we've continued to have high winds and warmer temperatures here followed by chill and snow. the streets are coated with ice. my driveway is slick as snot. though i've never actually tested that theory so i really am not sure if ice is actually slicker than snot..i suspect it is. i've managed to stay upright, but it only takes one bad fall to alter your world. i bought some stuff this evening to lay on the driveway as that is my most dangerous place. i have shoes with tiny cleats which does help alot. we usually do not have this chinook wind weather to deal with but maybe once a winter. we'd all love for it to be done with for good. someone did decorate out on the tank trail. so i took these pictures. you can see me in the one above. always looks so pretty out there on the trail.
so i did make it on the monday walk this week. it's not that i would mind doing jury duty it's just that it starts so dang early. i work nights and the idea of waking at before 6 am to be downtown by 8am is terrifying. not sure i would manage it. i'm on day three though and so far i've been off the hook. i call each night and my number hasn't been called yet. it's getting closer though. hate making that call though. scarey! 
this moose madam was seen on todays walk. she was right by the trail, ears back and looked preggers to me. we all scooted off the trail into the deep snow to give her some space. in truth she didn't seem to impressed with the lot of us and we probably could have walked right by her. of course, one doesn't want to make those assumptions when a moose is involved. they are quite large and seem to get larger as they are charging towards you. i have been charged a few times and it's something i prefer to avoid. 
a group of us did rovers run today. somewhat eventful . we got yelled at by a woman as our dogs were off leash and this is a sin to some...illegal yes, i know. blossom is lovely off leash so i don't fret about her. i do understand that having a pack of dogs running towards you is not a comfortable feeling though so i feel badly when i know we've totally freaked/pissed off someone. honestly didn't expect many out there as it's a weekday and the wind was blowing pretty steady. everyone else was chill about the dogs. we ran into some bikers. they laughed as they run into us often and know who we are and recognize our dogs. small town really.
blossom and i passed the moose pretty easily. i had left rio home today. she did the entire monday walk yesterday which is about 4 miles. i figured she'd be happy at home. the wind freaks her out anyway. so many scents flying through the air, can be a bit rough on her. she had scented out some moose on the monday walk as well. half the time i never see the moose that she smells. did finally realize that what i thought was some logs and fell trees were really a few moose lying down. they didn't seem bothered by us and were a bit off trail so the dogs didn't bother them.
so i did make it on the monday walk this week. it's not that i would mind doing jury duty it's just that it starts so dang early. i work nights and the idea of waking at before 6 am to be downtown by 8am is terrifying. not sure i would manage it. i'm on day three though and so far i've been off the hook. i call each night and my number hasn't been called yet. it's getting closer though. hate making that call though. scarey! 
this moose madam was seen on todays walk. she was right by the trail, ears back and looked preggers to me. we all scooted off the trail into the deep snow to give her some space. in truth she didn't seem to impressed with the lot of us and we probably could have walked right by her. of course, one doesn't want to make those assumptions when a moose is involved. they are quite large and seem to get larger as they are charging towards you. i have been charged a few times and it's something i prefer to avoid. 
a group of us did rovers run today. somewhat eventful . we got yelled at by a woman as our dogs were off leash and this is a sin to some...illegal yes, i know. blossom is lovely off leash so i don't fret about her. i do understand that having a pack of dogs running towards you is not a comfortable feeling though so i feel badly when i know we've totally freaked/pissed off someone. honestly didn't expect many out there as it's a weekday and the wind was blowing pretty steady. everyone else was chill about the dogs. we ran into some bikers. they laughed as they run into us often and know who we are and recognize our dogs. small town really.
blossom and i passed the moose pretty easily. i had left rio home today. she did the entire monday walk yesterday which is about 4 miles. i figured she'd be happy at home. the wind freaks her out anyway. so many scents flying through the air, can be a bit rough on her. she had scented out some moose on the monday walk as well. half the time i never see the moose that she smells. did finally realize that what i thought was some logs and fell trees were really a few moose lying down. they didn't seem bothered by us and were a bit off trail so the dogs didn't bother them. the malamutes were giving amy and tanya fits in thier excitement to get through all that deep snow.
