So Yoda glows and waves a Christmas stocking from the landing on the front stairs, reading "A Merry Christmas I wish you." Alongside him stands a smallish lit, framed Christmas tree, resembling those reindeer which seem to be in every other lawn.
Wife and Younger Daughter are in the opening throes of decorating the living room. Many of the decorations are new, as 60 percent of the old ones were destroyed one year ago today, in the 7.1-magnitude earthquake.
We all stopped at 08:31 just to see if it was going to happen again. Well, that may be a bit o' exaggeration, but we weren't taking any chances.
The skies were cloudy yet bright this morning, but have been darkening for the last couple of hours as the new snowstorm rolls this way.
All the snow we got last week has been melted for several days, while our temps bounce around. AccuHunch guesses we'll have single-digit highs in a couple more days after the snow leaves, so maybe this batch will stick around.
The 80- to 100-mph winds we had on Wednesday and Thursday left a toppled 20-foot birch tree in our front yard. We're not entirely sure it's from our yard, though.
Speaking of that rain-and-windstorm, it dumped two to three feet of snow not far to the north of us, and four feet in Hatcher Pass, a recreational area about 45 minutes to the northeast. The skiers love it.
I hope everyone out there has a safe and happy day.
Blessings!
Paul
* I haven't used that phrase in awhile ... when Captain Cook's hearty band of sailors-slash-explorers first set foot here, they asked the natives what the name of the place is. "Alaska" is what they heard, but was actually "Alyeska", meaning "the great land".
Psalm 22:27-28: “All the ends of the world shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee. For the kingdom is the Lord's, and he ruleth among the nations.”
10 comments:
And to y'all! Glad the tree missed the house!
I concur! Not excessively large: some 20 feet long, and maybe six inches in diameter at the widest part of the truck (or branch). Still not sure where it came from, but at least nothing was broken or crunched when it landed.
Still remember words attributed to Bob Reeves who was in the Holiday Inn revolving restaurant during the Good Friday quake. When asked if he was scared, he said, "No, but I passed several fellers on the stairs that were real scared". Point? Alaskans are hardy and take everything in stride.
It also means he was running faster than they were, but no matter. �� I liked him.
I remember the last earthquake we had here.
I knew it was big when I saw the coffee start moving in my cup and then settle down.
But that was 30 yrs ago and we're getting over it.
Hardy folk we Michiganinas are.
Give it another 29 yrs, and you'll get over that one, but there will probably be another for you before that.
Alyeska really means "crazy people".
We had very strong winds here today, too. Average speed was 20MPH with gusts to 35 here in town, and 40MPH with gusts to 65.
Ed, most of us are still jumpy, to be honest. I still carry a flashlight in my pocket, because I WILL NOT be trapped in the dark again. Who, me jumpy??
That’s plenty strong enough for most purposes. Hope you’re okay.
I have the gate strapped shut with a ratchet strap, and my antennas satyed up, so we're happy campers!
And since we're retired, we don't have to go out in it. Should be high 40's this next week, so the packed snow and ice should melt away!
If everything stayed put, then you're ahead of the game. Well done, and play on!
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