Thanksgiving on Ice

We celebrated Thanksgiving on Saturday by having a big feast in the galley. That morning my roommate Cori and I kicked things off by watching a movie and knitting in our room, then decided we had better earn our dinner so walked out on the sea ice for a while, and then made our way to the galley, dressed to the nines (thank you, Mom, for providing me with fancy clothes that go with purple Ugg boots! Who would have thought that people get dressed up in Antarctica?), bottles of wine stuffed into the pockets our our Big Red parkas.
What a great meal it was and a superb effort by the kitchen staff! The galley was decorated, people looked fabulous and the food was wonderful.
Afterwards, we all went to the Coffee House to listen to some live music. A very nice Thanksgiving day indeed.

Happy Thanksgiving!

It's Thanksgiving in North America, and I'm thinking about my family and friends (all over the world!)and missing you all very much! I hope you are all enjoying the day. We are celebrating tomorrow (our Saturday), and we get two whole days off in a row - woo hoo! The galley puts on a huge spread with turkey, pumpkin pie (my favorite, although nothing could possible compare to Rosemary's :), the works. I'll post more pictures and details soon. Happy Thanksgiving! I am thankful for you all.

My Roommate, Superfly

What a lucky girl am I to have a roommate with bigger hair than me! This is Cori, my roommate. She's great: she's kind of like Julie the Cruise Director ("Ok, here's our list of activities for the week..") meets kicka** HR specialist meets professional costume wearer. She has become somewhat of a local celebrity because she wears a different costume to work everyday. There is no shortage of costumes here because Halloween is THE event of the season. There is a sign on her office that reads "Have Costume, Will Wear."

Brain Freeze and my Modeling Debut

Lately, I have been getting brainfreeze from just walking to work in a head wind. Note to self: Google brainfreeze...
On another note, I have become a professional Antarctic model. I was asked to pose for a series of photos on how NOT to load cases of soda into a triwall. Being of shorter stature, I fit the bill. I would post said photos here, but they would be considered property of the company I work for and I would then be guilty of all sorts of Antarctic copywrite infringements. Suffice to say, I looked really hot.
We Antarctic supermodels have to keep in shape, so I'm off to yoga now. One thing there is no shortage of here is yoga classes.

25 Degree Tie Dye Friday

Special prize for best captions here.

More Inside Scott's Hut

Inside Scott's Hut

There was an open house at Scott's Hut on Sunday, so I walked over there to see inside. It was really interesting -- all the leftover supplies have been preserved in the dry, cold air. There are seal carcusses just lying in a frozen heap outside. There's even still food in the pot on the stove. Someone must have left in a hurry. All of it has remained untouched since the hut was last used by explorers. This particular hut was used mainly for storage, since the Australian wood it was made from proved to be a poor insulator. But some explorers did use it for temporary or emergency housing.

Roll Cage Mary and Biodiversity

I am not sure why Mary is in a roll cage.

I found this biodiversity study amusing.

Baby's First Skua

Saw my first Skua (the bird, not the clothing exchange -- it's the tiny black dot in the sky) Sunday. This is kind of a big deal, since I haven't seen any wildlife since I got here except for the fish in the aquarium and the occasional bug in my salad. (Bugs are even a big deal here -- I have heard of at least two people who collect bugs they find in the produce and attempt to keep them alive as pets.) These were taken from above Scott Hut, near roll cage Mary.

It's a Small World Afterall

Who'd a thought I'd run into two people from my home town in Antarctica! Here I am in the galley with Point Richmonders LaVonne Hynes Webber and Greg Murphy, giving a shout out to everyone at the Santa Fe Market!
There are also a few Kwaj residents lurking about (i.e, freezing their you-know-whats off in) the Antarctic. Pictured here at the Coffee House with me are Peter Rejcek, Andrea Dixon and Chris Danals. (Missing is Susan DeSoto.) Chris is just passing through here at McMurdo, on his way home from the South Pole. He went from 12 years at Kwaj straight to an entire year at the South Pole, so if he looks a little maniacal, that explains it. :) Andrea and Peter have done a year at "Pole" too, so they all have some good stories about it. It sounds like the winter sky is absolutely amazing there.

Condition 2

You've seen how amazingly clear it can be here, but the weather changes quickly. This is what a Condition 2 storm looks like (taken from the comfort of the galley last week). Winds up to 40 knots and low visibility. We can still work in these conditions, just need to be careful. Condition 1 means that you cannot leave where you are whatsoever, you must stay in the building you are in (and hope there is a bathroom!)

I walked to work in a storm like this one the other day and it was crazy! Some gusts were impossible to walk against -- they almost blew me over. Balaclavas (polarfleece face-covering hood) and goggles are a must in these conditions.