Thursday, April 17, 2014
Tuesday, April 15, 2014
To some people, Fairbanks *is* the Big City
Report from a colleague visiting from Sitka, when I asked how his weekend had gone:
"Yes I had a great weekend- Fairbanks is a nice town!... In addition to both Fred Meyer stores I experienced Safeway, Barnes and Noble, and Carls Jr. hamburgers..."
From now on, whenever I go grocery shopping, I will tell people that I am going to "experience Fred Meyer". :)
"Yes I had a great weekend- Fairbanks is a nice town!... In addition to both Fred Meyer stores I experienced Safeway, Barnes and Noble, and Carls Jr. hamburgers..."
From now on, whenever I go grocery shopping, I will tell people that I am going to "experience Fred Meyer". :)
Monday, April 14, 2014
Starbuck is an off-leash dog now, thank goodness
I was developing a long arm again!
Last weekend we took Starbuck on her first trip to the White Mountains with us. She was a good girl and stayed close, and ran back to us every time we called her. That's better than Autumn and Linden ever were! The only quirk we discovered is that when we were overtaken by faster-moving groups (skate skiers or snowmachiners), Starbuck would lope off with them. I had to call her back and remind her that she's on the old folks' team now. She reluctantly complied. I think she doesn't want to confront her own mortality by admitting to herself that she's on a team with the old ladies. DL says I am overthinking things; that she's just a dog and doesn't think beyond her next meal. But I know better.
The leaders confer on our route:
The weather was gloomy, but the mountains were still beautiful:
And we could still see to the Dome:
Fuzzies out for a stroll:
I got all three of them to stand for a photo, but not together:
Cuddle break time!!
Little old ladies:
Looking South:
Starbuck begging:
Linden being a goober:
Autumn sitting like the sphinx:
Starbuck smiling while hanging out with Linden:
And with DL:
For a brief moment, the sun came out:
Phew! Are they pooped!
Last weekend we took Starbuck on her first trip to the White Mountains with us. She was a good girl and stayed close, and ran back to us every time we called her. That's better than Autumn and Linden ever were! The only quirk we discovered is that when we were overtaken by faster-moving groups (skate skiers or snowmachiners), Starbuck would lope off with them. I had to call her back and remind her that she's on the old folks' team now. She reluctantly complied. I think she doesn't want to confront her own mortality by admitting to herself that she's on a team with the old ladies. DL says I am overthinking things; that she's just a dog and doesn't think beyond her next meal. But I know better.
The leaders confer on our route:
The weather was gloomy, but the mountains were still beautiful:
And we could still see to the Dome:
Fuzzies out for a stroll:
I got all three of them to stand for a photo, but not together:
Cuddle break time!!
Little old ladies:
Looking South:
Starbuck begging:
Linden being a goober:
Autumn sitting like the sphinx:
Starbuck smiling while hanging out with Linden:
And with DL:
For a brief moment, the sun came out:
Phew! Are they pooped!
Friday, April 11, 2014
Why next Tuesday is The Most Important Day of my Life
BT told me something over a decade ago that I liked so much I wrote down:
"Our life is a collection of moments. Nothing more. Who we are is also determined by what we do in each of those moments. Decide who you would be and then act in each moment as you would have yourself act... If we commit to each moment and live it hard whether we are laughing, crying, working or playing. One day we will fondly remember a moment and realize it was years ago. We will look back and see years well lived."
After decades of watching people fret over the perfect prom night, the perfect wedding, the perfect anniversary dinner, the perfect vacation, the perfect birthday party, etc, I've concluded that I don't ever want more than 1/365th of my year's allotment of happiness to depend on a single day. At the end of our lives, the largest contributors to the sum of our days will not be the vacation days or the anniversary dinner nights. They will be the ordinary days, when we go to work, come home, and do not much of anything in particular. That's why it's so important to make our ordinary days meaningful. That's why it's completely unacceptable to me to have a job I hate, remain in a bad relationship, or live in a place where I'm unhappy. If the job funds a fantastic vacation, it won't be enough to compensate.
