got great light on our bog walk today though. love when the sun joins us. took a slow amble out there. stopping in the center on the frozen ponds to entertain blossom with the chuck it. whoever invented that thing must be quite wealthy at this point. those things are wonderful and every owner seems to have at least one. 
what is strange, being raised in california, about the light is how low the sun stays in the winter along the horizon. the moon will be higher in the sky at noon than the sun. just so odd. really the sun just pops up over the horizon and never comes overhead all winter. in the summer it's the opposite. hard to explain, but fascinating when you live here or visit here and see how the day/night, light/dark stuff works. we are getting closer and closer to solstice so we are almost to our shortest day. once you get past that the light will return. i think we average a 5 min change in daylight each day. you can never guestimate the time of day by where the sun is out there. i remember one day i was with my friend michelle and her husband who were up from the lower 48 visiting. we were at a local park and trying to decide what to do next. my friend automatically looked skyward and said something about it being about 2 pm...i had to correct her in that it was actually 7pm. 
grabbed my newspaper this morning and began to read..when i opened the page to page 2 i saw my sweet blossoms mug. so cute. anchorage daily news has great pictures on thier web site. anyone and everyone can post thier pictures in the readers photo section. i guess this automatically makes them eligible to be printed in the paper. i've only put 2 of my pictures in there just for fun. this one was one of those typical photos i take of blossom coated with snowballs. kinda a fun way to start my day though. 
was late getting myself out of the house. got packages all ready to go and went to the dreaded post office. often i just drive through the parking lot and see how it looks. it didn't look too bad so i went on in. i actually got quite lucky and was in the main room in line. a few minutes later i looked back and the line had doubled. such an odd assortment of people when you wait in line at the post office and at the dmv for some reason. not sure why that is.
i had attempted to make 3 fleece blankets i'm sending to texas fit into the "if it fits, it ships" box from the post office. i used one of those space bags, my first attempt didn't work so i undid it all and took out all packaging for them and sucked the air out as i squished the blankets as much as possible. it fit so i shipped it. of course, there is this small part of me that wonders what would happen if the space bag suddenly burst on pressure. would the box burst open from the pressure or will the pressure of the box keep the space bag from expanding and sucking in air. hopefully all arrives safely and intact. i think i mailed4-5 packages, one i believe i forgot to put in the card. oh well. for a neice. i'm always torn about what to do. i have alot of neices and nephews. for thier childhood i sent them all xmas gifts. it wasn't ever big or expensive gifts, but over 20 neices/nephews and that adds up. i mean you spend 10-20 bucks per kid...anyway, i kind of came to the decision that once the kids marry up i'd just change to just sending a card. now i make exceptions. there are a few who really make more of an effort to stay in touch with thier old auntie and so well, i just like that. then i ponder if i should also stop with the annual gift once they graduate college? then i also know that being single doesn't stop with graduation and it's fun to have something under the tree. i mean you get married and have kids now you are getting gifts from the inlaws, spouse, kids...
either way, my list is getting much shorter. i'm sure each year i will ponder. the calendars are easy and fun. bought a few extra's this year. may have a few for the new annual drawing. i just ask a donation to those who want on the list to a charity of thier choice. worked last year. at least i felt good that i was helping bring money to charities. it's that time of year.
hit target after my time in the post office. talking on the phone while being in target gets kinda spendy. haha. between that and a few stores downtown i think i'm nearly done with stuff to mail and local gifts as well. will need to stop by the popcorn store and get the neighbors popcorn for all that they do for me through the year.
i did a big circle, post office to target to alaska mill and feed for the tree, then to cabin fever in town for more shopping and a touristy gift shop that is across from the cabin fever shop. bought way too much chocolate at target, but i'll make an oreo salad for tanyas gathering this weekend. if you don't know what an oreo salad is you will have to tune in later to the blog. it was "invented" by my brother jeff. he has quite clever mind.
tonight has been just a relaxing night getting the tree in it's stand and getting the lights on it. the decorating will wait for maddie. she will come thursday to help with that. she's been my official decorator for several years now. 
my tree is all animal ornaments. i know that is probably not surprising to those who know me. 
blossom chases her tennis ball. we only lost it once, but i was able to help her locate it.
rio continues to improve. i didn't take her errand running as she's a bit of a spaz in the car when i am in buildings and such. didn't think it would be good for her incision to be jumping back and forth from the front to the back seat. she was tired enough after her bog walk to settle in on the couch. great to see her appetite back and her poops normal again. i'm easy to make happy.
watched a show about the hospitals on ellis island. amazing to hear how many people were funneled through those beds. guess the first class passengers arriving in the united states just got passed through, but all the others had to undergo a somewhat embarrassing physical exam in an attempt to keep diseases from spreading in the states. immigration then and now is always fraught with controversy. initially, the guy that ran it seemed to do a pretty good job, when he returned for a second term of duty he seemed to have changed, felt that peoples from certain regions of the world shouldn't be allowed in. some people were always turned back to prevent illness from spreading but he began to allow assessment based on these psychological tests, which really were not psychological tests at all. the terms idiot, simpleminded and various other negative terms were used to prevent a person access to become a citizen. overall not too many were returned to their native countries, especially in those earlier years. anyone that was ill was treated, most were allowed in once they were deamed healthy.
