Christmas Recap

I am happy to report I had my first white Christmas!  Not only that but the sun was shining, something one does not take for granted on Kodiak.  All in all it was a good day all around.  Since I am currently working nights, I had to wake up early (noon for me - hey when you go to bed at 7 or 8am, that's early) to cook for everyone since they all work normal people schedules.
 
Christmas dinner was held at a friend's house.  A house that is shared by 3 single men.  3 single men in Kodiak.  This was bachelor pad to the extreme.
 
I should have known dinner would be a challenge when I walked into the kitchen and was met by a beer pyramid.  Yes, a pyramid built out of full case of Miller Lite and Corona Extra.  My second clue was the magazine that went into some unseen assault rifle.  Right.
 
We took an inventory of cooking utensils.  My oh my.  Was it ever limited.  How do these guys cook for themselves when all they have are a couple large skillets and a single 2 quart sauce pan?  I mean really?  Oh, that's would explain the beer pyramid and the frozen pizza in the freezer.  I was starting to wonder how this was going to get done, but it was Christmas.  Time for Christmas magic!
 
I had to prepare a few things, but there were no large bowls.  A cereal bowl does not a serving dish make. Time to make use of all that Coast Guard training.  I made green bean casserole in a cake pan, the only oven safe dish I could find that was not a sheet pan.  The 10 pound ham went in a one of those flimsy disposable roasting pans that the landlord had used to deliver cookies, placed on said sheet pan (we removed the cookies first, for the record).  The fruit salad got made in a Crockpot.  And the crockpot went in the fridge.  So, in case you are wondering, yes, your crockpot can keep hot dishes hot and cold dishes cold.  Must write them to let them know. And the mash potatoes got made in a large skillet.  Yes, a skillet.  4 pounds worth of potatoes too.  It actually turned into a stroke of luck, because it made mashing them fairly simple afterwards.
 
In the end, it all came out delicious.  And I will never forget having to "adapt and overcome" Christmas dinner.

Merry Christmas!

or, whatever other holiday you celebrate.  They are all pretty awesome.

For me though, Christmas the only time of year my family ever came together under the same roof.  Which, looking back at it with older eyes, was probably for the best.  I'm used to mom or dad (or even me) having to work that day, so I understand life goes on and the world does not stop.  I just need to ask my parents about that.  Dad's a firefighter, mom's in healthcare.  But this is the first time I will be half a world away.

And I'm ok with that.  The man is with his family in Minnesota. And my family will meet, just as they always have, and eat dinner with a turkey and a ham since my cousins don't eat turkey, two kinds of dressing ("stuffing" for you all not from the south), turnip greens, pepper vinegar, and ambrosia.  I've left out about 20 different dishes we always have even though there's only 12 of us, maybe 16 if my out-of-state cousin comes home.

My watch section is off, so that means I get to cook dinner for a few of us random people that had no other plans.  We get to decide what Christmas in Kodiak looks like to us, and that's pretty cool.  Apparently it looks like ham, mashed potatoes, peas, pies, and whiskey.  Sounds like a good plan to me!  Especially the whiskey the part.  Keep ya warm you know?

Even the rest of Kodiak is getting in the holiday mood.  Some fishing boats are back and there's fresh crab for sale.  There's a couple of guys carving wood sculptures outside.  Lights are everywhere, even on base.  Best of all, it looks like I may just be lucky enough to get my first white Christmas!  It snowed a bit today, and is supposed to snow tomorrow.  That alone makes it all worth it.  But with that being said, dear Kodiak, if you put me though all this crap so far and I don't get snow tomorrow out of this, I will be very, very, unhappy.

So, to all, enjoy the day where ever you are, with whom ever you are with. Remember not all of us are lucky enough to be with our loved ones, but be assured that those of us in the military, the fire service, the police service, or health care are making a sacrifice we chose to make. One we made so you could be safe from tragedy not just today but everyday.  And we will be with our second family, a family bound not by simply by blood but by oath, courage, and commitment.  It is the greatest gift we have to give, besides surrendering our life for yours. It is one that we give freely - even though it can take a toll on those we are parted from.  So do not waste such a gift my friends.  Celebrate it. 

"Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist....he lives, and he lives forever" - in us.

My parents

I love my parents.  We have a very unique relationship.   I could go on and on about it, but I think it is best summed up with a picture and a video. 

I got this comic attached to my Christmas gift:

Gee, thanks.  There's no snow out right now, but I really enjoyed being reminded of what I have to look forward to.


I also got the following Frosty the Snowman from my mom....There's a singing dog in the last few seconds of the video, I did not get him. Yet.  I should also mention he came with a note attached that said "Someone to keep you company in the snow."

Whatever Mom and Dad.  You all have a sick sense of humor.

Black ice and slush

I'd like to take a few moments and talk about two weather conditions I have experienced in Kodiak so far and have not discussed - black ice and slush.

I know black ice.  In Florida.  It's what happens when it hasn't rained in a while so oil collects on the roads and when it rains just a bit, well, oil floats and then so does your car.  It isn't pretty.  But the stuff I am talking about is actual ice.  It's a very thin layer of ice that forms and can be hard if not impossible to see on the road.  Lucky for me, driving on this black ice is the same as the stuff I am used to, so no problems there.

