No place like home

There's no place like home...there's no place like home...there's no place like home!

We had a few hoops to jump through before getting back to Deering. Before arriving at the airport at 10 AM for our 11 AM flight we checked out of our hotel, drove across town to Sam's Club, attempted to pick up the student counsel order, decided it was too big to ship ourselves, shopped for the refrigerated stuff for the student counsel and for ourselves, wildly packed it into four cooler bags and 1 suitcase, headed to the post office, sent three bins and a suitcase full of dirty clothes home, remembered that we forgot to gas up the rental car, sped through traffic to get to the nearest gas station, sped back through traffic to airport, dropped off the rental car, realized we parked the car in the wrong spot for return, ran to the check-in counter, frantically checked in electronically, checked 6 bags total, sped through security (thanks to the fact that we are traveling with a child), had about 5 minutes at our gate before boarding, arrived in Kotz, waited in the Bering Air terminal for an hour and a half, boarded the heavily laden Navajo bound for Buckland then Deering, went back into the terminal to wait for 45 minutes (something about the air in the strut), boarded the plane again, passed Eloise back and forth until she fell asleep, moved seats in Buckland, landed in Deering where it was COLD (left my purse on the plane), and then arrived at home at 5:45 PM. (OK take a breath).

Last night we immediately had visitors. It was our usual crowd: Miah and Shawna. Eloise was elated to see her buddies. It was clear to us that the city has no hold on us. We were ready to be back in the bush even if it meant not having a Starbucks, Costco, or Walmart. It was a bit of a test. I thought that we would "gorge" ourselves on the fine city feast. It turns out that we have lost our appetite for traffic, stop lights, shopping carts, shopping in general, hoards of people, more than one radio station, cable TV, etc.

There is so much work to traveling to and from the bush. I guess the slow pace makes up the difference. We all went to bed early (8:45). It was wonderful to sleep in our own beds. I don't think you get a better night's sleep than on your first night sleeping at home after traveling. There is something deeply satisfying about your own bed. The body knows where it belongs.


The tell tale signs of winter are presenting themselves. The temperature when we left last Monday (Colombus Day) was in the low 40s. The temperatures have dropped significantly to the low 20s. Ice is forming along the banks of the streams and rivers. In Kotz there was definitely pack ice bobbing in the Sound. Kids are starting to wear hats. They have not however changed to their winter shoes. Ashley (a darling 2nd grader) was visiting last night. She had on her coat and her hat. Her cheeks were rosy from the brisk evening air and the ever-present wind, but she was still wearing crocs. Paul asked her why she was wearing crocs. She looked at him like he was insulting her preferred foot wear based on merit or style. He clarified that it seemed like something else should be worn with the temperature as cold as it was. Her only reply was: "Eskimo". One simple word. Nothing else was needed. That summed it up.

Today the wind is whipping between the storage container and our house. That piece of flashing is vibrating in the wind. It sounds like a helicopter hovering over the NE corner of our house. Looking forward to the wind changing directions.

Love to all! "Eskimo"

PS - Eloise and I will be back in Spokane on the 7th through the 23rd of December.
PPS - New look, same great Blog. :)