Thursday, May 19, 2011

why i'm here part 2

      
            This is a fun time lapse of an afternoon of pizza making with 5 girls and 1 guy pizzeria!
                 Christy, Freija, Weeks and myself taking a break from making pizza to goof off...
                    Freija and i 'work' in the store every Saturday night and host dance parties,
                                                       sometimes costumes are necessary!
    Freija and i are just in from the berms and enjoy a photo in front of the alpine wall covering in cargo
                      we'd like to think we are fresh from the slopes, but the broom gives it away!                                                                    
                                              yummmmm, fresh basil from the greenhouse!
         The box on the back of the bike we use to deliver pizza to the drive-in movie night in the gym
        Weeks driving our pizza delivery bike and bringing smiles to happy movie goers... service!
                                       The pizza crew with our homemade whole wheat crust!!
               BINGO night, groucho the gardener (me) and Andrew, i've never won BINGO, ever!
              The winter-over photo we sent to Christchurch with our donation for earthquake relief
                                    bartending at the sunset meal, hanging with Tim and Kelly
                               Christy, Freija and myself moments after the last plane departed
                                       the last weekend of summer with Elissa and Trudy-Lyn
      february 25th, Commedia Dell'arte Day, the first time it was celebrated on all 7 continents - ever.
         it is a celebration of theater and has been going on since the 1500's.. we made history today!
Famed Italian mask maker Antonio Fava made these leather masks and sent them down just for our play,                                                          
                                         this is Freija and me, we played the fools... surprise!
                                              This is our Operations crew from the summer

                                      This was after 2.5 hours outside at -85, why i love wool!


greetings from another moonlit day,

these photos have zero scientific value - pure fun... another reason why i'm here!
i'm hosting a funk*music dance party this weekend - one of our lounges has been transformed into 'club deep freeze' for any occasion we may have to dance (which usually rolls around once a month).  Freija and i cooked sunday dinner for the station last week.  i attempted dumplings and they failed, i was disappointed, but there were hand-cut kumera (sweet potato) fries in the Belgian-style which more than made up for the lack of dumplings; we made fancy dips as well, like chipotle mayo and curry katsup... yum.
even with the moon up the auroras are coming out to play and manage to be bright and shimmering!  work and sleep are the major themes, but as you can tell, we do find time and energy to have fun! i hope this message finds you having an enjoyable day.

take care,
karengrace


Wednesday, May 4, 2011

why i'm here part 1

 auroras behind ARO


dancing on the flagline





super swirl



the station and auroras, this photo by Jens Dryer
all other photos by Christy Schultz


greetings from aurora central!
so far the end of april and beginning of may have provided stunning examples of the celestial shows i have been hungry for since i first decided to spend the winter at the south pole.  we all carry radios and have an aurora channel programmed in so that when anyone is outside and witnesses a show they can let the whole station know to get outside.

one of our community members recently received news from home that a family member has passed away.  this was truly my greatest fear when i decided to commit to 9 months here without the ability to leave if something tragic happened.  of course it is these terrible circumstances that awaken the spirit and bring a perspective that allows for all of us to appreciate each other.  i hope these images find you all well, please take a moment today to reflect on all the goodness in your life.  take care, karengrace