Two New Dos

Kim and I both assumed new hair cuts to ease our life up here. We shower using amazingly little water now.

Stretching

Mir likes to participate whenever I stretch.

It has been extremely cold today, so I am getting a ride with another graduate student, Dave Gustine. This cold (-44 at our house right now) is discouraging. Neither our cars nor we operate very well at these temperatures, so we do not do more than we need to. We look forward to warmer weather.

Luxury

Living without running water for a while, even with two children, has turned out to be reasonably comfortable. It makes us appreciate that running water really is a luxury, not a necessity.

Mir and I did some coloring with crayons this evening, resulting in this illustration from out present life.

Smiley Guy

Ethan has been smiling much more consistently in response to our talking with him. He is often especially happy on his changing pad. He even made a little chuckle last night. We are enjoying him more and more as he is becoming more responsive to our attention.

-38

I know that for Fairbanksians -38 F may not be
especially cold, but this was the coldest weather I
have ever skied in. My ski to school went well,
though. I stayed warm.

We have been having trouble starting our cars.

The Commute

I have been skiing to campus the last couple of days. Our cabin is less than two miles from school with good trails between, so the trip to school has been taking about 40 minutes. I love being free from dependence on a car, at least for my daily commute. I am happy to be functioning well at 20 below.

Mir Dressed for the Cold

Mir wanted to try on some of her daddy's cold weather gear. This was the 16th.

Grandpa holding Mir at Turnagain Pass

Tim and Peggy helped us drive up to Fairbanks over the 13th and 14th. I took this picture of Tim and Mir while we were taking a break at Turnagain Pass on the 13th.

Our Shower

This is our new shower that we rigged. It comprises a sun shower, a hoop from a bed canopy, a cheap shower curtain, and a plastic tub. We just warm water up on the stove. It works well!

Mir's Bath

We gave Mir a bath at our Fairbanks cabin on Monday, her first in the new tub. She loved it.