maddie joined us today as did tanya's old neighbor who was in town visiting. funny as i chatted with her old neighbor it came up that she moved to arcadia, california. this is right by my hometown of south pasadena. always funny. she is going to go to the rose parade for the first time. i do love that parade. we were spoiled by always having that one to go to as kids. after that any parade you seem is really just crap. there are a few things about california that i always enjoyed, that parade was one of them.
my exercise routine is totally blown of late. i will start the new years right with a renewed attendance at the pool. already making my new years resolutions! i think this crap weather makes you just want to hole up at night and not go back out. plus we are in our darkest days. so dark days and cloudy, windy skies are not a good combo. no excuses, i suck, but i promise to improve! the weather has been good for the economy. made it out shopping a bit today. went to costco and then took the pups to petsmart! time to get some stuff for local friends. they are always last. oh and me too! had to get a few gifts for me. the dogs always love it at petsmart. there is a new olive garden set to open soon in the same shopping area as the petsmart. haven't been to olive garden for years. will be nice for a change. seemed like i enjoyed it when i went. you can see the moose above on the right side of picture and my friends scrambling to get around her on the left. 
the snow is crusted on top and punches through when you take a step. i think i followed in the bikers footsteps. i could see the tire tracks with foot prints next to them. easier to just step where they stepped and not punch through. that was my stradegy. 
today's crew. maddie is off for the holiday stretch. lena came yesterday with her 3 boys as well. i think we had 8 humans yesterday and maybe 6 dogs? we all enjoyed our hot cocoa at the kaladi's after. a few friends joined us there, bonita with her 2 kids and sandra. the kaladi's is always fun. of course, i added an app to my iphone that tanya suggested and got totally sucked into playing it that night. whirly word. i love word games. 
watched a few christmas movies the other night. "the grinch who stole christmas" i like the cartoon version better than the movie one. also watched, "the muppet christmas carol". should watch a christmas story tomorrow night. my movie watch days are a bit cut short due to work weekend. haven't made it out to look at christmas lights either as the wind and ice made that seem like a bad idea. 
baked cookies..a must for the holiday season. 
ekko does some yoga on the trail. 
the dictator of north korea died the other day and so his son will take over. what does that mean, remains to be seen. he could be better, he could be worse. who knows. looks pretty young. 
this is rio on the scent of a moose. normally she walks right behind me so when she takes off like this i start looking for moose. 
the debris from japans tsunami is expected to start hitting the shores of alaska soon. was thinking when we are dropped off on the remote beach in bristol bay this summer and wander the beaches there we may likely see some of the flotsam from this disaster. could be quite sad. the size of the flotsam was estimated in the paper to be twice the size of the state of texas and one boat said it took them 7 days to pass through it all. they did mention too that one should be careful with any flotsam found as it may have radioactive contamination. not sure i would like running across shoes with actual feet still inside them. the article did mention that one should give the flotsam the necessary reverence and respect due to the death and destruction that are connected with it. always a good reminder. i usually enjoy trolling beaches for flotsam, but this is not what i have in mind.
the last of our troops have left iraq. i'm happy about that. they remain in afghanistan of course, but it's a start. hopefully, iraq doesn't become a mess post withdrawl. one just hopes the best for all those people. life has been very hard on the people of the middle east is seems for so many years, such a harsh environment. hopefully, it's a part of our history that we can leave in the past. i hope too that the people of iraq can find a way to leave the violent history they've existed in in the past as well. my thoughts go with all those who lost lives in this conflict/war and to thier families. also to all those who were injured or continue to suffer from post traumatic and the various issues that come from spending time in a war zone. i can't imagine and hope i never have to live through such a thing. i have been blessed i know. so many on our earth suffer through war after war and all the anguish that comes with it.
a couple was found dead in kipnuk. the baby was found alive apparently. no news as to what happened. the family went to check on them and found the scene. the village only has just over 600 people. most of these smaller villages have no police force and rely on safety officers. the safety officers generally are not armed at all. they report to the state troopers who then fly out to investigate or deal with issues. a gunman could hold a village hostage awaiting aide. weather can always prevent that help from arriving as well. luckily, i live in the big city of alaska and we have all the conveniences that come with a larger city. 
