There's Gold in Them Thar' Gardens!

Tis' the season. After a record setting hot sunny summer the weather seems to be morphing into a new season. Yellow has started to appear in the garden signaling the time to start smoking the salmon -thanks to neighbors Tim and Lee's huge smoker and vacuum sealer they let us use. It's time to share the garden with family and friends and putting up the bounty of summer for the winter soon to come.  Seems like Daddy-O just built the new garden beds for us.

I made a new sculpture to go with the new deck rail panels!

 The front seascape wall sculpture features an octopus, seal, halibut with kelp, starfish and a crab. I used a clear coat on some of the components so they will remain shiny and the other parts will develop a nice rust patina. With the recent rain the railing and the sculpture pieces are rusting well.

 These were the elements I plasma cut and welded up for the seascape sculpture for the front of the house. It was so large that I used chalk to draw the shape of the chimney out on the driveway and arranged and welded the pieces as I went -it worked out great!

 Daddy-O finished the new front porch, steps and even put in a brick patio that is level with the front lawn.  I welded up new railing panels for our sturdy new stairs and we really enjoyed having lunch and dinner outside watching the garden transform itself all summer.

The High Speed of Social Media Stream of Flotsam and Jetsam

Gus and I rented a fun ride for our trip in WA

I blame my kids. Smart phones were an expensive luxury but our (adult) kids wanted to be able to text and send frequent fun pics on their travels  -and so started the family of incredible handhelds. Daddy-O has even been converted and with that let's just say "pigs can fly!" We are a family of the latest iPhones and Androids with all the photo, texting, calendar, news, music and web browser apps you can tap into.

But all of this instant posting, texting, uploads, tagging and sharing has left my Blog feeling cumbersome and taking more time than using my phone for a quick update or post to the Farmers Market and to my personal Facebook accounts. Feeling overwhelmed by the social media choices available and trying to keep up I was ready to trash it all and unplug but gave myself this summer to see which social media streams will win out. So far, it appears that for ease of use it's Facebook and LinkedIn for professional work and most of my family is now also on Facebook. I don't personally Tweet though we do have my Spenard Farmers Market Facebook posts and shares being pushed out through Twitter for our Market followers. The gadget that's been left in a ziplock bag for months is my digital camera! Why lug that around when I can tap, shoot and upload with my phone that fits in my pocket?! Like the digital camera I haven't made time for my Blog like I used to and my web site has been hopelessly neglected. I don't like doing web or blog editing using my phone because the screen is too small but I opened my laptop and I did a quick review of my Facebook posts and grabbed just a few pics for my Blog that I'll share below -holy cow we have been having FUN!

Record good weather temps has let me weld up a few things for a Spenard Farmers Market garden day event I participated in. As the Community Relations and Media volunteer for the Market I'm happy to see that the Market is growing, growing and is in full swing with vendors now harvesting loads of produce bringing lots of happy market goers.

Good weather has our garden in full bloom and the new boxes Daddy-O built are producing huge, thriving greens. We held another impromptu garden party for Kristen and her friends. Kristen made a quick stop home during a layover on her way back to Boston from a research trip to the Arctic Slope. Having all my kids in one spot was a treat for Mama Llama! We found out Nigel-dog loves the hose, Black Bears love our neighborhood garbage which put us in the news... and not finding seats on Alaska Airlines Gus and I enjoyed a fun trip to Seattle on Jet Blue for the first time which is now flying seasonally to Anchorage.

At the Sequim, WA Lavender Festival Gus and I visited my parents (on the left) and toured farms, visited artists, went to street fairs and soaked up the Olympic Peninsula warm temps. Here we are at the first day of the festival -first stop was the Red Hook Beer Garden! I'm with my Grandma and Gus had to sit OUTSIDE the beer fence... hey at least I bought him a Lavender infused ice cream!

At the Festival there were three days worth of endless activities. Gus found his dream car at the classic car show, a '68 Barracuda, I bought a chicken purse in Port Townsend, and at a Quilt Show I met with vendors for my patterns, bought delicious new fabrics and bought a scissor headband for the girls at the Quilted Raven at home.

To fund more summer fun, more welding is on tap for this week as it looks like this record breaking summer of good weather is going to hold! To see what I'm up to you can find me and my latest work on Facebook if you want to be my friend! 

Just Another Snowy Day In May

Hard to believe that one week ago we had to break out the winter hats and gloves again! YES, we had a late winter storm that came with snow warnings, a snowy opening day at the Spenard Farmers Market and an unusual Bike to Work Day! The crazy snowfall set several records, the worst being the 2012-13 snow season was the 232 days LONG as of Saturday, May 17 -the longest "winter" for the city of Anchorage with a high temp of only 37 degrees which set a cold record temp and if that wasn't bad enough the 0.3 inches of snowfall set a daily record! Below is a picture of my drive to my sister's house to pick her up to go to opening day of the Spenard Farmers Market!

