fall's here, snow's a comin'

a few more photos of
yellow birch alaskan fall
(don't blink!)...
...and some of our Sunday drive and hike
up into winter, at rabbit lake.
{see the snow coming down the mountains?}

animal, vegetable, miracle

i've just finished reading
animal, vegetable, miracle,
by one of my favorite authors, barbara kingsolver.
it's a beautifully-told memoir of kingsolver's family's quest
to eat local, seasonal foods
for an entire year.
such a lovely, fun, eye-opening and nourishing book!
here are some tasty, thought-provoking morsels:

"When we traded homemaking for careers, we were implicitly promised economic independence and worldly influence. But a devil of a bargain it has turned out to be in terms of daily life. We gave up the aroma of warm bread rising, the measured pace of nurturing routines, the creative task of molding our families' tastes and zest for life; we received in exchange the minivan and the Lunchable."

“If every U.S. citizen ate just one meal a week (any meal) composed of locally and organically raised meats and produce, we would reduce our country’s oil consumption by over 1.1 million barrels of oil every week. That’s not gallons, but barrels. Small changes in buying habits can make big differences. Becoming a less energy-dependent nation may just need to start with a good breakfast.”

"April is the cruelest month, T.S. Eliot wrote, by which I think he meant (among other things) that springtime makes people crazy. We expect too much, the world burgeons with promises it can't keep, all passion is really a setup, and we're doomed to get our hearts broken yet again. I agree, and would further add: Who cares? Every spring I go out there anyway, around the bend, unconditionally. ... Come the end of the dark days, I am more than joyful. I'm nuts. "

i highly recommend reading the entire thing.
you can also check out the website,
which has oodles of simple and yummy recipes
as well as great resources for finding local food in your community.

bon appetite!

sutton on a saturday

saturday afternoon,
LJ, her mama and I
drove up to sutton (just north of wasilla)
for a group birthday party / jam session.
we got to play music with some beautiful people,
and to be out and about
in a quintessentially alaskan
(yellow birch leaves, smoked salmon,
brown red purple mountains,
log houses, good people, bluegrass music...!)
gorgeous fall day.
such a treat to spend the day with LJ,
and to get to know her mama a bit.

in thanks: september 21, 2009

in thanks for:

* jam nights with dear friends and new friends
* a very homey home
* love in the mail!
* getting to hold the hands of sweet children
* a roommate who paints and bakes
* finding a couch that is more than bearable
* running, again
* honest encouragement
* yellow leaves
* my sisters
* best friends living it up in faraway places:
elise in new york, natalie in korea and amanda in indiana

Labor Day 2009: Williwaw Lakes

2009 AK State Fair

in thanks: september 14, 2009

in thanks for:

* healthy, yummy breakfast
* a 2 week zippy car loan from carina
* trees out the window
* inspiring friends
* an upcoming music night
* sweet, excited piano students
* the sharing of poetry
* waking up well-rested
* when i finally have to guts to dig in to something hard
(helllllooooo, bioneers '09 volunteers planning...)
*sweet dahlias and nasturtiums from the garden
* staying in touch

nancy and jesse

nancy and jesse (and laura and chuck)
came to visit from memphis two weeks ago,
which was so nice!
{silver linings are a hard lesson to learn,
but i'm finding that they can be very sweet and very real,
for which i am incredibly grateful.}
on saturday, nancy and i got to hike up
to the base of the harding ice field,
just north of seward.
here are some photos of the hike,
and one from our gig that monday at taproot
with opossum in a sack.

hello, g street

finally had a little time, this afternoon,
to do some fancying up
at the new place.
the kitchen, at least,
is lovely, lovely,
flower-bird-candle-warm-colors lovely.
happily, there are multiple spaces
for rotating inspirational art --
poetry on the fridge,
quotes on the chalkboard ($2 at value village, natalie!),
a yet-to-be-installed cork board
and of course the culinary masterpieces
soon to be prepared and eaten.
in my gut, i am reminded how much
a creature of aesthetics
and homemaking
and creating
i am.