Now we’re having the weather I remember from our first months here in Tok. Tomorrow – Winter Soltice – will also mark exactly a year that we’ve been here. Finally getting my “Tok Legs” which is an awful lot like sea legs. Takes a lot of getting used to, there are moments of unrest, and then it all feels like no big deal. Then you get out of Tok and realize once again how very different things are here, for better or for worse.

With cold, comes new anecdotes about the cold – things that may seem quite normal and typical to most Tokites, but believe me they are not normal or typical for many others. My latest fun Tok Winter Pics are of the frost and ice forming on the inside of our windows today. Keep in mind we have 12 inch thick walls and two layers of windows!

In my daughter’s room, we had lined all of her teddy bears on the window sill, and they were all stuck to the windows. After some tugging and a little bit of teddy bear fur left behind, all bears were wrapped in blankets (after the requisite teddy bear operations to minimize frostbite).

We’ve just ordered some wood for the first time and plan to light our wood stove for the first time as soon as the wood arrives. Now THAT will be cozy and warm.

How are YOU faring on this fine winter’s day?