Author Archives: Jenny

New Hobby

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Snowshoeing?  Downhill skiing?  Cross-country skiing?  Dog mushing?  Nope.  It’s none of those.  I like to read the obituaries in the newspaper.  Now I’ll tell you, I’m 36 years old, not 86.  My apologies to my grandmother, Jean, who will probably be reading this and might be slightly irritated with the assumption all old people read the obituaries.  She’s the youngest 80 something I know, but I’m digressing.

For some long time friends they will not be shocked by this revelation.  I’m also one of those people who likes to go around reading the tombstones when I happen to be in a cemetery.  Anyway, everyday I read the obituaries.  The newspaper here actually divides it into sections: Anchorage, Fairbanks, the Peninsula and (my favorite) the Outside.  The Outside being reserved for people who at one point in their life lived in Alaska, but then moved back to the Lower 48.  I like to read how people came to find themselves in Alaska.  Of course you have the Native population that was born here.  You also have a few caucasian native Alaskans, people whose parents immigrated here before they were born. But mostly it’s people who came here for a job, loved it and stayed.  That includes former military personnel and people who came to help build the pipeline in the 1970s.  I’ve also read several obituaries of Baby Boomers who came here in the 1960s and 70s just looking for adventure.

I’ve discovered lots of Texans.  One woman was born in Shiner, Texas.  One day I had to interrupt Todd’s snow shoveling to tell him the featured obituary was a Texan, Class of 1961 at Texas A&M, a member of the Corps of Cadets and even a Ross Volunteer.  He had been in the Air Force and stayed after retirement.  Another Texan arrived in the 1950s because he wanted to live somewhere where “it wasn’t flat and so damned hot.”

You’ll also find many people from the Midwest or New England and a few from California.  Very rarely have I read of anyone from the South or the Rocky Mountain states.  I haven’t put a lot of thought into why that is, it’s just a general observation I’ve made.

And just to put everyone’s mind at ease, I do own a pair of snowshoes and I enjoy using them.  I also have a ski lesson scheduled for next Saturday.  Really, I do have some normal hobbies. 🙂

Things I Miss

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So we’ve been here about 7 weeks now and there are some things I’m starting to miss…

  • Chick-Fil-A:  That’s right folks, there’s not one CFA in the entire state of Alaska.  I had no idea how much I went to CFA until, well, until I couldn’t go anymore.  I’ve taken the kids to Micky D’s a couple of times, but I just can’t eat there that often.  At least at CFA I could get a salad or fruit cup with my sandwich and not feel like I was being horribly unhealthy.
  • Adventure Kids: For those of you who don’t know, Adventure Kids is a drop in daycare.  It’s perfect when you have that random middle of the day meeting at one of your kid’s school, a doctor’s appointment, a kid’s doctors appointment and you don’t want to take ALL of your kids.  You drop them off, they play for a couple of hours and you get your stuff done.
  • Bar Method Dallas:  The Bar Method is a workout studio that originally started in San Francisco about 10 years ago.  It’s a combination of dance, pilates, strength training and physical therapy and I ADORE it.  I started in August 2010 and in about 15 months looked the best I’ve looked, in well, just about forever.  Alas, from October to December I only made it into the studio 3 times.  Planning a cross country move really took up a ton of my time.  The Bar Method has produced several DVDs and now that our television and DVD player is finally all connected I can at least start doing the videos again, but it’s not nearly as fun as an actual class.

I’m noticing a trend here.  Anyone interested in a franchise opportunity in Anchorage, Alaska?  You could open any of these places and make a killing.

And finally, it goes without saying I miss my family and friends.  I hadn’t given much thought about how tightly I was tied into my community.  Then you look back and realize over the past 10 years you and your friends have supported each other through marriages, births of children, sick children, sick parents and parents dying.  I’ve met some really wonderful people here and I know it takes time to build that community again, but I miss y’all.

Finally – A Picture!

