Brrrr...

When I got to the computer to check on the PSG airport weather observations, I saw that it was exactly zero-degrees. It may have been colder earlier -- I'll know for sure when I check the min/max temps for today when they are posted tomorrow. It warmed up into the warm teens this afternoon before dropping back down into the single digits.

There is a storm off in the Gulf of Alaska that looks like it will make its way down over here, and if everything combines in the right way, we could be seeing more snowfall by mid-week. This is definitely an abnormal year for both cold and snow here.

The interesting thing about it being so cold is that in the mornings and evenings, mist rises off of the near-freezing water in the Narrows. This evening I was able to catch a couple of vessels making their way towards Petersburg traveling through the rising mist. One of them is the ferry, M/V Taku that travels the route between Prince Rupert and Haines.

There were eleven of us during church yesterday -- a little above average. We are continuing to pursue the idea of starting a children's chorus here. None of the other churches that are large enough to have one do so presently, so this could be a good way for us to contribute to the community.

Shelley went to a Wyldlife Mystery Dinner event last night. This isn't a Murder Mystery Dinner -- rather it's where each diner is presented with a menu whose items bear no resemblance to a food item. The diner has to order off each menu to see what actually arrives. The dinner last night included menu items such as eyeballs, foot, and hand. It's all about having fun and getting together with other kids. Shelley came home after having fun.

Being a remote and small city, another difference from larger, connected cities was made more apparent last night. Elise took Shelley to the dinner event, and on the way back, she was flagged down by someone whose vehicle got stuck in the ice. There are no 24-hour numbers to call to ask for service -- no AAA vehicles, no local garages that do that sort of service. In fact, a couple of months back, one of the police report items in the paper included an item about a AAA dispatcher calling the police here to try to find someone to assist the caller who was in trouble here. I'm wondering whatever happened in that case.

Pastor Brown was scheduled to arrive here this week, but his heater in the fifth wheel in which he currently lives is having fits, and so to prevent his whole trailer from freezing, he is going to stay to babysit the heater while waiting for some parts to arrive. Of course because of the location (Wrangell is just like Petersburg), there is no way to UPS or FedEx items directly there, so the Postal Service is the only way. He's hoping that the parts were sent by something faster than Parcel Post... He really doesn't want to wait three weeks.