Sitting alone in a dark house,

afraid to open the door sounds like the classic introduction to a Halloween story.  And, in a way it is, but not the traditional scary monster type of story.

This story starts off with balmy weather.  "Balmy" is the word that everyone has used to describe the weather this fall.  Countless folks have said to me "this is a beautiful fall, isn't it?". And I reply, "I guess so".  After all, it's October, we are down to 8.5 hours of daylight, and the snow is creeping down the mountainside.

And then there was the weird day that it snowed on the mountains, rained in town, and I caught sight of this right outside the front windows from work.

It's the first rainbow I've seen since I moved here. We don't get thunderstorms either.

So while the east coast was getting hammered with a freakish storm, we were apparently have a freakishly warm fall.  However, the warmth couldn't last forever and the snow had to come.  And it did this weekend.  Not a lot.  Maybe an inch.  But with it came the ice.  And that is what I really recall from last winter.  Not that there was so much snow on the ground, but the ice pack on the roads.  Lots of studded tires around town.  Jake and I got in the jeep and the first thing, okay, the second thing I noticed was my jeep wouldn't go into 4 wheel drive.  And when I got it there, it sounded like gears grinding.  The first thing I noticed was the ice.  The jeep handles like a shoe box on wheels and it really is not good on ice.  So we skated around the roads with lots of other cars, and a bull moose.  The moose was really in the median, apparently eating an early lunch, but he had traffic stopped on both sides as I'm sure everyone realized if he stepped out in front of them there was no way they would be able to stop.  Anyway, Jake and I skated the jeep back home, and I didn't stop at the store to buy candy as I had planned.  I like to buy candy right before Halloween.  It's usually on sale, and more importantly, it's still available to hand out.  If it's in the house for to long, it will disappear before Halloween arrives.

And Trick or Treat actually falls on Halloween. When I asked folks if there was a special day they looked at me as if I had two heads.  Well of course there is a special day.  It's Halloween.  That IS the special day.  And when I asked if there was a special time, like 6 PM - 8 PM they looked at me as if I had three heads.  I learned that Trick or Treat is on Halloween night from whenever to whenever.  At least the kids seem to follow the porch light rule.

But that still doesn't explain why I'm alone, sitting in the dark, afraid to open the door.

See, we took the jeep to the repair shop and we thought it was fixed, but half-way home I realized it was still having troubles so back to the shop we went.  Steve took me home and he dashed back to work.  That's why I'm sitting alone in the dark.  Between the ice and the jeep I never made it to the store to buy candy.  And I'm afraid of the trick or treaters and their disappointment.  While the kids are wandering around outside in their coats and mittens in the snow, did I mention it's snowing, I'm hiding and hoping they don't come to the door.

We are down to a little over 8 hours of sunlight a day.  The sun usually crests over the mountains, when it crests, at about 9:30 AM.  We are losing over 5 minutes of light a day, and I guess that works out right to get us down to 5 1/2 hrs of daylight in the middle of December.  As much as the brightness at night made it difficult to go to sleep in the summer, I find that the darkness in the morning makes it hard to get going.  And I don't just mean to get out of bed, I mean at 9 AM it feels like I haven't accomplished much, even if I have been at work for an hour or two.

This past month at work has been one of our busiest.  We have gotten referrals on some really sick patients.  And it also seems we are getting more referrals on more uninsured patients. I think that is a sign of the times, and I also believe it is only going to get worse before it gets better.

I keep my bird feeders going in the backyard.  The flocks of little birds that were hanging around at the end of summer are long gone, but I found this guy.  He really seems to like peanuts

He's a stellar jay.  Western cousin of the blue jay that all of us from the east coast and midwest are familiar with.

Hey! Did you know there was an Alaska Day?  It was on October 18th and is a legal holiday in this state.  It recognizes the day when the Russian flag was taken down for the last time and the American flag flew over Alaskan soil for the first time.  Happened back in 1867, but it took another 92 years before Alaska became a state.

We are in a state of flux here at home.  Only 20 more days until our household expands by two.  I have stopped looking at rental houses and we are staying put here.  At least for one more year.

There is one major difference between the snow in the east and the snow here.  The east coast storm left a bunch of snow, that probably won't stick around. I saw temperatures in Portland, Maine are forecast to be in the 50's.  But for me, I think the snow is here until May.

Until next time!

Something Wicked this Way Comes...

is a Ray Bradbury story written in 1962,  It was made into a movie in 1983.  The movie is set in October, and has the feeling of carnivals, fall and Halloween.

This is October, and the season is fall, but that is as far as the comparison goes.

I'm referring to something different - but equally scary.  This is the scene from a couple of weeks ago:

just a little snow on the peaks

That was just about 2 weeks ago.  Then over the weekend we had rain in town, but the wicked stuff started to creep down the mountains -

Heading out on the Glen Highway

The Visitor Center at Mat-Su

Severe case of termination dust

Today

Yes, I'm sure you have figured the wicked stuff I am talking about is snow.  Our temperatures are in the 30's and 40's at night, and there was ice on my windshield this morning.  We have had a heavy enough frost to kill most of the flowers in my flower boxes.  There are still leaves on the trees, but as you can see, they are thinning rapidly.  Parts of the state have had temperatures below freezing on a regular basis and the ads on the radio are all about putting on the snow tires.

It seems like overnight we went from hours of unending daylight to darkness.  Now, when I drive to work at about 7:30 AM, I cannot deny it is dark out. I spent a few days telling myself it was cloudy, which it was, but the sun really wasn't crested over the mountains yet.  And by 8 PM the sun has set.  There is no denying the approach of winter what with the snow on the mountains and our days growing shorter and shorter.

But what everyone is really talking about right now is the release of the PFD.  What is the PFD? Well, you know the rumor about how the state pays everyone thousands of dollars to live there?  That rumor is only partially true.  The PFD stands for Permanent Fund Dividend.  The state does pay all residents, who file the appropriate paperwork, a return on state financial investments.  This year it works out to $1,174.00.  Steve is eligible, and I hope I sent in all the right paperwork.  They were pretty demanding; certified birth certificate, copy of taxes.... but I guess if as a state you are paying out that much money, you want to make sure no one is cheating you.  Next year Jake and I will be able to apply.  Maybe Joe too.

It is hard to believe that I have been here almost a full year.  The time has really flown by.  I'm on the search for a new house to rent.  Housing prices in Anchorage are pretty astronomical.  We thought WI was so much higher in comparison to Ohio.  But wow, here a small three bedroom house with hardly any lot can cost $275,000.  The same house in WI could probably be bought for 1/2 the price.  And with rentals, it's not much different.  If we were willing to do the hour commute and drive out to "the Valley", prices would be cheaper.  But you probably make it up in gas (a gallon goes for $3.85 right now), and time.  And truthfully, I have no desire to do that commute - summer or winter.  And I'm limited with rentals because I don't want to move Jake into another high school so we have to stay in this area, and the place has to accept dogs.  It would sure be easier to rent without the kid and without the dogs, but I'm not ready to give up on either at this moment.

That's about all for now.  I think we will have snow on the ground before halloween arrives.  Guess the kids will need to wear snowsuits with their costumes.

Take care and send me warm thoughts!

Until next time!