'Thar's Snow In Dem Hills'

"Oh the snow the beautiful snow filling the sky and earth below. Over the house tops and over the streets, over the heads of people you meet. Dancing flirting skimming along. Oh the snow the beautiful snow how the flakes gather and laugh as they go. Whirling about in their maddening fun it plays in its glee with everyone. Chasing laughing hurrying by it lights on the face and sparkles the eye. And even the dogs with a bark and a bound snap at the crystals that eddy around. The town is alive and its heart is a glow to welcome the coming of beautiful snow. Bon Hiver (Good Winter) Cicely." -Chris In The Morning KBHR
(Northern Exposure 1990)

Well, folks see it with your own eyes:) We woke up this week to the temps hovering around 25 degrees Fahrenheit, snow capped mountains white and Jack Frost's fingerprints everywhere. This particular view was captured on my walk home from school yesterday. Winter is creeping across the tundra just like that fog was a couple weeks ago!

The Seahawk Cross Country team has been training hard! We have our district regional meet this weekend in Dillingham. None of us have ever been there so it will be an exciting trip. We are, once again, filling up a plane! Six of us makes for a full flight on a 207, which we will be hopping aboard tomorrow afternoon and making the trek over the mountains to Dillingham! Rumor has it there are a lot of 'real trees' in Dillingham. For this 'Coach' is very anxious, it's been 2 months since I've seen pine trees, I might even hug one;) This evening after practice we piled into my house for a spaghetti feed. I tried to cook up a feast in spite of my domestic ineptness. This involved begging borrowing and stealing bread, utensils, even plates from my neighbors and a deep pan from the school to boil my spaghetti. All I have is my camp cooking set and since I do actually have a pot to pee in I guess my plight would be more accurately described as: "doesn't even have a pot to 'cook' in". I had suggested what I thought was a logical alternative to Steph, that we all could just eat out of tupper ware containers (I have an abundance of these). She assured me it was no problem she would bring plates;). Hum, maybe my childhood was sneaking up on me again. Remember those plastic yellow Parkay margarine bowls??? Those were considered fine china in the Skime household, we had a whole set! Anyway, Mike and I hosted my 5 runners, assistant coaches Steph and Sherry and families! It was a hoot. Steph and I tried to make garlic bread and it turned out more like grilled cheese but the boys had no complaints and there was none left when all was said and done. Here are some pics from their training runs this week. Principal Eric and Mike even got out and joined them one evening (Eric is the giant;)


A fun fact: Did you know my dryer is pay only. That's right it is a genuine original laundry mat issued coin operated drying machine! Luckily it only costs me the same 4 quarters every time I use it! Another exciting novelty here in my little village home.



In line with our spaghetti feed tonight, this week we've also dined on broiled salmon caught right from our Kanektok River and slow cooked pork bought straight off the fish plant flat bed earlier this fall when they were selling off all their leftover food. Anya was here for 2 nights so we had a little LCO celebration. She was pretty excited make it to the Bering Sea, we all took a little jaunt down to the beach one night.

Mike caught this pic as Anya and I headed to school Tuesday morning. She has her backpack loaded with all the essentials ready to head to the next village on her roster. This is the transient life of an itinerant in the bush school districts. Most of the time they sleep in the schools. Anya stays with me when she's in Quin and I stay with her when I'm in Bethel.

Meanwhile, Mike has been busy embedding himself in the community of Quinhagak. He bought a kite at the store the other day and was flying it along the road as we walked home one evening, you can only imagine the following that we had. He has quickly become the pied piper of Quinhagak. The kids and dogs absolutely love him and follow him everywhere. His presence in my classroom is calming. What a blessing. Not only that but he has volunteered to empty the honey bucket while he is here. I caught him on camera.
I was in Jim's class the other day and had the opportunity to participate in a game the kids were playing in honor of a classmate's birthday. It was called the Wink Game. All chairs were in a circle. Students were in pairs of two. One student sat in the chair while the second stood behind the chair. There was one open chair with a student standing behind it. That standing student was the 'winker'. It was the winker's job to scan the students sitting in chairs and find one to 'wink' at. That sitter had to then leap out of their chair and try to make it to the winker's empty chair without the person standing behind their chair tagging them. It was great fun and in the mist of it I over head one boy teasing another in good fun and his comment made me chuckle...as his 'sitter' was leaping out of the chair and he was swinging to tag the escapee he called out "yeah, well you look like Goose Soup!"

Mike took this pic of Ani on the beach the other day when they went for a walk while I was slaving away in the classroom. I think Ani is saying something in this picture but what is it?????? Post your idea about what he might be saying in the comment section. I'll send a souvenir to whoever's quote fits the best!

What is Ani Saying?
Alaska is derived from the Aleut alaxsxaq, meaning "the mainland", or more literally, "the object towards which the action of the sea is directed." It is also known as Alyeska, the "Great Land", an Aleut word derived from the same root.

"He sends his command to the earth;
his word runs swiftly.

He spreads the snow like wool
and scatters the frost like ashes.

He hurls down his hail like pebbles.
Who can withstand his icy blast?"

Psalm 147:15-17