It's a good night to stay home and relax

We're under blizzard conditions tonight.  It snowed most of the day and the wind was blowing like crazy.    All after-school activities were cancelled and my friend Darcel was trying to fly out to Bethel (via Anchorage) with the basketball team but that didn't happen.  Maybe tomorrow if the skies clear up and the winds calm down.  

I was going to be one of the hosts for Flash! Unalaska at 8 PM, our weekly community news program on Channel 8.   But because of the nasty weather, the staff pre-recorded the program so no one would have to venture out.  It's fun to do, and just another little perk of living in a small town where everyone can get involved in just about everything.   :)

Our organic produce came in yesterday, one day early, which is surprising and also lucky for us since there's no way it would have arrived today. Rich had just made a nice soup with the veggies from last week and now we have even more produce to try to keep up with.  Tonight we had left-over soup and grilled cheese sandwiches.   Perfect for a snowy evening!   I finished reading  Leaving Microsoft to Change the World by John Wood, a book out of my bargain bin stash.  It's a quick read but another of those inspiring stories that I love.    One of the big boys at Microsoft, Wood went trekking in Nepal and came face to face with the severe need for books and schools in the poorest villages.  He made a commitment to return with books for the students, ending up leaving his job to dedicate his life to building schools and providing books to many of the most needy places in the world.   It's somewhat similar to Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortensen from the Central Asia Institute.   Of course, I always start thinking about what we could do to support all of these very worthy organizations! It seems overwhelming to know of the many  issues around the world and to feel like we can't make a dent in solving these problems.   As much as I love to read, I can't imagine that there are so many people who are illiterate due to the circumstances of their birth. We are certainly fortunate to have the opportunities for education that we do.

Speaking of reading and educational opportunities, I just heard about a great program that our school district is beginning.   Apparently, Dolly Parton has a fund to provide books to children from birth to age 5 and we have received one of her grants.   All parents have to do is sign up with the school district and their child or children will receive an age appropriate book each month till they start Kindergarten!  Pretty cool, huh?   I'm not a country music fan, but hurray for Dolly!

Doesn't Ajax look comfy?  He sometimes climbs up to the top shelf in the bathroom and snuggles up in the towels.   He'd rather be outside but thought better of it when he saw the snow blowing everywhere.