However, in just seven days, Mother Nature transformed Anchorage to have temps in the near record 70's! What a difference the sunshine makes -I was even able to finally weld outside and finish a mountainscape wall sculpture commission that the commercial clients have patiently been waiting for. We were waiting for a break in the weather that was supposed to happen in March!

Spring Sprung (last week) With the FIRST Sunflower of the Season

Blue-bird days last week allowed me to finally weld. I'm needing to work outside until Daddy-O gets our little garage/shop rewired and ready for mama to start art making. I made a large garden sunflower to donate to the annual Passage House luncheon to benefit the Covenant House program. 

No welding today, however...

This is what we woke to this morning... May 4th and SNOW?!  Even my car seems to be mocking Spring!

Want to BID on this Sunflower?? Come to the Passage House Luncheon!

Passage House, which is located in a residential neighborhood on the east side of Anchorage, is Covenant House Alaska’s (CHA) transitional living program for young women who are pregnant or parenting. Our program provides young mothers and their children with a place to live for up to 18 months, while they gain the necessary skills and resources to become productive, successful, independent adults who can care for themselves and their families. Passage House is the only program in the State of Alaska that provides shelter and services for young mothers and their babies.

The luncheon is a garden party theme this year and we are collecting donations for our silent auction. If you would like to make or donate an item, we are accepting garden items, lawn art, handmade crafts or goods. For more information about the event or needs, please contact Sheila Parker at 339-4406 or sparker@covenanthouseak.org

 One last weekend before the big thaw, Will and friends were riding in Turnagain Pass last week. 

It's a beaut isn't it?!

Re-Centering at the Top of the World

The famous Barrow Whale bone arch. These are the bottom jaw bones from a Bowhead Whale! Umiaq boats are on each side waiting for the Spring Whale hunt. Skins will be stretched across them.

Little did I realize how much I was in need of getting re-centered. For a special project I was fortunate enough to travel to Barrow, Alaska the farthest North American city. Attending Kivgiq an Inupiat dance and drumming festival I was witness to many culturally rich traditions and people from many villages across the North Slope Borough. Daylight finally appeared for the residents of Barrow in January and while we were there the sun provided blue-bird, crystal clear days with balmy -30 below temps the entire trip. I loved it. I’ve been pouring over my photos from the trip and appreciating the vastness and calm I felt while there. 

 This is the KIVGIQ celebration held at the Barrow, Alaska High School.  Villages from across the North Slope Borough gathered for the 5 day bi-annual event. 

We found a Ptarmigan on the side of the road and I harvested the feathers in the name of ART!

This is a fresh Polar Bear track we found out at Point Barrow -locals told us it was SMALL!

Another important experience I had this weekend was plugging in my plasma cutter and welder for a sculpture I’m making for the KNBA Art Auction. This was no easy task!  Not only am I OUT OF SHAPE slinging steel but most of my tools were still packed away and because of no shop and only the small detached garage we have with our little downtown house I needed to cut and weld outside -it’s February in Alaska…  Daddy-O provided me power and even a clean area to work in. With a couple of warm layers on, wool socks and working quickly I think I can pull it off. Snow started to fall this evening just as I was finishing the plasma cutting. I’m hoping it trails off for tomorrow so I can weld up the seal sculptures. After the trip to Barrow, not only did the weather seem BALMY I was crazy inspired and the sparks were even more beautiful from my long absence from metal work.

Sparks Among Friends

What a better way to plug in the plasma cutter and welder again than doing so among friends. Last winter a friend of ours wanted to buy her three sisters unique Christmas gifts and something that they could all do together.  She asked if I’d be willing to host a metal arts day where everyone could experience some plasma cutting, welding while creating pieces in the metal arts. SURE, I said! THEN we MOVED and my whole workshop and studio was packed up. Everyone gracefully waited while Daddy-O got me up and running so we could have our “Flame Chick” weekend! What fun. I asked each person to think of a design they'd like to make and bring a drawing or an idea on an 11x17 piece of paper. I also emailed several different ideas so we’d hit the ground running. After an overview of all the tools and some hands on practice each person was thrilled to MAKE and TAKE home at least two sculptures each! They were quick studies and what fun it was to still fit in my Carhartt’s and weld again! 

Wasn’t I just complaining about not going fishing? Look what the boy bought –A BOAT!

 And guess what the family went and did? GO FISHING, of course! Catching was a bit slow but the fishing was a hoot. The boy did a great job of learning to drive the boat while learning to read the river with Daddy-O’s help.  We’ll head out again when the next run of Silver Salmon are running and hopefully I’ll show some catching pictures!

Even Olive Dog sported her PFD. She loved the river and the boat, but she loved the raw salmon and bait that she got into even more... We DIDN'T LOVE what came out of her for the week -and had to take a trip to the VET for a Rx to clear up her "little bowel problem from her sushi overload." Gross.