Leaders? What leaders ...

... we took a team out for a run tonight and have yet again been reminded that we DO NOT have any reliable leaders.  Here is the team as it was when we left the yard: 

Jasper & Shelby
Kako & Sherman
Rallie
Gus
Marco & Zena

Here is how it came home: 

Jasper & Sherman
Kako
Rallie & Shelby
Gus
Marco & Zena

We made it almost to the turn around before we started having major leader issues.  Shelby's head just was not in the game tonight and Jasper was easy for her to influence to do the wrong thing.  So, we pulled Shelby back to be with Rallie thinking Jasper would be better off as a single leader.  Not so much.  So, Sherman, ever ready Sherman, was put in lead with Jasper.  That worked, for the most part.  Sherman thought it was okay to just stop and pee on the bushes!!!! Which caused tangle after tangle and one of those resulted in Kako having the tug line around her neck!!!  Scary!  Thankfully, we stopped and I was able to clear that before she was in any danger.  After that, we made it home without any other major issues.  

Look like we have lots of work to do!!  Tom wants to run two small teams at the same time to try to get leaders trained up.  Because right now, with the teams the way they are, we are are NEVER going to be able to go anywhere with these teams!!  There is NO way I would trust them to get us into the cabins in the White Mountains!  

In other news, we go the big enclosed trailer moved closer to the pens so the next cold snap we have the dogs will have a warmer place to sleep.  We will put them in there overnight so they have a chance to thaw out and be warm while sleeping.  

We are on the downhill side of winter now!  We are gaining daylight every day and it won't be long before we have nice long days with some good temps for running teams.  

Christmas Day ...

So, what did we do today, we relaxed mostly, but we also took a 6 dog team for a 3 miles run.  It was a lesson in patience!  The team started out with Muktuk in single lead, with Hannah in single swing.  Then, Patton & Panzer together in team.  Shammu was the next one in team.  Bringing up the wheel was Yeti.  Tom got the sled ready and I got the dogs ready.  We got them hooked up and took off.  We didn't make it far before they thought it was too much work!  Boy, do we need to get them out more!  We got them moving and made it about a 3/4 of a mile into the run and the team came to a halt and were all furiously trying to eat something ... discovered that our neighbor must have stopped his team for a snack in that spot and some of it was left on the trail!  Tried to get moving again but Tuk wasn't moving in the right direction.  We tried Yeti in lead ... he was the most enthusiastic of the group ... that worked for about 10 feet!!  Then, we put Shammu up there!  Again, that worked for about 10 feet!  Next up was Panzer!!  She held the line tight and followed Tom down the trail (he was now walking in front of the team to keep them moving in the right direction).  After we got turned around, we both got on the sled again and off we went with Panzer still in lead!  She actually led the team the rest of the way home!!  If you know Panzer, you know what a ridiculous thing this move was, but it is those dogs that you never think will do something like that that pull though when you really need them to!!  Thank you Panzer!  Now, to get our butts back out there to clean pens and feed them!!

I sincerely hope that you had a very Merry Christmas.  Someday, I hope to have my Christmas Spirit returns.  I am not a fan of Christmas any more.  I remember a time when Christmas was a very anticipated and exciting time of year for me.  In the years I have been away from family, it has become just another day.  Just as any other holiday has.  Sure, we could do it up and decorate and buy lots of presents but it's just not the same.  So, for us, it is just a day of being home and not at work, so, really it is a good day for us.

What would you do???

On my way to the vet clinic yesterday morning with Dude in the back seat, I encountered a man along the road waving his hands and jumping up and down.  I had to stop.  So, before coming to a complete stop, I made sure the doors on the expedition were locked.  As I pulled up to him, I was rolling down the passenger side window.  He immediately tried to open the door and gave me a puzzled look when it didn't open and he realized it was locked.  With the window down only about three inches, I asked him what he needed.  He said, "I am homeless and I think I am going to freeze to death."  Okay, now, my brain is working over time ... 

What would you do??? 

Here is what I did:

I told him I wasn't comfortable putting him in my vehicle with me alone.  He said, "Okay".  I proceeded to drive the half mile to the Fire Department and I stopped in there to get a fireman to go back to help this guy.  I told them what had happened and that I wasn't comfortable giving this guy a ride.  They said no problem and one of the guys that was leaving said he would head that way.  

So, after all of this happened, I questioned my intuition.  Was I correct in my actions or have I become a paranoid citizen because of all the the things we see and hear on TV, in the news and on TV shows.  I don't know, but I know I wasn't comfortable giving him a ride.  I do hope the fireman was able to find him and help him.  

Again, I ask, what would you do???  

Thirty Below ....

Our temperature has been hovering between -25F to -35F with the forecast saying it's suppose to be even colder this weekend.  We have 25 dogs and 20 of them live outside in this stuff!  I know, that sounds harsh, but you have to realize that these dogs are made for living in this.  They actually do really well out there.  It surprises me every night when we go out to clean and they run around like it's warm!!  They stand there looking at me, panting because the have been running around playing chase with the others that are out in the open run area!  They are all frosty and look like they need to be shaken to get the frost off!  They all have individual dog houses with warm bedding straw in them. We have taken time to bring the outside dogs into the house to warm up and they get too hot (because of the double coat that is made for the cold weather, not for 70 degrees) before they are dry.  And, you don't want to put a wet dog outside again at -30F!  So, really, since we do not have a heated barn for them to live in daily, they are better off being full time outside dog, even in these temps!

