Above the Arctic Circle in Narvik

All day yesterday we cruised the Norwegian Inside Passage heading north. At some point we crossed into the Arctic Circle and this morning we docked in Narvik at around 9:00am. Last night I woke up around 3:00am and looked out our balcony door and it was snowing. It was coming down hard and fast but since we were on the water nothing was sticking so I couldn't tell how long it had been snowing or how much had fallen. But is was beautiful to watch. This morning we woke up around 7:00am and it had stopped snowing and we were getting nearer our destination. At 8:00am we went up to the World Café for some breakfast and coffee. The place wasn't too busy and we had a nice relaxing morning as we ate and watch as the ship docked in Narvik.

After eating we returned to our cabin and got our things. Then we went down to Deck 1 to disembark so we could take a shuttle into town. The shuttle was less than a five minute ride into the city. We wandered around a bit and really didn't see much. We thought there may be an old part of town with shops and restaurants but we didn't find anything like that. So after about an hour we decided to walk back to the ship. It was a pleasant morning, it snowed a little and it wasn't too cold to be walking and it was beautiful.

Once back on the ship we had some coffee in the Explorer's Lounge and relaxed for an hour or so. Then we returned to the room where I edited photos and blogged while Thomas read. Around 3:00pm we headed down to the Star Theater for our 3:15pm excursion. This was a bus and walking tour of Narvik. Once we were loaded onto the bus we drove around the town while our tour guide gave us history about Narvik and the area. We made stops at a few locations around town - Narvik Marina, Narvik Church, the Arctic Train and Ankenes Church. It snowed most of the time we were out but it wasn't bad. The snow actually made the town beautiful and serene. The tour lasted about two hours and then we were taken back to the ship. Thomas and I changed and then went down to dinner in the World Café. Tonight they had seafood and some traditional Norwegian dishes. It was all very good.

After dinner we were in our cabin - Thomas was reading and I was editing photos when they made an announcement that there was aurora borealis action. We just went out on our balcony and got to see it from there. It wasn't very bright or big but now I can say I saw the Northern Lights. I took a few pictures - they didn't come out great but you can see the lights. The trip is fulfilled now that we have seen the lights, everything from here on out is all icing on the cake.

Sometime tomorrow we will arrive in Alta where we will be for a couple of days. I am enjoying this trip tremedously.

A Snowy Spring Day

Yesterday we had a little snow that persisted on and off for much of the day. But it was light and was only sticking on the ground a little. But this morning we woke up to a much heavier snowfall which didn't let up until sometime after noon. It was a beautiful snow fall and made the landscape look wonderful. So I decided to take a few pictures to remember this late snow that we received.

Walking in a Winter Wonderland

This morning I woke up and looked at my list of things to do and decided I really didn't feel like doing anything on the list. I decided I wanted to take a drive up the mountain to the ski basin and take a walk. So I got dressed (with long johns) and took off on my drive. Once I was parked I took off walking around the area and enjoyed the beautiful snow and the peacefulness of the area. I took lots of pictures and just thought about how wonderful it was up here away from all the hustle and bustle of the holidays. One of the things I loved about walking around out here was the pureness of the snow. It was clean, white and void of any marks - so beautiful. I stayed as long as I could tolerate the cold - about an hour and a half. It was just what I needed to get rejuvenated to get back to reality.

Not Much to Report On

Well, it is hard to believe that one month of 2010 is already gone - and I haven't written one blog post this month. Not much has been going on this month, just getting back to a normal routine after the holidays and traveling to see the family. The first couple of days of the new year were taken up with putting all the Christmas decorations away and getting the house all clean and back to normal. I was really glad when that task was complete. Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas and all the decorations but I don't like the work of putting it away until the next year.

