Amazing Story....Ray's Heart

Last March I wrote about our neighbor Ray who needed a heart transplant after suffering a virus that attacked his heart. At the end of April, as his heart was within hours of failing, the doctors at Stanford received a suitable heart for Ray. Ray is doing well and is back home in Alaska now, working, riding his motorcycle and becoming an energetic spokesman for the American Heart Association here in Alaska.

The story took an amazing turn this week. My husband received an email from old friends in Fresno. His buddy shared that his nephew was killed in a pedestrian accident at the end of April and that his sister's family donated his nephew Beau's organs. He asked if we knew Ray......

Genesis 50:20
20As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.

How did she know how much I miss Trader Joe's?

While I was painting the living room the mailman arrived with a much anticipated package from my Dishcloth Swap Pal Maria....It is amazing!!!


Click on the arrows in the lower left-hand corner of the box below to see all the pics!

Thank you, Maria!!!!

Now...the living room is painted in a lovely Canyon shade that I LOVE....
But, now I have to put everything back...the living room shelves and "stuff" are in the kitchen...
The living room furniture is unarranged....

And, we have company coming for a late lunch in 3 hours...I better get busy!!!

Thank you again, Maria!!!!

Yikes! Swimmers' Itch = WORMS????

Look at my son...so happy swimming in Chena Lakes....he LOVED it!




Guess what he loves almost as much...my hubby read to me tonight that those red bumps on his tummy, arm and back - swimmers' itch - mean that WORMS imbedded in his skin. YIKES! I just don't like swimming in lakes...
James thinks it's awesome. Again, YIKES!

Self Portrait...knitted scrubby square...

We took the kiddos to Chena Lakes yesterday for some caoneing/kayaking/fishing and just plain enjoying the Alaska sunshine!

I caught a picture of myself in the picture of my boy!





I've been doing alot of dishcloth knitting this summer...I've decided that my easy-standard pattern makes a cloth too big for doing dishes ( "Knitting is Fun: Dishcloth Duo")...it's good for wiping the counters, but I always fold them up to wash dishes. My girlfriend Adrienne shared that she may move away from sponges because of all the bacterial issues, and I think I may do that as well. So, I changed the pattern from increasing to 43 stitches before decreasing down to only going 28 stitches to make a small square. Then I knit up a second square from yarn from ichigonopantsu on Etsy that is antibacterial acrylic for a "scrubby" side. I knit up the cotton, absorbant side with my favorite Gumdrop cotton from Peaches&Creame and then did the scrubby side in the orange antibacterial yarn. I stitched the squares together and Voila! I think this will be perfect! I can just throw these in the laundry to wash at the end of the day! I am also inrigued by the different languages on the Antibacterial Yarn Label...I can't find any vendors in the US for this yarn...only the ladies on Etsy seem to make it available for us here in states (OkinanwaOtterKnits and ichigonopatsu). How many languages can you identify???

Click on the image to see it more clearly...

Land Line or No Land Line?

We think we are ready to drop the land line for our telephones....has anyone else made the change?
Paying for the land line doesn't seem to make sense anymore. The one concern I have is when we leave our kiddos home alone...we're not ready to get cell phones for them as they aren't yet teenagers. We may get a third "house" cell phone for when the kiddos are home alone...we're moving into a new world.....

This green phone is one of my prized possessions...friends who moved away from Alaska passed it on to me....I love the retro dial and showing my kids what phones were like when I was little. I still remember what a big deal those new-fangled push button phones were when they came out and were more to "rent" from the phone company....Does anyone remember that we didn't buy phones, we rented the phones??? I was thrilled that it still worked when I received it! But now, this phone will finally be obsolete as a phone. This is the first thing from my childhood that is kaput...a heavy paperweight. I think this means I've officially crossed over into the land of the "old" and the phrase, "kids, back in my day......" Yikes!

USAF Thunderbirds....My So-Called Scarf

We took the kids this week to see the United States Air Force Thunderbirds at Eielson Air Force Base here in the Interior. It was amazing! Here they are blocking their ears from the intense noise of the jets revving up...







