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Boats to the east of us travel south through the Wrangell Narrows, which can only accommodate “smaller” boats like the ferries and fishing boats. Cruise ships enter Frederick Sound (our summer home) from the west from the Gulf of Alaska. Cruise ships to the left, ferries to the right, here I am stuck in the middle…

I spent a half hour tonight watching a whale slowly cruise by, taking snorkel breaths, diving and flapping a flipper. A sea lion was hanging out on the other side and the eagles were fishing. Somebody pinch me!

The keeper’s quarters are tidy and bleach has obliterated my sense of smell. The countertop convection oven has produced an apple pie, pizza, kale chips, bread and brownies with a little help from me.

It’s still light out when I crawl into my sleeping bag anywhere between 9 and 10 pm. Ambient light makes it easy to read five pages before crashing.

Lighthouse impressions

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Lovely! We’re busy cleaning and mowing but are also enjoying the gorgeous sights. We share the island with a pair of eagles while whales and sea lions swim right offshore.

The tip of the iceberg

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We took a three hour tour to the lighthouse and saw eagles, whales, sea lions and icebergs. We went up to this one to attempt to get some ice. Boys will be boys.
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Internet is sketchy at the moment and I write this from the lantern room and it looks like I can only add one photo. More to follow. Time for bed.

Play date in Juneau

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Is anybody out there? We’re listening.

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Beautiful fireweeds grow, well, like weeds.

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We watched ginormous cruise ships dock and caught a glimpse of Mendenhall glacier from a city bus. Juneau is a city filled with cars with no place to go. I almost forgot the best part. There’s a fabric and yarn store just across the street from our hotel.

Tonight we’re off to the Alaska brewing company and king crab. Tomorrow is the big day; shop, load, a 60 mile boat ride, unload, put away, clean and crash.

And we’re off

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I pulled two almost all-nighters and they had nothing to do with packing for our trip to Alaska. I accomplished that in three hours; one backpack for me and a carry-on bag for my projects – camera, quilt hoop and yarn. My hula hoop and jump rope fit in the backpack.

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My foul weather gear takes up most of my clothing space. No fashion show here. We learned this week that 1) noone has been to the lighthouse yet this year (I hear, “expect dirt and critters”); 2) the “big” boat won’t be ready for our 60 mile trip along the inside passage so we’ll take the tender (hence the full foulies); 3) oh yes, and the ramp is out so we’ll dingy our stuff ashore (hence the need for rubber boots). Yet I’m psyched.

Tim found this great slide show to put me in the mood, put together by an artist in residence a few years ago. You can find it here.

I lost sleep due to self imposed deadlines. I had to weave several placemats to complete a set I made for my daughter and I did – in 24 hours! The first part of the set only contained three placemats due to warping mishaps. Now she has a complete set of eight and she will know how much I love her.

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Then I had to finish a quilt to for my son since I will be away for his birthday. So I had to finish it six weeks early. I’m a crazy woman but I did it. 3072!! That’s the estimated number of stitches I sewed to finish the binding. The quilt is 96″ x 96″ so the circumference is 384″ with about 8 stitches per inch for a total of 3072 at the rate of about 500 stitches per hour or 8 stitches per minute. I must be slow and crazy.

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Pièce de résistance is the quilt label. I used my phone to generate a QR Code, which I printed onto fabric and sewed to the back of the quilt.

It’s a private message so I’m only showing an unfocused photo. I wonder if there will still be QR scanners a hundred years from now.

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He’ll have it for his birthday and know how much I love him.

Now to catch up on sleep so I can plan my food shopping for a month.

Last minute projects

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I hesitate to say I’m a procrastinator but it’s true. Deadlines focus me. We head off to Alaska next week and I still have some quilting and weaving projects to complete. My house is never cleaner than before a party or trip.

I finished knitting the cute little sea glass skirt. I may make another for me.

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Next I have to plan my island projects. I may keep it simple and take only wool for a shawl and pair of socks but I’m also thinking of lots of twined mittens and perhaps a sock yarn blanket.

On the home front, I’ve been yearning for an outdoor shower. I had considered threading a hose into a watering can but settled upon this cheaper alternative, all available from my local hardware store. We have hot water at our outdoor faucet and I’ve already tried it. A resounding success.

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After a great trip downstate to hug my kids before I leave, I returned to more super cumulous storm clouds.

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Flooded rivers

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A microburst of rain in the mountains flooded our river and caused it to jump the bank and flood our road. We live on a hill and were never in danger.

My biggest adjustment to living in the mountains (besides sluggishly slow internet) is to understand and respect the dynamic nature of the rivers. They trickle, flow and rage, even when it’s pleasant in the valley. This is very different from coastal living where what you see is what you get.

When I went out to run errands, I noticed the river was high and decided to curtail my activities and head back home.

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Houseguests were headed this way when I heard the road was impassable. I went down to have a look and saw rushing water flowing over the road and filling the field. I started making phone calls: an initial heads up, then hourly updates. I made good use of the extra alone time and kept working on my quilt.

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When the water receded, we waited to see the damage to the road. We got out some shovels and leveled a passable path. Our neighbors improved the job with a tractor and the town finished it off the next day.

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Machine quilting

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Lawn mowing is machine quilting outdoors.
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I realized it as I mowed yesterday before we receive another four inches of rain on top of an already soggy summer. Mowing is just like machine quilting where you seek a path, which covers the area, avoids obstacles and looks pleasing.

I didn’t understand this at first. During our first caretaker position on Seguin I remember Tim telling me to mow the lawn in U’s. Head out, make a turn and leave space between the first row which you then mow on the return trip. This sets up a pattern for alternating rows. The grass lies in stripes of opposite directions. I thought he was nuts. Five years later I get it.

My mind is filled with quilting and patterns as I machine quilt my son’s Long Trail quilt.
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My little Singer Featherweight is humming along on this king size quilt. I only need to quilt the outer border and nine central motifs. I am following Leah Day’s advice for free motion quilting. I’ve modified a darning foot so it doesn’t hop up and down; my feeder dogs remain up; and my stitch length is the shortest possible. I’ve had the least tension problems I can remember.

I did however almost set the quilt on fire when the little tiny lightbulb scorched the backing. I’ll need to add a patch over it.

Back to mowing. Once I established a pleasing pattern, I was undecided if I wanted to finish the job or leave the pleasing patterns – knowing it will rain too hard the next several days to do anything about it. Tim would love it!

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