Happy New Years!

Happy New Years, my peoples, especially my fellow Alaskan bloggers who have come to feel like a community. An odd little community, but one I miss checking in with when I have one of my non-blogging spells.

It's warmed up to -29 as I write, to which I must add, 'whoo' and 'hoo.' Our mini heat spell is supposed to last until Friday some time, so live it up. Get those yard chores done. Me, I'm facing a new house task that I was unaware of back in the days of waterless housing: clearing the septic vent. This involves climbing up on to the roof with a container of boiling water, then dumping the contents down the blocked (or somewhat blocked) vent pipe.

Until earlier this week, I didn't even know that this was a typical winter occurance. I didn't even really notice the pipe coming out of the roof by the bathroom. But let's just say that a sort of propane-like smell became noticeable and ... considering the septic system and its role, I probably don't need to tell you more.

I didn't catch the fireworks at the University last night, but from what those who attended said, neither did they. The temps caused some problems for the proper operation of the fireworks - some never made it very high before going off, others sort of got going and just gave out. Of course, complicating this was the fact that a large number of spectators were sitting there in idling vehicles - the effect of which was the generation of a sizable amount of ice fog as the show progressed.

Well, it's time to boil some water and get my courage up for the roof job. Stay warm, friends, and just remember - only 19 days until we have new occupants in the White House.