focus... focus

From the wall of Yak & Yeti restaurant.

Is focus really a good idea? Can one have too much focus? Consider this: we just saw the movie Julie & Julia about Julia Child and a blogger named Julie Powell who dedicated a year to cook her way through Child's book Mastering the Art of French Cooking. The film tracked Child's life in Paris as she became The Julia Child and Powell's goal to get through the book and share what was happening with her readers. Cooking was her stress release from her job. But then the challenge became the stress.

Julie's blog was noticed by the conventional media, then it became a book and then the movie. And I think to myself, self, where are you going with this blog? I've talked about cycling, about hiking, skiing, reading, berry-picking, travels. A little about art and politics. Books and music. I've even written about writing. Hmm. So, I'm trying to figure out where to go next, but what I don't want is to have a singular topic because my life is more than just one thing. In fact it is so darn multidimensional that I sometimes do lose my focus.

A few days into the writing workshop, I told the workshop director that I wanted focus. She really couldn't help me find it, darn it. Through writing exercises, readings and discussions, I was reminded that writing doesn't just rely on focus. Sometimes we need to look at the diffuse topics around us. Pull together the seemingly unrelated threads, find coherency in the babble. I've been writing on a variety of topics for the past week since my return, jumping here and there, playing with many forms of writing, and I already see that some of those threads are weaving together. Don't want to force them, though. Must be patient with myself and the words and thoughts that emerge daily.

"Are you going to write something?"

I have some stories. I have some ideas. And I would love feedback as I start putting them out there... stay tuned...

writing life

On the Root Glacier!

I returned Tuesday night from a week-long writing workshop in McCarthy where my only contact with the world outside the Wrangell Mountains was the phone call I made to Jon from a pay phone outside the bar. Disconnected from Anchorage, I felt more connected with the world of that valley, my thoughts and the community of writers there. After an eight hour drive, I was back to my world of hot showers, store-bought bread and the internet.

Kennecott Mine

Back online, I scrolled through a the stack of emails to find a note from Deb Vanasse at the 49 Writers site. Though none of my entries was chosen as a finalist in the Ode to Dead Salmon contest, one entry stood out to anthologist Michael Engelhard. Michael is taking submissions for Cold Flashes: Literary Snapshots of Alaska, which will be published by the University of Alaska Press.

I'd marked the deadline for submissions on my calendar but hadn't thought of what I might write. When I wrote the piece that he liked, I was just having fun, playing around with words, stereotypes and a familiar expression about the Alaskan dating scene. I hadn't seriously considered it would have a life beyond the website, but now it will. It will be published in the anthology. Wow! How about that?

When I couldn't build with words, I could build with rocks...
until the river rose and wiped it away.

Opportunity comes in so many places, but some of it we must seek out. Playing with words and ideas will expand where we can go with our writing. I see that I need to give myself the freedom to write in different forms than I normally do, allow myself the fun of adding details I think are silly or over the top, and give myself permission to let my words run wild with metaphors before I tame them into beautiful, thoughtful prose or poems.

Late summer by the Root Glacier.

Where I go with my writing is up to me. Nobody else. That idea is both exciting and scary. Oh, to be alive!

to McCarthy

I'm headed off to McCarthy tomorrow for what I hope will be a creative week. Mentally expansive is what I'm looking for. It's a long drive, maybe eight hours. I'll have a passenger, another writer from Anchorage who I've never met. Is it a good idea to take that long a drive with someone you've never met? Well, all the stories will be new and it's better than taking an eight hour drive with a friend who you didn't realize would drive you nuts in two hours (which is what happens in movies; it has never happened to me). I'm looking forward to it.

It's been 15 years since I was last in McCarthy. At that time I was a newbie, a real Chechako, having just moved to Alaska, not knowing whether I was staying, yet hoping I was. I didn't have a full-time job yet, so when I wasn't doing temp jobs or taking up space in my sister's basement and eating her food, I was traveling around with my dog and a couple of guys I'd met on the ferry between Prince Rupert, BC, and Haines.

Back then, you'd drive the 60-mile gravel road between Chitina and McCarthy, park in the gravel parking area at the end of a road, climb onto a hand tram and shuttle yourself across the river. Sometimes, for a fee, a local would ferry passengers across on the tram, but often you were on your own. I remember sitting in the tiny cage, my dog at my feet, one of the guys hanging off the outside of the swinging cage while the other handled the cable. For a girl who doesn't like heights, it was a bit scary watching the river tumble beneath us. But, it was the only way to get there so there was no choice. I don't remember much more than hiking a bit on the glacial moraines (I think that's where we were), making our way to the Kennecott mine buildings and strolling around the town. We didn't really take the time to settle in and get the feel of the place before continuing to Valdez.

