tidal waves

hey ya'll. so it turns out moving and starting over never gets easier. yesterday, i was chatting with my sister on the phone about how it's been pretty lonely up here, and she was all, "yeah whatevs. that's what you always say." colleen isn't usually one to pity me, as you may have guessed. andit's true! i do always say that. and it's not exactly fair either. i mean, do i go over to my friends' homes to knit and watch project runway and drink gin every night (aka what i did with all my closest pals in chicago)? no, i don't. have the folks at my job been pretty forgiving of my constant whining about having no friends and no life and no shame? yes, their level of tolerance is shockingly high. and! i have found that if you text them, they will come!

everything comes in waves up here. one minute i am hopeful about my social prospects, the next i find myself in bed with my cat and bruce willis and a ball of yarn. alone. again. one day, my job seems amazing! and i am going to raise a billion bucks with my charm and meeps! and everyone will wonder how they survived without me! and the next day i am a ball of nerves because i couldn't sleep all night because my thoughts were spinning around legacy giving and membership and grant reports and why in anyone's right mind would you hire me as your development manager?! ooooone minute i am dying to have my own place and the next i am praising god for the blessing of such a nurturing roommate who is full of light and joy and laughter. i CAN do this. i CANNOT do this. i AM going to make friends. no one will EVER like me! whew! i tell ya! you should NOT envy my brainheart.

but! but but but but! but but! oh my gosh i am living my dreeeeeams! here are just a handful of the reasons that i know this is right and good and yes yes yes.

first of all there's this...

and this...

and this guy too...

and then there's my job. see that amazing construction paper rendition of our schooner, hjordis? yeah, i made that. see that totally lame thermometer behind it? that's the best they could do in the past for fundrasing. yeah that's right. i am kickin' ass.

below, me eating chowder for the first time. it was basically amazing. every year in june, we have a wooden boat show where we display wooden boats but more importantly all the local businesses donate vats of chowder to raise $$$. with some wood-fire baked bread and a bowl of warmth, it's hard to complain *all the time* about the weather (instead, i just complain most of the time).

here's a giant snowman during the summer solstice puppet pageant. yes, you read that correctly. this year's pageant theme told the story of northern minnesota's never-ending winter this year, which apparently is "quite unusual". as if that comforts me somehow.

here is an absolutely delicious recipe for salad if you're looking for one. thanks, rachel!

is that a rainbow over lake superior? yeah, it's basically hawaii without the sea turtles, tropical fish, warmth, or sushi. or sandy beaches. or volcanoes. or a lot of other amazing things in hawaii.

some other lovely views of the harbor!

look! i made a handloom!

and then wove a utah landscape superimposed on lake superior with a sunset! aka dreamland. it's my first weaving! *so proud*

below is where wood-turning instructor jim took me to harvest birch bark, which can be used for canoes, baskets, boxes, ornaments, and beyond! can you imagine a more magical scene than the sun setting over a daisy field as you shave away at birch trees (that were going to be logged anyway)? no, you can't, but that's because you also can't see the eighty-thousand mosquitoes sucking on me limb from limb.

once you slice down the top layer of bark, if it's a good tree, the bark will just pop away in an incredibly satisfying way.

look at me! i can harvest too! guess how many cuts i got from the knife? hint: remember this entry? i think the total came to four slices, but only one serious gash requiring a band-aid. thanks, disney princesses!

one of the funny things about living here is that because my social life isn't flourishing, i'm not eating and drinking out even half as much as i did in chicago. you would think this means i'm saving up wads of cash. however, i am not because i am essentially incapable of resisting the urge to buy every craft i see. here are some of the amazing craft pieces i have purchased in just six weeks.

these wooden bowls are turned on an electric lathe by jim sannerud. i have really enjoyed learning to eat with wooden utensils. food just tastes happier this way. not to mention, these bowls are beautiful.

the very first instructor that i met on my very first day at north house was jason hovatter. he makes - among other incredible leather work - 10th century turned shoes. and for the price of two chisels, he made me these custom slip-ons. as you may or may not know, one of the biggest tragedies in my life is that my feet are two very different sizes, so when i found out that i could have shoes that fit me correctly and would last forever, it was more or less the greatest day of my life.

also, i may have purchased something woodsy for my sister - despite her lack of pity - because her big 3-0 is coming up in august! wee!

and of course, what blog post would be complete without some nacho cheese. my roommate has really fallen in love with nacho (i mean, how could you not?). she likes to prop up crates and stools for him so he can look out any door or window he pleases. she calls him the lion king.

one day, roommate wanted to put a puzzle together, but nacho thought it would be a better idea to pull the tablecloth and spill the pieces everywhere. great strategy, nacho.

nacho finally slipped through my fingers and ran away for a night. he came home promptly at 5am and then slept all the way through until the next day basically. it made for some easy knitting.

the picture above was taken five minutes before the picture below, in which i was laying out the pieces of a quilt i'm working on for my auntie. within seconds of having a project that needed to be smoothed out on the floor, nacho gave me some critical feedback.

we're happy.

grand adventure, grand marais

Surprise! A lot has happened but don't get your hopes up that it's craft-related. Well it is and it isn't. Read on! After I returned home from Hawaii, my family entered a difficult season as we've faced one health crisis after another, none of which seem to have any certain timeline for healing. The body is so resilient sometimes, and yet other times it is astonishing how quickly it can shut down – and with no explanation.