Now, the 5 "inside" dogs are not as hardy and do not really care to be outside in these temps!  The old dogs enjoy the warmth of the house to keep their bones warm!  The pups, well, they aren't really puppies any more at 3 years old, but they are the youngest in the kennel, so they are the pups, the love being in the house and now that they even stay inside over night, they are happy little campers!

So, now, are you wondering how the humans say warm in these temps!  We dress with lots of layers and lots of warm clothes!  Here is my typical layering for these temps: top - cotton shirt, fleece shirt and vest. Bottom - long undies (usually a fleece type), sweatpants (you guessed it, a fleece type) and wool socks.  Over top of all that, I wear a pair of insulated Carhartt pants and a big parka with a hood (with a fur ruff).  I put a neck warmer over my mushers hat and a headlamp on that.  On my feet, I wear either the Baffin boots (which are "rated to 80 below" but are really only good down to about "20 below") or my Ice King boots (these are some of the warmest boots I have ever owned).  I have weighed myself before getting dress and again after to discover that I wear about 20 pounds of gear when going out to the pens or out dog mushing!!

As a matter of fact, I am about to go get all that gear on and get out to the pens.  I am going to add straw to the dog houses.  That is always a fun event in the dog yard.  The dogs love the new straw and some even begin rearranging it before i have all of it in the house!!  They are so fun!

Happy Trails.

Las Vegas Trip (Nov 12 - 17, 2012)

We left for our trip on Tuesday, arriving at the Fairbanks Airport with plenty of time to spare.  It's always hard to tell if there will be alot of others flying or not.  We got the bags checked in and got through security without a problem.  The flight departed on time and we were happy to be on our way!!  We had a short 2-hour layover in Seattle.  Enough time to get a bite to eat and stretch our legs before the next flight direct to Vegas.  We landed in Vegas at 5:30 pm.  After collecting our bags, we got in the taxi line.  It was a fast moving line ... they know how to move people around in that city!  We were so lucky to have the cabbie step out of the taxi with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth ... YUK!  He pitched it and helped us get the bags loaded.  The cab smelled of smoke and it was so GROSS!  The cabbie asked if we wanted the fastest or the straightest route to the hotel.  I told him the fastest.  He proceeded to take us out and around on freeway after freeway to get to the final destination of Treasure Island Hotel.  It didn't seem very fast over all, but he was moving fast!  I guess that is what he meant!!  Live and learn.  To my amazement, considering his driving technique, we arrived alive!  We got checked in and after dropping the bags in the room, we went down to Gilley's for dinner!!  It was delish!!  We stayed another hour or so in their bar watching the karaoke and the dancing ... I really want to learn how to line dance and swing dance!!!  

Wednesday morning dawned to be a beautiful day with bright blue skies and temps in the low 60's. We got ourselves out of bed and dressed to go to breakfast and a day of shopping!  We wandered all over the mall and ended up all the way down at Monte Carlo Casino!  Whew ... my feet were hurting!  After dinner, we discovered a free tram that would take us back to the Bellagio!  We hopped on and then walked the rest of the way back to Treasure Island.  It was a fun day! And, the best part is it ended with a few hours of fun in the casino!!  

Thursday morning was a day of moving from one hotel (Treasure Island) to another (Mandarin Oriental).  I opted to stay at TI for two nights because MO did not have a casino.  I knew we would be busy once the conference started and didn't figure I would get much time to spend in a casino so we opted to move to Mandarin Oriental and we are SO glad we did!  It was very very very nice! We were upgraded to a suite upon checking and we were absolutely astounded at the room.  We walked into the room and the curtains started opening and the TV came on with a welcome message and showed everything that could be controlled with the remote ... TV, temperature, lights, curtains, alarm and services.  The bellman brought our luggage up to the room and showed us around the suite!  Holy Wow Batman!!  There was a sitting room with a huge flatscreen TV, a bedroom with floor to ceiling windows overlooking the strip and a bigger flatscreen TV and a king size bed!  The bathroom had a HUGE tub, a humongous shower, two sinks, and an enclosed toilet area!!  Oh, and the floor to ceiling windows were all the way around the room .. we could look out from the closet, the bathroom, the bedroom, the sitting room or the foyer!!  It was too much ... we felt out of place, but well, we suffered through it for two days!!  The first day of the conference started Thursday afternoon at 3 pm.  After the conference we were taken out to dinner with a group from the conference.  My fellow board members, a few national board members and a few vendors.  It was an amazing dinner with a well performed waiting crew that took care of everything!!  It was hard to believe they could fit 7 waiters in the room with the 21 of us that were eating!!  I was a good time! After that, we were too full to move much so we went back to our awesome room and I soaked my bones in the huge tub!!  I was all settled in the nice hot water reading my book... and the lights go off!!  Hmmmm ... Tom was playing with the controls with the remote!!  It was really cool to then sit in the tub in the dark bathroom and look out over the strip!!  He turned the lights back on and I was able to relax with my book for a good long soak!!  Much needed!!  

All day Friday was spend in the conference!  We learned alot, got to talk to alot of people that have been in this industry for a long time and formed some new friendships!  After spending the day in class, we then had a chance to go change before heading to have a quick dinner.  The conference was topped off with a trip to see the Cirque Du Soleil performance KA.  We had seen this before on one of our trips to Vegas. But, this time we were in the 4th row from the stage and it was even better than the last time when we were in the middle of the theater!!  Holy Wow!!  After that long day, we were ready to just relax!!  We made our way back to the room and I soaked in the tub while Tom watched some TV.  

