We are quickly losing precious hours of daylight. The sun doesn't brighten the morning sky until close to 9am now. Since I'm usually up before 7am, it's hard to get used to sitting in darkness for a couple of hours. One of the advantages to these late sunrises, is being awake to see them. This morning the sky was striped in pale purple, orange and a deep teal blue. I stood out on the back deck watching the colors change, as the chickadees began their morning whistles for seed.

Last week, I picked up two full-spectrum lamps from Home Depot. I have one in the living room, and bought the other one for the bedroom. They're desk lamps, and not really stylish - but that really doesn't matter to me. I've been using the one in the living room for several hours per day - both morning and night. Perhaps it's wishful thinking, or mind over matter, but I feel it's helping. We'll see how things go when we're really in the midst of what sometimes seems like eternal darkness.

Now that it's football season (I'm not a sports fanatic), I find myself taking Sedona with me and going for drives, or going out for a little retail therapy by myself. It's funny because the department stores are full of women on Sundays - most likely for the same reason.

This past Sunday, Sedona and I took a short drive around town. It was cold and overcast. We stopped at a few places for a quick walk and to take photos. Our first stop was at the boat launch along Nordale Road. We were the only ones there.

The river is freezing up quickly. There are only narrow portions where you can see free-running water, but the ice that covers the top of the river isn't thick enough to support any substantial amount of weight yet. There are still life jackets hanging at the loaner station. Up until recently, there were still plenty of boats going into the river for some fishing. Also, hunters use the river to get to places where they can hunt moose. I'm sure the life jackets won't be there for too much longer.

From there, I stopped to pick up a few things at the grocery store before making another stop at Creamers Field. By this time the wind had picked up speed, so I had to cut our walk short as I wasn't dressed adequately for it.

There were a few other families out walking the trails, despite the blustery day. As the weeks pass, the snow will accumulate, and these paths will be covered. Cross-country skiers and skijorers will take to the fields.

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Monday night, Carmen and I went to dance class. I bought a new hip scarf in a hunter green color. It has a lot of gold coins on it and makes a pleasant jingle sound when I dance. Class was fun, and I'm getting a little more comfortable with the different moves and dance steps now. It's good exercise too. I still can't believe we'll know how to dance well enough to perform for the public in May. Or maybe we won't know how to dance that well, which would certainly make the performance entertaining for all the wrong reasons! Oh well, you only live once, right? We're having a good time and that's what's important.

I had lunch with my dear friend Karen yesterday. We ate at Gambardellas - definitely one of my favorite Fairbanks restaurants. It was great seeing her. I think it had been almost a month since we saw each other last. I hope we don't wait a month to do it again!

Steve's been on night shift, and sleeps during the day, so I've been trying to keep busy while he sleeps. Today, I had lunch with my friend Abby. This time we ate at The Diner - the restaurant where Rachael and I used to eat several times a month. It was my first time eating there since Rachael moved away, and I had a lot of great memories come flooding back. I missed having her there, but certainly enjoyed my time with Abby. I ordered my *regular*: grilled cheese and curly fries. That's my comfort food, and I enjoy it even more in the winter months. Not only does The Diner make a good sandwich, but it's one of the least expensive restaurants in town. Abby opted for a late breakfast and had French toast, which she said was delicious.

We engaged in some Retail Therapy after lunch, with stops at both Michael's and JoAnn's craft stores. Those stores are dangerous for both of us, for different reasons. Abby is not only a glass artist, but also a painter. She went off to drool in the acrylic paint aisle, while I went off to browse in the frame and matt aisle. We both left a little bit poorer, but happy.

After I dropped Abby off at her house, I decided to alter my route home and take a drive to the top of Birch Hill. The sun was shining, and I could see some faint orange streaks in the sky as the sun made it's way down toward the horizon. There was also a fog hanging low in the valley. I drove to the top of the hill, where the ski lift ends, and took several photos. On the way back down the hill, I noticed that the foliage in the shadows was still cloaked in frost, left over from the morning. Also, the Chena River, where it winds through Fort Wainwright is clogged with ice floes.

		When the bold branches Bid farewell to rainbow leaves - Welcome wool sweaters. ~ B. Cybrill ~

Last night, I was feeling creative and put together another video slide show. This slide show highlights photos of the northern lights I've taken over the past 4 years. I found music online that was composed by Bob Shafto (www.bobshafto.com). The composition is called "Night Lights" and I felt it fit the slide show perfectly. The Northern Lights are definitely one of my favorite things about winter in Alaska. To play the video within this page, click on the small play button beneath the video.