Last week, when I made the journal entry with our "making snow from boiling water" video, it was -37F. The next day it went to -46F on Fort Wainwright, and was -43F here in North Pole. I didn't get a photo of that temperature on our thermometer, but I did get it hitting -40F.

I went around the house taking more photos of the frost and ice that builds up inside the house when it gets to be that cold. It's a good way to discover where there are air leaks in your house, that's for sure. We had a piece of trim moulding at the base of the front door that split when it got hit moving a piece of furniture in last summer. That split was enough to let the arctic cold find a way into our house. Here are some photos from around the house.

Because of the humidity inside, frost builds on the window on our front door.

Air that comes in through the deadbolt frosts over. We're lucky we could still operate it!

We definitely have to take care of repairing the cracked moulding before next winter!

The next day, the temperature rose nearly 30 degrees. It was -5F at one point. All the windows thawed, the frost disappeared, and I spent some time sopping up water on the windowsills and in the track of the sliding glass door. Right now it's 4F (above zero) - positively tropical.

We took advantage of the warm weather on Friday night, and visited the North Pole Ice Park. It's only open until the 30th of the month. I think we'll still be able to get into the park, but the lights won't be on the sculptures at night anymore (or so I assume). The North Pole ice park is put on by the same organization who manages the Ice Art Championships in Fairbanks every March. This was the first year and I hope attendance was high enough to keep it on the annual agenda. I purchased my season pass for the Ice Art Championships in March, so that I can go several times as I usually do. I'd like to get back to the NP ice park before the 30th - perhaps during the day.

I took my little camera with me so I could get some video footage at the park. I also took plenty of still shots. When I got home, I organized the video clips and still photos into the video slide show below. (Click the small play button below to view the video in this window)

I'm going to post the still photos below so you can see more detail in them. The video slide show leaves a lot to be desired, but hopefully you get the general idea.

There was a small kiddie park in the back with ice slides, but the night we went, there weren't any children playing. Perhaps if I get back there this week, there will be kids enjoying themselves and I can get some photos.

What I liked about this park was the fact that there were Christmas sculptures. The theme is Christmas in Ice, and there were nonsecular sculptures as well as Santa Claus. And one of the towering spruce trees was adorned with Christmas lights which added a very festive touch.

Here are some still photos (most are in the video):

We had a beautiful moonrise the other night. The skies were a cobalt blue as the glowing moon rose in the sky. I was hoping to see the Mars-Moon Eclipse last night (viewable from Alaska), but we had cloudy skies. Bummer.

Yesterday afternoon, I did a maternity photo shoot of my friend Heidi. It went pretty well, and I'm thankful that Heidi allowed me to 'practice' on her. Heidi and her family are PCSing (military move) to Nevada on January 3rd. I'm sorry we didn't meet earlier. It would have been nice to spend more time with her over the past three years. I hope she'll continue to read this journal and keep in touch. (*waves to Heidi*). I especially hope she'll email me photos of baby Justin when he arrives early next year. She's almost 8 months pregnant, and her "baby bump" is adorable. I really enjoy photographing pregnant women. I wish pregnancy was this celebrated when I was pregnant 25 years ago.

My friend Dianne went with me to help with setting up the backdrop, etc. We had a really good time. Afterwards, Dianne and I went to get something to eat, and then we ran a few errands before driving over to Pioneer Park so that I could get some photos of Gold Rush Town with my tripod. They're using LED lights on some of the log cabins now - for energy efficiency - and they put out a much cooler light, and aren't as glaringly bright. You've seen photos of Gold Rush town a gazillion times in this journal, but I never get tired of visiting - especially in winter when the streets are desolate and you can be alone with your thoughts on a silent night.

Tomorrow, Steve and I are having dinner and hanging out with our friends Celeste and Randy. We're looking forward to the company. Christmas is very low key here at our house. We're not exchanging gifts with each other; there's no need to. Our trip to Anchorage a couple of weeks ago was a birthday/Christmas celebration for us.

