ellis gazing at papa

good day all!
i took this pic of ellis during our walk down to mcdonald spit.
gotta love em...cheers, andy.

the little man . . . hard at work

and . . . tap dancing is silly

Look Who's Four Months!

 
hi, everyone. thought you might enjoy this pic of ellis - we sure do.

red gold

check out that red!
each time i closed my eyes the night we caught this biggie i saw hundreds of blue-gray fish streaming by in all directions. i think we caught 18 reds that evening, and night after night we kept going back to catch our limit. it has been a summer of abundance, indeed!

for years andy and i have wanted to build a smoker and try our hands at making "squaw candy" (salmon jerky) and canning kippered (smoked) salmon. after six years of talk, we finally did it! andy built the smoker this spring, then the july run of red salmon hit . . . and we've been fishing, smoking, canning, and chowing down ever since. it's a time-consuming process - but a beautiful one - and that red gold is so worth it in the end.

cut and tied salmon ready for the brine


the smoker at work


strips hanging


packed jars ready for the canner


it's funny, people say having a baby slows you down . . . and it does, for sure; but i think it slows us down in a really good way. it's no longer the rush of building projects and our hectic minds scrambling about, but teamwork as we share what we love with our son . . . slowing down and filling our lives with what we think is important. maybe that's the gushy romantic in me coming out, but as i sit here typing, my two "guys" upstairs sleeping, and our bellies full of beautiful salmon that will sustain us all winter long, it just seems right.



gotta love that guy. :)

go, ellis!

the little big man is now a month old . . . and learning all sorts of new tricks! he is a real "talker" - especially at night - and he cracks us up with all his dramatic grunts and snorts and little gopher sounds. he even snores sometimes (another andy snorelentz? good lord!) and that just makes me shake my head. i've also come to realize that i LOVE taking naps with the little guy. it's the best part of my day . . . the two of us taking an afternoon siesta together, him falling asleep on my chest, heart to heart. it's the greatest feeling in the world. these pics are from some of his "firsts":

first tent camping trip. ellis was awesome, but, amidst the awkward 3 a.m. nursing session, we had the revelation that we need a bigger tent.


first real bath with momma. he wasn't quite sure what the hell was going on, but calmed immediately to the feeling of water over that big belly.


first time playing with katmai. (4 months older than ellis, and one of the many new baby boys in town . . . they'll be running wild together in the woods one day soon . . .)

Three Weeks

Greetings everyone.
I (Andy) took these photos from Ellis's first boat camping trip to Tutka Lagoon last week. We (ma, pa, elli, toivey, and our good friend kevin) were pampered with endless sunshine and calm seas - What fun! We even got to try out our new toy: 14' tandem rowing wherry that I finished recently. The boat performed flawlessly. Ellis especially enjoyed the boat ride nestled in mama's chest. He was wide eyed and alert the whole time. Cheers, Andy.

Ellis Robert Lorentz

The little (big) man made his big debut June 13th at 7:08 in the morning. He came out strong and beautiful - 9.5 lbs. and 22 1/2 inches long - after a good 16 hours of drug-free labor. We love him!!

waiting for waddell

our ultrasound due date (may 27) came and went, and now our original due date (june 10) has come and gone . . . and as we wait it out in homer, we're relearning the art of patience. jokes abound that "of course this baby is late: it's a damara-baby and she's always late." so, a taste of my own medicine, i guess . . . but it also just makes sense . . . of course this baby is going to come whenever it damn well pleases! :)

and although this is day 11 in homer, things could be far worse. for one, it's sunny and beautiful; AND we just moved out of the cramped hotel room into our friend linda's house . . . big deck, lots of space, almost feels like home; AND we've been going on long hikes every day - to get that babe moving! (two days ago we saw a brown bear sitting in the grass up on crossman's ridge . . . it was the first brown either of us has ever seen on the kenai peninsula, and it was BIG . . . and we were the perfect distance away (ie: far), with binoculars in our pack. so cool!); AND andy has gotten some serious "sports center" catch-up time on the old tube, while i've gotten to finish all the knitting i procrastinated over this winter.

