I get it…you want me to post!  Fine.  Its not like I havent been busy with very important life skills like trying to remember how to make toast under a broiler, avoiding moose attacks and planning for student staff training and the opening of residence halls for UAA!!!  Let me tell you, making that toast can be darn tricky.  Even just now I let some get darker than I prefer!  That whole thing about ‘a watched pot never boils’ doesnt apply to toast under a broiler; you have to watch lest it burn to a mighty crisp.  Everything else has been fairly stress-free.

Moose-watch has been eventful.  Sisu is way more curious about the moose than she is wary and she managed to flush a Mom and babies (Cow and calves if you are being particular) out from their settled spot behind West hall the other night.  Right in front of MB who is the RC of West, who, to her credit, ran straight for the bridge and called UPD while Sisu and I backed quickly off and stood across the street.  They weren’t upset for being startled and jsut started grazing again…mainly on the rosebushes at the corner. Such delicate little mouths.  S/He managed to get all the leaves and none of the thorns off that branch.  I know because I looked later on   MB was maybe 15′ away when she took this picture.  S/He is about 4.5′ at the shoulder and has such skinny, wobbly looking legs.  They really are funny looking creatures and you just want to stop and watch them.  Sisu kept pulling and wanting to get closer but every time she barked at them I got nervous and the moose DIDNT CARE.  There were 3 of them and none paid any attention to the barking black and white little predator in their area.  I guess she doesnt smell enough like a wolf to cause alarm and enough like people to cause apathy.  Still glad I had her on the leash though!!

MB and I went to the store not long after that to buy her some boots and, as you can see, she had a bit of trouble getting them off again.  I was laughing so hard I almost couldnt help her.  It was a good evening.

Lately, my apartment has been the scene of an invasion of sorts. And she brought with her all sorts of disruptive friends:

From L to R: The Felted Sheep SWMerino/Tencel and Merino/Silk 50/50 blends, Corridale Natural and Lt. Brown-2 oz each, Merino Top-2oz and Super Angora 2 oz.

I’ve already dove into my survival plan for dealing with these, these…these…oh hell, these lushious, beautiful, perfect fibres and I am loving every moment of them.  I stared with the SW Merino Tencel from my friend, K who is The Felted Sheep and who I met at my first day that I went to the Saturday Market in downtown Anchorage.  I originally planned to have J send me my drop spindle after I saw and bought those rovings but then fate stepped in and threw Ladybugs at me.

For those of you who are still wondering what the heck I am talking about and why ladybugs have anything to do with yarn and roving:  Here:

Meet the Ladybug. Its a spinning wheel by Schacht Spindle Co and is fantastic.  You can read all about her HERE. I was torn about buying her, really, I was.  I didnt know if I really wanted to get into spinning as a ‘real’ hobby and really didnt know if I wanted to shell out the money for her.  I was borrowing my friend SYs’ Louet s10 in Pelican and while I really liked spinning, I wasnt sure if I wanted to continue doing it all the time.  Would it replace knitting?  What about dyeing?  When could I do it?  Its expensive!   All these questions and more and in the end, I was lead by the fantastic community over at Ravelry to a Ladybug.  I knew that I liked spinning on the Louet s10 but I didnt like the single treadle part because of the dead time on the wheel.  I needed a double! (and I’ve never said that before!)  I considered a Babe wheel because I really liked the inexpensiveness of the wheel and, really, how cool would it be to have a spinning wheel made of PVC?  But, after reading more reviews and advice from Ravelers, I went with a wheel that I could spend more time on, instead of  spending less but needing to upgrade in the nearer future.  I already knew that I could spin well on a Louet but then, I couldnt find anyone nearby who stocked them or had them in a price range that I was willing to get into!

