Shrink wrapped and ready to ship

Last night we picked up a Uhaul, loaded up everything from our storage locker (2/3 of our stuff) then drove it to the house to load up the last 1/3. Actually, not quite all our stuff...we have two sleeping bags, two suitcases, two plates, two bowls (...2 spoons/forks/glasses, etc) still at the apartment. Then this morning we drove to the shipping warehouse and put everything on pallets.  Eight pallets, to be exact, for a grand total of 2,760 pounds.  It'll leave Juneau about the same time we do, and will be ready to pick up in Seattle shortly after we get there.  

Here is all is, shrink wrapped and read for weighing and loading into a shipping container:

And also, this is how you know you're packing the last dregs, and things you missed...you've packed TV parts, a (sealed) bag of rice, and shoes, all in the same box...

 

Leaving is so bittersweet for us. Steve's excited for roads and warmer weather, I'm excited about the new job, but we're leaving so much behind.  Great memories, great friends.  Tuesday morning we board the ferry for another new adventure.

Just bead it

Last night Maggie (my officemate and fellow PhD student), taught a few of us how to bead. She, in turn, had learned it from a few elders she met while doing field work in a small village in SE Alaska. We each made a pattern, which pretty much all turned out to be too ambitious, then spent about 3 hours working. Around sunset we took a break to sit in the hot tub and enjoy the scenery - and to relax our shoulders! Turns out you can have pretty crappy posture while beading if you're not careful!

Here we are just starting out.

We drew patterns on something called 'tear away', which we then tacked on to felt. The tear away helped us keep to a pattern, though Maggie (and presumably the people she learned from) didn't use it. Once we're done, we tear away the white stuff and just leave the beads on the green felt backing.

I picked a squid for my pattern, with swirls for decoration. But the swirls I drew were too small for the beads we had, so I had to simplify it some.  I don't know that I'll do a lot of beading, but it's fun to know, and now I feel like I'd have the confidence to try it for decoration on something if I wanted. And of course beading is like quilting - it's social and fun and brings people together.

I crack myself up

This morning Steve work up feeling a little bit 'off'.  He said thought it was vertigo - he'd feel dizzy and woozy when standing up, but otherwise felt fine.

Fast forward several hours, we're in the car running errands and this happens:

Kari: Hey, how are you feeling? Better?
Steve: Yeah, better. I don't think I have vertigo any more.
Kari: Does that mean it's ... vertigone?

Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha! OMG I never come up with witty banter on the spot like that.
And yes, he's feeling fine now.

17 days!

Yikes! We leave on the ferry to WA in 17 days. Things are as packed in advance as we can get them for now, we'll save a last push for right before we need to load the shipment on April 30th. Both us and our stuff should leave Juneau on May 5th...assuming everything goes according to plan. The State is slashing ferry schedules all over though, so I'm a bit worried that our sailing will be cut. I guess there's not much I can do about it if it is though, we'll get rescheduled on another one if it comes to that.

Even though it feels (and looks) like spring, the mountains are still getting some snow.  Every day the weather report gives the snow level - snow at 300 feet (altitude) last week, or (yesterday) 1300 feet.  It's pretty when it snows up there, and even better that it's not snowing down here! 

The bears are out of hibernation and creating their usual spring ruckus...last night one tipped over our recycling bin. Fortunately, things were pretty well rinsed and didn't get spread too far and wide, so it was easy to pick up. They usually leave recycling alone because we keep it clean.  Garbage cans are kept in the garage - those are far too tempting for bears!  Seca was pretty excited sniffing the yard and recycling area this morning though, a bear is a different smell than usual.

I made a couple of breakthroughs on my model for school. Finally! I'm not as far along as I had hoped at this point, but it's not for lack of trying. It's going to be hard juggling school and work and life. I'm not sure I'm mentally prepared for that yet.

Last night we went to a bonfire at the beach in honor of a fellow student who is leaving on Monday.  He's headed back to Seward, AK to finish up his degree. Goodbyes are hard! Our friends Kristan and Tara have offered to host a farewell party for us at their place the Sunday before we leave. We've made some great friends here, so it will be difficult to leave.

Spring is definitely here

We're having really, really nice weather these past several days.  Warm (well, upper 40s and low 50s), sunny skies, no rain.  Beautiful!  The crocuses in our yard have popped up.  I snapped a picture in the morning while letting Seca out, then by the afternoon I noticed they were opened up.

We took Seca for a walk Saturday morning and the sun was making the lake misty.