I have been working more this month - the hospital seems to be a little busier and they are scheduling the staff differently. I only work per diem so my schedule fluctuates greatly and the hospital sometimes uses travelers so I never know how many hours I will get each month. Back in April 2008 St. Vincent's partnered with Christus and now we are Christus St. Vincent's Regional Medical Center. There have been many changes, most involve Christus bringing in new managers from other areas of their organization. There are good and bad things about this. One, they are a Catholic organization (so was St. Vincent's) and now at each meeting they say prayers. Not too many employees are happy about it. Two, we are also now required to wear uniforms - not too big of a deal. The therapy staff will be wearing polo shirts with khaki or blue pants. I can live with that. They are also making it a priority to build up a full time staff. Now this has been a problem ever since I started working there seven years ago, so I am not sure how they plan to do this. They did mention something about raising the therapy staff's salaries - but it would have to significant to really be competitive here in Santa Fe. We are also going to computerized documentation starting tomorrow which I personally think will be good. Right now it is so hard to get the chart that we end up wasting a lot of time - with the computer we will be able to access any forms at any time, even if someone else is viewing them on another computer. Anyway, I am glad for the hours. Before the holidays I was barely getting two or three days a month so it is nice to be working more now.

The dogs are also keeping me busy. Daisy isn't too bad. She is now about a year and a half old and is pretty settled and trained. But Buddy is another story. We are still working on house training. He does well for a while but every now and then he has an accident - it is getting better but it has been a slow process. Another issue with him is chewing. He has plenty of toys and mostly chews on them but he sometimes likes to grab a shoe to chew on. It is getting better but every now and then I catch him with one of our shoes. We are really loving having the two dogs around. They get along well and spend hours playing together which is nice when we are at work. Buddy is growing fast and before long he will be Daisy's size and it will be interesting to see how their relationship develops.

We've had dinners with a few friends throughout the month and that is always enjoyable. We also visited Thomas' cousin Ruth in Albuquerque. She had surgery last month and is still going through treatments. We are hoping everything heals quickly. On our trips to Albuquerque we took some time to do a little letterboxing. There really aren't a lot of boxes in the area and the weather is also an issue. I also mangaed to take a drive to Stanley to find a box and that was a nice trip. Thomas and I have been meaning to go see Avatar but things just keep popping up and we never make it to the theater. I have heard good things about it and want to see it at the theater to get the full 3D effect - maybe this evening or sometime this week.

I have also been thinking of taking a couple of small trips soon. I am looking in to a trip to Tucson, mostly for letterboxing and a trip to Lafayette for Easter to see my family. And possibly a trip to Georgia to see my brother and his wife. We would probably do some letterboxing there as well because it seems that my brother and his wife have gotten hooked on the hobby. Not sure about any of these trips - they are only thoughts at this point.

Our winter has been pretty mild with little precipitation. That is until these last two weeks. We had small amounts of snow three days in a row last week and then this week we had a major snowfall on Thursday. I love the snow so I was happy that we have been getting some. I took quite a few walks in the snow and took pictures. We still have some snow on the ground but it is melting fast. I am hoping for another storm soon. We really need the moisture for the summer.

Well, I guess that's about it, You see, I told you there wasn't much going on except for the normal day to day. Hopefully February will present more things to blog about.

Isn't It Suppose to be Winter?

Winter started early for us in Santa Fe or so we thought. We had some snow and a few cold weeks back in October but then it was gone. Well not all gone, the mountains still have some snow on them but not much. Ski Santa Fe has had to postpone their opening due to lack of snow and warmer temperatures. The last few weeks have been unseasonably warm and the days have been beautiful. Now I am not complaining because I love the sunny days where the temperatures only require you to wear a light jacket. But I am missing the cold and the snow. Since moving to New Mexico I have come to relate the holidays with the cold. I not sure why. I grew up in Louisiana and can remember wearing shorts for Christmas. Now that I have experienced that "White Christmas" I just feel like the cold and snow just make it all more Christmasy.

The weather reports for this weekend called for colder temperatures and some snow. Well here it is Sunday night and it is a little colder than it had been but there has been no snow. Well at least not in town. Hopefully, the ski basin has gotten some new snow. I decorated the house for Christmas this weekend and was looking forward to seeing some snow on the ground. We will be traveling to Louisiana for Christmas this year and I am hoping that we get some snow in Santa Fe before we leave - it would make the holidays a little more special.

Christmas Eve in Santa Fe

Each year on Christmas Eve there is an area of Santa Fe that decorates their neighborhood with farolitos. Thousands of people descend upon this area and walk the streets admiring the wonderful glow coming from all the little paper bags filled with sand and a candle that line the streets and walkways. It is a perfect way to spend the evening. There are usually bonfires (luminarias) burning at different spots along the route to allow people to warm up as they enjoy their stroll. And you will hear Christmas Carols being sung all around you. It is the best reason to be in Santa Fe for the holidays.

