A very good start

Mail is a fickle thing in the Alaska bush.  Sometimes you get it, sometimes you don’t.  Increase the degree of difficulty by adding in a Cherokee plane and a sand runway only 3/4 of a mile long, inclament weather and loads of passengers and your odds of getting your order within the 3-9 business days becomes 2-4 weeks.  This time however, I got very lucky and had a brilliant beginning to my December.  I got my KnitPicks box and I am SO happy.

Clockwise from top R: The Tidings of Joy ornament kit, a 2.5mm 24″ circular needle, Ann Budds’ “The Knitters Handy Book of Patterns” and Nonna’s Garden Shawl Kit.

I’ve tagged this post with the Simple Living tag because of my plan to have my own handmade Christmas decorations on a future Christmas tree.  While I won’t have a tree this year, I will in the future and I want to have my own special made things on it.  That and handmade decorations are just plain cool!

Winter 09 Interweave Knits review

First off, I have really like Interweave Knits (IK) since I initially discovered it in Fall ‘05.  I had just really gotten into knitting and seeing a magazing full of patterns to aspire to knit was just what I needed.  Both the style of the garments and the magazine itself appealed to me.  Since then, IK has gone thru some magazine layout changes.  I liked the old, old layout when there was a picture followed by the pattern, the old way where the pictures were all at the front with notes on designer and page number for pattern and then all the patterns are at the back.  This new way?  Ick to the nth.  Sets of pictures in “collections” followed by the patterns again in collection repeated through the magazine.  Why?  Because its awkward to use.  None of the pictures of the items have page numbers with the designer name.  While there is a table of contents at the beginning, who wants to be flipping back an forth?  I guess the same people who like to have to search for the pattern they want.

Second, the cover states, “24 Best Knits for Winter Warmth”  Well, even if you count each of the staff projects, whos patterns can only be gleaned from the IK website, that only adds up to 23 projects that have any chance of keeping the knitter or the wearer warm.  Quite frankly, I would love to know how a knitted bag or knapsack or (quite beautiful and elegant) paper lantern covers will be keeping anyone warm.  On that same note, sweaters without closures or with short sleeves also have a more difficult time of providing warmth over those with closures or long sleeves.  Granted, I do live in Alaska and have different standards about warmth and function of clothing so that last comment needs to be taken as you will.

On the plus side, and really, there is one, I LOVE the Braided Riding Jacket, Icelandic Star and the Heritage Cardigan.  If I tweaked the pattern a bit to add shaping, the Aspinwall Pullover would be beautiful too.  All of the patterns have that certain something that catches my eye but when it gets down to it, I really marked more adverts to look up and add to my queue than the actual IK patterns.  Sorry Interweave but this issue really makes me question the worth of the subscription.

Post-After Thanksgiving Purge

The original plan called for:

“4 totes/suitcases worth of “Things”, my wheel box, a small single yarn tote and a small tote of “Dog stuff”.  This doesnt include food or a freezer but really puts the focus on my “things”  Books that I dont read, little knick-nacks that I havent touched since I packed them 6 months ago, magazines that I keep for a single special thing, clothes that I dont really love or wear, yarn scraps or leftovers…stuff in general, 90% not needed by me.”

And I came to realise that I have only 4 novel books that are beloved, a Bible and a Book of Common Prayer.  None of which I would throw out.  Ok, so I need to look at knick-knacks.  Those things that gather dust…but I also realised that I only have 4 of those too.  An elephant statue that my Nana meant for me to have in her memory, a pair of ceramic hedgehogs in a pot from my sister one Christmas, a walrus carved by a student out of walrus ivory and a Holly Hobbie plate from my first Alaskan boss (who was really from Michigan) that reads, “A smile can turn a rainy day to sunshine”.  Nope, not getting rid of any of that.

Ok, so there has to be some major destashing of yarn, right?  Well, yes…in part.  I put all my single skeins of random-ness into a box for goodwill and all my leftovers of everything but sock yarn too.  I took a long hard look at my socks yarn stash and have decided to go “cold sheep” until I have knit thru at least half of it.  I still have 2 skeins in there from 3 years ago and I dont want things to get out of hand!  Sweater yarn?  Well, I have enough for a few (3) but that is far from crazy.  I have the yarn for a 6 of my stranded hats but nothing excessive, especially since I have been working on creating new designs for them.  Leftovers?  Into the Goodwill bin.  Fiber?  Nope.  I didnt even touch it.  Why?  Because A) I’ve only been spinning a year and havent ‘really’ got that much and B) Since I have only been spinning a year, I havent yet learned enough so I need lots to learn on

