happy new year!

working on the berms- my 'blue boot' inside sundog
almost down...
the things you find in the meteorology lab...
late night antics... yelling into the bull horn to the great white beyond...

it was only -15... definitely short sleeve weather!
greetings from 2010 at the south pole!

we have less than a month remaining in this summer season, it has really flown by!

we still have much to accomplish before we get to fly away in february, but i think we'll finish just in time! the last pieces of the dome came down last night, it's official. the BBC is here for the 2nd time this season, they've been traveling between here, mc murdo, and the field camps/stations working on a new documentary about life at the poles! i got to meet sir david attenborough yesterday, he's definitely one of my heroes!! we have had a serious shortage of flights since thanksgiving, and since that is how we get all of our fuel(and everything else)- but fuel is always the main concern, especially for the winter-overs, the last day for flights is feb. 15th, after then it is simply too cold for the hercs to fly. we've had a few days of snow, which is quite rare, as we are in a very high desert, but the weather has been really strange all year, loads of fog and really bad storms in mc murdo. my supervisor, paddy, and i made an amazing indian meal for the chef's dinner last weekend. we made their meal last year as well, but this year we actually had 'freshies' (fresh vegi's) which made it so much easier!! i made a rice pudding that was a real hit and we also made onion pakoras, vegi samosas, yogurt marinated chicken skewers, lamb curry, palak paneer (spinach with cheese), dahl (red lentils) and tofu, aloo gobi (cauliflower and potatoes) and chai tea. we are all making our travel plans, the excitement is building! we have been given a free layover in australia and hawaii this season, so we will definitely be stimulating those economies in the next few months!!

i am planning to spend a few days on the s. island of n.z. again, heading up to marlborough to do some wine tasting and hiking. then to sydney where i'll catch a flight to tasmania and wander around there for a bit then catch the ferry back up to melbourn and get a train pass that allows for 14 days of travels in the states of queensland, victoria, and new south wales (essentially the e. coast) and then hop over to hawaii to visit with some friends. we all have to fly through l.a., i'll stop off there for a visit, then head up to s.f. to visit and help melissa with her wedding plans!! finally i will be through orlando to play with friends and family and the journey will end on beautiful martha's vineyard! once again, the satellite is wavering out of range, so i leave you all with best wishes for a wonderful 2010! take care, karen grace