whew!

So, life with teenagers is not as bad as I thought it would be... in fact, it has been pretty glorious. Yeah, glorious, as in kick-ass, awesome... you get the picture. They have adjusted to the remote setting of Kodiak well- no, better than well: they are thriving.

Both have caught their first Alaskan salmon. Here is The Boy, holding his first AK fish- a 11 pound Dog Salmon caught in the American River. He's a sweetie, just like his pa.

There has also been sea kayaking going on- this is across the street in Mill Bay.

And, we went digging for fossils in a place called Fossil Beach about 45 min away. There are loads of marine fossils... the kids found some very cool snails and such. Here is The Dog helping The Boy dig for said fossils.

And, I taught The Girl how to knit. And she loves it. And she has great color sense. She is working on a striped scarf using Lamb's Pride Bulky on Size 11 needles. It's almost done. Awesome. As proof that she in one of the converted, I present a picture of her fishing (my other fave pastime) with her knitting in the pocket of her sweatshirt. That rocks. SHe is a sweetie too.

So, on the same day that we went fossil digging, we drove to a little community called Pasagshak to fish. There are ranchers in those parts who raise buffalo for meat (as they are able to defend themselves better against bears than cattle). Sometimes these buffalo come down by the cabins and the ranchers come to drive them back. So, we saw bonafide cowboys (in Kodiak!) drive these massive beasts across the river. Check this out:

OMFG! OMFG! OMFG! How kewl is that???

Well all that and am working on more projects. Rick's blankie and the mock cable sock are both WIP's, mainly because The Girl saw my Felt Clogs and loved them. I had her pick out some yarn so I could make her a pair too:

Doesn't she have killer color sense? Theya re being knit with Cascade 220, and around the cuff I included a strand of Skacel Gatto for soft furry goodness.

I also finally bought some Noro chenille that has been for sale at the LYS forever. I thought a chenille scarf would be nice and it makes for a good portable mindless project.

OK that's it. Time to breath and continue to marvel at the tenacity of people who are parents of teenagers All The Time. Damn, you guys deserve medals.

oh yeah, all that and I knit too...

I figured that I should include some knitting content, considering my last entry was just one big vent. So, nothing too exciting, but here goes:

Still plugging away on Rick's blanket. It's reached stole size now (hmm... maybe he would wear a stole? No, I better just keep knitting.). His condition seems to be improving, but he has a long, crappy road ahead :-( I'll be able to give him the blanket in person when I travel down to the NW in September... the parents and I will take a road trip from Portland, OR (my hometown) up to Spokane, WA where Rick is. Wow, I never thought I would have to endure another long road trip with my folks (OK, so it's only like 7 hours, and they are wonderful, but you know) but it is for a good cause.

Also am making a pair of mock cable socks of my own design. In what seems to be a them of me using cheap-ass yarn for stuff, I'm working these up in Caron Simply Soft. For an acrylic yarn, it's pretty OK... would have never thought to use it, but a lady came into the LYS for sock help and that is what she was using. I liked the result, so here I am. Also, I like the notion of giving people something that is machine washable/dryable so that they do not end up with baby booties after throwing lovely wool socks in the washer/dryer.

And, the fireweed is blooming. This is a sad time in Alaska, as the advent of fireweed blossoms means that summer is waning. And yes, this does pertain to the fiber arts... the woody stems can be harvested in late summer/early fall and retted to make twine. Also, the downy seeds are a very cool fiber (hmmm... maybe I'll card some up wth some wool. That could be cool.)

So, that's it in me casa. I also have to say RIP to You Knit What? That's just sad- hopefully someone will take it over, as there is no shortage of terrible knitwear designs. Which leads me to my next topic. I will buy any knitting magazine I see at the supermarket. Usually, there is at least one intereting article and/or cool design that makes me justify buying it. So, when I purchased the latest issue of Creative Knitting (talk about a f--king misnomer there), I did not have high hopes (I mean, it is Creative Knitting) but I figured there would be some redeeming value. Guess what? Nothing. Not one damn design that I could be excited about. Fug, fug and more fug abounds in this issue, which also containes book reviews of things that have been out for a while (uhhh yeah, I think we all know that Mason-Dixon Knitting kicks ass). The only good thing were some cool scarf patts to promote breast cancer awareness (but umm... I'm pretty sure Knitty did that already). I mean, I just don't get it. How can someone actually take the time to design and hand knit a garment that looks like shit? More puzzling is the fact that this shit gets published and that these people actually get paid for their designs. There really should be a law...

Dude, where's my blog?

Yes, it's been two weeks. Damn, that's a long time. Here is part of the reason I haven't been posting. Crappy pic, I know, but it is to prove a point: that's the view from where the computer is. I would just rather stare at blue skies and seas rather than a screen...

Nice weather... we almost hit 80 yesterday. Have been out fishin', smokin' said fish, still workin' at the park and LYS, and all that jazz. All that and the BF's kids are coming in tonight for two weeks. This is the first time we will have met, and we will be cohabitating besides. Oh, and they are teenagers. I just don't know if this 27-year-old crazy ass Cascadian/Alaskan reformed hippie chick is ready to be The Wicked Stepmother just yet. But, despite my nervousness, I just know that we will have a blast! I can''t wait to show them that there is more to the world than the Internet... they are fairly urbanized people, so Kodiak should be quite an education. They are going to shit when they catch their first salmon.

And, speaking of edumication, I'm teaching a three-part knitting class at The Rookery that starts tomorrow night! People have actually paid me money to teach them how to knit!!!!!!!! I'm going beyong what most knitting classes do, I think. They will be making a scarf, but in seed stitch rather than just garter. Also, we'll talk about fiber choices (I have have little cards with raw fiber samples on them), color theory, increasing/decreasing, and even get them acquainted with cables, colorwork, and lace.

I have faith- it's all ladies in the class, and hey, if we can work, keep a house, give birth, raise the resulting spawn, look beautiful, keep a partner happy, then we can certainly conquer the world of knitting... and not have to be content with a stupid garter-stitch scarf ;-)