Lagopus Member

Asked hubby if he wanted to go out for a walk in the brief daylight, or if I should just go out jogging alone. He chose to go for a walk with me. :love: For all of you who have trouble imagining what it's like up here when the sun doesn't go up at all, here's a picture from our walk. It's 11 am. And here we're nearing peak…

Kelly - Glad to hear you have a break from Trentin. I get tired just hearing about your working hours, and he definitely contributes to prolonging them. Concerning low light, one answer is yes, some do struggle with SAD. Several people I know have daylight lamps in their offices. Another answer is yes, but surprisingly…

Karen (NYKAREN) - I read somewhere that on the average nowadays, a person's relationship with their dentist lasts longer than their marriage. :laugh: :cry: Last two gratitudes 29. Friend/family member - My husband. :heart: :love: :heart: 30. Own talent or skill - I'm most grateful for my ability to twist words around so…

Here you go Michele. MANY stars. Sorry for the Swedish. I did the search in Swedish and got mainly Swedish results. LINK No time to chat today. Must get ready to fly down to the mainland. It'll take me longer than usual to get to where I can catch the bus to the airport, partly because the hotel I usually catch it at is…

Heather, the weather that accompanied your walk sounds heavenly to me! I love feeling the power of nature, as long as I know I can retreat to a warm shelter and some hot tea. Ask a resident of the Arctic about being cold! I have acutely sensitive skin and also used to think I couldn't wear wool, but then I tried on a…

I'm glad the link to the advent stars worked, and glad some of you seemed to like them. Irish Terri - You said you were thinking how you might make one yourself. From what I recall of the decorations you made for your daughter's wedding, you WILL figure it out, and it will be gorgeous! :smiley: I forget who else said they…

Tracey - It's the back side of the loose end of his belt! I've fallen behind on posting (Booo!!) but I'm right where I want to be with my jogging (Yay!!) Gratitudes: 24. Challenge - Many years ago I took a university course where I had to give an oral presentation. I was petrified, but I got up and did it. Surviving that…

Happy Thanksgiving - after the fact. Norway doesn't celebrate, so yesterday wasn't a holiday and we will be celebrating this evening. On the other hand, the abomination called "Black Friday" has caught on here. :grumble: I will be cooking a turkey breast (boneless, skinless - you do your best with what you've got) and…

Congratulations Lisa! You may have too much equanimity to thumb your nose at anyone, so please share MY small-minded mental image of you revving out of your previous position on a big fat Harley and spattering mud all over the interim director. /Penny, feeling naughtily vengeful >:) and protective at the

Cari - If push comes to shove, I can walk at home. From the far end of the kitchen, through the living room, up the stairs to the window in the office and back is 100 steps. To achieve my daily step goal, all need to do is repeat that 100 times. :laugh: I admit that getting out is a struggle sometimes, but with age it's…

I chickened out of running today. Most of the time I can get myself out regardless of weather, but today it's been raining like the mid-latitudes and extremely windy. Over the past hour the temperature has fallen enough that the rain turned to snow and there's now a thick layer of slush everywhere. Ugh! Since my husband's…

Nope! If any item can be found that has a bicycle or an Airstream on it, Pip and Kirby are lining up to buy one. And if it can't be found, maybe they'll order it special. :lol: Way to go Heather! Isn't it fun finishing high in your group? Today's gratitude 17. Knowledge - I'm grateful for the knowledge that comes with age…

Ha-ha! That curtain looks like Pip and Kirby! :laugh: My run is done. Topped 5 miles today. B) /Penny

Machka - I'm SO glad to read this! You've both come a long way. :heart: And yes of course you're in Oz. Of COURSE you're in Tasmania. I know where that is. All my polar research friends tootled off to Hobart a few years ago for a SCAR meeting (SCAR being the Scientific Committee for Antarctic Research). What was I…

Whoa Lanette! Considering how far SW Washington is from New Zealand, and how far New Zealand is from Svalbard, we're definitely going to need that teleporter. :grumble: Hubby just called to say he found the charge cord on the floor under the table in the living room. Yay! Now I just have to hope he gets back before my poor…

