The results are in...

You're Kind of Stupid

You got 7/10 questions right! There's some things most people know... except for you.

Are You Stupid?

Yeah, f--k you Blogthings... they say ignorance is bliss or something like that.

On another note, I was tagged by Suzanne (AKA Alaska Stick Girl) to share 8 facts about myself. So, here goes:

1. I have three kidneys. One is atrophied and just kind of hangs out with the other two. Gross.

2. At some point every day, I have some kind of mystical experience.

3. I am gazing over the lovely Gulf of Alaska as I write this. This, as well as the rest of the natural world around me, is where a lot (most) of my inspiration comes from.

4. I love to work with just about anything but cotton.

5. Sometimes I go out tidepooling just so I can eat stuff. Like chitons. Or seaweed. But most times, I go out just to enjoy the elegant beauty of it all.

6. I bought some remote property about a year ago. You know, for when the end comes. Which is pretty much what I've been hoping for my entire life. Because it just costs so much money to live a simple self-sufficient lifestyle these days...

7. I'm really not as crazy as I sound. I mean, I am, but in the good way.

8. My house is dominated by love, fiber (both from sheep and my dog/cat), art glass, laughter, and kindness... not necessarily in that order.

As far as tagging goes... I'm a little shy about the entire thing. So, if you are reading this, tag, you're it!

Hooray for my SP!

Got a package in the mail today from my Secret Pal- full of all kinds of goodness and lots of wonderful notes...

First, I unwrapped this gem:

Some Spunky Eclectic roving in colorway "Walkabout" (how appropriate!). It's lovely and I can't wait to see how it will spin up.

Then, all manner of Australian sweet yummy things. The chocolate biscuits are especially delightful...

A very nice knitted washcloth (one of those ones that I may never use, because it is very cute and matches the colors in the WC so nicely) packaged in a pretty bag with some egg-shaped candles.

And this. A copy of Yarn magazine. But not just any copy...

The one in which my friend/fiber artist/cool chica who owns the yarn shop where I work has her Steve Irwin tribute yarn featured on the table of contents page. Nice! I had been wanting to get my hands on this one, and now I have it!!!!

Thanks so much SP- you are awesome!!!!!

PS- also got a killer postcard from my SP last week- I didn't take a pic, but thank you!

It's official...

You Belong in Dublin

Friendly and down to earth, you want to enjoy Europe without snobbery or pretensions. You're the perfect person to go wild on a pub crawl... or enjoy a quiet bike ride through the old part of town.

What European City Do You Belong In?

Well, aside from the fact that the Internet has validated my dream to live in Ireland, not too much exciting stuff is going on right now. I am currently in the throes of finishing my mum's Mother's Day gift. I thought, for some reason, that Mother's Day was on May 15. Seems I forgot that Mother's Day is always in a Sunday... like it has been for the past 28 years of my life. Nice. Oh well, she is being understanding and all that.

I'm also bummin' because I somehow managed to lose my SP's address AND e-mail. And I still haven't heard from the moderator of our group yet (it's been about a week!). I even tried contacting one of the other moderators, and ummm... got a bit of a terse reply. I know these folks are doing a hell of a lot of work- and it is so appreciated! I also know that I am a total nimrod for losing such valuable info. But, I'm getting a bit desperate. Plus, there are Lantern Moon circs in this package I want to send. And then some. Hopefully it will all work out soon!

OMFG, she knits!

Now things have settled down just a bit. The whale festival was a HUGE success, and now I am just taking care of wrapping things up. That means, that this Sunday (my next day off), I will actually be able to lay around in my PJ's all day. Drinking mimosas and knitting. It is going to be so nice to have an Entire Day just to myself!

I did start a wee little project last week. No, the entrelac bag is still not finished (I needed a break from it). This was worked on at night, prior to presentations last week... just a nice little mindless project to fill in spare moments (idle hands and all that, or something).

This is a cowl being knit using two balls of Noro Silk Garden (#83 and #217, I think) that I picked up when back east. I'm just doing one round of k1, p1, followed by 1 round of (k1, yo, k3, double dec, k3, yo), then one round of knit (a basic zig zag patern). These two rounds are repeated, then the other color is worked in the same five rounds as established. Does that make sense? Well, it does to me anyway! That little bit of paper in the corner of the photo is my new tide table for the year- almost time to start going tidepooling again. And eating stuff that I find. That's a whole other story...

I realized I needed one of these, since I am doing gardening activities for my job... and it still feels like winter in these parts. It does not work to have scarves dragging through the mud, so I decided to make something a little more practical. Me, practical? I must be coming down with something ;-)

My Secret Pal Rocks!

