Mr. Curiosity!

Here is my little buddy, Qunguk, whom I added to my family in December. He shares a birthday with Gary, September 24, and has been a great friend to have. He drives me crazy at times, but sometimes I need that! As you can see here, he really likes to crawl into small spaces...wherever he can find them!
Here he is playing with my stuffed bunny that Brian and Lana brought for me when I was in the hospital. He has taken it on as his new wrestling partner....and I will often find it laying in a completely different part of the house from where I left it.
A couple weeks ago, my little buddy (aka Gukaroo, Guk, or Mr. Curiosity) started feeling really sick. He started walking like this and crying non-stop. I was incredibly worried, and called the Nome vet, who could offer me no advice except to try and get ahold of some amoxicillan. I wasn't able to bring him into Nome the next day because the vet was closed on Sunday.....thus one of the things I do NOT like about livig in the bush! The local clinic would not give me amoxicillan for an animal, so I ended up giving him my antibiotics I had from after my surgery- cephalexin. Luckily, I was able to find out (with the help of Katie) that cephalexin is exactly the same thing given to animals as humans. Within a couple days of holding him down and trying to get him to eat some with a syringe (and getting myself pretty scratched up) and mixing it in tuna juice which worked much better, whatever was wrong with him seems to have cleared up and he is completely back to his old obnoxious self.....thank goodness!! My own uneducated diagnosis: a severe urinary infection. Poor guy.
If I bring home a box, this little guy CANNOT stay away from it, and has to see what is inside. Here I got my box of furs from Montana- needed more rabbit skins for my parkie....he was completely happy. His favorite are the small scraps of beaver fur- which he carries all over the house until (lately) he ends up playing with them in his water bowl, where they lay looking like a drowned rat for me to dig out =(

Despite all my efforts, I have not been able to yet keep this little guy off my table =( One of the few places he is not allowed. Here he is lying "in wait"...just waiting for me to turn my back so he can run across it, knowing that I will chase him to spray him with water. At first I started flicking him with water, then a simple water bottle, then a full fledged super soaker (table cloth removed for that period). Next step the bath tub? I have no idea. I have decided I don't want to clean up after the super soaker anymore, and he chewed off the end of my water bottle as a pre-emptive strike..... After being gone for nearly a week, I can only imagine that he is living on that table right now!! Renewal of the battle after I get home....
What a strange guy. He doesn't usually go after my milk- but LOVES white grapejuice!....will even dig in my trash to get it, and tries to get into my cups =(
When he really wants to drive me crazy he keeps playing with my table cloth, knocking it off the table, so that I constantly have to fix it. He likes to crawl under it, like he does the rugs and my blankets......
Happy kitty......! Ha ha! The kids love to come and play with him. Not sure he feels the same, but he has never scratched any of them. He gets a lot of excersise running away when the kids are there =)

"Helping" me with my mail....he likes to spread it all over and chase the paper.....
One of Guk's favorite places....as soon as I open my bag to get out my laptop, he is in there. He thinks this space belongs to him.

Qunguk comes up on the ridge of my tub, when I am taking a bath, and when I am taking showers- either pawing at my toes poking out of the bubbles, or playing with me between the two parts of the curtain. Just like Monster did, he will lay down right outside the bathroom door if I shut him out. With how much entertainment, frustration and joy this little bugger brings me- I am never bored!

Little Visitors....

I get quite a few little visitors knocking on my door.....some to visit because they are bored, some just needing to warm up.... Sometimes we make cookies together....
Or just have hot cocoa......
Play with things around the house- like my mukluks and ruff....

One day we made snowcones with the fresh snow in the yard =)


And here is my buddy Sadie visiting.....she makes me laugh a lot when she has these booties on. She walks really funny, as she doesn't particularly like how they feel on her feet =)

Biathalon Tournament!

Marie and I right before leaving White Mountain....hmmm- and about 12 hours before my accident =)
About a month ago I headed off to White Mountain, a nearby village for a Biathalon tournament with two of my skiiers. I had more skiiers, but these were the only two still consistently showing up for practices and elligible.... We were picked up a couple hours early, leaving me scrambling to get a sub in there before I left! We were able to work something out though. Our previous ski tournament had been canceled due to weather- so I was glad we were going to be able to go!
Marie was one of the chaperones for the Nome kids, so I was able to spend some time with her that weekend, and also got to see Quinn, Caitlin, Jared and Hannah ski (Gary's nieces and nephews).
Walking back from a tournament.....At first I just thought this was a box with a coat in it, then I realized there was a tiny kid sleeping in there =)
Getting a ride to the store.....some nice local let us hop on the back of his dogsled (behind his snowmachine). While it may have saved us some walking, my hind end was rather glad to be walking back! I forget how bumpy the roads are in WMO...and dogsleds aren't exactly soft unless there are skins thrown down!
Hanging out in the gym most of Friday evening and Saturday while the guns were having trouble being sited, due to the cold, the kids got pretty bored! They wouldn't let the basketballs be out, so kids came up with their own games-like this- penny toss. Friday, Angie was smart and started a giant game of Pickle in the Middle....which had enough kids to make a big circle and a few people in the middle. She wasn't too fond of my tackle moves though.... =) The amazing part is that she was surprised when I almost took her out!
I was not a bit bored while there- I brought my parkie to work on, and got quite a bit done! I also got some reading done....more relaxing than being at home where I have a million things to do. I purposely left my computer at home so I felt free to relax a bit =)
On our way to White Mountain, we flew into Nome to pick up a couple people from Gambell....and they weren't there yet. My kids were ecstatic...as this means we got to go into the cafe upstairs of the airport and they could get slushies!! I guess you have to be from a village to understand what a treat that was.
Starting line of the race.....

