Memorial Day Weekend

Well, our 3 day, Memorial weekend has come to a close and it is back to the normal daily grind.  Considering that I don't currently work, that statement might not mean much.  However, today is the first day of Summer Semester so I really am getting back to my normal grind as well.  Before I get ready to hit the books and find an apple for my teachers, I thought I'd share with you some photos of my Memorial Day weekend.

Each Memorial Day Weekend, my man and I participate in the Alaska Vet's Motorcycle Club's Memorial Day Run.  It starts with a weekend camping trip in Trapper Creek, Alaska and on Sunday we ride from up to Mary's McKinley View Lodge at 134.5 mile Parks Highway.  There, we meet up with ALL the other Motorcyclists (150ish in total) and ride to The Alaska Veterans Memorial (mile 147 Parks Highway) for an amazing Memorial Ceremony. 

I'm not wearing riding gear in these first photos because I was driving a support vehicle down to Trapper Creek behind the small pack that my man was riding with.  Not only can my messed up back not handle the 4-5 hour ride down to Trapper Creek, but we also need support vehicles to carry gear and to be there in case of any accidents.

Here I am at the Lodge, trying to get as many bikes in the background as I can and failing miserable.  It is seriously, an amazing experience to see so many motorcycles in one place, at one time.  All of whom are coming together to remember all those who have fought for our freedom. 

This year I had the Honor of riding at the front of the pack in the "Diamond" carrying the Alaska Vet's MC's Battle Flag.  There is nothing more amazing than being in the front of a pack of 150 motorcycles, turning around to look behind you and seeing bikes for as far as the eye can see.

Senator Lisa Murkowski rides in with us each year to show her support.  She rides on the front bike, carrying the American flag.  I don't know much about her politics, but she was an amazingly nice and supportive woman.  We are honored to have her be a part of our ride and to speak during our ceremony. 

On a side note.... Every summer, a sort of tug-o-war happens in my wardrobe.  On one side, are novelty prints, circle skirts, and petticoats.  On the other side, leather jackets, boots, chaps, and helmets.  Then there is me, caught in the middle.  This weekend, I think it's clear to see that the leather won.  Today, though, is a different story.......

I sure know how to make a helmet look good, right?

Behind me there are bikes for as far as you can see..... That's pretty awesome!!

Lisa Murkowski, speaking during the ceremony.  I don't know how she does it.  Each year her speech is moving and powerful and never gets old or feels repetitive.

Fallen Warriors Ceremony. The "Cross" is known as The Fallen Soldier Battle Cross and is a symbolic replacement of a cross on the battlefield for the soldier who has been killed.  Made up of the soldier's riffle with bayonet attached stuck into the ground, helmet on top, dog tags sometimes hanging from the riffle and the boots of the dead soldier nest to it.  It's purpose is to show honor and respect for the dead at the battle site.

Last year, I stood with the other wives and friends of the Alaska Vet's  MC and it cause my back to cramp and spasm something fierce.  This year, I decided to sit.  Thank you to the Alaska Bush Riders Group for clearing me a seat.  And thank you for help with the bikes, road sandwiches and water.  You guys were were awesome to have around!!

After the ceremony, we took a few pics with the Navy part of the memorial, in honor of my man's service (and also, my cousin served in the Navy).

Words cannot express how proud of my man and his service to our country and our freedom. Ian served in the Navy from 1999-2005 and was on the first ship to launch missiles on Afghanistan after the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center. I may not support every war that we are a part of, but I will always support our soldiers and all of the sacrifices they (and their families) make for us.  THANK YOU!!  And thank you to the Alaska Vet's MC for putting on an amazing weekend and ride and welcoming me into your family.  I love you all.

Now, I'm off to curl my hair, put on my prettiest novelty print circle skirt, and get ready for another semester of school.  Let's do this!!!!

