In any weather....

In case you didn't know, Abby and I are certified beach bums. This visit did start out chilly, but as we worked are way around the beach, it actually warmed up to be quite nice.

Rewards

The favorite part of my job is meeting people. "I meet more people here on a remote island in Alaska than I would if I worked at the Smithsonian," is what I always say. We get a slew of researchers and visitors every year, but this year I have particularly worked a lot with researchers. We had several last week, with a few who had never been to Kodiak before. When visitors ask what they should do in Kodiak, I always respond go see Fort Abercrombie. It is so beautiful , and there's the extra bang for the (free) buck with all the WWII remains scattered about. I kept telling them to go, but of course they have no car, so this time I gave a personal tour. It was fun! I was surprised about how much I knew! I even sounded authoritative. Funny. Anyway, it was a great time. It's one of the reasons I love my job and work so hard to be the best Registrar!

If you don’t advocate, who will?

Here is a cheesy article I wrote (except for the intro! I can not write creatively at all apparently) about a session at the Museums Alaska conference, just in case you wanted to know about non-profits and lobbying:

Winter is coming. Freezing winds are once again ruffling the papers on the desk of the archivist at the Historical Society. The seals around the windows are decaying and they need to be replaced. If the staff can feel the change in the weather, the artifacts will most definitely be affected. Funds are tight, as usual, but the Board agrees that the City’s designated funding for non-profits would be ideal for solving this problem. So now what?

Mike Walsh, VP of Operations at the Foraker Group, addressed this issue in the Museums Alaska session Lobbying and Advocacy, helping audience members learn more about the laws governing lobbying and how to develop an advocacy plan.

While many of us advocate – talk about an idea to bring about change – lobbying is specifically used to influence legislation. According to Internal Revenue Service (IRS), lobbying is direct communication with a legislator or a legislative staff member requesting action on a specific bill. Non-profit organizations are not allowed to endorse or oppose a political candidate, but they are allowed to encourage a legislator to approve a bill, even one that includes appropriations for their organization. Additionally, organizations may conduct grassroots lobbying to influence the public - encouraging people to vote for a proposition or to contact their legislator.

It is important to note that the IRS wants to know what your organization spends on lobbying. Non-profit organizations may spend no more than 5% on of their annual budget on lobbying, so it is imperative you track your expenses. In contrast, the State of Alaska wants to know how much time an organization lobbies. As an individual representing your organization, you may spend 40 hours in direct communication with a legislator or legislative staff over a thirty-day period. That’s a lot of communication! If you intend on spending more money or time, your organization may hire a registered lobbyist.

To make the most of your advocacy work, organizations should develop an Advocacy Plan. Organizations should refine a 60 second spiel about the issue, identify who to talk to, and when and how to talk to them (email, in person, on the phone).

The underlying point of Mr. Walsh’s presentation was that advocacy is important and it’s not work that we should expect others to do for us. If you won’t advocate for your own organization, who will?

http://www.kodiakdailymirror.com/?pid=19&id=9250

My grant project made our local paper (Koniag Receives Grant for Archaeological Collection). Nice. Not every fact right, but not complaining!

Feels Like Home

Thanks to a co-worker, I have a new rug! It replaces the cream-colored Wal-Mart rug that was no longer cream, but more like a hint of cream with lots of splashes of grey encrusted toddler mess. I love the new rug. First, it is totally like a rug my parents would have had in their house, so it reminds me of them and the house I grew up in, which makes me happy. Second, it brings color into the room (and matches my borrowed furniture)!! Last year I painted a dark greenish blue accent wall as one enters, and although that was a start, this really adds a lot of umfp, especially for the upcoming dark months. The combined added color and the reminiscence of home makes my meager dwelling actually feel like home for the first time. Thank you!!!

Not better yet. Too soon to declare as I thought. Feeling anxious...

Obsessed

I have been trying to photograph her eyes for so long. They are such a beautiful caramel color.

Abby's first movie!!! She sort of sat through the whole movie. It took MORE candy to finish the last 20 minutes. She was a little sugar strung out after that. Looking forward to another movie date in the future.

Little angel.

Hey, if you had a daughter this cute, you wouldn't bother posting much else either.

I mean, I try to keep it simple. There is only so much I can write about - my work, pottery, Abby, Kodiak, yoga, books, movies - KISS (keep it simple stupid) life.

