See my new business

 See my gnome business www.gnomesforyourhomes.co.uk

At Gnomes For Your Homes, I sell hand felted gnomes (or tomten) that would be perfect to sit on your shelf all year round. Each gnome has been hand felted, inside and out, starting with a wool base. I add white or hand dyed Wensleydale locks for his beard before adding a flesh-coloured Merino nose and cheeks. More locks are added to make bushy, wild hair. The pièce de résistance is the tall hat that I felt using hand carded and blended mixed fibres (such as super soft merino, tussah silk, baby llama, Ramie, Bamboo, Banana, Linen, FireStar and Angelina (sparkly) fibres. At the end, He gets feet and a wood disk so he can stand. Voila, all done. Each gnome is inspired by colours and textures that I come across in my life. They are all very special.

Jessika Lives Here

So, I started a new blog. I know, it didn't take me long to get over this one, but I hope the spin off will be just as enjoyable.

Jessika Lives Here

The end

I am sorry this is a really lame ending. I have been thinking about (and avoiding) it for a couple of weeks now and just didn't quite know what to say.

Darby's wedding was a sucess...it was really fun and moving. We girls looked ultra cute in our dresses and the sun decided to shine. I didn't really get any pictures...I was too busy enjoying myself.

I had a blast at my Uncle Ron's house celebrating Kelly's 50 birthday during the Labour Day weekend. The whole family turned out for the event.

Now I am back in England happy to be with Richard and Miki. I even got a new job working part-time as a barista at Costa Coffee in Leeds...I think it will actually be fun. I get to work with my friend Johnny which will make it even better.

So, I will most likely be taking a hiatus from blogging, but am considering starting up a new one in the near future...you will all get emails.

Signing off for now...
Jessika

Ramblin down to Phoenix

When I got away from the Hoover Dam and down to AZ-93...the sagebrush started to disappear and the cacti arrived.
I was so excited, I pulled over onto some BLM roads and had to take pictures.
Here are some choice photos from the trip.

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Notice the dark clouds...this is the biggest rain storm I have ever had the pleasure to drive in. I had to pull over, along with an Oregonian driver. That is how bad it was.

Desert Therapy

When I started this trip, I thought I would be doing more camping. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. I got wrapped up in the convenience of hotels. While I am writing this, I am camping, and though camping alone can be lonely, it definitely lets you think (and want to kill the little kids that can’t stop yelling in the RV next to me).

I chose well for this short stay. Lone Pine, the Alabama Hills where many cowboy TV shows were shot. Where people like Carry Grant and Gene Autry did their thing. This is also an area I surveyed with the fire fighters when I was working for the Forest Service. It is beautiful and hot during the day. The area is seated just below Mt. Whitney (the tallest mountain in the continental U.S., I think it is a fluke…Mt. Rainer is clearly bigger) and all the hills here are stacks of orange boulders that look like any minute will stand up and walk around.

I have found that anywhere in the Sierra Nevada is the most beautiful around 6 p.m. The shadows melt on the ranges allowing every crevice to be highlighted, giving depth to the most meaningless ridge.

This year the desert is green. Even now in August, the sagebrush and rabbit brush still look alive and vibrant instead of brown and dreary. In times past, by August, I was ready to high-tail it out of the desert and back to the trees. I am sad to leave it’s beautiful ranges and endless valleys. I love everything the desert has to offer and have appreciated it fully.

I love it here. It has made me happy. It has made me feel alive.

I love being an archaeologist. It is an extremely exciting and exhausting occupation. This summer has made me angry, excited, sad and proud. I met unique and awesome people who got to know me better than most of my friends at home. Out here you get to know your co-workers better than anyone could at an office job. I will deeply miss these people and hope to be able to see them again.

This summer is something I have needed since my grandmother died in 2006. A chance to remember who I am and that life goes on. I am independent and fun, spontaneous and stubborn, understanding and blunt. I have the ability to be free.

All of these things are important for an archaeologist. The job can be infuriatingly frustrating because you don’t know when or where the next job will be. When you get the phone call you are whisked away to a secret, beautiful location (ok, I am playing it up a little bit…you are whisked away to some God forbidden, middle of no where valley in the middle of the desert…you say ‘tomato and I say tawmawtoe’) that allows you complete internalization of your thoughts and feelings (go a head, let it go, the person 30 meters away will never know) the best psychologist in the world. This can be imprisoning or enlightening and some days downright annoying if you have the wrong little ditty that loops over and over in your head for 10 hours.

But the conversations with your crew-mates are the best part and the final touch on this ‘desert therapy.’ Thrown together in a car with no radio reception allows a plethora of conversation and you get to know these people maybe more than they would have meant.

