You know you’re in Alaska when it warms up to 35 degrees (Farenheit) and you go out in your short sleeves to wash your car.
It Feels like Spring in Alaska! Feb 19, 2010 - 40 degrees at 7:04am, we’ll have 9 hrs 26 minutes of daylight today.
Seasons in Alaska: Winter, Still Winter, Almost Winter, and Construction. Or Winter, Break up, Winter. Just jokes. Really we have 3 seasons: Winter, Breakup and Construction. Not really.
Winter is the favorite of the snow worshippers you know, the snow machine fanatics, snow boarders, even the skiers. For them, with the beautiful Alaskan terrain, it doesn’t get any better than this!
Breakup on the other hand, is the pits. On the good side, break up is the thought of spring. Breakup is the messy, dirty precursor to spring. Alaska doesn’t use salt on the roads to aid in driving during the winter months, gravel is used instead. When the snow melts, the paved roads look like dirt roads. The neighborhood streets flood as the snow melts and ice chunks block the city drainage system. Breakup boots are a must-have for children.
Thank goodness we really have spring and summer! Spring in Alaska is like an explosion! The leaves on the trees will bud one day and BAMB! Three days later leaves are seen! It is an exciting time! The days are getting lighter, the sun is warming everything! It’s beautiful! Even the snow worshippers enjoy the spring!
Today it feels and looks like it’s Breakup! The Alaskan ladies are discussing break-up on Facebook. Kellie Carlson Dunlap said, “All right, my Alaska friends, please, please, please stop saying it is breakup. If we don’t say it, maybe this 40 degree weather will hold, but if we all get our hopes up we’re gonna have another couple months of winter. We all know how this works! Besides, after having a REAL Autumn, does it even make sense to think we might have a Spring, too?
Kellie knows like I do, that this is another example of life’s lessons: The key is to Accept, and not Expect. Accept the spring-like feeling. Enjoy every day of it! Look around, feel the warmth, the energy, see the beauty. Notice it everywhere! Write it in your journal, express it to all your friends and family.
When the temperatures drop again, accept it for what it is, a personal growth opportunity. Learn from it, see the value in it, stay close to God through it. And even with it, enjoy every day.
When we see and feel the good in everything, we’ll enjoy our lives! We don’t have to complain and waste our energy on wishing for things that are not in our control! Instead, think about things that are in our control! Use our creative energy for just that – Creation. Decide to enjoy every day no matter what!
And get a kick out of this~
You Know You’re in Alaska When:
-you know the term “Break up” has more to do with the weather than a relationship.
-you find -60c degrees a might chilly.
- the trunk of your car doubles as a deep freeze.
- you attend a formal event in your best clothes, your finest jewels and your Sorrels.
- you can play road hockey in ice skates.
- you’ve taken your kids trick or treating in a blizzard.
-you have 10 favorite recipes for moose meat.
-you find driving better in the winter because potholes get filled with snow.
- you know a honey bucket is really a bucket, but it’s not really full of honey. (If you don’t know, don’t ask.)
-you learned to swim indoors.
-you leave your Christmas lights up, year round, because as soon as it gets warm enough to take them down it starts getting dark enough to put them up again.
-you know a “white out” has to do with winter conditions not correcting fluid for typos.
-you know going “outside” involves a whole lot more than opening a door and walking into the yard.
-you know that Bunny Boots aren’t worn by bunnies or made out of bunnies.
-you put your sun visor down at 3:00 a.m.
Two Eskimos sitting in a kayak were chilly, but when they lit a fire in the craft it sank – proving once and for all that you can’t have your kayak and heat it, too.
February 20th, 2010 at 3:58 am
Hi Linda,
I would love to visit Alaska sometime. I think it would be a truly amazing experience.
I am from Australia and it kinda sounds like the opposite to where you live.
Thank you for sharing this.
Sally
.-= Sally Bath´s last blog ..Are Limiting Beliefs Holding You Back From Success? =-.
February 20th, 2010 at 4:01 am
What a fun lesson Linda, thanks so much for sharing. The idea of accepting, regardless of the weather is such a great statement applied to freezes and life in general. Thanks for sharing this great message (and confusing me about breakups early in the post, hehehe)
Kimberly
.-= Kimberly Castleberry´s last blog ..Free Social Media Connect With Me Buttons =-.
February 20th, 2010 at 5:18 am
Linda,
So what is a honey bucket? Gotta know!
Having grown up in Michigan, I can relate to the winter weather. As a kid I really loved it. Bundling up and rolling around in the snow was our every-day recreation. Do you ever make angels on your front lawn?
Living in San Diego I miss the distinct seasons, as we have balmy weather pretty much all of the time. In fact, people get cranky if the sun doesn’t shine for a couple of days.
You painted a great picture. I can feel the snow on my face and the wind howling!
.-= Darlene Davis´s last blog ..Mother Teresa & The Taxi Cab Driver =-.