Long story short, I found  a wonderful woman here in Anchorage who is a Schacht dealer (kind of like a crack dealer but with lots more fibre floating around).  She is the owner of Far North Fibers and runs a shop out of her home.  She also does natural dyeing and, wow, let me tell you how beautiful her yarns are.  Those colours are amazing and I can only admire and drool.  She was having a dyeing session in her driveway yesterday (when I bought the Corridale, Merino and Angora) and the ladies involved looked so happy and were having fun despite the drizzle coming down.  Anyway, last Saturday, she came over with my ‘bug and I took her for a test spin.  I was pretty nervous about spinning double treadle since I never had and really scared that I wouldnt remember what to do.  It was like coming home again.  My feet fell right into the rhythm of treadling and as I held the fiber, my fingers knew exactly what to do.  I drafted and spun, all the while talking to PG about what I was liking and what a comparison to the s10, my only other experience with wheel spinning.  After a bit, she stopped me and came over to see what I had been spinning and said something to the effect of, ‘you already know what you are doing, dont you!’.  I looked down at the product of less than 10 minuets work and saw beautiful, even,VERY thin singles.  I was, honestly, amazed.  I was never able to spin less than fingering weight singles before .  There was just something about this weel.  I was spun and I used my first paycheck to buy her.

So now my life is Sisu, knitting, spinning and Residence Life.  Yes, I have found the time to balance all 4.

And I have even found time to enable my own stalker, AlaskanMama.  She is buying a Ladybug now too.  Now that is the real meaning of a fibre-y life.  To be enabled and enable other.  My life is good, especially since now I will have a spinning buddy   Thanks A.

Sisu in the new apartment

This is a pretty picture heavy post so I will apologise in advance if it takes you a while to load. This is our new place in Anchorage, complete with a final picture of a new neighbor who came over while I was washing dishes. Sisu just stared out the window.

Little, homey touches...ignore the clutter.

The hallway leads back to 2 doors on the right and 2 on the left. The one you can see there on the L is a storage closet which is pretty darn big. It could have been a 3rd room if someone was thinking clearly…see the next photo for more of an explaination.

1/2 the bathroom. I am standing about 8' away from counter and there is about 5' to my left! This is a HUGE, freakishly and needlessly so, bathroom

Yes, it is HUGE. You could honestly fit another tub/shower in there with ease. Possibly the argument could be made for handicap accessibility but there are no fittings anywhere and the toilet doesnt have the clearance. Even a new underling who stopped by today made the comment that it was huge. They could have brought the wall shared with the storage room forward about 6′ and created a room, granted, it wouldnt have windows but still. Or they could give me a hot-tub. Just sayin’

This is the room right across from the bathroom and its the perfect size. And it has a big girl bed!

There is a closet without doors off to the left too. Another bedroom, the same size or a bit smaller is off to the right. No need to see a bare mattress and empty dressers!

The perfect place to sit and knit on...

Can someone PLEASE tell me how to rotate these darn pictures in WordPress? They are right-side up in my iPhoto and this is driving me crazy! Either way, I have this beautiful set-up here and I am 1.75″ into the ribbing on my Vail sweater.

...my Vail sweater Swatch. Hooray that I will be knitting on 4's not 1's!! I also get to...

...watch the wildlife go by. Really.

He came by the other evening and I was washing dishes and saw something out of the corner of my eye and I almost dropped my plate. He was RIGHTTHERE next my window eating the tall grass you can see close to the front of the frame. By the time I dried my hands and came around the bar, he was already moving off and this was the best shot that I got of him. Where was Sisu? Looking out the window, not making a sound. She was as baffled as I was. My first moose!

Hopefully soon I will have some more pictures of our new life here in Anchorage. I want to get some shots of Sisu playing at the dog park. She has such fun there and then always sleeps well that night. Hopefully too I can have some pictures of more progress with my Vail sweater as well as something else that I swatched for.

I made a new stalker friend and went over to her house for a knitting group on Wednesday and I had so much FUN! Thank you so much for inviting me and I cant wait for the next one. As much as I miss my knitting group friends back in Pelican, I know that this is going to be a great group of friends too. I cant wait to get to know them all better.

Off the knitting notes…Thanks to not having a car, having a bike is great for my legs and waistline! I can already feel my legs being and getting stronger. It also helps that the dog park is right across the street and Sisu wants to spend every spare moment there. I am challenging myself to 8 miles a day on the bike (has been more every day since I got it…more like 10-12) and 2 miles at the dog park (simple because 1 lap is about 1.25 miles). Add to that the fresh fruit and veggies that I can get at the farm stands and natural market about 3 miles away and I should have to buy some new clothes again in about a month or so.

Darn.

It.

All.

