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.

. . .

NE makes the NYT

Link. Ainsworth, mentioned in the article, is about 5 hours northwest of Omaha, and 3 hours northeast of North Platte. It's also two towns over from the infamous Bassett, the present home of Dr. J.C. Frankly, the article is as cheesy in places as the Lincoln Journal Star is constantly. But the coolness of wind turbines, now producing 1% of the energy used in Nebraska, apparently, can't be denied.
. . .

to-day

Today is Flag Day. It is also Lulu's first birthday! So far she has celebrated with some forced (by me) sleeping in and otherwise completely normal breakfast routine. But yesterday she got to go for a long walk AND meet a bunch of people at both my house and L&EMM's house AND run around off-leash AND eat sticks. So, perhaps the real celebration was the last day of her first year.

Anyhoo, here are some photos from this morning of my long, skinny, lanky Lulu.






. . .

I took this photo for Een Per Dag, but something else bumped it off that day (RLY, a real woman). Anyway, this is a stairstep in my parking garage. Can you see the woman's face in it? It's almost a profile. There's a brow, a forehead, an eye, hair, and a nose and mouth, sort of. This picture is a little blurry. But I see her every day, four times a day, if I look. I wonder what her name is.

. . .

HAIR HAT

Must be seen to be believed.

and yesterday!

I ran this!

. . .

you tell me.

How's a person supposed to live in a city without an afghani or an ethiopian restaurant, hm? how?
. . .

on buying stuff

There is something about moving that seems to result in the acquisition of more stuff. I get rid of stuff, then I move, then I buy more stuff right after the move. It doesn't even necessarily have anything to do with the new house. It did in New York, since that was the first place I lived after I sold all my housing accoutrements and went bopping about the planet, but not really in North Platte, or here. I guess I have reached the limit of house-necessities for a place this size (except for maybe a couple of sawhorses and a door for an adjustable work table, which maybe I can get on freecycle or craigslist. oh and a frame for my diploma). In North Platte, I was externally limited by the fact that all the stores there suck. However, that didn't seem to stop me from buying plenty o' Wal-Parts crap or lots and lots of garage sale shopping.

This time around, I have been trying to limit this phenomenon, to pretty much no avail. All the stores in Omaha do not suck. With the exception of two slip-ups, however, I am keeping a good lid on buying stuff I don't need (or so I reassure myself) (except for cloth).

Weirdly and wonderfully, the most expensive thing I have been wanting for the longest time (other than a car and a house), a digital SLR, just fell in to my lap in the form of a long-term borrow--so I feel good about the temporary freeness of that. This also frees up my mental purchasing power for a sewing machine (not yet, but soon, soon, my precious) and a (I am so excited about this) digital-radio-ipod-alarm-clock. I can wake to the dulcet tones of NPR and put away clothes (a task that seems to haunt me) and sew on my future machine to the dulcet tones of whatever I want. I hope once I get the sewing machine there won't be anything else that pops up as a critical purchase.

If anybody has any sewing machine recommendations, or pos/neg opinions regarding particular features of her own machine, I'd be glad to hear them. I have an antique sewing machine now, which works ok but is very heavy and not particularly versatile. It is fine if all I want to do is sew straight seams. If I want to learn to do any fancy quilting or sew zig zag lines, as all the patterns seem to call for these days, it is not fine. I think I am going to put off the SM purchase for a while, but I'm going to work out which one it'll be in the meantime.

. . .

I ran this

. . .

Lulu chasing her tail

. . .

o! ma! ha!

Well, folks, I like it here in Omaha. It is a nice combination of midwesterly chilled-outness and big-city options. One thing I liked about Lincoln that just didn't happen in New York was that it was easy to see people and we can and do at the last minute. Omaha shares that quality. Like New York (and unlike North Platte), Omaha has some really good restaurants and cultural events (although it obviously can't match NYC in depth or breadth). And while my Lincoln social scene has been pretty stagnant for the last ten years, and NP had no social scene to offer at all, young, interesting folks in Omaha are new to me, plentiful, relaxed, and easy to meet. In NYC, the friend options were actually too plentiful--it required a ridiculous amount of extra effort to see people again that I liked but had met only once, plus most people there already feel like they have so many people to see that they don't have time to make new friends. Things were a little different at the beginning of law school, but it quickly fell into that pattern. In Omaha, especially if people are from Omaha, they seem to appreciate new faces. I like it.

And yeah, work's fine, good people, challenging, what-have-you. My place is nice. I need a roommate though. And Lulu and I have been going to obedience class. Obedience is still elusive, but it's worth 6 thursdays to try to catch it.

I'll try to post a little more often here. I've been really excited about the per-dag blogs recently, but I do have a bunch of photos that didn't make the EPD cut that still merit a look (I think, anyway).
. . .

new blog

http://haikuperdag.blogspot.com

...

April 4, 2008 held much for my camera. I think the sun, warmth, easy trip to Lincoln, and the blooming weekend all combined into a happy, photorific day.

Oh for an apostrophe. This place marks my turning spot on Dodge.


I love old mail shafts. The one in my new office building's got this handy reminder on it. I infer from Mr. Zip's pigmentation that it's patriotic to be red. Alcoholics and Native Americans rejoice!


Some views from my parking garage:

buildings:


buildings, including handy dandy Douglas County state courthouse:


buildings, including handy dandy federal courthouse (boring building at lower left):


Male pattern building:


Various street circles:



Leaving the garage, this is the view on my back porch, all ready for three little kittens. It's hard to imagine who else might sit there so primly, all in a row:



A sign that could serve many purposes:


A sign with maybe fewer purposes:


More signs, I guess. These, pizza related:




The Future Farmers of America were in Lincoln last weekend, I surmise. I find this amusing but I can't really say why:


Some stripey jeans, passing by:



And a flock of funnily lit bar photos.

How to make a button and other useful facts

Here's how to make a button. Watch it, it's funny.



Other Useful Facts:

Tierney is the dog-park kid.



This bucket has a hole in it.



I am approaching the end or the packing, only to look down the barrel of unpacking.


. . .

the last week begins

This time, for HDL, notes on top.

I actually washed the ice trays before I packed them. (I suppose this may still be news to someone out there--I am moving to Omaha on Sunday [same job, different office]).


Adjectives that seem to suggest more than pizza:


Breakfast at Penny's. Tasty, and friendly, but not so easy on the estomago. They throw sugar packets at you when you read at the bar (minimum of two people at the booths).


A North Platte (the river) walk,



accompanied by my dog friend.


At what they call "the rides" at Cody Park.




NP's version of Japan's naval flag.



There should be more of these in parks:


Cody's a pretty good park: a river, "the rides," elk, geese, various playgrounds, frisbee-golf, camping, and outdoor fireplaces. Plus, or so I've heard, gay men are free to gather there at night! Poor things, they have to go somewhere. NP does not strike me as a particularly gay-friendly place. I like its parks though.

. . .

spray painting is more exhausting than you might think

. . .