I wish I had camped more.

What exactly is it I do?

Have any of you wonder what we do in the field when we record stuff? Well here is an example as Jarred (the crew chief) and Michelle (the other tech) go through an inventory of cans. Very exciting!

I have another example of the surveying, but the movie turned out making me a little nauseasous, so I am not going to put it up yet.

Radiation and Sunburns

Well, I got sunburned...my hands hurt.

Anyway...
We are going to start surveying in Railroad Valley, one of the areas that was effected by the A-bomb testing at the Nevada Test Site but is now highly investigated for resources and wildlife. I am actually excited about it because I have read a lot about it. Incredibly deserty.


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Reno to San Mateo...2

The route didn't show up down below, so I will try again.


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Reno to San Mateo to see Ben

I got bored, so I decided to drive to San Mateo to see my friend Ben. The drive is really easy and it takes no time at all (about 3.5 hours).


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I forget how beautiful Northern California is. After spending the afternoon being yuppie (we had to do some shopping for Ben's house as he is planning on decorating it. We ended up in IKEA, Bed Bath and Beyond, Costco and Target drinking our Starbucks) we drove down to Half Moon Bay and into the Santa Cruz Mountains. The ocean is so beautiful and in Ben's Subaru Outback, we cruised all the winding roads in the mountains...SWEET!


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Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures.


I would really like to thank Ben for letting me crash at his apartment and spending some time catching up. I hadn't seen Ben for 3 years and I can never have a trip to Reno and not see him.

My last week...Part 1...Eureka

Yes, I know we have been in Eureka before. This time we are surveying a small bit for a developer. I was keen to take many pictures this time and luckily for me, we found a HUGE trash dump that included both modern (post 1960's) and historic (pre-1960's) cans, glass and etc. As always, click on the picture below to see the album.

Eureka Survey 2

Short and sweet

This week we were sent to Wells, NV to survey around the Bishop Creek Reservoir. Apparently the BLM is allowing a road to cut through the valley so that the damn on the reservoir can be replaced.

The Drive:
The first day was all driving. It took about 6 hours to get there. On the way, we noticed that our new 1999 Surburban's breaks were a bit mushy so we had to stop at Les Shawb to get them looked at. In the end, we waited until we got back to Reno to get them fixed.



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Wells to Bishop Creek Reservoir:
The project area was not far from the Super 8 Motel we were staying at.


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The actual project area:


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As always the area was beautiful. We lucked out too because there was a pretty good breeze and there was cloud cover for the majority of day 2.

During one of the linear surveys, I had to cross a barbed wire fence. Now usually I will go under or through a barbed wire fence. I never get stuck or hurt, but in this instance, I had to go over. As Jarred coxed me to go over the fence, telling me where to put my feet, I put my foot on a wire that was not secured to the post. So of corse, my foot slid down and I ended up stratteling the fence...thankfully I was not a guy. However, my left thigh got caught on one of the barbs. It really hurt and began to bleed. I finished out the line with blood dripping down my leg. I wasn't really sure how much I was bleeding until I got out of the car when we got to the hotel and found blood all over the leather seats in the back. I was able to get the blood out no problem. I managed to get a couple of pictures of my cool wound.




What is even more unfortunate about this is that my doctor let me know that I am overdue for a Tetnis shot, so guess what that means? I am hoping Workman's Comp will pay.

What was also weird was that my shins are completely covered in bruises. For being the shortest session on relatively easy and sparsely vegetated ground, I ended up the most abused out of all the sessions. Of course I did have my one trip and fall that has become quite a tradition, but that can only help account for very few of the bruises.

The project area managed to yield no important sites (only a couple of lithic scatters) and therefore our session was cut short by a day. Although I was sad because I wanted more money, I was glad we did not have to stay in the hotel another night. This place was horrible. In February 2008, Wells had a 6.0 earthquake that managed to destroy many of it's historic buildings. I am attributing the dilapidated state of the floors and ceilings to that, but the smells and thin walls have nothing to do with the earthquake. I must say, that the staff were incredibly nice.


Photo Album for the week...please click on picture to view the whole album:

Bishop Creek Reservoir survey

Next week (August 5th), we will be heading back out to Eureka doing more survey. Unfortunately this will be my last session. I will be heading to Uncle Greg and Auntie Sue's in Arizona on the 14th and then back to Eugene for Darby's wedding on August 23rd. After that, I am back to Gig Harbor to get ready to return to my lovely husband and kitty in the UK on September 2nd.

I am so depressed at how fast this summer has gone, but have had a blast doing what I love most, Archaeology.

