Bethel winter, 2nd time around and apartment hunting

A lot of people told us that the 2nd winter here is worse than the first. They say that the novelty of being in such a different and dramatic place wears off and it is just cold and dark for a long time. I am glad to report that after a month into our second winter we are doing just fine. They are right that the novelty has worn off, but it is also not that bad. We are busy, so busy, with work and school and the day to day chores that we don't notice the cold and darkness so much. Also, a big, big, difference is that we did not have a car last winter. It makes things so much easier. In fact, I think we were nuts to go through a whole winter without one. How thankful I am for our Bethel Beater.

However, one thing that is causing frustration is our search for a new apartment or house. We really want a house that has a wood stove. There are lots of houses in Bethel that have wood stoves, but they are not rentals. Or maybe some of them are, we wouldn't know. As most of you probably remember it was extremely hard for us to find a place to rent when we moved here. You would think it would be easier to find a place once you are here, but we have not had much luck. Perhaps we haven't tried hard enough, but I did not realize that in order to find a new place we would have to devote ourselves to that sole purpose full time. We don't have access to FirstClass which is a network that most rentals are posted on (the only place rentals and classifieds are posted on-that is except the 2 or 3 rentals that are posted in the paper and are generally rented before the paper goes to press ). Our friend Kari is in a similar predicament, so if any renters are reading: We are very hard working and quiet, we will take excellent care of your property. And if you have a woodstove, please rent to us!

Halloween Fun

James was Annakin Skywalker for Halloween. He tells me that he was the Annakin Skywalker from The Clone Wars, not little Annakin from Episode 1, or Darth Vader, which is who Annakin becomes when he turns to the dark side. Now that I have lost everyone's attention except those in the ten and under category, I would like to report that we had a very nice Halloween. We went to a carnival at Jamie's school last weekend. He played games, won a fish (which unfortunately has gone the way of most carnival fish), and got his face painted like a clone trooper. Then we had Just Desserts which is a fundraiser for the Bethel Council on the Arts. It is a variety show of local talent and lots of wonderful desserts donated by members of the community. I think James ate three, possibly four of them. Terrence and I were both working and James settled in with a table full of teachers and I am told he was very well behaved (good thing too, since they were all elementary teachers and know how to handle a kid full of sugar). Then on Friday he had a class party and I think every family sent in a treat considering the amount of baked goods he brought home in his school bag ( here is a tip for all you teachers out there, pudding does not travel well in a backpack). Then he went to the Teen Center and judging from the mess they had one heck of a party. Then we went to the High School's Halloween Carnival which is a lot like the M.E. Carnival only with bigger kids and pop music. Then on Halloween we went Trick or Treating in 17 degree weather. You have to work pretty hard for your candy in Bethel. We persevered though, and Jamie got some candy. After that we warmed up at our friend Dave's house and had some fancy macaroni and cheese at his dinner party. Jamie was thoroughly zinged on sugar by this point so we packed it up early and headed home, and did absolutely nothing, which felt great.