Saturday ... the day of our departure!  We were up and packing pretty early so we could have a chance to get some breakfast before we had to check out.  We were out of the room around 11:30 and headed to the airport soon thereafter.  Another great trip to Las Vegas is under our belt.  We are looking forward to the next trip!  

We arrived at the Fairbanks Airport again at 2 o'clock in the morning!!  After collecting luggage and getting the vehicle started, we were on our way home!  It was just below zero when we landed and about 7 below at the house. We got in the nice warm house to find the "inside" dogs in all their "inside" spots.  They were so happy to see us!  I thought Rallie was going to wag her way out of her kennel ... she was sooo happy to see us!  Then, she realized she needed to pee!!  Out the door they all went for a potty break.  We loaded the wood stove and put them all back in their kennels and off to bed we went!  Today, Sunday, has been a slow day for us!  Some clothes are getting laundered and we are off soon to get the dog pens cleaned before it gets dark!  

Thanks for reading about our adventures!  We can be reached by e-mail at dimonfreightdogs@hotmail.com or on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/cathy.dimon 

Happy Trails!

C & T & the Gang

Got the dogs out ....

Our Sunday afternoon project was the running of all three teams!!  It was about +17F and a light snow was falling.  We took each team about 3 miles.

Team 1 - Dude & Shasta, Tanner & Baleen, Patton & Panzer, Kivek & Rufus.  This team did great.  The up and coming leader pair of Dude and Shasta did awesome!!  They didn't get the "gee" at the "y" without a bit of help, but well, they will get it eventually.  Tanner was the weak link in this team.  He will not run in swing the next time we run!

Team 2 - Jasper & Shelby, Stubby & Bolio, Shammu & Yeti.  It was a total shock to both of us how well these two leaders performed!  They really didn't miss a beat the whole way thru!  It was awesome to see these two grow up and perform well in a key position!  The rest of this team did great too!  However, Shammu came home with a split nail and blood all over her foot and legs!!

Team 3 - Muktuk (in single lead), Sherman & Kako, Gus & Hannah, Rallie, Marco & Zena.  Muktuk is starting to show his age.  He is still an awesome leader but he doesn't have it in him to pull a team of fools around anymore!  Kako ended up getting pulled from swing and put in team with Rallie.  That cured the problem of her trying to stop and bringing the whole team to a stop in a ball!!  This team looked good and is a well formed team. The biggest problem with this team is that Rallie HATES getting her harness put on.  She doesn't like having it put over her head, she doesn't like to have her feet touched to put them thru the harness.  She just doesn't understand that she has to be dressed to go for a run!  It was like fighting with a shark to get her harness on her!!

I hope everyone had a good weekend!!

Happy Trails!
C & T & the Gang

End of October ... Really??

What an absolutely unproductive week and weekend this has been!  I was super sick on Tuesday night and all day Wednesday with a stomach flu and then on Saturday morning it hit Tom!  We have spent the weekend doing pretty much nothing!  I was well enough Saturday to water dog, clean pens and feed dogs while he slept it off.  Today, we have both been laying low but got the dogs watered (morning feeding) together.  Still need to get enough energy together to go out and clean pens and feed the critters.  We really wanted to run all three teams this weekend, but well, that's not going to happen.  This is where I have been having my pity party all weekend.  We love having dogs and love having a team to run.  We do not need 25 dogs!  But, what are we going to do.  I refuse to give them away or to just put them down because we don't have the time for them that they should have.  They have food/water, shelter and are able to run around in their pens and play all day/night!  We let them out every night to run in the huge open area and play with each other (letting 10 out at a time!).

Okay, I am done ... going to go watch the end of the Giants vs Cowboy's game and then go clean pens!

Happy Trails!
C & T & the Gang

Winter is here! First run of the season ...

Let me tell you ... winter is officially here in Fairbanks Alaska.  And, we couldn't be happier!! We have been below freezing now for a few weeks and we have some snow to make it even better.  Just a couple of inches of the white stuff, but at least it's something.  And, today was below zero when we got up!!

We took teams out today on the first run of the season .... Here is how things shaped up ...

Team 1
Muktuk (in lead)
Sherman & Kako (in swing)
Rallie (in team)
Hannah & Gus (in team)
Marco & Zena (in wheel)

Even with old man Muktuk in lead this team did pretty good.  They went out strong and looked good coming home.  Muktuk is starting to show his age (10 years old) and I am just hoping he will make it thru this winter as he is our "main" leader now.  We took the teams out to the turn onto the main trail where we go around a small opening/meadow and come back home on the same trail we take out.   The funniest part of this run was went Kako about jumped out of her fur because a branch beside the trail touched her as she ran past it ... she jumped up with all 4 feet coming off the ground ... but kept going without an issue!  She is so spooky!!

Team 2
Shasta & Dude
Tanner & Baleen
Kivek & Rufus
Patton & Panzer

This team looked great! Shasta & Dude ran some in lead at the end of last season, but not enough that they would be considered leaders.  However, we are way short on leaders this year so they got a chance and they did awesome! Shasta, like her mom, Kako, tends to freak out at unknown things but she didn't really do that today.  The 4-wheeler sputtered and died about half way around the trip with this team.  We are thinking we have some bad gas (won't be getting gas at Badger Gas again this winter), as the wheeler did the same sputtering thing yesterday too while we were just dragging the trail.  Other than that giving this team a bit of a break, this team performed great and it looks like we have new leaders coming up this season!