guess i should get to bed. 3 nights, 3 calls and i've been lucky so far. just have 2 more nights to call. panic, panic! tomorrow is solstice...well i guess today is. Happy Solstice and welcome back to the sun as it slowly returns to us. you have been missed. i always enjoy winter solstice more than summer. in the summer i get a bit sad knowing that the sun is going away again. not complaining. i love alaska and the daily change in light is part of it as is the long winters. but i'm going to be a happy girl today knowing that we've hit our darkest hour and now the days will lengthen.
the snow is crusted on top and punches through when you take a step. i think i followed in the bikers footsteps. i could see the tire tracks with foot prints next to them. easier to just step where they stepped and not punch through. that was my stradegy. 
today's crew. maddie is off for the holiday stretch. lena came yesterday with her 3 boys as well. i think we had 8 humans yesterday and maybe 6 dogs? we all enjoyed our hot cocoa at the kaladi's after. a few friends joined us there, bonita with her 2 kids and sandra. the kaladi's is always fun. of course, i added an app to my iphone that tanya suggested and got totally sucked into playing it that night. whirly word. i love word games. 
watched a few christmas movies the other night. "the grinch who stole christmas" i like the cartoon version better than the movie one. also watched, "the muppet christmas carol". should watch a christmas story tomorrow night. my movie watch days are a bit cut short due to work weekend. haven't made it out to look at christmas lights either as the wind and ice made that seem like a bad idea. 
baked cookies..a must for the holiday season. 
ekko does some yoga on the trail. 
the dictator of north korea died the other day and so his son will take over. what does that mean, remains to be seen. he could be better, he could be worse. who knows. looks pretty young. 
this is rio on the scent of a moose. normally she walks right behind me so when she takes off like this i start looking for moose. 
the debris from japans tsunami is expected to start hitting the shores of alaska soon. was thinking when we are dropped off on the remote beach in bristol bay this summer and wander the beaches there we may likely see some of the flotsam from this disaster. could be quite sad. the size of the flotsam was estimated in the paper to be twice the size of the state of texas and one boat said it took them 7 days to pass through it all. they did mention too that one should be careful with any flotsam found as it may have radioactive contamination. not sure i would like running across shoes with actual feet still inside them. the article did mention that one should give the flotsam the necessary reverence and respect due to the death and destruction that are connected with it. always a good reminder. i usually enjoy trolling beaches for flotsam, but this is not what i have in mind.
the last of our troops have left iraq. i'm happy about that. they remain in afghanistan of course, but it's a start. hopefully, iraq doesn't become a mess post withdrawl. one just hopes the best for all those people. life has been very hard on the people of the middle east is seems for so many years, such a harsh environment. hopefully, it's a part of our history that we can leave in the past. i hope too that the people of iraq can find a way to leave the violent history they've existed in in the past as well. my thoughts go with all those who lost lives in this conflict/war and to thier families. also to all those who were injured or continue to suffer from post traumatic and the various issues that come from spending time in a war zone. i can't imagine and hope i never have to live through such a thing. i have been blessed i know. so many on our earth suffer through war after war and all the anguish that comes with it.
a couple was found dead in kipnuk. the baby was found alive apparently. no news as to what happened. the family went to check on them and found the scene. the village only has just over 600 people. most of these smaller villages have no police force and rely on safety officers. the safety officers generally are not armed at all. they report to the state troopers who then fly out to investigate or deal with issues. a gunman could hold a village hostage awaiting aide. weather can always prevent that help from arriving as well. luckily, i live in the big city of alaska and we have all the conveniences that come with a larger city. 
guess i should get to bed. 3 nights, 3 calls and i've been lucky so far. just have 2 more nights to call. panic, panic! tomorrow is solstice...well i guess today is. Happy Solstice and welcome back to the sun as it slowly returns to us. you have been missed. i always enjoy winter solstice more than summer. in the summer i get a bit sad knowing that the sun is going away again. not complaining. i love alaska and the daily change in light is part of it as is the long winters. but i'm going to be a happy girl today knowing that we've hit our darkest hour and now the days will lengthen. 
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