The Slanting Tundra Life

Things change so much in our neck of the world. Nothing seems to stay on an even keel, including the tundra’s permafrost.
We, who choose to live in homes (or the end of a school building in my case) built on the ever-unstable tundra, know our residences sink and rise throughout the year. It is a given.
Presently, my “house” has sunk into the tundra a little on one end. I have to put 20 oz. bottles in the refrigerator door. Otherwise, they fall over if I place them on the shelf. Two closet doors are hard to open, but one storage room door doesn’t scrape the vinyl as much as it did in the fall. Although, our dining table’s legs are loose, the table is pretty stable. I have it against a wall on the down slope of the house.
Cooking with a round skillet on a stove that tilts to the left is fun. Until recently, I had the skillet handle to my left. That put extra weight on the wrong side. I had to lift up on the handle a bit when frying food so the oil would be evenly distributed. This allowed me to use the whole skillet bottom to cook instead of only the left half. Then I got a bright idea. I turned skillet so the handle to on the right. The handle weight evens out the skillet enough so I don’t have to hold it at all.
Sometimes pipes freeze and rupture. Sometimes you are unable to unlock a deadbolt without lifting or pushing down on the doorknob as the seasons change. But there are also a few good things that are discovered while living the slanting tundra life.
Thanks to the snow you find air leaks – at least I do. After the storm I went to our back porch arctic entryway and saw snow inside. That itself isn’t a surprise. It happens. The odd part was that now I have more housework to do. The light in the arctic entry is not bright. I had done a “man cleaning” of the place (swept the floor) when I first arrived. Now, thanks to snow blown in, I am able to see the various spider webs above the door and in the ceiling corners. The snow adhered itself to the webs. It now looks like I have snow starfish living there. Now I have to sweep the walls and ceiling.
Although probably not possible, it would be nice for contractors to know which side a building will sink over time. Then they could adjust their construction accordingly. All the doors could be mounted to swing toward the inevitable slant. Refrigerators and such would be installed against the “lower wall.” Heck, maybe they could invent stove burners that can be adjusted to help the pots/pans stay level when cooking. These are just some thoughts on how to solve an unsolvable problem.
For now and probable the foreseeable future the tundra will continue to shift with the season temperatures, even during mid-season. Two weeks ago we experienced winter storms, freezing temperatures, and snow. Excitement was building in anticipation of driving a vehicle on an ice road to Bethel. I was getting used to which doors opened easily. Then last week it warmed up and rained. A good percentage of the snow is gone now and the river isn’t as frozen. I’m sure that has set peoples’ travel plans back a few weeks.
I’m not complaining at all, just stating a few facts of bush life. You have to be flexible and have a sense of humor living “out here” because things do change, sometimes pretty rapidly. So, be safe this winter/spring season.
(Be sure and check out Tundra Teacher Tales in paperback or e-book at
www.booklocker.com/books/973.html)