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?!

This is the costume that never ends...

Unfortunately, I am not speaking of Halloween costumes.  These are policeman costumes for the Pirates of Penzance.  And I will say only 2 things about them: first, period-authentic Civil War costumes, while they look AWESOME, are probably not necessary for a live theater production that does NOT take place in the USA during the Civil War. (hello, button fly!  you do not lend yourself well to quick costume changes.)  Second, TECH EDITOR FAIL.  It’s a very good thing that I (and by “I,” I mean “we,” since my MIL sewed almost all of the jackets, leaving me to cut out the pattern pieces and sew the pants together.  I know, she IS a saint!)  know how to put together clothing.  Also, that I (again, I mean "we,") am good enough to improvise when the instructions are MISSING BECAUSE THE TECH EDITOR IS IMAGINARY!!!  Or lazy. Or illiterate.  All of which are actually likely, considering the absolute disaster of a pattern…  Seriously.  They hired an imaginary, illiterate tech editor who was lazy.  Or aliens.  Aliens would work, too.

But all I have left to do at this point is to hem the pants and jacket of the second costume.  Originally they were meant for somebody who is about 6 feet tall.  After skipping too many practices, that person has been replaced by a much shorter person.  So, hemming.  Except I can't just chop off the too-long bits and do a simple hem, because what if they use these costumes again and need it to be for a tall person?!?  Which means hemming by hand, very carefully, to take into account the disparity between the hemline needed and the extra fabric involved.  Blech.

Okay, I feel better now :)  

This furlough thing- I would be much happier if none of the Senators were getting paid until they solved this problem.  Jared has to work, as he's considered essential personnel, but he isn't getting paid.  Assuming that the Senate gets their act together, he will eventually get reimbursed for his time.  However, this makes me grateful for our emergency fund and our food storage.

And on a much happier note, it snowed Thursday night!  Quite a bit, actually, and we had snow on the ground the next morning for my daily walk.

It didn't stick, but it surely was a beautiful sight!
Also, today and tomorrow my church has their semi-annual conference, which means I can feast on the wonderful spiritual messages.

So, happy things:
* snow!!!!
* and because of snow, hot cocoa and other delicious winter treats :)
* beautiful music
* spiritual messages
* lots of yarn with which to crochet and knit.
* good friends and neighbors.
* my family is loving and supportive.
* homemade jams and syrups (chokecherry and blackberry) mmmmmm.
* we're all healthy and we have plenty of food and clothing.
* God is good.

Maria

I learned something really cool yesterday that tied a song from "Paint Your Wagon" to the practice of naming storms after women. This is from the wiki entry for "They Call the Wind Maria:"

 "In George Rippey Stewart's 1941 novel Storm, he gives the storm which is the protagonist of his story the name "Maria."
The success of Stewart's novel was one factor that motivated U.S. military meteorologists to start the informal practice of giving women's names to storms in the Pacific during World War II. The practice became official in 1945. In 1953, a similar system of using women's names was adopted for North Atlantic storms. This continued until 1979, when men's names were incorporated into the system.

 This novel was also the inspiration for the song. Isn't that cool? Stewart wrote a novel, which inspired Lerner & Loewe to write a song, which led meteorologists to name storms after women.

 I really like the internet.

this is my favorite version, because it uses the minor key in the second verse, which sounds so much like the wind moaning. there are others available on youtube :)

and my happy list:
* good friends.
* it snowed in the mountains yesterday!
* hot cocoa to warm me up.
* reliable cars.
* a mother-in-law who sewed 2 costumes for w's school musical.
* h did his homework without me asking him to!
* w did a load of dishes without me asking him to!
* m cleaned up her breakfast mess without me asking her to!
* kids who do their chores without me nagging :)
* good music
* warm house
* podcasts
* the internet
* i have lots of warm things to wear
* God is good.

Volunteering

So a week ago last Thursday (Sept 5), Jared called to let me know he might be working out of town over the weekend.  It was disappointing, but after 9 years in the military, we've learned to be flexible.  Friday afternoon he texts me, "Forgot to let you know that I agreed to the family speaking in church Sunday."
I sent back "very funny" and he replied "not kidding."

I was eager to spread the happy news, and when the kids got home an hour later, I greeted them at the door with the exciting information that they got to give talks in church in less than TWO DAYS!!! HOORAY!!!!!

They did an amazing job- W and M wrote their own talks, and I pulled a few church magazines out and handed them to H.  He wrote his own talk, had me edit it, and I made him read it through several times.  Then I wrote my own talk :) and put in lots of extra research just in case the kids were quick.  They were, which left about half the meeting for me to fill.  I managed, with the help of Heavenly Father and some divine inspiration :).

Today, the choir performed a song, "Draw Near Unto Me."  (i looked on youtube, but couldn't find a complete rendition of the song. oh well.)  Despite the fact that it has taken much more preparation and time than did my talk, I enjoyed leading the choir so much more than I did giving that talk.  I feel much more comfortable in a musical setting, I guess.

School is progressing well, I think.  H is playing football- tackle football!!- and has practice 3 times a week, plus 1 game a week.  It means he has very little free time, since he has to fit in scouts and homework on the days he has no practice.  However, he absolutely loves practicing and playing.  As in, he's ready well before he needs to be, and bugs me to drop him off early so he can in some extra practice.  I'm really glad he has found something he enjoys so much.

M is doing well- she likes most of her classes, and loves her art class.  She is still working a few days a week, and we've had at least one episode of staying up really late Sunday evening trying frantically to finish up homework for Monday.  She is learning to better manage her time, though, which is good.

W is busy with play practice (performances are October 18, 19, 21, 23, 25, and 26 at 6:30pm).  He's had several tests already, and works hard to keep up in all his classes.  However, he's already talking about what classes he wants to take next year, as well as his senior year.  I cannot believe how quickly the time is passing- I still remember taking him to the bus stop for his first day of kindergarten!

Jared is working a lot, and preparing for the upcoming hunting season.  He has big plans for an elk- he and Morgen will be hunting this year.  I'm not sure where we'll put all the meat if we get more than one elk though.

Gratitude List:
* running water.  hot and cold both!
* flush toilets
* blackberries (we made jam from the ones growing in our yard- delicious!)
* a juicer and water bath canner.
* fish for dinner.
* cooler weather :)
* music, both sacred and secular, that inspires me.
* good friends
* family
* Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father
* podcasts, and the ability to store a lot on my iphone so i can listen to them.
* Jared is home this week, barring any unscheduled emergencies.

Vacation Rental pictures

view of the driveway entrance from the house:

side yard- lots of grass, volleyball court; you can see the edge of the deck on the side of the house here:

side deck- dad's trying out the deck chair and you can see the volleyball court on the far right:

deck wraps around 3 sides of the house- here's the front view of the house/deck- i'm standing on the far right corner of the deck in the same place i stood to take pics of the side yard.  deck surface is poured concrete, railings are pine:

view of the backyard from the deck- underneath my feet is the downstairs patio area which has a hot tub and a gravel-covered ramp leading up to the backyard:

 the tree line at the back of the volleyball court is where the dry creek bed is located:

closer look at trees behind the volleyball court, you can see the rocks in the creek bed behind them:

view of the back of the house from behind the volleyball court:

you can see some of the extra parking space available behind and to the side of the house here:

pictures of the back deck- the french doors open into the dining/kitchen area of the house:

 those red deck chairs are the ones dad was trying out earlier:

dining room table with doors going out to deck:

kitchen and island:

garage side of the house: