This is a lovely, lovely French film, made in the style of Love Actually (another of my favorite movies!), with lots of different story lines and interesting characters who all meet at one time or another. It's funny, has gorgeous music, great acting, characters with dignity who know how to have a conversation. If you can eat French bread and cheese (and maybe have some nice wine, too?) while you watch, that would be great. Bon appetit!

This past weekend was one of the finest I've had in a long while. It helped that it was a three-day weekend, and that each day had 18+ hours of daylight...

Saturday: I went flying with Alex. AMAZING!! We left the Birchwood Airport in Eagle River, flew to the Knik Glacier, where we landed to walk Whitney (Alex's very nice dog), then left again to go to Sheep Mountain Lodge (about 100 m. north of Anchorage) for a yummy dinner. It was a dreamy day. The scenery was incredible, and Alex was the perfect tour guide and teacher (I got to fly, too! Very, very cool.).
Sunday: Lisa, Wendy and I drove to Kenai Lake (north of Seward) to meet Stephanie and Matt for kayaking. I just love those girls, and it was a fun drive. The kayaking part was lovely, too! (Wendy and I made a great team in the Sea Slug/Cheetah/Cheeto.) Then back to Anchorage to Erin's barbecue.

Today, Monday, I fed Cooper, my lovable dog sitting charge, then went to the museum to do some tours, then hiked on Kincaid beach with Michael (we saw bald eagles!), and then went to the Bear Tooth Theatre Pub with Michael, Lisa and Danny to see Avenue Montaigne (great movie).

I have to work tomorrow but am thinking of taking a rest day on Wednesday...

Every Monday this summer, I'll be giving two tours at the Anchorage Museum of History and Art. The 2:00 tour is in the Alaska Gallery, which is a gallery of Alaskan landscapes. I've been giving that tour for a few months, now, and I love it! It's a great chance to gush about sublime Alaska and the terribly interesting people here. The noon tour is of Changing Hands: Art Without Reservation 2, which is a traveling show from a collection curated by the Museum of Arts and Design in NYC. It features contemporary works from Native artists who live west of the Mississippi River (including Alaska, Western Canada, and Hawaii). I highly recommend stopping by if you get the chance! (You can make it a lunch date and have some tomato basil soup at the museum cafe, too... Yum!)

The piece on the left is by Clarissa Hudson,
Born 1956, Juneau, Alaska
Totemic Theory 2, 2001.
Canvas, masonite, wood frame, acrylic, gold leaf
75 1/4 x 16 x 17 in.
Collection of the artist.

There were times when I could not afford
to sacrifice the bloom of the present moment
to any work, whether of head or hands.
Sometimes, in a summer morning,
having taken my accustomed bath,
I sat in my sunny doorway
from sunrise till noon, rapt in a reverie,
amidst the pines and hickories and sumachs,
in undisturbed solitude and stillness,
while the birds sang around.
I grew in those seasons
like corn in the night,
and they were far better
than any work of the hands would have been.
They were not time subtracted from my life,
but so much over and above my usual allowance.

- Henry David Thoreau

This past weekend was INCREDIBLE!! It felt like the first days of summer, at 65 degrees and sunny. I had an insanely beautiful weekend with some of my favorite people. Friday was singing at the Taproot with Blake and Scott (and other assorted fabulous people) for Amber's last hurrah. Saturday was Lisa's kayak party at Goose Lake, which included some of the ablsolute best stuff around: food, friends, water, frisbee, music, cute dogs :). And yesterday, Sunday, was bible study cookout in Wendy's backyard, where we soaked up the sun and finished up Esther.

For you folks at home, here are some of those people I keep talking about... Enjoy :).

Stephanie, Lisa and Matt in their new (handmade) kayaks!

Scott, Angela and Sable

Erica, Danny and Erin

Ian and Justin

Wendy, Tony and Bobo

Michael (probably thinking, "Amy, would you PLEASE stop taking pictures of me??")

Erin and Justin

Justin and Amy singing

(The Amazing) Matt and Stephanie

I just looked out the window of my new bedroom. There's a tree that had just a hint, a blur, of green three days ago that already has small leaves!!! It's going to be incredible to watch things grow in the Alaskan spring. (We already have about 17 hours of sunlight a day!)

There's always an amazing assortment of things to do in Anchorage, and about 10 of them are happening this coming Tuesday. Here's one:

Join Us For Our 8 ^th Annual

RACHEL CARSON CELEBRATION

Remembering the 100^th Anniversary of her birth

In commemoration of the ecologist’s life and work

Alaska Community Action on Toxics (ACAT) invites you to come and learn about organic gardening and healthy alternatives to pesticides in commemoration of the birthday and life of Rachel Carson—the scientist and author of Silent Spring.

Tuesday,May 22, 2007, 5:30-8:30PM - FREE Public Event!

Rain or Shine

Kincaid Park Chalet

9401 WestRaspberry Road, Anchorage

Entertainment&Presenters

Film – Silent Spring

FoodVendors&Information Tables

AlaskaWild Plant Walk
Chemical-FreePlant Starts&Compost Tea

Join us for an evening of assorted music, and learn about organic gardening and healthy alternatives to pesticides at this free event.

Sponsored by Alaska Community Action on Toxics, The Alaska Women’s Environmental Network, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

For more schedule and event information, please contact Alaska Community Action on Toxics (ACAT) at 907.222.7714, info@akaction.net, or www.akaction.org.

When I moved to Anchorage this past fall, one of the first people I met was Lisa. She manages the sheet music place in town (the music 'mecca'), and when I asked about a keyboard stand, she sent me to Justin's shop, where I met Justin who invited me to the Lion's Den for Open Mic, where I saw Lisa again, who introduced me to a whole ton of people, including my lovely "Ruth Girls" (the bible study girls) and the Parrots (Ian and Matt) and a whole other assorted crew of fabulous people who have become great friends! I will forever think of her as my social networker in Anchorage :o). (She is also an amazing gourmet cook and violin teacher!)

These are pics of Lisa with her kayak. This was a few weeks ago, sans top. It will be finished, she says, this weekend!! Just in time for a kayak party and then a two-week trip up the AK coast. Whoo-hoo!!