XOXO,

Cherry 

 

Mary Mead Cardigan & a Photo Challenge

My dad commented to me last week that it looks like I haven't been knitting as much as I used to lately.  From the looks of my blog, he may be right.  Please believe me, I have not abandoned my knitting, there's not enough antidepressants in the pharmacy to deal with me if that were the case.  But I have been in school and that has really dipped in to my knitting time.  Especially since I like to knit bigger projects (mostly sweaters), they are taking a bit more time to accomplish.  Here is my most recent finished project the Mary Mead Cardigan.  Yes, I KNOW, another Andi Satterlund pattern!!!!  I am seriously addicted to her patterns.  They are well worth the money, all the instructions are very clear and the schematics she gives are so detailed it makes any indiscretions in gauge easy to deal with as long as you follow the measurements.   Considering I have an absolute horrid time with gauge, having her diagrams is a massive help.  Seriously, if vintage patterns had measurement diagrams I would most definitely use them more.  But they don't, so the next best thing is to find amazingly talented designers who love vintage styles and use them as inspiration for their designs.

 Andi's inspiration for this cardigan came from the BBC show "Call the Midwife".  If you haven't seen it, check it out on Netflix.  Nurses, midwives and nuns dealing with the post war baby boom in a poverty stricken area of England.  I'm not a fan of nuns or babies and generally try to avoid pregnant women like the plague, but I have fallen in love with the show and have re watched it, in full while knitting on my cardigan.

 Aren't these little kitty buttons just the cutest?  Yesterday, I went to 3 different antique shops in search of the perfect buttons for this cardigan.  I found 9, yes 9 of these adorable little suckers at the first shop I went to.  It can be very hard to find more than 3 or 4 of the same buttons when searching for vintage ones so I just knew I needed to scoop these right up.  I wasn't, however, convinced that they were a perfect fit for this sweater.  Although I adore unique and quirky buttons, I seldom use them for fear that they will make the garment less wearable with many outfits.  With that hesitation in mind, I went to 2 more shops and found some other options.  When I laid them all out and showed my boyfriend he immediately said the kittens were the best choice.  With that vote of confidence, I sat down and sewed them on, on the spot.  I couldn't be happier with them.

 In honor of Me Made May, I paired my new Cardigan with a skirt I made last winter and talked more about here.  The fabric is vintage 1940's and I took my chances winging it and not using a pattern.  I was a bit worried that I wouldn't have much to go with it, but it turns out that I have 3-4 cardigans that go with it wonderfully.

If you recognize this yarn, that's because you've seen it before.  I originally had other plans for this yarn, but that just wasn't meant to be.  It was clearly meant for this amazing cardigan.  I did make a few alterations to it however.  Because my gauge is always an issue, I did a lot less rows on the sleeves and did some serious fudging on the decreases.  Also, because I have a medium front and a small back (thanks to my big boobs) and I forgot to make the adjustments (damn it), when I was picking up the stitches for the button band, I picked up a lot less than recommended through the back and shoulder area so that it nipped it in a bit.  So far that seems to have done the trick and my sweater isn't falling off my shoulders like so many others like to do. 

All that was left to do was pick up my lovely girl (ok, young woman) and bribe her with ice cream to take some pics for the blog.  Words cannot describe how proud I am of this young lady.  At 16, she is graduating from high school in a few weeks and has already registered for her first semester of college in the fall.  She is a constant inspiration to me. 

She even convinced me to climb up on this giant fish.  Of course, I made her do it first though. 

All in all, it was a wonderful afternoon spend with my most favorite young lady walking around Pioneer Park, eating ice cream and smiling the whole time. 

In other news, my friend Jessie who blogs over at Lonely Hepkat is organizing a 12 week photo challenge this summer.

Each week will have a new challenge like, "go on a picnic", or "take a picture with a classic car", or "get wet".  I think this sounds like a lot of fun and I plan on participating. If this sounds like something up your alley, head on over and join the flickr group.  I'm really hoping we can get a bunch of lovely ladies to join in the fun.

XOXO,
Cherry