Busy or not busy? Difficult to say...

I feel like time has been out of control lately. Things have happened, good things but this stagnant weather has been difficult on the soul.

My baby turned 21 on the 21st of June this year. A milestone in the life of a young adult in America as she is finally legally drinking alcohol... I obliged the deed by buying her first legal drink. It was a shot of Jagermeister at the strangest bar in Eagle River. Emily described her experience having a Chugiak High School reunion.... She escaped it really fast and continued partying with her friends in Anchorage in more appropriate surroundings.

The next night was spent at the Moose's Tooth with her friends and my friends listening to the Third Eye Blind in Concert. It was a lot of fun and a great way to celebrate Emily's Birthday and the summer solstice. I went really close to the speakers and the stage and I was back being 21 myself with my heart pumping and ready to burst. Fun!

Since then my friends Martin and Dominique from la Cagnes in Saint-Jeannet, France are visiting. Curt and I went to pick them up in Whittier after their week of cruising the Inside Passage from Vancouver, BC. They have been busy since their arrival: visiting the area, going to the open house at the Elmendorf Air Base, going fishing (1 salmon caught by Dominique) to Lake Creek in a float plane and having dinner in a small cabin owned by friends of ours. They went to both museums in Anchorage. They went with us to a Chaine des Rotisseurs event ( wine tasting from South American with Duck, Lamb, Gorgozonla cheese fondue ??? and more cheese). They went shopping on 4th ave. They went to a party at Connie's, then we had a party at our house with Nancy and Jennifer. They went to Palmer and Eklutna. They went to Jitters. They went to our little 4th of July celebration in Eagle River and saw the fireworks while eating kettle corn popcorn and drinking Alaskan Amber beers.

This weekend Curt has taken them to Cordova and they saw a black bear on the other side of the river. They are leaving with an RV next week for Denali, Fairbanks, Chena Hotsprings etc. then will have another 5 days of fun before leaving for Europe on the 20th. They are the perfect guests so it is a real pleasure to have them around.

We are having more company coming shortly so I am getting busy around the house to get things ready for their visit. The weather is much better with higher temperature and some sunshine showing up once in a while. I had dinner at Nancy's last night on her balcony and it was warm enough not to have jackets on. The flowers are showing their colors and I think that summer is on it's way.

I also finished to read "The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak. It has been a wonderful read. I cannot stress enough how original the format and how poetic the text is. The characters are unforgettable and it is going to be one of those books that I will enjoy reading again, just because. For last 20 some pages, the words are sooooo beautiful. I would love to be able to write like that. Anyway if you are wondering what to read next I would highly recommend that book.

One more thing I guess. Bear Paw is next weekend in Eagle River and I made a small quilt for their auction that I am finishing right now. The theme is around Barnum and Bailey, the circus.

That is it for now...

Open Studios, Book Club, Reading, Movie Marathon and Friendship

It has been a busy weekend. 17 artists and architects (Michele Suchland, Kim Marcucci, Sheary Suiter, K N Goodrich, Sheila Wyne, Alexandra Sonneborn, Brenda Roper, Susan Condon, mayer sattler-smith, mmenseArchitects, Black+White Studio Architects, Karen Larsen of creativespace, Erin Pollock, Garry Kaulitz, Sonya Kelliher-Combs, and Linda Infante-Lyons) were opening their studios for a tour organized by the International Contemporary Art Galley on Saturday. Jennifer decided to be spontaneous and joined Nancy and I for the Tour. It was a great experience to learn about what is behind those pictures on the wall... The reasons for their creation. The day ended with a delicious diner at Jessica and Mark. Since 4 members of the book club were present we decided to "pick" the selection for the October meeting. Drum roll........ the winner is: Room with a View by E. M. Forster. A true classic. Now that I am older... I might get something different out of this Victorian Novel. I have also gone to Florence 4 years ago and that might be fun to "visit" it through this book once again. Like Jennifer put it "It was a good day".
Today was yoga in midday and playtime in the afternoon with Terry. She took me to lunch and the bead store (Alaska Beads Company) and Seams Like Home. In between all those activity I found some time to read two short stories from Huraki Murakami's book, three chapters of Michael Chabon's book and three chapters from The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. Tonight I went for a Movie Marathon with three movies. Pretty easy and careless movies: 27 Dresses, No Reservations and Martian Child. Pretty cute all around on the surface. I had seen the German movie "Mostly Martha" that was done before the American version "No Reservations. This one is simplified a lot. A real hollywood remake not much to think about.
Time to sleep... I am starting "The Medicine Woman" tomorrow, the title of my work. I got some really cute mini bottles for it today at the bead shop. Can't wait to get started.