Team 3
Jasper & Shelby
Muktuk & Hannah
Bolio & Stubby
Shammu & Yeti

We really had NO leaders for this team so we decided to give the fool crew of Jasper & Shelby a try.  But, we took Muktuk and Hannah as a back up in case things went wrong with the "new" leaders!!  However, there was no need to worry ... this team looked good too!  The leaders, well, they were actually AWESOME!

Each team did the three mile run in about 30 minutes and we were able to sort out the harnesses and get them all labeled so we know we have a harness for every dog that is running!  We thought we were going to have to buy some new harnesses!!  Very happy that we don't have to do that!

After running the teams, we cleaned pens.  The last thing we need to do tonight is feed them!!  Really hoping for a good night of sleep tonight and that this nagging, lingering sore throat, headache and stuffiness will go away!!  Me thinks it's time for an appointment with the doc!!  Will have to remember to call tomorrow!  Back to work tomorrow and hoping it's a good week!

Happy Trails!

Winter is coming ....

In spite of the fact that we have had two full days of rain here in North Pole, the temperature has dropped tonight below freezing! Besides the fact that it will make getting to work in the morning a scary event, I am so happy to see the cold temps moving in!!  There are so many reasons winter is my favorite season.

1. Snow covers everything and makes it so pretty.
2. The snow cover keeps the dogs out of the dirt/mud.
3. MUSHING
4. Winter camping with the dogs.
5. The frozen ground makes it next to impossible for the dogs to dig out by going under the fencing.
6. The frozen turds are easier to pick up off snow.
7. The enjoyment Tom gets from running dogs.
8. The fun of running teams!!
9. No lawn mowing!!
10. Wood stove heat to keep us warm!
11. Curling up with a warm blanket with a book.
12. Shoveling snow!!!

Just for the record, I do not like when we get the temps below 25 or 30 below!!  I hate that as much as everyone else in the state of Alaska!!  But when we have temps between +10 and -25 ... H E A V E N on Earth!!

I hope you are about to enjoy the winter season as much as we are!!

Happy Trails!
C & T & the gang!

Another weekend ... gone!

It doesn't seem possible that another weekend is gone.  This means another week is starting and another 5 days of hectic work is in our near future!  This weekend was productive, but not overly so.  Tom got the roof built above the back steps so we will be snow and ice free, for the most part.  Might put sides on it to give a bit more protection.  For now, this will do.  We woke up to a dusting of snow.  Winter is definitely knocking on our doorstep!  Time to get a few more things done before the cold and snow sets in.  So, we got a few old, broken down dog houses replaced and put straw in all of the dog houses.  The dogs love when the first layer of straw is added!  They will be cozy warm now!

I set up the stationary bike today.  It is a recumbent bike style stationary bike and I have always hated it!  So, I have been thinking about getting a different stationary bike.  But, I don't want to spend the money.  So, I rigged the one we have to be a better angle for me and it is working!  I did 15 minutes earlier tonight and then just did another 15 minutes.  I have got to get my act together and I don't know any other way to get exercise.  I don't like to walk by myself around here (I am afraid of moose), I hate jogging/running and it seems that just getting the mile or so of walking in the dog pens every day is NOT enough.  So, I am going to try this.  Wish me luck!  Something has got to work at some point!!  :o)

Time to wind down and get ready for bed .... it's going to be a long week ... again!!

Happy Trails!

That's gonna hurt ...

I decided this morning that I was going to start walking and to help me along I am going to take a dog!  I brought Rallie & Gus inside for a bit with the plan of putting one of them back outside while the other went on a walk with me!  That plan completely backfired.  The minute I got a leash out they BOTH when bonkers!!  Running to the front door and back to me ... with a "Hurry UP" look on their lovely little faces!!  So, I got the leashes attached and out the door we went!  Oh boy, big mistake!  Didn't make it very far down the road before I knew I couldn't handle them with Rallie not in her training collar (yes, the one with the prongs).  So, we turned around and came back home.  Found the collar and got it on her ... out the door we went again.  We got to the end of Tunnels Road and make a right turn with the intention of just going down to see how many new houses had been put in on the new streets.  Well, we got down there and I decided I had had enough of walking on the road (it was bothering my shins).  So, we kept walking right past the houses at the end of the road onto the trail.  We went up to the turn from the main trail that goes back to the house.  We turned and discovered the trail was wet.  Oh, well, we got thru it with just wet feet.  We were now a mile from home walking on trails that could be wet.  We made it through all the way to home with only getting wet feet!  This made me realize that I truly do not care for just walking down the street (unless I am walking on the Vegas strip or walking with my Dad).  So, I am hoping we can start walking the trail for exercise!  It will be good for the dogs and for me!  The only problem, is it feels like my left thigh is on fire!  It hurts when I move.  I am hoping it is just from being used today like it hasn't been used in a long time!  Gotta change that ... need to get in shape and looking better (for me).  

Otherwise, it's a pretty lazy Sunday ... watching football ... 

First Day of Fall 2012 ...

Today is the first day of fall.  It's a cloudy day but not raining so it counts as a nice day!!  Most all of the trees have lost their leaves thanks to the unusual winds we had in the last week.  We are looking forward to the colder temps and getting some training started.  I know the dogs are so ready for it!

