Alaska Photos

This little spot in Pioneer Park has terrific funnel cakes in summer. I've never seen it in winter!

Oma and I stopped to see Santa at North Pole after watching ice carvers.

The sky over Smith Lake was beautiful and different each time I was out skiing.

Time for a "so cold selfie". Quite fridged!

Lovely Birch trees in fresh snow.

Thanksgiving with my Alaskan family!

My Aunt Nancy taught me to ski skate and classic style in three weeks! She's a champ!

And another "so cold selfie". Very happy in this one!

What an amazingly wonderful time I had in AK! Glad I bit the bullet and just went! I've never had regrets after traveling.

North to Alaska!

Well after the baby boy that is positively precious arrived, I packed my bag and zoomed off to Alaska to visit family and ski. I had intended to go before boy was born but he decided to be early and keep everyone on their toes! 

So here I am in the frigid North, the Last Frontier, the land that Robert Service wrote many a ballad about. 

Yes that is correct. -1.5 degrees. 

On the road sometime I feel like my brain gets behind. I've so many ideas or thoughts or a marketing strategy for my Dad's ranch or a pattern idea for a clutch out of old wool or a new herb garden skematic...how do I remember the gems to be used later when I'm going, going, GONE?! 

PS TIP

Keep a journal. Not a "dear diary" journal or even one with deep content regarding life and eternity. A scratch book. One that can be beat up, pages torn out, things stapled in, one that can go everywhere and handle everything.  

This is mine. 

Picked this Eco-recycled-earth friendly book up at a book shop in Prescott, Arizona. 

I took notes while watching "Band of Brothers" to use to teach leadership.

Ah and here is the map I drew for my Sister-in-law's baby shower. I knew the venue and planned the room and decor from 1,000 miles away by scratching it out on my journal. 

This is guy goes with me everywhere so I have the opportunity to use my ideas or share them at later times because we all know how hard it is to remember that keen idea on the spot when you need it.  

Write. It. Down! 

Enjoy your warmth wherever you are and Happy Monday!

And then it was Saturday

Have you ever had a week where you were trying to catch up on all the things you missed the week before yet no matter how much you accomplished the to-do pile seemed to grow?

That's my week in a rather paper strewn nutshell.

Returning from the hospital and NICU duty and food runs to my little home office...I found myself quite buried in laundry, bills, iPad updates, dirty floors, messy mail folder, prescription pick-up, meetings...GAH!  

This was a wretched beginning.

---

{PS Tip}

Make your bed in the morning.  Just do it. Even if your room, house, yard is a mess. You've no idea what the day may hold.  Coming home from a trip, the hospital, or just walking upstairs after supper with the fam...the calming visual effect of a nicely made bed and the restful joy of crawling into that well made bed is beyond compare.  Laundry may be scattered, desk may be heaped, but that place of rest and recharging is ready for you.  Pretty sure that made bed was the only thing that kept me from crying overwhelmed tears upon my return home was seeing my cozy cloud bed all tucked in for me.

---

Moving on...

My organized self developed an eye twitch just looking at my desk.  Ugh.  How did neat little me end up with this disaster after just a weekend of absence?  

Instead of starting at the top of the pile and working down, I figured visually seeing all the paper things that needed to be addressed was better. 

This is close to the end of the week...I dare not show how it looked on Monday

ENTER: Old second hand bulletin board painted with chalkboard paint.  Using pushpins, I stuck every bill, sticky note, receipt, insurance card, stencil, safety pin {my random findings knows no bounds} to the board. Put a calming verse at the top, my budget and to-do list on the bottom and then...starting with my now clear and calm looking desk, I pulled one thing at at time down, dealt with it, and moved on.  Ah the joy of no clutter!

Having my to-do list displayed aesthetically and where I could see it easily helped me make use of my time instead of pawing through stacks to find that random sticky that told me that vital insurance info or knitting needle size or meeting time.  Less pawing is less stress!

Here's hoping your week was productive and absent of stress!  

That time I started a blog...