In reality, the yarn and fiber didnt get a full cull because knitting and spinning is what I DO.  It is what I do first thing in the morning, in the quiet evenings and into the night.  It is how I keep my sanity in overly slow hours at work when there hasnt been a patient in a few days and all the meds have been counted and re-ordered multiple times.  It is my companion with a cuppa in the morning and at lunch after I eat.  Movies would be more boring if I had to just sit there.  There is only so many times a person can throw a froggie for her doggie before her hands are itching to do something else.  So I knit.  And spin.  Considering that I could do and want to do a lot of other crafts too, I consider myself lucky that I am holding it to only the two.  Moving along:

Clothing:  2 suitcases.  Coats, shoes and handknit sweaters are in a large tote of their own.  Why this change?  I live in Alaska.  I need various jackets for various temperature readings and I swear to you that short-sleeved shirts take up less space than long ones do.  If you didn’t count all my scrub tops for clinic work, I’m sure everything could fit into…well, 2 suitcases and a small tote.  Shoes need their own box so they dont get other things dirty.  Thats my story and I’m sticking to it.  I did pass along a few shirts that I havent worn in ages, some sweatshirts that I dont wear anymore, a few pairs of trousers that are too big and all my non-wool socks save for 3 cotton pairs and 2 non-wool but very fun socks.  If I can ever knit myself wool socks with sushi on them, I’ll bin this pair.

Kitchen:  I have still got the 2 saucepans, 2 skillets (one cast iron, the other non-stick), 3 sharp knives, a spoonula, spatula, whisk, chopsticks, 2 pyrex baking pans, a 6 well muffin tin, large-ish mixing bowl and a can opener.  There are 3 mugs that I would pack but other than that, I would be OK with leaving my dish-set and flatware for 4.  Oh yeah, and 2 water bottles.

In owning to everything, I DO have 2 towels, a Kindle, a CD sleeve, 2 DVD sleeves, a hot water bottle and 2 Macs and an iPod Classic that I wouldnt leave behind and a bottle of blackberry/black currant wine that I am saving and a bottle of Celestial Meads in the special edition with Pomegranate from last year.  But the last I am saving for a very special occasion.  Like maybe something coming up soon.  I’ll tell you when I know more

 

All in all?  2 suitcases, 4 large totes, 2 small totes and a wheel box.  And a dog kennel.  But that last doesn’t really count as mine as it belongs to Sisu.  I am very happy with what I have and with what I do not.

Pre-Post Thanksgiving Purge

No, this has nothing to do with eating too much tomorrow and everything to do with having too much stuff.

 

I know that as you grow, you accumulate more “things”, but I also know that when I moved from MI to WA, I came with only the things that I could pack into suitcases.  2 large suitcases, a small carry on sided suitcase and a Jansport backpack with my laptop to be exact.  When M and J picked me up from the airport, they were very surprised and I fully remember telling M, “My mum always told me never to pack more than you can manage yourself”.  If only I had remembered those words as I packed and moved out here.

15 pieces mailed, 3 large suitcases carried, a laptop bag and an extra large dog carrier.  A partridge in a pear tree wouldnt have been amiss either.

While I plan my move to another house, I realise that I need to pare down.  I dont NEED all the things that I am carrying around and that they are really just ‘things’ that are weighing on me.  My goal?  4 totes/suitcases worth of “Things”, my wheel box, a small single yarn tote and a small tote of “Dog stuff”.  This doesnt include food or a freezer but really puts the focus on my “things”  Books that I dont read, little knick-nacks that I havent touched since I packed them 6 months ago, magazines that I keep for a single special thing, clothes that I dont really love or wear, yarn scraps or leftovers…stuff in general, 90% not needed by me.

So this is my plan:  Friday is my purge day.  All things that are not needed by me or anyone else…garbage.  Things that can be worn/used by someone else…Salvation Army tote.   Things that are important…review 3 times before deciding upon.  2 suitcases for clothes, including coats/outerwear, boots and shoes.  2 totes for linens and kitchen utensils, books and general “things”.  My wheel gets its own box with lots of roving for padding and my small tote of yarn is for not only yarn but knitting supplies as well.  The dog stuff tote is a given as I dont think that Sisu would ever forgive me for not saving room for her Tigger or froggie.

 

Wish me luck and look for pictures on Saturday!

 

On an aside, a good friend asked me, in all earnestness, if I would ever give up my “Little House on the Prairie” lifestyle and be happy with him in a city with a [consumer] lifestyle like he leads.  It didnt take me more than a few heartbeats before saying No.  And that those few heartbeats were because I was thinking if I ever really had not lived this way.  Nope, always been an ‘off the land’ girl.  Kinda goes along with my ‘Off her rocker’ personality and ‘Off the beaten path’ way I thrive.  A hard concept for someone whos idea of camping involves a motel with no room service but he is still a great friend, despite his consumer-driven life   Blame my Nana.  She bought me the series.