So that's where the whole crafting goal started to wain, and then – wouldn't you know – I went ahead and applied for that job at my dream organization which I mentioned back in February. And against all odds, they hired me on as their full-time development manager! One slight hiccup...it's not in Chicago...it's in Minnesota...like northern Minnesota...like 45 miles from the Canadian boarder Minnesota. You can imagine how thrilled my family was.

After putting in my notice at the Adler, working out all the thrilling logistics of finding a new place to live, buying a car, training my replacement at work, saying good bye to everyone I love (AGAIN), receiving endless reminders on how cold and buggy it is up there (ya don't say, now do ya?), I have traversed across the Midwest with my favorite Nacho guy (a surprisingly quiet journeyer, praise the heavens!) to the chilly northlands.

And it's beautiful. It's like summer camp and vacation and Awamaki and Kimball Ave and Calvin all wrapped up into one idyllic package. “Canoe” is on the tip of every tongue...as is “timber framing,” “knitting,” “community,” “woodfire pizza,” and “we're so excited you're here!” I wish I wasn't so terribly lonely already, but I'm sure friends will come with time. I wish I could transplant everyone I love up here, but I'm sure there will be some wonderful visits (right, guys?!).

When I left, everyone wished me well on my “next adventure.” And while I appreciate the sentiment, things feel different this time around. I guess it's because this is the first time I'm really expecting and hoping for this to be a permanent relocation. I guess I've also played this “dream job” game enough times to know that every organization is broken in some way. Every community has bitter seeds. All tourism is exhausting, even if done thoughtfully. So yeah, for the millions of people that asked if I'm excited, yes, I am. But I'm not going into this blindly for once. My skin is a little thicker and my perspective a little deeper, richer (I hope?). My heart is not singing....yet. But Nacho? He's really really happy. And that's enough for me today.

Anyway, here's a picture of my new home and another from my ten-minute walking commute to work:

In other words, life could be worse.

booze, brussles sprouts, brides, and beyond

i am happy to report that it has been a successful week of creative activity! here are few projects i've been working on:

1. letter writing. don't we all have a list as long as santa's of the people to whom we'd like to write a nice, thoughtful letter? i spent a bit of time last sunday writing to one of my loveliest friends, my old college roommate, tina. tina wrote me a letter a couple months ago and expressed skepticism toward whether or not letter writing is a good form of communication because it is very one-sided and may seem quite vain to write all about one's life. i, however, LOVED receiving her letter because a) i feel so special receiving a letter b) especially from someone who i rarely see anymore and c) it's such an incredible experience to have gone so much time without seeing her face or hearing her voice but being able to immediately discern that she is still very much the friend who could eat a gallon of peanut butter and listen to the same twothirtyeight song on repeat for weeks on end. i thought it would be easy to crank out a letter in an hour, but it turns out writing by hand is a slow process and my little out-of-practice fingers started to cramp up. love is pain.

2. cooking! this year for lent i decided to [try to] give up eating out. this has had mixed but mostly successful results. i will say that poutine from barrlehouse flat has been my achilles heel, but overall it has been a great opportunity to try some cooking. on monday, i made pesto pasta from scratch as well as these bad boys and learned that i really truly do like brussles sprouts, which for anyone who knows me and my list of hated foods (i'm looking at you, anyone who ever entertained the idea of me coming over for dinner and ultimately abandoned it), let us all rejoice! also, i've been experiementing with omeletts, and have found that my current favorite quick recipe is as simple as an egg, blue cheese, and onions. YUM.

3. bridal shower decorations. my department at work only includes four people, so when one of us announced she was eloping to italy with her fiancee, it was decided that as the only person under 30 (and also the only person who had never been to a bridal shower), i would be in charge of decorations. for just six bucks at target, i put together this little soiree!

i know it probably doesn't look like much to you, but it honestly came out better than i think any of us expected! also, after hours of agonizing, i decided to make these little guys as a tasty finger food snack:

a little caprese kabob! many thanks and a thousand apologies to stuart for tolerating an inordinate (at least i hope it was inordinate and not average) amount of whining and anxiety about what to prepare. what a trooper.