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It’s a good thing I have windows in my garage looking out over the backyard.  I was about to let Sam outside only to look through the window and see a moose hanging out on our little hill chomping away on some branches.  So, Sam wasn’t let out and I just stood there watching her for a minute.  Then I went in and told the kids and grabbed the camera.  The moose was approximately 20 yards from my garage door.  The picture is a bit fuzzy because I was zooming in on her.  It’s also dark because the sun hasn’t come up from behind the mountains yet and a flash just doesn’t work at that distance.  She turned around and looked at me when I opened the door.  I was smart enough to take the picture from the door and not get any closer.  I’ve been in a bit of a funk lately.  Moving across the country and leaving family and friends will do that to you I suppose.  Anyway, a moose sighting always makes me happy and I’m hoping this is a good sign for a great weekend.

Moose in our backyard

A Bit of Redemption

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So Todd arrived home yesterday evening and he and a friend unstuck my Enclave.  The snow plow guy arrived around 10 pm and cleared the drive and the front walk.  This morning I snowshoed a new area for Sam (our labrador retriever) to take care of his business.  I also shoveled the walk to the deck.  I consider my workout done for the day.

after the walk had been shoveled

This is the view from our kitchen window.  The deck still needs to be shoveled.  There isn’t anything there to put it into perspective, so I’ll just tell you – when I stand on the walkway, the pile of snow in the middle of the picture and to the left of the walkway, is as tall as I am, 5 feet 5 inches!

Didn’t Earn My Badge Today

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my car stuck in the snow

So, this is my Buick Enclave.  It is now stuck in my driveway.  Trying to keep the story short:  It’s been snowing for many hours.  Our snow plow guy has not shown up.  I had some errands to run today and was so happy with myself that I didn’t get stuck somewhere in town.  Driving in this much snow is NO FUN.  Anyway, I happily make it home only to get stuck in my driveway.  Not a problem.  I send the kids inside and get the shovel.  Well 45 minutes later, after much shoveling and even trying flattened cardboard boxes under my tires to try to gain some traction, I am still stuck.  I was positive I could solve this and I was quite irritated when I couldn’t.  So now I wait for Todd to get home with a tow cable and hope the snow plow guy doesn’t decide to show up.  If he does, guess who has to help move my car?

Addendum or a Moosey Kind of Day

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When we picked Audrey up from school she told us when the kids were leaving chapel this morning there was a moose and a her calf in the school parking lot.  Three moose sightings in one day and Jack seems to be better.  I’m convinced a moose sighting is good luck …

A Good Sign?

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We had another moose spotting this morning before we took Audrey to school.  I was carrying Jack downstairs when he yells, “Moose!”  Isn’t that awesome!  I mean only here in Alaska can your kid randomly yell out “Moose!”  In Texas your kid might yell “Deer!”, “Duck!”, “Turkey vulture!” or if you’re lucky and on the Texas Gulf Coast, “Dolphin!”  But here in Alaska, you have moose.  Again, I wasn’t able to get a picture.  It was still pretty dark and the cow was moving quickly up our driveway to the hill in the backyard and on her way.  They can move surprisingly fast – I think it’s because they’re so tall and their strides so long.  Anyway, it made the kids morning to have a moose sighting and I decided to take it as a good sign.  Jack picked up a stomach bug somewhere, so yesterday afternoon, evening and night were no fun at all.  He’s been feeling better this morning.  The girls are at school and Jack’s laying on a pallet in the living room watching Sesame Street while I try to drink a 3rd cup of coffee (didn’t finish my 2nd before it got cold) and updating you on the wonders of Alaska.  I better run now, lots of laundry awaits and all the household things I didn’t get to yesterday.

Great Weekend

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Here it is Friday night and I’m finally getting around to talking about what a great time we had last weekend.  Todd and I had our first date night here in Anchorage last Friday night.  We had a delicious dinner at Sullivan’s, a steakhouse downtown.  We then walked down the street and checked out the 2012 Alaska Beer and Barley Wine Festival.  Lots of fun – lots of good beer, some really, really bad beer and I found a few really good ciders.  Ciders are my current drink of choice. Last call at the beer fest was 10 pm, so then we headed back across the street for a nightcap and then took a cab home.

Saturday morning we had our first moose sighting in our yard.  They have left tracks, but we haven’t actually seen them walk through.  Belle, my 14-year-old Jack Russell, alerted us to the big cow’s presence.  I ran to get the camera, but alas, the moose was traveling and not hanging out, so by the time I tried to take her picture she was too far up the hill in our backyard to get a decent shot.