we've also decided on the names we'll tell the child we almost named him/her . . . you know, when he/she complains that their own name is weird. waddell for a boy, and erlene for a girl. :)

so, hopefully - next time - pics of the babe.

sunshine, dirt, fruit, friends

37 weeks. feels pretty crazy to be entering this final stage of my pregnancy. the whole thing has just felt like being on the brink of some big, ordinary mystery i know i can't fully comprehend . . . and the specific feeling of which i know will never come again. it's hard to explain, but it feels pretty magical.

and the weather here has been SWEET! the last two weeks have been pure sunshine, and i almost have both garden spaces in . . . kale and carrots and onions and beets and broccoli. peas and strawberries and potatoes and pumpkins! calendula and strawflowers and lavender and rosemary . . . basil and dill and parsley. yum!

ati is here right now, and she and andy are making me laugh - (extra) big belly laughs.

belly shots

so i've been pretty shy about my expanding belly, but andy finally hassled me into taking some pics. i'm at about 32 weeks in this photo.


this is a combo house / ash-fall from redoubt pic (the first time the ash came down . . . when it was just a scattering on the snow and kinda cool to tromp around in). the truck picture below is when lots came down (the second time) and then blew around in the wind for a few days . . . and it was not so cool . . . although good for the garden, i guess.




and then we have our new dry rack! with freshly washed diapers hanging!

andy's goal this winter was to get us running water - so we could have a washer and a shower before the baby came - and he succeeded in style! it is amazing to take a shower in the house. and super fun to watch a load of laundry wash. (maybe SOUNDS kinda lame, but very entertaining in april when it is snowing.)

and . . . home surgery! . . . just kidding. these are the pitfalls of the carpentry trade. sometimes it's just really fun to take disgusting pictures.

well finally

my sleep patterns have been bizarre lately, but that's kinda good, because in the wee hours of the morning there's not much else to do but surf the net and finally post the hawaii pics i've been promising to my fam.

so, for starters: what a hunk, eh?

and then there's the "big girl." you can sorta see my tummy in this picture . . . i'm at about 6 months here. oh, and i'm lounging in the SWEET! hammock we set up at our favorite beach on the big island.

and here we are near the end . . . tan and full of fruit . . . and feeling not-really-pregnant at all.


and here is a picture of COWS! andy and i rented bikes one day and went for the loveliest ride through farmland way up in the hills. it felt incredible to get on the old bike again . . . and fun to practice our minnesota cow calls - it always works! - and feel that pure giddiness as the cows ran alongside the fencerow with us.

the landscape definitely stirred up all those farm-girl dreams of mine. and just the sunshine and the moist air and floating in the waves . . . makes us both wonder why we chose so far north to live.

but, in the next thought, i have to say we know why: less people and traffic and american noise . . . and the people that ARE here are good ones . . . and we can live the way we want - hauling water and no siding and no mortgage - and it's not weird . . . and, also, a super superb place to raise up some crazy korean/greek children.

but oh, how i miss sandal and skirt wearing in march.

hi there!

yep, it's what it looks like: little andy jr.
or, little damara jr.!

our first ultrasound went really well. everything is growing as it should; we got to see cross-sections of the brain developing and the four chambers of the heart beating . . . and watched as the babe snarfed down amniotic fluid. we also stayed true to our word and kept the gender a surprise. so fun. :) wondering, wondering about so many things. i guess it's all just starting to become very real - there's a little person growing in there! - and very exciting.

lots of kicking these days . . . and the due date got moved up to may 27. with this crazy spring break-up weather lately (it was 45 degrees today as i walked on the beach . . . so nice!), it makes may seem not too far away.

gunsight mtn. goat-getting and etc.

kevin, andy, and i went camping last weekend up in the mountains. it was glorious. sunny, breezy, wildflowers in full bloom. we were technically searching for mountain goats to hunt, but mostly we were just gallivanting around our insanely beautiful backyard. here is the three of us on top of gunsight mountain, which looks down on our valley. (you could see mark/tracy's and chris/amy's from the top!)

