Talk Tuesday with Kristi Trimmer

How are you preparing for Winter?

This question has many facets and I am going to break it down as it will help me to focus as well. 🙂

Clothing

I must have not been thinking when I packed for this trip from Phoenix to Alaska. I didn’t bring any sweaters or warm clothes of any kind. I have a hoodie and a couple thermals and that’s about it. I wish I could tell you I’m kidding. I’m working on a gift guide called – A Guide to Surviving Alaska. Companies send me products to review to be included in the guide. I did a really big happy dance when L.L. Bean told me they loved my story and wanted to make sure I didn’t freeze to death. So they sent me this in red. You know, so you can find me underneath all that snow!

L.L.Bean Women’s Baxter State Parka

I still have to buy snow boots, gloves, sweaters, snow pants, and a million other things I am sure. So yeah, I’m not prepared in the least for the winter where clothes are concerned.

My Car

My little Toyota Scion TC is in for a rude awakening. He needs a block heater – which, get this – plugs into the wall. I’ve never heard of such a thing! I had no idea why all these cars had an extension cord sticking out of them – now I know! I also need an auto start so my car can warm up before I attempt to get in it. My car also needs new kicks – snow tires to be exact. Yep, that’s a lot of stuff. Pricey too. Now you know why I am working like a mad woman!

My Living Situation

Ugh. Insert stress here. Whenever I imagined living in Alaska it was not in the middle of a city with no view. I am actively searching for an apt or a roommate situation in the Anchorage area. I need a view to write. I thought maybe it wasn’t really needed, but in order for me to be creative, it is a necessity. Anchorage real estate is insane. The prices are closer to San Francisco than Phoenix and places go very quickly. Listen up my investor friends – this is the market you should be in!!

My Spirit

I thought about this one a lot. Could I handle all the darkness? The cold? Being so far away from my friends and family for even longer than I planned? What if I couldn’t afford to fly home for the Holidays – would I be ok being alone? Well, that is kind of why I reached out to Bagoy’s Flowers & Home so I could get out from behind my laptop for a couple hours each week and be around other people. It’s working, btw… I am SO busy that I don’t have time to be sad about being alone. Now the cold and darkness… I am very aware of them and will try everything I can not to let them affect me too much.

Also, I am making a calendar of all the events in Alaska that I want to attend. I’m adding in trips down to the Lower 48 as well every 2 months or so. Airline tickets are a lot less in the Winter and I will use that to my advantage. I’m SO happy that in a couple short weeks I will get to see friends in Chicago, family in Indiana, a dear friend’s wedding in Alabama, and attend an awesome conference in North Carolina. That’s what I call packing in a trip!

I also am looking at taking classes for craft beer judging, being a sommelier, and other things that tickle my fancy. Oh – I would really like to try my hand at home brewing too!

I’ve been making lists of books that I want to read and books that I want to write. I have dreamed and imagined myself rewriting Unstoppable: Girl On The Run while next to a roaring fire looking out at snow-covered trees. My writing has come back as has my urge to seriously sit my ass down and rewrite the book I lost. And least I don’t cry every time I think about it. Progress!

Psst… Did you see this post from earlier about the Talkeetna Brewfest this past weekend? Work is hard at times, my friends!