Later that afternoon the girls had their third downhill ski lesson.  Audrey’s instructor immediately took her up on the lift.  Kate spent about half of her lesson on the bunny slope, but then her instructor took her up the lift as well.  Audrey has taken to the cold weather sports like a duck to water.  She loves sledding and says the best part about downhill skiing is going fast.  This is my cautious child if you’ll remember.  I’m attributing her new confidence to her riding lessons this past year.  We’ve seen a huge improvement in her risk taking since she learned to ride.  Both girls made it back down the mountain.  So now, after three lessons, they are better skiers than I am.

Saturday night, Todd and I attended our first social event here in Anchorage, the 2012 Fire and Ice Ball benefitting Covenant House.  Covenant House is a local resource for homeless and at-risk teens.  We had a fabulous time getting all dressed up, had some really great food, danced a little and got to know some more people here in Anchorage.  Great time and great cause.

Audrey's 3rd ski lesson

Kate's 3rd ski lesson

Todd & I before the 2012 Fire & Ice Ball

Extra! Extra! Read all about it!

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We’ve subscribed to the local newspaper, and I mean the real, live newspaper, not the online or iPad version.  I’d forgotten how much I like to read the paper.  I read the front section while I eat my breakfast and then I read the Sports section while I eat my lunch.  That’s all there is to it – 2 sections during the week.  On the weekend they have a few more lifestyle/arts and entertainment  sections.

Anyhoo, the paper has reported your normal world and national news events.  Nothing out of the ordinary.  However, the last 2 days there have been local stories that I just HAVE to share.  I’m sure they are found no where else.  So here we go…

Monday, January 23, 2012  the front page cover story and picture…. Elderly intervention: With husband being trampled she grabs only weapon at hand.  It is accompanied by a photo of an elderly couple taken while in the hospital.  Both appear to be in good spirits.  The following news story tells the tale of  82 year old George and his 85 year old wife, Dorothea.  While out walking his dogs, George is attacked by a moose.  Very rare I’m told, but it’s been a hard winter.  More on that later.  From the truck where she was waiting, Dorothea hears the dogs making a huge ruckus.  She gets out of the truck to investigate.  She comes upon the moose stomping on what she believes to be one of her dogs.  She runs back to the truck, and grabs the only thing she can find, a shovel.  She then proceeds to go back and beat the moose until it leaves.  Looking down, instead of discovering her dog, she discovers George.  George has lost a lot of blood due to a gash on his head and sustained some broken ribs.  Dorothea runs to the local airplane hanger and gets help.  George is later taken to the hospital in Anchorage by medical helicopter.  Both George and Dorothea are okay.  They might start taking a handgun with them on their walk, but maybe not.  She says she’d hate to needlessly kill a moose.

So, fun story and then I open this morning’s paper and find this on the front page… Bikini Brrristas:  Women in Skimpy Attire Peddle Hot Drinks Even in the Cold.  It is accompanied by a picture of 24 year old Ashley Holder wearing a string bikini top and jeans while serving coffee out of one of the many drive thru coffee stands scattered through town.  The article tells you what an acceptable tip is, $10 not $100 and also tells about the time Ashley helped convict two guys and notice I’m quoting this word for word from the article, “that thought it would be a good idea to order coffee with their junk out.  It didn’t hurt the investigation that they also paid with credit cards.”  You cannot make this stuff up!!

And more on those moose.  Right next to the article about Ashley and her bikini is another story, Moose Dying in Droves on roads, tracks.  So it’s been a very cold, snowy winter, even for Anchorage.  The moose have come to lower elevations where the snow isn’t as deep and it’s easier to find food.  It also means it’s easier for them to get hit by automobiles and trains.  It could explain why George’s moose was so upset.  Poor thing was stressed out and hungry.

I haven’t checked if these stories are online, but feel free to check out adn.com to see if they’re in the online version.

Til next time…stay warm!

My new favorite shoes

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my new favorite shoes

Well they’re not shoes really; they’re slippers.  Yes, the fur is real.  No, they’re not politically correct.  Feel free to contact PETA if you feel the urge.  I’ll understand.  But DANG, when it’s -5 outside, they are WARM!  Oh, and they make me feel a little like an Indian princess.