At Home in the Blues

So. Um. Yeah.

Hi.

I know you are all used to me dropping off the face of the earth when I head to the woods each summer, but I normally don't do it so far in advance.  See, here's the thing...this caribou project...the one in British Columbia (which is where I sit typing this)...it's a logistical nightmare.  All these projects which involve taking tame animals into the woods are logistical nightmares, don't get me wrong.  But this one...because it has a little international line that animals, peoples, vehicles etc have to cross thrown in for fun, is particularly challenging.  We knew the permitting process for bringing the animals in from Alaska would be a mess so that was started 15 months ago...with the final permit (1 of 15 or so needed) obtained 5 hours (at midnight) before we were to load them.  But it's the other things (particularly related to bringing in 'commercial' vehicles) that we didn't know about and thus unexpectedly took so much of my time.  Most of March was spent dealing with that and getting John ready to head up April 1.  April was spent getting me ready to head up May 1. 

Thus this space suffered and I didn't make time/effort to visit many of you before I left.  I apologize for that but made the decision early on that any time away from work I had, was going to be spent not on the computer.  I went back to visit my parents for a few days and got to spend time with a couple great friends.  I went on a couple photography outings with a friend...exploring some local places that neither of us had been to.  I spent a ton of time with my elk girls of course.   I finished 2 of those WIPs I posted about a few months ago...White Russian and Lara (thanks Kathy for telling me to just  buck up and do the damn i-cord edging...it was tedious but easy!).  Photos, however, sadly were not taken so you'll have to wait for the official FO post to come sometime late fall.  I made dandelion bread from Kristy's recipe (Fog and Swell fame...sorry I can't link to it right now).  I had a whiskey tasting night with friends.  I spun some more yarn.  I bailed on going to the fiber festival but was there in spirit and my friends brought me a ton of beautiful fiber back...which is now patiently waiting until next fall to be spun.  I dyed some more yarn.  And a few other things thrown in.  I've missed you all but I don't regret the decision to enjoy life away from the computer a bit more.

I had so many plans for this space the past winter...so many posts started but never finished.  And then suddenly it was May and I was heading to the woods for 6 months.  I know that I'm still fumbling with this new space...and that was part of the problem.  But also life just passed...it was February and then somehow I brought my head back up and suddenly it was May.  I hate when that happens.  It's like lost time and it is very disorienting.  So all those plans and posts will just have to wait until next winter...we'll see how it goes. 

I obviously have some internet access up here since I'm sitting in the back of my truck (aka, my bedroom), typing a blog post.  But it's an international plan which means very little data transfer for lots of money.  And most of the sites we will be at starting in June are so remote that I couldn't hope to get cell phone reception, let alone internet.  So this may be it for me until I get back to the states in mid-late October.  I will be checking/responding to email almost daily for the next month...email alone is not much in the way of data transfer.  So I would love to hear from you...tell me how you are and what plans you have for the summer.  If I can get back to this space periodically with an update, I will.  If not, I hope you all have wonderful summers doing normal things that normal people do (!) and I'll catch you on the other side this fall. 
Take care,
Rachel