I tried to take some pictures but it was VERY difficult with my little, point-and-shoot camera. Most of my pictures either show gray skies (it was very cloudy and rained a wee bit) OR I just caught the planes in the frame before they zoomed away.





I did catch this one of two jets flying past us in formation. Can you imagine flying upside down?
I found a beautifully clear shot from a local photographer on the Weather Underground.
When I was a young girl my dad took us to see the Blue Angels - I was mesmerized and wanted so much to be a fighter pilot after that. Add Top Gun to my experience, and I was ready to fly. My own kids weren't as captivated but I felt thrilled again watching these planes this week.
I also started a new project....my big summer knitting goal is still to knit a pair of socks but this Cider Moon yarn in Hot Rod called to me from my stash. It is beautiful and so soft...it's been more rainy here than sunny so the warm, wool yarn has been just fine to knit with this summer. I'm following the "My So-Called Scarf" pattern and love it. I've made a few mistakes already but they are hard to find. I love this pattern and yarn!

Summer Has Arrived!

For the dishcloth swap, we've been asked to share about when we know that Summer Has Arrived...check out this post from May 31 when I wrote about just that...the midnight sun is shining and we were planting on the deck!

I love Alaskan Summers!

Local Paper Published My Photo!

After a light rain, we picked up the kids' bikes and a perfect "print" was left behind on the driveway. Isn't that amazing??

I submitted the photo to the local paper - The Fairbanks News-Miner - and they printed it!

Favorite Pattern in one of my favorite colors...

This week's topic for the Keepin' It Cool Dishcloth Swap is to share about a favorite pattern.

One of my favorites is from Firefly of "I Live on a Farm." I took a picture with one of our blooming geraniums outside tonight. The yarn is Peaches & Creme Gumdrops...one of my favorites! The cloth is called Springtime Wash/Dish Cloth.

Knitting the cloth is interesting with a twisted purl stitch.
What's your favorite pattern and yarn?

David Cook is an Awesome Walkin' Partner

I downloaded 4 sounds from iTunes from this year's American Idol Winner David Cook and they are perfect walkin' music!! My dog Sierra almost couldn't keep up with me! This was the first year we watched American Idol....Cook is phenominal. I downloaded three covers - Bille Jean, Hello, Always Be My Baby, and one original song Dream Big. Listening to the covers of songs done so differently than I listened too as a teenager is fun - I like Cook's versions better. I also took some pictures of the skies - aren't they spectacular?

The first cloths of the summer....

I decided to knit my first cloths for my kiddos...Anna the soccer player and James and hockey player. I found these patterns on Knitwits-heaven.com. I knit them with Lion's Organic Cotton so they are super soft!

I finished up an "apology" set yesterday. (I owe my good friend an entry in our Circle Journey book - she last wrote in Feb! Yikes!) I took out my Santa and Mrs. Claus needles and moose stitch markers from Tami and enjoyed knitting, knitting, knitting yesterday. I used a skein of Lion's Cotton in Sunflower with a skein of Sugar'n Cream in yellow. The lighter yellow and the bolder yellow worked beautifully together.

I followed the pattern from "Knitting is Fun: Dishcloth Duo" and the two yarns together made almost a trivet-size and feel cloth. I also had knit the scrubby from antibacterial acrylic yarn I found on Etsy from ichigonopntsu and another cloth from
Peaches & Cream in Sunrise. (Gumdrops is my favorite color from them!) Looking below, isn't it interesting how much smaller the single yarn cloth turned out - it was knit on the same size needles!


I really like this set! I hope my girlfriend does too!

The kiddos....

The kids of summer! They are enjoying these long, sunny days!

Keepin' Cool in the Summer Dishcloth Exchange Questionnaire

I thought that this exchange was on hiatus, but found it again when Anne left a comment! Yay!

1. Do you Knit or Crochet? For how long? I can do both...I've been teaching myself to knit for close to two years now - Wow! I haven't progressed too far though...still doing little projects and hope to do my first pair of socks this summer! I learned to crochet many years ago and really like the speed of it!

2. Do you enjoy using metal, wooden, or some other kind of needle\hook?
Knit Picks Harmony circular needles are my favorite. I also love needles with critters or special designs on the top like those from Tami on Etsy.

