It's a cold day..

so I stayed inside with my bud.

Gideon's urn

                             Loops and knots.

                      Net.

                                      You can see how the lid is warped in this pic.

                And it wasn't warped before - live and learn!

I made Gideon's urn.  The first I made this spring, but I wasn't quite happy with it.  The second I think turned out good.  Unfortunately, the lid warped in the glaze firing, and that has complicated matters a little.  The plan was to use yarn made of Gideon's hair to tie the lid on, but with it being warped, that doesn't quite work now.  I figure I will use wax or something else to hold the lid in place, and the yarn will still tie it on, but I am still unsure what to do with the yarn from a design perspective.  I have a plan for adding beads as well, it's kind of my signature to bead on pots. 

Anyway, if you can imagine the yarn being tied to hold the lid on, then what about the ends of the yarn? Do they hang down, how long, what about something more creative? I initially imagined swirls of yarn, but it will not keep a curl forever. Then I thought about a net-like design that is somehow knitted (woven) or tied (with loops) to reflect the branches of the tree (the urn is in the shape of a tree and decorated with leaves.)  Not sure, I think I will let my mom, who crochets and knits and who is used to working with yarn figure it out, but I am unsure even how to send it to her!  It's hard to describe, but I have to thread the yarn though the holes in the lid and base and then do the beading, well, that's kind of hard to do with Gideon being in there first.  So, need to overcome some final technical difficulties:

1. How to keep the knots tied tight?  Maybe mom knows knots.

2. What substance should we use to keep it closed?  

3. What to do with yarn - crosses? knitted/woven net? loops and knots (with beads)?

I guess I should say I made Gideon's urn as a tree thinking of him - he loved to be outside and just the "tree of life".  Inspiration for crosses is obvious, loops and knots reflect his curls which captured us all, and the woven net just seems to fit and is something I think mom could do well with.

Oo! I got a sticker!

Summer solstice, oh wait, winter

Winter solstice?  It doesn't feel like it here.  Okay okay, by my aunt Gina's standards it would be way too cold, but by Kodiak standards it's great (except for those who want a white Christmas)!  For the month of December, it has somehow been that it rains (or pours) everyday, except for Sunday, on which it is sunny.  Every week it has been like this.  

Abigail's new hat

Wearing a hat and washing hair are Abby and I's biggest disagreemnt.  While I think she should have her hair washed and she should wear a hat (whether it be for hot or cold), she insists should not!  My mom sent this hat and in recent times it is the only one she will wear.  I am happy about that, especially since she looks so cute!!!

High Noon

This is what high noon looks like. No! Yes! But just this one day, and it did brighten up a bit after that. However, the weather has been great! No complaints about that.

Ha ha I got it!

Steamy

The sun popped out today and Abigail and I went on a walk.  I call it sun chasing.  You can see how low the sun is, just above the trees, and there are places where there is light, and places where the sun don't shine.  Actually getting to the sunshine can be hard.  The low sun makes  really dramatic lighting.

                             Cloudy by the time we got back.

Pinapple express and 24 hours of darkness

How are you enjoying the 24 hours of darkness you ask? Kodiak does not get 24 hours of darkness like northern Alaska, until two days ago that is! A blast of a "warm" front from Hawaii brought monsoonal rains which melted all that ice we had from the aforementioned storm. Most of the other locals don't like it though as like they like to ski and ice skate. For me, 35-40 degrees with intermittently rain is fine (better than the alternative). Anyway, it was so rainy it never got light out!

I will not!

I will not let you wash my hair!  I will not let you wipe my face!  I will not let you change my diaper!These are some of Abigail's most recent sayings, but it comes out more like WAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAH!  Although the pic of her in her ducky tub appears happy, this baby will not let me wash her hair.  I just reach for the sponge or washcloth and she starts to whine.  She will not let me wipe her face after eating.  She does this kung-fu move with her hands, smearing even more food on her face and in her hair, blocking all attempts to wipe off the sticky remnants of dinner.  Goober head!

Storm of the century...