The dogs are doing good.  The old dogs are still well and getting along nicely with the newest addition, Marco (aka Mongo).  Speaking of Marco, he is settling in nicely and I think he is enjoying life in a kennel and the new surroundings of our kennel. All of the other dogs are doing good.  They love the time they get to run and play together in the open area every night.  Now that some of the old, grumpy dogs are gone we have been able to do the cleaning in two shifts so that we have about 14 dogs out at the same time.  It's so fun to watch them play and interact.  They run and chase and tumble and just have fun.

We still have a few projects to get done before winter does set in here.  Of course, what doesn't get done will still be there for next year!  Sometimes it's just not worth worrying about what didn't get done.  The important stuff (dog houses and fences) done and the other stuff (last lawn mowing and moving things under cover) gets put off until it's too late and then it just waits for next year!  All is good.

I marvel at how small of a community we actually live in even though there are 100K people here!  I heard about a lady that had been diagnosed with cancer from a friend.  I didn't know this person that was diagnosed, but I thought I would take a bit of my time and make a few desserts to help them out in the auction.  I later found out that I know so many people that are either related to her or are direct friends with her that I am astounded at how small of a world it is after all.

Off now to get some things done ... wishing everyone a nice fall weekend!  Enjoy!  Winter will be here soon!

The week in review ....

I have to admit that this week seemed very short because I was so stinking busy the week flew by!  I can't really say it was a super productive week, but we got some things accomplished.  

Today, Tom finished up the building and installing of the new steps out the back door.  The old ones were literally falling apart.  The new ones are very nice.  The new door needs to be finished (insulation put on the sides and trim put on) but for now, it's in and working.  It's so nice to have the project marked off the list.  

I have been cleaning out the kitchen again.  Why have I wasted counter space to things I use so seldom?  I have no idea, so those things are now out in the spare room on the shelves.  That will be so much better than having them all in the kitchen all the time.  And I have a lot more counter space now!  

Dog pens have been cleaned and we are having chinese food for dinner tonight ... It was good!  Yummo!  Dogs have now been fed and we are sitting here relaxing for a bit.  It's taken me all day to write this little bit.  I am slacking!  

Hopefully, tomorrow will be a productive day again.  But, if it's raining as predicted, we might end up going to work for a while to get some things caught up.  Or we can stay home and get some indoor things done here!  Hmmm, choices!  

Happy Trails!

A new venture ... as if I wasn't busy enough!!

For many, many years one of my dreams has been to have a bakery in Denali National Park.  Well, now that we own a business in Fairbanks there is no way for us to have a summer home in Denali with the bakery and a winter home in North Pole.  So, I am starting the bakery small and from home.  I am going to offer just 5 items for sale and will do this on a very small scale.  I know, when will I have time.  Well, if the truth is to be told, I spend WAY TOO MUCH time on the computer here at the house and I want to get away from that routine.  I am figuring that if I have some baking to do I will get off the computer and be productive!  And, hopefully make a little bit of money too!

Here is what I am selling: 

Sugar cookies - regular round - $15 per dozen (or $35 for all cookies made in the triple batch of dough)

Sugar cookie - holiday or theme specific - $22 per dozen

Muddy Mississippi - $18 per pan (13x9 cake pan size) - this is a homemade brownie topped with marshmallow fluff and then with a homemade frosting

Ooey Gooey Cake - $18 per pan (13x9 cake pan size) - this is a dense yellow cake with cream cheese frosting baked together. 

Scotch-a-roos - $15 per pan (13x9 cake pan size) - this is a peanut butter rice krispie topped with a chocolate butterscotch topping. 

Cinnamon Sweet Cake - $18 per pan (13 x9 cake pan size) - this is a sweet cinnamon cake with cinnamon & brown sugar topping baked in! 

If you would like to know more about the items I am offering for sale or order anything, please contact me at dimon@acsalaska.net.

Please note - these are made by me in my home kitchen and are NOT subject to state inspection.  I must tell you this so you are aware!!  I provide ingredient lists for all products so you know what is in them.  

  

One more down ... One more to go!

Today was Stubby's day to get spayed.  She is the next to last girl to be spayed.  Zena is the only one left to get spayed and I hope to have that done in the next few weeks.  Stubby is resting in her kennel here in the living room.  She will be living inside and going to work with us for the next week or so.  She is 6 years old and should bounce back from this pretty quickly.

We added 6 visiting dogs tonight ... Jen & Rick are headed out of town for a bit and we have 6 of her 9 dogs here.  They are doing good so far and should settle in nicely.  They have all either lived here before or have stayed her before so it shouldn't take long for them to remember our routine!

Mongo, who came home with me last night is now renamed to Marco.  We are hoping this won't be a change that bothers him.  He is living as a dope on a rope until Jen's dogs go home and then he is likely going to get to live with either Shammu, Kako or Zena.  We are hoping we can have him lose in the pen with the girl of his choice before winter really sets in!

Labor Day ... Part two!

The holiday day dawned with me getting up feeling a bit under the weather.  We had a prime rib lunch planned for a few friends and I wasn't feeling like I could stand in the kitchen long enough to make the food! Ugh. I had to cancel the lunch party! I was so bummed.  But, I also didn't want to give this bug to anyone else if that is what it is! The prime rib was put in the freezer and the other food hadn't been made yet.  So, we will do this another day.

I fell asleep for a few hours and felt a bit better.  I rested most of the day because I couldn't be too far from the bathroom!!  I ate a bit at dinner time and have been feeling better as the night wears on.  Tom cleaned pens and I helped feed the critters.

Didn't get much done all day but it sure felt good to just lay around for the day!!  I think I needed that!!

