Click the link below for a temperature, daylight, and snowfall snapshot courtesy of the Anchorage Daily News. (www.adn.com)

12/11/2007 Weather Snapshot

First off I would like to thank all of you who have read my blog and a special thank you to those who have encouraged me to continue to update it.  All y'all (the plural form of y'all) are such a blessing to me.  I thank God for bringing each of you into my life.

I am so grateful for my children.  On October 11 I received a txt msg from my daughter that her friend Daniel had asked her to be his girlfriend.  She is so excited and she sort of asked me to introduce him, so without further adoo...Daniel. 

And speaking of children, my daughter-in-law Katie graduates from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte today, 12/15/2007, with a degree in education and will be teaching in Denver, CO when Chris and she move there in January.  Congratulations to both of you.

I have been intending to update this for several weeks now but never managed to make the time to do so.  The first big thing that happened this month was I got my Alaska driver's license!  Compared to Charlotte, the process was unbelievably easy.  I had to drive about 55 miles to Palmer, but I was going to town to do my shopping anyway.  There is an information desk when you walk in.  I was told to take a number and fill out the application.  Before I finished the short application, my number was called.  I was blown away.  I showed my birth certificate, Social Security card, my one piece of mail with my new address, and my old NC license.  I took the computerized test and passed with an 80% without studying.  (Some of the questions were tricky, must go 55 vs. may go 55, you KNOW what I am talking about!) I was almost immediately called up to get my picture taken (Since I was now living in Alaska, I  decided to wear my only red plaid shirt for that frontiersman/lumberjack look.  It and the beard work great, right?) and within 30 minutes I was a resident with a driver's license AND registered to vote and only $20 for 5 years.  Sure beats standing in line for a couple hours!

My nice new computer generated license reminded me of my first trip to Las Vegas, when my brother Wayne got married in 1999.  My Dad had reserved a rental car and he wanted any of us to be able to drive it if needed.  We all pulled out our licenses. All were picture IDs except my brother Brian's.  His Vermont license was still a non-photo, paper license.  NC had been issuing photo IDs since at least 1983.  We all laughed about progress in the green state.

Vocabulary Test:

What is the meaning of the word 'town' in the phrase 'going to town'?  In this part of Alaska, I can't speak for all parts, it means going into Palmer, OR Wasilla, OR Anchorage.  Palmer is about 55 miles from Glacier View, Wasilla is another 10 miles West of Palmer and Anchorage is 40 miles South of Palmer.  Most of the time when people say they are going to town, I have no idea where they are really planning to go.

The next big event to occur was on November 19.  Roy turned 50!  I was dreading it on the evening of 49 & 364/365 yrs, but the day 'dawned' much better than expected.  I received a txt msg at about 4:15 AM telling me a scheduled call at 8:00 was canceled.  I awoke to the buzz of my phone and could not go back to sleep.  At about 4:45 I decided to start my birthday by opening up my presents and cards.  I had saved them as they came in not knowing what the day would be like.  Everything was great from the Peanuts card to the old age joke card.  I got some great LL Bean boots from my Mom, PJs from a brother, and a sheet of collectable comic book stamps from another brother.  To top it all off, I got a call from my younger kids, Grace and David.  It was great to talk to them again.  After work I was treated to pizza and apple pie, with the only birthday candle within 25 miles, by the couple for whom we are drilling the well.  After the appetizer course with the Thomas' I had a nice dinner with Arnie and Carol at their home.  I was also presented with some great local gifts.  My birthday turned out to be a great day after all.  Thank you God!

Right around the corner from my birthday was Thanksgiving this year.  About three weeks prior to Thanksgiving I had accepted the fact that I would not be able to join my Uncle's family in Las Vegas this year.  I had been invited in July during the cruise vacation and accepted easily. Of course that was before I decided to move to Alaska.  Not having a full-time job or income made the decision obvious, but still hard to make. I finally made up my mind on a Saturday and Sunday my church announced that there would be a community Thanksgiving dinner at the church.  God had met my needs even before I knew the need was there.  I decided to make Grandma Clarice's candied sweet potatoes.  I made two cookie sheets of sliced potatoes to share with the families that would attend.  As it turned out, there was so much food that just a small portion was eaten.  I shared what was left with Arnie and Carol who were with family.  It too was a great day.  A few days after Thanksgiving Danny, my host, told me I needed a 4 wheel drive for the winter and to get up the hill.   Within two days I had a 1983 Chevy Blazer that I am calling Frozone.  I don't usually name my vehicles, but the name fits because of the car's color and location.  Do you know where I got the name Frozone?  Any guesses are welcome in the comments area.

All through November I worked with Arlis digging the water well.  Down, down, down, down we drilled.  50', 100', 150', 200', 250' and we were still getting only about 1 gallon of water per hour.  This is not enough to supply a home, even on a low use basis.  I had no idea what I had agreed to when I signed up.   December came and I started seeing temperatures that I had not experienced since living in Upstate New York: 0º, -10º,    -14º.  Some days were quite warm, in the 20s!  I have been told several times that this has been an unusually mild winter so far.  Am I grateful for that!!!!  The cold, however, is really not too bad, it doesn't seem as bitterly cold as I remember it being in New York especially.  Maybe there really is some truth to the dry cold vs. wet cold stuff.  Of course there is also the fact that I have been blessed/mercied with some good cold weather clothing.  I was given a pair of 'Bunny' Boots by Arnie.  These are military surplus boots used on aircraft and submarines.  They have an air bladder for insulation and will protect to -40º!  I was also blessed with a used pair of Carhartt insulated overalls on my bed when I arrived here in October.  I have warn them almost every day since I got here.  They are great over jeans or by themselves.  About a week after my birthday another of my brothers sent a Duluth Trading Co. down work jacket.  It goes great with my brown Carhartts and I had to keep reminding myself that it was a WORK jacket because I didn't want to get it dirty.  So many issues to deal with :-)

Wednesday, December 13, was a red letter day.  ;-)   We reached 300' and the well was producing between 10 and 15 gallons per hour!  We were static, I mean ecstatic.  We took off a few days for Loren to decide if he wanted to go down deeper.  I'm still waiting to hear what I will be doing on Monday.  This morning I went out to Frozone to go to church for the first practice of the Men's Christmas Chorus.  It was covered with the lightest, fluffiest snow I had ever seen.  I was told it wasn't real snow but actually frozen mist or fog.  I thought, no wonder the Alaskan Natives, not Eskimos, have 30 or so names for snow!  It practice went well and I have spent much of the day composing this 'brief' update.  Hope to hear from you soon, by e-mail or phone.  If you don't have my number, just write and I will call especially if you are IN! 

God Bless All Y'all and Have a Merry Christmas,

Roy