About

Here is a bit about me and what I do:

Lovin' the Brooks Range

I'm a Northern Maine native and I've been living in Juneau since 2003. Like most people here, I came for a short stay and never left. UAS is a great school, Juneau is a great town, and Alaska is a great state! Since I've been here I've worked as a UAS tutor, a corner store clerk, a tour guide, a boat scrubber and painter, a gillnetting deckhand, a lodge hand, and a preschool teacher's assistant. Now, my focus is on raising a fishing family while producing local, sustainable food and clothing and reducing waste.
 



 

Working on the gillnet - Huck 8 days old

I'm married and have a 4 year-old son. We live on almost two acres on Douglas Island with our two dogs, many chickens, and a fluctuating number of rabbits. My husband is a commercial fisherman and big game guide, my son is a Montessori-raised ball of vinegar, and I am a stay-at-home mom trying my hand at crafty self employment. We're an outdoor family. We hunt, fish, hike, camp, picnic, ski, skate, ice climb, skiff around, garden, fort-build, bike, and do more outside chores than you could imagine.



And basically,
I am head-over-heals in love with the Earth!...... and I try to cultivate that same feeling in others. I think the Montessori theory is a great way to do that with children, as it fosters curiosity, creativity, respect, and compassion for all things, from an anthill to the planet Earth, from a single person to a community of creatures. When I worked at an AMI Montessori preschool I was constantly finding ways to engage the children in the natural world and share it's wonderful magnitude of multitudes. Now that I'm a stay at home Mama (as opposed to when I was a working Mama) I have more time to steep myself in the natural world, reflect, and share my creations with others. I make things because I love to, and also because I want to inspire peace, love, respect, and beauty through everyday objects, from the magnets on a fridge, to the skirt on someone's hips, to the materials children use. I love to have unique, handmade stuff, and I think others do too!

In 2010 I thought of starting a composting co-op but had no time; in October 2011 I brainstormed it onto paper; and in January 2012 I started it. Composting is an important part of nutrient cycling and it's just plain fascinating! I can't do it enough!

Juneau Icefield - me in yellow helmet

I still need supervision in the skiff.....

Family gillnetting - Huck on hydros

That's a pretty long nutshell, but trust me that it is in fact just a nutshell!