full moon

Although I long for summer by the time the holidays have passed, I am often reminded how glorious this place is, regardless of the season. I may complain about the monochrome feeling, that it's like going from a widescreen hi-def tv to a 13-inch black and white, but then something happens that shakes me and says, "Check this out."

Yesterday morning I stood for 10-12 minutes just staring at the sky as pale streaks of the aurora danced around. I live right in town, so the aurora isn't nearly as brilliant as in places without street lights and security lights from businesses. It was magical to watch those pale green streaks wave and dance through the sky.

Today's mail delivery was late, so I went out about 6:30 to check on it. As I was coming back in I noticed the full moon in the sky, a brilliant white ball with a few clouds hanging under it. The street lights gave an amber hue to the clouds, and the tree branches and power lines at my property line stood out in the moon's glow.

I zoomed back in for the camera.

I used several different camera settings, then stood and just looked at it.  The first photo was on the auto setting. The second was shot on the hand-held twilight setting for no flash and no tripod.

It's a beautiful night out there.

Thinking colors and warm

Wow - did I sound like a whiner the last time around or what? Things are looking much better this week. The side effects of the new medication have eased considerably and my sugar has leveled off. I talked with the doctor this morning and things are not as dire as I thought they might be. He said my sugar levels are not bad, the medications are doing their job there. My A1c levels are a little high, but not in the dangerous zone. He also said I don't have to exist solely on greens and completely forego pasta and bread. I've been laying way off the starches for the past month and really miss those. I will slowly add them back in moderation.

In addition to that, we are gaining daylight and temperatures have warmed up to above 0. In fact, right now my thermometer reads 18 above.

I went with Cindy to a luncheon for Mae, a co-worker we've known for many years. She is heading off to a new job and adventures in the Netherlands. I'm very excited for her, but will miss her smiling face and calming nature. It's always good to talk with her, as she can always make me find something good in bad situations - or at least help me see there will be something good eventually. I wish her the best.

Our luncheon was at Gambardella's Pasta Bella (thank goodness I had the doc's blessing!) and I had fettucine Alfredo with mushrooms - wonderful. It was so good after a month of being "good." The dish wasn't loaded with sauce; it had just enough to make it tasty, but not so much that it was overloaded.

I've been trying to beat the winter blues by looking at photos of warm places and summery scenes. My desktop is a shot from Hawaii a year ago, which brings back memories of the wonderful 60 degrees (everyone in Honolulu was freezing) and the warmth of the place after a VERY COLD January in Fairbanks. We had 40 and 50 below for a 2-week stretch, so 60 was heavenly.

It was cloudy and breezy our first day there, but the gardens at the Hale Koa were spectacular - even with the tiny pocket camera (I left my favorite camera on the desk - remembered it as I cleared the TSA security point).

Just looking at those photos helps me focus more on the coming warmer months and less on the monochrome world we inhabit this week.

I've also been working with my (huge) files of photos. I 'm resizing them, sorting them and deleting those that are simply not good. That and the genealogy research are keeping my mind off the winter blahs.

I'm looking forward to taking some time off and picking up my granddaughters for a trip to the park or the river and just enjoying them.

My best friend Mae (different Mae from the Netherlands-bound one) and I are planning a train trip to Anchorage in May. I've been checking that out as well, and anticipating the great photos I might get from the train.

Now that January is nearly over, we're on the downhill slide to Break-up and then it's a short time until summer. I'm looking forward to fresh produce from the farmers' market, rides to nowhere in particular and the vibrant colors and warm sun of summer.

Life is good. . .

plodding along

I've been working hard at my attitude and (I think) gaining on it. Though I'm still tired of winter, it was so nice on Sunday to wake up to warmer temperatures. The -20 and colder left for a while and it was a huge difference in my outlook. Though I still don't have the initiative to go out with the camera, I'm really looking forward to doing that soon. Part of that is due to my health.

The doctor saw a rise in my A1C numbers over the past year and has prescribed yet another diabetes pill. The side effects are headache, fatigue and on one occasion low blood sugar on the edge of dangerous. I have to test my glucose levels much more often than before I started taking it.

Because of this I've been doing tons of research on diabetes-friendly foods and preparing healthy meals. Since I live alone (except for the little dog) I don't cook a lot during the week. I make something on the weekends that can be stretched into several meals with a little variety. As today is a holiday, I'm making two main dishes this weekend. I roasted a lean piece of beef yesterday and today I'm roasting a chicken, minus its skin. I will make chef's salad with some of the chicken and some new beef dishes I found online. All are within American Diabetes Association recommendations. I've also started an online food diary. It keeps track of calories, carbs, fats, sugars and a whole list of other nutritional values. I've been surprised at how few calories I've been eating - and just how quickly the carbs add up. Now if I can just see a difference in A1C levels and in weight. I suspect the weight will be tough, as I'm built just like my grandmothers.