ROBIN DES BOIS/ ROBINHOOD

There is something in my house that Robin wants. He appeared about a month ago and has decided to take down the window in the kitchen. He sits on the railing and flies into the glass panel over and over again. I say fly but he hops into it. He goes beak first and then splat on the transparent surface. What to do...? Well I have tried removing anything colorful and shiny on the inside. I have cut out of silhouette of a very menacing bird of prey and hang it at the window. I have bought a hanging basket full of geranium and placed it on the balcony. I have talked to him. I left the door open so he could come in and help himself. I have sent my ferocious Gaia (who by the way likes to stop and smell the Basil once in a while). To no avail. He comes back and I don't get his message. So I have decided that he might have hit the glass once to many times and that it has affected his brain tragically. (this picture shows how many times he hit the glass since we washed the window again... two days ago!!!!!!) He might also have a suicide wish or it might just be fun to him. He might be addicted to banging windows. Hard to say. I wish him well.

Elton John

You know when you listen to one song that brings you back to that special time? Well I would say that Elton John has done it for me over the years to set those flash backs with many of his songs. I was lucky enough to get 4 tickets to his concert on Friday night. Curt invited a very nice couple to come with us. (Todd and Susan A.). The three concerts (two in Anchorage, one in Fairbanks) were sold out in an hour for each. Alaska was ready for him and gave him a welcome that he claims never to forget. The Sullivan Arena (Our hockey stadium) was the site for the event. It was a strange concert with some people behaving like they were at the hockey game or in front of their TV, having regular conversation as they were eating their pretzel and Velveeta cheese and drinking their beers. You would think that they were not listening at all and then all of a sudden they would start singing along knowing all the words. Too funny. The acoustic was bad I would say but the thrill to see Sir Elton in person and listening to his legendary songs were enough to forget about the negative aspects. He was so giving to us Alaskan. Three hours of piano playing and singing by himself. Just him and his piano, some lights to add to the drama and voila. What an evening. Elton John was so grateful about the crowd , who roared every time that he stood up that he decided to sign autographs for a good 15mn. I even saw a red Dansko being handed to him. I was also impressed by the way he has aged into his stardom. He is a lot less flashy, a bit more fleshy, doesn't want to appear to still be a 20 years old "Rockstar" like others of his generation tend to do. His first song "It's a little bit funny this feeling inside" is my favorite of his and brings me back way back when my sister and I were still sharing a bedroom at home and we had his small vinyl that we would listen over and over. His last was "I'm still standing after all these years...." and standing he is and very tall in my mind. Thank you Sir!

When someone comes to call in Alaska

There are two types of visitors that come to call in Alaska. The locals and then the out-of-staters... I will explain. Sunday we had both of those coming. The first one came just across from my house. We will call her Mrs Moose because being called a Cow doesn't sound as nice even if you are one... Junior was in the bushes not far from Mom but out of my lens allowance. Our neighborhood doesn't get Moose very often. Twice a year in the Spring and in the Fall they will migrate through but never too long.

The second one came in the form of 42 women from New Zealand. Half way around the World from us. The island of the Kiwi close to Australia. So when JoAnn Grueber sent the word out that they were coming through our neighborhood I was sure I was going to be there for welcoming them properly. They were on a cruise from Vancouver to Seward and on their way to Denali and Fairbanks. The usual tourist corridor. After getting lost in Eagle River for 45mn... the bus containing the precious quilters from on the side of down under finally parked in front of Dina's Cozy Cabin quilt shop and the fun began. Such a site to see the shop fill up with smiling happy ladies with gorgeous British accent marveling at the fabric, their prices, the books etc. There was a nice cake and refreshments for everyone. Our guild had made a nice appearance with about 20 of us. So nice. The editor of the New Zealand Quilters Magazine presented our Librarian with copies to add to our Library. We had a little show and tell. So overall it was a very well spent time. Quilting has no frontier.

Sometimes locals blend with out-of-towners...Tonight was "Wed. at Pat's". A gathering of artists at Pat Sims' house. An event that happens every six weeks year round. Always inspiring. You never know who will show up. We enjoy each other's company by sharing food, beverage and conversation, then, a Show and Tell. Tonight was no exception and we had some really tasty food. A blend of vegetarian dishes, homemade almond ice cream, rice pudding and mango sauce for dessert. Fran Reed was there as well as George Taylor who brought a friend visiting from Virginia, Stevii Graves, who had just helped juried quilts for the APNQ show in Seattle. See Jack Dalton fly. He presented his new Raven costume and brought a friend that collaborated on a political art presentation. Deb Hardmann was there showing her fun felted quilts. I had nothing to show and very little to tell. I have not worked since December. Toooooo long...! Anyway it was a very pleasant evening. Linda Weatherwax (what a fabulous name, especially when you do batik...) showed a wonderful reupholstered chair with her own batik fabric. George showed us his very extensive fast pace collection of work he has accumulated from a class he is taking from Gail Harker in Oak Harbor, WA. Nancy who is a weaver asked about ways to reach out to new venues for her yardage pieces that she is working on right now. Janie Smith showed us her new visor(Cincinatti Reds) that she covered with the traditional red, black and white colors of the Haida blankets. She is planning on wearing it to Juneau where a large concentration of Alaskan native communities are coming for a festival. She can wear it proudly.