the grass appears green and the carrots that are still  buried under the earth in the garden have their tops perking up in the sunshine.

The last couple of days have been busy.  The word from the movers is that things slowed down due to weather in Montana and I am still in the queue, but I am now number 2, so perhaps am already on the road... if not, I should hear that things are moving next week.  My favorite phrase around here as I look for something that I need or want to use is that it is on the truck, stuck in Montana.  I have a basic kitchen set up and every so often I go out and get something that I have been trying to do without.  My most recent buy were spatulas as cleaning out cans with stirring spoons was not the most efficient use of that tool.  And when I am shopping, I have often picked up something and then gone back to replace it on the shelf, yelling myself inside that I can certainly wait another couple of weeks.  But then getting the stuff off the truck does not mean I will be finding what I need any time soon.

I did do my son a favor.... but it only worked out this week because I missed a turn to a road I wanted to be on and ended up on a road that had a place that we had intended to visit together.  The house I am in came with a snow blower.  It is nice sized and I am sure if I studied the manual that I could run it.  Rob had talked about taking it out to their house up on the mountain as he has, for the last 10 years, cleared their snow with a shovel.  I had asked him to think about leaving the snow blower here so on the smaller snows, I would not have to call the man we have ready to plow my driveway.  Rob admitted to me that he had been thinking about getting a snow blower that used a track instead of wheels.  He has quite a hilly driveway and while I still think of him as young, he just turned 50 and will benefit from not having to toil so hard to clear the snow.

So, since I was already near the store, I stopped and went in to get information on this device and see if they had any on stock and if not how long it would take and did they deliver.  I texted Rob with the information and he said that he thought he and Kate should look at it first.  That is fine lest he wait until they are all gone and then had to wait for 2 months or more for new shipments to arrive.  I was told... and passed it on to Rob... that last year, by early November the store had been sold out of that model and it was January before they could fill the orders that they got.

As a result, I was asked to please go and place an order for one and arrange to have it delivered.  So I did that yesterday.  It was the fastest time in which I had spent that much money in a very, long time.  But it was easy.... I knew what I wanted, Rob was already in their system as a customer, their internet was working well so it took no time at all to pay for it with my debit card and I was on my way!!!  Bear in mind, yesterday when Rob went to his house on the mountain which is around 1,000 feet above sea level, while I had no snow, it was still snowing there and they had 4 to 5 inches on the ground and the township had already ordered a plow to come out and do their roads.

In the meantime, I have been tearing down boxes to get ready to go to the recycling center this week, taking other misc. trash to the transfer station.  I checked out Pier 1 for dining room furniture... they did not have anything that I felt would work here.  I have driven into different areas either by mistake or on purpose, just to see what there is around me.  I have been cooking at home, using the few resources I have and enjoying the taste of home cooked food.  I enjoyed eating out as we traveled, but it was not nearly as good by the end of the trip as it was at the beginning.

I am learning how to cook using electric.  I have never been a fan of electric cooking, but I had noticed, in looking at the houses, that there was only one house that had a gas stove and it was being fueled by a small (grill sized) propane tank.  Not an ideal situation.  Gas is not something that is used as much around here.  There was an article in the local news today about a new, BIG gas storage tank that was just about finished which would allow many hundreds or thousands of folks to set up their homes on gas.  It looks like a pricey project, but I will check it out as Rob seems to think there is a gas line in this neighborhood.  I have not yet burned anything with the electric stove.  Marji gave me some very sound advice, when you get your pan up to temperature and the food is beginning to cook nicely, you can turn the electric off and the element will remain hot long enough to finish the job without burning the food.

I have also purchased a counter-top oven made by Oster.  It is large enough that I could roast an entire chicken in it and has these neat french doors on the front.  It is small enough to cook enough food for a couple of people and the instructions tell you to put the food on/in the cooking vessel, put the food in the oven and then turn it on.  SO no pre-heating.  It has a "Turbo" (convection fan) setting and I can bake french fries in about 10 to 12 minutes and just enough for me.  It would take about 15 minutes to pre-heat the big oven and then 25 minutes to cook them. so I am saving time and money by using the little oven.  I am thrilled.

That is really about all.  Rob and I are having dinner, which he has cooked, here at the house.  Kate returns from Seattle tomorrow.  He has been here all day, changing the tires on their other old car and doing his laundry.  I will resume puttering around the house to prepare for the eventual delivery of my stuff.  I may wander around the house with my camera tomorrow and take detailed pictures of the rooms.  Then I can post pictures of the return of my stuff and let you see the differences as I find homes for the things I brought with me.

I hope you are enjoying your weekend.  I have been talking to many friends who have called.  I have gotten cards from people and lovely gifts (one with money enclosed... thanks Sharon) and I will be in touch with all of you soon.  I have three clocks that will be going on the wall of the craft room... a bigger one with Alaska time and one with Eastern time and one with Central time so I can tell what time it is where all of my friends and family are living.  That way I can call you at a time hen you might not be sleeping!!!