I'm quite proud of little old UAF

While I wish the UAF administration would make some sort of formal statement against the attacks on science, women's rights, and racial justice in this country, at least they are allowing the normal events to proceed, including celebrating Black History Month and Martin Luther King Day. We faculty have also been instructed to change nothing on our websites or syllabi. All of the nondiscrimination statements remain, including EEO and references to our Equity and Compliance office, which still states that "Our overall goal is to provide a respectful, diverse and inclusive university environment." Take that, Trump!

Yesterday was Elizabeth Peratrovich Day, and we received an email.

Elizabeth Peratrovich dedicated her life to fighting for the rights of Indigenous peoples, leading to the passage of The Alaska Equal Rights Act of 1945. It was the first anti-discrimination law passed in the United States, passed before Alaska even gained statehood.

I am grateful that UAF Chancellor Dan White still sent out an honorary email yesterday.

Even more impressive, the Alaska State Department of Transportation also sent out a very long and detailed email on Elizabeth Peratrovich Day, which is also called Alaska Civil Rights Day.

My very own College of Engineering and Mines featured in its monthly newsletter the contributions of three African-American engineer regiments—the 93rd, 95th, and 97th, along with the 388th battalion—to building the AlCan! "Despite operating under military segregation and facing discrimination, these Black engineers defied prejudices, proving their expertise and determination in some of the harshest conditions imaginable. Their contributions, nearly erased from history, were later uncovered through the research of historians like Lael Morgan, Christine McClure, and Dennis McClure." I thought it was wonderful of them to find a locally relevant connection.

I am grateful to the State of Alaska for refusing to go along with Trump's attempted erasure of the contributions of non-white people to this country. We, too, have contributed to Making America Great. And if you are rolling your eyes right now, I welcome you to quit reading my blog. (And I challenge anyone who believes I am or was ever a "diversity hire" to assemble a resumé that is more strongly qualified for any of my jobs, including placement into Lowell High or UC Berkeley. I'll wait patiently.)

Don't forget to dance...

... or ski, or listen to music, or make cookies. Don't forget what brings you joy.

"The dance kept us in the fight because it was the dance we were fighting for."

Atmospheric River eh?

The thing that is causing all of the cold in the Lower 48 (Snow in New Orleans! Snow in Florida!) has made for a long spell of unseasonable warmth here:

So far it hasn't been too bad. The snow has been slick, but seeing as how Ravey Gravy is such a reasonably-paced skijor buddy, it's been okay. However, this morning it rained, and the snow was ruined. Whoever thought we'd need towels in January?!

At least neither of these ladies Objects to Towel.

"Alas! Woe is me!"

"Woe is me, too!"

"Daaaaaaaddy, I'm having a saaaaaad."

There has been one clear day, and we could see Denali!

And we still get joy in KALESTEMZZZ!

Mmmmmm KALESTEMZZZ!

And we can still take walks on the hard snow.

Human selfie!

They still find their chill, no matter what the weather. Such nice dogs we have!

And they get comfy...

You know that song where Sting goes, "Every step you take, every move you make, I'll be watching you"? It's about a german shepherd, isn't it?

They also like COLLYFLOWRRRRZZZ!!!

Yaaaaaaayyyy COLLYFLOWRRRRZZZ!!!

You may think that you have Good Dogs, but do you have "Oops I forgot to pick up something on my way home and I needed to run back and get it and so I did and now I'm back and this cheese is untouched on the counter" good? I have the Goodest Good dogs, anad so far I'm at 6 out of 6 like this. How on earth did I get so lucky?

Season's Greetings!

Season's Greetings to all 14 of my loyal readers!

The days are so short near the solstice, we have to take our Second Walk by 3:30 p.m. if we want to go headlamp-free.

After every significant snowdump, I re-open our spur to the trail system via snowshoe.

Nowadays, Raven accompanies me.

I think I do a nice job, if I say so myself.

Cricket says, "Thank you mama. I don't like to work hard any more."

Cricket sure likes kalestemz!!!

Raven also likes kalestemz!!!!!

Do you think they are comfy? I sure hope they are comfy.

Every year on the Solstice, some friends of mine with Pavva Iñupiaq Dancers drum and dance and sing to welcome back the sun.

Here is a story of Gazhee, from Asikłuk:

On Dec. 2, 2011, one of my FB Elders wrote this: "During the clear crisp night in Igloo, AK, cracklin of dogsled runners whistled thru the ice as several dog teams were getting closer to gathering of many villagers. It was beautiful, the moon lit the snow covered una. Some drummers came out to greet the visitors to this great gathering during the shortest days of the year. This was the yearly gathering; great regalias of fur, feathers, skins of animals, with many types of drums; the big one was the box drum. A 7-day celebration was beginning, with food, sharing of village life, and then dancing began.

Introductions..Elders speaking...and then the story-telling through dance; a beginning of the GAZHEE."

It worked! The sun came back!

Raven like COLLYFLOWERZZZZ!!

And Cricket also likes COLLYFLOWERZZZZ!!

Raven pondering the sun:

This is at "high" noon:

I kinda got DL to smile!

Homeward bound:

For Christmas, I got a hoity-toity freerange ham. It was good!

And I made a classic, all-from-cans, green bean casserole. It is all goopy and sounds like you are walking through a swamp when you stir it, but it has the sweet, sweet taste of nostalgia!

And I made a pineapple upside-down cake for the first time in maybe 10 years. It called for an absurd amount of sugar, but it was tasty!

Happy Holidays to you and yours. May you find light in these dark days, and remember that the light will return!

As surely as this ball returns. 437 times until my hand is numb. :D

A season of gratitude

This upcoming Saturday is the Solstice, then the days will start getting longer again. I'm always a bit taken aback to consider that it is officially the First Day of Winter. Over Thanksgiving weekend, we got our first real cold snap:

Cricket stays warm by snuggling, sometimes even with me, if DL is unavailable.

For Thanksgiving, DL, like my sister, loves a classic green bean casserole. And the green beans must be from a can! Schlop! Schloop! Gloop! LOL. My sister says she tried to make a green bean casserole from scratch using fresh green beans, fresh cream, nice mushrooms, and caramelized onions from the stovetop. It was... fine! Tasty! But lacking that certain je ne sais quois... I believe that is the taste of nostalgia!

It looks just right beside the stuffing!

Here is the rest of our spread. M brought the fresh green beans she had lightly steamed. So we had real vegetables that were not gray in color, hahahahaha.

I got a local turkey from Sunny Side Up Farm in Delta Junction.

There it is! All of the classics!

It was a good day to have the oven on all day since it was so cold. Cricket took her princess seat by the fire.

But Raven, having a thicker coat, still insisted on Second Walk. A pretty afternoon.

Brrrrr-tacular!

My special friend April was at Sirius for the weekend. Her furever family adores her and she is doing great; even their toddler is a very gentle little lad whom she adores! But they went down to Anchorage for the weekend so I got to visit her. She was very happy and kissy!

She's lovely, isn't she?

This was my first leftover creation: A turkey-green-bean-corn-mashed-potato-stuffing pie. It was pretty good!

Mmmm leftover pie!

In addition to two batches of turkey enchiladas, I also made mashed potato pancakes. That made Thanksgiving last until the following Monday!

Finally the last day was soup. Look at how Princess Cricket happily guards the stock.

Classic turkey noodle!

And the pan was finallly clean on Thursday. One week!

Look at my fuzzies! Aren't they nice!

I had to attempt a family portrait, of course.

Wishing all 14 of my loyal readers a peaceful "start" to winter!