Alligators, King Tut, coloring books and other things that are keeping me busy

I'm sure some of you have noticed that I haven't been updating as frequently lately. The last month got very, very busy.

There was the state fair, I wasn't a vendor, but did win tickets. The photo above is from a great educational exhibit about reptiles. As you can see, William and TATG had exactly opposite reactions to having a live alligator in their laps. TATG was tickled and amused. William was considerably more cautious and nervous.

The fair also had an exhibit of King Tut replicas. It was educational and interesting, and they both read every single placard in the exhibit that explained something. I took a whole bunch of photos, including one of a crook and flail for TG to turn into a cosplay item. My favorite is this one.

Big news? I recently signed a contract to do a mandala coloring book. The theme is paisley mandalas. It's a lot of fun drawing the mandalas.  I hope you all enjoy it when it comes out!

Other huge, wonderful news is that my husband is finally out of the hospitality industry. He's still doing the same job- running a housekeeping department, but for a company that he can really believe in. I don't know about other places, but executive level management in hotels can be a horrible, high stress, lots of hours job. His new job, he's working hard, but he's working a 40 hour week instead of 50-60 in the off season and up to 80 in tourist season. His boss seems to appreciate him, and he's liking the job quite a bit. I'm loving having him home more.

Also I have a couple product recommendations if you're looking for a good pomade or good suspenders. I'm not affiliated with these companies except for being a very happy customer-

First- pomade- My husband had a military cut for years after leaving the Army, but he grew out his hair for me. For him, long hair means still military short around the ears and neck, but the top is a couple inches long. It makes him nuts at work so he slicks it back with pomade. Except about 3 years ago the company that made the pomade he liked stopped making it. In those 3 years, we've used so many different products trying to find a good substitute.
Lockhart's Light Hold is perfect. It slicks his hair back and can be combed throughout the day to keep his straight, fine, thick hair in place. It smells great too, and it's non-drying and because it's a pomade, it doesn't flake. A little bit of Lockhart's Medium Hold works great on my hair for very sleek pony tails.

Suspenders- HoldUp Suspender Company- This has been a favorite of mine for years. My son needs suspenders and Michael prefers them to belts. They have the wide widths both of them of them prefer and in years of use, they have never had a problem with the suspenders coming undone. The clasps have a tiny pin in them to lock them into the pants. If you know someone who needs suspenders, but doesn't want to put buttons in their pants for a really good hold- this is the best option I've found. My son likes the "under ups" which are almost like an ace bandage, very soft and fairly stretchy. He can wear them under his Hawaiian shirts or tee shirts. Michael prefers the 2 inch wide ones. Both take the extra long ones because they are both so tall. They've been using the same sets regularly for years and it was only yesterday that I had to order more for them and a new clip for one set. Because they are so secure, I also ordered some clips to turn into sock garters for OTK socks for myself.

It's been busy, but it's been grand. TATG has made many jars of jelly and jam. I'm working on a scarf for William. It's pretty simple, basket weave crochet. I'll post the pattern when I'm done. At this point it's about 4 feet long and it needs to be at least 6 feet long. So it's almost there.

Alaska- I love living here (photos)

a sign at the fair

Saturday, our family went out to the Forest Fair in Girdwood. Girdwood is a tiny resort town with a strong art community that's about 36 miles away from Anchorage. The drive is incredible with the inlet on one side, and mountains on the other for most of it. Then when you get there, you're in a valley between mountains.
Forest Fair takes place in the woods of course, a trail in a wooded area lined with local artists, food and with 2 stages. It's very crowded with people dressed in tie dye, handmade colorful skirts, kilts and lots of embroidered details. I'm afraid I didn't get photos in the fair because well.. I was busy! Enjoying food, art and music.

Kids play area right outside the fair grounds.

The fair has few rules to remember.

We wandered the paths, looking at things and sharing snacks so we all got a taste of the various foods. The family favorite was Talkeetna Spinach Bread. A nice crusty bread spread with a garlic-y spinach spread and cheese and roasted until hot and melty.

 Rogues and Wenches were on the main stage, much to the delight of William. Most of the performances we catch by them are happenstance. They are at a fair or show we go to. I think it's time to start paying attention to where they play. Both Turnip Girl and William enjoy them a lot.

William and the Turnip looked carefully for something to bring home. William was fascinated by an artist who made things out of scraps of hardware, pipes and other salvaged materials. He picked a little dog statue that was made with pipe, a faucet and other pieces and parts.

The Turnip checked out every tie dye booth in the place. She loves tie dye, hers, other peoples, tie dye just makes her happy. She found a thermal long sleeved shirt in various shades of blue, standard spiral design that she loved.

I got a cup from Silverbear Sundries that you know will wind up being a prop in earring photos later this year. I also got a couple bars of soap from her. She had a FB special, if you mentioned you saw her announcement she would be at the fair, she gave you a lip balm. Since my family all loves her lip balm, we mentioned.

Remember that part of the road that I said looked like the path to fairyland when I was a kid? Click on these photos for larger views.

On the way back we stopped at Bird Point, which is a viewing area on the highway. It's one of the places you can view whales if you're there at the right time. There were sparrows darting around, and we spotted this nesting pair of ravens. This is taken at max zoom, they were pretty far away. I used Michael as my tripod.

Lichen! I asked a friend who really enjoys some of the detail in the macro shots I take if she liked lichen. She said "Lich'en? I love'en!"

This photo hasn't been resized or cropped. So if you click, it's huge. I hope you like it. It really is that beautiful.