More snow and ice and rain

I guess the weather here in AK is just like the rest of the northwest and northeast - snowy, slushy, icy. Just when it was beginning to melt a bit, and I actually thought I could get back on my bike for errands, we got about 6-8 more inches yesterday. Then the rain came and made it heavy as lead to shovel and also a slushy mess. It was beautiful while it was coming down - complete with a lot of wind, making it blizzard-like for awhile.

I've been a bit remiss with my postings - down with the flu for awhile - but I'll do better now that I'm back to my old chipper self...

Back in AK

We had a whirlwind trip East including just getting out of Seattle before the big pre-Christmas snowstorm hit the West Coast. All told, we made over 20 connections via planes, trains and automobiles. We went skiing in NY state, caught up with family - including a train station visit with my friend, Debbie and family - and a lovely lunch with my college roommate and my goddaughter!

Robert left Syracuse the Saturday after Christmas and didn't arrive back in Ketchikan until New Year's Eve. He "overflew" which is local talk for when the plane can't land at the appropriate airport. Robert - the not-so-happy-flyer - landed in Cordova, Anchorage, Sitka, Juneau, back to Seattle and then finally Wrangell - 83 miles north of Ketchikan. That's where he threw in the towel and hopped on a ferry (6 hour trip) home. Gates and I left on Tuesday and we got in - miraculously - that afternoon. Ours was the second plane to land in 3 days. I guess it happens a lot. There was three feet of snow on the ground when we pulled into town. Ketchikan is made for rain, not snow, so there's bit of a pile-up here. The town is doing all it can, but there is just SO MUCH SNOW. And some say we're getting more tonight...

I hope everyone had a great Christmas and will have a very Happy New Year. Now that I'm back, I'll be better about blogging. XOXO

First Real Snow

As I'm typing this, it's snowing the first real snow. It's been very cold for about a week - in the low 20's at night and high twenties during the day. So this time the snow is actually sticking.

Last weekend, we drove "up North" - 15 miles to the northern end of the island to see the Singing Christmas Tree, a tradition presented each year by the Clover Pass Community Church. The choirs are arranged in a "tree" and present a program about the Nativity. Tables and chairs were set up cabaret style with homemade cookies and hot cider served to the guests. It was professional and beautifully performed - a great addition to our growing list of Ketchikan Christmas traditions.

Lefse Making

Here it is - the results of our lefse making. Last week before the church bazaar, we got together in the church kitchen to package the lefse for sale. Some of it was folded into quarters and sold without filling. Other lefse was spread with a mixture of butter and cinnamon sugar, rolled up like a flattened wrap and then sliced into slanted pieces to be sold in one dozen batches.

I ate a lot of the "ends" which were cut off to make the edges straight. It was very tasty - like a cinnamon roll. And when I arrived mid-morning the next day to work at the Bazaar and buy some, it was sold out! I think the town knows and comes early to secure their lefse. I did get some homemade smoked lox and another speciality - fish cakes which were small, half-dollar sized puffy salmon cakes. Also delicious.

30 Pounds of Spuds

That's what we peeled on Wednesday at Judy's house. (Just one of several potato preparation stations held in town this week...) We were in the beginning stages of lefse making for Saturday's Christmas bazaar at First Lutheran. Lefse, a Norwegian wrapping bread, is thin like a crepe and can be filled with sandwich fixings, dessert treats or whatever you like. We sat at Judy's counter and peeled, sliced, cooked and then riced the potatoes. Next, they are cooled before flour, butter, salt and sugar are added.

Yesterday, I stopped by the church to see the rolling and griddling in action. The electric lefse griddles were interesting contraptions (see above) that make the frying much easier. The best part, of course, was that I got my first taste of lefse, and it was yummy - a cross between a German pancake and a crepe.

Today, I'll be back at the church adding butter and cinnamon to some of the lefse. I hope there are more samples available for this East Coast lefse apprentice... (Hey, it sure beats suet fishing!)

Salvage Trail Hike

Another sunny day in Ketchikan! Wow! A friend and I decided to go hike near Ward Lake where we'd be able to take advantage of the sun. Some areas in Ketchikan don't get any sun even when it's shining. The angle of the sun in winter here is so different from the East, and if you're in a valley, you'll never feel the warmth. (In fact, today when I took out my bike for errands around 1:00, there was still frost on the sidewalks and streets in Bear Valley, an area that never gets sun in winter.) (And no, it's not called bear valley because of bears - I'm not sure where that name came from...) The sun seems to make a semi-circle up from the horizon but never reaches anywhere near directly overhead. I've been thinking that we tend to "lose the light" around 1:30, and I thought maybe it was behind the mountains or somewhere (East Coast Fool syndrome again...). But yesterday when I took the time to note exactly where it was, I realized it was beginning to set at that time. Consequently, it's fairly dark by 4 PM - and we still have nearly three weeks to go until the shortest day of the year.

The hike up to the muskeg above the regular trail was very steep. Definitely the steepest trail I've been on. But once we got up there, the landscape flattened out. Snow covered the ground and all of the pools of water were frozen. We were treated to a gorgeous view of the mountains. The way the shadows played off the trees was so dynamic, and it was only 11:00 in the morning!

The trip down the mountain was just as hard as the trip up. In fact, I could feel the exertion in my legs as they felt a little "shaky" - I guess I just need to keep on building up...

Tree Trimming

Sunday evening we trimmed the tree. We needed a ladder to reach the top, and there was a bit of a balancing act needed to get the upper branches adorned with lights. But then we had plenty of practice balancing on a ladder from our suet adventures... The final touch was the angel at the tippy-top. Gates tossed it up as no one could reach the very top. Finally it stayed, nestled in a branchy alcove way up high.

There's something so special about taking out the ornaments each year, thinking about how we got this one and that one and then placing them on the tree. It's one of my most favorite Christmas traditions.