Coming up on Christmas

Well, it's Christmas Eve and never has it been so obvious we're so far from home and family.  We're invited to a friends dinner tomorrow, which will be nice, since otherwise we wouldn't be going anywhere.  We're going to midnight Mass tonight at church, which we've finally included pictures of below. :)

The weather was warmer until last week and then a few days ago, it started getting really cold again!  Today, it got to a high of -18 degrees!  But the skies were clear and blue and the sun was shining which was a great change.

The following pictures are of the frozen fog we had last week that accumulated on everything.  The trees are stunning and white and it's beautiful outside!  This is our porch...

 A tree (or "tall brush" as Alaskans call it) by our house.

 Our fake Christmas tree!  It's not horrible, right?!?  I always said I'd never have a fake one, but trees up here had to be shipped in and were quite expensive, so we ordered one from walmart for $20 instead.  It'll be staying, whenever we leave.

 This is the back of our church.  On the right side of the alley, there's a store that we shop at, and the church is located on a small dead end, mostly surrounded by buildings, so it's hard to see it from farther away.

 The inside of the church.

 This is a view from the back porch of the church.  I think that's normally a lake, or an offshoot of the river when it's melted.

 This is the entry to the church.  It's all quite plain, but that's our church.  Oh, the truck and boat there are Father Chucks. :)

 And this is the tundra right now.  I think it's the best looking in the winter (and we don't have to worry about dust, allergies, mosquitos, etc.)

We wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!  We'll be coming back for a visit in the middle of January and hope to see you all then!  Love you all very much!  Jeff and Laura

Shopping in Bethel

 I brought my camera shopping today, so I can share with you all how very lucky you are. :P  I mostly showed things that you all buy every so often so you can be more comparable.

Large jar of peanut butter, $14. 15!

Block of velveeta cheese, $12.99

I was actually shocked about this one.  This is only 4 (100 calorie) packages of popcorn, $11.39!!!

Ruffles chips, $8.29

This is a fun one.  The cans on the left is pie cherries, per can, $9.15!  The jar on the right is mincemeat for pies, $11.59 per jar!

I think is an 8 pound bag of sugar, $14.39

Flour, 10 pound bags, $18.65

1 box of cornflakes, $7.59

1 Lb. Jimmy Dean sausage, $7.15

1 gallon of milk, $8.19!!!

1 block of cheese, $13.49

And because of these, I'm very grateful I went on shopping sprees for canned vegetables before we left.  For a can of corn, $2.55 each!

Same for the green beans.

And this is a fun one.  For one of those tiny cans of Campbell tomato soup, $3.25... For ONE can.

One can of chili?  $3.89.  :)

Knowing that people will ship stuff to us for the cheaper cost of the item located where they're at, priceless!!!

Great update

It's crazy how fast the time has flown since we've been here!  It's been over 9 months already, leaving us with only 2 years and 2 1/2 months to go.

Lately, we're at our darkest with the winter solstice coming up in a week or so.  In the mornings, it stays dark until 10:45 and in the evenings, it starts getting dark around 4:45.  I'm excited for when it starts getting lighter again!

We have alot of snow on the ground and until last week, it was probably 1 1/2 feet.  I shoveled the snow for the first time in my life, only to go outside later and discover our landlord came over with his snow plow and took care of it again.  :)  At least it was good exercise!  But then, a few days ago, the weather warmed up to the 30's and it started to rain which melted most of the recent snows.  However, on top of the snow and ice from the last month or so, it made the roads very treacherous to drive/ walk on, as I discovered when I slipped in our neighbors yard and landed on my bum.  But we're good!  No injuries or bruises to speak of!

On Thursday of last week, in the town that never shuts down due to snow or ice, the schools actually shut down for the day because the roads were so dangerous and the weather was pretty bad.  But we still had to go to work...

This morning, this email was going around our work bulletin, where they send out warnings, or news, or sell item.  It's kind of like a local craigslist.

"Bethel Search and Rescue
Travel Warning

Ice conditions in the Bethel area continue to deteriorate, with reports of growing overflow and open holes on the river.

Travel is not recommended at this time, especially at night. BSAR advises staying off the river until the weather improves.

Please advise anyone who must go out to be prepared for trouble and be safe. These conditions make S&R efforts difficult and dangerous.

Thank You"

Apparently, now is NOT the time to drive on the river.  The thought of falling through and being swept down river with the current is enough to keep me off of it completely, until it is frozen solidly all the way through!

As a last note, we're really getting a kick out of you Lower-48-ers complaining of the cold.  Someone in Phoenix, Arizona (you know who you are) said something about having to layer up to go outside when it was in the 40's??? I think?????  Jeff and I did the math (at the time, it was -45 degrees with the windchill) and realized there was a 85 degree difference between there and here, so quit complaining!!! LOL :)

Have a great week everyone!!!