Finally...

...our car arrived! We were able to get it Thursday, and I got my first taste of driving in Alaska. Let me draw you a picture. In normal cooler conditions, there's a half inch of ice on the roads that are grooved and graveled to improve traction. I don't believe they salt often up here, as the melted ice would just refreeze and create an icy hell. To my surprise, vehicles get pretty good traction on the roads because of the ice being textured and also due to these bad boys (it is also not too tough to walk on either):

Studded tired are the secret ingredient. Since it was so cold last week (20 below) and so warm this week (around 40 - an 80 degree difference!) ice was melting and everything was rather slushy and lake-like. As anyone who has driven a fair amount in winter weather, slush can be worse than ice, but I held my own driving around. I'm just thankful that we finally have the car and can get around town on our own. We're 90 % put together now; once our furniture arrives and we have somewhere to actually sit in our apt, life will be much better