Alaska: Day 1

We're going to Alaska!

The flight was fairly long from Maine, but the mountains were worth it!

My list of flight movies were pretty funny; first I watched "The Bird Cage," then "Space Jam," then the Talking Heads concert film "Stop Making Sense." It was my first time watching "Space Jam," which was pretty bad. "Stop Making Sense" is always a good call, though.

Yarn bombing zine

I got so excited after making one zine that I made another right on its heels!

I have thought about a good format to get the word out about yarn bombing, especially since social media is becoming more difficult to stomach these days. A local bookstore has a zine shelf, and I do have a fan at the local library, so I thought I could make copies and really pass these out (and send to family and friends - so let me know if you want one)!

Cover

1st spread

2nd spread

3rd spread

I used clippings from the latest issue of Fiber Art Now magazine, which I love, and I also realized that if you print photos at CVS / Walgreens with wallet size (four on a 4x6 photo), it's the perfect size for a zine! (At least the portrait orientation ones are.)

In the process of making these, I remembered that I used to do little newsletters for my friends in 8th grade, so I was kind of a zinester without realizing it. I hope I kept those; I think I know where they would be if I did. Anyway, it's fun to pick it up again.

* * *

Recently I've been cleaning up a bit in my files, photos, and on this blog, deleting old stuff to make room on Google because my free storage is at 79% capacity (!). In going through old entries of this blog, I saw a lot: my mom's many comments of encouragement; celebrations of things that feel like yesterday; a drop-off in posts when it felt like life got too hard to be able to really write about anymore.

I'm not going to pick it up like I used to, but I'd like to be able to post little things like this, and more often, but without pressuring myself to post monthly like I used to do. If you're reading, feel free to leave a comment, as you have no idea what these little encouragements do for creators and those who put themselves out there in any way.

My first zine!

A zine is a small, handmade publication about a topic, often esoteric, for which the author has a passion. I have kind of been toying with the idea of making a zine for a while, and I found a kit in a local shop, Hinge Collaborative, which I took as a sign.

The kit and book had instructions for how to fold and cut paper to make a simple zine format and included some templates. I decided to make my first one about my career: planned giving.

Cover

1st spread

2nd spread

3rd spread

Back cover - my signature cow

This is a basic intro, and further issues will address specific gift types and examples from my career. I'm hoping to get this snowballing into a zine-making workshop with my colleagues to tell stories about our various corners of the office.

Fake plants up for grabs!

I'm walking in my 20th Light the Night walk to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and I have a special fundraiser this year! I have made a bunch of fake plants and put them in real pots, some of which are handmade by a friend, Laurie. Those who make a gift of $50 or more will get to pick one! First come, first served.

Plant A, Plant B, Plant C, Plant D, Plant E (all hand-thrown pots except A)

Plant G (violet), Plant H (guy in front), Plant I (pink flowers), Plant J, Plant K, Plant L (all hand-thrown pots except I)

I'll remove them as people pick them, and I'm still making more. Thank you for your support to a cause that means a lot to me.

Ireland/Scotland, Day 11: Edinburgh

For our last day, we had a hefty breakfast at the hotel, then walked around the old town yet again. On the way to other things, we stumbled upon Victoria Street, allegedly JK Rowling's inspiration for Diagon Alley in Harry Potter...

Victoria Street

Then we visited Greyfriar's Kirkyard, a really cool old cemetery.

Greyfriar's Kirkyard

I thought it was fun to just walk around in, but the book said that some of the names also inspired characters or families in Harry Potter.

We were quickly running out of room in our suitcases, so I dropped off a book I'd finished on the trip at a Little Free Library, then we headed in the National Museum of Scotland. The artifacts told us a lot about how the Scottish clans and tribes lived for centuries, but the history went up right to the present, which was neat. The museum itself is organized in a kind of bonkers fashion, so prepare to get lost.

Next up, the big kahuna: Edinburgh Castle!

Edinburgh Castle

Word to the wise, book your trip online early. If you get a QR code ticket in your inbox, just go right to the people checking tickets in the line, don't stop at the booth. The machines don't work and we ended up frustrating ourselves.

The castle tour was really cool, especially the views, crown jewels, and the many layers of castle battlements. So much history happened in the walls. I didn't realize how much was recent, too - like a lot of Edinburgh, parts date to the 1800s but look much older.

After the castle, we went across the river for a beer at the Guilford Arms, a fun little bar where we grabbed some local beers. It was recommended by the book, and the decor gave plenty to look at.

We had been recommended to Dishoom, a tasty chain of Indian restaurants with a location in Edinburgh. We got a smattering of dishes and were extremely happy with our picks. 

I think dinner was at something like 3:15 p.m., so we realized we had some time to kill before going back to the hotel to chill. We walked Prince's Park and then stopped in the National Gallery. There, Dave found yet another surprise Vermeer on the trip (I don't think he had seen this one, though) and I saw the iconic stag painting in situ:

The National Gallery was really impressive; we tried to focus on the Scottish paintings, and I'm sure we didn't see most of the museum in the time that we had. 

