knitting on the dock of the bay

i would rather be here (on my sad little crumbling dock at our cabin) doing this (knitting) than anywhere else on earth. this was one of those days i will carry in my heart forever. it was sunny on the bay, and shirt sleeves warm. there was the nicest slight breeze that kept the loathsome flesh eating no-see-ums away. i hadn't yet started work at alpenview, so my time was my own. really really my own because my husband and son had returned to town the day before, and i was all by myself for the first time in a very long time. didn't have to stop and make a meal or find a hammer for someone. didn't have to start the generator or put gas in a 4 wheeler or listen to classic rock (thank you sweet clouds in the sky.) it was bliss. i spent the whole day on that dock knitting, reading, watching jellyfish float by. not a sound except for the gulls and the water slapping on the beach. it was bliss. it smelled warm and green and sea-weedy.

it was this moment in time that i kept with me during the past week. i had jury duty all last week. i've served on a jury one other time, years ago. it wasn't a messy trial or anything horrid. it was pretty cut & dry. the biggest thing i remember about it was that i had a 4 week old baby girl jury duty was keeping me from, and that enraged me. it messed up our schedules, our feedings, our everythings. but we made it through.

this was not one of those trials. we had to sit and listen to icky details. we had to relive lots of angry emotions. we had to quietly observe lawyers guiding and picking and wheedling. the entire situation left me feeling nauseous and unclean and unsettled. it wasn't black and white, and i resented being put in the position of having to make such a monumental decision about another beings' life. i don't think any of us felt like we left the jury box as better people for having fulfilled our civic duty.

i kept my day on the dock in my heart all week long.

i love my country, i understand the importance of our judicial system and all it entails.

but i really hope i never have to go through that again.

i am looking forward to tomorrow, monday, and a clean, creative week!

what i did this summer...viewmaster style

i need to confess when it comes to downloading, editing, and generally trying to make my photos look better, i have a severe lack of patience. i thought a new camera would help me overcome this problem, but all it has done is enable me to take even more photos which then have to be dealt with. so i am trying this, a photo mosaic. which i think is probably really really cheating, but in what i hope will be viewed as creative cheating. i took hundreds of photos this summer. i'm looking at this as a summary. a dim sum of many beautiful days on ugak bay.

it was a great summer. alpenview lodge hosted clients from all over the globe. it was fun to meet such interesting folks, and watch them enjoying all our home has to offer. we had pretty good weather, with a few delayed switch outs, but for the most part everyone got to where they needed to be almost when they needed to be there. the fishing was great, with the halibut and rockfish covering nicely for the late silver run.

as always it was hard to leave and return to town. we really are looking forward to the time we can retire, and snuggle in to the cabin for good.

(i think you can click on the photos to enlarge them...if i did it correctly...)

invisible me...

i guess i've kinda fallen off the blogging map...whoops.

once back in town, life kicked backed in. it's amazing how easy it is to get sucked up into the "hurry up and get all this stuff done, and oh don't forget about this and that" mode. every year i swear i won't fall into the holiday busy busy busy trap, and every year i still do. (next year i am not going to...)

now xmas is all packed up. school has started again. my daughter, who got to come home for christmas, is gone again, much too quickly. my air force son, who did not get to come home for christmas, is showing up in some pretty entertaining photos on facebook.... i'm glad to know he wasn't alone for the holidays, even if he isn't glad to know i lurk on facebook.

it's very quiet at home, time to get to work on all those things i've been very good at setting aside. we're having some pretty nasty weather which makes it even easier. now i'm off to finish the xmas cards that have turned into the new year cards...

then i'll have a clear conscience, and can get back in the blog groove.
wishing you a peaceful and warm 2011