Instead of writing one long column, I’m doing a handful of random short takes.
Local boys make good: Portugal. The Man took a Grammy for best pop duo/group performance. Still giddy over this, even though I don’t know them. At one point I may have met Eric Howk, the guitarist, because I used to work with his mom.
Point being, it was a band that originated in the Last Frontier and has worked hard since the oughties. It’s great to have something Alaskan other than oil fields and giant cabbages being celebrated nationally (and internationally).
Rock on, guys – and I say that as someone who listens exclusively to the classical music station.
Winter-ish: We got a little snow, and the temperature has dropped below zero at night so it’s sorta-kinda-winter. On the whole, the season has been a disappointment, especially for Nordic skiers and the guys and gals who plow driveways as a side hustle.
Dear Lower 48: Please give back our snow. We miss it.
The naked city: Anchorage residents called the police to report an unclad man near the city’s Westchester lagoon area the other day. Some said he was completely nekkid and others said only from the waist down. “No sexually related behavior was observed,” according to the cop shop. (Would have been a challenge, given that we’ve been having single-digit days lately. There’d be no there there, if you know what I mean.)
Also: “Police would like to not only ensure the safety of our citizens, but provide help to those who need it. Someone who is not properly dressed for the weather could succumb to hypothermia or other weather-related injuries.”
Moose, no squirrel: Alaska’s largest ungulate has been well represented in our neighborhood (and our yard) lately. Chowing down on the dead clematis that still clings stubbornly to the trellis. Tearing at the little mountain ash that DF transplanted into the front yard. Peering in the window with a “What are you lookin’ at?” pugnacity.
The moose in the photo above was photographed through a window (hence the blurriness) and some months ago (hence the still-visible grass). But it has the same expression as the one described above.
My friend Linda B. says that any day with a moose in it is a good day. I agree, except when they try to kill your mountain ash trees or decide to trot across the street without warning. Those suckers are hard to see at night.
The candy man: The local bakery outlet has had some odd things before, like cans of sardines in tomato sauce and Minions ice cream cones. Recently DF encountered one-pound bags of strawberry Twizzlers for 50 cents apiece. He came home with a couple of bags and proudly presented them to me, knowing that this is one of my favorite candies. My response: “You just got two? I mean, thanks.”
And yes, I went back and bought 30 pounds way too many. Am thinking Easter baskets for my great-nephews, but am also thinking that these things are way too easy to eat. Bonus: Because they are getting close to the end of their useful spans, they are perfect for me. I like ’em a little hard/stale, so much so that when I buy Twizzlers I open the bag and leave them to ripen for a while.
Football, sex and credit
So far away?: My new small business credit card small business credit card arrived today. Here’s the unsettling part: The expiration date is 2023. That seems light-years away, even though I know it really isn’t.
The big game: I am not a sports fan, and had to ask when the Super Bowl was going to be. Apparently it’s on Sunday. I should care more because I’m from South Jersey and the Philadelphia Eagles are in the game, facing off against some other team I also don’t much care about. Technically, I hope they win because my brother is a big believer in the Iggles (local pronunciation).
We don’t have a TV anyway, and I plan to spend Sunday working on a couple of new assignments. DF is going to see a play called “Young Jane Eyre.” A lot of women in Alaska are going skiing. Some will even don costumes, although I doubt anyone will paint their faces the way football fans sometimes do.
Waistlines and wallets: I got a press release about a Credit Karma survey regarding debt and weight. Nearly two in five U.S. residents would rather have more debt than a bigger pants size. Women would take on an average of $692 in debt if it means avoiding a weight gain of 10 pounds; men would take on $1,299. What is the matter with us?!?
Love and money: That same Credit Karma survey indicated that 24 percent of women would give up sex for a year if it meant their current debt would go away. Only 13 percent of men said they’d make the same deal. You have to wonder how many of these people are getting much sex (or much good sex) anyway, i.e., it might not be an issue to give up something you don’t actually have.
