Earthquake ~ 5.0

Happy New Years Eve!

I hope you are having a rock-n-rolling good time.

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Earthquake ~ 3.4

Earlier this morning I woke to a 3.3 and 3.1 so close together they blurred into one.  Then at 10:48 am my nerves said... shush.  This afternoon has been quiet, and the peaceful falling snow made everything better.

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Recondite

R. E. C. O. N. D. I. T. E

Hidden from sight. Concealed, difficult or impossible for one of ordinary understanding or knowledge to comprehend. Recondite.

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Earthquake ~ 4.9

Good morning!

Apparently you are not done telling the people that you are in charge.  

Didn't you hear me say "uncle"?  

UNCLE!  

As in I quit, you win! 

You can stop these earthquake shenanigans alright already.

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Holiday Break Project

This holiday break I am spending my days immersing myself in family history. I get to learn the names and faces of the people that built Josh's lineage. It is an Eye Spy with a Memory Game twist. Plus some good ole fashion photo restoration.

Along the way I am scanning the photos and rebuilding the photobooks that are disintegrating and causing damage to the older photographs.

It is a super-sleuth detective holiday.

What are you up to this holiday break?

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Merry Christmas

Good evening to our dearest friends and relations, we send you love and glad tidings.

The year is drawing to a close, and those of us in the far north have our feet propped up in front of the glowing embers in the fireplace reminiscing over the hay days of the summer. The dark night of winter surrounds the land and the crisp air is both exhilarating and painful, reminding us that life is fragile. These deep breaths of winter help to keep us grounded in hope waiting for the suns return.

The warm sunny days of prosperity and growth always give way to rest and change. The leaves change color and let go of their old life. We harvest the crops and the fields take a well-deserved slumber. In Alaska we can see the stars again and behold the grandeur of our universe. We might feel small in comparison but our kindness toward each other will always loom large having long reaching impact.

The gifts of joy we have received throughout the year will be counted and cataloged, and in the years ahead, when we might see more dark than light in the world, our hearts will overflow with these gifts. The conversations, with those we love, at the supper table, via the interwebs or text messages brighten the dark and lighten our hearts. These positive connections of love, that we all crave, are a necessary ingredient for growth and wellbeing. Thank you to everyone who made time throughout the year to keep in touch, we hope we have returned the favor in kind.

This summer we gained a precious daughter and we gained a family that truly knows the meaning of sharing the love. We look towards the future with happy hearts filled with devotion for each other, and more laughter than our sides can withstand without bursting.

We are forever thankful for our blessings and understand that our losses only make us stronger. We do not have to be grateful for our losses however, we can grow to accept that any pain we feel from them will be soothed and that the salve of time can place peace in our hearts. After all, this too shall pass into oblivion, and all our fears and worries will no longer have a home.

In the days ahead may we all receive the gift of empathy and may we all share the gift of love.

Cheers to you and yours that the next orbit will bring you joy, love, peace, and forgiveness. Merry Christmas, and a blessed New Year.

All our love!

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On The Job with Bear

On the job with Bear at Bassett Army Hospital on Fort Wainwright. Three floors up from the open atrium to patch some holes and repaint. All the while wearing the appropriate fall protection of course. It is a good thing that he says he is oddly comfortable with heights. Being 6’7” I can see this as something he would say.

Happy Tuesday everyone, keep up the good work.

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Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays

Did you send your letter to Santa yet this year?

His address is:

Santa Claus House

101 St. Nicholas Drive

North Pole, AK 99705

USA

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Operation Repair Eskimo Girl

Operation Repair Eskimo Girl ~ Earthquake 2018 

We will rebuild her.  

We have the technology.

She will be better, faster, stronger.

Eskimo Girl is now sporting a few more stars on her Parka, I think she deserves them, don't you?!

It was a happy reunion!

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Tossed & Tumbled

Here are a few photos of the tossed and tumbled items around our home after the earthquake on November 30th.  I cannot stress enough how fortunate we are to have only a few items broken, and that our Anchor-town condo home is structurally sound. The last few photos show items that were previously secured with earthquake putty. You can bet I am going to purchase more of this mighty fine product.

The dresser walked four inches away from the wall.

Check out the picture of Dad and I at the top left of this photo.  It was still on the wire and wedged in between the other photos. Both the dresser and bookshelf are four plus inches away from the wall.

Yup... ouch! AND we can repair the lamp base and will purchase a new glass shade. It will be good as new ~ we are excellent recycling pros!

Eskimo Girl took one for the team and she too is repairable. More on this story soon.

Water splashed out of the toilet tank but not the bowl... strange.

The salt and pepper grinders had a pact to go together, little did they know the jump was not that far and they both will live on to serve another day.

The fork must have been tired of just hanging around.

My Grandma Wink's vase was already on the earthquake putty as was the jar of corks! Hallelujah! 

The photo behind my travel sand jars fell off the shelf but these little beauties (already on the earthquake putty) stayed put.