and here is my oinker of a husband . . . who ate all our snacks in the first night . . . but who also proudly wore the chairman mao hat i made for him.

and here i am, looking professional as i tote a gun . . . while getting a tan - of course!

on our first day we hiked across two passes (of sorts) and camped at a lake that looked down on barabara valley. as we scouted for goats with the binoculars we spied the infamous dump truck that is located at the headwaters of the creek. so cool. we hiked down and explored around . . . and saw FISH! in the creek. (so far upstream seems impossible . . . but, like the dump truck, there they were.)

so good to get out . . . these final summer days are so precious. and i feel pretty damn lucky not to be feeling the pangs of anxiety that usually come before school starts. early retirement rocks! i get to do all the things i want to do at the end of summer . . . pick blueberries, fill the freezer with garden stuff, make jams and pies, stack wood, go camping with friends. it's strange . . . people keep asking what i plan to do now that i'm not teaching. it seems like such a crazy question. i plan to do THIS.

"one-set kind of girl"

one more week left. i just finsihed up an intense day of solo beach seining . . . and my field camp cohorts say i'm turning into a rocker fisherwoman. (blush) for the third day in a row i netted approximately 190 sockeye in one set. that's a lot of fish to round up in one swoop of the net and hand-pluck into the live box! pretty good for a rookie! and i do kinda love it . . . quiet on the water, physical and challenging to do it all by yourself, and suspenseful throwing a bit of luck to the wind in hopes of a good catch.

but wow . . . talk about a sore lower back. my awe of commerical fishermen has quadrupled since i've been out here.

also. sitting in that tower, watching the salmon swim by hour after hour, listening to the birds and the rain on the trees, i've re-remembered that i always want to live somewhere where i can freely pee outside. sounds silly, but it's kind of essential. life for me has mostly been figuring out what i don't want - in lovers and jobs and ways of life - but this is something i know i always want. daily peeing in the grass. no doubt!

yesterday the most lovely package arrived from our good friend kevin. it was sitting on the kitchen table after i came in from seining by myself in the pouring rain. beautiful. filled with lovely things: whiskey, a nerf basketball hoop, magazines to read, jelly beans, a hot pink recorder flute, playing cards, magic tricks, beer. truly the perfect field camp care package. spent the night with my housemates drinking whiskey, laughing, trying out the recorder, and telling stories. i'm pretty sure it doesn't get much better.

here's video of graham and i fishing for pike.

Barn door coming up

It's Andy's first official blog entry. And, I'm dedicating this post to my wife, damara (who I miss dearly).

I thought you might enjoy watching your dorky husband at sea. Cheers.

with love from field camp

i'm on the wood river right now, just outside of dillingham, counting spawning sockeye as they swim by. basically i sit in a metal "tower" perched 25 feet above the river, and click a little button with my thumb for each fish that swims by. yesterday afternoon - in one ten-minute time span - i counted over 1,900 reds. it's insane. it's like watching a river marathon from above, and i can't help but cheer them on. these are the survivors. they've lived a life at sea, escaped commerical fishermen, and are coming home to die.

the "camp" i'm at is also totally plush: running water, laundry, and as you can tell, nearby internet. (blogging! it feels kinda silly . . .)

cool things that i'm learning:
1. how to drive the skiff FAST (oh yeah!) and then pull up like a professional at the gravel bank;
2. how to botch a good skiff landing even when i thoroughly rehearse the steps in my head beforehand;
3. how to set the net for beach seineing (my favorite!);
4. how to tie a clove-hitch knot;
5. how to fake that i understand when science people talk science talk;
6. how to make betty crocker meatloaf;
7. how to spend entire days reading books and eating soup and taking naps;
8. how to say "roger that" over the side-band radio; (simon's favorite quote from my training: "i want to say 'roger, roger'. when do i get to say 'roger, roger'??")
9. how to fully appreciate the virtues of the dillingham radio show "open-line" - which is similar to "bush lines" on kbbi only you get to call in yourself and talk on air. (it is mostly a lot of happy birthdays, but sometimes a real jaw-dropper will come along. my partner, graham, said he once heard an old man call in ordering his wife to come home. it went something like: "charlene. YOU.COME.HOME.NOW. you're married, and i'm your husband." on air . . . can you imagine? painful and funny at the same time, and very alaska.)
10. how to dive into a moving skiff while standing off-shore in a foot of moving water. snippet of conversation from yesterday's boat pick-up:
me: (half in boat, one leg in, other trailing in water, butt in air, face planted on bow seat)"hi."
graham: "i could've pulled in closer."
me: "pretty gazelle-like, huh?"
graham: "yeah. sure was."

