Poetry

 I’d forgotten how much I love poetry. And without my books handy, I can only find stuff online, but still. 

“Separation

Your absence has gone through me

Like thread through a needle.

Everything I do is stitched with its color.”

— W.S. Merwin

Jared is back working, which means travel. After almost 7 months of him working from home, this is difficult. And yet, the beginning of a return to normalcy is a relief. But I miss him, and I miss our old house. So I am dipping into my stash of ebooks, and re-reading the most comforting of them. I am knitting on projects old and new, because each stitch is one more soft and soothing act. And I am hugging Emmett, when he holds still, because someday he will not and I will miss him. 

Happy Things:

* autumn weather, and autumn leaves as they shift from green to gold

* chocolate

* handknit sweaters. or really, any sweater. it’s like wearing a hug.

* i have access to the storage unit (and my stash) again

* my family

* my friends

* going to church in person again, and singing!

* God is good. 

Settling in

 We are out of our old house, and our possessions are mostly in storage now. I know where all my yarn is in the storage unit (of course!), but there really isn’t space in this house for much outside of our clothing. And that’s okay- we got our immediate needs taken care of (space in each bedroom for us and clothes), so we can work slowly through the less urgent stuff. After the bedroom, our priority was to get the food out of the family room. Since we combined our pantry with Dennis & Colleen’s pantry, there was a LOT of food we needed to find a place for. We sorted our stuff, and pulled everything else out of the pantry, piling it on the counters and table and floor. Then Jared and Dennis added a shelf, and I went through and consolidated half-opened boxes of things. But everything fits, and we can find all of it now! Best of all, the family room is empty of food, so we can sit down and visit without kicking over pasta boxes. (Let’s ignore the longer term food storage that is still piled on the pool table in the basement, shall we?)

Our weather has turned, and it’s autumn time now, which means wassail. Morgen made a batch last week, which lasted all of 3 days. Hyrum is keeping busy with school, and announcing some of his high school’s  football games for his TV Broadcasting class. The rest of us are continuing to work and get used to living in this new place. (or, in Dennis’ case, get used to living with all these people.)

And I pulled out Emmett’s sweater to see if it fits:

It does. Isn’t he adorable?

I’ve finished a sweater (Sunday Morning Tee, knit in Quince & Co’s Tern, colorway Mist):

 and am now picking up an older work in progress. 

Good things:

* wassail (and hot cocoa, of course)

* knitting, yarn, and knitting friends

* good music

* courtesy of a recent dentist appt, I have clean teeth and no new cavities

* the chance to repent and renew my committments to God and my family

* family- especially Emmett, who changes and grows so much each day

* my country, despite its challenges, is a great place

* God is so good to me

Knitting comfort

So. Last year Jared & I discussed selling our house when Hyrum graduated, and using the money to buy property in Alaska. He retires from the military in a few years, and we both love Alaska, so it made sense to plan a move there when we are able. Then last month his mom passed away. It wasn’t unexpected, because of her poor health, but it was sudden. And after discussing things with his siblings and dad, we decided to sell our house this month (!!!!) and move in with his dad for a year. 

Last week was a whirlwind of packing, trips to the donation center, renting a storage unit, and taking things to the dump. Jared pulled everything off the walls and spackled each and every hole. I am constantly surprised by the little bits of paper that turn up in odd spots. And I’m also surprised at how much I throw away when I pack. Right now our house looks horrible because everything is out of its proper place, waiting to be boxed up. 

So it’s time for some knitting and a gratitude list.

(this yarn will be striped socks someday)

things I am thankful for:

* knitting

* free boxes from Walker’s place of work

* we were able to go to church in person today- properly masked and sitting far away

* it is beautiful and sunny today

* chocolate

* God is good

Quarantine, camping style

 Jared spent about 4 months working 12-15 hour days during the initial response to Covid-19. He was about ready to run away, and we decided to follow through with a trip we planned last year to Alaska. It was a good decision- lots of hiking and fishing and camping, and almost no people. 

This is my proof of a negative Covid-19 test (required to fly into Alaska):

and these are some of the cool amenities in our hotel:

I love that there was a big bookcase full of reading material just down the hall. The phone, the alarm clock, and the key all felt like a bit of history from 50 years ago. And the boardwalk was completely empty, because no tourists or cruise ships were in the harbor this year. It was lovely for us, because we were able to walk around and explore, but I know that the locals are suffering because they can’t make money from empty stores. 

We visited Gracie & Griffin the first day, and I got some pictures of the art at her work- all mermaid-themed.

I also finished a sock while Jared was taking pictures with his new camera

AND, I found a yarn shop! 

We rode a ferry from Ketchikan to Prince of Wales Island, and I had knitting to keep me busy during the 3 hour ride.

Once we disembarked, we picked up our vehicle and drove to our first campsite. Of course we took a hike as well as setting up camp! It was wet and rainy, and absolutely beautiful.

We spent a night at Memorial Beach:

Then we drove up to where you take a boat to get to Port Protection. There is a kind of parking lot there, but not all the cars are still driveable. It’s a mix of old and new, working and abandoned, machine and nature. 

Took another opportunity for a hike. Still wet, rainy, and green. 

Our next cabin was Staney Creek, and when we got there, the wood in the fire pit was smoking. It was wet, and whoever had started the fire hadn’t realized it was still burning, or didn’t care. 

We encouraged it to burn, and were able to use up the wet wood completely. Jared took the chance to hike and fish, and I knit and cooked dinner. 

Next day was a canoe day- we crossed Sarkar Lake and spent the afternoon on an interior island. I knit, and Jared fished. It’s kind of a theme now 😉 

Our next adventure was having DJ drop us by boat at the mouth of the Karta River- we stayed at that cabin one night, then hiked along the Karta River to Karta Lake to another cabin. 

