Ledfords to Alaska, In-house smores, rain

Maggie called yesterday with the news that Aaron had received his assignment – in Juneau, Alaska. She was very excited about it; more I think for her husband’s sake, but excited none the less. Aaron called yesterday evening and we talked for about a half hour about the news. It will be a four year land assignment. The expectation is that he will have a Monday through Friday workweek with his weekends off. I suppose there are interesting things to do in Alaska on the weekends. 


Mama and I looked it up on the map last night and if any of you are curious it is worth the research. Juneau is barely in Alaska the same way the Baja Peninsula is barely in Mexico. Just kidding. It sits on a rather narrow strip of land separated from Canada by a dotted line – a border. Maggie and Aaron will have to get their passports updated so they can visit their western neighbor during their stay in the far north. Congrats to the younger Ledfords.

While Mama and I were at the Sam’s in Wichita Falls – our neighbor to the west – we stumbled across a sale item that she thought we could get some fun use out of. It is a smores making kit. It is a cute little ceramic pot in the shape of a campfire. A sterno is used under the little metal rack that sits on top and produces a guided flame so you can toast marshmallows using special little toaster forks included. It also has trays for you to put your graham crackers on so you can smush the marshmallows and chocolate together. We should probably get one for Maggie and Aaron in case it is still too cold to do smores outside in Alaska.

We put it to use within a day of having it. Mama and Victoria and I made the trip to Wal-Mart to get the sterno cans, the graham crackers and the chocolate specifically for a test run. Like her grilled hamburgers, Mama has a very specific way she likes her toasted marshmallows; lightly browned all the way around. Only I can do this because it takes time. When she does her own they always catch on fire and get too dark for her to eat. I only made one – fortunately I had not lost my touch.

I learned something recently that Maggie can use to keep safe when driving in the snow. Mama read me the story of a young blond lady who had been told by her father that whenever she felt like she was lost while driving in the snow to wait until a snow plow came to clear the road and follow the plow to safety. Well, that very thing happened to her one night so she followed the first plow truck to happen by.

After about forty five minutes following the truck, the driver stopped and came back to the young woman and asked if he could help. She explained what her father had told her about road safety in the snow and following a snow plow to help her find her way. The kind driver just nodded respectfully and said, “Well, I’m through here at the Wal-Mart parking lot if you want follow me over to K-Mart.”

Last night I work up several times to the sound of hard rain on the roof. When I was awake enough to get my senses tuned in I could hear the thunder in the distance. It was only when I got out of the mobile home to go to work that I could see the lightening the storm was producing.

Everything will be green later today from all that atmospheric activity.