The items on this shelf were also spared (again) thanks to the earthquake putty! I might have to buy stock in the company, that or be their new advertising spokesperson.

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Friday November 30, 2018 ~ 8:29 am

On Friday November 30, 2018 at 8:29 am, more than half of the population of the state of Alaska experienced a large-scale event. Another third of the population felt the tremor. The 7.0 magnitude earthquake shook those of us living in and around Anchor-town to our very core. Some of us had only ourselves to take care of while others had classrooms full of young children. Some of us wore brave faces, while others broke down in tears.

I was the one under my desk holding onto one of the desk legs chanting ‘please stop, please stop’. The energy behind this earthquake rolled my insides and seemed to quiver the ends of my nerves almost to the breaking point. The quake lasted about a minute and a half as the shock-wave radiated out from the epicenter, and what can seem a short time on the clock felt like an eternity from under my desk.

At 8:35 am, the aftershocks started with a 5.7 magnitude quake, and for the next seven days we paused, waited, and thanked the sweet baby Jesus each time they subsided.

While I was under my desk at work weeping with fear, Josh was at home. When the shaking started, he quickly realized this was not going to be the average quake that rolls through and he thought, “if this gets any worse, I should get out of my PJs and get dressed”. He headed towards the dresser and started to put on some deodorant, quickly abandoning that project he headed towards the front door. By the time he reached the front door and had one shoe on, there was just enough time to crouch in the corner, cover his head and pray for the best outcome. Our neighborhood lost power and the house went dark. In the darkness it sounded like a gravel separator was plowing under our building, and the sound of crashing items resonated from each room in a twisted musical chorus of breaking glass.

All of us who experienced this earthquake now have a story to tell of the day Anchor-town made history yet again. Alaska is no stranger to earthquakes and the Good Friday earthquake of 1964 proved instrumental in our quick recovery this time. In the past 54 years construction methods, building codes, and zoning are taken seriously, and the damage from this recent quake to roads and buildings have been quickly overcome. There are a few public buildings and private homes that are now deemed unfit for service but these buildings and homes did not collapse. There was no loss of life.

Our condo home in Anchor-town stood up to the test and passed. Our building does not show any signs of stress fractures or cracks. During the earthquake, many items dislodged themselves from their resting place, a few pantry items even jumped off the shelves and landed on the floor from behind closed cupboard doors. One of our bedside lamps knocked over, broke in two, and the glass shade shattered. Yet other items did not even seem to shift, they were in the same place we left them the night before, unbroken and unharmed. The randomness that affected each item in our house during this event is mind-boggling, the key to which is surely held in the study of harmonic resonance and the frequency of sound waves, and at this point a mystery that will never truly be solved.

As each of these items took on a life of their own during the earthquake, one-minute shaking, and the next standing still, there seems to be a parallel to our emotions, one minute all is well and the next we tremble from the inside out. Our physical recovery from this event was quick compared to other types of natural disasters; wildfires, tornadoes, and hurricanes can have longer lasting visual consequences. The emotional effects of having experienced a terrifying event however can have a farther-reaching impact.

Everyone who has lived through one of Mother Nature’s devastating events, I commend you. I admire your resilience. Resilience is a gift that is not freely given. It is not something that you can walk into a store and buy. You must earn it. You must work for it.

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Pearl Harbor Remembered

The Japanese Instrument of Surrender was signed on board USS Missouri September 2, 1945. The USS Missouri now calls Pearl Harbor home and can be visited as part of the tour of Ford Island.

Very moving experience. 

May we all live in peace.

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Still a Bit on Edge ~ 4.7

It was hard to fall back to sleep this morning.   

We are still a bit on edge, and with each aftershock, we hold our breath just a little.  The building inspections continue and in the Eagle River area a few schools have been permanently closed and several homes deemed unlivable.

The Eagle River area is located on the right hand center side of the above map marked by the blue star. The other blue star in the lower center of the map is where our house is located.  All the red dots are earthquakes that happened within the last 24 hours. That area is largely un-populated and there are not many structures keeping the total damage lower than if the quakes were in a populated area.

These photo clips are from the Alaska Earthquake Center.

Today I am happy to report that I am back to work and all the university building are on the Green List and open .

Question for you: do you have an emergency plan? No matter where you live you need to have an emergency plan. Talk about the plan with your family, and practice your plan.

Don't be caught off guard and unprepared.

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Left out in the Cold

It has been a strange couple of days since the 7.0 earthquake on November 30th.  It is like our insides have been left out in the cold in a frozen silent scream.

We are fine. Our house is fine, and the items that were lost due to breakage were few and replaceable.  The aftershocks have subsided and are small enough in magnitude they go largely un-felt. 

Most state, government, and school buildings will be closed on Monday.  The university will stay closed through Tuesday which will give me extra time to sooth my nerves and regroup my senses.

Be safe my friends and take stock of your emergency exit plan and your emergency preparedness supplies.

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