The Husband picked up the mail today- I could sense there was something nice in the pile, not a bill or junk mail... something a little more personal. He handed this to me:

Oh my! I think my SP must somehow be reading my mind... how else could she have known that I watched Naked Lunch yesterday and currently have Burroughs on the mind???

The devil is in the details...

Oh, and check check it... I suspected that she may be from Australia, but wasn't quite sure. This proves my hunch:

And oh my, now I know that I am in for a treat. We all know that the Australian folks are SERIOUS about their fiber (or should I say fibre??? [wink]).

Thanks for making my day SP!

Small Things. Big Things.

All the small things- and some big ones… I have been playing truant from Bloggyville because this is going on right now. This is the 11th year of Whale Fest Kodiak, and the first year I have coordinated the whole thing, and I had the founder/former chair tell me last night that this is the Best. Year. Ever. Well, I’ll be pickled. We have had great turn out at our events, sales of our t-shirts are sky-high, etc., etc. Below is the design of the shirt, a woodcut of a humpback whale done by local artist Liz Mitchell:

So, that gives me little time to be in front of the PC talking about how little knitting I have been doing. What I have been doing is small things…

I made a little pouch knit in handspun alpaca (about 14 wpi) for a friend’s b-day (the same artiste who designed the Whale Fest shirts that have been selling so very well). Pattern from Andean Folk Knitting; however, I omitted the unas, the little amulet pouches that are a part of many of the bag patterns in this book. I was pressed for time, what can I say? She lurved it. Sadly, I cannot seem to find the pictures that I took of the thing. Just take my word for it.

Still working on the entrelac bag (for the same person. I must really like her or something). Done with all of the squares, just need to knit the top row of triangles, do and i-cord edge, knit 56 more miles of I-cord, then into the wash she goes! ‘Bout damn time.

Also, I have not forgotten about my SP10 commitment. Will be getting something out this week.
In my paying job, the sprouts are going strong in the greenhouse. Although the calendar sez April, still feels like February in these parts… Probably will not get to planting outside ‘til May. Whateves, I still am getting paid to garden. And fish. And hike. No complaints here…

Anyhoo, someday I will be a better blogger- and what a boring post this was (what the hell, at least I did it)! Someday I may even get my shit together enough to have a Real Website on which I sell fibery goodness. ‘Til then, I’ll just do what I can do ‘cause that’s all that I can do. Or something.

Am I to understand that today is not in fact Sunday?

Yeah, Sunday came and went. So did Monday. So much for my promise to blog every Sunday. What can I say? I'm full of surprises.

Here is what I did on Sunday when I wasn't blogging (you can see why I chose these activities over sitting in front of the computer):

Went to the harbor and saw a pack of HUGE Steller Sea Lion bulls (about 1000 lbs each) swin right by us. I have never seen this many HUGE bulls in a group like this. The pic does not do them justice. My dog was on the dock with us, and one actually stopped in the water and looked right at him for about 5 seconds before moving on. Wow.

Took a 4-mile walk on Burma Road, an old WWII road with sweeping views of mountains, and the occasional ammunition bunker on the roadside. This is me with the Sawtooth Mountains in the background

The past week at my new job has been exciting and wonderful. Here is a list of what I did:

1. Started seeds in the greenhouse:

This is the site of the organic garden, located behind the Woody Island Tribal Council office. It still looks so sad and wintery (the snow has just melted). This is where we grow veggies and such to distribute to the community. Nice. I currently live in an apartment, so it is a joy to get to garden (and compost!) again. Can't wait 'til I have a good "after" photo.

2. I learned to say "fart" in the Inupiaq Eskimo language from the Council's acting administrator. I wil not embarrass myself by trying to spell it properly. However, I do think it may be my mission in life to learn to say "fart" in as many languages as possible.

3. Had a wonderful conversation with an Alutiiq Native Elder. Try to tell me that's not cool.

4. Did some prelim planning for subsistence salmon and halibut fishing activities, including hanging a net. I tried not to look too stupid during this meeting.

5. Revamped brochures and posters for my program. Tried not to make them look stupid either. Also created a schedule for organic gardening workshops, such as pest control and composting.

6. Oh, yeah... in my current non-paying job... I have been scrambling to confirm speakers, get brochures in the community, and light a fire under people's butts.

So, these were the main things... not to mention just the day-to-day stuff. I will not post pics of any fiber stuff, because, umm... there hasn't been any progress. I love the things I do for a living, but I really wish that I could just be a full time fiber artist. Sigh..