A funky loop to the Mono Basin

I love the Mono Basin. I know almost every inch of it from when I was working with the Forest Service in 2004.

I went on a funky loop down HWY 395 to Mono Lake and then back up HWY 95. For the most part I am boycotting California because of it's gas prices (is $5.50 really necessary when you can get gas in Nevada for $3.95?), but I had to go see the lake again.



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At the end of my trip I accidentally ended up in Virginia City. I have been meaning to go there, now I know I HAVE to go there...even if just to see the cemetery. Here is a cool site where you can see all the buildings: http://www.ghosttowns.com/states/nv/virginiacity.html

Sunscreen

I always wonder about sunscreen...my skin is so sensitive I can hardly ever use lotion without breaking out or getting a big red, itching rash. Thinking about which sunscreen to use stresses me out tremendously.

In the past I have used Banana Boat's Sport 30 spf sunscreen and overall have a good result, minimal face breakout and can usually get by with minimal re-application.

This year, I finally got a "sunburn" while using Banana Boat Sport (OK, so normal people would just say that I had gotten a little too much sun. I got redder than normal with a bit of itching and a small amount of stinging. All these symptoms were gone in a day and I got "tan.") even though I was re-applying every couple of hours. This made me think about my sunscreen again.

I was looking through one of the Reno independent newspapers and they had an article on the top 10 "safe" sunscreens. It gave a link to "Skin Deep" a website that dissects all the cosmetics sold on the market, including sunscreen and soaps.

Did you ever want to know what all of those weird ingredients in your cosmetics were? They tell you on the website and how they all can give you cancer of one sort or another. I found this site really interesting and I will be choosing a new sunscreen in the not to distant future.

For all my guinea pig homies...Bringing you some joy and funnies

This is almost funnier than the Kitty Cat song:



So you can compare, here is the Kitty Cat song:

Sunshine, lollypops, and rainbows everywhere

I am not sure if those are the real lyrics or not...but it sounds good.



My View to the Right

So...
I have been in Reno for a week and a half. We didn't have any fieldwork this week so I was stuck in the office for a few days. I have been at the Fitzgerald which has pretty nice rooms. They are huge and the view that I have is really nice. So I have been extended my stay here 4 times now. The Truckee White River Park is near, so I get to hear concerts and go down to the river when I get bored.


Truckee River White Water Park on the Truckee River

I went on a covert literature search Monday (covert because I was given 1 hour notice). I was paid to be in the car for a total of 10 hours and 4 hours of research time at the Elko BLM. Literature searches have to be done in the BLM district where a survey is going to take place. We go through reports of previous surveys to print out information on previously recorded sites in the project area. Pretty easy.

During my trip to Elko, there was a major lightening storm that created pouring rain (very odd for Nevada in July). The cool part was, it created a double rainbow. One was particularly vibrant.





We finally got the word that a group of us will be going to Wells, NV for 4 days beginning Monday and then a likely chance of the whole crew being on session August 5th...if this is true, that will be my last session and I will be heading home on the 12th.

DAH, NAH, NAH, NAH, NAH, NAH, NAH....BATMAN

Everyone has to see The Dark Knight.
The best Batman movie ever.
I can't say more than that to respect all of you who are planning to see it.

Skele gained, Lessons Learned

So this is going to be a duzie, but here is the cool part...I found a skeleton that was coming out of a burial! And when I say that I found it, it pretty much means that I identified a metatarsal that we found on the surface as human, and then I went to where I felt there would be more of a foot, under an ant hill. So I looked at the surface and immediately identified a phalanx, I kept pushing some dirt aside and found more phalanges. At that point I decided to stop because all of this has to go to the government for assessment. I looked at the surface a little more and found a rib, and then out of no where, right were we were standing was the complete right humerus. It had been uncovered as we had been scuffling around the site.

So, what happens when a burial is found? Well, we contact BLM, because it is on their land. The police and coroner maybe called in if the skeleton is thought to be new. Due to artifacts that we found with the skeleton (brass buttons and buckles) and the site it was located in (frying pan, tin cans, a butter knife), I would think it is historical and therefore NAGPRA won't be involved.

Anyway, I learned that I can be confident that I know what I am talking about. When my crew boss randomly picked up the metatarsal and didn't recognize it as an animal he knew of (being a zooarchaeologist), he was gonna let it go. But I could swear it was human, so I took it from him and pondered it for a long time. I knew it was human the second I saw it, but because I lack confidence in my ability to identify remains anymore, I was still not 100% sure until I found the phalanges.

