Southern is Relative

I've been living in the South for quite a few years now...almost 20.  But I have to say, that my daughter wins this one.  Here is a recent photo of Sparky in Antarctica.  I guess her "south" beats my "south" by a landslide...or perhaps a polar ice cap.

Sparky's Continuing Adventure

My daughter Sparky won't be home for Thanksgiving again this year. For those who have followed my blog for years, you'll know that she's working in Antarctica for their summer season again.

Sparks called us last night using an iridium phone from Byrd Camp in the middle of the continent. She's living in a small tent and helping build the tent city for scientists and others who will be using it.

As with each call, I learn something new- she said the weather has been holding them back a bit with windchill making it close to -50 below at times, wind at 40 knots and about 20' visibility... yikes! She sleeps with her water bottle, so it doesn't totally freeze up. Makes me appreciate my warm, cozy house so much more.

One of the cool things about their environment right now are the "sun dogs" Have you heard of them? This is new to me. They're like halo reflections on each side of the sun. She said with the snow, (and 24 hour sunlight), the reflect even more and it looks like little rainbows all over the sky.

So as always, I miss her. But I'm really proud of her. She said it's a dream job for her and what parent doesn't want their kids to be that happy?

Sparky's Home!

It's my birthday today. Yep, not the easiest thing to admit, but I'm really old.

And I really had only one wish for my birthday gift. I wanted my family to be all together for it. But that's a big wish, because my daughter, Sparky, seems to be traveling most of the year.

From working in Antarctica, to visiting New Zealand, Tasmania, Australia, Japan and then biking in Hawaii, she was gone about 9 months and just returned. The last time I had seen her was about last June.

Quite honestly, that's kind of hard on a Mom. So I am absolutely delighted that she's home. . Woohoo! The family is complete. Now all I want is a little cake (coconut, if I'm lucky) and ice cream and all is complete.

See you tomorrow...because the rest of today I'm celebrating!

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.

Wishing you family and friends and lots of laughs and conversation today.

And to those of you who have dear family members who can't be with you, I'm sending out hugs.

Today, I'm missing my daughter who is happily working in Antarctica. I sure
miss her, but know she loves what she's doing and that's important. But holidays just aren't the same without her.

So cheers to you all and wishing you happy holiday.

And thank you for indulging a Mom with getting personal for a moment. Sparky, if you're reading this, I'll pour one out for you!

Love,
Mom

Headed Back To The Ice...Continuing Saga of Sparky's Adventures

My daughter, aka Sparky, is headed back to "the ice". For those of you who are newer to my blog, that's her term for Antarctica. She works there for about half a year and then her past history is to travel and have adventures the rest of the year.

She messaged me that she's in New Zealand, until her employer is ready to fly her in. You see, the weather conditions need to be right. They're heading out of winter and into spring. And that it's freaking cold is an understatement.

If you look at the bottom right side of my blog, I have reinstalled my Antarctica clock and weather do-hickey. It's my Mom-O-Meter. You know we can't resist checking up on our kids, no matter how old they are.

Okay back to glass and creativity talk tomorrow. Thanks for the quick personal post. I promise, I won't indulge too often.