p.s.

I feel like I have done Alaskan architecture and J&B a disservice by forgetting to mention that unlike a lot of other buildings there, their house is beautiful.





Also, there is this cool museum:





. . .

the post hoc couch report

So, Alaska was sweet,


I saw a moose,



I supported insulation with my head under a house on stilts (sadly no picture), I learned about the importance of getting water away from the house and how to make a trashcan into a rain receptacle



and the miracle of abandoned cabins that can somehow support life (due to the raspberries growing on top)


and cooking in shoprooms.



I also learned a ton about aurora borealis. They are made by SOLAR WIND (electrons spewed by the sun at us) hitting our ATMOSPHERE (electrons colliding with neon and oxygen gases make green and red lights) and traveling in our MAGNETIC FIELD (hence the waves). An electron can bounce back and forth from one pole to the other and back in 2 SECONDS. Sadly, I didn't get to see an aurora, but I spose that's yet another reason to go back--I plan on March '10 --anybody with me? I'll have some more pictures up from AK shortly.

Despite the fact that I have not felt the call to knit since tank tops became weather-appropriate clothing, Alaska inspired me to knit a whole scarf, which you see here before you. And although I pshawed the idear of an 8-foot scarf, including tassels (a first!), this here baby's accidentally longer than 8 feet. Which is longer than the panels of insulation I supported with my head.




In other news, the Em-Ms had a baby too (I'm so proud!):


And man! still more to report: Yesterday was my first Ice Cream and Charity Goat Social, in which various Omahans, one Lincolnitrix and one Minneapolitrix consumed my free, hard-won-essay-contest ice cream and raised enough money for possibly three goats! There are pictures from that too, but not at the moment. Much gratitude especially to SWT, without whom throwing a party would be a ton more work and less fun, and upon whose initiative the Charity Goat half of the Social was born. And of course MRG: she wins my Most Dedicated Socialite, Having Traveled the Farthest. Good work, everyone. Truly above and beyond.

Finally, Lulu and I have some new roomies. SH and her golden dude, Bernadette, are moving in tomorrow. I think it will be the best 6 weeks of Lulu's life (if not mine too).

. . .

furthests

This is, according to my half-assed internet research, the furthest north, beating Savonlinna, Finland, by 3 degrees latitude, and the furthest west, beating Seattle by 100 degrees longitude, I have ever been.

. . .

dispatch from the northern 1

14 hours of travel, and! I am here in Alaska, and, true to summer form, it is chilly and the sun don't set (more or less). Frankly, I don't quite understand how they do it here in the winter--it's August, and last night I slept under one sheet, one down blanket, one quilt, and two wool blankets (and was wearing two shirts, a hoodie, and a down vest). But it might be worth a trip to find out--B tells me the 30-below, outdoor parties are somehow wonderful. Anyway, the trees here are pointy, the squirrels small, the water conserved, and the dogs snuggly. B/c of permafrost, underground water pipes, tanks, and septic tanks are not possible, at least out here in the woods. So, J&B have enormous water tanks inside their house (in the room that is currently serving as kitchen, living room and dining room, pending some remodeling). They pay by the gallon to get the tanks filled, so there is not a huge amount of flushing going on. Water pressure is provided by a balloon inside their (also in-house) water pump. Alaska is curiously reminiscent of West Africa in that it is not the buildings (at least, beauty-wise--mechanics-wise they are fascinating) but the people and the environment that attract. The DIY culture is palpable. J&B are electrifying, insulating, and dry-walling approximately one-third of their house all by themselves. Also, the squirrels do shrooms--I haven't seen that yet, but I'm told it's pretty easy to tell the difference between a tripping squirrel and a nontripping squirrel.

. . .