This post is going to have a bit of everything in it.  Some bites you will love and wish there was more, other bites will make you screw up your lips and want to spit.  Please dont spit

#1)  Anchorage.  I am here and I pretty much like it.  It is, of course, a much bigger city than I have lived in in quite some time and there is always the learning curve of finding your way around, not to mention finding where things are and where they are not.  My first full day here was spent walking down a main road looking for a natural foods grocery store that I ‘knew’ was there.  So said the website.  5 hours and about 10 miles later, I was back at home, the proud owner of a new bike, bought at the furthest point in my journey at a bike sale at REI.  No, I didnt find the grocery store that day.  I found it the day after thankingyouverymuch and it wasnt where the site said by a long shot.  About half a mile down a different road but I had been relatively close.  AND right across the street is an Asian market where I found kim, go chi jang, kalbi meat, nang muen noodles, even sushi…the only thing missing was the panchan (side dishes) to end my Korean food fast.  Lucky for me, I met someone in the store while I was looking around who asked me if I knew what to do with the go chi jang (hot pepper paste) and the kalbi meat.  When I told them yes, I did but I was still looking for duk (rice paste cakes cut on the bias) for duk gook and panchan to complete my meal, her face lit up and she told me to go to this different market about 4 miles away.  Today I went and I found everything that I was missing, along with some Korean squash, tofu and a few of my favorite panchan and of course, some excellent kimchi.

Anchorage is fantastic for bikers.  EVERY intersection that I have come to and seen has had a ramp in the pavement to allow for smooth crossing.  Every one.  At all big roads there is a pedestrian crossing sign and the buttons to push are right there for bikers to get to easily.  Both bikers and pedestrians are good to each other and people treat the sidewalk just like a street-pass on the left, walk on the right side of the ‘road’ and look out for others.  Now, I am usually not an advocate for riding on the sidewalk.  A bike is a vehicle and there needs to be a safe place for people to walk.  That said, I have never lived in Anchorage where there are a LOT of cars and more than enough room on the sidewalks for pedestrians AND bikers alike.  There needs to also be a safe place for people to cycle and considering the daylight hours in the winter time and all the snow, this is a great compromise on the part of all people who use it.

I’ve probably put 30 miles on my bike already and I haven’t had to move into the street once.  A good thing too because some of the drivers here need to go back to drivers ed.  Its not fair to say that its an Alaskan thing or an Anchorage thing…all drivers need to be reminded once in a while that they are not the most important thing out there.  For example, I have seen 3 firetrucks and ambulances going out and all 3 times I have seen people staying right where they were, driving as if they could neither here the sirens nor seen the flashing lights.  MOVE OVER PEOPLE!!!  One guy and yes, it was a guy, stayed right in his lane and kept right on going like nothing was happening.  If you were in the back of the ambulance or if your house was on fire, you would want the emergency service people to get there ASAP so move your rear so they can get there for someone else!!  Also, look for bikes.  I look out for you, you have to look for me too.  I have the right of way when crossing the street, just like a person walking and even if you know you are bigger and trust me, I know you are too, I still have the right of way!  Getting off the phone helps too, especially you, the idiot in the explorer with your bass up, tinted windows and your one hand on the wheel while holding the phone…LOOKING  AT IT TO DIAL AND THEN TALKING.  People like you make me scared for humanity.  Everyone one else who cut me off or tried to, you all can wait for me to get out of your way before making a right turn, trust me, I’m faster than you think and you will still get wherever you are going faster and without helmet hair or fashionable bike shorts.  Unless you like that kind of thing on purpose.

I finished my first sock from the Otter, my own colourway and I love them!  There is very little striping/pooling and I couldnt be happier with the yarn and how it all knit up.  So soft and pretty…I want the 2nd sock NOW.  I will cast on for them tonight while having a movie marathon and Korean food feast

Pictures…Yes, I took some and yes I have them…just not on the computer yet.  I think that I left my USB cable in Pelican and have to get a new one on Monday.  And I will, I swear because I want  you all to see what I have done, where I live, what I am eating and what I bought too.