Storm of the century, well, almost.  It is blowing 60, howling like the dickens (woke Abby up from her nap), and snowing, and blowing, and snowing some more, and howling again.  Shwoosh, swiiiish, zroom, creak, crack (of the house), roll, roll of thing on the porch, and swish and thunk of the trash can blowing away and landing again. Ah, Kodiak weather.

Musical Abby

Abigail likes music.  The first video is her in the music play group.  The second is her blowing into a recorder.  I just heard from my parents that Abby's Godparents are learning to play the wind instruments.  They must have been channeling me when I was in Wal-Mart to buy the 88 cent recorder. 

Abby's Birthday

I am seriously bumming. I work SO hard ALL summer to make pottery to sell. My work this year is good. I am a good thrower. Not many peopel can throw 13 inch high vases or 15 inch wide bowls. I got down a style and my glazes. I am set, except that I am one week late for the big bazaar. I should mention holiday bazaars are very popular here since there are not too many places to shop here. I kept looking in the paper for the ad for signing up for the big bazaar, and I never saw it. When I finally in passing saw a flyer, it was too late for me to finish my last load.

I had resolved myself that I was not doing the big bazaar this year because I really have not done very well in the past, and I didn't think much of it, until an artist came into the museum and it dawned on me, what am I doing?! I worked hard all year and the bazaar is the place to be seen, everyone goes. I messed up. I have been beating myself up about it for two days. I signed up for a bazaar for next weekend, but it's not the big one, and most likely I will loose money because of the cost of the table. Frustrating. I just feel like I could be doing well with this if I had a market. Like, lived in a city of more than a few thousand people. Ah, you say website, I say broken peices and expensive shipping. Grr.

Music group

Shawen has been taking Abigail to a music group on Tuesdays. She loves it. This photo is how most of our photos look.

At Abby's B-day party, Kelly commented how her mom is always asking her for more photos of her granddaughter smiling. Kelly's reply was she's always moving or doing something when she is acting cute or smiling. When you go to take a picture, you just get the blank, "what do you want?" look. And then they go back to being cute.

Speaking of pottery....

New stuff is even better, but here's the early summer load.

Another item from the summer - a video of Abby going ga-ga for melon.

It’s hard to believe it’s been a year. Looking back, I remember waiting and waiting for Abby to get here (as I was two weeks late and had to be induced), and now I think “why was I impatient?!” All the things I did to prepare for her arrival - getting clothes, crib, toys, books, washcloths, pacifiers, baby gates, reading on development - are all almost worthless now. Now my little girl is a boundless bundle of energy and curiosity, getting into anything she can. All the clothes are too small, her toys are old and either broken or too boring, my efforts to baby proof the house are inadequate, and her energy outlast mine every day. Despite the fatigue, she brings joy and laughter into our lives. She is her own person, with a distinct personality I had nothing to do with. She is Abby, hear her roar!

Some images from this summer.

At my favorite beach in Pasagshak, (about an hour drive and the farthest you can go on the road). The road system covers just a speck of the island around Chiniak Bay, one of many Bays.)

Wild iris - I had no idea these things grew wild. This is my other favorite spot near the Olds River.

Traveling to Pasagshak (my favorite place).

We spent a bit of time playing in the back yard with grass. After she learned to really crawl this became a little hard.

At White Sands beach a the other end of the road just 15 minutes from town.

My little monster. taken in Oct. Notice the lovely gap in her front teeth. It's grown in a little since then.

Welcome!

After years of wondering what was blogging and then why people blogged, I actually started enjoying some of my friends' blogs, and then, the final straw, the Saltonstalls (I work with Patrick and Zoya was instrumental in helping Abigail come into the world) print out there blog as a journal. I have struggled to keep up with Abby's baby book. While the first six months are complete with photos, I have yet had a chance to pick out photos and get them printed for the second half. I will do this, but wow, long term posting pics and milestones online and then printing and binding the blog I think might be easier. Keep in mind started this almost a month ago and have only posted one video that is four months old!

I am hoping this blog will be easier for you to keep up with Abby's lighting fast growth, and while I think about you often, keeping in touch is hard. I work, I take care of Abby, I do pottery, and clean, and that is more than I have time for. Please keep emailing me, I really do think of you often. I hope you enjoy my entries.

Monster Abby!!!

This is in June I think. She makes some pretty funny noises.