Fat Tuesday

It was a full day today. After driving the school carpool this morning, I drove Mrs. Scintilla to her periodontist in Anchorage to see how her surgery is healing. Good news on that front. She's now actually allowed to brush her teeth rather than use some kind of caustic mouthwash. On the way down, there was a gorgeous scene of frosted trees backed by mountains and a distinct fog layer. That scene will have to be relegated to a nice memory as there was no time or safe opportunity to pull off a blip shot.

We had to scoot back from Anchorage to get to K's school to watch their Mardi Gras parade. The kids had standardized testing today and were rewarded with a fun event of a Mardis Gras parade in the gymnasium. This miniature donkey was a great addition to the fun. Calico is behind the cart in candy-cane colors. The final float in the parade used a smoke machine which set off the fire alarm and essentially brought the festivities to an end.

We finished off the day with election hell. Alaska's last presidential primary was later in the political season and the candidates were much more of a foregone conclusion, whereas this time the election is a part of "Super Tuesday" (24 states voting) and the election is much more contentious. The showing was much bigger in our district than they were expecting. We had to wait outside the building in freezing cold for a half hour just to get inside and then the wait was another hour indoors. Mrs. S and I paid our dues today to be a part of the democratic process. I'm ready for a hot bath.