Winds 'R Us

The wind! Is wild tonight, rocking the house so that the windows shake and the dog cowers beneath the desk. It seeps in through the windowpanes, chilling the house and causing my plants to shiver, poor things. But the night is clear, the moon almost full, the mountains rising up in the background in white-coated glory. What is it about the wind that stirs up longings, causes the blood is run fast and hard, makes a person stare up into the sky and want to hurl herself into the stars?

The beauty of an Alaska cold night is that is follows an Alaska clear day. Here is the harbor this afternoon when I walked the dog:

Yesterday I had a bit of a breakdown. It happens sometimes, no? It was so cold in the house. The only source of heat is what looks to be a wood burning stove, except this beast burns diesel fuel. I light the fuel with a match, close the door and the house soons fills with the delightful smell of a truckstop.

Soon I'll wear my hair in a beehive and call everyone "honey" and "sweetheart."  

The diesel stove gives me fierce headaches, so I suffered the cold last night with no heat. It was 42 degrees in the house. I had on snowpants, a down vest, wool socks and hat and a heating pad on my stomach so my internal organs wouldn't freeze.

It was that cold.

Today I went to the friendly Spenard Builders Supply stove and bought a couple of small space heaters and oh baby! I have on shorts and a sweater. I am finally warm.

Ahhhhhhhh!!

Didn't run but worked out at the gym, bike and elliptical for 1.5 hours and then upper body lifting. No one else was there and I got to watch two (two) episodes of "House Hunters" plus one "Property Virgins." For someone who doesn't own a TV, this was pure bliss.

Can life get any better?

Yes! Because I came home, had a big bowl of clam chowder followed by a muffin slathered in healthy margarine and took the dog for a walk. It was right past midnight, so clear and cold and dark outside that I almost wept.

Reading: Alix Kate Shulman's memoir "Drinking the Rain."


Love you, Alix honey!