...and my sister-in-law's water broke 6 weeks early.

I'm single, never had a baby, but have been beyond ECSTATIC at my chance to be a real auntie!  My oldest brother lives far away and I never see his kids but my second oldest bro lives just down the road in the same tiny town in the Oregon boondocks as I do.  HURRAH!

Anyway I had this great plan of starting a blog, creating great content in a super organized fashion because I am super organized and live for organized things and sharing stories.  BUT that was not to be, at least for now.

Meet my precious nephew Sawyer James who just couldn't wait to get out into the world and make adventures happen!

He is only seconds old right here...I'm amazed how clean he was.  As someone who grew up and currently lives on a ranch I've seen hundreds of calves be born and they are covered in slime.  This guy wasn't so that was good for my queasy stomach!  

We only were able to see him for a few moments before he was whisked off to the NICU and plugged into a thousand machines. 

His Mama was taken immediately to surgery and his Dad wanted to be with her so I got to watch over the little man.  He has a strong grip!  Little fella's lungs aren't quite ready to breath on his own so he is getting mechanical help, and he's attached to many wires to ensure he does OK...but he's still perfect to me.

There you have it.  It's not a tutorial on knitting or a book review but it's what is happening now and I wouldn't have it any other way.

{PS TIP}

Even if you aren't the mother, if you are part of the "going to the hospital" party then be sure to have an overnight bag that can easily stretch into a week or two bag. Here's mine.

I realize this is horrible quality photography right there but keep in mind I was throwing this together and still had a 2 hour drive to the hospital ahead of me.  

Bag - I chose my REI Flash 22 pack. This pack was bigger than the handful of things I was taking...but who knew that what was meant to be an overnight would turn into a week?  Having the extra space to stuff my jacket, extra shirts, extra necessaries was such a huge help!  Also it being a backpack was much handier than a wheelie suitcase because it could be hung up on a hook or fit in a locker and my hands were totally free to help as we moved from room to room to room.

Things to do - Three days of labor isn't terribly exciting but when you HAVE to be there for when things do take off, it's nice to have some books to read, videos downloaded on your phone {because hospital TV is hard to get into} I took my idea journal, Bible, and a novel I had started.

Hygiene - If you stay at the hospital, a hotel, or a friend's house, there is something vastly refreshing about using your own products to get freshened up.  Also hospital and hotel products dry out hair and skin so badly yet somehow after a few hours you manage to be more oily and sweaty than ever.  Gross.  I brought my own little face wash, moisturizer, CC cream, travel mascara {waterproof}, lip balm, toothbrush, toothpaste, face wipes {those awesome grapefruit ones}, and a shampoo.  I would also add a razor...lets just say things started to prickle after awhile.

Comfort - I brought a sleep mask and earplugs so when it was my turn to sleep I would have a better chance of actually getting some rest.

Camera - Duh...don't want to miss anything!

Watch - Sometimes I couldn't find a the hospital clock quickly and my hands needed to not be wrapped around my cell phone.  Having a watch to time contractions, see if it was time to get food for everyone, or when the pitocin was going to be cranked up again.

Wet Ones - because hospitals aren't always that clean

Snacks and Water - It's so easy to get dehydrated and forget to eat until all the sudden you are crashing physically.  Don't be that guy.  Take granola bars, pay attention to the time, and drink Drink DRINK!

As far as clothes...go with comfort.  I wore sports clothes which is kind of a cardinal rule of mine NOT to do...but let's face it...these few days or weeks will be a marathon so dress accordingly!

Personal Conduct - You would not believe {or maybe you would} how selfish people can be when visiting in the hospital.

 I wasn't the one in labor so to me...what I needed or wanted didn't matter.  I was there to make sure my brother had everything he needed to make sure his wife had him right there to support her.  Whatever had to be done for him to be able to help her...I did.  Let's just say walking 2 miles with 10 boxes of IHOP food in grocery sacks isn't a piece of cake but was totally necessary.

