SNOW!

What a fun weekend!  Our football team, South Carolina Gamecocks, WON! We went shopping ... that's always FUN! And Sunday we woke up to a snow covered ground with the white stuff floating down. Beautiful!

We had a lot of fun playing in the snow and just watching it come down. It's been snowing all morning too. I love it!  Even though it's cold and snowing, Tom is still riding his bicycle to work. What a trooper! Of course, it's really not unusual here to see a lot of people commuting by walking, bicycling and even skiing to work. This is such a cool place to live. Unlike any other place we've lived before... and you know how often we move around to check out new places. :)

Enjoy the following video and pictures.  Thanks for stopping by!

A short video from Tom's work this morning:


Our weekend fun:

Have a fun Monday. Happy Halloween! BOO!

:) Janis

First Snow in 10-Day Forecast

Today is the First time SNOW has shown up in the 10-day forecast! Now, that doesn't mean it will actually snow, but at least the possibility is there. Woo-Hoo! Can't wait!

Snow....

Every morning I check the 10-day weather forecast looking for snow in our future.  I also check the mountain  tops to see how much snow they are getting.  I was very happy to get up this morning and see all the snow on the mountains!  Woo-Hoo!

Saturday Pictures

We didn't make it to the museum yesterday.  It was so COLD outside.  I could hardly stand it!  We went to Office Depot (got me some binding rings to craft with making mini albums) and the library. 

I took lots of pictures outside of the beautiful scenery.  Here they are:

This is a moose laying down behind the library parking lot.  He has some snow on his face and he is chewing on something.  Tom took the picture with my iPhone and he looks so far away, but he really was very close.

 

Look at this car!  We thought that was so funny.  I was wondering how long he must have been parked there to build up that snow on top, but Tom said, no he drove here like that.  What's really funny, when we got back home, we saw it in our parking lot.  LOL  So, I guess he really was driving around like that.

 

 

Here's a snow pile on one side of the parking lot.

 

I thought this was an awesome sight.  Tom and I couldn't figure out why the sun ray is going up. This was taken about 3:00 in afternoon.  It was looking like sunset.

Here's another snow pile.  That's what they do here.  They bulldoze the snow into one big pile when clearing parking lots.

I just thought this tree was beautiful.

Snowy tree lined street on the way to Office Depot.

And isn't this cool?  You can see the icicles forming on Tom's truck.  He also has icicles hanging under the bumper and wheel wells.  (Is wheel wells right?... You probably know what I mean.)

Brrrr

Today it's getting all the way up to 1!  Wooo-Whooo!  It's -2 right now.  Day 5 of the snow coming down.

The pictures above and below were taken at 9:25 this morning.  Sunrise isn't until 10:12 today and sunset today is at 3:41 this afternoon.

 

 

Tomorrow we are planning on going to the museum!  They have dolls and toys displays right now with carousel horses.... you know Bonnie is going to LOVE the carousel horses!!

Jingle Bells,

Janis

December Snow!

We are enjoying Alaska very much.  This is the 3rd day in a row that is has been snowing and snowing and snowing.  We are suppose to get 7 more inches by 4 o'clock this afternoon.  It's beautiful. 

This was Tom's view driving to work this morning.

 It's snowing so heavily today that it almost looks foggy outside because of the dense snow coming down.  We don't get much daylight these days.Sunrise is at 10:10 today and sunset is at 3:41 this afternoon.  When the air is filled with clouds and snow this heavy, it really doesn't get too bright outside.  It's like dusk all day long.

I posted on Facebook that if I were to lay down and make a snow angel now, I'd probably disappear for days.  My sister commented, "I'd like to see that! LOL" .  hahahahahaha

Here are 2 pictures Tom took after only being at work a few hours this morning.

Jingle Bells,

Janis

Wolverene Point - Tom's Sunday Hike

Temperature in the teens.  Deep snow.  Quick elevation climb.  Majestic views.  These are the things that keep Tom hiking every weekend.  Here's a quote from Tom from yesterday:

15 degrees. Snow on the ground. 10 miles and 3800' elevation gain in front of me. Can it possibly get any better?

For those of you who don't live in areas where snow and ice are typical (and we are learning so much), these are shoe chains with sharp metal spikes on them for walking / climbing in ice and snow.

 

Tom said some areas were deeper than this he had to walk through on his climb.  I think snowshoes may be a purchase in the near future.

What a handsome man!  Yes, that is ice in his beard and he hasn't even gotten to the top yet.

Here Tom is at the peak looking straight down the other side.  Wouldn't want to go down this way.  Ouch.

This is a bridge over a frozen (mostly) river.  The water level on the right is higher than the water level on the left because of how the water froze.  He said you could actually hear it gurgling a little.

Southwest View

East View

West View toward Anchorage

Here's a quote from Tom while he was resting at the top and eating a snack:

This is simply majestic, and the Fruit Loops just make it better.

It took him 4 hours to hike up, but only 1.5 to come down.  He loves hikes like this.  Can't wait to see what's on the adventure list for next weekend. :)

Guess What?!

Offer to Move from South Carolina to Alaska

Wow!  What a week this is!

Yesterday, my husband, Tom, received an offer to work for a company in Anchorage, Alaska.  Alaska is a place we've been talking about going to for years.  Hmmm..... should we go?

Living in the South, we are used to hot, humid days and mild winters.  Snow is something we read about and see in movies, but our personal experience with snow is very limited.

When it snows here in SC, everything shuts down.  School is out. Banks are closed.  The world stops for a holiday filled with anticipation and excitement.  Even the mention of the possibility of snow sends people to the grocery stores who quickly run out of milk and bread - a phenomenon I've never quite understood myself.

Average annual snowfall for Columbia, SC is 1.8 inches.

If we are lucky enough to actually have snowflakes fall from the sky, I stand in awe at the window.  I know it won't last long.  If it doesn't melt immediately after hitting the warm earth, it may last for a few hours.  But lasting overnight?  Extremely rare.  Whatever snow may be left in the morning, is usually now just ice and mud.  Not very pretty to look at.

So when I think of moving to Alaska, the first thing I think of is SNOW.  I wonder if I'll ever get used to it there?  Will I get sick of it?  Will it be as normal as late evening summer thunderstorms here?

Average annual snowfall for Anchorage, Alaska is 70.4 inches.

Alaska... just the thought makes my skin prickle with excitement.