Batten down the hatches!!!!

OK? So, within a 2 day period, we went from an unusual 2 weeks of -15 temps to +40ish with crazy 100 MPH wind and rain. It was pretty trippy waking up in the middle of the night to see the trees outside blowing sideways. Today is the 3rd SNOW DAY in a row -unprecedented for this part of Alaska!!! ONE snow day a school year is rare. But 3 in a row?!?!?! With Dea playing hookie on Tuesday to go skiing with us at Alyeska and an in service coming up on Monday, she'll have had another week long vacation!
Wind warning issued for Turnagain Arm, HillsideThe National Weather Service has issued a high wind warning for Turnagain Arm and Anchorage's Upper Hillside starting Friday morning. The warning is in effect from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday, with southeast 50 mph with gusts 75 to 100 mph, the Weather Service said. Gusts of 50 mph are expected in east Anchorage through the afternoon, and very heavy winds are expected on the Hillside and Turnagain Arm through much of the evening.

Gramma D got to experience the full gamut of our weather on her trip and she took off safely for New Jersey yesterday morning. We've been laying fairly low this whole time. On Wednesday we lazed around with Gramma. We ventured out late afternoon to hit the mall and then check her into her hotel room downtown. She figured she would stay closer to the airport that night in case the weather worsened. She had an early flight the next morning and didn't want to drag us out of bed. Huz met up with us at the hotel and we all went out for a nice dinner at Cafe Croissant.

Afterward we goofed around in Gramma's hotel room, turning off all the lights and taking "blind" pictures. Gee, have you noticed Lo's tongue? Ya know when your Grandmother always said ,"Your face is going to freeze that way!!!" when you made faces? 'Tis true.

Dig the reflection over her head!

We said a sad goodbye and braved the roads for home.

Yesterday was spent baking, playing outside in the wind and swiftly melting snow, making a snowman, and making upcycled Shrinky Dinks.

Have a plethora of #6 plastic containers hanging around?! Cut them up, decorate with colored sharpies, and throw in the oven for 2-3 minutes at 350. A fun and creative way to utilize all that plastic.

I screwed up and actually used some #1 plastic that turned white in the oven but didn't really shrink-it just curled a lot. Stay away from the #1. We made the usual and I also I attempted to make a couple rings as well as some beads by cutting tapered pieces,

coloring them, and once they were hot, using a pot holder to wrap the plastic around the nose of jewelry pliers. It took some experimentation, but they turned out very pretty .

Would have been better, I'm sure, if I hadn't used #1! Some other fun things to do with your plastic HERE. You can incorporate your shrinky dinks into this cool mosaic idea.

Today we'll finally be taking down our Holiday decorations(!). We kept them up so that Gramma D could see them-but I'm ready to have my house back! I'd really like to watch this YouTube vid and learn how to use the drop spindle that Santa brought us. We'll go outside and try to make some ice slides as well as check to see if our snowman is still in one piece! And I think a nice cuddle on the couch with a movie is in order! I suppose we should come up with a back-up plan in case we lose power.... I always feel a (disturbing) sense of peace and relief when the power goes off. There are times when I just wish we could flip a switch to cut the power from the house for awhile. It's amazing how quiet it gets!