The Karta River cabin had an interesting outhouse- it was out of sight of the cabin, and the sign pointing to the cabin was also out of sight. Once you found the outhouse, you realized that it had no door. So the view was pretty awesome (if smelly), but the experience was a bit like skinny-dipping. I was also pretty tickled by the log book at this cabin. Lots of people recorded their fishing results, and a few also added notes about the hike from this cabin into the Karta Lake cabin. The most helpful one suggested taking a compass, since the trail was overgrown and difficult to find. That was absolutely true- everything grows fast because of the rain, and the trail is not easy to find. 

Mint

That thin red line is the trail. Yep. 

beautiful view from the cabin’s porch

Devil’s Club

We definitely could have used a machete for this trail- lots of Devil’s Club (the thorny plant), as well as the biggest mint plant I’ve ever seen. That leaf is bigger than my hand. 

Took a few days at the end of the trip to do laundry and shower (oh that was a good feeling). I knit more, discovered my second sock was too tight, and unraveled the entire thing so I could knit it at a looser gauge. Jared & I went fishing with DJ and they caught a few fish. 

It was an amazing trip, and I’m so glad we were able to take it!

it’s alive!!!!!

I had no idea how long I’d been away. And I didn’t plan it. But I’m back.

quick update:
Walker graduated high school (2016) & started at Utah State. Took a hiatus (Aug 2017- Sept 2019) to serve a 2 year mission in Korea. Got back, worked for a bit, then went back to college (Jan 2020) for a semester. Ended up back at home in March because of the Corona Virus. Now working at Home Depot until he heads back to Utah State in the fall (we hope).

Morgen spent a summer in a treatment center for eating disorders. She did graduate high school (2018). Met Nick at work, had a baby boy named Emmett (Nov 2019), and married Nick (May 2020). Now she is taking certification to get a degree in coding.

Gracie moved in with us Nov 2017, and we aren’t giving her back, so she’s a part of the family now. She graduated with Morgen (2018) and moved up to Alaska (Dec 2018). She and Griffin are engaged (happened Dec 2019), and living in Ketchikan.

Hyrum got to try out homeschooling again (yay.) because the schools shut down in March for Corona Virus. He liked it, but missed seeing his friends, and he’s happy to be done with school and back to work at Zermatt Bakery.

Jared is a Lt Colonel now. Lucky for him, that did not include a desk promotion, so he’s still working in his lab.

And I’m working part-time at an Optometrist office, which keeps me busy without overwhelming my schedule. I also get to tend Emmett every week, which is awesome!

and I almost forgot my happy things:

* it is raining, and it rained all day yesterday too- we need the moisture since spring was pretty dry this year. Hooray!

* all of my family are happy and healthy.

* God is good.

* I have hot cocoa and a large supply of yarn and fabric.

* Jared is making sourdough crackers right now. They smell delicious!

I think we moved back to Iowa

and nobody told me.  It has rained here almost every day for the last three weeks!!! Which is great for the lawn, good for keeping the house cool during the day, and interesting for the garden.  There are puddles. And they have been there for more than one day, at this point.  The humidity is not as bothersome as it could be, since it hovers around 60 degrees when it rains.  I noticed that my kids are getting little curls in their hair though.

There have been hikes, and adventures, and everyone is home and safe and back on a schedule again.  Hooray :)

The canoe is still in our garage.  All the staples and screws were removed, and Jared  & Walker sanded and re-sanded and smoothed out and patched holes and now they have a layer of epoxy, a layer of fiberglass, and another layer of epoxy drying on the outside of the canoe.  The coolest part (besides the whole CANOE IN THE GARAGE thing) is that the fiberglass came in a roll, similar to curtain fabric.  And it looked a lot like silvery burlap because of its color and large, open weave.  However, once they applied it and the epoxy, the fiberglass turned see-through!  So when you look at the canoe, it has a fringe around the bottom edge, and the rest of the canoe looks untouched.  so.weird.

This was my walk today:

Gorgeous greens, even though August is usually the time of dry grass and brown hills.  And more standing puddles. It is awesome and strange all at once.

Morgen and Hyrum went back to school yesterday.  Walker (and the other students in the upper 3 grades at the high school) went back today.  The district chooses to give the freshman a day to themselves at the high school to give them the chance to find everything without the halls being super-crowded.

And on that note, I will be taking a nap.  In order to fit our family prayer and scripture study in before school, we are reading at 5:30am.  Which, if you are good at math, means I am getting up about 5:10am.  Bah! is what I have to say about that. BAH.

held together with glue and staples

In My Garage

My early morning project

Freshly baked bread.

Conversations in the car

Since my oldest child could speak, I have been having conversations.  If you are a parent, you have had or will have these talks.  Once we got to talk about (well, mostly we listened to a monologue about) Morgen's frog dream.  Another time it had to do with why we walk on the sidewalk and not in the road.  I remember overhearing an exchange between two of my children that began with:
"You're an idiot!"
And ended with:
"Well, you're something even worse- you are an IDIOM!!"
And, while they can be frustrating, they are also really funny :).

But with my younger son now 10 years old, I thought the days of these sorts of dialogues were over.  Not so, it appears.  A few nights ago, Hyrum and I went over to the high school to pick Walker up after his performance (Pirates of Penzance- last show is Saturday!).  We had gotten back into the car, and I reminded the boys to put on their seatbelts, like I always do.  And then this happened:
Hyrum- "I'm invisible! I can't wear a seatbelt because then you would see me!"
me- (trying very hard not to giggle because he totally makes sense) "It's an invisible seatbelt.  Wear it or fly home, superman."
Hmmmm.  Apparently, invisibility is not one of Superman's powers.  But it is one of Hyrum's.  Who knew?!