4. boozing. i've been sick all weekend, so i thought i'd try to make a hot toddy for the first time from scratch. i sampled from this recipe, using way more honey and lemon for my throat and just ground up spices instead of fancy stick versions. go booze medicine!

5. knitting. still pumping a way at my puffs. my goal of 100 by april was obviously ridiculous, but i think 50 is definitely within reach! currently at 43!

6. quilting. i tried yesterday with limited success to continue working on my t-shirt quilt, but nacho is suffering from major cabin fever given the snowy weather lately, which mean he was all about attacking my little squares. i tried for maybe 45 minutes but ultimately the cat won.

7. weaving. got back to work on my little loom. still not sure i have it right, but time will tell.

look! i get a gold star for productivity!

2 months? not 2 bad!

well, february was not 2 awesome, but actually, i've been hanging in there. i am the first to admit that i haven't been doing the best job of posting or even staying true to my goal everyday, but here's what's been going on (aka excuses):
1. i went on vacation! so sue me! it's hard getting back into the swing of things, and i was pacing myself while on vacation doing some puffs here and there. mom told me she was surprised by how *few* puffs i had made in the end (thanks for the cheerleading), but a) you (whoever you are) are lucky i did anything on vacation (because i do it all for "you") and b) i ran out of stuffing, so how much puffing can you do when there's no stuffing to stuff with? i rest my case.
2. i am trying to do other things! believe it or not, i also try to have a social life, work out, and find the motivation to clean the bathroom every once in a while. and most importantly, i like to spend a lot of time doing absolutely nothing but serve as a heated mattress for nacho and walt. i live a balanced life, people!
3. i've been reading! i just finished the golden compass by philip pullman, and it was awesome. i didn't like the voice at first, but i got sucked in very quickly. i enjoyed it the whole way through mostly because one of the prominent characters in the book is a giant, talking polar bear warrior. nuf said.

excuses aside, though, here is what i've been up to:
i made paper airplanes! i babysat for my favorite little tike last weekend, and stuart led us in a paper airplane instructional course. unfortunately, the little friend's airplane didn't fly best of the three of us, and this makes me think that we are really setting kids up for failure when we teach them to make paper airplanes so young because they just do not have the height or grace to succeed at the same level as an adult, and i imagine it is disappointing to see your plane crash like 6 inches in front of you while the grown up's plane soars into the kitchen. we should really re-think this, grown ups.

i've been cooking a lot! this week, i made this recipe, an old standby, but i added chicken (sorry, Vegetarian Times. to be honest, i prefer it with tofu). also, i am proud to say that after my first attempt at making rice, the second attempt went much more smoothly. go team!

finally, i've been learning "farther on" by jackson brown (and covered by denison witmer). my execution is horrible and not really worth listening to, but i am posting it because it helps me stay accountable to practicing and improving, because while i don't mind you suffering a little, i don't want you to suffer *too* much. at any rate, Mom, this recording is for you!

also, here are some important youtube videos that have made my life better recently:
the world's most adorable squeaky frog
jennifer lawrence bein' real
pin up girls clothing. i will take one of everything, thank you

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

February: Catching Up!

Wow...so it turns out when you go on vacation for a week, you shirk duties for a month! Don't worry, my darlings, I have only shirked the duty of posting on this blog. That does not mean I have been unfaithful to my goal of doing something creative each day.

So first off, prior to flying far away, I spent most of the week working on my happy afghan: 

I'm really happy with how quickly this is knitting up. I think I started with either 10 or 12 skeins, and now I'm down to just 4. This is the largest afghan I've ever knit, and I decided all the pattern repeats and edging myself, so that is a little baby step in the right direction toward making my own pattern...someday. Completing this project will be incredibly satisfying, not only for the final product but also because it makes a huge dent in my yarn stash. Of course, I'm pretending that there aren't eight pounds of yarn from Peru in my closet...

So you may have heard I went to Hawaii for a week. That was...fun? Let's just say three rounds of airport security with two women in wheelchairs, one walker, a ton (more or less) of carry on, and - oh yes - an oxygen tank is enough to make anyone tired, but when your luggage is lost for two days on top of it, any trip becomes a bit of a bummer. However! I did see some very cute sea turtles, a million humpback whales (including a cow calf escort pod which we kayaked next to for about half an hour...dreams DO come true!), and even an eagle ray! If you would like to help me achieve my singular bucket list goal, please send funds so that I might ride with the manta rays (don't worry, I would not actually touch the magical creature!). 

Turns out that Hawaii isn't really the ideal place to take a lot of photos...at least when all you're doing is water activities. But we did make it up to Haleakala one day. So here are just a few photos from my trip, representing about 90% of the total photos I took.

Haleakala! Volcano land.

Poke, the most delicious discovery of Hawaii. It's sushi meets salsa. Nom nom nom.

Mom was a real trooper and made it to the beach!

She also made it to the top of Haleakala, but was totally school by Grandma the speed demon.