Another lesson learned on this trip is that I need to speak up when I don't feel well in the field. We had a particularly hot day on Wednesday like high 90's. I was working with an all boy group who survey really really fast. Well, I started to feel a little dizzy and lightheaded, then I could feel a bit of a headache. I began to not be able to walk correctly, always tripping over things and my brain wasn't working the way it should have. I had drunk a gallon of water in 4 hours but wasn't really sweating the way one should. So from all those symptoms, I still had a hard time speaking up. Finally, after 3 failed attempts to allow the word exit my mouth, I was finally able to tell my crew chief that I was desperate and needed to go back to the car, which was now about 2 miles away. Needless to say I had to stay in for 2 days because I had gotten mild heat stroke.

This lesson was that I need to be more active in how I feel, and to not worry about what others are going to think about me being sick. No one blames me for having to stay in because of heat problems. They don't want me to die. So, I need to get over that self consciousness.

We have been surveying in Kobhe Valley outside of Eureka on BLM land for a mining project at Mount Rose. It is really beautiful. Too bad there is so much smoke from the California fires.

Kobhe Valley Floor


Sorry the film is a little fast.

Historic Mines, 4th of July and the Olympic Trials in Eugene

During our last 4 day stint in the field in Battle Mountain, the snapshots of life in the early 1900's at this historic mine finally came together. My crew got to witness something that most archaeological crews never get to see...the whole picture.

During these 2 sessions, we have found numerous garbage dumps and structures. On our last 2 days, we found an old track that was used to send ore down the valley. We followed this track about a mile and came across a structure that was used to (or at least what we think) process the ore.

In essence, we put all the pieces together to find that this area was used by unaffiliated individuals who were mining in the same area and sharing the equipment to process their ore.

This is very exciting and I was so happy that all this was uncovered on the last day.

session 2

I spent the 4th with Darby, making the journey from Reno to Veneta once again. The trip is only about 425 miles. It is a gorgeous drive. I camped at Eagle Lake on my way up to save money. No one was camping this year...

We attended a small festival in Eugene on the 4th but left before the fireworks. On the 5th we celebrated my belated 30th birthday. We ate food, got drunk and danced. It was fun.

To top off my trip, we attended the finals for the Olympic Trials for Track and Field. It was incredibly exciting. Watching it on TV doesn't show you how fast these athletes are. What I found the most amazing were the pole vaulters. The amount of strength it takes to hurl yourself over a pole at 16 ft, is astonishing.

I am adding some pictures of Darby's new house. It is huge. They have a 5 acer plot that many deer and wild turkeys frequent. It will look amazing for their wedding.

Darby's house

Car chases and wildfires

I am glad the week is finally over and I can have my much needed 6 days off.
Every session something incredibly exciting happends. Whether it is drama in the crew, flat tires or in our case a police allowed car chase.

On our way home along I-80 we noticed a car on an off ramp with some people fighting. At a closer look, it was 2 huge men beating a small woman.
We were concerned, so we made the 9-1-1 call, and backed down the ramp to get the lisence number and to basically let them know we were on the case.

They jumped in the car and drove off. We follow the car for 20 minutes while on the phone with dispatch, they give us the green light to go as fast as we can following the car. We ended up losing them because we were in a 4 Runner that was full of crap and wouldn't go much faster than 100 mph. The car ended up getting off at an exit and swung to go the opposite direction on I-80. Finally the cops appear, tons of them, going really fast and we tell them that they were headed in the opposite direction.

In the end, they were caught. But the best part was that the woman told the cops to thank us. I was so glad because we were afraid that she wouldn't prosecute or would take their side. She was beaten pretty badly though.

On to the wildfires...
So there are about 800 wildfires going on in the California Sierra's. Because Reno is in a valley, well much of NEvada is a basin/range, all the smoke has gathered there. It is horrible. You can't see a mile ahead, it is similar to fog in October, only you can't breathe. Needless to say, my camping plans were ruined and because I have asthma, I fled the area and decided to go to Darby's. The smoke was present from Reno to Aiden, CA.


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It was unfortunate, because the drive is really pretty, but because of the smoke...there were no mountains. We also saw the smoke in Battle Mountain. The valley that we have a view of has been gone for a couple of days now. I guess the smoke covers Northern Nevada to the Utah border and get this...more

Here are some pictures of my drive out of the city. In all of these pictures there are supposed to be huge 10,000 ft mountains.

Update for project area google map pict

Google maps gave me the coordinates for the beginning of Buffalo Valley. We are actually much more south than that. Here is a new picture. Again we are between the mountain ranges. The other teams are at the salt flats to the north of us. As I said, this project area is huge. I wish I could remember the acreage.


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