It's Official

I am now officially a resident of the State of Alaska! I went to the DMV today right when it opened at 10. I took the driving test on a new-fangled touch screen computer (I took my first written test the old fashioned way - with paper and a pencil). Since I looked over the Alaska Driver's Manual on-line in the morning, I new about their point system for driving offenses, and was got 16 out of 16 questions right (compared to someone who had to take the test twice - but we won't mention her by name).

That other picture is what I look like with the gifts that Stuart gave me at my farewell party. I don't know which picture I look scarier in - my driver's license or my new mask.

More Rondy weekend pics

Here are some more pictures from the weekend. We all had a great time. We have an extra room for anyone else who wants to come and visit!

Fun at Fur Rondy

The Fur Rondy parade was like a small town parade, but a little bigger.  One of the highlights for Neil was the Star Wars characters.  Other main attractions included a high school marching band, which was one of the first times they had one in the parade.  The owner of the B&B told us that marching bands are not too common because of the cost of the instruments and the difficulty of practicing marching in the cold.  Another new attraction was the Fur Rondy princesses, which they haven't had for a while.  It used to be that the person who sold the most tickets became the princess.

There were also snow sculptures, dog sled races, ice bowling,and running of the reindeer, which was like running of the bulls. Fortunately no one got gored by reindeer antlers.

On Sunday we drove to Portage Lake and Glacier.  It's about 45 miles south of Anchorage.  We missed the turn  and went through Turnagain Pass, which was at the treeline. Everything was pure white.  At the lake, we took a little walk, which was quite pleasant in the sun, eventhough it was only in the 20's.  Of course I had on my thermals, Cowichian sweater that Ruth made about 30 years ago & my coat & funny hat.  Banjo was wearing his snow booties.

For dinner we went to the Beartooth Pizza house where you could have pizza in a private booth while you watched the movie.  We saw The Great Debaters (not Hillary & Barak).

They just took Banjo to the vet because he has guiardia, which causes stomach problems.  You don't want to know how we knew he had this problem.

I'm working a summer trip to do a little clamming & fishing.  When we do, I'll make another post.

Calvin

Fur Rondy

Test

This me with Melvin's stylin' hat. I stand out in a crowd.

Swimming Baby President's Weekend

On Thursday Neil and I went to the "broadway" showing of Hairspray. It was really good! I loved it, and I think Neil did too. The dancing was great and it seemed like everyone in the show was having a really great time. It made me want to get the sound track.

Last night we went to my swim club's holiday party. They ordered a bunch of moose's tooth pizzas and salads. It was pretty fun. I'd never seen half of them with clothes on before, so it was nice to talk with them. They had silly awards and stuff. Neil said he had fun hanging out with all of the middle aged women.

Today was Sophie's baby shower. I made auntie ellen's mint brownies, which were a hit of course. And everyone loved the little sweater I'd knit for the baby. One lady said that I'd make her grandmother proud.

Anchorage Jail

So, the other morning at work I get this automated call from the Anchorage jail. An inmate would like to speak with me and I have the option of accepting the free call or declining. I was perplexed by the whole thing so I just hung up. Then a few minutes later I got another call. It was the same thing. Pretty strange. I'm hoping it was the wrong number.

Tonight Neil and I went skiing! We got some classic skis at the big REI sale on Monday and took them out for their first trip. We got off to somewhat of a rocky start, when I couldn't figure out how my bindings worked. I thought they were automatic ones that I just had to step into, but it turned out there was a little lever I had to lift up first. Luckily REI is only a few blocks away from our house, so we went up there to ask the guy who they worked. Skiing was great fun. The trail is well lit so even though it was pitch black out we were able to go. We both got really hot. Neil says we're having a heat wave, because it's the first time in the last few weeks that it's been above 20 degrees.

I keep trying to post some pictures, but for some reason the site is having problems uploading the photos. We got our hats from Uncle Melvin last week and they're pretty cool. Neil looks like a dirty hippy though.

A turd sandwich

This is Neil. Apparently I need to identify myself when I write a blog. So Emily and I took Banjo on a big walk today to the frozen lagoon that's a skating rink. Banjo liked to bound in the snow that covered the lake. After we got back, we let Banjo and Rio (the other dog that lives here) out in our backyard to run around. When I let them back in, Rio had what looked like a stick in her mouth. Then Banjo wrestled it away from her, and took it to his dogbed. I thought the stick looked a little funny, and after further inspection by Emily, it turned out to be a turd sandwich. Yes, Rio took a chunk of frozen dog poo and brought it back inside our house. Needless to say, Emily shooed Banjo outside quickly so he could take it back there.

After the drama, Emily and I went to the Bear Tooth Theature and Pud to watch Enchanted. I was surprised that it was a pretty enjoyable movie. Emily and I got burritos for dinner and shared a giant piece of ice cream pie. Yummie!

I'm a failure

So for weeks I've been looking forward to the big caucus. Today instead of caucusing I sat in traffic for over an hour and a half. Margaret and I left right after work to drive to the caucus site (there was only one for the entire Anchorage area), but the traffic was just gridlock. So we didn't even make it to the middle school where it was located. By 6:30 we were still a few miles away and the doors closed at 6pm. The only plus side is that Margaret was going to vote for Hillary, so in the end we probably canceled each other out, because i think we're in the same precinct.

It's been extremely cold here these past few days. Last night I took Banjo for a walk, and I managed to stay pretty warm in Katie's giant sleeping bag coat and Neil's face mask, but the steam from my breath caused my glasses to steam up and then freeze. My eye lashes also froze together. Now that's pretty cold. Banjo was a trooper though. Even when we had back track 4 blocks to find his missing booty he kept on trucking.

Arctic Investigations

These past few days at work I've been helping out with a study for the Arctic Investigations Program. We hang out in this pediatrician's office and recruit kids to enroll in the study. It's fairly painless. Their parent completes a short questionnaire and then they get a q-tip shoved up their nose to check to see if they have a pnuemo germ up there. Then in return they get $25. The enrollment is somewhat boring--although it's fun to be out of the office and talking to people. But they've guaranteed me that if I help out with recruitment here in town I can go out to the villages with them while they do the study there. Here in Anchorage we only accept kids 3 months to <5 years old. But in the villages the whole family can enroll. Apparently it gets pretty crazy, which is why they like for you to practice in the slower paced environment first.

Skate skiing

This morning at swimming I got to test out my new goggles. They aren't prescription, but they are close enough to my glasses that I'm able to see the tiles on the bottom of the pool, and the clock. I felt ever so enlightened. After swimming I went over to REI to rent some skate skis. Brad offered to teach Jared and Kari how to use them, so I tagged along for a free lesson. It was pretty fun. Although I'll need a few more tries before I don't feel completely uncoordinated and awkward blazing down the trail. I have the skis until tomorrow at 6, so I think I'll take them out for another round tomorrow with banjo. Tomorrow is the Ski for Women--a 5K ski race for women (apparently it's to get them out of the house during the super bowl (which happens to be the day with the greatest incidence of domestic violence. Too much testosterone I suppose.)

Banjo now has his own snow gear. We got him some red boots that have a rubber bottom on them so that his paws are protected from the cold (It's been pretty cold here these past few days. I think it was -1 when we took him out for a test.) It's pretty funny watching him in the shoes. For some reason he thinks that if he picks his legs up really high with each step it will be more comfortable. Rio does the same thing when she wears her boots. Actually, Matt has given up on putting them on her and instead sprays PAM on the bottoms of her feet. We tried it with Banjo, but he just sat there licking them and wouldn't walk anymore. Banjo eventually got used to the boots, although they're a tad too big.