The gift shop was super neat, with yet more textiles that made me drool. The whole trip was full of such things, which is helping give me inspiration for some projects at home. Right now I have a lot of yarn and have cast on some sweater projects that aren't inspiring me, so it was nice to be somewhere with a vibrant textile culture to get some inspiration.

Scarves at the National Gallery gift shop

And that's that - our Scottish trip came to a close! We loved both Scotland and Ireland and would definitely go back; next time we'd spend more time on Islay and in Glasgow, and I'd love to see Balmoral and all the wild beauty up there. Of course, we made a list of movies set in Scotland, most of which are in the Highlands, so we have that to look forward to. 

No more trips scheduled for the rest of the year right now, but we're thinking of going somewhere relaxing and warm in February. This was kind of a "go, go, go" trip, I'd like to just relax somewhere, maybe at a resort with one good excursion per day.

Ireland/Scotland, Day 10: Edinburgh

For our first full day in Edinburgh, we focused on some of the big-ticket tourist items from the guidebook, including St. Giles Cathedral...

St. Giles Cathedral

And Glastone's Land, which is an old home / business building that has been preserved as a way to show how people lived in the 1500s to the 1800s. I was glad we started with this, as it showed a lot of general Edinburgh history.

We needed to get some Swatch watches repaired, so Dave and I visited the Swatch store, where we not only got those watches fixed, but Dave got a beautiful new Swatch. The Edinburgh Swatch was cute, but not cute enough for me to spring for it.

We enjoyed lunch at Whiski Rooms, which had a nice fish and chips, and more whiskies for Dave to sample. 

After lunch, we went down to Dovecot Studios, a weaving and fiber arts cooperative (the rainbow spiral above right is from a stairwell).

Dovecot Studios

The main exhibition room had beautiful textiles on view, plus you got to look down at weavers making beautiful things.

A textile at Dovecot Studios

Their gift shop is super cute, too, even if you don't want to look at the exhibitions.

Then we walked over to Parliament, where we took a tour, and we were not able to take a tour of the Palace of Holyroodhouse because there was a royal visit or something (I guess that happens when you're in the UK!). So we hiked up the trail to Arthur's Seat. Although we didn't go all the way up to the crazy high part, the part we did complete was fun and we had very nice views of the city.

Hiking up to Arthur's Seat

As we were descending from Arthur's Seat, chilly air and mist blew in, obscuring everything. Glad we got our photos when it was sunny and clear!

We stopped for a few beer samples at Holyrood 9A, which had a nice selection from all over Scotland. 

On our way back to the hotel to change before dinner, a shop caught my eye: Scottish Textiles Showcase. I was going to buy a beautiful woven zip bag and some yarn, and then saw the most beautiful coat in the whole world, Harris Tweed and A-line. It was expensive and I wasn't sure how I was going to fit it in the bag, but I couldn't not buy it. And luckily I had bought a lot of goodwill with Dave with all the scotch.

We had dinner at Wedgewood the Restaurant, which has a tasting menu, but we weren't feeling up to it after really going to town on breakfast and lunch. One of our waitresses was American and we asked her a lot of questions about how to emigrate...you know, for a friend...

Ireland/Scotland, Day 9: Edinburgh

After another great breakfast at our B&B on Skye (and can I just say how nice it was to stay at a place for more than one day?), we started our long drive to Edinburgh.

On the way, we stopped at the Dalwhinnie Distillery, which Dave was excited about because it was the first Scottish whisky that he truly appreciated. It's not super peaty, but it's a little more approachable. 

Before dropping off the rental car, we stopped at the Royal Yacht Britannia, which is in the northeast of Edinburgh. 

If you've seen "The Crown," you know that the yacht was taken out of commission in the 1990s as austerity measures forced the royal family to give it up when it couldn't be reserviced. 

What I didn't know is that now you can tour it!

At right is a room where the royal family liked to lounge and relax, right near a deck that provided an open space for being together. Everything was a little more cramped than I expected, but then again, it is a boat.

Of course, there are spaces on the boat designed for large state dinners and entertaining, where many famous people enjoyed meals, receptions, and dancing. 

Apparently now regular people can also rent out this space for weddings and other stuff. Not sure how Queen Elizabeth felt (or would feel) about that. There were nice photos of Charles coming back to the boat for a reunion with some of the old staff members. Obviously this was a special place with positive memories for all of them.

For dinner, we hit Timberyard, a Michelin star restaurant in Edinburgh. I tried my first tripe, and the booze pairing was very nice. I decided to splurge, since now I could enjoy as much as I wanted, not having to drive! Dave thought I got pretty funny.

On first glance, Edinburgh reminded me of Prague and Salzburg, what with the medieval streets and fortress at the pinnacle. We stayed near the downtown and turned in early, getting ready for the next two days - the last destination of the trip.