BUT when people came in to support...it was on their terms, their schedule, they stayed as long as they wanted even if Mama was hurting or sleepy or had to pee again or whatever.  How rude.  If you visit someone in the hospital...don't go at your convenience.  Go at theirs. Call.  Ask.  Find out what is best for them.  If no visit is best for them then DON"T VISIT!  No matter how much you want to see them, sometimes it's best to not be there. Send flowers or a basket or card.  

Maybe it's because I'm an organizer but I see things in a logical chain of  events based on what the person or situation requires.  I've been a wedding coordinator and event planner because sometimes I see what other's don't.  Anyway...don't be that person that is well intentioned but ruins a day by being blind to another's needs. 

Top it off

The season of pumpkin spice everything, girls oozing about sweaters and boots as if it were a new trend, and people generally becoming more crafty as they move indoors.  I sure have.  

My first "knitting in the round" project is complete as of 15 minutes ago.  This is a step in my learning-to-knit-like-Oma program that I was dreading.  Knitting with two needles is hard enough...now I have to connect them??  Are you insane that's impossible I can't do it waa waa excuse excuse fine OK I'll try. {Insert dramatic sigh}

Now I'm not going to explain how I went to Hobby Lobby and chose the perfect needles and the perfect yarn and the perfect pattern from the perfect project book.  No, see part of living simply and being "subsistence" is using what you've already got on hand and only buy new if there are no other viable options.  My Oma in Alaska has a knitting machine.  She practically has a warehouse of yarn in her house and over the last few years has sent me gobs of it.  Gobs.

 {Gob adj:: unit of measure equivalent to a whole bunch}

So instead of going online to my favorite yarn shop blue sky alpacas  where I'd have spent hours running my cursor over the soft organic wools in vibrant colors while feeling warm and cozy inside...I went to the tote of yarn from Oma and picked out a simple grey which must have been from another project because it had been re-wound into an odd looking skien. No matter! We are thrifty!  I snaked out the only pair of circular needles I had that must have been circa 1963, grabbed my pre-used yarn, printed my pattern and began!

My pattern came from She Makes Hats. The designer of all the hats, Robyn, has scads of patterns; some for free and some for purchase.  I like using her patterns because I know she's actually made them so I can trust that my project will turn out!  Also just from reading her posts I like her sweet spirit of giving to anyone and everyone through her craft of knitting!

I learned to knit when I was about 8.  Soon after I forgot everything.  In college I tried to teach myself again...did not go terribly well.  THEN my Oma {did I mention she actually has a knitting MACHINE?} who is skilled and wise sent me a book that changed my knitting life forever. 

Stitch'n Bitch :The Knitter's Handbook 

I'm not one to promote vulgarity but this book explained the basics of casting on, increasing, decreasing, knit stitch, purl stitch, seed stitch, the whole works in terms I could understand.  Gone was the technical mumbo jumbo I'd been fighting since upper elementary and right here in simple no-nonesence lingo was the basics of knitting.  The book is available on amazon.com and even a kindle download version.

Yarn {check}

Needles {check}

Pattern {check}

Handbook {check}

Surprisingly after casting on and getting a few rounds done, I found out that knitting in the round is much faster and easier {at least for me} than regular old separate-away-from-each-other needles! Hurrah!

View fullsize

This is as far is I got last night...6 inches in to my 11 inch goal of the completed beanie/stocking cap/tuke/ski hat/slouch hat/knit hat/whatever your geographic location calls these things.

View fullsize

This was just tonight as I was decreasing stitches to finish the hat.  The hat is now complete thank you for asking that was kind.  

I don't have a fabulous picture to show you of the final product but I shall.

Here is the link for the pattern I used.

PS tip: To complete a project in a timely manner, set a time where all your communication devices are not in the same room as you.  Spend some quality disconnected from the world and connect yourself with making something beautiful and useful.  I leave my tablet, phone, and computer in my home office after supper so my time is spent with family watching a movie {while I knit} or talking about the election {while I knit} or listening to Mom's records {while I knit}.  It's been a true blessing to enjoy being together, not while glued to a screen, actually being together.