Sixteen years ago today, I married my incredible husband. It's hard to believe that it's been so long already - not that sixteen years is long, when compared to other folks I know who have been married for thirty, forty, fifty years, and more! But it seems like Steve and I exchanged vows only yesterday at times. And other times, I can't remember a time in my life when he wasn't at my side.

He had to work today, and I thought that I'd work on a video slide-show as an anniversary gift. I thought the project would only take a couple of hours, but it ended up taking me nearly 8 hours to put it together. First I had to dig through some old photos (taken over the years with my 35mm) and find some that would tell a sixteen-year story. Rather than scan them, I took photos of them. Then I had to edit them for brightness, etc before resizing them for the internet. Once I had that done, I had to choose which ones I would use for the slide show and then put them in chronological order.

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The snow came back on the 6th, dumping more than an inch on the Fairbanks area. We weren't alone in our suffering; the snow also visited Anchorage and other points south. While snow in April is not unusual, it's usually not very welcome. We were teased by a warm up, making us believe that perhaps Spring would arrive early this year. We do this to ourselves every April.

I've written it before, and I'll write it again, April is my least favorite month of the year. We move between thawing, and end of winter snowfalls. Litter which has remained buried for 6+ months is revealed as snow recedes. The trees are no longer coated with a white frosting, and instead look dead and brown. The ground which gradually comes into view is soggy and muddy, and strewn with left over leaves from autumn. Gravel edges the shoulders of our roads, pounds and pounds of small stones which were dropped regularly during the winter months. The street cleaners won't come by until late in the month or early May.

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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.

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The day after I made my last miserable journal entry, the sun came out and snow did not fall from the sky. The weatherman was predicting highs in the 50s and 60s and said we were getting ready to "Flip the Switch" here in the Interior. He was right!

On Saturday, Steve and I went to the Outdoor Show at the Carlson Center. We did a lap past all the booths, picking up information as we went. Steve talked to a few fishing guides, while I filled my plastic bag with 2008 visitor guides for various places around the state. Outside in the parking lot, we walked through the RVs and travel trailers they had on display. There were two Class A RVs (the kind you drive - like a huge bus), and they were really nice inside. But with the price of gas, you'd have to be a gazillionaire to afford to take them on vacation. The newer travel trailers had a handful of features that we liked, but other than that, the floor plan wasn't as nice as the one we have in our camper. We're quite happy with what we have, but it's always nice to get a whiff of that 'new vehicle' smell.

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I can only hope that tomorrow - being that it's the 1st of May - will somehow bring a miraculous change in the season. I'd like to finally move from winter to spring. I've had enough.

Today, I woke to nearly blizzard conditions and an accumulation of approximately 4 inches of snow. Thank goodness it stopped as the day passed, but the bare spots I had in my yard yesterday are covered again. (Uh-oh... it's snowing again as I type this)

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