This morning we were one month away from moving. Right now, we’re only 25 days.

That’s right - we’re moving on December 25th, Christmas.

For the last few days, I’ve spent most of my workday on the phone trying to make travel arrangements for our move. So far, we have no tickets, no times, no nothing for when we’re going. This has all been dragging on for too long, it’s getting too close to not have any answers when my last day is in less than 2 weeks and I’ll be gone for 4 of those days.

A few days ago, my paperwork finally got done and submitted with my request to fly out of Chicago instead of Seattle. We have been trying to get our travel plans arranged so we could fly out that way since Chicago is closer to Virginia than Seattle is and it would be presumed it would be less expensive to the government. But, no. Can’t do it. No, no, no. We can’t do it. No, sorry, can’t do it.

And then I stumbled upon a YES. Yes, we can do it. It’s not exactly flying out of Chicago - it is, in fact, better than that. Rather than us paying for a four one-way flights from Seattle to Chicago, the military will now give us a one-way flight from Seattle to Virginia, with a layover in Chicago. That layover will be for 8 days! Since it’s a different charge for the airline for the 8 day stopover, and that charge is more expensive than flying directly from Seattle to Virginia, we will have to pay the difference in fares. The difference amounts to a grand total of $152 - for all four of us! We were planning on paying $200 per ticket for each of us.

These new plans have us leaving 5 days earlier than we’d anticipated - so that means we’re 5 days closer to Spain!

The forecast I heard yesterday called for a possibility of overnight snow, up to 2-3 inches. This was followed by local emails being put out that we should follow the inclement weather policies for base and school closures.

Are you kidding me? 2-3″ warrants closing things down????

I woke up this morning and when I got outside, it was drizzling…there was a little snow on my windshield…one of my neighbors was sweeping the snow off her car. Except that the small extent of the snow we received could be wiped away with a windshield wiper. Once I got to the road, there were small sections of snow in the middle of the road, maybe about an inch of mostly water with a little snow mixed in. There was a car broken down in the middle of the road and people driving 10mph on a 35mph road and I think I saw Chicken Little running on the sidewalk screaming, “THE SKY IS FALLING.”

Now, let’s talk about snow. Like the 15′ snowbanks by my high school in WI that we’d slide down. Like the snowstorm in 2000 in Iceland where we were forecast to receive 48″ of snow but only received 24″. In about 4 hours. Like roofs breaking under the weight of snow, or having to dig your car that you can’t find out of the snow that the plow pushed on top of it. THAT IS SNOW. IF YOU CAN TURN ON YOUR WINDSHIELD WIPERS AND CLEAR ALL THE “SNOW” OFF YOUR CAR, THAT IS NOT REALLY SNOW.

I’m trying to make myself take more pictures…lately the last thing I’ve been thinking about doing is shooting because of everything going on. I’d hoped to get out and shoot some pictures this past week while I was on leave but I really didn’t have time.

While eating our 4th Thanksgiving dinner this week, I took a couple of pictures of Isak and Anja…

We gave away a lot of turkey after Thanksgiving and have eaten it every day the last few days….so now we’re left with still more turkey but no side dishes!

So today? I’m making stuffing, mashed potatoes, and green bean casserole. I love Thanksgiving food.

By request of those who want to know how B’s brother’s (Jon’s) trip has gone…

Jon flew in on Wednesday and Thursday had his first Thanksgiving experience at our house. It seemed the candied sweet potatoes were a little too marshmallow-y, and he couldn’t figure out who would combine green beans, mushroom soup and french-fried onions together, or why we would eat a hard and shiny black and green squash as a side dish, but all in all, he ate (almost) like an American. Maybe not in the massive quantity I have come to expect of Thanksgiving eaters, but he at least tried everything - even the green bean casserole.

Friday I took him down to the Market followed by some in-store shopping afterwards. Later in the evening, he and B went to the Tulalip casino. Then today, he and B went to the Skykomish river for some fishing, and then I took him to the USS Abraham Lincoln for a tour. He leaves early tomorrow morning so that’s all we had time for, but all in all it seemed to fill the time well.

Isak loved to show him new things all the time, and Anja was particularly smitten: she loved him to pick her up and to sit with him and would give him hugs and kisses. And it’s funny, because we moved from Iceland when she was just 18 months onld and only met him one or two times so she really has no idea who he is from anyone else, but I think the fact that he was referred to as “Tarzan” before he got here made him some incredible imaginary-person-come-to-life figure. Or maybe it’s just cause he’s really nice.

The cat loves him, too. Unfortunately for Jon, he is severely allergic and was well doped up on Benadryl for the last 4 days, and equally unfortunately, our cat will seek out the one person that wants nothing to do with her and will pester them for attention. It’s rather entertaining to watch him avoid the cat and watching the cat seek him out.

The cat winking at Jon. She knows.

Jon after 5 minutes with the cat. No wonder she was winking.

Fishing with B:

B fishing:

Steering the USS Lincoln:

Get a good little giggle here….but beware, some of them can be more than a little raunchy.

What You Are.

I am a questionable Viking prince who loves to infect ears.

I am also a confused goddess who loves to bake toilets.

What are you?

Helen had the fabulous idea to post recipes and pictures from her favorite foods, and I thought what a great idea! Recipes on blogs - like the best tried and tested cookbook.

My first recipe is for the cranberry sauce that was a hit on Thanksgiving:

½ can thawed cranberry juice concentrate
½ can thawed cranberry-raspberry juice concentrate
½ cup water
¼ t. orange zest
¾ cup packed brown sugar
¼ cup granulated sugar
¼ t. cinnamon
6 oz. dried cherries
12 oz. bag of cranberries, picked over

Combine juice concentrates, water, orange zest, sugars, and cinnamon and bring to a gentle boil. Stir until sugars are dissolved. Add cherries; cook 2 minutes. Add cranberries; cook til they pop (about 5 minutes). Bring down heat to low and let simmer for about 5 more minutes. Transfer to a bowl and let chill.