One of my kids from Shishmaref! It was really fun seeing them there....and their coach, my friend Angie.
Hannah Tozier
Caitlin Tozier....
Ha ha! I taught this kid in reading my first year teaching....now he is taller than me! And he is only in about 8th grade! I wish there were more kids like him...!
Kids skiing around before bedtime....
The RELAY RACE! For this one, all the schools are mixed up into different teams and given a color to identify themselves with streamers. There is a short race near the river, just for fun, and is sort of the final event of the tournament.





Skiing back up to the school afterwards....
Riding up to the airport.....
Waiting for the plane.
How we get up to the airport.
Flying co-Pilot!....My two skiiers! Great kids and no trouble at all. I would travel with these two anytime! =)

Walk in the Sunshine!

The weather is getting absolutely beautiful out! I have a hard time staying inside and getting things done. Notice my sleeves rolled up- yep- it is that nice! About 45 yesterday! The sun felt warm! So my neighbor and I headed up to the other side of Baldhead- one of my favorite places to go- and I'm sure I have posted pictures from there before- but here you go again.
A turban to keep the sun out of the eyes!
Notice the snow melting off the mountain!?!

Ski Practice...

Here are some pictures of ski practice with my Junior High kids....which ended right before my accident a couple weeks ago. Today I started Elementary practice, which is a lot of fun- and the kids are really excited and motivated. I am a little sad I can't be skiing with them, and have to walk besides them instead, but they quite enjoy using me as a coatrack for discarded clothing when they get too warm! Today was BEAUTIFUL out! Probably about 35 degrees, and things were melting just a bit, and the sun was out fully. i will need to start remembering sunglasses for practice. Today we mostly went over how to fall the right way without getting hurt, how to snowplow and slow down if you are going too fast, and how to walk uphill. We practiced on a smaller hill by the school, that gets some decent speed, and then went on a little ski loop which ended back at the school. At this point I can still keep up with them by walking, as most haven't been skiing yet this year. They were doing really wel though, and they were tired by the time we got back! =)
This is the drift by the school the kids play on. See the door? That is my emergency exit door to my classroom =( It is a little better now, as they attempt to shovel it out every couple weeks or so. Can you see the merry-go-round sticking out of the snow? Some of the kids can use the monkey bars on their knees right now.
My little "helpers". These guys kept me company while I sat around timing kids ski loops before the tournament. Now they are in my Elementary skiing.
They like to play with my big poles.


See the ocean? Not frozen all the way out anymore! The ice that is left will probably stay for quite awhile yet. Remember earlier in the winter when I was complaining about not having enough snow? Well we have plenty now! In what John likes to call "Second Winter" or Winter Part-2, we had tons of blizzards and got dumped on! I think our snow will last for quite awhile this year- as we have even more than last year now (which was quite a bit). I know Nome has had its highest recorded snowfall this year.....not sure how long they have been recording that- but over 100 years I would imagine. So while I can't ski right now....I will be out snowshoeing!

Enough Already!

My latest adventures the last few weeks have lead some people to state, "I don't think Alaska likes you anymore". True, this has not been my easiest year up here. But, I still love Alaska, and I hope it still loves me=) Last Saturday evening, after returning from the White Mountain ski tournament, I decided to take a spontaneous trip BACK to White Mountain with a couple friends of mine for a day..... we didn't get very far. I'm still not sure exactly what happened, as I blacked out for a minute- but I am pretty sure I just fell off the machine and slammed into another one (not moving of course). Leave it to me to hit the one stationary thing around us at that moment. This led to an even less planned spontaneous trip to Fairbanks where they medivacced me early the next morning....about 4 am. I got to experience the whole stretcher thing and everything- though I had walked right into the clinic and was able to move just fine. I also got to experience morphine- which I think they gave me way too much of. It instantly made my head fuzzy at a time when I was really trying to know what was going on around me.
The next day I spent in Fairbanks hospital...pretty much sitting around hooked up to IVs and getting pain meds I didn't ask for (except on a couple occassions)....and Nellie (Gary's sister) and her husband Brian who live in Fairbanks came to visit me. The next day I found out things were a little more serious than I first thought, and I had multiple fractures to my jaw and somewhere in my face, and was going in for oral surgery to get my mouth wired shut.
And they say- watch your weight and don't lose any. Right. Like I can stay the same weight being on a liquid diet. I will gain it back when I go to Fairbanks May 1st to get my jaw unwired and I can eat anything I want. No thought about calorie intake then- I will be full out gorging myself! And I look forward to it!
I feel pretty lucky nothing irreparrable happened- lost a few teeth- which will be a pain to get fixed- but I can. All in all, in another 2 months I should be back to normal- added a scar to my chin. At least in the meantime I can walk around while I recover, or I would be a bit unbearable.
So- will I "take it easy"? Of course- do not worry! I guess this means I will be a walking elementary ski coach, and my skiing is done early in the season, and I guess I won't be sledding as planned....however- no fear! I have already decided that snowshoeing won't do too much harm- and I have been wanting to get out and do that anyway. Also....ice fishing.....and finishing my parkie- and maybe having enough time to finish a painting I started.....
I am hoping to be back in my classroom next week- but I can't talk too loud, so I may need someone to help me be a voice.....hopefully it will work out.
Still need to update about the ski tournament and Iditarod- will get around to that soon!

I actually look better in these pictures than I do at the moment, as my face just continued to swell and my eye turned black, but it will go back down. I did get stitches in my chin and lip.
I won't show the really good pictures of my teeth here, as I don't want to freak my Mom out....but imagine what a B rated Zombie movie is like! I have a metal brace holding them in now until they aren't so loose....what is a little more metal in my mouth at this point?