Ice

My friend Mae and I decided to go to Ice Park Saturday to take a look at the ice sculptures. I haven't been out for several years because arthritis in my spine. Within five minutes of walking or standing it starts to ache, and soon after that it's full-blown pain. However, I read an article in the local paper last week about a "train" that takes visitors around the park.

A couple who moved here a few years ago from New York decided to make the train and offer the rides free of charge at the park as their way of giving to the community.
We figured we'd give it a try. There are two of them operating at Ice Park.

We arrived about noon and the park was buzzing. We were directed to the stage and told that was the pick-up and drop-off point for the train. The stage is all ice.

While we waited, we watched the drawings for a raffle. The prizes were $100 gift certificates at a local store that carries Carhartt's, a very popular (and warm) winter outerwear. There was a sculpture of a Carhartt's jacket near the stage and one young boy was enjoying himself there.

Before long we saw the trains coming toward us.

The train is a string of about 4 small wooden cars with two bench seats each. The "engine" is a 4-wheel ATV. Each seat comfortably seated two adults with space for a (large) purse in the middle. Each seat was also equipped with a fleece blanket to either sit on or cover legs. (We opted to sit on it - much warmer!)

We found our seats and sat back for the ride. The train took us past all of the sculptures in the park. It was a terrific way to see them without straining my back. If there was a drawback, it was that the train did not stop and allow for photos at any of the sculptures. It was a little bumpy in spots, so it was a little tricky trying to get good sharp photos. But I'd do it again in a heartbeat!

There were kids playing all over the place. One of the nice things about Ice Park is the kids' play area. The sculptures are made for them to climb on, climb through and enjoy - and they do. There was a hockey game in progress as we made our round through the park, on a rink inside an ice wall.

There were a number of pieces featuring fish, a couple of scorpions and several fantasies, as well as various animals. All of it was wonderful to see. The details are etched to the tiniest hair or scale. Here are a few of the sculptures we saw:

 

It was a fairly nice day, mid-20s with a breeze, but we were glad to get back to the warmth of the car. We finished the day with hot chocolate and cheese-steak hoagies. Great fun and wonderful art.

tease; Texas

I'm sure Mother Nature is just teasing us. Our temperatures the past week have climbed into the mid-to-high 30s - above zero! It feels great, but wreaks havoc with the roads, thawing during the day and freezing at night. And it's just mid-February. There's still plenty of time for some seriously cold temperatures. However, I'm enjoying it while I can and still dreaming of Break-up and summer. And my furnace loves it!

The warmer air has given me a solid case of spring fever. I've started cleaning out closets and the spare room. As soon as it's a little warmer I will load the car and drop off lots of clothes and items I no longer use. It will be good to reclaim some of that space.

I was told last week I will be attending a conference in Texas this spring. It's at the Marriott Hill Country Resort just north of San Antonio. It's not something I'm especially excited about, as I simply don't like the hassles involved with traveling by air any more. I have not found any flights that are particularly to my liking - all of them involve at least two plane changes in airports I'm either unfamiliar with or that I simply hate (O'Hare, for example, is one of my least favorite places). The resort is about 20 minutes from San Antonio, I'm told, and there is no public transportation either from the airport or from town. Taxis are $30-45, depending on where I want to go. And I will not be authorized a rental car. However, there is no choice in the matter, so I will make the best of it.

The website says there is a bird sanctuary adjacent to the grounds and I may check that out. Also, if I'm really lucky, the spring flowers will be blooming. Another plus - I can put my socks away for a whole week! I can wear my sandals and be sockless! I also have a couple of friends attending and at least one of them will have a car and has offered me rides into town. I hope to visit the Alamo at the very least. If there's time I'd like to take one of the boats along the Riverwalk.

Although I'm not terribly excited right now, I hope that by the time my departure gets here I will be more eager. I've been to El Paso once, but we really didn't see much. We went specifically to visit a mall and a shoestore where I bought my very favorite sandals. Aside from the inside of the Houston airport, I've really not seen any other part of Texas, so this will be a new experience. I'm just hoping the conference allows us enough time to see more than the resort area. I don't golf and the water features at the Marriott don't interest me. I am interested, however, in trying to get some shots of wildflowers and birds.

