I hate snow. Hate is a strong word, but it's true - especially today. Especially this week. Especially this month. Last year, the snow was intermittent in April. It fell and melted over the span of 24 hours, several times during the month. This year, it keeps coming, and coming, and coming - snow on top of snow. And then, to add insult to injury, we woke to temps that were below zero the past couple of days.

I am tired of seeing white fall from the sky. I'd rather see mud. I'd rather be mopping up muddy footprints at my front door, than looking at our boots lined up there. I am so ready for spring! And I know I'm not alone. My friend Karen forbid me from writing about how "beautiful the pristine snow is". She has no worries, believe me. Its beauty has faded.

To cope with the never ending winter, I have been busying myself (as has Steve) with planning and daydreaming about our summer excursions. Steve's been making campground reservations and booking fishing trips. I've been booking sightseeing excursions for June - when my friend Michele and her daughter Maddie come for a visit.

Last Saturday, Steve and I drove to Denali Park. We were both very excited about a drive into the park, even though we knew the road wasn't open past mile 15. Saturday also happened to be my father's birthday. He'd be 74, if he were still alive. I always feel a little down on his birthday, so I was glad that we were taking a drive.

When we got to the park, we stopped in at the Murie Science and Learning Center to talk to the park service about their prediction as to when the road would be open to mile 30 (Teklanika). We were dismayed to learn that we couldn't even drive to Savage River, as 20" of snow had fallen in the park. What a huge disappointment!

We started for home, pulling off into the town of Healy to check it out. All the times we've driven past Healy on the Parks Hwy, we have never driven into the town itself. My main mission was to look for a B&B that Michele booked for us while we're staying in the Denali Park area. (We're staying at the Denali Lakeview Inn) We found the Inn, and it looked fine from the outside. The parking lot was full of cars, so I'm going to assume that it's a desirable place to stay. With snow covering everything (including the frozen lake) it was hard to get a real feel for the place. The view of the mountains was gorgeous!

As always, we stopped at Monderosa for burgers on the way back to Fairbanks. We were not disappointed; we never are! It's too bad that we drove 5 hours roundtrip for a couple of burgers, but at least the scenery was pretty.

Steve and I decided to go to the movies on Sunday. It's been a long time since we've been to the theater, and mostly we were craving movie popcorn. What do they put in the stuff that makes it so good? We chose to see the movie "The Ruins" - a horror flick about an evil plant/vine in Mayan ruins. This plant is carnivorous, so you can guess what direction the movie went in. I hid my eyes quite a few times, but surprisingly I was entertained by the story line. It wasn't the teen slasher flick I expected it to be. The movie is based on a book of the same name, written by Scott Smith. If you don't like scary, gory, movies, this shouldn't be on your list. It wouldn't have been on my list, if Steve didn't want to see it - only because I don't relish watching a movie through my fingers. The best moment of the day? Having my Movie Rewards card scanned and earning myself a free movie ticket. I have to use the coupon by mid July. I think I can manage that.

I had to deal with major incompetence at our local post office this past week. I don't like to write negative things in this journal, but I feel it necessary to share my experience with my local readers - particularly those who utilize the McPeaks Post Office.

On March 19th, I shipped photo prints to a customer in England. The clerk at the PO weighed the parcel, informed me as to the customs form I needed to affix to the parcel, and gave me the grand total. I paid $21.75 postage (for a box that weighed less than 2lbs), which is what my customer opted for when I gave her the choice of service.

Three weeks later, my customer emailed me to inform me that the parcel had not arrived yet. I called McPeaks and was told by the other clerk that I shouldn't panic unless it had been more than a month. I pointed out that the internet states that delivery time to the UK, when shipping Priority International, is 6-10 days. She said it wasn't accurate information, and that many parcels from the US get caught up in Customs, which delay them past the 6-10 days. After talking to a few friends, and hearing their horror stories of shipping items overseas, I felt a little bit better. My first worry - that my prints were lost - faded. My customer and I decided we'd give it another week (the full month) before I refunded her money.

On Monday, I found a slip to pick up a parcel in my mailbox. Steve went to the PO, and discovered it was the package I had shipped to the UK! It was being returned because it needed more postage, and the wrong customs form was affixed to it. The clerk who took care of me obviously didn't know what she was doing.

I called the main PO in North Pole to make a formal complaint. I spoke to a gentleman named Mike. My main question was "Where has my package been for the past month?" He let me know that once a piece of mail is returned to sender for any reason, it no longer is a priority. In other words, my parcel came back to AK via a slow boat from Seattle - parcel post. As you can expect, I was livid.

Mike then informed me that the McPeaks PO is a "contract" office - and privately owned and operated. The employees who work at this office aren't held to the same standards as postal employees are. (I worked for the PO for 8 years, so I'm quite aware of the training and standards that employees have to meet and maintain). He strongly suggested that I utilize the post office on Fort Wainwright (also a contract office, but - according to him - staffed by highly knowledgeable people), or the main North Pole PO - which is about 11 miles from my house. His suggestion causes me to believe that I'm only one of many who has made complaints against the McPeaks facility. Be assured that I will never use McPeaks PO for anything of importance ever again. I can't risk a repeat performance, especially when it comes to my customers.

Mike asked me how he could rectify the situation, and I told him that I wanted the employee in question to pay the difference between Priority International and Express Mail International ($10) so that my package would get to my customer in a timely fashion. The clerk refused.

This is the reason I decided to write about the situation in this journal. I know that people make mistakes. But if you're in the business of serving the public, I feel it's important to make restitution when you've made an error. I don't think my demand was unreasonable. If the situation were reversed, and a mere $10 would have made the situation right, I'd have gladly paid it. Now, not only has the PO lost a regular customer, but this customer is spreading the word to anyone who will listen. It's not good business.

(And now back to your regularly scheduled programming...)

On a happier note, Welcome Home from Iraq, to our friend Jason! Jason spent 15 months deployed, away from his wife and three little boys. I looked forward to Amy's updates about Jason and the boys, and kept their entire family in my prayers over the last year+. Her email announcing his arrival home brought tears to my eyes. I know it was especially hard on their three sons, who were so scared for their dad. I'm so glad that the deployment is over for them. I wish it were over for everyone.

The wildlife on my back deck has been quite active. The redpolls are bullies and chase off the chickadees. The squirrels are mean and chase off the birds. The vole somehow finds a way to the seed tray, despite the animosity between the birds and the squirrels. And Airborne has spent hours watching the vole through the glass. A tasty treat - so close and yet so far.

Speaking of birds, a few geese have arrived at Creamers Field. This is supposed to signify spring's arrival, but I think they're just confused geese. I bet they've been tempted to turn around and go back where they came from since arriving here. I know I'd skip this stop and continue on to warmer places.