Frosted over

Days of heavy fog and temperatures in the teens created a heavy coat of frost over ... everything.

Ice crystals extending from a sign in my parking lot.

I wasn't the only one out taking pictures.

Waiting patiently for summertime. It appears my neighbors don't have snow tires for these bikes. (Many Alaskans do sport extra-tough tires for all-weather cycling.)

An icy sign.

Swedish Fish and gingerbread

Davin and I made a gingerbread house yesterday. He was the clever one who though Swedish Fish would make good gingerbread house decor. I think it turned out pretty well.

Wedding Web site

I put up a Web site with details on our wedding including travel and lodging information, who's who in the wedding party and more. Check it out.

Cellular silence

An ADN story on today's blizzard reports: "AT&T's cell phone network had problems across Anchorage this morning, and many users still had no cellular coverage by midafternoon, though it was not known if that issue was weather related. An AT&T spokeswoman working at home Wednesday could not be reached because her cell phone did not have service."

Sledding at Kincaid

Davin takes the plunge on his new sled at Kincaid Park on Saturday. Now that we finally have enough snow to play in, we took advantage of a rare Saturday when we're all home together and bundled up for an afternoon of sledding.

We were not the only ones with the idea. The parking lot was full and the hill was littered with people and sleds in various phases of sliding, crashing and hiking up the hill. The mountain across the Cook Inlet in the distance is the Sleeping Lady.

Getting bundled up.

Negotiating just one more "last" run.

Trudging up the hill. I ran out of energy long before the boys did and hung out at the top taking pictures toward the end of the afternoon.

They don't fly Charlie Brown Christmas trees to the Last Frontier

This year I wasn't going to let Alaska's limited supply of Christmas trees best me. We set out Friday night to Minnesota Bob's Christmas tree lot to find the perfect evergreen. While it's off the corner of Minnesota Drive, the lot is actually named for the origin of the trees. You can imagine prices with that kind of travel. But we were still able to find a winner. The kittens were very interested in their new toy. I will probably spend weeks trying to work the sap out of their fur.

Getting the ornaments ready to go while Joshua and I light the tree.

Putting the new LED, environmentally- (and power bill-) friendly, lights up.

Davin puts the star on top. This reminds me of fighting with my brother over whose turn it is to put the topper on our family tree as kids.

The final product after an evening of "It's a Charlie Brown Christmas" soundtrack inspired decorating.

Here's to 26

Year 26 begins. I celebrated with friends at our favorite wine bar, Crush, in downtown Anchorage. I had a champagne flight for the occasion. It was lovely.

November also marked the beginning of my second year living in Alaska.

Turkey day

Our friends Tony and Alisa joined us for Thanksgiving. The snow came down hard for hours the night before. We spent the day watching a marathon of Christmas movie and of course eating a fantastic meal.

Prepping mashed potatoes.

The feast.

 

Alisa made candied apples for cool twist on dessert.

 

Tony on the phone with his grandma, wishing his family a happy Thanksgiving.

Davin trodding down the fresh 8 inches of snow outside the balcony.