AeroGarden

I got an Aero Garden for Christmas - in the front are two types of cherry tomatoes; in the back are Chives, Basil, and Dill.

The pot on the left is edilbe lavender I picked up last summer

Mt. Redoubt

This week brought us about a foot of snow which has again made for a winter wonderland. This morning we awoke to clear blue skies. There is a noticeable difference in the amount of daylight as it is currently 9:30am and the sun is up. On the other end of the day, darkness is not coming until around 5:15pm.

We are on volcano eruption watch at the moment. What we know is that the volcano, Mt. Redoubt, is going to blow we just don't know when. Mary and I went out yesterday to get some supplies such as NOAA approved face masks and goggles. Today will will stock up on fresh water, batteries, and extra dog food. I believe we have enough dry food to last the suggested 5-7 days. We also need to get trash bags out and ready to cover all of our electronics (TVs, computers, printers, etc)

If I am at school, the district has a plan to get all students and staff home within a 2 1/2 hour window (of course I will be the last to leave but I only live a mile from school). This time frame will allow every one to get home before any major ash fall. Mary is in Seward but her company will also be sending people home. I have included some links below on Mt. Redoubt and what is happening.

The earthquake we had last weekend was directly tied to Mt. Redoubt's activity. Alaska has a number of volcano that are still active (who knew).

Recent Earthquakes
Mt. Redoubt - current activity

• check out the map: top center to see where Mt. Redoubt is located
• check out the bottom right pictures titled Ash Trajectory Forecast this is what we are watching...where do they expect the ash to go based on current wind conditions

A Moment in Time...

You never know how precious life is until something bad happens...I was in a serious automobile accident Tuesday afternoon on my way to Soldotna for a work meeting the next day. The good news is that I was able to walk away without serious injury. The details are below...

The accident occurred between mile 38 and 39 on the Sterling Highway (4 miles from the Y) just before the Davis Creek Bridge heading towards Cooper Landing. I hit a patch of black ice and was unable to successfully correct the slide. The momentum carried me off the road into the rock face. The impact propelled me into the air where I proceeded to topple end over end while also rolling. I hit the ground twice before coming to a stop upright on all four wheels. The passenger side of my car sustain the majority of the damage and I was able to immediately exit the vehicle.

It is important to note that bad things can happen even when you are doing the right things - I was not speeding, not playing with my iPod, not on the phone and had both hands on the wheel when I hit the ice. I felt the Great Spirits of my ancestors wrap me in their protective arms as I became airborne and for this I am forever grateful. Besides being alive and relatively unharmed, I am most thankful that I did not have a passenger in the car as I am not convinced that that person would not have been injured.

For the most part I am doing ok, soreness mostly. Mentally I am working things out. Mary come into town on Wednesday. Fortunately she has a job that allows her to work from home and can stay in Seward for a few days while I regroup.

Today is Friday and I am on the mend. Soreness was the worse today but should now start to get better. First day without a headache and I am less foggy then the previous 3 days. Life is still good, this was just a major bump along life's path.

Love you all - Ginger

I had to brush the snow off - but here are the pictures we took when we went to empty the car today. While the car is totaled it did not look as bad to me today as it did on Tuesday. Go figure...

Note that the driver's side was relatively untouched.

Inside passenger side

Passenger side of the car - first bounce was on the front end, second on the roof

Back end - driver's side where I hit the rock face. The back axle is bent and the bumper is slightly detached. This could have been a lot worse as I was expecting to take the full force on this side when I hit the rock face.

Roller Derby in Anchorage, AK

JENeticlly EVIL #7666 - Team Captian of Dirty Polli's - Rage City Roller Girls - Roller Derby. Fun, Fun, Fun Nite!

Pacific Ring of Fire

Just after getting out of the shower this morning there was an earthquake somewhere in the area. Reminded me of being in Hawaii for Darren and Erika's wedding when we woke the day after the wedding to the hotel building shaking.

My second thought (because my first was "I think we are having an earthquake") was "great just my luck to be found in the ruble naked." :-)

The link is not so much to check out the info on wikipedia but to check out the picture on this site of the "Pacific Rim - Ring of Fire" (in case you are not sure where it lies)

Pacific Ring of Fire - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This link keeps track of the earthquake activity in Alaska - they do not yet know that magnatude of the earth quake that just occured in the Cook Inlet.

Alaska Earthquake site

What a day!

Snowing!!!

Finally...with a temperature of 22 degrees, it is currently lightly snowing in Seward. YEA! Feels like a heat wave.

Approaching Coldest Days On Record...

