Misadventures of a Midlife Married Couple

The last two weeks or so have been hectic, we’ve had a volleyball tournament at school and end of quarter stuff going on. And the weather has been….. unexpected. Our early snows mostly dissipated, mostly fading off the roads and once again really revealing the tall grasses of the tundra. Our views have remained spectacular, and somewhat familiar at the same time. The tundra, with it’s base still snow covered but it’s long grasses still showing, resembles an uncut Oklahoma hay field that got caught in an early snow. We had some unexpected snow pop in a couple of days last week, so we once again have a fairly white base to everything, the lakes and water on the tundra are frozen solid enough that four wheelers and snomachines are cutting across and our once lush fields of green are now snowy pastures covered in random crisscrossing “roads”. It seems tundra travel is much easier to accomplish in the colder months.

Temperatures have been in the teens to low thirties the last few weeks. It has not been uncomfortable at all. Marty and I both feel like we were lied to during our childhoods… it’s about the clothes you wear! We both stay very warm… our cheeks DO occasionally get cold (we have ordered goggles to protect that part of our face and because my eyes water the second I get into colder air…(it’s not new)).

Last weekend one of the teachers took Marty out on the snomachine to run the trap lines with him. He had a great time and got to see some previously unseen areas. Honestly, there is nothing around here that is NOT breathtaking in one way or another.

Marty will soon be “up and running” with some transportation! He has been supervising some of our students while they install some new parts and hopefully get the snomachine that was left behind up and going. I will be so glad that he won’t have to rely on me to provide transportation and that he will have some freedom to go and blow as it suits him. However, his cute little yellow snomachine is NO where as cute as my micro-mini-van! The windows were busted out and have been replaced with plexiglass… some roll up and down, some don’t. The wiring that powers the fuel pump was damaged so it has been rerouted to get power only when the lights are on. The tires are like small donuts… and the sway bar needs to be welded back. BUT the heater works! 🙂

Today is overcast and a storm is blowing in. The wind is really blowing and we are expecting anywhere from 3 to 8 inches of snow depending on which forecast you watch. We expect to have more snow throughout the week as well. Temperatures this week are expected to drop below zero once or twice, and our days continue to grow shorter. Within a couple of weeks we will be entering the time of year where we don’t see the sun much for a couple of weeks. However, so far we are still taken aback almost daily by the ever changing beauty. I’m sitting here looking out the window as I type this, the snow is blowing around, the trees, which are short and stubby, are wiggling (not swaying… they are too short to sway), it looks like a small army of penguins disguised as trees be-bopping around outside. The storm front is here and it is low… the mountains that are usually visible in the distance, are completely obscured by the storm, everything is just… white… punctuated by the occasional flight of one of the fearless ravens that drive Xena crazy.

I think this adventure would be amazing for us where ever we were. But I also feel that we landed exactly where we needed to be. The people of this community are exceptional. I have been fighting upper respiratory stuff this week, and the people I work with have dropped by with teas, and advice left and right. It’s been kinda funny. When we left home I knew I needed to be prepared for bronchitis. Let’s be real, I get it every year, usually several times. So I had a script of Medrol ready. Y’all…. it WAS here… I used some last time I started getting sick… but we have torn this place apart and can’t find it. But guess who had a script for prednisone? Bosley… yep… I swipped the dogs steroids. Combined with super high doses of Mucinex, local tea (I just drank it I don’t want to know), Vicks, nebulizer treatments, and soft, warm foods prepared by Marty I think I am on the mend. I have been awake maybe 8 hours since Friday night (it is now Sunday afternoon), and my new script for steroids should be arriving via plane any day… but I don’t think we are going to have any flights coming in today or maybe tomorrow.

This last week I got a care package from home, sweet Angie surprised me with a little Cougar love… to celebrate the re-painting of the traditional paw prints…thank you!! I love it.

The dogs are both still doing great, we still struggle with Bosley’s allergies, we have put him on some all natural supplements that seem to be helping his allergies and his skin. Alaska is a bad place to be a nekid dog! But they both have cold weather gear (frankly he loves his), they both go outside and act a fool and enjoy themselves. I’m just glad they haven’t figured out there is a cat next door. Xena DID alert Marty the other day… we had a white weasel/ermine/critter in the yard… she was prepared to protect us!

Well, we have spent early afternoon watching football, Marty just served me a steaming bowl of malt-o-meal, and I’m contemplating another nap, because I can. If you know my husband at all, you know I can convince him to join me.

Until next time!