My living room/studio is a mess of large packs, baskets packed within baskets, chunks of bark, and piles of warm kids' clothes, because in less than twelve hours from the time I get this post published, we fly for Whitehorse!

My sister Stephanie, brother-in-law, and new nephew -- and the dog team -- no joke -- are picking us up for the two and a half hour drive down across the BC border to Atlin. They have a place outside of Atlin they call 'Burnt Creek Camp', and we'll be staying there for the Atlin Arts and Music Festival. I'll be a guest artist at the festival, giving two workshops over the course of the weekend. 

My dad and stepmother will also be coming up to stay, so it's bound to be a memorable time, with days of adventures out on the land and evenings of  campfires and marshmallows in the endless twilight. I hope to get a little time alone with my sister, whom I haven't really seen in the last fifteen years. She and my brother-in-law have been together seven years, and the only substantial thing that I know of him is that he and I have the same atavistic taste in craft materials. I'm looking forward to tanning some hides with him and seeing what else he's been up to.