2013 in Homer begins with a ban on plastic bags. It's a trend that over 50 communities across the US have taken on. Bravo. Produce bags, trash bags, and a few other exceptions are excluded from the ban. I kind of feel like they should just go whole hog, but then again I am glad trash bags are still okay since trash pick up doesn't exist here. We drive our trash to the dump and sort our recyclables when we get there. It's an onerous task, but at least we get to spend time with a national symbol, the bald eagle. Why on earth we would put a trash bird on our national seal and more is beyond me. I am also sorry that James is deprived of trash day, a beloved day in any toddler household. Don't all little boys get fired up to see the truck come down the street?
Photos taken at the dump with my phone.
We had a very white Christmas when it started snowing December 23rd and didn't stop until we had over two feet by Christmas Day.
Christmas morning sunrise.
Immediately after Kate opened it, James yelled, "Kate you'll shoot your eye out!" Proud moment.
This is what Christmas Day should look like (unless of course you have the opportunity to go to Hawaii).
Before we left Connecticut, Brian sold the sailboat (boo) and bought 4-wheelers (boo), but one does have a snow plow on the front.
I'll admit it was a little fun to drive, but in the end it seems more complicated than it should be, so we are now the proud owner of a snowblower as well. Maybe we can off load some of the gear in the summer.
Good thing the kids played in the snow all day because it started raining the day after Christmas and it didn't seem to stop for weeks. They were sad to see all their snow creations shrink everyday from more rain.
Kate in her igloo and James trying out snow shoes.
It was gray skies, sloppy puddles, wet basements, and buckling roads for the next couple weeks. I am choosing not to focus on this because the blog is supposed to be all positive and adventure adventure. I am, however, dabbling in light therapy to combat Seasonal Affective Disorder. Not sure if I need it, but it seems wise to be proactive aobut it. The Mayo clinic tells me,
The light from a light box mimics outdoor light. This is thought to cause a chemical
change in the brain that lifts your mood and eases other symptoms of seasonal
affective disorder. Light therapy can also be used to help adjust daily sleep cycles,
which may play a role in mood.
If I am not plowing snow and soaking up fake sun, I am splitting wood. Pretty soon I'll buy a red and black plaid shirt and you won't be able to tell me apart from Dick Proenneke. That's baloney, but it's my blog and if I want it to sound like I'm roughing it with my running hot water, proximity to Safeway, and gas furnace to back up the wood stove then I will.
Before leaving for California, Hickory was sent out to assist Shell's oil rig the Kulluk as it broke free from its tug in hurricane conditions. Three tugs attempted to tow within the days that followed, all with the same result. Brian's account of the weather was horrifying to say the least. All crew members were air lifted off by the Coast Guard before the rig ran aground. The rig has recently been pulled off the rocks and towed to Kodiak following the storms.
I realize I may not have mentioned that our dog Jessie gets underway with Brian. She is a hunting dog and loves having a job or at least loves being at Brian's side with the prospect of having a job.
Jessie supervises the buoy deck.
Not only does Jessie get excited to get onboard, but Brian loves the company. The only downside is trying to get her to pee and poop outside in 20-30 foot seas.
So the winter vacation was a bit rainy and blah, but we did make little trek to Nikiski, a small town on the other side of the Kenai Peninsula. They have a large community recreation center with pool and waterslide that we wanted to check out. It seemed strange that such a small town would have this until we passed the Conoco-Philips plant on the way in. Surely the town required the company to invest in the community. It was a little over two hours for us, but we traveled with friends and the kids loved the warm indoor pool on a snowy day. There were at least 4 roadside moose sitings along the way. I still love it. These guys are just laying in the snow.
Once the kids were back in school and in a routine, I went for my first Nordic ski since our class ended in December. It was the first blue sky in weeks. After dropping our sons off at preschool, a friend and I skiied a 5k loop. A huge snowshoe hare bounded across the trail as we started off. There were quite a few ups and downs making for great fun, exercise, and views of the rising sun.
Skiing the Homstead Trail
We had so much fun skiing that we decided, against all better judgement, to take the kids on a night ski a few days later. The ski club lit a 2.7km trail with several hundred tiki torches. It was mid 30s and no wind, so we couldn't ask for better weather, but Friday evening often equals tired children. None of the kids had been Nordic skiing, but we promised them hot chocolate at the end and cool experience along the way.
We all donned head lamps and set out. I cannot tell you how stupid this idea was as the trail went down hill to start. Once you got to the bottom you were pretty much committed to doing the loop even if it was past bedtime.
Kate and James were not only troopers, but I would venture to say heros. Kate took to it immediately. She loved the downhilll parts and helped her friend overcome some fears. James just plodded along talking about hot chocolate and cheering on Team K to the finish line. I was amazed. James walked the uphill at the end and of course took a few breaks to lie in the snow, but it was awesome. He didn't even mind when we finished and all the hot chocolate was gone. There was, however, hot Tang (weird). The kids put snow in it to make snow cones because we were all actually quite hot from the work out. Both kids fell asleep on the drive home. I carried them to their beds and dropped them on their pillows. It was the easiest bedtime routine I've had in months.
I'll end with a photo of a moose peaking in our neighbor's window. It's not very clear, but you can see his legs and how close he is to the house. This was taken from my car window on the way to the Tiki Ski.
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