Last Tuesday was one of the best days of my life. I went for a trail run with the dogs, went to work, came home with DL, made dinner, had dinner with good cheap wine, walked the dogs (again!) on the trail, came home, sat in front of the fire, and went to bed smooshed in between Autumn and DL. You can't beat that. This despite having slipped on the ice outside Gold Hill on my way home, smashed two bottles of red wine into my coat, bruised the heck out of my knee, and bitten my lip and made a bloody gash. An incident like that could ruin a birthday, but it doesn't ruin Tuesday. :)
In other news, Miss Starbuck loves her kennel. DL and I had set her up a sled dog setup behind the cabin--complete with a chain on a spinner and a straw-lined box. She's not quite fully housebroken yet, so we thought we'd leave her outside nights and while we are at work. However, the second night she howled half the night, so we bought her a kennel to sleep in. She likes it and often naps in there even when the door is open:
"Our life is a collection of moments. Nothing more. Who we are is also determined by what we do in each of those moments. Decide who you would be and then act in each moment as you would have yourself act... If we commit to each moment and live it hard whether we are laughing, crying, working or playing. One day we will fondly remember a moment and realize it was years ago. We will look back and see years well lived."
After decades of watching people fret over the perfect prom night, the perfect wedding, the perfect anniversary dinner, the perfect vacation, the perfect birthday party, etc, I've concluded that I don't ever want more than 1/365th of my year's allotment of happiness to depend on a single day. At the end of our lives, the largest contributors to the sum of our days will not be the vacation days or the anniversary dinner nights. They will be the ordinary days, when we go to work, come home, and do not much of anything in particular. That's why it's so important to make our ordinary days meaningful. That's why it's completely unacceptable to me to have a job I hate, remain in a bad relationship, or live in a place where I'm unhappy. If the job funds a fantastic vacation, it won't be enough to compensate.
Last Tuesday was one of the best days of my life. I went for a trail run with the dogs, went to work, came home with DL, made dinner, had dinner with good cheap wine, walked the dogs (again!) on the trail, came home, sat in front of the fire, and went to bed smooshed in between Autumn and DL. You can't beat that. This despite having slipped on the ice outside Gold Hill on my way home, smashed two bottles of red wine into my coat, bruised the heck out of my knee, and bitten my lip and made a bloody gash. An incident like that could ruin a birthday, but it doesn't ruin Tuesday. :)
In other news, Miss Starbuck loves her kennel. DL and I had set her up a sled dog setup behind the cabin--complete with a chain on a spinner and a straw-lined box. She's not quite fully housebroken yet, so we thought we'd leave her outside nights and while we are at work. However, the second night she howled half the night, so we bought her a kennel to sleep in. She likes it and often naps in there even when the door is open:
Thursday, April 10, 2014
More photos because cuteness and fuzzywuzzy
My four favorite fuzzy things:
Linden sez: "I'd rather snuggle between my sisters than have my own space on a bed!"
Do you think retirement has been stressful on these ladies?
Today we drove to Delta Junction to look at a wood-fired boiler that heats the local school. On the way home, I snapped this photo:
Good day to you, Mt. Hayes! It is lovely to see you! Spring suits you!
Linden sez: "I'd rather snuggle between my sisters than have my own space on a bed!"
Do you think retirement has been stressful on these ladies?
Today we drove to Delta Junction to look at a wood-fired boiler that heats the local school. On the way home, I snapped this photo:
Good day to you, Mt. Hayes! It is lovely to see you! Spring suits you!
Wednesday, April 9, 2014
More photos... because OOKY HOW CUTE THEM ARE!!!
Linden sez, "I have a new friend!"
Autumn sez, "I will accept this new minion."
They look comfy together. I want to join them... zzzzz.....
Autumn sez, "I will accept this new minion."
They look comfy together. I want to join them... zzzzz.....
Tuesday, April 8, 2014
Clean bill of health!
I brought Starbuck to the vet today for a used dog pre-purchase inspection. :) The good Dr. F. commended our idea about the canine succession plan, and thought it was awesome that the three ladies got along so well. I of course whipped out the camera and showed him photos of them together. What new parent wouldn't?
Her only problems are some arthritis in her left back hip, so he gave me some pain killers and anti-inflammatory pills that we could use if we ever had any issues. He also recommended doubling her and the elderly ladies' glucosamine to 500 mg, twice per day. No more cutting pills in half! Fine by me. The girls say, "Whatevs".
Dr. F. said, "This is a great dog! You're really good at picking dogs, aren't you?" :~D
Her only problems are some arthritis in her left back hip, so he gave me some pain killers and anti-inflammatory pills that we could use if we ever had any issues. He also recommended doubling her and the elderly ladies' glucosamine to 500 mg, twice per day. No more cutting pills in half! Fine by me. The girls say, "Whatevs".
Dr. F. said, "This is a great dog! You're really good at picking dogs, aren't you?" :~D
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