Speaking of buying things…Thursday was a, um, shopping spree day for me.  Ok, I haven’t bought clothes in 4 years and had nothing, seriously NOTHING, that I could wear as professional gear and nothing that wasn’t jeans, long sleeve t-shirt or sweatshirts.  So I went to JC Penneys and, get this, HAD FUN SHOPPING.  Really.  Truly, I did, I swear I did.  For the first time ever.  I loved the way everything fit, the colours, the styles.  Part of the fun of the fitting is that I was buying size 12 and looking very good but also was that they style was very me and very perfect.  A-line skirt that hits right below my knee with a fitted top and whatever shoes that I want…perfect.  So I got a few skirts in more neutral colours and black and white so I can wear any top too.  Shoe wise, well, I needed a dress pair that would go with everything and I know what I like…so I bought a new pair of Danskos that look like a pair of Mary-Janes in a deep-wine leather and I LOVE them.  To keep myself in my size 12 and hopefully a bit smaller   I bought a pair of running shoes that give me great support for my heel and arches and in just 2 days of wearing them to break them in walking around the dog park with Sisu, my heels dont hurt and it feels like my plantar faciia is beginning to heal.  Its going to take a bit of time to heal all the way but I miss running a lot and I know that Sisu does too.

Sisu is being spoilt though and, lucky dog her, we have a off-leash dog park across the street that is a much loved place for all dogs in the community.  Yesterday was the first time she was off-leash and she did so well playing with other dogs…but that was never a concern for me.  My big concern was getting her to come back!  She is fantastic with recall (coming when called) when it is just her and I out somewhere but add in another dog and her ‘listening’ button switches to OFF for the most part.  Yesterday was a bit of a heart flutter at first but then she came without bribery at first but then, lucky for me, when I went to get her back on the leash when we got near the construction area, she only wanted to play.  She went up to visit another dog and their owner and was standing right next to the owner and I called for them to grab her for me.  She laughed and said sure, catching her collar with ease (because she was standing so nicely right there!).  Today, I stopped my Freddies and stocked up on Sisu-treats as the perfect bribes and they were!  She came to almost every call and only after an hour and a half did she start to get tired.  Tomorrow we will go again and since she did so well today, I really hope that she does well tomorrow too.

Well, I passed the ability test with the Dean and my soon-to-be boss has been given the go ahead to re-write a job description for me and my lack of a Masters Degree so that HR can make me fully official soon.

I will be moving to Anchorage and will be the new Residence Coordinator of West Hall and the Templewood apartments.

Wow.  Jut writing that makes me shiver with excitement and nervousness and all the unknown.  I know that its going to be a great adventure and just a good all around experience…once I get over all the nerves and excitements!  Now I have to make plans for packing and moving and getting there and having a home there for 10 months.  Tasha is moving again…surprise, surprise   Hopefully Mum has left space for me to move again in her address book!

Whew!  At least all of those stress’ of the last week are over…and then life always brings you new ones   Such is life and since none of them have killed me yet, I must assume that I am stronger for them!

The interview went well but no, I havent heard anything yet about the job.  Now I have to decide if I want it if they offer it to me.  I was quite overwhelmed at first with Anchorage.  I mean, there are stores(!) and roads(!!) and more than one restaurant(!!!) and even a Taco Bell!!!!  The apartment is really nice and there is a dog park right across the street where Sisu can run.  The city bus stops right outside what might be my apartment complex so I should not need a car at all.  That would be a great thing, mainly because after 10 months, I would need to get rid of it already so I could come back to Pelican sans auto.  I had a good time with my possible future staff members and we all relaxed together and got on well during the interview.  It was fantastic of them to come in on their first day of vacation!  All in all, it was a good time and I felt very relaxed but I need to decide if I really want to leave Pelican for this position.  Do I really want this job and all the stress’ that it entails?  Do I want to move away from Jamie and Pelican for 4 months and 10 months, respectively?  What will happen with my dyeing business?

Speaking of the dyeing…I got a call yesterday from Nancy, the owner of Skeins Fine Yarns and she said that she was not only happy with the yarns I sent her but she already sold 4!  She got the box at 10am.  Not too shabby for my first day being in stock!  If you are someone who bought any of my handpaints, I would LOVE to hear from you!  Leave a comment, send me an email, anything!  Just tell me what you bought and how you like it   I would love the feedback and I hope that you are a happy knitter with my colourways.

Its pretty ironic that I am titling this post “Nerves” when one of the things that is giving me tummy flutters is my final exam on the Nervous system.  I have taken 2 previous exams and have done just fine on them so why I am so jittery about this one, I really dont know.

