the summer of six feet under . . .

. . . is over. crap. i was in a continual state of tears while we watched the last three episodes of six feet (gez, who knew a tv show could be so damn GOOD, eh?) and poor andy had to hear me go on and on about death/life/death as we took our nightly walks down the road. anyways, those days are over. i'm in the thralls of teaching now (but, notice, blogging instead of preparing for classes. YEAH!) and andy is back to pounding nails in the rain. that's the way it goes. here's some pictures from over the summer: at the farm with my super-cool bike / our first "thanks, amanda" IKEA purchase (wine rack; we are so ready for winter!) / and the snore-elentz - at it again.

holy biting flies!

the last few days here have been strangely HOT - and with the heat comes these awful biting flies that are basically the stuff of legend in our neighborhood. (if they get real bad, we've all been known to go swimming in jakalof.) today was one of those days. in the few minutes i spent outside in the garden - trying to cut all our kale for the freezer - i mostly just cursed very loudly (i'm sure dave and janet think my revenge will be ruthless and psycho) and flung wildly with my scissors. sometimes i can get so damn dramatic, but i swear, those flies are BAD. anyways, with the heat also came my first real garden flower (calendula) of the season; i am swelling with pride at this very moment!

honda camping

Andy and I finally got our sorry asses off the property a few days ago and went camping at Red Mountain. Loaded up the Honda, left Nikos at home on the couch, and set out to sleep out under the stars. So nice! Saw Kachemak Bay AND Kodiak from the ridge, ate mac & cheese with tuna for dinner, told stories about the crazy Ati-Beaver Creek-360 mile-No Paddle-Kayak Trip from last summer (the smell of dry bags brought it all back . . .), and tried to share the tent with Toivey. Also swam in the creekbed the next morning, and that gave me inspiration for my THIRTY YEARS / THIRTY SWIMS goal. (I'm turning thirty this December - and feeling a bit woozy about the whole thing - and I wanted to do something to celebrate my pumping heart and flowing blood; and, I suppose, to do something to literally revel in those lovely moments that "take my breath away." Anyways, I've decided to try to swim in thirty different bodies of water over the course of the next year - six months before and six months after the big day - and I'm hoping this little blog will help keep me on track!) So, this was swim #3, and it was as cold as it looks.