now i have two puppy school graduates!!

 so proud of them both.  turning into great little puppies. Ivy still jumps and today she scratched a friends face...embarrassing.  both of them were a bit too barky tonight so i closed the outdoor run door for a bit.  seems to calm them down.  i'll go back and open it before i crash.  it does help calm them down when i take away the whole yard.  both are currently sleeping.

 my friend, SH came by to watch class and take a few pics for me.  i think she found it pretty entertaining.  kept seeing her cracking up.  i appreciate her taking pictures.

 of course, i suppose like most of us, seeing ourselves in pictures is not always our favorite...a reminder that we have aged and that our bodies are not perfect.  it was also more clear how tall Tusker has gotten.  seeing him next to me makes me see how large he is becoming.  haha.

 the most important thing is he is doing really great.  it is funny in class because he is pretty mellow.  she used him as the mellow meet the dog...dog.

 i try to just remember that i am aging and that i do not have a perfect body.  few of us do.  there is always some pressure in society to be this ideal person and we rarely live up to the expectations that seem to be put on us all.

 in my face you see though, that i am happy.  that i am enjoying life for what it is.  that is the most important take away one should get from pictures i guess.  while i was there training Tusker, i was not concerned with how my body looked.  i am over 50...i have the body of a woman over 50, i have the spirit of a woman over 50 as well.

 overall i am healthy.  i walk nearly every day and i have done this for over 20 years now.  i hope to be doing it for at least another 20 years...if i am blessed to live a long and generally healthy life.

 these are a few from a walk the other day out homestead trail back to rovers and back across view.

 loved how this tree turned out with the light.  the afternoon light can be amazing.

 today i walked out Rovers run loop.  it was cold, but i don't think it was as cold as yesterday.  more clouds and less fog.  fog last night though again.  the car was plugged in last night and started right away.

 a few below from Mondays walk . light below was on the powerline trail

 got lucky today again with the post office.  5 packages mailed so really i am mostly done with mailings.  i got there and was the only one in line...that quickly changed but i was in and out of there pretty fast.  that is twice this holiday season.

 the frost is always so beautiful.  don't do it justice with the pictures. these next few are really just in the parking lot at Bass Pro yesterday.

 will be really pretty if the blue skies come out before it snows again.  all that frost.  i start back to work tomorrow.  it's looking good for snow next week though.

 yesterday after Bass i cruised over to Pt Woronzof for the sunset.  some nice sun dogs were spotted near the airport before i got there.

 this is sundog on the right of the sun

 here is sun with both sundogs, on each side.  it has to do with ice crystals in the air i think.

 just beautiful color.

 pretty awesome

 down at the point.  the fog is pinking up from the sunset.

 lots of big ice flows out there and the tide was moving super fast.  coming in.

 i think they call it pancake ice.  forms circles as it gets spun around with the tides.

 some like these are 10-20 feet in diameter, others are over 100 feet in diameter.

 fog bank looking towards downtown.  we were initially the only ones there so we headed down to the beach.  i put them back on leash on the beach since the tide was close and moving super fast.

 that could go bad super fast.  gotta protect my babies.

 this beach has got some graffiti on it.  makes you remember you are in a bigger city, right?  this is also the place were 2 victims of violence were found one morning...of course found by a person out walking their dog.  always my concern.  thankfully, i rarely walk that early in the morning.

 they have identified the killer but the paper i think today or yesterday said the killer was still at large. the two victims were shot.  one was dead and the other was barely alive when found and later did die.  there were some flowers down there which i suspect had been left for these victims

 steam rising from the ice flows i think.

 as we were alone and it was pretty, it seemed a good opportunity to leave yet another small memorial for Blossom and her buddies Rio Catalina and Baby Huey.

 was able to build this cairn up pretty nicely.  it may have helped that it was sub zero and the ice on the rocks probably froze soon after i put them together.  a bit of natural cement.

 i put the pups leashes on a limb and they chilled while i put this together, so that helped as well...not having them try to knock it over as i built it.