Speaking of self-denial: The first day of Lent is Valentine’s Day and Easter is on April Fool’s Day. What a weird year to be Catholic. DF says he’s too old to give things for Lent. Maybe I’ll try to give up Twizzlers.
Related reading:
- In which I cop to some odd habits
- Br’er Rabbit and Br’er Bear, Alaska style
- A pullet surprise
- Three things about me
During December here in AL, our favorite pastime was exclaiming, “It’s warmer in Anchorage than it is in the South.” The weathermen kept us all apprised of the fact.
I wish I could find Tootsie Rolls that cheaply.
Looks like Catholics are having a bad year.
Your random notes have me thinking and giggling. I think I’ll send my found money to the Alaska Ski for Women. Then I’ll head over to check the clearance rack (isn’t it all clearance, in a way?) at what my Dad always referred to as the “used bread store.” Enjoy your Twizzlers!
Funny — DF calls it that, too!
Thanks for reading, and for leaving a comment.
The first day of Lent on Valentine’s Day? Ouch. I’m picturing dozens–nay, hundreds–of heart-shaped boxes of candy tucked away in kitchen cabinets, waiting forlornly for Easter Sunday. But perhaps the anticipation will make that eventual bite all the sweeter?
Our winter so far has been rough, compared to what we’re used to. We had actual snow. That stayed on the ground. For days. It was just too weird. And then I thought about the fact that I used to live in a place where that happened Every. Single. Year. For months at a time. And everyone drove in it and the schools and stores mostly stayed open and it was just no big deal. After so long here, that seems almost unreal.
I saw a video once where a guy in a uniform (game warden? sheriff’s deputy?) had to use bolt cutters to free a moose with its antlers tangled in a backyard swing set. The moose seemed pretty calm about the whole thing, and it wasn’t until much later that I thought it must have been tranquilized. Very glad I wasn’t in that guy’s shoes! 🙂
Glad you’re having a good winter and have some new projects to work on. Stay warm!
You are welcome to have our snow from New York. We are expecting to get 6″ to 11″ tonight into tomorrow.
I have to laugh about your post…a few things made me giggle 🙂
At church on Sunday they told us that the Pope has not give any special consideration to lent beginning on Valentine’s Day. They are hoping that people will celebrate the day or weekend before. I would like to point out that in the past when St Patrick’s day feel on Wednesday or Friday during lent..the Pope has always given special consideration. Things that make ya go hmmmmmmm
OK, yah get it. The SuperBowl was in Minneapolis and we had a lot of snow. Lotsa parties and Jimmy Fallon even ate hot dish tater tots at a Minnesota home. Oh geez, Donna, you do not have TV and maybe it was great to miss it all. It was a celebration here. But a clown show as well. How much money came into this state I cannot imagine. The airport had to close two runways to park all the executive planes coming in, some of which had to find other places to park later. Only 1100 of them. So it is over but I enjoyed watching what people with too much money do with their time. They had fun at expensive parties and really great concerts and spent too much money on Super Bowl tickets. I do not have a lot of money but I enjoyed what was happening here. And I love my frugal lifestyle much better and embrace it after the last week.
I do love the State of Minnesota (you betcha totally) but I am glad this stuff is over, even though I did not get to ride the zip line over the Mississippi. Or see a moose. Now, that would have been a thrill. Donna, you had the thrill I wanted when that moose came in your yard. And you did not have to pay for it.
OK, I hope you write an article about what I just saw, a lot of rich people coming here to see a football game. Or, maybe I will. It is part of life.
Not sure what the attraction is — it’s just a football game, after all, and after reading some articles about the long-term effects of that game on the human body, I doubt I could support the sport anyway.
People get a little goofy about the Iditarod up here, but they’re not spending the kind of money you’re talking about with the Super Bowl. And, as you note, the moose are free.
Thanks for reading, and for leaving a comment.