I've had some really down days over the last few weeks. This time of year is really hard for me. I find myself thinking about the fact that my kids are 3000 miles away, and my family in Philadelphia is 4000 miles away. Not having my parents on this earth makes me sad this time of year too. Dad was really "into" Christmas, and enjoyed decorating, and hanging the lights on the porch rail, and putting up the tree, and testing all the old strands of lights, looking for that one bulb that keeps it from lighting. He'd sit amongst tangles of cords and replacement bulbs methodically checking connections and filaments. But he never complained.

Daddy would go totally overboard at Christmas. I think his goal was to make sure that there was no floor showing beneath the Christmas tree. He was especially generous with his grand kids. Huge stacks of presents from Santa would be piled around the tree in the rec room at my parent's house. The kids' eyes would get so wide when they caught a glimpse of all the festively wrapped packages. Such great memories! I miss him a lot this time of year.

Before Dad died, Mom would host Christmas dinner at her house quite often. I remember when she'd put all the leaves in the dining room table, extending it from the dining room into the living room! She'd wash off the good china and polish up the silver. She'd find all her pretty glass serving dishes and plan the menu - all the way down to which bowl would hold which vegetable, and which serving spoon would be used. She'd sometimes make labels for the serving dishes so she'd remember what went where. I don't know how she managed to pull off cooking so many different side dishes and a ham or turkey (or both!).

Christmas dinner around the family table was a loud and boisterous event, with so much laughter! I am so blessed to have been born into a family that shared so much humor. It wasn't a sedate event with the occasional low murmur of "please pass the green beans". It was wild and crazy and we all fought to get a word in edgewise. We wouldn't have won any awards from Martha Stewart, that's for sure. But there sure was a lot of love in that room. I miss that more than anything.

This is the only time of year when I feel loneliness in my heart. I'm not lonely; not in the real sense of the word. I have friends here who I adore. I stay busy. I have a wonderful husband, who loves and supports me, and offers a shoulder, a kind word, or his t-shirt to wipe my tears. It's just that Christmas, and all the hype and commercialism, makes me remember years past, when my family was still intact, and we spent every holiday together. It won't ever be like that again, and that makes me sad.

Maybe next year Steve and I will go off to Madison to see the kids for Christmas. That would be nice.

But enough of the downer stuff! I'm feeling pretty good today. Seeing all the Christmas lights strung, and hearing Christmas carols, and receiving cards and gifts in the mail from friends who live all over the world has brought me great joy. I am blessed to have met so many wonderful and inspirational people. I am grateful for the friendships I have made via cyberspace - and this journal. I am thrilled when I receive an email from someone who reads this journal and writes to say hello, or to share their story with me, or to lend a shoulder or their prayers when I need them the most.

I try to answer all of those emails I receive, or to respond to those of you who sign my guest book - but sometimes it takes several weeks for me to find the time to sit down, collect my thoughts, and write back - because I want to truly write back and not just send off a short, impersonal note. I have several emails in my inbox that might be a month old (or more), and I apologize if one of those emails came from you. Please write again, if you're so inclined. Now that First Friday is over, and a new year is on the horizon, I hope to stay on top of my email inbox!

Also, I want to thank those of you who wrote to me in response to the wolf activity up here in Alaska. Several of you reminded me to be careful when I'm out walking Sedona, and I am touched by your concern. As the situation stands, it appears that the wolves in the Anchorage area are becoming much more acclimated to humans (there was the recent story of the girls who were walking their dogs and were attacked). The wolves here in the Fairbanks area have killed dogs, but so far haven't accosted people. That's not to say it won't happen. Please be assured that I am constantly on alert when I'm out and about, and I haven't taken Sedona down to Chena Lakes since this all started happening. We pretty much stay close to the house now. Too often, people forget that this is Alaska, and we're living in their (the wolves) space!

I don't know if there will be another entry before 2007 ends and we begin a new year. So, in closing , I wish you all a beautiful and love-filled holiday season. May you have many blessings in 2008!

Happy Holidays from our house to yours, Susan & Steve