Camping calls, but not sleep.

With spring comes a shifting of seasons, mindesets, equipment, and possibilities. The thick down jackets can retreat into the closet and be replaced by light rain coats and fleece vests on the coat hooks in the hall reserved for actively used apparel. We change our tires and our oil and our shovels from snow to dirt. Nature seems to wake suddenly from a deep slumber under her fluffy comforter of thick snow, reveling all kinds of micro-flora in the arctic tundra, including a thick blanket of moss, just as soft as the winters snow.

And as the weather gets warmer, and we get the first dozen or so Bar-B-Q's out of the way, we think "why, we should go camping!" this is a somewhat novel idea recently, as we haven't been camping (and for good reason) since the summer before my sweet daughter was born. Now she is nearly two, very curious, often apparently independent, and loves to explore. We had a three day weekend, and thought that it was the perfect time to see how she like sleeping in a tent.

Well, she *loved* going to the campground, setting up the tents, playing at the playground, playing with our friends (who went camping with us) watching the fire, and eating marshmallows! Just not the "Sleeping in the Tent" thing... I think that she figured it was so much fun that she shouldn't have to sleep at all. Or maybe that we would have fun until she was really tired, and then we would magically be back home so she could sleep in her crib. We tried nursing, walking, laying down with her, sitting with her in our arms rocking her, going for a run with her in the jogging stroller, and finally driving her around. A few times we had her asleep, but then when she got into the tent, the different surface, different sounds, and different surroundings would tell her little subconscious "this is not where you sleep!" and she would wake up and not want to lay back down. Finally, after sleeping in the car seat for 20 min, at about 11:30 pm (her normal bed time is 7:30) she agreed to lay down in the tent, as long as we were both there. and she eventually drifted of to sleep.

Boy, was that a lot of work for one nights camping!!! Not sure it was worth it, but we lived through it, and maybe next time will be easier?!? Maybe we will just try to sleep in the tent in the back yard some time!

BBQ's, the first true sign of spring!

Well, spring is finally here in Fairbanks, long sunny days, sunny nights, the leaves came out Sunday (in the morning only buds, Monday morning a nice halo of green leaves on all the trees). This primarily means one thing: a profusion of spring Bar-B-Q's. Everyone and there sister want to get out and knock the dust out of the charcoal grill, and expect all of their friends to come on over, eat some of the surplus hamburgers and hotdogs that have accumulated in the freezer over the winter, and supply tasty dishes that actual require cooking! :-)

It really is a great time to be in Fairbanks, just don't plan on relaxing on the weekends! (or at night, as the sun stays out until most hours). Two weekends ago it was the migratory bird festival, a party on Friday, and getting together with friends and relatives on Sunday. Last weekend it was the Alaska railroad open house and Sonja's first birthday party. This weekend there are BBQ's on Thursday, Friday, and an open house at the "Large Animal Research Station" where they raise muskox and caribou, and they have lots of cute babe's at this time of year :) Lots of Fun!

Good thing that work is a bit quiet at the moment... Gives me a chance to rest up from the weekends!

The World is Light.

A Blog for me? What is the world coming to??? I never anticipated a time when I would regularly write my thoughts for general contemplation and share my general view of the world in a public forum, but here we are. When I was in elementary school, they would hand out small blue books of empty pages, and try to entice us kids to fill them with our thoughts, dreams, drawings, anything. At the time the primary goal was to encourage writing and communication skills (a good thing to encourage, true) but it never worked for me. Dyslexia, stronger interests in math and science, and the ever present call of playing outside with my brother always prevented me from even wanting to try very hard, and I never got past page two.

Today things are a bit different. Computers with spellcheck, learning to type, and time have helped me to get over most of the blockade to writing that Dyslexia had created. Having completed degrees in physics and art has given me more experience from which I can draw inspiration for writing, and though the draw to play outside is still strong, I now have the discipline to sit and get my thoughts down.

I don't know if I will be consistent with this new project; only time will tell. It does seem like an interesting challenge, and will provide an opportunity to compose my unruly thoughts and probably develop a more considered viewpoint on the world. I find that many of my thoughts and opinions that I don't develop through conversation, or study through writing remain incomplete, incorrect, or unconnected to the world we live in. Because of this, adding to this blog would be a positive force in my life. I do however, recognize the poor precedent for any kind of journaling in my past. A busy life always seems to intercede. We will see.

Oh, and the title? Hopefully, I will supplement my meandering narrative with some of my photos, which is one of my primary hobbies at the moment, and photography is nothing if not an attempt to record the world we see it illuminated by light.