Baby It's Cold Outside......

I do cold really well.  When I lived alone I kept my apartment frigid, mostly because I didn't want to pay the electric that would warm it.  I love to dress in layers and I love to sit with my Ipad under a blanket and read or watch TV.  I don't even mind walking it in.  Usually once you are dressed to go and get underway it gets quite comfortable in a hurry regardless of the temperature.  I generally love the cold, clear, sunny days that come with winter.  I discovered this week that one reason I can say that is because I have a warm garage to keep my car in.  It is zero fun to run outside and pry your car doors open and wait 20 minutes before it is drivable.  This week the cold became rather miserable.  It was into the single digits and that's not too bad but the Taku winds were howling at gusts clocked up to 88 mph.  One night the police report 15 cars with their windows blown out and a satellite dish at the radio station was blown over.  Many people had the usual frozen pipes and reluctant vehicles but there was a lot of cracked windows in houses as well due to the seal being blown out.  At my job we are in charge of the state owned and leased facilities and those old state buildings do not bear up well under these conditions.  The building that houses all the state archives took the worst hit.  There were never ending calls all week long that employees were cold.  And it was true - I don't think anyone got comfortably warm all week but that's what layers are for.  At home we keep our thermostat set at 60 degrees (we can make a 600 gallon tank of oil last over a year) at the pellet stove runs constantly but this week the warmest it got in the living room was 72 and down the hallway was probably more like 63.  Even when we slept the blankets and flannel sheets kept us snugly and warm but my ears and nose would be frozen.  So I hereby surrender.  Please Lord, would you warm us up??

Winter Wonderland

Iceberg On the Run

I keep referencing the ideal winter weather we've been having so today little Oscar and I braved the temps and walked out to the glacier by way of the lake so I could snap some shots.  I wasn't out there as long as I would have liked because the poor puppy was cold.  It didn't get over seven degrees at our house today and the glacier is two miles away so it probably hovered around zero there.  My face got cold as we were walking up to the glacier but on the way back to the car I was walking into the sun so it was very pleasant.  You do tend to get chilled though, whether it's apparent at the time or not.  I was cold all afternoon.

Mendenhall Glacier

Scene out at the glacier

Folks recreating on the lake

Afternoon Delight

Today was really enjoyable.  First, it was my favorite winter weather, sunny and cold (around 11 degrees at our house)  everything covered in sparkling snow and bathed in sunlight.  The house was cleaned, the treadmill used and we were off to downtown for some Christmas shopping.  Chris was thrilled to find this fancy camera shop he was sure did not exist in Juneau (he is "counting his presents from Santa before they are unwrapped") otherwise known as buying accouterments for the new camera he knows is coming.  After wandering around town for a while we decided to get some lunch and blew into (and if you know downtown Juneau you know I mean that in the literal sense) an Italian Restaurant called Tarentinos.  We never eat downtown and even though I work downtown the only place I ever escape for lunch to is Bullwinkles on Thursday for a bowl of chili.  Tarentinos has probably been there a year or two but we had never heard of it.  It was nice and warm inside with just the right ambiance.  Frank Sinatra was singing in the background and my chicken fettucini alfredo and Chris' 5 cheese lasagna were to die for.  Plenty of garlic bread (emphasis on the garlic) and diet cokes and we were happy.  There was only one other table of diners so we got great service and conversation as well.  A delightful afternoon.

Winter Wonderland

View from my desk

Today is a quinessential winter day in Juneau.  Everything is sheathed in white and flights are compromised.  My boss from Anchorage had the pleasure of circling around for over an hour before finally landing.  The  view from where I sit is totally white save for a bit of a red building seen through the snowfall.  It really makes the world look refreshed and pristine.  I can’t say I love driving in it but as long as we are in the winter months I do love a fresh snowfall for the facelift it offers to our surroundings.  Everything gets a fresh start today. It is grace and mercy for the landscape.