A letter to my husband (who's deathly afraid I won't go out and see Winnipeg...)

so, first you need to know that i'm in Winnipeg to attend a conference. which conference you ask? why, the 10th international Coregonid Conference of course! what's a "coregonid" you ask? well, i used to know the answer to that question. two days ago, i would've said that's just a fancy name for a whitefish. but now, as an anthropologist surrounded by a bunch of hard core fisheries biologists, i've learned all kinds of big new words that make 'coregonid' seem like child's play. like 'gonad somatic' something or other, or how about 'ogliotrophicate'?

talk about a fish out of water! hee! hee! actually, it's not that bad. the fishery dudes are pretty cool and they patiently explain things when i stare at them blankly. one even gave me the compliment tonight upon learning that i'm actually an anthropologist, not a biologist, that i sounded convincing and he never would've known. i'm still trying to figure out if that's a good thing or not...

anyway, on to the important stuff - to satisfy my husband that i'm not JUST attending scientific talks or holing away in my hotel room under the crushing weight of the work i brought with me, here are a few Winnipeg scenes:

the bears of Winnipeg (like the cows of Chicago or the salmon of Olympia)

my fisheries biologist friends, Randy and Ken, with the only bear holding a fish (though we don't think it is a whitefish - it looks more like a spawning salmon)

this dude has something to do with the colonial Canadian government - his base says "Riel" and he's very serious about that paper in his hand.

A view of the Assiniboine River, about a 10 minute walk from my hotel and loverley, as my grandmother used to say.

on the river walk along the Assiniboine, the fisheries biologists stopped to talk to the local fishermen...i was trying to analyze the inkwork on the one on the left, but then, i'm the anthropologist.

ever wonder what a group of fisheries biologists looks like on a roof-deck pool? here it is folks - free beer and all the walleye cheeks you could eat!

and finally (because i am actually spending a lot of time in the hotel room working), the view form my room. i kind of like it.

sunny days and warm blankets

so, the weather in Fairbanks has finally turned nice (just in time for Fall!) so i'm taking advantage of the warm sun and my large deck to block a few things that have been hanging around waiting for the rain to stop.

a blanket for newly married friends...they don't know they're the recipients so they shall remain nameless for now...

this is made from an absolutely lovely merino-cashmere-silk mix by Kathmandu Yarns in a deeply complex straw color - full of grey-sage, off white, and yellow flecks. i never tired of the color and that means a lot when you've spent months of your life with it. this blanket measures 6'x6' and was knit in one big piece.

oh, and the vest...it's coming along. the pattern's still a pain, but here's the front blocking. i can tell already that the arm holes aren't big enough, so we'll be fixing that tonight.

oh yeah, knitting

to read this blog is to think that i never knit. or at least it seems that way to me, especially this summer. admittedly, my knitting's been a little lagging - but it has continued behind the scenes, never you fear! i'm holding back on pictures since many of the finished products are gifts that have yet to be given.

but here's my little gem that i can't hold back on. it is also a gift for a little baby that's thinking about being born, AS WE SPEAK. i know that his or her mama, who would very much like to meet this new little love, will not mind seeing the new sweater on this blog before receiving it, and maybe, just maybe, if the little baby knows what kinds of things await him or her, s/he might just get a move on.

it's a brownie original, though i adapted the pattern from another that i really like. Cara says she'd like it in a women's small. the detail:

and lest you think i'm resting on my laurels, here's a vest i'm knitting for me, FOR ME. (that never happens). it's simple, nothing big, but i like it so far, though the pattern's a bit of a bugger.

where art though, oh blueberry?

ok, the first thing to know is that i did find the berries - those tricky little blue buggers were really hiding well this summer! but this is how it started:

picking - no, searching for berries with Kat and Ann on top of Ester Dome. for those of you who've ever witnessed the half-crazed obsessive berry hound that i become in late July/early August, you know what i mean. i LIVE for the blueberry season in last July and then patiently await the first frost so that i can move on to cranberries.

this is what we found - this small green bowl was the 'fruit' of our joint effort over about an hour.


later on, Kristin, Anna, and i searched again for berries on top of Murphy Dome. we played with Anna alot, but there wasn't a whole lot of berries going on. this is what we were looking for:


a week later, i got wind of a blueberry nirvana, packed my half gallon buckets and a large lunch, grabbed Phyllis and Chase, and headed out. sorry folks, no pictures - we were busy picking berries...

froward women...

last Saturday night, Cob and i packed up a bottle of wine and a picnic dinner, jumped on our bikes and pedaled to the University where our own Fairbanks Shakespeare group was performing their annual Shakespeare play - this year was 'Taming of the Shrew'

Tucking into the wooded path that leads to the outside stage:

this is an annual tradition for us and like most events in Fairbanks, it take a village. the set is made every year by folks in town, many of the actors double as our friends in real life, local artisans make the costumes (probably because their kids at one time participated and now it's just fun), etc.

plus, they let you bring your own dinner and bottle of wine. Just think: a warm summer evening, a bottle of wine, good friends, and a play written in a language you can't hope to comprehend! here's me, brushing up on the play prior to the opening act so that i might have a clue of what's going on!

and finally, Petruchio in the beginning stages of taming his very own shrew, Kate.

The Taming of the Shrew is considered one of Shakespeare's 'difficult' plays, likely because of the commonly understood misogynistic themes. however, our actors managed to put a spin on this that highlighted the meeting of two equal spirits, rather than the subjugation of one. either way, i'll be back next year to see what the Shakespeare troupe comes up with next!

happy birthday Ali!

this morning, i joined a few Fairbanks crazies to run a 10 miler with our friend, Alison, to celebrate her birthday. i call them 'crazies' because the guy on the left, Drew, just did a full half ironman triathalon yesterday while Ali (in green) and Klaus (far right) ran the half marathon leg in the same race. and then ran another 10 miles today. crazy.

but that didn't stop us from jumping for joy over Ali's birthday!

take 2:
and then we decided we couldn't jump anymore...

happy birthday, Ali!!

what i love

As much as i like traveling for work and pleasure, i like my home in the subarctic even more. July 4th brought a much needed ground to all my flitting about. First order of business? Celebrating the new bike path along the Parks Hwy, one of Fairbanks 2 major highways. Here in AK, the home of oil, snow machines, 4-wheelers, motor boats, and the like rule. those of us who still prioritize human-powered modes of transportation (running, biking, canoeing, roller-skiing, skiing), have to fight hard for our place on the road. this bike path all the way out to Ester is a major coup and worth jumping for joy over!

we used said bike path to get to the counter-culture parade and community picnic in Ester, or the Republic of Ester as its residents like to call it, a lefty liberal town southwest of Fairbanks and the perfect place to celebrate our nation's birth and express our own form of patriotism.

an important message we should all heed:

these guys were handing out tasty turnips to the crowd! afterwards, everyone headed to the Ester park for a potluck picnic - a fabulous place for families and anybody with a sense of community!

a hot bike ride home found us on the deck drinking gin and tonics out of martinis glasses with our friend, Cara. that's the dahlia she gave me at the beginning of the summer.

On Saturday, Phyllis, Cob and I headed out to float the Chatanika with our new friend, Erin. Here they are discussing how to get around the nasty sweepers just ahead formed in part by a beaver dam.

not wanting to get wet, Phyllis and I lined around the mess while Cob and Erin braved it backwards (?!).

All in all, i spent the week-end with the people i love in the place i love doing the things i love. it can't get any better than that. I hope your 4th was as relaxing and reaffirming of whatever it is that you love about where you live, who you are, and what you do.