Tuesday dawned and I did not want to get up to go to work!  Yet, I made it! Ugh!  Some days I wonder if I will ever get a day off!!  Owning the business sure is a different reason to be there everyday!!  Wow!

Tonight we got our toyostove back from being worked on. Can't wait to get it back in the crawlspace so the house will be warmer!  While picking up the toyostove I also picked up a dog!  The folks who got him from us are going thru a tough time and they are downsizing.  Since he came from our kennel we took him back!  He appears to be settling in nicely in just the first few hours!  He is a nice looking boy with a good temperament!

We are off to feed the dogs and then I am going to curl up with my book!  Should do the dishes and get some laundry done so I have some clothes to wear tomorrow ... yeah, I am going to go get a load in the washer before we head out to feed!!  Then, I can curl up with the book ... I am hooked on the "Fifty Shade ... " trilogy!

Labor Day Weekend ... Part One

I don't know if you would say our weekend started Friday afternoon or not .... Tom had driven to Wasilla on Thursday to deliver a couple of printers and then he drove on to Anchorage on Friday morning to pick me up from the airport.  I flew down to have a date night with him and to be a driving companion on the long trip back home.  We did some shopping and then had dinner at Olive Garden before driving about two hours north to the Mt. McKinley Princess Hotel.  What a great place to stay!  Saturday morning we slept in and then had breakfast at the hotel.  We were on the road around 9:30 am and made it back to the house around 1:30 pm.  Decided to just take it easy the rest of the day.  Got doggy chores done early and then relaxed some more.  It was a good start to the long weekend.  I got some much needed down time with a book while cuddling on the couch with Rallie & Gus!

This lovely Sunday morning dawned with me staying in bed until 9:30!!  Wow! I haven't slept in like that in a long time!  We have had breakfast and will be heading to town soon to get a butt-load of groceries and a new door to replace the one going out to the dog pens that is falling off the frame!

It's cooling down and the trees are changing colors.  Fall seems to be coming early this year, but I am NOT complaining!  Fall leads us to winter and we are looking forward to that!  The dogs are looking forward to it too!  We are hoping to start training in another month or so.  We don't do any serious training, but we are hoping to do more training and trips this year than we did last year!

Ok, we are off to town soon!  Happy Labor Day weekend!

San Francisco 2012

We spent a few days in San Francisco last week. We were attending a class for those in the copier industry that are also Sharp dealers.  It was a GREAT class.  I learned a lot!  Now, I need to put that into practice and things should fall into line nicely!  I am excited about this relatively new career change into the copier industry!

The trip began on Monday night (8/20) at the Fairbanks airport.  We had a first flight directly to Denver, Colorado.  Man, that was one long flight!!  But, we were flying on Frontier Airlines that seems to be only operating to and from Fairbanks in the summer months.  Anyway, we left Fairbanks an hour late, but made it into Denver just about on time.  This gave us time to have some breakfast and stretch our legs before leaving on the next flight to San Francisco.  However, we were given even more time to explore the Denver airport because the flight was delayed 2 hours before we even took off due to fog delaying landing in San Francisco.  We were arriving a day early so there was no worry about missing the class.  We just chilled out in the airport.  We eventually made it to San Francisco.  We called the hotel to get the free shuttle from the airport to the hotel.  The hotel was where the class was so we didn't get a car rental.  So, we had the afternoon/evening ahead of us.  After working thru some things that came up back at work, we went to have a late lunch and then a trip to the mall was in order.  The mall was only about a half mile away and it was nice weather so we walked!  It was a good walk to a so-so mall.  Not much there.  But, we got our land legs back under us and got a good walk in.

Wednesday and Thursday were filled with classes so we didn't venture out much Wednesday night.  After class on Thursday, we ventured down to Fisherman's Wharf.  We took the BART subway system to the stop at Union Station where we were told we could get on the trolley car!  What a great way to experience San Francisco, I thought!  We got down to the trolley car loading point to find a LONG line waiting to get on the next few cars.  We were not to be deterred ... we waited in line!  Finally, we were getting onto the trolley!  We took the last of the seats available.  Yet they continued to pile people onto the car!   Finally we took off!  Okay, we were packed in like sardines but we were moving toward the wharf and we surely didn't want to walk all that way.  However, we couldn't move, we couldn't see, we were NOT enjoying ourselves!!  I couldn't look out the window on the other side because it was a wall of legs and crotches in front of me.  I couldn't look out the window behind me because I couldn't move!!  Ugh!  Then, the big fat guy at the back of the car had to come thru to collect our money for riding like a sausage!  He made his way to the front collecting our $6 each!  He then had to make his way back to the back to help control the car with the brake back there.  Okay, we are moving.  Wait, we are stopping again .. picking up MORE people.  This happens again and again... at each stop a few get off and a bunch more get on.  However, those that got on at each subsequent stop ... never paid anything!  Ha!  So, if you ever go to ride the trolley cars in San Francisco don't get on at the start ... get on in the middle and you won't have to pay the ridiculous price to ride like a sausage!  We finally made it to the end of the line and only a couple blocks from Pier 39 ... Fisherman's Wharf.  This was more tourist-y and we visited a lot of gift shops and looked around.  It was what we needed to decompress from a couple days of intense classroom work.  After dinner at a sports bar on the pier, we visited a few more gift shops (one of which I had to kick Tom out of because he kept finding cool things!!).  We made our way to the bus to take us to the subway to take us back to the hotel.  What a fun night!