 i had brought some rocks to add to the memorial.  i only had them there for the photo .  didn't want to leave rocks that did not belong here.

 the ashes are there and the cairn....that is enough.

 i just have local stuff to do Christmas wise.  more simple.  i don't go too crazy.  just find small things that are cool.

 dang..canker sore evolving.  don't get those that often anymore, but they still are a pain.

 back to work tomorrow for 3.

 stories of death in Aleppo.  civilians being slaughtered.  people suck!!  this crap seems to happen over and over.  innocent people are killed while those who control these wars, from little rooms safe from any gun fire, play with souls.  everyone blames everyone else and nothing changes.  different victims, different parts of the globe...same crap, new generation.

 the rich get richer the poor get poorer.  there is enough for everyone yet some are so greedy and they want bigger and bigger bank accounts.  how much money do these people need?  how many millions, billions?  saw a report showing the big healthcare companies the guys at top are getting paid like $30,000/day.  it's crazy.  there is plenty of money to pay for people's healthcare, but these fat arses want all the money for themselves.  how many houses do they need, how many pairs of pants, how many...how much?  what is the point of it all?  it makes no sense to me.

 and there it is...my little loss.  seems pretty silly i guess compared to all that goes on in our world.  but animals do not do any of this.  they just bring us happiness.  they live by instinct, not emotion.

 when i hear of human atrocities i also know that there are many animals that are lost as well.  beloved pets, animals that people depend on for meals.  when people go bad and destroy all....they destroy all.  they have no mercy.  these are heartless fools who are driven by poisoned governments.

 we are not above it all.  we have also committed atrocities in the name of the greater good.  we have to own those.  we have treated the Natives in the past poorly, we have treated the African- Americans poorly.  we treated the Japanese poorly who were citizens of our country.  we bombed and killed thousands in seconds in Japan....we are not perfect.  we are not blameless.  you hope that these things are in the past and that we have moved past these types of actions, but i'm not sure we won't have a great deal more blood shed with this administration coming on.  his cabinet is filled with rich, white males.  they have no worry for their lives or those they care about. they are protected by their vast monies. their kids, no doubt, would never serve in the military or risk their lives personally.

 it's like a big game of risk to them.  we are all dispensable.  destroy....that is the history of rich, white males sadly.  find oil, dig up all you can and do not be concerned with the land or water.  find gold, blow up, dig up find, destroy.  make all the money you can.  discover lots of whales in Antarctica, send a fleet of ships and try to take every one you can.  leave nothing.  like the fur of otters, kill every otter you can find.  like the tusks of walrus, kill every walrus you can find.  like the ivory of elephants or the horn of a rhino...if it can make you money destroy it.  i am scared.  frightened for our earth and the animals.  i am also frightened for the other humans.  for myself. if this goes bad, if the idiots in the various governments are clueless and care less...bombs can drop...anywhere.  seems like madness is popping up in governments all over.

 i think so many of us are concerned because we see this..it's building up to something....

 there are things we can not control.  there seems to be a segment of our society that see's no wrong going on.  that seems to believe the unbelievable.  in their delusion that they are the patriots, i fear they are going to take us all down.

 we must always be aware, we must always be suspect, we must always expect better of our government.  we must seek out all these conflicts and bring them to light.  only then can we decide how to proceed.  for now there is so much that is hidden and excused.

 the sun will rise again tomorrow...it will rise in Aleppo and will shine down on death and the dying. eventually, the truth will be told and the ugliness will be exposed.  it won't bring the lives back that have been so heartlessly taken though. they are you, they are me.  they were simply people who were caught in the middle while trying to just wake up, eat, go to work raise kids and find their happiness and joy.

a bit depressing towards the end...but it is our world right now.  i am grateful and i will continue to end my blogs with what i am grateful for  A.  my little piece of earth that remains mostly safe and peaceful  B.  fog and the beauty it brings C.  my car starting today