February 20th, 2010 at 7:29 pm
I told you not to ask about the honey bucket
I grew up in Michigan too! A suburb of Detroit! Yes, angles in the lawn was a regular!!! The contrast is amazing!You have summer all year and I have winter almost all year!
February 21st, 2010 at 2:32 am
I truly enjoyed this stroll through Alaska
from a real locals point of view. Your
writing style here was fun to follow, too!
Do YOU have a favorite moose meat recipe
you would like to share?
.-= Robin Lynn Brooks´s last blog ..PAIN FREE -Book Review =-.
February 22nd, 2010 at 7:32 pm
Thank you Robin for your comments! Moose meat is similar to hamburger. The only difference is in the fat content. You may need to add a little oil when browning. If you don’t tell anyone it’s moose, they’ll probably never know!!
February 21st, 2010 at 9:56 am
Hi Linda, interesting insight to Alaska, and good example of enjoying what ever you’re doing & wherever you’re doing it
Life is what it is & we all get to experience different scenarios of it. Thanks for sharing. Cheers Toni
.-= Toni King´s last blog ..It’s All Good =-.
February 22nd, 2010 at 4:57 am
Exactly!! I’m glad you can see what I’m trying to say!! Life is what it is!
February 23rd, 2010 at 5:36 am
Hi Linda
Well i definitely learned a few things today! How awesome is it that i get a sneak peak into your world and it is totally different to mine! We have been going for early morning surfs at the beach getting sunburnt at 9am!
Alaska truly sounds like a beautiful place though and i hope i get to visit one day.
You are spot on when you mentioned accept instead of expect. Couple this with being grateful for all you have right now and you have a fantastic existence.
Thanks for the insight into your life Linda
Cheers,
Matt
February 26th, 2010 at 8:40 pm
ÐŽHola!
Nombre de lindagraceonline.com a GoogleReader!
Nicolas
March 5th, 2010 at 9:19 pm
Hey, you should connect a picture to your comments! Check this out and I’ll hold your hand through the process! http://lindagraceonline.com/get-the-focus-on-you/
April 21st, 2011 at 2:49 pm
This article was funny to read. My mother lives in Dutch Harbor and I get amazed when she says “It was nice today! It was 40 degrees”. I still haven’t visited because I’m afraid of the cold, but I always hear how beautiful the state is. With its bald eagles and I like the fact that everyone knows everyone. Reminds me of when we grew up in a small city in WA. Is it true that there’s a month where it’s dark for 30 days?
April 23rd, 2011 at 8:15 am
Amanda,
Yes, it’s wild! On winter Solstice Dec 21 is the darkest day of the year. It gets light about 10am and dark about 4pm – Your mom is telling the truth! You should come see your mom in the summer! I don’t know where you are so it might be like your winter, bring your summer jacket and enjoy the beauty!!
Linda
ps. Why don’t you get a Gravatar? I’ll show you how here http://lindagraceonline.com/get-the-focus-on-you/ then leave another comment and let me see!
Linda
April 27th, 2011 at 12:08 pm
Hey Linda-
Thanks for replying so quickly. I live in California so I think I’ll have to bring my heavy socks, scarves, and ALL my sweaters! I don’t do well with cold haha. I would love to go around the time where it’s dark all month to experience it. Are people more prone in getting depressed in AK?
Thanks for the link-I’ll check it out!
April 28th, 2011 at 5:03 pm
Amanda,
Some people to have ‘SED Sesional Affective Disorder” but the darkness has never bothered me. Alaska is in my opinion the most beautiful in the nation! You’ve got to see it to believe it!
Linda
May 4th, 2011 at 1:55 pm
Hi Linda-
I’ll think I’ll make a plan to visit. When’s a good time to go? I would love to witness the Northern Lights! When does that happen?
May 4th, 2011 at 3:12 pm
Amanda,
Unfortunately you can only see the Northern lights in the dark of winter! And even more unfortunate is the northern lights aren’t out every night! Now I say unfortunately because my favorite season is summer, my husband on the other hand loves winter (and snowmachining) the best!
Linda
May 19th, 2011 at 11:05 am
I can’t wait to go there in the summer time. I hear it’s beautiful and not too cold (not too hot either).
May 21st, 2011 at 3:37 pm
Sandra,
You are absolutely right! Summers are perfect! My husband disagrees – he likes to snowmachine!
Linda
ps. Why don’t you get a Gravatar, a picture connected to your comments? I’ll show you how here http://lindagraceonline.com/get-the-focus-on-you/ then leave another comment and let me see!
December 19th, 2011 at 10:56 am
Alaska is always cold, even in the summer. There was this one time when my cousins and I spent some time together at some beach in Alaska. One of my cousins dared the other to jump off to the ocean. My other cousin, never to back down from a challenge, took up the dare. To make a long story short, my cousin jumped to the ocean, forgetting he didn’t know how to swim. Good thing my uncle was there and he took the water to save my cousin. The water was so cold he was shivering while he told my other cousin, “Toldja I’d jump.”
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January 10th, 2012 at 8:49 pm
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