the hospital compound was quite large, built on ellis island, which is a manmade island i guess. the documentary said that it was built from the ground removed to creat the new york subway system. crazy. the place saw every disease known to man i'm sure and heard every language as well. sounds like it was a pretty sad and scarey place. families were seperated as one was deemed too ill for entrance. very interesting documentary anyway.
enjoy the christmas lights every year. saw this lit up dog team downtown. don't remember seeing that before.
dragged my tree in, it's already introducing my floor to it's needles. we don't have christmas tree farms up here nor do we have really good trees in the forest for this...will refer you to the monday walk trees. the trees are brought up from the lower 48. you pay at least $50 bucks and just accept that the needles will al lbe off before christmas happens. okay i'm kinda exaggerating. you get lucky sometimes. i still like a fresh tree. each year i threaten to just give it up and purchase a fake, but...it's so pretty. tradition! 
the animals all gather in the computer room as i work on my computer. was going to scan some old pictures but when i updated the computer this last time it did something and now the scanner part isn't jiving with my computer. i can print no problem but can't scan..? 
they look so cute all snuggled together. today the cats are on one bed, rio is snoring on the other bed and i believe miss blossom is crashed on my bed.
my tree stand is so cute and it's very heavy...hopefully, this makes it harder for the tree to trip over. these are the times though when it's nice to have a second person and it bites to be alone. i'm sure it's crooked but you can't adjust it and see if it's straight. 
will have to get the last box of decorations out of the shed tomorrow. i do love my little house. it's cozy and comfy. i love the colours and floors. of course, i didn't do a very good paint job, you can see i used just a slightly different paint for my touch ups. too lazy to fix it. 
blossom has returned to the dog bed that was used as the sickbed for rio. blossom refused to go near it after rio used it until tonight. i had washed the cover and everything. this must be a sign that all is back to normal now.
tonight has been just a relaxing night getting the tree in it's stand and getting the lights on it. the decorating will wait for maddie. she will come thursday to help with that. she's been my official decorator for several years now. 
my tree is all animal ornaments. i know that is probably not surprising to those who know me. 
blossom chases her tennis ball. we only lost it once, but i was able to help her locate it.
rio continues to improve. i didn't take her errand running as she's a bit of a spaz in the car when i am in buildings and such. didn't think it would be good for her incision to be jumping back and forth from the front to the back seat. she was tired enough after her bog walk to settle in on the couch. great to see her appetite back and her poops normal again. i'm easy to make happy.
watched a show about the hospitals on ellis island. amazing to hear how many people were funneled through those beds. guess the first class passengers arriving in the united states just got passed through, but all the others had to undergo a somewhat embarrassing physical exam in an attempt to keep diseases from spreading in the states. immigration then and now is always fraught with controversy. initially, the guy that ran it seemed to do a pretty good job, when he returned for a second term of duty he seemed to have changed, felt that peoples from certain regions of the world shouldn't be allowed in. some people were always turned back to prevent illness from spreading but he began to allow assessment based on these psychological tests, which really were not psychological tests at all. the terms idiot, simpleminded and various other negative terms were used to prevent a person access to become a citizen. overall not too many were returned to their native countries, especially in those earlier years. anyone that was ill was treated, most were allowed in once they were deamed healthy.
the hospital compound was quite large, built on ellis island, which is a manmade island i guess. the documentary said that it was built from the ground removed to creat the new york subway system. crazy. the place saw every disease known to man i'm sure and heard every language as well. sounds like it was a pretty sad and scarey place. families were seperated as one was deemed too ill for entrance. very interesting documentary anyway.
enjoy the christmas lights every year. saw this lit up dog team downtown. don't remember seeing that before.
dragged my tree in, it's already introducing my floor to it's needles. we don't have christmas tree farms up here nor do we have really good trees in the forest for this...will refer you to the monday walk trees. the trees are brought up from the lower 48. you pay at least $50 bucks and just accept that the needles will al lbe off before christmas happens. okay i'm kinda exaggerating. you get lucky sometimes. i still like a fresh tree. each year i threaten to just give it up and purchase a fake, but...it's so pretty. tradition! 
the animals all gather in the computer room as i work on my computer. was going to scan some old pictures but when i updated the computer this last time it did something and now the scanner part isn't jiving with my computer. i can print no problem but can't scan..? 
they look so cute all snuggled together. today the cats are on one bed, rio is snoring on the other bed and i believe miss blossom is crashed on my bed.
my tree stand is so cute and it's very heavy...hopefully, this makes it harder for the tree to trip over. these are the times though when it's nice to have a second person and it bites to be alone. i'm sure it's crooked but you can't adjust it and see if it's straight. 
will have to get the last box of decorations out of the shed tomorrow. i do love my little house. it's cozy and comfy. i love the colours and floors. of course, i didn't do a very good paint job, you can see i used just a slightly different paint for my touch ups. too lazy to fix it. 
blossom has returned to the dog bed that was used as the sickbed for rio. blossom refused to go near it after rio used it until tonight. i had washed the cover and everything. this must be a sign that all is back to normal now. 
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