Hello God...It's me...Karla

Family and Friends,
I’m sorry it’s been a while. It’s been quite an adjustment to our new home, new surroundings.
We have been settling in as much as possible. I haven’t been able to get to Fairbanks to shop, and we still don’t have internet at home. It will be possible, so I’m trying to be patient. Mike from ACS called last night to say that he hadn’t had time to get to it yesterday, which I thought was thoughtful. Very thoughtful indeed.
Today the sky is the most miraculous shade of gray. I know that seems like a contradiction, but it’s beautiful. And it’s snowing. What a surprise! What a nice day to be planted on the couch catching up on cooking shows and laundry.
Friday was Brent’s first day of work. He was disappointed, simply because no one was there and he didn’t really get any real answers. He wasn’t able to meet any of the guys he’d be working with, so it was okay. He got frisked more than he was hoping for. He said the guard kept apologizing, which I find comical in itself.
Saturday we woke late, it’s nice to sleep in. In the early afternoon we decided to run to Fairbanks and buy some things that we need. I had just gotten out of the shower and Brent noticed that the neighbors (landlords) shed was on fire. Now, they live in a travel trailer inside the shed while they’re building their home next door. I picked up the phone and dialed 9-1-1 and received an “all circuits are busy” message. Are you kidding me? We grabbed the cell phone and jumped in the car to run over and check if anyone was inside, as they have 5 year old boy. Brent opened the door but it was filled with smoke, he hollered and hollered. I kept trying to call emergency services on my phone, but we had no signal.
We ran home again, and dialed to receive the same maddening message, then ran next door to the neighbors to see if they had phone service, but no one answered. We decided to drive into town, we headed to the neighbors at the top of the driveway, and they had no phone service, or cell service either. So into town we went.
Once in town we didn’t know where to go. So, we ran to the library. The poor girl was so confused, but seriously, these people don’t get excited about much. We tried calling their as well, only to discover that the entire area had no cell or home phone service. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? We asked someone where to find the fire department, which was across town, so off we went. No one answered. Finally someone drove up, so we waved him down to discover that someone had managed to reach 9-1-1 and that they were on their way.
So, we headed home and thankfully they were able to put out the fire, and it didn’t damage their trailer inside. Thank goodness. It turns out the neighbor (that didn’t answer) ran to the church where the landlords were having a birthday party for their 5 year old son.
I have to admit that after this incident I was really bummed and deflated about the whole idea of living here. Discouraging doesn’t really even cover it, if someone had had a life threatening accident they would have likely been dead. Now that’s morbid I know, but I felt helpless and alone. Not a great feeling.
Sunday we had a good, but lazy day. We decided against going to Fairbanks because Brent had Monday off for Martin Luther King day, and we decided to go then. So we lounged and played with Ches. We searched for the Ptarmigan that live in the woods, and under our house. We’ve seen them a time or two, and it’s fun to step outside and listen to them call. We ended up losing power about 10:30 p.m. and it was off until 5:00 a.m. Let’s just say it’s fortunate that we could cuddle together for warmth. It got darn cold in here. My faith that everything would work out here was really beginning to waiver.
Monday we got dressed and were headed to Fairbanks only to discover that their was black ice and high winds on the Richardson Hwy. Seeing that the drive and roads are new to us, and it’s a windy mountain road we decided to stay home. We rattled about the house, took Ches into the woods behind us to hunt away, and took a lovely walk down the Tanana Loop road. This is one time I was hoping NOT to see a moose.
We like living here. It will be nice once we have time to do some furnishing and true settling in, I think it will be comfy. Our modem is here, and we should be able to connect at home soon, one problem is that I had to order an external cd drive, so once that gets here we’ll be ready to roll. I cannot wait. It drives me mad not having internet service here.
This morning when I stepped out to potty Ches I heard 2 owls calling to each other. The one was about 10 feet away and then other must haven been back on the fence line somewhere. Very cool, but eerie.
Brent’s now at his second day of work, and I’m hoping that today goes smoother, and that he gets a real idea of what his days will be like. He’ll have to decide his schedule and such, and hopefully they’ll find a chair for him somewhere.
So, for now I’m going to sign off. I know that a lot of you keep asking for pics of the house, but right now there’s really nothing to show, so I’ll take pics when things start coming together. I promise!!
Have a warm, happy day!
Love, Karla & Brent