Friday morning dawned and we were again off to the airport to head home!  Yay!  Always nice to head home!  We got to the San Francisco airport to check in and discovered after we got thru security that our flight was already delayed an hour!  Wow.  Okay, we had a nice sit down breakfast.  Then, I made some much over due phone calls.  We finally boarded and got underway to our first stop in Denver!  We had a long layover already so the delay in San Francisco didn't hurt our progress.  We wandered around the airport ... and around the airport ... and around the airport ... we ate lunch, grabbed something to eat on the long flight to Fairbanks and then we finally boarded!  Whoo hoo... we were on our way home!  We landed ... finally found the vehicle and we were home in no time!

Honestly, San Francisco is NOT a place I will go back to for a personal vacation.  If I go back for business I hope it's not at the same hotel because this was one Marriott I was NOT impressed with.  All in all, it was a good trip but as usual, we are happy to be home!!  It's back to work tomorrow!

To Do Lists ...

... it seems to be a never ending list!  Is this true for everyone or am I all alone in this?  Okay, seriously, I know I am not alone in this feeling but dang, my list is so long I feel like I am never going to see it get smaller!!  I can't see the end of it!  I either need more hours in a day with less sleep required or I need to figure out how to get more energy when I am awake to get more done.  I seem to come home from work seriously tired everyday.  The moment we get home I make dinner and then we relax with a coffee before heading out to the pens to clean and play with the dogs.  Then, it's feeding time.  We are usually back in the house by 9:30 or 10 pm.  At that point, I don't want to do much of anything else.  I know I should go for a walk or do some exercise or do some house work or something, not just sit like a bump on a log in the living room.  So, I am considering finding something to take for energy.  Sure, it's probably not the healthiest way to do thing, but the tests have been done and the result is I am already taking what I need to for the things that I have in my medical history.  The "solution" is always to just do more.  Exercise more.  Just push thru it and get more done.  Well, damn it, I can't do more.  I am not a lazy person.  When things need to be done, I find a way to get them done.  But, I seriously put some things off until that point because I just don't have the energy or mindset to do them.  My brain feels foggy, my head aches (almost daily), my energy is drained and I just have no desire to do the things I KNOW I should be doing.  So, what I am going to do.  I am going to start taking something to give me more energy and hope that helps.  Probably not the "right" thing to do, but I am going to do it anyway!  Ha!  The other thing I know I need to do is stop the facebook thing all the time.  I  admit that I spend way to much time on that silly thing.  I need to take this out of my daily routine!  I should just get rid of the home computers all together, but well, I don't think that will happen either.  I have been reading lately about taking sugar out of your diet.  Seriously, there is sugar in EVERYTHING and I refuse to give up everything I eat!  but, I am going to seriously try to limit not only sugar intake, but total food intake as well.  I need to do something ... I am seriously overweight in my opinion and I am so not happy with myself.  If I am not going to exercise as I should (and I am saying going additional cardo in addition to the mile or two that I walk in the dog yard every night), then, I need to cut back to food!

Well, I am off to mow lawn.  I would love to hear from anyone that is reading this blog to know what you do to keep your energy up and get things done.  Any advise is welcome ... Thanks!

If you do not want to comment on this blog, feel free to e-mail me at dimonfreightdogs@hotmail.com

Thanks!
Cathy
 

Sunday ...

... wow ... I have been horrible about blogging ... there really isn't anything interesting happening in our lives right now ... its summer and there isn't much to tell ... will begin this again with the training this fall unless something happens that is worthy of blogging!!

C & T & the Gang

Upcoming posts ....

Once again, it's been a while since I have posted ... I am considering handing over the posting duties to Rallie since she seems to have alot more time on her hands and alot more to talk about then I can come up with.  Let me introduce you to Rallie.  She is my baby girl.  She is going on three years old in November.  She is half siberian husky and half something else ... the something else was whatever her mom found in the neighborhood to have sex with.  No one really knows for sure, but she sure does look alot like a pit bull!!  But, that's not a concern around here ... she is the life of the party in the kennel.  She loves running and playing with the other dogs and she loves coming in the house and cuddling on the loveseat with me!  She is a brat but I love her anyway!  So, look for some of the next updates on this blog to come from her.  She will certainly have a different perspective on things than I do!

TGI ... T??

It's been a long 4 day week!!  Are you sure it's not Friday already ... but, thankfully, tomorrow IS Friday!!  And, tomorrow is our 21st anniversary!!  It's sometimes hard to believe that we have been married 21 years.  We have grown and changed over the years but I can say that I wouldn't change a thing .... okay, maybe I would change a few things if I knew then what I know now!!  Unfortunately, life doesn't work that way, so I am going to say that I will just enjoy where we are at the moment and look forward to the future!!

Happy Anniversary, My Dear!  I love you!!

Really? There are people out there reading this blog?

Wow!  The dashboard told me there were more views of my posts than I ever thought there would be!  Cool.  That makes me want to keep posting!  Thanks to all of you!  Please comment with any questions you might have or just to say Hi!  


Today was another one of those days where I feel like I was super busy but didn't really get anything accomplished!  Oh, well, there is always tomorrow!  And I will be back at it tomorrow!  


Discovered that Panzer has a major "hot spot" on her back leg that is getting infected.  Poor girl!  So, today I called the vets office to get some antibiotics.  It's such a blessing that we have a great relationship with our vet and the techs that work there!  I was able to just call and tell them what was going on and they gave me meds for her!   I need to bring her in the house tonight and clean up the area so she will feel better.  She will be started on antibiotics tonight and I will also spray the area with an antibiotic spray.  She will be feeling better in no time, but will have a hairless back leg for some time!!  Here's hoping her hair grows back fast!!  


