Lunchtime walk

Oh Abby, you are so lovely. I love you.

Susie, Coral, and Grace - Native Alaskan skin sewers rolling out a gutskin parka.

First attempt at a "waterproof" stitch. Seal gut, deer sinew, and embroidery floss so we could learn the stitch. I will hopefully have seal and bear gut, with a touch of fish skin in a finished piece.

That is my happy face, and normally I am wearing it (I hope it appears that way), but I am not handling work stress so well at this exact moment (I started this post last week, and yep, the next two months are going to be tough). I am internalizing too much......I will have to see how well I manage, not necessarily the workload, but the stress of not humanly being able to complete it in the allotted time. It doesn't help that the medication I am on magnifies the physical side effects of stress (I shake, etc.). Of course, I also have to consider the Shawen factor and other life demands. It's all rolled in. It's not like my mind can really separate it all.

With that said, I will once again state my job rocks! I am soooo lucky. I get to do a lot and that is good. I am not pigeon-holed for sure! Today I was thankfully ordered to participate in a last minute gut skin sewing workshop (despite the fact that I only have this week to unload 10 units of collections for new drawer installation next week.) It was slave labor, let me tell ya! It was so awesome to sew gut with sinew. They are amazing materials - strong, durable, and even aesthetically pleasing. Gut is translucent, it almost glows. Sinew is 100 pound test for sure. I can't sew a on a button, but have learned the ancient and tried and true art of Alutiiq stitching (one of them anyway)!

This is mainly for my mental organization - here is what I have in the next two months:

Accreditation review (should be first, is darn near last);

getting new drawers for storage units (unload and re-shelve colls., and subsequent paperwork);

50% of my time is supposed to be K-1 (I guess I should write an entry about this, although you've probably read enough about it in the newspaper, newsletter, FB postings, etc.);

a week-long conservation assessment and workshop;

a paper conservator coming for several weeks (for which thank goodness to a very supportive co-worker's spouse we have housing, now I just have to find a place for this person to work that's not at the museum, which is a whole story in itself);

a conference in Anc;

working on transferring our bulky 100 cubic feet of fauna to a museum down south (involves a whole lot more than putting it on a barge);

researchers (some of whom make appointments and some of who show up unannounced twice in one day. I count general inquiries in here too. I have had three today, in addition to the latter researcher.);

accessioning contemporary purchases by yesterday;

TEN other projects that are on my list, but am ignoring for now (prioritizing, unfortunately, what is most important does not necessarily come before the urgent);

some miscellaneous tasks;

and regular colls. work, with about 75-100 collections ranging from 1 object to hundreds that need processing. Obviously not getting to much of that right now.

Click

I was walking around downtown snapping photos, and I passed by a man in all camouflage, holding a camera with a serious grip so he could support the 20 inch lens - I kid you not! Darn magazine nature photographer - I bet he did not take one photo of Kodiak town! He was all geared up for "the bush".

I have taken a new interest in photography. I stopped doing photography when spending ten hours in a darkroom became unfeasible and undesirable. I was not very smitten with digital photography, being a snobbish artist (arteest), only using it to capture Abby and fond memories. Recently I have discovered a particular joy in it. It is very disposable. You don't have the investment in each image, and there is not as much creativity as with film and development (Funny to find that both Patrick and I liked to selenium tone.) At least for now though, while the sun is in a good spot, I am clicking away.

I tend to take landscapes, e.g. the boats in the harbor, butam trying to focus on details, textures, and everyday scenes.

The museum had meetings the last few days about much needed expansion, and while I was quite bummed initially, I think some good definitely came out of them. At the public meeting, when the Director of the Baranov Museum openly came out and said how we were living up to high collection care standards (which she most definitely did not have to do!), that made may day! It was also great to learn how Elder's are shuffled around and that we do need a "living room" for the community.

I am not going to divulge the aspects I did not think went to well right now. I will need to think about wording carefully! I will say I am very happy with my position, which I often state on this blog. I hope my proclamations of success do not come off as gloating. Rather, when I speak positively about the museum, it's because I truly believe in our mission and the outstanding programs that have been developed over the past decade. I am proud to be an integral part of the organization.

I will also clarify that the rant from a post ago is most definitely not about my job! It is about another aspect of my life that was important to me, both personally and professionally. Although I have been criticized for bringing it back up, I have not - it comes up because of my profession! I feel like I have been wronged because of an ultimatum that is immature, unfair, and just way overboard.

Blinded and burned

The sun is so bright. Abby shields her delicate eyes, and I have a sunburn from sitting in front of the window playing with her all day! I walked outside today and it felt tropical for a minute. I think I have been here too long!

What may seem unimportant to some, may be important to others. This is not only a fact of life (hgmm, mm - clearing my throat), but a consideration when working with collections, such as photographs. What may seem like a bland and insignificant image, may be a treasure for someone else. For example, a photograph of the interior of a Kodiak home in the 1950s may show perhaps an icon corner, in which a researcher is interested. The above image, may mean nothing to you, but to me is depicts the yellowed grass of Kodiak I find so lovely, the bridge (the only bridge) in Kodiak I walk across quite often, and my workplace just in the corner.

Abby requested that we take a portrait.

Still no pictures of people. I saw a few shots of people I wanted to take, but I am too timid to ask"Can I take your photo?" I already feel like they are looking at me funny, walking around town in my silly looking fur hat (hey, it keeps my head warm, and Shawen likes it, because no guy would be interested in me in it!).

Tragedy

Christina Perri sings Bang Bang Bang (Live at Ocean Way Studios)

Mais oui!

This weekend I was busy putting back my house. The landlord had ripped up the carpet in one bedroom because of the fuel leak. All the stuff was moved, then back it, and then out again so the carpet could be laid - I have taken this annoyance as an opportunity to purge! I have rid myself of seven bags of stuff, mostly Abby and my clothes. I go up and down a size apparently, but have lost weight, so I don't need the grandest size, so those got purged, along with summer clothes I naively brought with me. Abby was pretty patient through all the mess and time spent away from giving attention to her. We played a little, but not as much for sure. Not even any playdoh time this weekend. It is not done, mais oui.

I did manage to watch two movies - The Way We Were with Robert Redford and Barbara Streisand on OWN, yes, Oprah's network! Yes, I did. And I started Le Divorce with Noami Watts and Kate Hudsen. So far so good. I wish I could be called MM.

"Those (American) girls are not like us.

We cannot teach them savoir-vivre, good manners.

They find it ridiculous.

They only trust their instinct, their feelings.

And where does that lead?

Uncontrolled emotions.

Desire."

A year and a half ago I would have said that was me! I must be more French now, because I cannot say I am the same.

And no pictures. I had to charge the battery, but did not have the charger. Then I forgot the camera, then I forgot the card for the camera...