Luckiest Day Ever

Hi! How are you doing today? Are you finding it hard to get out of bed on these dark and cold mornings?

 

 Does the thought of going to work give you the warm fuzzes? 

Or does the thought of greeting your boss... make you want to hide?

Or...

Would you rather run away?

 

Is there something missing from your job experience?

Does your day feel like you are just pushing buttons?

Do you feel like every where you look the doors all look the same?

How does this make you feel?

Just remember... your boss might be a freak.

Some of your co-workers might be jack-in-the-boxes.

You might be wondering who is watching your back.

Don't worry...

it's only me!

Me... and...

... a couple of goofy guys...

... will always be here to cheer you up and watch out for your well being.

So you can keep doing what you like best.

New doors will open for you when the time is right!

So always keep your chin up!

***

Raven at My Door

There is a raven at my door.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

I wonder what he is looking for.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Perhaps to say hello or invite himself to dinner.

Hello Sir, please come in and join us.

There is a raven at my door.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Above and Within

Life from above and life within.

When we look from above at another person's life what do we see? What lies within their hearts? Perhaps the joy of expecting a new addition to the family. Perhaps sadness in wishing to have something that they do not possess. We never truly know what is within someones heart and mind, yet we must appraise them for their priceless value of gold in our life.

Life from above and life within is precious. Enjoy life. Life with its highs and lows. Life which is always opening new doors. Scary doors that just might contain hope. Don’t worry and as they say… you got this!

Arctic Dolphin

In July 2004 Brett Goodwin, a resident of Barrow Alaska, was fishing near the shooting station in Barrow, Alaska on Saturday 17 July 2004, and also catches what they called an arctic dolphin.

I am going through some old emails and found this photo from a friend of mine in Barrow Alaska.  It is worth sharing here.

  
...

Photo of Brett Goodwin & daughter Isabel. Photo taken by Officer Daniel Churchill of the North Slope Borough Police Department

Brrr to my MN Family & Friends

Not often in January do we have warmer temperatures in Alaska than Minnesota.  Stay warm!

High Five Friday for Snowy Afternoons

There is peace to be found in the falling snow. There is peace to be found in a fresh covering of white.

May your Friday be peaceful and white.

Stars in My Eyes

This holiday break I got stars in my eyes. Paper stars that is, the kind of origami stars that take you awhile to figure out but once you've done a few you have it mastered for all time. Especially if you start out thinking you're going to make 30 stars and your goal grows to 100 and then "why don't we just fold the rest of the pieces of paper and see how many we get".

The paper we are using are topographical maps of Alaska. The book had become so worn that all of the pages were falling out and I was going to give it away. In fact I did give it away and then realized that they would make the best paper stars ever. The person that I gave them to, kind sweet Haley, gave it back so that we would have a Christmas break project.

My great grandmother used to make these stars and I still have a dozen that she made and dipped in wax to preserve them. They look great on the Christmas tree or hanging from the mantle year round.

Thank you to everyone who contributed and learned how to make a star. We still have a few more to fold so if you stop by and have a few minutes we will sit down at the table and have stars in our eyes together.

Keeping the Faith

"Even people whose lives have been made various by learning, sometimes find it hard to keep a fast hold on their habitual views of life, on their faith in the Invisible - nay, on the sense that their past joys and sorrows are a real experience, when they are suddenly transported to a new land, where the beings around them know nothing of their history, and share none of their ideas - where their mother earth shows another lap, and human life has other forms then those on which their souls have been nourished. Minds that have been unhinged from their old faith and love have perhaps sought this Lethean influence of exile, in which the past becomes dreamy because its symbols have all vanished, and the present too is dreamy because it is linked with no memories."


From -Eliot's Silas Marner chapter two

Lethean - pertaining to the river Lethe, the river of oblivion, one of the streams of Hades, the water of which caused those who drink of it to forget their former experiences.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year’s Eve tonight and a wonderful start to 2014 tomorrow! This time last year we were in Hawaii visiting our friends and enjoyed the fireworks show on Waikiki Beach. We sat out on the balcony New Year’s Eve to watch the local fireworks displays and the Chinese lanterns drift across the sky. Life changing moments sometimes happen at the start of a new year and I wonder what this year’s new start will bring.

Whatever comes our way we will embrace it wholeheartedly and we will always relish in all our blessings. May you always see the light and have peace in your heart knowing you are loved.

Let the Joy In

Let the joy in and let it warm your heart!

***

During the long Alaska summer months it always seems as if our days are endless, as if we have time too spare. We think to ourselves that everything will get accomplished before the long and dark of winter settles in around us. Nevertheless this is not the case. With summers closing our days grow shorter and our to-do list seems as endless as ever. Proof once again that my Grandmother was correct. “Your dance card will always be full,” she would say to me, and now I think I know the true meaning in her words.

If your dance card is always full then enjoy each dance, as you never know what delights will be hidden in the melody.

Merry Christmas! Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas

We wish each and every one of you a very Merry Christmas & peace on earth to all!

High Five Friday for Winter Solstice

High Five Friday for Winter Solstice

Sunrise today 10:57 am

Sunset today 2:40 pm

It might be a good sunrise, if so I will amend this post to add a photo.

Happy winter solstice everyone! It’s all gain from here!

***

Photo taken at 11:36 am ~ 20 December 2013
Oh happy day in the glow of the sun.  Which did not last very long and is now behind all those clouds.  Happy light is on in my office and I am thinking happy thoughts.  Hope you are too!

Christmas is coming!

***

Cabin Project ~ Mud & Tape

As you can see we have caught up with the summer time part of the cabin project and now it is winter. Dark and cold winter. After Thanksgiving we were at the property hanging sheet rock, mudding and taping. This is the point in the project where I wished we could just pay a guy to finish for us. But we push forward and persevere.

Brett is hanging the remaining sheet rock in the kitchen ~  in this photo you can see all the dust in the air that looks like it is snowing inside.

 Mudding and taping the loft bedroom.

 Look at all the beautiful snow out the bedroom window.

 There never seems to be a tape measure in arms reach but that is okay I work well with the visual make it just long enough style of working anyway.

 This is not clean and tidy business ~ messy ~ messy ~ messy!

You might be thinking yup that is a corner.  Well I am here to tell you that is not just a corner it is one skippy fine super duper corner!

 Looking down from the loft ~ everything is coated in sheet rock dust.

In this photo you can see the power box and the built in outlet timer. This is the outlet where the vehicle(s) will be plugged in during the winter. With the built in timer you can set the timer for the power to come on at the appropriate time. Most folks have to have their timers outside as their homes do not have built-in timers on the inside of the house. Alaskans have gotten smarter over the years and if you take the time during new construction you hard wire the timer inside the house.  This insures that the timers itself does not freeze and you do not have to go outside to check it before you go to bed each night.

Plugging your vehicle into a timer will insure that it gets one hour of heat for every 10 degrees below zero without having to have it plugged in all night and too long. Our vehicles have what I call umbilical cords; it is their life blood, as in source of heat, in the winter. Each vehicle has a combination of a block heater, an inline circulating pump that keeps the antifreeze warm and moving through the engine block, a battery pad heater, oil pan heater and a transmission pan heater. Without most of these your vehicle will NOT start in the morning at temperatures like -40 Fahrenheit/Celsius.

This concludes the lecture on surviving winter in the interior of Alaska and making it to work on time!

Happy Thursday everyone!