Well, hello there! Yes, I'm still here. Frozen. But here.
So what's been going on in your world? I'll tell you about what is going on in ours:
Winter is here. There's no doubt about that. With it brings freezing rain, slipping and falling and bumping the head. A couple of times. But I'm fine in the end.
It also brings our last car payment! Yep. No more vehicle payments. We own them now. But they both need repairs. You know the old adage that once you pay it off, it breaks. My dear one has diagnosed the Jeep and the parts should be here any day and we'll get her up and running and on the auction block through a private sale.
I'm of two minds: One, I don't really want to take on another used vehicle. Two, if we buy something outright that costs less and put the difference to the bills we still owe, we could come out ahead in the deal. I just don't know which way it'll go. It depends on how much we are able to get for it in the long run. Whoever buys it is getting a great vehicle. We've done so much maintenance and taken such good care of her that they should have no problems other than the standard that come with aging. She's given us fits at times but has been a good girl, too. I'm kind of sad to see her go, but I know that we just can't afford to put our eggs in her basket.
We got to go to a Huey Lewis and the News concert in Anchorage a couple of weeks ago. It was fantastic. Like being transported back in time! Haha - do you see what I did there? A shameless reference to Back to the Future theme song. Silly girl.
I adopted a new pet. I miss my Bearsy Boy something fierce and it kills me not knowing if he's still alive and if he's doing well and is happy. But I am better off hoping that he is and imagining he's fat and happy and forgives me for leaving him behind in Oregon. My new boy is a Betta fish. It's about the only thing a landlord against pets can't complain about. He's beautiful and actually has quite the personality. My mister has dubbed him "Arnold." since he's a terminator. Cute! He's so stubborn that he WILL NOT eat any pellets though. I've tried just about every brand. He actually tried this last one that I was told by someone she has never ever seen a Betta reject it. Well, Arnold did. Sigh. He will eat the flakes though.. It's just a lot easier to feed him pellets as far as keeping his tank clean goes. And what a tank he has. Five gallons all to himself. Spoiled little one. But I enjoy him.
Work is going well. It's fun being used everywhere in the store. But frustrating as well. Where do I work? Well, I work in Paint as my home department but I rarely spend time there as of late. Most of my time is spent in tool rental, making deliveries, at the returns or service desk, or in garden or hardware. Oh and I forgot that I also cashier and play head cashier. Phew! I guess it's good to be able to do many things, but it is hard to bounce around as well.
As we begin our THIRD!! winter here in Alaska, I can't help but longing for the beautiful blue skies of Oregon and the smiles of our friends that reside under them. We are doing well here, though. And we are growing together as a united spiritual family of two. And it doesn't hurt that our best friends and their babies came up here, too. So I'm never really alone.
So three years and two congregations later, we are here for the duration it seems. I just wish it was easier to visit loved ones. It's quite a long drive from home to anywhere outside of the metro area of Alaska.
So what's next? Well, a trip to Hawaii in celebration of our 20th wedding anniversary coming up in 2015. I know it's early, but you really have to plan ahead :) A train trip down to Seward with an overnight stay as soon as the train that runs there is running again in the springtime and perhaps a trip up to Fairbanks to watch the northern lights or something like that. It's breathtaking when they come out here in the valley, but I really want to see them from Fairbanks/North Pole. I guess that's one of the perks of the dark winter days and nights.
Speaking of dark, it's getting late and I'm settling in for the night.
We send our love to you all. Stay snug and stay safe. Happy Winter Skies, all.