3. What are your favorite types of yarn? Any you just can't stand? I am intrigued by this antibacteral yarn this year from OkinanwaOtterKnits on Etsy and ichigonopatsu on Etsy. I love all cottons....Gumdrops from Peaches & Creme is one of my favorites as it anything yellow!

4. When it comes to cotton, are there any brands you'd love to try and haven't? I can't think of any...

5. When you make Dishcloths, do you use them yourself, or tend to give them as gifts? I tend to do things first for me and then for gifts....

6. Do you have a favorite color? Any that you dislike? I love reds, oranges, yellows and blues....

7. What color(s) (if any!) are your kitchen and bath decorated in? My Kitchen is sunny yellow...the bath is a warm beige...

8. What are your favorite scents around the house? I love citrus scents...watermelon scents....

9. What is your very favorite thing about summer? The SUN - especially here in the Arctic where it shines all night!

10. What is your least favorite thing about summer? The bugs...mosquitos can be everywhere!

11. Do you use soap or body wash in the shower? I am a soap girl..I'm allergic to Ivory products though... 12. What scents do you enjoy in the bath? I love bubble baths...citrus scents the best...

13. What is your favorite dishcloth pattern? I love this one from Maggie's Rags - Chinese Waves Dishcloth I am also working on the hockey player on this page from Knitwits-Heaven. com right now for my son as a washcloth:
I am also intrigued by Japanese Tamaguchi patterns and look at this whale - I want to try to make him this summer!

14. What sort of treats do you enjoy? Sweet or Salty? I love trail mixes with dark chocolate!

15. Imagine today is one of the hottest days of the year - what do you do to keep cool? Or are you one of those folks who loves the hot weather?

I LOVE it hot! I will just sit in the sun and read or knit!

16. What sorts of hobbies do you enjoy besides knitting or crocheting? I play tennis and read alot...I also bike-ride with my kiddos. I hope to go on more hikes this summer now that the kids are older.

17. Do you collect anything (besides yarn!) I love suns! Sunny stationary, sunny key chains, sunny anything! I also play a card game and I feel lucky with newer cards, so I've started collecting playing cards. The more colorful the better!

18. Are you on Ravelry? If so, share your ID! I am on Ravelry but I haven't really spent alot of time there...I hope to put up more about my knitting this summer! My ID is aksunny.

19. Do you have any allergies? I do have seasonaly allergies that are finally quieting down now - I'm allergic to the Birch Tree pollen and our house is surrounded by Birch! I'm also allergic to Ivory Soap products.

20. Do you have any pets?
We have a beautiful dog, Sierra and a lovely cat, Gracey.

Walking home at 10:30 pm - Only in Alaska...

Only in Alaska, do parents of children under 12 not worry that their children will be walking home from a friends' home at 11pm at night.

Look at this daylight! I love summer here. I just called the kiddos and told them that they need to be home by 11pm. We are good parents...really, we are.





Today was planting day too on our patio. We bought many flowers are some veggies for the containers. Have I mentioned how much I love summer?

Our flower row....

Peas, basil and a lovely flower....

Anna wanted to try to grow cucumbers (bottom)...cherry tomatoes are planted above...

Three containers of carrots...not much to see now, but just wait come August! I used seed tape which is fabulous in helping to keep the wee, tiny seeds spaced....

And here is my Mom-in-law at work...isn't she beautiful? I love her.

Hilarious!

The leaves are out!

The leaves are out!!! Green-up has arrived! Growing up in California - we didn't have any understanding of what Spring really means...
Here in Alaska, we KNOW when winter is over and the spring and summer are here!

I went to "upper" campus today and took some photos of the Alaska Range...
This time of year is just phenomenal!

Happy Mother's Day!

Ladies and gentlemen, the snow has left the area....

When I arrived home this afternoon I spotted our old, old, old thermometer against the house - look at that temperature! Okay, it's NOT 100 degrees - really it's about 60F but that's still awesome for us Alaskans! I think the snow if finally over!!!!

The clouds have been amazing - if this were July with daytime temps in the 80's, we'd be having major thunderstorms...now it's just raining off and on....I snapped this shot on the way back from the airport post office last night around 7pm.