What, Kelly? Are you NOT superhuman? You could have fooled me! :* Every time you write about your working day I think you must be superhuman. Enjoy your week off. You DEFINITELY deserve it! :flowerforyou: Paige - Wow! You have a ninja grandson! :laugh: Machka - I was momentarily off guard and your picture from the…

I'm so sorry for your loss, Pat. Good to hear that your daughter and his sisters were together at the time so they could support each other. Kelly - Joaquin is no longer a baby :cry: but he sure is one cute little boy! :wink: Today's gratitude: 16. Body - Basically, I'm grateful everything that works. But today I'm feeling…

Thanks for the suggestions, Kelly. I'll keep them in mind if hubby doesn't find the charge cord. Meanwhile, I'll just go with my workarounds. I know I'm being a bit reactionary and Luddite about Facebook. I'm just afraid that if I got onto it, I would waste lots of time that could be spent on far better things. My supply…

Gorgeous colors, Pat. Sorry about your family's health challenges. The problem with the spoiler was that you had deleted the start-spoiler code and put the photos after the end-spoiler code. It looks like this: Below, I've put the correct start code in and moved the end code. Now it looks like this: Note the square…

Yay Machka! Funny how that happens sometimes. I was out running a while ago and everything felt fine so I ran 10 km instead of the 5.5 km I originally intended. Because of my low perceived exertion I thought I was running slowly but I ended up with a pretty good time (pace 7.17 minutes/km). I'm dealing with a minor…

Well I've booked a trip to New Hampshire in early December when my father is having hip replacement surgery. I'm flying over for a couple weeks to keep my mother company and help out when my father gets back home to convalesce. Given all the uncertainty, I've opted for expensive refundable, rebookable tickets on the return…

Hi all It's been a whirlwind of activity lately - again. My husband and I were on the mainland (northern Norway) for a while. We were supposed to fly north again on Thursday but dense fog at the airport scuttled those plans. Our flight originated in Oslo and we had friends on it who were also headed for Svalbard. The plane…

Lanette - My husband is Swedish. We speak Swedish with each other, though when we started our relationship 45 years ago, we conversed in English. Neither of us speaks Norwegian, even though we've lived in Norway for 14 years now. That's mainly because the languages are similar enough that Norwegians understand Swedish and…

Hi newbies! Penny here. I sign myself /Penny at the and that's almost true. I live with my arctic scientist husband in Longyearbyen, Svalbard, just 800 miles from the North Pole. We have a son and a daughter living in Stockholm, Sweden, and our son has a son and a daughter, 7 (almost 8) and 6 years old. Living in the High…

I'm late to the October party. Cheez, I almost missed it entirely! But various teaching duties have had me running around like a headless chicken. On the bright side, I've also been running for exercise (and to get the stress out of my system) and have scraped together about 90 miles this month. That makes it nearly 375…

Heather - :heartbreak: :flowerforyou: :heart:

I hear what you're saying about indoor excercise, Michele, but I'm doing well with my efforts to keep up my jogging as we transition to the Arctic's cold, dark, winter. As of yesterday I've logged 405 km (just over 250 miles) since July 1. Yay ME! This is the season when we get lots of sandstorms. Not exactly what you…

Karen - Preferring to be at home alone in the evening? I totally get that. It's the introvert in me that enjoys silence and solitude and a good book. Both Karens - A couple decades ago I had great success using gold stars to reward myself when I'd met my own goals. Such a silly, simple little trick - but whatever works!…

Of course you would want to know, Karen. :heart: It was Henning Kraggerud. At the same dinner we had cellist Truls Mørk. Both supernovas, at least on the Norwegian firmament. My oh my was that special! /Penny

Machka - Your post gets me thinking. First, I think it's in many ways wonderful that you didn't manage to catch up with your husband when he was placed just a kilometer ahead of you at the start. For my other reflections I have to go back in time and tell a story. During a chamber music festival in Longyearbyen last…