Walking is another story.  I slip and slide but thankfully have not fallen due to it yet.  In fact, I almost ate it walking to my car this morning.  But I think I'm starting to master this walking stuff.  And by master I mean I walk on the grass because there is no thin sheet of ice there.  Just crunchy frost.  HA! I win!  On a side note, the ground does freeze.  I pointed this out to the fiancé while he was here and said something along the lines of "Well, at least it's not the tundra."  He kindly pointed out that frozen ground was the definition of tundra, even if its not that way all year.  So I live in the tundra now.  Great.
 

The next item is slush.  Like, when the snow melts or it snowed that morning but is now raining.  So you get 3 or 4 inches of what looks like a slush puppie on the ground.  Not even the good quality slurpee stuff, but the other kind.
 

At least I don't slip and slid on that, but getting around becomes a challenge because you need boots high enough.  Hey look my snow boots work well for that!  Alright I'm in business.  But seriously.  This stuff is usually pretty dirty and nasty.  It has killed all appeal for drinks of the semi-frozen sort.  At least its good for the diet.

Things I have learned about Kodiak

Since living in Kodiak, I have learned a lot about it's people.

Sweatpants and Xtra-Tufs are Kodiak chic. 

Cute on your kid, not on some salty old fisherman with holes in the crotch of his sweatpants. I could not find a picture, but I wouldn't want to permanently scar you anyway.  (Also, why is this kid holding a very large bottle of wine?)


What I (regretfully) do not have a picture of is the Kodiak baseball field.  It is named Coon Field.  It's after a person, and has been named that way since the 70's.  Honestly, I don't think I need to go into why this makes the vast majority of people I know break out in hysterical laughter.  It's so....not politically correct.  If you can't figure it out from here, you got problems.

Main aisles in Walmart include canning and shoe care.  Canning is for the salmon I have learned (mom, you should stock up here for your jams - I have never seen so many canning supplies) and the shoe care is a byproduct of the military being here.

Fishing and hunting are the main tourist draws here in the summer, so hotels have such wonderful features as "Large freezers!" and "Places to clean your catch!" and "Near Kodiak Taxidermy!" To take your prizes home, you can go to the airport where they will pack and freeze it for you in ready-to-fly packaging.  Now, this is obviously smart business practice by catering to your customers.  But I still laugh when I pick up a hotel brochure and its the biggest selling feature they have.  I would personally want a private balcony with a hot tub, but what do I know?

Store here don't really sell ice.  I guess you just shovel snow for all your cooling needs.  That's what we did at a party - put all the beer in the snow.  Worked wonderfully too.  I recommend it.  But it did actually freeze the beer.  So that was a minor inconvenience.

Finally, the cold weather and lack of sun is clearly having an affect...

...Or maybe I went back to Florida?  Whatever these people are smoking, I want some.  Because it gives you some serious dreams.

Week Hiatus

Sorry about the week hiatus.  Ok, so I’m not really all that sorry.  The male-half came up to visit me.  Oh, and I can now call him my fiancé instead of my male-half.  How exciting! I met this great guy who loves me, even though I am apparently a butthead and a crabby patty at times (yes, those are his own words).  And I have never been happier.

Not much else to update on here in Alaska.  It’s been above freezing for a while, and most of the ice has melted.  Gotta be careful for the odd patch of it here and there though.  If the sun would come up, it would have helped things along, but no.  No sun for me.  Right now, the sun comes up just before 10am, and sets just after 4pm.  But because of the mountains, we really only get about 4 hours of sun.  And the sun maybe gets about 40 degrees off the horizon.  So while it’s great light for photos, it very strange for me, and you get thrown off really easily as to what time it really is.  Since I am going to nights for the next few weeks for my job, I won’t be seeing any sun for a while.  Yay for tanning beds.  They really do help give you that happy boost.  I think I’m addicted.  Hopefully, I won’t get too addicted and tan too much.  I don’t want leather skin by the time I’m 30.  That’s not a good look.

My watch section

So I can't go much further in my blog without talking about my watch section. They make up the majority of the people I know on this island so far, and while they laugh relentlessly as me, they have also been a huge source of help.

It's warmed up here the past few days - to 40 whole degrees.  I never thought I would call 40 degrees warm, but there you have it.  Tuesday night though, it got warm, then got below freezing.  Remember that whole car getting stuck thing?  Well, I saw it happening again as the time came to leave work.  But I severely underestimated the amount of completely solid ice there was outside.

I just needed to get rid of my car and use ice skates.  It was icy like that.  And I had to drive home.  I was a bit nervous, but my supervisor was nice enough to agree to follow me home.  Because, well, I have decided I don't want to die and get eaten by bears.  Too much stuff to do.

But first I had to get to my car.  One of my shipmates told me she likes to pretend she's ice skating.  That was actually somewhat helpful.  So instead of the teeny tiny baby steps I had been taking, I was trying, not so gracefully, to glide across the ice.  Another shipmate pointed out it was easier to walk in the snow.  I had figured that out already, but there was no snow in front of me.  What awful time to give that advice.  And of course, my entire section was laughing behind me.  Assholes.

So after skating all the way to my car in my uniform and boots, I got to my car without falling.  I even got home safe and sound without the slightest bit of sliding on the ice.  I even had a shipmate from the section make sure I made it inside.  As I tried to step up on the curb without busting my face open, I hear this snickering.

"I'm sorry, I don't want to laugh.  But you look like a penguin."

...................

Go ahead, let that imagine sink in.  It's like a cross between an actual penguin in blue clothes and Bert dancing in Mary Poppins.

I have decided that it can mean only one thing: I have adapted.  I am now a cold-weather bird.