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.