I've Never Seen the Northern Lights

In which our Lady of the Skies looks upward

                Tonight, I froze my toosh off standing outside my house and looking up at the sky.  The clouds were so beautiful that for the first few seconds I actually thought they might be the northern lights, but there was no color to them other than what they reflected back of the city lights, and after a minute I could see them moving with the wind.  The evenings are finally dark here in Alaska.  Over my head the clouds looked similar to spidery cobwebs—like the fake kind people use to decorate on Halloween.  How fitting for the evening, it being All Hallows Eve and all.  Farther away they began to look like the frothy waves of the ocean, complete with spume and spray, as well as the dark underbelly of a few larger waves.  Mysterious creatures dwell beneath those kind of waves.  Then they drifted and transformed into dry sand dunes during a dust storm (as seen in movies, of course, when the hero must protect a beautiful woman by shielding her body under his cloak as they hug the side of a cuddly camel).  Dust streaked from the tops of the mounds as the wind whistled over the distant landscape of dunes.  I could almost smell the dryness wafting over from the clouds into Anchorage’s brittle, sharp, and cuttingly cold stillness.  I shivered deeper into the cocooning warmth of my coat and boots and knew gratitude for the gift of the perfect view from my house here in this specific time and place.  Someday I will finally see the Northern Lights, but until then, I will be content to contemplate vistas of spider silk, stormy sea and baked sand. 

I Had to Become a Samurai to Use a Bo-Staff

In which our Heroine learns the Tricks of the Hero-Trade.

Last night, I spent several hours cutting and bending cardboard in the hopes of making a homemade Halloween costume.   My idea was a cardboard Samurai, and my daring hope that I’d look good even though I’m running on a budget of zero.  Today I had an auspicious occurrence at physical therapy—one that I’m sure indicates that my cardboard Samurai armor is virtually meant to be.  Again, it felt like a video game (except minus the Wii) as I squatted atop these squishy rubber pillow-things with a bo-staff in my hands, exerting great effort at maintaining my balance along with my high-blown sense of dignity.  I faced myself in a giant mirror as I held the pole out in front of me and moved from rubbery foot thingy to rubbery foot thingy smacking cones off of foam or rubber pillars.   I stared myself down and it felt like the best Samurai or martial art training movie I’d ever seen as I watched myself swing the pole across in front of me and neatly sweep the cone off its base.  Now all I need to complete my traditional Samurai training is a Japanese tea ceremony and an evil army out to get my favorite Emperor.  Oh—and a finished Halloween costume.  I've included a photo of me below so you get the idea.  I'm the one on the right, with my physical therapist standing on left.  The hairy guy is my husband.