Work? Play?

I’m afraid I may have created a misconception that all I do here is play. Let me set the record straight – I do work full time, 5 days a week! :-) Before I blog about my next adventure, though, I thought I would post some pictures of the cities in which I live, work, etc.

Let’s start with Palmer, where I work. It’s a cute little town. As I have mentioned previously, it is the home of the Alaska State Fair. Many of you have asked me what the size of Palmer is. I am not good at describing city size or population, so let’s just say that there is no Wal-Mart in Palmer, and only 2 grocery stores – that should give you an idea.

"Downtown" PalmerPalmer LibraryOld Palmer RailroadMore DowntownA random wagon outside of Carr's, the grocery storeI house-sat for my first two weeks here for a couple who were on vacation.

One of my housesitting duties

Apparently, a rich natural resource here is gravel – interesting, I know. About six trains of gravel are transported daily from here to Anchorage...I was told.

I also spend quite a bit of time in Wasilla, the neighboring town, especially when I needed to go to Wal-Mart! :-) In fact, Wasilla was the first town in AK to have a Super Wal-Mart. Plus, it's the home of Sarah Palin and the Iditarod Headquarters.

After I finished house-sitting, I moved to Chugiak and am now staying with the Manolas family. I can no longer bike to work, but the 25-min commute is gorgeous, so I don’t mind. I do confess that I have a "bad" habit of taking pictures while I drive...

On the way to workPioneer PeakOne of my favorite sceneries - the bridge/train track

On my way back to Chugiak

One of my favorite streets in the neighborhood

I will be staying with the Manolases for the rest of my time here. The whole family are big Atlanta Braves fans, so I felt right at home. They also let me zip around in ‘Thumper’, an old red Chevy named for the loud noises it makes.

Their living room

Hey, bear!

This whole experience so far has truly been a testimony of God’s faithfulness and provision. I never knew how everything would work out, but I knew I could trust that, just as He has provided faithfully all my life, He would continue to remain faithful. And He continues to be. I'm very grateful!!