If you have been following the weather here in Alaska, you know that we are experiencing one of the longest cold snaps on record. We are talking multiple days of minus temperatures across the state.

The windchill factor has contributed to the bitter cold in Seward. In Anchorage it is just darn cold. We are still hoping for "snow anytime now." However, I am discouraged by the clear skies.

We have a home Nordic Ski Meet in Seward on Saturday. I am sooo loooking forward to standing outside at Mile 12 for this event. Just so we all understand - the temp at Mile 12 is about 4 degrees without the windchill. We can hold outdoor events as long as the temp does not drop to minus 10. We can only hope.

Here is another dilemma - diesel buses do not run to well in this cold, so some schools are prohibiting their athletic teams from travel in a northern direction, which makes our ski event the best option - how crazy is that!

Enjoy the pictures!

The bitter cold which is fueled by beautiful, clear blue skies has produced some spectacular sunrises and sunsets. This is at the end of Nash Road looking back towards Resurrection Bay (and Seward to the right, not in this picture)

Nash Road looking across the frozen meadow towards Resurrection Bay

Between Anchorage and Girdwood, Dall Sheep can often be found...on the way to Anchorage last Saturday we were blessed to find 9 Dall Sheep trying to satisfy their hunger. Generally I see one to three, never this many.

Check out those horns...

The boys taking a nap...

Manufactures are now making dog toys without stuffing (except the head) which is good for our boys who love to "pull the squeaker." So Mary took all the stuffed animals, pulled the stuffing (expect the heads) and sewed up the bodies - What we will do for our boys! Mom - I am thinking about making jacket next.

We did find some of these new fangled stuffed animals at the store in Seward but they were bigger than our boys and we got scared...hence the making them ourselves.

Bruno waiting patiently for the "new toys" to be finished.

Christmas present from Heidi and Bill...love them! If you have been following the weather - it is cold, cold, cold up north. We came home to the longest cold spell on record. Seward (with the wind chill) has been sitting about -25!


Heidi gave me three vanilla beans from Tahiti and said something about rum and making vanilla. After checking "the web" here is my vanilla in the making. (in a dark cupboard of course)



Here is the scoop on Vanilla making...

3 whole vanilla beans - sliced length wise but not all the way through

1 cup Rum (you can use Vodka or Brandy but Rum makes for sweeter vanilla)

Combine the two (best in a glass jar), place in a dark place and in 8 weeks you will have vanilla extract. The vanilla can be poured off into smaller bottles and given away as gifts.

Leaving a vanilla bean in the bottle allows you to continually replenish your supply. (Or putting one in each gift bottle) When the bottle is half empty, fill with rum and wait a couple of weeks for the vanilla extract to rebuild its flavor.

Check out this website for more information - best source I found!http://www.kitchenproject.com/vanilla/4FoldVanillaExtract.htm

Happy New Year

Bruno trying to get Nikan to play. Like Mary, Nikan understands the fine art of napping. Bruno is much more like me...let's go, let's go...

Christmas present - The Ice Cream Ball...we made a pint of choc chip for our New Year's Eve celebration.

Another Christmas present - Aero Garden...I have planted two types of cherry tomatoes, dill, basil, and chives. I can't wait for things to begin popping up.

Growing tomatoes in Alaska is difficult without a green house - I am excited at the prospect of tomatoes with the Aero Garden.

Those of you who bake know that good vanilla is a must (imitation will not do). I am excited about two gifts I received this Christmas - Mom and Dad brought us clear vanilla for Mexico (thinking of us while on their cruise) - we used this last night in making our ice cream! And Heidi brought me three vanilla beans from her honeymoon in Tahiti. The vanilla beans when mixed with rum (vodka or brandy) will produce vanilla you can use for cooking. I learned through my research that vodka is the traditional medium for the transformation, but using rum will make a sweeter vanilla. Additionally, when the bottle is approximately 1/2 empty you simply add more rum and in a couple of weeks your supply is regenerated. (I am thinking this is well worth the expense of a few vanilla beans (and a small bottle of rum) if you don't ever have to purchase vanilla again.)

We spent a great week in San Diego over Christmas visiting family and friends. Timing worked out that our arrival corresponded with our extended family holiday party. It was great to see everyone all in one place. We returned home to beautiful, clear weather - but minus temperatures. Burr...

I have included a couple of new links - our nieces' Paige (10yrs) and Amber (9yrs) have begun their own blogs. It is fun to experience life through their eyes. If you choose to visit - Enjoy.

We wish each of you the best as the new year begins. We had a quite a New Year's Eve at home playing xBox, Wii and watching a movie. Looking forward to a healthily and happy year!