Volcano Alert!

Soon we might be getting snow of a very different kind. It turns out the earthquake last Saturday was just one of a swarm of quakes surrounding Mt. Redoubt, a composite volcano in Cook Inlet to the west of here. A composite volcano, a.k.a. stratovolcano, erupts with both ash and lava. These are the Mt. St. Helens, Mt Pinatubo, Mt. Vesuvius types of potentially violent eruptions (unlike the quieter eruptions of the Hawaiian shield volcanoes).

Mt. Redoubt is currently at Code Orange, which means an eruption is possible in the next few days to weeks. It lasted erupts in 1989-1990. Of course, how much this effects us depends on which way the wind blows, but current wind patterns have ash eruptions heading right over to Seward. If Redoubt erupts as it has in the past, we will probably just get a light dusting of ash, but you never know... Any ash, however, is bad as it can damage your respiratory system, clog air filters on cars and furnaces, and harm electronic devices. Plus the fine dust gets everywhere and is hard to clean up. So I am torn. I want an eruption because it is the raw earth alive and active; it is science in action. But I am also not too clean on not being able to drive my car, turn on the heat or go outside.

The two pictures below are from the 1990 eruption. The peak in the background on the left Iliamna, another of the many volcanoes in Cook Inlet. Everyone thinks of Hawaii when they think of volcanoes, but Alaska has 40+ active volcanoes, more than all of the Lower 48 and Hawaii combined.

You can learn more about Mt. Redoubt and view the live webcam at the Alaska Volcano Observatory page.

Being Thrifty

I think thrift stores are a great way to get kid clothes, especially as they grow out of them so quickly. Our thrift store here in town is small and has next to nothing, but between a side-trip in Soldotna last week after our in-service and a couple of auctions on Ebay, I am starting to get a collection of clothes for Lilly. Here are pics of some of what I have got so far.


I know it sounds silly to say, but little kid clothes are just so small! Buying her clothes has helped put into perspective how tiny she is--pictures can't convey that as well. The only thing I am having a hard time with is shoes. I have her weight and height (from 4 months ago), which gives me an idea of clothing size, but I have no idea about her foot size. Do shoe sizes match your age, or are they different? Hopefully I can get some updated information on her before I go. Most likely I will end up taking a range of shoe sizes and then buy some with her in China as well.

Dreams coming true!

Just over two weeks ago, Thursday, January 8th I was contacted by my adoption coordinator about a little girl who could potentially be a match for me. She sent me her file and I felt an instant tug. That night I talked to my adoption social worker, a pediatrician with experience with kids adopted from China and a few of the local doctors here in Seward. I had 48 hours to make a decision before her file was opened to other families. As it turned out, I didn't need 48 hours and called my agency the next morning. I told her the answer was yes-- I wanted to adopt that little girl!

So Monday, January 12th, (after a long weekend of computer glitches and anxiety) my Letter of Intention to adopt my Lilly was sent to China. This past Wednesday I received my pre-approval from China to adopt her! I am delighted and over the moon.

Lilly will be three in March--her birthday is the day after mine. Hopefully I will get to go to China by mid-April to bring her home. Right now I wait on the final letter of confirmation from China (takes 1-2 months) and the I get my visa and wait for the travel authorization (another month or so). Nothing is written in stone until we are together and sign all the official paperwork in China, but getting that approval is a good indication that all will work out as it should.

Lilly has a birthmark on her neck like my sister had when she was little (Heather's was bright red and next to her eye). They generally fade away by the time they are ten. I have a baby picture of Lilly and can see that what was once all bright red has already faded considerably. Either way, I don't care because I think she is sweet and beautiful and compassionate and I am overjoyed.

Today I sent Lilly a care packaged, with pictures of me and the cats, her room and the house. I also sent a few sweets, a dog stuffie and and some other goodies. I hope that with the help of her foster mom she'll start to recognize me as a new adult in her life and that her eventual transition won't be as scary as I am sure it will be.

Monday is Chinese New Year and I know this will truly be a new year and a new life for both of us.

6.1!

We had an earthquake this morning. A 6.1 on the Richter Scale (that is what was reported on the news, but the USGS site says it is a 5.7). I called mom and they felt it as well, in fact they felt it more as it was only 48 miles from Homer.

The shaking was enough to rock my bead side to side and make the wind chimes in my window swing. Mom said at their house they felt both the P and S waves, with the loud woosh coming with the last wave. It was enough to make them jump up from the table, but then the shaking stopped.

Favorite Kid's Books?

I want to start adding to my library of children's books, aiming for the age range of around 3-5. What was/is your favorite? Send me a title and I'll add it to the list.

What a change!

Last week it was frigid cold and now it is raining. When I lived in Fairbanks I used to have dreams about rain in the middle of winter, but that never happened. Now it is about 35 degrees out, the rain is pounding down on the icy roads and we have flood advisories until Friday evening. The upside is that my cistern was so low on water and now I am able to catch the rain again and pump it in ( a rare winter treat). Between last night and today I have got about 90 gallons, which is a blessing.

