Pearls and Swarovski crystals make me happy!! I don’t think the pictures do them justice.
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More Earrings..made by me!
2
An update on .. everything.
So what have I been up to?
The past two days I have been making earrings and necklaces. It took me a little while to get my creative groove on, but now that I have it turned back on, it’s all that I want to do. I have been thinking hard about whether or not I would like to try and sell some things. I tend to change hobbies often, so I need to make sure this is something I really want to do for a longer period of time, before moving onto selling. I have been searching for something like this for a long time, and I’ve always known that my ideal “job” would be to hand make something and sell it. I recently learned that if I am not doing something creative with my thoughts, I am not a happy person.
Last Tuesday, August 16th, Ashley and I took an overnight shopping trip to Anchorage. We shopped and ate and shopped some more. We had a great time and it was the perfect way to make a couple days go by quickly during what, for us, is the lonely fishing season.
When we got home Wednesday evening, Paul and crew were home and stayed home through the weekend. Late Tuesday night they left again for what is most likely the last fishing trip. A big sigh of relief on my part. If I can just make it through the next couple lonely, rainy days. Our fishing season was a complete success this year, it might be our second best year, ever. And I could not be happier to write out three big checks to our crew- who consisted of my two brothers and Richard, who has fished with us for 3 years now. They deserve it.
So now it’s close to time to watch crew members leave. We will put the boat up for the winter soon and start making plans to return to Tennessee. I am hoping to fly home the week of September 12th or possibly a little earlier. I am scanning airline tickets everyday to find the right one. I hate flying.
I am excited to return home for a good month or two of warm fall weather before winter settles in. I’m also looking forward to seeing all our family and friends. And I can’t wait for my parents to see all the ways Brant has changed in the past 5 months.
Brant is a little over two years old now. He is trying hard to figure out words and speak in complete sentences. He is trying to count and tell me colors. He has grown like crazy in the past month and I am finding that all his clothes don’t fit so well anymore, but mostly things are too short. He plays a little more alone now than he did before. He loves his trains, cars, airplanes and his daddy’s boat. He sleeps from 10pm to 9am and then takes a two hour nap usually starting around 1pm. I take that time to sit on the couch and watch tv and try to hold very still. 
He wears me out! Our first attempt at potty training will start this fall when we get home and settled in to Tennessee.
Paul took Brant to work with him Tuesday morning and Brant was so excited to go. When Paul came through the door with Brant asleep on his shoulder that afternoon, I felt like my heart was just going to explode with love.
My house got some siding put on it this past week. It has been half siding and half tyvek for a couple years. And there are plans in motion to get our septic system buried correctly, as soon as fishing is officially over. (that has been a major eye sore for me) I am also hoping to get a yard planned out and a raised garden put in before packing to leave for TN. We just got to get the weather to cooperate. I haven’t seen the sun for a week. It peaks out every couple days, but it’s mostly been rain. I noticed the leaves on the trees starting to turn yellow, and I thought “Time to migrate!!”
I guess that’s all for now.
Going for a bike ride
I bought a bicycle this summer and have had a lot of fun riding it down the spit bike path. Brant seems to enjoy it. He chatters as we ride along.
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7-27-2001
Fishing! Brant and I got to join the crew of the North Star for a morning of fishing last week. Our crew this year are my two brothers (Jack and Jason) and Richard, who has fished with us for three years. Such a handsome crew!! Brant is always excited to be around his uncles and daddy for a little time on “daddy’s boat!” He also likes Richard very much and is finally starting to be able to say his name.
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Making Earrings
My newest hobby is making earrings. I am having so much fun with it. It’s a nice hobby to have with a toddler running around the house because I can work on it for 10-20 minutes at a time and actually get something accomplished. I would like to thank Ashley because I am not sure I would have gotten into it without having her around to inspire me.
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A stop at Beluga Lake
July 22, 2011
Ashley and I took our dogs to Beluga Lake for some stick chasin’, swimming fun! Brant got enjoyment out of watching them each jump in. Grizzly loves leaping into the water. Ronan wasn’t sure what to think at first but quickly caught on to the fun.
Flowers, Garden and Stump flowerbed
My tomatoes, as of yesterday. C’mon maters! turn red! They have one more month before I officially give up on them.
Happy lettuce.
Jaime and I dug out an old stump and made it into a rock/flower garden.
FIREWEED!
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Canning Salmon
Salmon makes me so happy. It means God has blessed us another year. I canned around 70 pints this year. I smoked some, added garlic, and jalapeno to a few, for a change.
The Silence at 6am – a poem
(For Paul)
The silence at 6am
The still of water and sound.
A distant clang of anchor and aluminum, The competition floats all around you.
You got up at 5 to prepare for this and you’ve been contemplating the act since the last fish was caught the fall before.
You feel your confidence falter, as you stake out your domain.
You watch the clock closely.. tick..tock..tick, and your breath starts to quicken.
The breeze hits you in the face and you’re reminded by the smell of the salty air that your father brought you here..
He showed you how this is done and now it’s your turn,
to show him,
that this pride of where you’ve come from is running in the blood of your veins.
The second hand moves closer and a final crew check, as you look down to the anxious silence of the deck.
Everyone’s in place.
The right line is in the right hand and the skiff motor hums in anticipation.
The competition floats closer, but you hold your ground, unyielding to their bluster.
The time has come.
You give the signal. The skiff release falls to the deck and engines roar with certainty.
Nothing can stop you now.
The net splashes into the water to soon envelop your good fortune.
Your breath steadies with a proclivity of know-how.
You’ve got this.
You soar with sufficiency.
(and I am so proud of you)
Photo by Spatz Brumm
A flying kite
7-16-11
Paul was home from fishing for the weekend. We drove to our favorite beach spot to relax and play with Grizzly and Brant. There was a string hanging down from the tall cliff above us. Paul picked it up and pulled it and a kite flew down from the cliff. We spent the rest of our time flying the kite. I stood back and contently took pictures of my happy little family.
(You can click on any of the images to make them larger)