Back in Nelson Lagoon

A brief update post:

As you can see, we had an amazing sunrise the other day and I had to be late to work to appreciate it properly.  I needn’t have worried as my co-workers were late as well because they were doing the exact same thing

 

You wanted pictures of my hair?  Here you go:

Before:

After:

Ok, so neither of those photos is the best but you can see what a difference 6″ made!  Its still pretty long but it is short enough that I have body and bounce to it but can still braid it back both French and “regular”.  An essential task with all the wind here.

Before I left for session, we had had a rogue bear who liked to play in town.  Normally this doesnt bother me as the bears were here first but when one climbs up onto neighbors porches and looks in windows completely disregarding the dog, then I get a bit scared.  This one had been in town over and over, despite being chased out and run off.  Because of the kids in town and personal safety, Fish and Game gave the OK (as far as I know!) for the bear to be shot as it was a danger to the community.  One of the reasons that bears were close to town was a dead walrus that had recently come up on the outside beach.  Now, this happens now and then and is a “normal” thing for us.  The danger comes with a) not knowing the carcass is there and b) the bears and wolves it brings close to town to enjoy the feast.  Other bears had ignored the town and dump but this one was acting very odd indeed.  Sisu came with me when I went out to see both the bear and walrus, both for protection and so she would see a Nelson Lagoon Bear up close and get the smell of them.

WARNING!  Dead Animal Photos!  I made them small so as not to offend the squeamish.  Click on them to enbiggen.

 

There has been a lot of knitting going on around Chez SisuGirl, most of which is for babies and the rest is Christmas knitting

I will be moving back into my original Nelson Lagoon house on the first of December because my current home, while having a beautiful view, has horridly drafty windows and a sub-par heating system which, excuse the pun, leaves me cold. (I am my mothers child )This means I can make a renewed commitment to blogging because with my own personal internet connection, I can again post picture to Flickr and easily have photos in the blog without having to upload multiple times.

Walks on the beach are always fun, especially in the winter because more glass balls wash up and get washed out of the beach.  Nevermind that this means that the spit is eroding and washing back into Bearing Sea, it means glass balls!  I found 3 the other day and barely went 3 miles.

 

More to come later.  Enjoy your day!

 

 

The surprising things

I think that it is often the little things that we know about in life that can be the most surprising when we finally pay attention and take the time to really see what is going on.

I had my hair cut and coloured on Thursday night and loved playing with it all that night, braided it back that night to sleep, fussed with it in the morning and admired the cut and colour and only now, Saturday Morning after my shower realised, really, how much hair 6″ is. I went from bottom layers to my waist to mid-shoulders all around. My curls that were then so weighted down now have the perfect spring to them. I needed half the shampoo in the morning and I didnt soak a towel with hair water. My hair is dry less than 2 hours after washing which is amazing all in itself. I love it more now than when I was thrilled with its brand-new status.

I realised that while I LOVE Egg Nog lattes, the ones made from real eggnog are torture on my stomach because of the milk. Not that this is a surprise to me. I have known for years that unless it is a fermented milk product, I cant enjoy the digestive process. Going in its lovely, its the churning, cramping, bloating and the coming out that is horrid. I’ll stick to the fake eggnog flavouring that Starbucks uses or a peppermint tea thankingyouverymuch.

I took the time to jot some thoughts one of the multiple journals that I use/carry/have/love and realised that most of what I have been writing pertains to multiple “future” thoughts/plans/ideas/wants/wishes/dreams and that most of the ideas are mutually exclusive and therefore not only confusing but damn irritating. I like to be prepared, darn it, and not having a clear pathway causes tears, depression and general malaise. SAM-e is helping the last 2 and now the moon has phased the first isnt as much of an issue. How can I prep for a journey if I dont have any clue as to the destination? That doesnt bother me as much as the idea that if I dont know the weather on the way, I cant dress for it. I think that I liked my early 20’s more than my late ones

I saw that coming back to Sitka is really like coming home in all possible ways. I really wish that I could have Sisu here with me because it would have been just perfect with her company. Considering the nearly constant rain though, I am glad she stayed in Nelson Lagoon. A soggy doggy is never the most pleasant of companions!

I noticed that just the idea of a funny movie, pizza, beer and a friend in the coming evening is enough to lift my spirits enough to make me focus on microbiology for just a few more hours, no matter how hard the slog thru the text.