I don't know how much has changed, but a bridge spans the river now, so I won't have to brave the tram to get to McCarthy, home of the Wrangell Mountains Center, which puts on the event. I got the schedule today and now have a better idea of what to expect: writing, some hikes, some discussions, writing some more.

A change of scenery usually inspires me. Hiking in new terrain; among different mountains; a group of people all focused on getting their creative juices flowing. I'll emphasize focus. Because while I just said a change of scenery inspires me, I'm often busy doing other things when I'm out there. Maybe I'm biking, hiking or berry picking, and by the time I pull out my notebook at the end of the day I'm so tired that I can barely start putting thoughts on paper before I nod off and the pen drags to the bottom of the page. Even when I carry my notebook on a dayhike, I am restless in the moment and often don't take the time to write down all the thoughts and clever lines I came up with through the inspiration of a little fresh air. Hell, I might have had the health care crisis solved if I had only taken the time to write it down!

This evening, I've been gathering my gear, rereading the info and hoping for a little bit of sunshine while we're there. I also hope this helps me continue the journey of banishing my fears and honing my creative voice. That's a big expectation. But why not?

I'm not sure if there'll be any posting from McCarthy. If not, I'll be back in a week. Carry on!

ode to dead salmon

Hello friends -

I have been writing (and rewriting) and want to share with you the three entries I sent to the Ode to Dead Salmon contest on the 49 Writers site. Go here for the contest. Here for my entries. There are bound to be lots of great entries, in addition to the ones already submitted, from writers vying for a chance to win a t-shirt from Ray Troll and accolades from their peers.

I'll admit I did get a little inspiration here.

Thanks for stopping by.

downtown Anchorage

Downtown Anchorage, viewed from the popular,
paved Tony Knowles Coastal Trail,


and from the new Singletrack Advocates
mountain bike trails.

Welcome to August.

soggy unicorns

The Soggy Bottom 100 (plus) mountain bike race started this morning in Hope.

Jon and I got some inspiration from this poster to make some trophies. Actually, I saw a unicorn at Metro Music & Book and got the idea that we should do something for the winners. Classic Toys had finger puppets and Jon mounted them on the stands for the male & female winners. And that's the difference between how Jon and I approach things: I would have just said, "here, have a unicorn," while Jon turned it into a trophy to present to someone. Something they can display on their mantle, along with broken derailleurs and oosiks. Hmm, maybe he just wanted to use his power tools...

if you aren't seeing unicorns, you aren't riding hard enough!

Then, for Carlos, the guy who puts it all together each year, the large unicorn I first saw at Metro...and a monkey (I don't know why - Jon's just creative that way).
Luckily, Jon also found someone to take the trophies to Hope where the race starts and finishes at the Seaview Bar. Thanks, Jim.

There's been lots of rain in the last week, so I hope it's sunny on the peninsula like it is today in Anchorage. I also hope the bottoms don't get too soggy. Me? Maybe I'll go for a little ride in town.

fungi

Found along the trail to Symphony Lake.

If April showers bring May flowers, then July showers bring mushrooms. Last Sunday when Jon and I hiked to Symphony Lake (south fork of Eagle River) he was optimistic that we could find a few mushrooms. He packed his knife and a mesh bag just in case. We did have some luck along the trail as we found a few boletus mushrooms with their distinct rusty-brown colored tops and wide white stems. A few had been nibbled by ground squirrels or other critters so I insisted he leave at least one out of a small cluster for the wildlife to enjoy.

The unusual thing about this hike was that I was the one with the mushroom eyes. Normally Jon is the one who spots them emerging from under last fall's brown leaves or under a shrub or in a stand of tall grass. So when I started seeing them, I understood his thrill at finding these little treasures. If you've never foraged, it's akin to an Easter egg hunt or any other scavenger hunt where half the fun is in the finding. If you're not finding, it's no fun. Of course, if you're successful, you may have lots of work ahead of you.

We only bagged a few, enough to enjoy in our pasta the next evening and for three trays in the dehydrator. After a few more days of rain, yesterday we decided that we should take a walk through his usual mushroom-hunting grounds. Up the trail, around the marsh, over a hill. We saw some that weren't edible, and some we weren't sure about, but we didn't see a single boletus. A little disappointed, we returned home where he made a meal of fresh salmon with mushroom risotto that used last year's dried shrooms. Delicious, as always.

These look like oyster mushrooms, based on photos I've seen, but we've
never picked them. They're growing out of a birch branch on the ground.

When you're scanning the ground for mushrooms,
you just might spot some not-so-big wildlife.

Then, this morning as he was getting ready to leave for work, we were strolling through the yard to see what mushrooms were growing there. That's when I found this King Boletus!

And there was a little one right behind it!

Now that I have the mushroom eyes, I'm beginning to understand Jon's little obsession. Maybe I'll even try to cook something.