Still, it is very icy and very dreary and I am glad to now be home listening to the rain on the roof, a sound a quit enjoy.

less nerdy

Here is a less nerdy picture of me sporting my new green glasses (which have been much admired).

The Invitation

I should preface this by saying that they turned the invitation down.

Apparently President Elect Barack Obama reserved 5000 tickets to the inauguration to give to ordinary citizens who supported him throughout his campaign. I know this as two were offered to my parents!
Pretty cool, I'd say.


image from the back of YOGA magazine

Helvetica

On nights when Phil isn't working he has this plan to go to bed early so he can get up and enjoy daylight the next day. What happens, though, is that he ends up sitting up there in front of his computer reading his handful of financial blogs and The New York Times, surfing for new music and trading currency. Instead of getting sleepy, he gets all into what he is doing and usually doesn't get to bed until four or five in the morning.

Over break I really wanted to see him during the day, so I told him that instead of his usual surfing he should read something like the history of fonts so that he would get really bored and sleepy. Seriously, what could be more boring than the evolution of typeface and all it's minutia.

Well, I eat my words. Phil and I were watching PBS and saw a preview for an Independent Lens documentary, "Helvetica," and we both wanted to watch it! And so we did. It was on this past week and was very interesting (oh we are such geeks). I didn't know that Arial was just a knockoff of Helvetica, nor did I know that Helvetica is so ubiquitous--it is global.

There are those that praise Helvetica's curves, the way the "c" flattens at the ends, the way the "a" forms a tear drop shape inside, the power of the negative space between the letters and the simplicity that gives it a universal appeal. There are also those that belittle Helvetica's lack of emotional statement, its commercial overuse, it's banality. Who knew?!?

On the Independent Lens website you can take a quiz to see which type font best expresses who you are. Hmmm...I am Times New Roman:

"Some call you a classic--other call you a snob. Either way, you are a class act all around. Just don't take yourself too seriously."

That could be me...

p.s. I learned that serif means foot. So sans serif means "without the foot", or letters that terminate at the bottom without a little foot kicked to the right. This font is not sans serif.

Going green!

Okay, so I am little dorky looking in my new hat. I bought it in Homer over break and I love it. I have been looking for years for a cute hat that wouldn't squish my head. This one was made by a woman out of wool that was "birthed, nourished, shorn and dyed in Homer." The timing couldn't have been better because we have just had the 3rd longest (and coldest) cold snap in Seward's history. This is the same cold Arctic weather that is now making its way to those of you down in Ohio and Pennsylvania. I have worn that hat all week. Finally today it got into the upper teens. Seriously, because the wind wasn't blowing, I thought it felt warm out.

I am also happy that my new green glasses came on Wednesday. I needed to get a second pair of glasses and I wanted to get something fun and different. They go with the hat!

From Indexed.com 01/05/09

Inflation, deflation, whatever.

It's COLD

It is so cold. Yesterday the temperature was in the single digits, but we had strong winds, so the wind chill was around 25 below zero! It was freezing outside and as it turns out, not much better inside. The furnace at school stopped working early in the day. My classroom was 60 degrees when I got to school and dropped to 58 degrees. The hallways and other rooms were around 50 degrees. Thank goodness Phil gave me that warm wool sweater for Christmas as I had worn it for the trip in to school and ended up wearing it and my new wool hat all day. My feet and hands were still freezing--it is hard to type and write on the SMART board (my digital whiteboard) with gloves on. Just at the end of the day the heat came back on (today it was toasty warm).

Some of the kids were whining about the cold and I tried to remind them how lucky we were to have such a nice school and even a little heat. In China their classrooms are often not heated at all. I saw a segment on the news last week where they had gone back to Chengdu (where that devastating earthquake in China happened last May) and were seeing how the kids were coping. The students were all bundled up in hats and coats working on their lessons. In other places, like northern, mountainous Pakistan, kids are going to "school" sitting outside in the open with no classroom at all.

Sometimes I wonder at how I was lucky enough to be born here, in the USA. How different my life would be if I had been born in Africa or Mexico or Afganistan. Carpe Diem! Don't take things for granted and appreciate what you have. We are blessed.

hApPy nEw YeAr

It is cold! We have been hovering between about 3-7 degrees for the past week. It is lovely and sunny out, but down right bitter. We have wind gusts from 20-50 mph, which means sub-zero wind chill.

Phil, the night shift worker, fell asleep last night before midnight. Go figure, our first New Years together in years and he sleeps through it. That's okay though--I wouldn't want his schedule, having to switch between 12 hour nights and being awake during the day on his days off. And these days, with the low sunlight, day time is pretty short.

Yesterday was Pixel's cativersary. I adopted her from the Fairbanks Animal Shelter on New Year's eve, 2001. I was living in a very small apartment then (only 2 small rooms) and that first night the cats fought each other and my sweet, loving Obisidian even hissed and took a swipe at me! I thought, "what have I done...it is a Thursday and the shelter will be closed until next Monday, what will I do?!?"

I went to bed fearing the worst and the next morning went trepidatiously upstairs (there was one room up and one room down on a split staircase) and found them all cuddled together! I knew we'd be okay, which we have been ever since. I took this picture on Tuesday--they still love each other and I love them.