Too soon to declare recovery? I am still wary of saying I am all better. I was ill for six weeks! Not the Kodiak crud either. Some strange illness where I felt mostly fine, felt like I was on my death bed, felt mostly ok, felt like I was dying, felt fine…repeat. Weird! I have no idea what was wrong with me. It cost me enough to try to find out. Most of my tests came back normal, but not all. Individually or combined, they add up to….nothing diagnosable. I am still a little concerned, but at least I feel better. I am slowly reclaiming my life! I am sooo happy to be well again – happy to go to work, happy to play and run around with Abby at the beach, happy to go grocery shopping!

Last Letters from Attu

Last Letters from Attu: the True Story of Etta Jones, Alaska Pioneer and Japanese POW by Mary Breu, Etta's great niece

"Etta Jones, single, 42 years old and an accomplished teacher and nurse, arrived in Alaska in August, 1922. One year later, she married gold prospector Foster Jones. For the next 19 years, they lived, worked and taught in remote Athabascan, Alutiiq, Yup’ik and Aleut villages. Their last assignment was Attu.

After the invasion, Etta spent 39 months in Japanese POW sites located in Yokohama and Totsuka. She was the first female Caucasian taken prisoner by a foreign enemy on the North American Continent since the War of 1812, and she was the first American female released by the Japanese at the end of World War II."

Most of the book is Etta's letters. Since Etta did not like speaking about her time as a prisoner in Japan, Breu compiled most of that section.

Etta's 19 years in Alaska is remarkable and worth a book by itself, but reading about her years of imprisonment, starvation, and brutal conditions in Japan, when she was in her sixties(!), left me dumbfounded. She and Foster lived in Old Harbor for a few years, but Etta also taught in extremely remote villages, where no one spoke English, none of the villagers has seen a white woman before, and they received mail service just three times a year. Funny to think that some teachers have tough times in villages today. For Etta and Foster, Old Harbor in the 1930s was quite posh in comparison to the other villages they served. In one part Etta wrote how at Russian Christmas she received a bear gut bag (with eagle feather if I recall). Seal gut is common, but I did not realize bear gut was also used.

Oh, someone is cute!

Oh my lips are puckering, SMOOCH!

She is totally posing.

Peekaboo

PEEKABOO!

I SEE YOU!

Not such a bad thing sometimes, this Alaska.

Mask making at the museum.

I love Abby's mask! She likes drawing circles, and she chose the bright feathers on her own.

One sunny playground visit when I must have felt well.

Church

I hope I feel well enough to make it to church tomorrow. I learn something every time. It's not all clowns and giggles, but so worth attending. Yes, that IS church above, and yes those are the Captains dressed as a clown and ringleader. As you can see, it's a small congregation. About 15 people show up a week. I don' t know why. Everyone is so nice and unassuming. There's no "pressure", a kid's room, and it's quite informal - stark contrast to the Catholicism I am used to.

Stress test - pass, blood pressure - fail. What does it all mean? I hope I find out soon! I am tired of being, well, deathly. Funny, find inner happiness, then feel like death. I assure you my inner happy button is fixed. Now if my body would cooperate...

Prior to all of this illness, I was going to write about yoga, and how well my body, at least the outside, seems to be doing! I am (was) getting better at yoga and a lot stronger, but apparently that wellness it's confined to muscle (and mental) tone.

I love you Abby, btw. You are my sunshine, 365, babes.

Graphically sick

Been sick for too long. I can't tell you what's wrong with me, altough after some some nurse mom consulting and google reading I have a clue. I am not sure when it started (months ago in a lesser degree???), see I am nursing two problems at once - sinus infection and the "other one". Symptoms are: start to feel funny (hard to explain), start to feel dizzy, limbs feel cold and numbish, feel weak, heart races, feel REAL faint (one description I read with similar symptoms said"feel impending death" and "feels like poisoned"), must lay down, have a movement of the ol' bowels (4/5 times, ok tmi), and then feel real empty, need to eat, and super super weak, must rest for hours. I have been to the ER once, dr. three times, and missed two days of work so far. May not sound like much, much it means I feel baaad. I also sometimes feel dizzy before or after I eat, and it has nothing to do with blood sugar. I know I was suffering from dehydration in Fairbanks, and have high levels of protein in my blood. Although, I feel normal right now. Nice eh? I like this feeling normal. I can't imagine why people have problems if they're heathly. Life simple when healthy. Must remember this if I ever recover, once and for all!

Autumn?

Kodiak's version of autumn is not bright colors of dying leaves, but blistery windy storms that kick up the ocean and cause some waves!

Mill Bay beach at a "normal" high tide. Just happens a lot of sea crap was deposited on the beach. The big rock center is the rock house Abby and I play in at low tide.

Going, going.....

Gone.

Scale may be difficult to tell, but the rock house is about 15 feet or so high.