We drove to Anchorage and back today. The roads were clear except for a couple places. The pass still has quite a bit of snow and the mountains look as though they’ve had a recent snowfall as they just glistened in the sunlight. The lakes in the pass were almost covered with ice and snow, however, I did notice some open water near the edge opposite the mountain. The lakes from here all the way into Anchorage were still icy, too. There was finally some open water in the large marsh outside Anchorage where many sea gulls were already nesting. We also saw a couple pairs of swans and several different kinds of ducks.

The dall sheep are also on the move and enjoying fresh moss, lichens, and grasses on the mountainside. I never tire of seeing them.

The trees haven’t started to bud, yet. Some grass is becoming a bit greener, but it looks as though it’ll be at least a couple weeks or more before everything begins to turns green. I’m hoping to go gold digging as soon as it dries out and gets a bit green.

We stopped at our favorite buffet restaurant for a late lunch. It is nice to be able to choose an almost totally compliant meal. There aren’t many options available elsewhere. We also stopped about 40 miles south of Anchorage to get a coffee on the way home and have a stretch break.

My husband has been a real dear this week in going above and beyond in cleaning the house of cat hair and dander. He steamed cleaned the 1900 square feet of carpeting, rid the cat of most loose hairs, cleaned the cat, and has been keeping everything well vacuumed. My allergy tests came back and registered a total IgE of 40.3! Well, 3.9 is considered a very high allergy rating and #4 on the scale of 1-6. A number 6 is 25 and above. Forty point three is just a tad higher than that!

I am following Dr. Dadamo’s suggestions from his Allergy book and I’m also using things prescribed by my naturopath in an effort to return to a normal life free of sneezing and congestion. I’ve been mildly allergic to cats for many years, but this year things went haywire. Guess that is why we have so many reptiles that live with us. At least I’m not allergic to them.

Till next time.