Usually Thomas and I travel to Louisiana to spend Christmas with my family. I come from a large family - my dad is one of eight and when you add the spouses, grandkids, great grandkids and significant others we usually end up with close to 100 people for our annual Christmas Eve celebration. Until a few years ago one of my aunts would have this at her house, but it finally became to big of an ordeal and the eight brothers and sisters decided to take turns hosting the night. One of the changes involved renting a hall for the night so that we had the space to actually enjoy ourselves. Everyone also contributed decorations that get passed around each year so that we can decorate the hall so that it is more festive. We also do a potluck so that one person doesn't have to do all the cooking. We always have a good time and it gives me a chance to see everyone in one place instead of having to find the time to visit all of my aunts, uncles and cousins seperately. This year we decided to stay in Santa Fe for the holidays since we were in Louisiana in October for my dad's wedding.

On Monday night and Tuesday morning of this week we had as incredible snowfall. Tuesday afternoon and today was sunny but the temperatures stayed in the low 30's so we still have most of the snow on the ground - everything looks so beautiful and what a treat to have a white Christmas. Tonight Thomas and I left the house at 4:30pm so that we could make our dinner reservations at 5:00pm at Cafe Paris. We enjoyed a great dinner and dessert and just chatted about nothing in particular. It was very relaxing. Afterwards we walked through the Plaza and made our way to Canyon Road. We strolled slowly along Canyon Road stopping every now and then to enjoy a bonfire or take a picture of the farolitos. It was quite crowded but still very pleasant. Quite a few people were singing Christmas Carols as we passed - it was not always the most pleasant sound but it was fun. At some point we made our way over to Acequia Madre, which was much less crowded. We stopped to take pictures a couple of times and then finally made our way back to the Plaza and our car. We ended the night by attending an Open House at our friends, Diane & John's house. We visited for about an hour and then headed home - by this time we were tired and cold and were ready for our warm house. It is always nice to spend the holidays with your family, but Thomas and I can't always make it to Louisiana for Christmas. And besides Thomas is my family, so enjoying the holiday in Santa Fe with him is very special.

So Merry Christmas from Santa Fe. I hope your evening was as pleasant and special as mine was. I hope Santa is good to each and everyone of you.

A White Christmas?

Last night it started snowing around 8:00pm. It continued snowing through the night and morning. At about 11:00am it cleared up and the sun came out. What a beautiful sight! We had from 8 to 12 inches accumulate over the property. Everything was glistening and white - it looked just like a song. I decided to bundle up and take a walk on the property and take some pictures. Here is what I saw.

So with all this snow maybe we will have a white Christmas in Santa Fe. That would be a wonderful treat.

Walking in a Winter Wonderland

When I woke up this morning there were a few clouds in the sky and the sun was shining. I did a few things around the house and then got things together to run errands. By the time I was leaving the house a light rain had started. After running two errands the rain had gotten worse. I noticed that the mountains were completely covered in clouds. So I deduced that if we were getting rain in town and the temperature was in the mid thirties then it was highly probable that the mountains were getting snow. So I decided to take a drive up Hyde Park Road. At first it was just rain. By the time I reached the turn for the Dale Ball North Trails there was a mixture of snow and rain. A little further up the road and it was just snow and coming down hard. When I reached the Black Canyon Campground I turned in and parked, bundled up, grabbed the camera and headed for a little walk. I walked into the campground to the first junction. The snow was about mid-calf deep in most places and a little higher than my knee along the edge of the road. I took a lot of pictures and I was covered in snow. I had to keep putting the camera under my jacket so it wouldn't get too wet. I returned back to the entrance to the campground and crossed the bridge to the picnic area. I walked a little ways up the path and continued to take pictures and enjoy the beautiful snowfall. After about 40 minutes I walked back to the car - I had to brush snow from the windows and put the defroster on so I could clear the windshield in order to see. As I headed back down the road I enjoyed the views that the snow had created. I realized I wasn't ready to give this up yet so I pulled into the parking area for the Chamisa Trail and took a short walk along the trail headed north. I could of stayed up there the entire day but duty called and I had to complete my errands. Here are a few pictures from my walk in a winter wonderland.