I bought a little book about San Antonio & Austin and have been looking it over. DK produces a series called Eyewitness Travel - Top 10. Each covers a city or area and includes information on top places to visit, neatly categorized by places to visit, history, culture, museums, children's activities, cuisine, lodging and more. It also contains information on getting around the area by public transportation, with hints on how to do it easily and on a budget. I have several of these books and have used them extensively when I visited new cities or, in the case of Washington, DC, which I've visited several times, when I wanted easy information at my fingertips. The books are small enough to fit into my purse and very helpful. (Oops, sorry, didn't mean to sound like an advertisement - but I really like these guides.) So I've been reading this guide and have a few things in mind.

San Antonio also has the shoe store that sells my favorite shoes. SAS shoes are made in Texas and only sold in a number of stores. The one store in Fairbanks that carried them closed, so I can no longer find them. SAS does not have a catalog and they do not sell online. I hope to purchase several pairs to last me until my next visit to Texas or somewhere else where they are sold. That's really the only shopping I'm looking at.

Although I don't like the travel part, I always enjoy seeing new places and new things. Could be a good time.

Mush!

Today was the start of the Yukon Quest, the 1,000-mile dog sled race between Fairbanks and Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada. It starts here every other year, and I try not to miss it. It's always great fun, even when it's bitter cold. Today was relatively warm - my car thermometer said 5 degrees at the river. Compared to yesterday's near 20 below, it was great. I will admit, though, that my feet and hands got a little chilled. (I forgot my gloves.) Fortunately, the arthritis in my back didn't bother me at all and I was able to stand on the river for the entire race.

The race starts on the Chena River downtown, to North Pole, then heads out to Chena Hot Springs, Circle, Eagle and down the Yukon River to Dawson City and Whitehorse. It will take about 10 days for the leaders to make the finish line. See the route at http://www.yukonquest.com/site/yukon-quest-trail-map/.

I love talking with people while we wait for the teams and struck up a conversation with a gentleman who was also taking photos. A man standing nearby introduced himself to the gentleman, as they used to work together. It turned out I also knew the man. He and his family and my husband, daughter and I visited each other frequently years ago. I haven't seen him or his wife since my 1994 divorce. We chatted a few minutes, caught up on our families and promised to meet again. I love living in Fairbanks, where you can meet up with old friends and be up-to-date on everything in just minutes.

The sky to the east was beautiful as I was waiting for the race to start, so I had to take a couple of photos.

 It was pink and blue with just enough gray to make it interesting. As I watched the race, however, the blue disappeared and the sky was totally gray by the time I headed home.





My favorite part of the race, of course, is watching the dogs. These little guys are just trotting along, looking for all the world like there's nowhere else they'd rather be. Now and then one or two showed some interest in the crowd, though.

Check out the one on the right checking out the crowd of spectators.

Sam Deltour heads for a chat with his lead dogs while a spectator holds his sled. The dogs veered off the trail and were not heeding his calls of "gee" (meaning, "go left"). After a few minutes and some help from bystanders, he got going again. I'm hopeful he won't have any more problems on his run.

Brent Sass waves to the crowd. He stopped last year to help someone on Eagle Summit and ended up losing several places in the standing. These guys all have a great sportsmanlike attitude that sometimes overcomes the competitive spirit. He got a lot of cheers as he came through.

Lance Mackey is a local favorite. He's a 4-time Quest champion and 3-time Iditarod champion - and the only person to win both in the same year.

This one was originally an oops, but I decided this is partly what the race is all about - the dogs and their love of running. It's also about the spirit of the North, the ruggedness of the land and of the men and women who live here.




After a while on the river a woman came down and started talking with my gentleman friend and me. She is a great Brent Sass fan and wanted photos of him and of Lance Mackey. We both took some photos for her and got her e-mail address. She left, then returned with a 16-oz. mug of steaming hot chocolate. The mug warmed my hands and the chocolate (made with milk, not water!) warmed my insides.

I left the river with two new friends and reconnects with two old friends. What a great town this is.

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.