Though genes do figure into our make-up, I am trying hard to lose some of the weight. That should also help the diabetes.

I'm not a lover of green salads, especially in the winter here when produce is flown in from all over the place and is not necessarily either fresh or tasty. However, I'm hunkering down and buying greens, tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers to make my own salads. I find the different textures, colors and tastes make the salads much more appealing. Occasionally I'll add a couple strips of chicken (as in this week) or beef to snazz it up a bit. I also found a recipe for a chicken-potato salad made with yogurt instead of mayo. I'll give it a try and see how it is.

We're getting a little light snow right now and the thermometer says 4 below. It's not too bad. The mid-winter slump is slowly making its way toward break-up and colors. I'm looking forward to it.

My mother has returned home from the hospital and doing well. Two therapists come to the house several times a week to work with her movements. Although it's uncomfortable, I think she's handling it well. Like me, she's not particularly patient when it comes to wanting things done. She doesn't like asking others to do things for her and is very eager to be able to do a lot again. We've all told her she needs to take it slow and give the shoulder time to heal. She understands that, but doesn't like it.

I'm working at my genealogy and making all sorts of plans for short trips in the state for this spring and summer. It all helps pass the time until the monochrome period is over and our senses are hit with color again.

January blahs and inactivity

I have been lazy and lethargic lately. I went back to work Monday and I really miss the freedom of sleeping in or taking a short mid-day nap when I want. I also resent the phone when it rings at work and just want to get on with my work without someone thinking our office is directory assistance or the legal office or something else. I guess I'm in the January blah phase.

I love the holidays - the lights, the music, the smiles and the family gatherings. I love that I have enough leave to take time off to cook something special for the holidays. I love that Dec. 21 means we're gaining daylight and heading toward spring.

But in January I seem to start to sag. It seems we've had snow and cold temperatures forever and it will be forever before it's warm again. I tell myself we're at the halfway point - we've been in winter for about 3 months and it'll only be 3 more until spring gets here. In just a couple of months we'll start seeing warm (relatively speaking) temperatures. I tell myself last year at this time it was 50 below, so 15 or 20 below is a snap. I tell myself it's picture-postcard-pretty out there. It doesn't work. I don't want to go out with the camera any more than the dog wants to go out.

My friends Bonnie and Mae and I were discussing a trip to Phoenix for Spring Training in March, but it fell through. We'll look at next year, but I was sure looking forward to a trip to Arizona to end the winter.

So in an effort to make an abrupt attitude adjustment, I'm trying to stay positive. It's a little easier today.

My mother should be home from the hospital by now. Her shoulder replacement surgery went very well last week. She had a little setback with a minor infection, but they cleared up that up with antibiotics. I guess there was one scary time for her when she had asthma trouble and had to have a breathing treatment. But for the most part, it went very well. This was her first overnight stay at a hospital since my baby sister's birth in 1961. She was in high spirits every time I phoned and wasn't in a lot of pain thanks to the medications. I hope her recovery is as smooth.

Mae and I are looking into a trip to Anchorage on the Alaska Railroad. We both enjoy the train travel and Mae has never taken the train all the way to Anchorage. I did it almost 31 years ago with a 3-year-old. It was such fun. Should be even better this time as I won't have to chase after a toddler. I look forward to all the photo ops on the southern half of the trip. I'm having a good time checking out everything online and making tentative plans. We may scrap the whole thing and start over, but it helps pass the cold days.

And in an effort to try to fool myself into thinking it's warm, my computer's desktop sports a photo shot in Hawaii last year. I change it frequently, but it's always a shot of someplace warm from October through March or April.

I did snap a photo of a frosty tree as we picked up juice at a local drive-through this morning. In spite of the cold, it's still a beautiful thing. The round lilac bush in the bottom left is bathed in the golden glow of the street light.

I am working hard at eating healthier these days and have been trying new ways of cooking fish. I've been happy to find tilapia, cod and occasionally mahi mahi at our local Fred Meyer store. Now and then I'll pick up a salmon filet, but I prefer the milder white fish. So far I prefer grilling them with just a little spray of Crisco olive oil spray. However, now and then, I MUST HAVE some rib-sticking comfort food like pot roast. Instead of potatoes, I'm now using broccoli, cauliflower, beans or carrots, or some combination thereof. It still tastes great and I don't feel I'm depriving myself - therefore, I'm not bingeing.

We are gaining daylight daily and I can see the difference as I'm driving home. I actually had to put on my sunglasses the other day :)

So I'm saying goodbye to the January blahs and trying to stay on this positive bent. On that note, it's time to move the clothes to the dryer and go fix some tilapia - today's tasty, healthy hot meal.

Stay happy and warm.