What have you noticed today?

Spooky findings in Sitka

#1: There are trees

#2: They change colours!

#3: They have been changing for a few months now because it has been getting colder for a while.

#4: That means there is snow soon.

#5: The snow has been dusting the far mountains for a few weeks now.

#6: The near mountains got dusted for the first time a few days ago.

#7: It hasnt melted completely.

#8: Its been creeping slowly down the mountains every night.

#9: The “Snow Line” was halfway down the mountain this morning.

#10: It is supposed to snow ‘down’ here very soon.  Like…tonight.

Scared yet?  I am!

Oh. My. Gosh

A new post

Some days its been beautiful…

Other days its a bit more……wavy

But always its a good day Especially if, at the end of it all, we’re tired out.

More pictures and a real update on life, thoughts and knitting to come soon…from Sitka!

New Feature: A Map!

So, I know I have been remiss with updating things on the blog but I really dislike posting without pictures, like there is something major that is missing.  Looking back over the past few months, there is a MAJOR lack of colour and that just doesnt feel right to me.  Instead of not posting again, I thought I would add a feature that you all could help me with…A map!  I would love it if you wonderful readers and site visitors could add yourselves to the map so I can see where you all are.
Thanks in advance and I promise, there will be posts with pictures coming in the near future!

The Thrill of the Hunt

There is something magical about searching for something elusive in a way that you have never done before.  If you are searching for your keys, for some a daily ritual, there can be that one magical day where you really do know where they are; exactly where they are supposed to be which is unusual in and of itself.  For someone who loves knowing where things are, labeling boxes, bags and totes with its contents, hunting for things really isnt a fun thing for me.  My keys are always in the same place from years of issues with ‘losing them’ (I kept them in the door while at home in college and hung them from the wall beside the door when I shut it to go to bed), my sock yarn has its own box as do the odds and ends, spare balls and sweaters worth of yarns.  Roving has its place, WIPs are in the living room and there is always a sock in my top desk drawer.  Dog snacks are on top of the fridge and I can tell you where any item in my chest freezer is if I have it.  Clothes are organised, each type to their own drawer (but socks remain unmatched in the drawer )  and all dishes have their place.  Its crazy orderly underneath the layer of messy and that layer of mess is really shallow.  I dont generally have to ‘hunt’ for anything and I like it that way.

Except…

The berries are ripening here.  Yes, it IS September but when you have so few sunny, warm (ish) days, it takes ALL summer to ripen those wild berries.  Wine berries are dark, merlot coloured and have a light, sweet almost dusty flavour that is completely opposite of what you expect on first bite.  Crow berries are barely visable, 5mm black berries that are so sour that *I* dont even want to eat them.  You have to make them into jam, jelly or pie filling which, while yummy, takes a lot of sugar and is far from my favourite thing to eat.  Blueberries are hard to find out here in the sand but just outside of Anchorage, they are fun to gather, if a bit hard on your back and knees.  Bog Cranberries are fantastic dried and only barely remind you of Thanksgiving in the summer but once dried, their flavour concentrates and you can only wish for turkey to savor alongside.  All these berries are low bush which means they grow between 0-3″ above the ground.  Yes, 0″ is correct because my last successful hunt was for a berry that vines out along the sandy ground and then hides its fruit in dense patches of leaves just barely above the flat of the dunes.  Wild Strawberries.

I have fond memories of strawberry picking in Michigan with my Mum and Sister and friends in a field where there is now a subdivision and a mall.  Hot sun beating down, sweaty t-shirts, huge berries and long rows to lug flats along.  Eating one or 5 for every one in the basket and then weighing the flat before bringing it home to hull and make jam.  Yes, that is my memory and its a good thing too because that is not what its like here.

On the tundra, its a hunt.  The bushes do grow in clumps and that is the only ease you are given by Mother Nature.  The bushes are so low the the ground, many of the berries are actually growing into the sand.  The leaves are so dense that you have to move each and every leaf to see if there are strawberries underneath because, despite their bright red shining against the black sand and green leaves, they are devilishly hard to find.  And all this hunting is done wearing jeans, sweatshirt/sweater, and knit hat because not only is it chilly (50 F) but the wind is blowing at 25knots and there is misty rain driving into you.  Hunting and gathering for over 3 hours in the best spot in town and you can have a gallon bag of strawberries too!  Why so little?  Because the fruit is less than 10mm long.  Why go through all this work and clothing to have a gallon of strawberries? A sweeter, more intense flavour I have yet to find in nature.  There is nothing that compares to the intense, smack upside the head of flavor that you get when you taste a wild strawberry and that my friends is worth every moment of hunting.