Crossin' em off the list!

There are so many things that I want to talk about on the blog that I have taken up making a list of blog topics. Since I have not found time to blog much lately, that list is getting pretty long. This post is dedicated to crossing things off my list.

Spring has sprung! It has been above 40 everyday for a week now and Bethel has become one big mud puddle(although it's snowing right now). I havent left the house without wearing my mud boots for days. The land on three sides of our house is like a lake and the driveway is a foot deep with the grossest, goopiest mud ever. I have had to turn around and go a different way several times when driving around town because the road is either so deep with mud that I'm afraid I'll get stuck or there's a huge trench down the middle of the road where the melt water has washed a 5 foot canyon into the road. It's treacherous. I'm more worried about getting stuck in the mud than I ever was of getting stuck in the snow. I'll post pics soon!

We saw two ducks out Avery's bedroom window the other day...another sure sign of spring. The tundra is showing itself through the snow in huge clumps now and the trees are starting to bud. Everybody says that we will miss the best time in Bethel when we leave for the summer.

The days are officially 15hours34minutes long now, but the amount of visible light is 17hours19minutes, so it's basically light out from about 6am until midnight now. The really strange thing about the sunlight here is that it doesnt seem to range much in intensity. The sun at 7am, noon, 5pm, and 11pm is about the same. Bedtime seems to keep getting later and later every night. AND we're still gaining 5minutes33seconds each day

I bought my first kaspeq at the Cama-i festival. A kaspeq is a traditional native shirt worn mostly by women, but traditionally by men too. The most obvious characteristic of the kaspeq is the big pocket on the front. They are handmade and have specific patterns depending on the tribe, region, or family of the person making it. The people from each tribe/region/family have a specific pattern for the pocket of the kaspeq. We learned in our culture class that people from different region can recognize where a person is from just by looking at their kaspeq. The stitching on the trim of the pockets, hood, and sleeve is also specific to the family, kind of like a family crest. To see pics of many different kinds of kaspeq's, go back and look at the pics that I posted from Cama-i.

Latest read...

Mutant Message Down Under by Marlo Morgan. This book is about a woman's experience with a group of Aboriginal people in Australia. She is taken on a "walkabout" with the Real People and shown their ways and secrets. During her three months in the Outback, she witnesses things that are hard for most of us to imagine...the use of pure energy to heal, telepathic communication, and complete willingness to give yourself over to the will of the world. It is an extremely interesting perspective on the world, our place in it, and how everything we do has an impact. This book makes a powerful statement about what we are, what we could be, spirituality, energy, and how we should treat our planet. We are a bundle of energy and we can use that energy in many ways. We have been mutated from our original purpose; from our original life style. Great read, but only for the open-minded!
Avery sleeps with his eyes open...it's really freaky! The picture says it all. He is weirder than words can describe.Bailey is so big! She's been a really great dog. She's crazy as can be. She's alot of fun and alot of work.

Spring parent teacher conferences were back in March. I really like that there we have conferences in Spring too. It's really important to be able to talk to parents during second semester, not just first semester. Kids start to get antsy during the second semester...hard to imagine, right? So, the numbers are in...about 50% of parents showed up to represent their kids. About the same amount as for fall conferences, but this time their were no bribes. This is a great number for parent teacher conferences, I've never had this many parents for conferences in the Lower 48.

Ok, that's 5 topics crossed off my list...