Ok.  Yes I do.

Not only do I have this test to take today but I am going to hear about a job that might take me away from Pelican and up to Anchorage for a year.  It is such a great opportunity but boy, does it bring up huge questions, concerns, feelings and also makes me want to bring up my breakfast.  It would be such a huge thing that I cant even go into it all here and I dont want to until I know if I have the job or not because I dont want to jinx it…or maybe I do and I dont really want the job at all and want to stay in safe, little Pelican and continue working for the Seaplanes.  Nope, dont wanna do that but I just am nervous and nothing has happened yet!  The deal is, they offered the job to a guy who has a girlfriend who really doesnt like Anchorage (has been there a year) and she wants to go back to California.  So she says, take the job and stay but I am going back to Cali. and I would like it if you came with me.  So he asked for an extension in the decision time and it is up today.  He has to make a decision by today.

Monday.

The same day as my Nervous system final.

And Lab practical.

And the day I want to be able to ship out 36 skeins of handpainted yarn that I dyed, dried and reskeined this weekend.  But I cant send them until I have tags and they are in the mail.  I will fill you in on THAT brand of insanity after my test.  Pictures too, I promise.

And the day before my future in-laws are coming back to town with their pets.

And the day that I am moving from the house that I have lived in to a large boat in order to circumvent any dog socialisation issues.

And the day that I am supposed to adopt a dog from J’s Dad.  A Karelian, just like Sisu who needs a new home and a lot of love and attention.

And the day I am supposed to get more yarn blanks in the mail. To start dyeing.  Because I have at least 24 more skeins to do for this original order. (Yay!)

Can you tell why I am nervous and excited and have so much on my mind that I want to burst and cry and cheer and sleep and generally explode?

No, I didnt spell “dyeing” wrong, thats the one I meant to write. I

I’ve been busy the past 4 days with a project that I love and I hope I can do for a long(ish) time because I really enjoyed doing it…Dyeing yarns.

Last year while fishing I kept taking pictures, trying to catch the beauty of SE Alaska and thinking to myself, “Wow, that would make really pretty yarn colours.” Seriously, that is how much fiber I have on the brain. Anyway, I kept a list and recently decided to take the plunge and buy some dye and blanks and dip my fingers into the dye pots. I painted one of each of my colourways and here they are to show off along with names   ETA: All of the “The …” names are fishing boats in the community.  The Nightingale is mine and J’s and J is out fishing right now on The Alitak!

Clockwise: Top R: Puffin, The Pegge, Brown Bear, The Alitak, Tasha’s X-tra Tuffs, Coho

Clockwise: Top centre: Icy Point, Bald Eagle, Dixon Can, Otter, Inside Passage, King Salmon

L: Waterfalls, R: Glaciers

L to R: Lemesuier Island, The Gold Dust, Survival Suit, Humpies, The Nightingale, The Oceanaire, The Dutch Master

All are more beautiful than the pictures and I would be hard pressed to name the “best” one but I have to say, when I showed BrightonWoman “Puffin” she mentioned a Puffin poem and I, in all my dorkyness, perfected over the roughly 22 years that I have had this poem memorized, said:

There Once Was a Puffin

Oh, there once was a Puffin
Just the shape of a muffin,
And he lived on an island
In the bright blue sea!

He ate little fishes,
That were most delicious,
And he had them for supper
And he had them for tea.

But this poor little Puffin,
He couldn’t play nothin’,
For he hadn’t anybody
To play with at all.

So he sat on his island,
And he cried for awhile, and
He felt very lonely,
And he felt very small.

Then along came the fishes,
And they said, “If you wishes,
You can have us for playmates,
Instead of for tea!”

So they now play together,
In all sorts of weather,
And the Puffin eats pancakes,
Like you and like me.

by Florence Page Jaques

I memorized it in 1st grade for a talent show and forgot some of it then in stage fright and excitement and have always had it since. Thanks Mums.

What do I plan to do with all these yarns? Well, sell them for starters They are DK, Fingering and Feltable worsteds and I already have a special order for sock yarn in King Salmon and Otter from a newbie sock knitter in town and I have 2 local stores who are willing to try and see if they sell (me thinks that the cruise shippers might really enjoy) and 1 not so local store who has also expressed interest AND I have feelers out for one other option.

