Model A

The other day, a gentleman came over to discuss some business things with my father. And he drove up in one of the coolest of all vintage cars- the Model A. Can you imagine my excitement? Mum wanted to do a Bonnie and Clyde pose, but they weren't in the right clothes, and the Model A wasn't black... so it didn't happen. But still, this man allowed me to take photos.

Model A: just about my dream car. Even has an engine that I could manage to work on and not feel like it will explode on me the next time I start up the car.

Wise Old Owl

Look who was perched on our power line post tonight! It's rare for us to see one of these in the daylight, of course, and rare in our neighbourhood as well. 

I was on the phone with a friend when my father called me upstairs to take a look at this fine old fellow. And he very nicely posed for us!

Autumnal Rains

They've come again, lashing down on us and promising the onslaught of autumn.

Yes, I'm talking about rain. Not light drizzles; no, I mean soaking rain. The kind that drenches you if you're out in it for a few minutes. Most of the time, we don't get it this heavy. But today, the heaven's have decided to let loose the deluge.

And guess who was taking about a 9k walk when it started this afternoon? I was a little over half way done when it came down. And it wasn't a slow start either, one moment was sunny, then three minutes later, I had water streaming down my forehead and my hair was completely wet.

It was actually fun running 4k in the rain, even though my feet were very cold (I was barefoot) and my arms were not appreciating the lack of a jacket. When I got back to the house, I dried off and changed, and looked out on the beauty of the rain.

Reverse Thrifting

Over the last few days I've been doing a task I'm really terrible at- weeding through my closet and dresser and getting rid of the clothes that should have been thrown away long long ago. And then I started in on the pile that will be turned into other projects. (Which I find is nicely labeled as "up-cycling". It's like a pat on the back for my hoarder self.)

And then there is the bags that shall be donated to Bishop's Attic, our local thrift store. Which, oddly enough, is where I likely got most of them in the first place. But that was nearly a decade ago for most of them, so I don't think the ladies there will notice it very much.

I mentioned this to my mother this morning when she returned from church (I slept in, or tried to, due to having a cold the last few days and that I'm working at midnight again). This started a couple hour delve into her closet and dresser and I persuaded her to part with a good deal of clothes that she doesn't wear or that are soon to be rags; then we moved onto my father's clothes. That was a bit harder. But it felt good, in a way, to de-clutter like that. After this shocking realization, I have decided that I should do this more often. I teased them that if they hadn't worn things since before I was born, it was time for it to go.

I love to go thrifting, it's exhilarating to find some thing that is perfect for you, maybe something that you've been looking for but couldn't find for the longest time, or maybe just something you saw and suddenly realized that you really would love it even though thirty seconds ago you hadn't ever thought of it before. Well, I suppose on Tuesday, I'll find out if I like the opposite end of thrifting...

Is there even a name for that?

Paid to Have Fun

I have just discovered at work, during a day shift, that I can knit four dishcloths in around six hours, while watching Doctor Who and The Parent Trap.

And I got paid for this.

Yes indeed. This was a wonderful realization for me. Not so great a realization for my cotton yarn stash that I use to make these dishcloths. Oh well. Did I mention that this particular site I was working at happens to be across the street from the library and down the road from the craft store and the post office?

Sometimes, I think I have the best job in the world.

(Until a lamp is thrown at my head, of course. But we aren't going there.)

Mid-August Lull

I've been meaning to write, but when I come home after hours of work with a head cold and it feels like the past five days have all been repeats, it gets a bit hard to have the motivation to blog.

Not to complain about work, I'm actually enjoying myself a bit and it's not too overly stressful, most of the times. I've yet to get a stable schedule, which is a bit annoying, but I hope that settles out soon. The best part of the times when I get to work nights is that I can write and knit while I'm on shift. Of course, I still have chore and duties while I'm there, but since it's the middle of the night, I'm basically allowed to do what I like to keep myself awake.

My friends are all heading back to college, along with my brother, who was up visiting for almost three weeks. It's a bit weird knowing that he's going into his last year, which I could be too, when all I've got done is two years. And I won't be in school in two weeks like the rest of them- I'll just be working and writing and saving money for my England trip. That's still in the works, and Kaitlyn and I have it pretty well planned out. London, watch out.

I'm looking into the idea of learning the banjo and dobro this year. It'll replace the crochet and needlework on my earlier plans from last month. Somehow random string instruments are a lot more enticing than crafts that require only one needle. I'm a goose, I know.

Anyways, I better get out the door and on to work, and I'll blog again soon.

Britannia Prevails

In light of the recent riots in Britain, a lot of my English friends have been very discouraged at the state of their nation. One of them commented in an email that it was terrible that a country stereotyped as reserved and calm could demonstrate such wild senseless violence.

Then, this morning, I read an article regarding the "clean up" movement with hundreds of volunteers taking to the street armed with brooms.

No matter what seems to happen to her, Britain always seems to have civility triumph in times of unrest. Look at how the people came to together during the blitz, not to mention the rest of the war. Look at them now.

And that is just one of the reasons why I really admire Britain. Please remember her people now and pray for an end to this senseless violence soon.

Edit: Here's the article I mentioned from BBC.

Things I Love About August

The raspberries have ripened in the last three days. For some reason, they always taste best when eat three seconds after you pluck them. Any ideas why that is?

So today, since my brother is home and I didn't have work and refuse to leave the house, I made my traditional summer cobbler. This time, it was with fresh raspberries and rhubarb from our front patch. It smells absolutely delicious as it is currently cooling on the counter.

Mum is making halusky- my brother's favourite Slovak meal of mostly potatoes, cabbage, cheese and bacon. Sounds like a boy's dream meal, doesn't it?

A neighbour called as her garden is doing so well that she and her husband couldn't possibly use all the plants that they have. After skipping across the road, I became the grateful recipient of a canvas bag full of collard greens and turnip tops, plus another bag of bok choy greens. This makes me incredibly happy; it means lovely breakfasts (or rather early dinners/snacks when I return home from work the next few days) of fried greens and hopefully eggs and buttered toast and bacon. 

The sun was out- a rare occurrence for August in Alaska, but welcome anyways. It hasn't rained all day, and promises to continue that most welcome of trends. I walked about three miles or so this morning, waltzing with butterflies and dragonflies and twirling with the autumn flowers in the wind. The leaves are still green, so I was unable to dance with them as well. But the trees swayed and sang to me anyways, and I found I could walk a mile in 12 minutes- a new record for a leisurely walk for me. Later in the afternoon, I walked up to check our mail, and returned by a route through the field: it hasn't been mowed yet, so the grass was up to above my waist. 

If only more days could be like this...