I really liked the windows in the observation deck.

I took the girls out for dinner at Mama's. Probably the most expensive meal I will ever pay for, and this "Polynesian Black Pearl" of chocolate mousse in a pastry shell demonstrates why it was worth every penny. 

The view from our hotel balcony. I've seen worse sunsets.

Doesn't it look like Hawaii!?! Total score for a quintessential vacation experience! Also, while on vacation, I did my best to stay on top of crafting. I knit many, many puffs. Now I have a PILE of puffs.

If I could complete 100 puffs by the end of April, that would be a nice sub-challenge. I will probably be putting the knitting away once the spring starts melting into summer when I can focus on outside projects, so I'd like to think I'd achieved some notable puff status before moving in other directions.

Also! I read a book! "A Million Miles in a Thousand Years" by Donald Miller. I like Donald Miller. His books are always a good, quick read with a warm challenge inside. I don't think he's a particularly talented writer, but I always feel a heightened level of self-reflection after turning the final page. This book is a reflection on the Story of life and how we must find meaning and how God is the greatest story teller. Nothing particularly new, but it was a nice reminder that if I want life to be more satisfying and challenging, it is up to me to pursue a better path. So naturally I'm getting all restless again, and the folk art school I've been dreaming about for years is FINALLY hiring...

Life right now is good, though. Things at the planetarium are very interesting. I find myself doing a lot of evaluation and program development, which I love. It's nice to know that I can name something and say, "Yes, I know I enjoy doing this. This is what I'm looking for in a job." It has taken me more jobs than I expected to be able to nail something like that down. And apart from work, many friends are engaged, pregnant, and just wonderful to be near. Chicago is home and home is warm, supportive, rich, and deep. And gosh, there are some cute cats in this apartment! 

xo

Kaitlyn

P.S. Valentine's Day taught me a very valuable lesson: it is NOT a Good Day to Die Hard, unfortunately. Biggest disappointment of my adult life. 

Days 26-30: Sweat and blood, but mostly blood.

Creative Clock: On schedule with many hours over the weekend and about an hour a day during the week so far.

Listening to: "Dancing on My Own" by Robyn (warning: not an awesome music video)

Watching: Girls (and quite obsessed with it)

So this week has been a bit more productive - or at least memorable - than last week. The reason it has been memorable is because nearly every project (except knitting - sweet, gentle knitting) has left me wounded. Hey, you know the saying; "crafting is pain" (right?). And so....a weekend of bloodshed began with a baking project. The challenge? These "simple" muffins. The ingredients? Cake mix, pumpkin, and water. I added quick oats to suck up some of the moisture. 

What could possibly go wrong, right?  THIS is what goes wrong:

Oh, I suppose when you only have three key incredients it should be a piece of cake (no pun intended). But when you live in a home where both the can openers in the kitchen drawer have been busted since before you even moved in, you're setting yourself up for failure. And pain. Thank goodness we have a very basic tool set so that I was able to use pliers to pull back the "lid" after I stabbed it heartily enough. And PRESTO! Muffins!!



Next up on the itinerary was to get to work actually sewing the first few blocks of my long-anticipated t-shirt quilt (I am pretty sure I am the only person who has long anticipated this project so don't feel *too* guilty if you didn't know. It's forgivable.). Unfortunately, I'm still terrified of cutting a few much-beloved shirts and so I foresee some long-term delays in this project. Still, it was nice to lay things out and even sew a few things together. Nacho helped, as always.

And for the first time, I sliced myself with my rotary cutter. All the lovely old ladies in all the quilting shows my mom has Tivo-ed for me are clucking about what a failure I am, but I supposed in some ways it's a rite of passage, no?

And anyway, I had THE PERFECT band-aid to save the day.

Additionally, this week, apart from knitting two skeins-worth of my orange afghan (scroll to bottom of post), I also decided it was time to trim the bangs. They were having a fight with the goggles, plus it was a stressful week personally, and as you may know about me, safe "self-mutilation" is my solution to stress. So snip snip!

Ta-da!

Not included is a photo of the middle finger that I also nipped with the scissors. So to conclude, always be careful with sharp objects, kids.

In other news, in case you're not following my really important life on Facebook, I wrapped up physical therapy today. For the first time since my accident, I feel like I am not in constant pain or discomfort. I feel like I am in control of my pain management. I feel like I am moving into a new chapter of my life. It is truly an unexpected blessing for which I am inexpressibly thankful. Thankful to God, but also thankful to you, my friends and family, who have put up with much moaning and complaining over the years, but have also provided much concern and comfort, always finding me the chair with back support, always offering to carry my bag or sit down to rest with me or simply asking me how I am doing. I don't think I have done much to deserve such love, but I am grateful that you have taken me into your lives and cared for me so.

So there! Meow!