Iffn you want a skein or two for yourself, let me know…I can dye what you want in the way you want!

There have been many different ways that I love living in Pelican but this one has to be right up there are the top benefit.  So much can be harvested from the earth and as long as we are careful, there can be continual harvests for many years. Sundays have been my day off and lucky for me, most of them have been beautiful and perfect for Sisu and I to go out to the flats and practice harvesting

Nori drying in the sun and Sea Lettuce and Nori still in the rinsing sea water

bladderwrack drying in the sun

Clams! The clam, sans shell. Aww, shucks!

My little clammer

Tasha and Sisu

There are more pictures up in my flickr site of the clam shucking, and the seaweed gathering.

Yes, there is still knitting in my world…always is there knitting!  Granted, now there is also a lot of spinning but that is another post.  Just lately, I have been having fun with baby booties and samples of yarn.  They knit up quite fast and they look good once they are all finished.

Baby Booties (no, not for me and mine!)

And finally for this post, my most recent Stranded Hat!  Stranded Hat C, modeled on Marsali (SH-C08-215)

More to come soon…spinning fun!

From BrightonWoman: “I love that song ‘exactly’ at some point I’ll have to take the time to listen to it, but I like those lines ‘I am exactly where I need to be, i need to be exactly where I am” It reminds me of Ecclesiastes and the time for every purpose under heaven… I think too many people get caught up in the past or the future and forget to be in the present, or to live in the now for the now.”

Yes.  Just like that plus the idea that the path to real happiness is within you and only you and is specifically FOR you.  That I can be wonderfully and completely happy with my very rural, slow paced, not hugely important in the grand scheme of this world lifestyle but still be incredibly connected, one of the fastest moving/on a schedule and very important person here in Pelican because, lets face it, if I wasn’t doing it now, there would be no regular travel into or out of here nor would there be 9/10 of the freight or any of the mail.  Not that no one else could step in and do it, but right now, I’m it.  And granted, its not a full time job but my knitting, spinning, helping elders and taking other part time jobs make my world very busy and I just will keep getting busier as the days get longer and longer. (On the side, did you know that it is light enough to see clearly at 5am and then the sun goes behind the mountains at about 7:45 and its dark at 8:30…already!  I forgot how fast this happens in the spring!)

I enjoyed my day off yesterday by gathering seaweeds and then drying them (and will post pictures later today) and Sisu ran like a wild thing on the flats while I did.  She is so funny and is my little clam digger.  She gets squirted by a clam or a worm and then goes crazy digging for them.  She has yet to get one and normally just likes to dig but the squirt gives her a place to do it!

My knitting world is blooming with fantastic yarns…that I spun!  I plied my yarns the other day and then dyed with food colouring and they look just beautiful.  There will be pictures of those soon too   The plied yarn is a worsted weight and I am so proud of myself for how even and well spun that it is.  Yes, I am proudly tooting my own horn!  I’m also getting ready to make a foray into dyeing on a larger scale and have quite a few blanks and pots of dye coming in and will gladly tell  you all about it once things are moving the way I want them to.  I dont want to jinx anything but I have some good ideas and if they come out half as well as I can see them in my head, they will be great.

When you are not looking for it, you can find joy in just the oddest of places.  Things that make you just laugh out loud because of the randomness and general funny placement of things or a statement.

Take these for instance:  I was wearing these socks all day and then took them off to change for a workout with the full intention of putting them back on to go to SnB later that night.  I went to grab them after my shower and this is what they looked like. I swear, thats just how I tossed them off my legs and onto the bed!  I was in a rush to change and pulled them off and then never thought about them until after my shower I looked down at them and started laughing.  Sisu looked at me like I was crazy but really, they took me by surprise in such a good way.  BTW, they are “Arsenal” football (soccer) socks.  (And Yes, Janyne, they were yours   You have to come visit me to get them back!)

This was another: I have no earthly idea why there was or should have been a flipper at 1,500′ but there was!  J and I were just hiking along with Sisu and there it sat.  Both J and I laughed like crazy and Sisu gave it a sniff and a nose.  We left it there for others enjoyment but also because there was a moss already growing inside the foot portion.

What has made you laugh today?  Are you laughing today?  I really hope so, because I am.