anyways, all is well - alive, and happy, and learning.

so proud

OMG who would've thunk it? me - a sewing gal!

i am really proud of this reversible bag. it's so pretty and made out of scraps from my first sewing projects.



here is my first skirt - ever. it has a zipper . . . what hell to make work . . . but i did it.


i feel so darn fashionable, and also so capable! turn up bearfoot bluegrass, drink a corona or two, follow a pattern . . . and it just sorta all comes together.

finally!

i don't know what my deal was for the last month or so - stopped blogging, stopped checking email, barely returned phone calls. bad daughter / bad friend. and then tonight, as i was tiptoeing our sloppy trail in the half-dark, i was thinking of all those i missed. friends giving birth, friends in big-life transitions, friends living on sailboats (!), friends that have passed elsewhere. everyone in her own separate space, and yet we carry each other in each step.

sorry i'm so lame at keeping in touch.

another "finally": 6 more days of school! wow - so excited for gardens and ducks and blueberry bushes - and yet i know i'm gonna miss those little buggers, too. graduation this year is seven boys - all of whom i had (my first year of teaching!) as skinny/chunky eighth graders. truly good kids, every last one of them.

went to san francisco a few weeks ago with five students - i love traveling with random groups of kids . . . i guess it's the freaky combinations of personalities all meshing, like family. i love it. and - teaching high school girls my own funky carpenter skills (they rock!) and hatching out chickens in the home ec room together and learning to sew side by side. (i finished my first skirt tonight! I AM SO PROUD. me + sewing + fitting = miracle. thanks goes entirely to ila! i'm hooked!) and story-writing about family. tough stuff and they are willing to go there . . . i'm gonna miss all that.

but also REALLY looking forward to late-late nights. (i am already starting to make the transition, as you can tell from a 1 a.m. blog.) and bike riding, and being on the water, and digging in dirt, and being with friends - again.

okay, picture time. oaxaca trip, to start. cute skirt to come!

from that jack black movie.

sea turtles. my favorite.

it'd be lovely if i knew how to rotate this picture of my handsome husband.

and where is the really cool picture of me looking like a pro as i boogie-board?? (some may say it doesn't exist, but, like my singing voice, i know in my heart i'm really, really good.)

oohhh-la-la

yesterday i felt the need to get out of the house, but it was all rain/sleet/slop outside. so instead i went out into our soon-to-be-finished sauna and piddled around. lit a fire; put up t & g in the entryway; took measurements for the rock-holder one of the shop kids is going to weld for us. then suddenly it got hot. like 140 hot, even with the big-ass window we put in and a sideways wind making things chilly outside. goodness, it was nice! first i striped down to my undies and sat amongst the tools on the bench. then i moved all the tools and it was just pure nakedness and sweat rolling down my sides and snowflakes fluttering towards the window. (that window was the best thing we could have done!) so, the sauna works!! and stretched out by my lonesome in that heat was pure, unexplainable, bliss.

okay, all you ladies out there: i think a tuesday knitting / sauna night at our place is officially in the works. (it'd be my first true knitting hosting ever . . . gez what a mooch i am!) and, all you non-seldovian friends, here is another excellent reason to visit this summer: i promise we won't put you to work on digging projects, and instead we can do the nightly sauna-sweat-indulge, complete with under the sky gin & tonics.

god, is anyone else ready for summer?