Open House!

A tropical paradise in Antarctica? Caesar's room says yes.
This past weekend there was a lot going on all over base. Friday night, I got to roll my own sushi for the first time ever! Fabulous! Cathy had nori and was able to get the galley to give her some fresh veggies. We had tuna, cucumbers, carrot, mushrooms, sprouts, Japanese egg something, rice, and wasabi goodness. Great stuff, especially when B-Nelson showed us you can use a Ziploc back to roll sushi just as well as the official wooden rollers.

After sushi, I headed over to the 2nd floor of 208 for an open house. I thought I had a neat room. I have nothing. Some of the people over there have been coming down for years and know how to do it up right. I'm sharing these so my you can truly understand that we aren't necessarily roughing it.


Genevieve's foyer and walk in closet to the right.


More of Genevieve's room. So cozy! Her bed (unseen to the right) doubles as a couch.
Genevieve's room isn't set up for larger social gatherings, but just about perfect for tea time for two or three. Tons of great tea, good lights, great rambling conversation, and lots of music I don't know.


Lee's room is a little more down to earth, but still a dream for those in the summer.
Lee's room is a little more pragmatic. At the end of the season, you hear a lot of people complain about having to undo their rooms. If they didn't put so much into them, they wouldn't have so much to do. However, try explaining that to whiners. Lee went with a classic theme that a lot of people do - queen size bed tied together with a cargo strap and a couch probably commandeered from a lounge. It's good stuff. Simple.


Shawn and Shandra's living room. (Their bed room is their second room).


Shawn and Shandra's kitchen area.
Shawn and Shandra have a ridiculous room. I've never seen a couch as nice as theirs on base. The other chairs in their room are nice too and I've never seem the like of them either, but the couch is better than them. Simply amazing. They have two fridges in their kitchen and probably more glassware than I have in my old place in Colorado.


Bethany's sitting area.


Bethany's sleeping area.
Bethany's room is pretty simply set up, but works really well with the great lighting she found. While looking at these pictures, keep in mind that all of these rooms are the same size. Couples might be able to setup in two rooms that share a bathroom so they have a sleeping area and living area, but I'm just amazed at the different possibilities for identical rooms. Its college dorms for kids with aesthetics and resources.


Tom's living room.


Kim's living room.
Those aren't real plants in Kim's room, but they look good enough at a glance. We miss greenery. So many people head back to the Christchurch botanical gardens and just lay in them for hours. I'm sure I'll do the same. I'm pretty sure we could fully stock a crafts store with fake plants and flowers if we pooled our resources.


What could they be watching in Antz' room?


Star Wars 3: Revenge of the Sith on the big screen in Antz' room.

Antz normally has two rooms to work with, but I guess he only has one these year and made it go far. It is a technological marvel that he crammed all that stuff in there. I've seen a few other projectors in rooms down here, but none that looked as good. I think he just has a few years more experience in the audio-visual arts. He is an incredible photographer ( http://www.antarcticimages.com/ ).

There were a couple other rooms on display, but I didn't get pictures. I think one of my favorite had a small dining room table with benches. I think they use it in the summer as well and never eat in the overcrowded galley. It must be nice to have a great spot like that to get away to in the summer. I was in a 4-pack so there was no getting away.

The rest of my monthly two day weekend was filled out with sleep, watching the Star Trek movie series, playing Settlers of Cattan, playing risk, Oregon Chai, homemade brunch, and Deadwood. Lots of being lazy is what it comes to, I think. Other people found themselves doing country line dancing in Gallagher's or going out skiing and snowboarding at the Kiwi ski hill. Great stuff all around. I can't wait for our next two day weekend because I'll be a little more mobile again and can get out and play. Oh yeah, how could I forget?!? We also had more auroras and while I still didn't get any pictures, I figured out why I wasn't. Next time they come out, I should be ready.