first ski

after a long week traveling, i finally returned home, took the afternoon off, and went out for my first ski of the season. it wasn't anything big or strenuous, just a little jaunt with Nuchie in our neighborhood trails.

i usually have these trails to myself and yesterday was no exception. that is, except Nuchie - together we're learning our way around them but we still don't have them all figured out.

fresh snow always give you a chance to see if it's a good bunny year, which it seems to be. if you look closely, hopefully you can see the bunny trails - very distinctive marks those little guys make.

it was about -10F - too cold to skate ski, but perfect for my classic skis. and enough for a frosty eyelash or two.

and we topped off the night with Dea and Ben with enchiladas and little knitting...

6 hours, 39 minutes of possible daylight

as we move further into winter up here in the northland, many of you have asked about our weather. is it cold yet? (yes.) is it freezing? (yes.) do you have snow? (YES!)

Is it dark yet? well, this is looking out over my deck at 3:30 pm.

and this is the same deck at 4:00 pm

nice sunset, don't you think?

sunrise happened around 9:15 this morning and we lost 6 minutes and 36 seconds of possible daylight from yesterday.

home sweet home

Cob and i spent last week in Whitehorse, Canada. Cob was being a "kept man" while i worked, attending a scientific working group for Yukon River salmon that is jointly staffed by American and Canadian scientists. this working group supports the international treaty between the US and Canada that allocates the salmon that swim over 3,000 miles from the Bering Sea to the spawning grounds in Canada. Brandy (of cranberry picking fame from last year) and i were busy working while our respective partners played (and as it turns out, Ross bought a diamond with which to make Brandy an honest woman! i'm not spoiling any surprises here, she's already wearing it...)

though it's just two hours by plane, we decided to take the scenic route home over about 600 miles and 12 hours that started with a BIG breakfast in Haines Junction.

the scenery and company were top-rate. this is Kluane Lake, on the Canadian side, home to Burwash Landing people and many, many Dall sheep. those who live where i do will see beautiful, yet familiar scenery in the picture below. it just really is this beautiful up here, no joke. ok, so maybe we don't have these mountains up close in Fairbanks, but we have our own version of it in snow-capped domes with untouched trails, sparkling snow across a frozen lake, and a skyline of black spruce that rivals any big cityscape.

we got to the border by about 2 pm with 6 hours left to go, but we had to stop and take this picture. as i tromped over the snow making my way to this sign, i recalled the same moment, 11 years ago in 1997 when i moved up here and my life changed. i was wearing a grey fleece with red trim, jeans, and sneakers, and the marvel of the landscape unfolding before me left me captivated. 11 years later, i have no idea where that fleece went to, but i still look around myself in marvel at the land, and the people, and the world that i live in. it just never gets old. if you ever get this far north, stop by this sign and remember where you are. as they say in the Yukon, your soul's in here.

one word

WOO-HOO!!!!!

(and i don't even care if that's not a real word - it is tonight!)

a long week

perhaps you've figured out by now that i've not had too many minutes to myself over the last two weeks. while i realize that my silence on this blog doesn't really qualify as a tragedy of epic proportions, it does sometimes mark that i'm running low on down time, and that's never a good thing.

but, it's Friday and as everyone knows, Friday night is date-night at Ivory Jack's, the closest we get to a local pub. i use the word 'local' since we WERE local to it when we lived in the waterless cabin in Goldstream Valley. now that we're on the hill, Ivory Jack's isn't so local. but you know what they say -- you can take the girl out of the Goldstream, but you can't take the Goldstream out of the girl...or soemthing like that.

anyhoo, this is the perfect way to spend Halloween - dressed up like Goldstreamers with tasty beers as our costume props.

Cob is pretty satisfied with his beer stain on the Ivory Jack's placemat which features the famous Ode to an Oosik (on the second page - read on, oh faithful reader).

oh, and some knitting, too (child's socks in purple bamboo yarn - Christmas is coming, you know).

last week-end catch up

before we get to Thursday, i'm taking a few minutes to remember last week-end, which was particularly fun, largely due to the awesomeness of my friends, who have been a HUGE relief through the last many working week-ends for me...

Friday night, we gathered at the Pub to celebrate Mia's 25th (or something like that) birthday. Cara, Lynne, Jim, Cob, Stevie, Mia, Theresa, Liz and I ate carrot cake cupcakes and danced to the Thneeds.

Saturday morning (and afternoon) found me on the couch on a cold day, knitting, but really just being a Mieze-pillow.

Saturday night, Dea and Ben came over with a pizza. i pushed Mieze off the couch about a hundred times to make room for Dea, who has been dazzling me with her knitting commitment and quickly growing skill! First scarves, then hats - now that girl's knitting lace!

I think i worked a little on Sunday morning, and then after an afternoon knitting and playing Scrabble with Sapphire (my BBBS little sister), i went to Kristen's for a bowl of chili...

...and a little Baby Boo love.

it was a good week-end. it's snowing right now (4" and counting...), so maybe i'll break out the skis or snowshoes come Saturday!

spinning out of control

i got a new wrinkle on my brain today.

for a while now, i've toyed with the idea of learning to spin (yarn that is, not a stationary bike to a remixed beat), but i've never gotten around to it. not so today. i found my way to A Weaver's Yarn, where the owner helped me figure out how to get my mind around turning beautiful batts of fiber into plied yarn with the help of an equally lovely piece of wood. i mean, what could be better than hand knitting a sweater for someone you love, other than spinning the yarn to make a hand-knitted sweater for someone you love? a no-brainer, really.

ok, this is what i learned.

that thing is spinning, even if you can't tell. i'm drafting fibers and spinning them into yarn - a chunky, home-spunny looking yarn, but yarn nonetheless! and my teacher reminded me that some people pay a lot of $$ for homespun yarn (just like my crazy curly, mind-of-its-own hair, i thought - some people actually pay $$ to make their hair fall in ringlets while all i've ever dreamed of is shiny straight locks...but i digress)

here's what i learned: every fiber has a staple, the natural length of the fibers that make up the roving, which is the big cottony thing that you spin into yarn. i also learned that you have to keep an eye on the hook at the top of the spindle, which likes to let go of your newly made yarn when you're not looking. you can spin the spindle in either direction - you just have to be consistent. however, as with everything yarn related, old wives' tales reign. apparently, counter-clockwise spinning can lead you to inadvertedly cast spells, which can make people suspect you to be a witch and get to thinking about burning stakes. i happen to spin clockwise it turns out, but my teacher spins counter-clockwise, so she says that she just remembers to think happy thoughts while spinning so that if any spells fling out unexpectedly, they'll be good ones. i think that's an excellent plan.

you know, i've knit many, many yards of yarn without really spending much time thinking about how this yarn was spun or plied. spinning only a few yards, as i did today, and trying to make it look even is HARD. really hard. i'm not sure i'll ever escape really appreciating this aspect of my yarn again!

i'm also sure that i'll eventually get to a place where i can think happy thoughts while spinning along, instead of the current $&%#* thoughts that zing around my brain as the spindle hook lets my yarn go and i try to convince my fingers that they're really ARE fingers and not the 8 thumbs they're acting like.

thank goodness i spin clockwise...