alaska day!

Happy Alaska Day! It's the 145th anniversary of the day that the US took possession of Alaska from Russia. A lot of people have the day off, because it's a state holiday, but I do not.

Last night it was supposed to snow, but it didn't. Today, tonight, and tomorrow we're supposedly going to have snow showers, but I'm pretty much set: I have my boots (2 pairs even), my winter-weight jacket, and I'm almost done crocheting a hat and mittens.

I know there are other parts of the US that already have snow, and of course the rest of Alaska has had it for about a month now, but the panhandle, where Juneau is located, is very temperate compared to the rest of the state. Having grown up in Western MA, I'm pretty confident I can handle winter here. My husband, who grew up in Maine, will find it a piece of cake.

A year ago, I was visiting my parents in MA right around this time, and we had an unexpected snowstorm. I hadn't brought boots or a heavy coat on the trip, because the snow wasn't expected. It was pretty funny trying to step around the drifts. Fortunately it all melted while I was still there. I probably should have at least brought my rubber mocs from L. L. Bean (I'm wearing them right now). They're as comfy as shoes and they would have made a huge difference. I'll probably be wearing these all winter, when I'm not wearing my knee-height Bog boots that is.

I'll take some pretty pictures of the snow when it comes!

the winter of my content

Winter is here in Alaska. No, I'm not kidding. It's snowing up on the mainland, and last night, we had our first major frost here in Juneau. It's supposed to be warmer the rest of the week, but basically, anytime after this it could snow.

I'm not sure I'm quite ready, but I don't think I mind too much. I need for Chris to send my Bean boots though. I have a pair of knee-high Mucks, but I figure the Bean boots are probably sufficient unless I'm actually wading through snowbanks. The Bean boots are essentially shoes, really, but for snow. I actually bought them in Maine on one of our trips there, and they've had only light use since then because until now I haven't lived anywhere where it snows a lot.

Yesterday, on the way to work, my engine overheated. I am hoping I managed to stop before the head gasket got damaged, but of course you can't know without taking the engine apart. It's not so bad at this point, anyway, that I have water in my oil or whatever (I did check). I didn't have coolant with me, so I had it towed to a mechanic, who put some in and said it started up without overheating again. I drove it home (after work) and my roomie and I checked the coolant level which had not really changed noticeably (although he did put some more in anyway). Tonight we're going to check it again and then after that I'll check it on weekends. My big issue with checking it, actually, is that the hood is hard to open -- it actually takes one person pulling the release inside the car and another person doing the actual opening. But I have two roomies so as long as one of them is around to help it should be cool.

My feeling is that I want to go ahead and get it fixed (although if I'm going to pay someone to open it up I hope the gasket's actually cracked, because the cost of fixing it is mostly labor and I'll have to pay it even if there's nothing to fix), even though fixing it will cost way more than I paid for her in the first place. This might seem like a silly thing to do, but my only two alternatives are either buying another inexpensive car - which might develop the same issue or, who knows, might even already HAVE a cracked head gasket - or putting a down payment on a new or certified pre-owned car and having to make payments for years (but of course having the security of a warranty).

I would like to think that I will never have a period of unemployment or financial crisis again. As jobs go, from everything I have been told, this one is very stable. But I am pretty gun-shy on the subject, and right now I'm stressed out by the fact that the contract I'm on hasn't been renewed yet. It very likely will be, and from what I've been given to understand, I'd very likely remain in my job even if my company lost the contract to another company simply because I'm here and I'm competent, but right now is really not a great time for me to be contemplating car payments. That said, if Chris and Dante were already here, I might very well go for it, and if the car lasts that long, a new or certified pre-owned car may be the way I go.

Anyway! Juneau is still breathtakingly beautiful. Pretty much every day as I'm driving in I'm just marveling at how gorgeous it is. Yeah, I'm a sucker for natural beauty. I'm so glad I'm here.