Book club selections

My book club is comprised of some really fun gals from work -- all different ages so we get a great cross-section of reading selections (and strong opinions about the aforementioned reading selections). We started our little group last February and since then one member has moved away (very sad about that) and one has pretty much dropped out. But the core group of 5 is still going strong.

Lately the books have been super depressing, so when my turn to pick came around again everyone asked that I select "something happy." I decided on David Sedaris, who is hilarious and I'm embarrassed that it's taken me this long to fall in love with his books! I've heard so much about him -- other friends have read his essays and even gone to book signings/readings. We had a good discussion about our favorite parts of the book I picked: Naked. Since then I have also read When You Are Engulfed in Flames, but really want to get to Me Talk Pretty One Day and Holidays on Ice. Sedaris just has a funny and sometimes poignant way of dissecting life, especially his own. If you can, get an audio book and listen to him read his own essays!

Bird watching

I'm not sure that people believe me when I say that the ravens around town are HUGE. Seriously, as big (or bigger) than my cats. I weighed Little Dude yesterday (currently coming in at about 18.2 pounds) and am pretty certain that the ravens would give him a run for his money in a street fight.

Thursday is garbage day in our neighborhood and the ravens all come out to pick through our trash bags. They have no fear -- cars drive by and the dumpster-diving continues. I mean, look at the size of that bird...it's bigger than the turkey I'm planning on buying for Thanksgiving!

We're lucky in that that we are not required to use bear-resistant trash cans. Our house is about a mile from a bear corridor but they never come into our neighborhood -- I hope it stays that way. We do see our fair share of moose though.

Alaska TV

People in the Lower 48 are fascinated with Alaska and that is evident by the number of programs popping up on tv about our state...but hey, we watch these at home like everyone else! Now that we have a DVR cable box I am recording shows like crazy -- including the new Alaska State Troopers series.

A classic Alaska show is "Deadliest Catch" and this blog is an interesting read: Diaries of a Greenhorn Producer. It details all of the crazy stuff and behind-the-scenes activities on one of the crab boats.

Coffee on a cold day

We go through a good amount of coffee at our house -- but it's the regular stuff, like Folgers, because D doesn't particularly care for my flavored and foufou brands. I only ever drink my stuff on the weekends. After finally finishing a bag of the Kona coffee that my sister sent me from Hawaii (soooo good, peoples -- you have no idea) I opened up this bag we brought back from Minnesota last year. It's from a charming little cafe' in Slayton, where D's grandma lives.

When we told the owner we were from Alaska, she said that someone from our state orders coffee from her website! Small world. The place used to be a bank (hence the name, "Left Bank Cafe") and she showed us the old vault in the back which now is a storage area. I love all that old historical stuff.

I bought this little Krups coffee grinder off of Amazon and it works so well. Would totally recommend it. Although I did grind the beans a little too long so the brew turned out a little bitter.

It's so nice to have a warm cup of coffee to start out the morning -- especially when they are cold and blustery like today. We're slated to have below-zero temperatures through the end of the week (it was -4 on my way to work today!)

Winter comes around again

D moved the boat out of the garage a couple weeks ago, so we're able to park both cars inside once again. It's perfect timing since the temperature outside has plummeted to below zero in the evenings and early morning hours. We've only had snow on the ground for about a week and it's a bit of a shock to have really cold weather already. But on the flip side it is nice to come home to a toasty warm fire -- D builds a fire in the woodstove to heat the house when the temps dip below 20 degrees.

Evening sunset begins. Time: 3:35 p.m.

The hoar frost is back!

 

Saturday update

I'm working today...the State Troopers are filming a scene at my place of employment for a series of holiday ads about preventing DUI's. The weather is kind of gray so it's not a huge deal being inside for the afternoon -- and the upside is a few hours of overtime that will go towards the wedding budget!

The dog gave me quite a scare this morning -- 5 minutes before I needed to leave for work he was nowhere to be found in the backyard. Turns out the back gate was open just enough for him to wiggle out. I called D (who was out running errands) and he spotted Drift tagging along on another dog's walk! He was less than a block away so thank goodness D found him.

I still sort of dislike you...

It's really great that our pets no longer hate each other with a burning passion, but I'm not sure we'll ever see the day when the cats and dog sit next to each other for a long cuddle. Case in point, Pepper jumped in my big travel purse as I was gathering items for my trip last week and Drift got a little too close for comfort:

And here comes the face slap...

Back in AK

Hi all -- I'm back in Anchorage, trying to adjust to a snowy landscape after being in warm Texas weather. Yesterday I was able to stay home and rest up before returning to work. D had a holiday as well because of Veterans' Day. It was a weird day in terms of weather -- really windy, then a short blizzard, more wind and then a shot of sunshine before it got dark.

In Texas

I'm currently in Houston, staying with my 2 college roommates before we head out to San Antonio today. We have a weekend full of college reunion events on the schedule, so my posts will be sporadic or non-existent for the next week. The weather is amazing here (mid-70's!) so I'm soaking it all up. Happy Friday everyone!

V-8 kitty

Cats are so odd! Pepper loves tiny little spaces and couldn't wait to crawl in here. She hunkered down while I wrapped the plastic around her.

Then the dog walked by and he got quite the shock as a cat paw came out of nowhere to whack his legs.

Moose-o-rama

Yesterday I drove by the area where D parks his truck at work (he is currently doing some work at my workplace -- we're remodeling) and out of the corner of my eye I saw some movement...

There were actually a total of 3 moose - mama and 2 calves -- but the other calf was already ahead of these two. They really seem to like this area.

Life of leisure

A girl could really get used to this kind of schedule -- work 3 days, have two off. Work one day and then have 7 days off! This is my last day in the office until next Thursday the 12th. I'm still trying to use up vacation time and then on Wednesday night I fly out to Texas to meet up with my college roommates for our 10-year Trinity University reunion. Alumni weekend is a pretty big deal for our school so we're looking forward to seeing old friends and stuffing our faces with authentic Tex-Mex and margaritas!

Haunted Ship

How fun with this be...a haunted house created on board a ship!

"Haunted Hickory" a Coast Guard Fright in Homer via the Anchorage Daily News

This cutter (the Hickory) is usually docked in the harbor everytime we take the boat out of Homer for a weekend. Here it is back in August (this is the weekend we spent in Homer right after we got engaged).

The white stuff

First snow! First snow! When I let the dog out this morning I noticed light, fluffy flakes coming down. It's not going to stick around because the weather is too warm (low 40's) but the termination dust on the Chugach Range is here to stay. D and I had a bet about the first snowfall -- which I LOST! Thanks for nothing, snow. One freaking day late -- now I have to make caribou lasagna.

My boss is making me take the next two days off because of my copious amount of overtime this month. It will be a good opportunity for me to do things like buy food, clean the house and finally get started on altering my wedding dress. I don't know why I've been putting that off, but it's probably because I'm worried about having someone working on it and accidentally messing up this beautiful dress that my mom wore on her wedding day.

Accident

I just found out that my sister had to visit the ER this weekend. She was biking with her boyfriend when a car pulled out in front of her and caused her to crash her bike. The vehicle may or may not have seen her as she fell, but it sped off regardless. Her jaw might be broken but other than being banged up she is in one piece, thank goodness. Please send good, healing vibes her way and wishes for a speedy recovery.

This is a reminder to all of us that cars are not the only entities on the roadway and in intersections. We need to be on the lookout for bikes, motorcycles and pedestrians at all times.