February in Fairbanks

It's been easier than ever making my way through February this year. After the 40-below temperatures, I have found the teens and 20s to be very pleasant. When I factor in the increasing minutes of daylight, it makes breakup seem even closer. I know we are not through winter yet, but the warmer weather and added light make it easier.

I leave for work very early, and have had to stop the car on the side of the road several times to open the window and watch the northern lights dance across the sky. What a great show!

Thursday I went to a meeting and as I entered the building, the sunrise was gorgeous. I put down my bag and got out the small camera that is always with me. This time of year is great for beautiful skies, both morning and evening.

I'm finishing up a 4-1/2 day weekend, although it doesn't really seem like it. I had several appointments both Thursday and Friday. Saturday was housecleaning & laundry, plus a turn at shoveling off the porch. I have someone who takes care of the sidewalk & driveway, but he doesn't do the porch. Since it's been so nice, I want to get the porch ready for sitting and enjoying the relatively warm weather. Buddy enjoyed a longer-than-normal yard time while I worked. Sunday I shopped and cooked - meatloaf (I love cold meatloaf sandwiches) and turkey parts for a turkey salad. Today, I'm planning to be lazy - television, my Nook and petting the dog. And then tomorrow it's back to work.

The Yukon Quest is over, the last musher across the finish line in Whitehorse. Hugh Neff, a 10-year veteran, won this one. I was glad to see him win. He's put in a lot of time and effort over the years, and has come close in the past. It would have been cool to be at the finish line - the 2nd-place musher was just 26 seconds behind Neff. This was the closest ever between 1st & 2nd place.

We have the North American sprint races coming up in March, then mushing season is over here - and that's sure sign of spring!

Ice Park will open the end of this month and we'll be able to see the ice sculptures through March. They are in a new location and I'm eager to see the sculptures and the park's new home.

Spring training will begin soon in Arizona and Florida. I'm disappointed I won't be going this year, but I will follow it by logging onto several websites and checking out the photos. It's not as good as actually being there, but it helps a little just knowing baseball season is right around the corner.

Happy February everyone. I hope it's a good spring for you.

Staying warm at 45 below

I planned to update this several weeks ago, but got sidetracked and let it go. So, finally, when 45 below is in the past, here I am.

I have been truly enjoying the warmer weather, with temperatures into the 20s and even 30s. It's wonderful after the bitter cold. My love of Alaska no longer extends to the extreme cold. I practiced some serious hibernation techniques.

I went out only when necessary and had a routine for that:

1.  Warm up the car at least 15 minutes (I don't have a garage).
2. Go from warm house to warm car.
3. Go from warm car to warm office or store.
4.  Reverse numbers 2 and 3.
5.  Dress very warmly in layers.
6.  If the mail carrier hasn't been by when I arrive home, pick up the mail in the morning when I leave for work.
7.  Make rib-sticking comfort food.
8.  Hot coffee in the morning - hot chocolate other times.
9. Revel in my new furnace! I'm so glad they said it had to be replaced last fall and couldn't wait until summer 2012.

There were a few positives to the weather.

1.  Northern lights on the way to work - on a couple of clear mornings.
2.  The fox who doesn't seem to mind the weather. She was out wandering around several mornings near the office.
3.  The moose who can handle the cold. I love watching them stroll slowly across the street, as long as they're well in front of my car.
4.  Genealogy - because I didn't want to go out, I was online honing my research skills and looking for long-dead relatives. I didn't find anyone new, but I was able to locate some information on military service, a will and church documents.

I'll be going back to PA this spring to see my parents, and purchased a new wand-like scanner so I can scan the photos in my mother's albums. I will be practicing with it before I leave here. It has a memory card slot (with a card inserted), so I should be able to bring back a lot of old pictures.

Although I know this is just February, and that more cold temperatures are almost guaranteed, I'm loving the warmer weather as long as it lasts. In just a little over two weeks Spring Training will start and then it's just another month until April and Breakup.

I'd love to be going to Spring Training again, but I figured I'd save the money for the PA trip. So while I wait for spring and seeing my family again, I'll just dream of baseball parks and warm weather.

Happy Valentine's Day everyone.