Anna's getting the "shutter" bug too! I might have to invest in a better camera!

What a difference a week makes!

It looked like this when we left for school last Wednesday morning -


What a difference a week makes...Now, the snow is gone....

I'm on the porch in my bare feet....The trees are starting to bud....
We won't be able to see the sky through these branches soon....the leaves will have all sprung forth. It's called "green up" here and usually happens around May 10. It's really amazing...you wake up and all the trees are green!
I also caught a shot of the Alaska Range off in the distance this week (about 200+ miles away from our little hill in North Pole)...
I think summer is really coming!!!!

Movie Bummer-itis: Then She Found Me Review

One of my most favorite books has been made into a movie...Then She Found Me by Elinor Lipman
tells the tale of a high school teacher, April, who was adopted, but is "found" by her birth mother Bernice when she is in her 30's and having recently lost her parents. It turns out her birth mother had been following her life, and once she learned that April's parents were gone, decided to re-enter her world. April's birth mother is a morning talk show host and is everything studious, Latin-teacher, April isn't: loud, showy and very loose with the truth.

When I learned about the movie - the casting seemed wonderful. Helen Hunt as April and Bette Midler as Bernice would make a great pair to bring this story to life.

My first case of movie bummer-itis hit when I learned that the film isn't playing in my town - it's not even playing in my STATE! For the largest state in the US, Alaska can seem very small....

My second case of "movie bummer-itis" struck when I watch the trailer on Fandango.
What?! April is married???
What?! She teaches elementary school?
What?! She's dying to have a baby?
What?! Colin Firth's not Dwight?
What?! She falls in love with a man with children?

What?! What?! What?! What happened to the story I loved????

Here's the back of the edition of the book I own:The movie has kept the mother-daughter relationship somewhat the same, but......April's not the same character....

The author, Elinor Lipman, wrote on Amazon.com about the changes in the story:
"People ask all the time if I mind the changes from book to screenplay, and are surprised when I say no. It's hard to explain why I'm not feeling sentimental or possessive, but it's part relief (it was optioned 18 years ago) and very much the quality of the screenplay. (I laughed, I cried.)"
She also wrote a response to blog entries just like mine here: My Book - The Movie, or I seem to be in a tiny minority of authors who love their adaptation.

Ah, Elinor, but I care...this novel is one that I have reread numerous times. I looked for any other blogs who might also be disappointed in the changes from the novel to the screen play, but found none. Am I the only one????

I'm not as bummed anymore that it's not playing on the big screen here in our town. I'll definitely see it on DVD or iTunes rental, but I don't feel the same excitement after watching the trailer. Elinor's review on her website is positive and encouraging, though:
"I saw TSFM on Oct. 16 at a screening, and adored it. I laughed and I cried and I came away calling Helen Hunt (who wrote the screenplay and directed the film) a genius. Bette Midler as Bernice--you can't take your eyes off her. Fabulous performances all around. "

More of Elinor's books have been optioned for movies: Books into Movies. I've read all the books and love each in it's own way....maybe the next screen writers won't change so much?

Either way, I still have the books.....the books are always better than the movies, anyway, aren't they???

PS - the snow is gone and the temps are rising....I think summer is finally on it's way!

It's almost May and we're having a blizzard!

I haven't been posting this last month because of an intense work schedule...I've finished a really fabulous security blanket/baby throw for my new niece Ivy which I'll post about soon. But I had to put this up because this weather is unbelieveable!

Our kitty Grace is at the left waiting for someone to open the door...luckily she hasn't broken my door yet like the kitty below....yet.....I need to go let her in!

Thank you, Sharon!

Click on the arrows to see the slides.....

Wow! Thank you Kathleen!

Click on the arrows below to change slides....

Not just one box...but TWO!

I just zipped home this afternoon for a short bit (I forgot my wallet and have to go to the grocery store after I pick up the kids from school), and found not just one box, but TWO boxes on my doorstep. I think one is for this swap and the other is from the Winter Doldrums Swap.

I don't have time right now to do anything but this quick post but I will check back in later once I can open the boxes.....Sharon in PA and Kathleen in VA - the package is here!!!!! Thank you!