Otherwise, the dogs are doing great.  The temps we are having in the 60's & 70's is way to warm for the dogs that still have their winter coat! I keep telling them they should be shedding it out now, but not all of them are listening ... which is probably a good thing because I can't brush them all at the same time!! I have been spending some time every thing brushing a few of them that are starting to look like puffer dogs!!  Some like to get in the pool others stay far away from it.  Several of them like to play in the water as it comes out of the hose!  I have so much fun playing with them!!  Usually we all end up soaking wet!!  


Well, even though we have 24 hours of daylight now, I think we will get headed out to the pens and get cleaning and feeding done!!  


Happy Trails! 
C & T & the Gang

Are you sure it's not Monday again?

Wow!  What a day today!  It was very busy and stressful!  But, we got thru it and will make it another day!  

Happy Memorial Day ...

This "holiday" weekend is always a hard one for me.  As I am sure it is for many others.  Three years ago this weekend, I was traveling across the country with Tom on our trip back home (to Alaska) on the Goldwing motorcycle.  We had traveled to NY for Tom's brothers wedding.  The second night of our trip home, we got a call from my best friends husband telling us that my best friend, Angela, had been killed in a 4-wheeler accident.   She was gone.  I was thousands of miles away and had to make a decision ... do I fly back to Alaska and help with whatever Buddy needed help with or do I stay on the trip with Tom?  After talking to Buddy a few times, I decided to stay on the trip with Tom.  I wanted to make sure he made it back to Alaska safely and I needed time to absorb the news about Ang.  I didn't need to get a call from a trooper or RCMP saying Tom had also had an accident.  By the time we made it home, pretty much everything had been done for Angela.  The only thing left was the memorial service.  Others were planning it and I was asked to help, but really felt left out of the loop.  It was like I was an outsider.  It's been three years. I am over all of that.  I do feel like I have not fully had closure and I am not sure how to make that happen.  I can't see Angela.  This spring while Buddy was moving out of state he gave me so much stuff that was their's or her's and I am reminded every day of how much I miss her.  So, this weekend was a hard one for me.  I miss my best friend and yet I know I need to move on.  She would want me to.  She was our party planner and I was the cook.  We had so much fun putting together the parties and that makes party planning bittersweet for me.  I have learned to enjoy it and find myself wanting to get our group together and have a good time.  I know she would want that to.

I miss you Angela.  I am thankful for the friendship we had and you will always be close to my heart and always in my memories!

Happy Memorial Day to all who have fought for our freedom and to those who are currently fighting for our freedom.

Good day/Bad day

I am not really sure how to explain my day today ... it was a good day with friends coming over for a nice BBQ but I just felt out of sorts today.  I don't feel bad, but I don't feel happy.  I feel like I just can't shake a bad feeling ... don't know why or what but it just is weighing me down.  It's been three years this weekend since my best friend was killed in a 4-wheeler accident and I miss her terribly.  I am sure that is part of this feeling.  I did feel much better and even happy when everyone was here today.  It warms my heart to have friends around!!  


It rained again today but we had some sun too.  The dog pens are looking like mud pits again so we need to get some more shavings to try to get them cleaned up.  Okay, not really sure how to make dirt pens "cleaner" but we will try!  :o)  


We are hoping to get out camping this summer with the first overnight in a few weeks.  It will be nice to get away for a night! I sometimes wish we lived off the grid so we didn't have the distraction of TV, computer, phone, etc all of the time.  Maybe someday!!  :o) 


It's suppose to be a long weekend with Memorial Day being tomorrow, but we are thinking we will go in to the shop tomorrow to get some things done that we just can't seem to find the time to do during a regular week.  No other employees will be there and the phones should be quiet because most of the clients are closed tomorrow too.  It should make for a rather productive short day!!  


Happy trails!  

Wow ... It's 2012!!

Okay, so once again I am going to have to say .... it's been awhile!  :o) I seem to do a decent job of posting here for a while and then it falls off again and I don't post anything for months/years!!  I don't really have much to say,but I am kinda burned out on Facebook and I am wanting to keep posting about our life and alot more about the kennel!  This seems to be the place to do it again.  I don't know if anyone followed this blog in the past or if anyone will follow it now. I am not really sure I care. Oh, sure, I like to have people care about us and our life and the things that happen here, but well, I am just burned out on life and don't really care if anyone knows what is going on.  I feel like I take a step or two forward and then end up taking 5 steps backwards. It seems as though we are never going to get ahead.  We are trying though.

The kennel is still going strong. We have 24 dogs and 2 cats.  The average age of the dogs is now between 7 and 9 years.  It's hard to believe but it's been 6 years since the last litter was born here.  We are trying really, really hard to not get or have puppies.  We really, really need to have the kennel smaller!!  We just don't need all of the dogs we have.  But, we have always said that the dogs we have will always live out their lives with us. We currently have 3 that are 11 going on 12 years old this year.  It's so hard to believe that they are that old.  It's very likely that we will be saying goodbye to some of the old ones in the next few months/years.

Summer is coming here in Alaska.  We are now in our 24 hours of daylight!  I am not really looking forward to the heat of the summer.  I am now having some serious issues with power surges (hot flashes) and the heat is NOT going to help with that! Summer is just a short phase we have to put up with until we get back to the best season ... winter!

We are starting to plan our 25th wedding anniversary trip!!  Whoo hoo!  We are planning to fly to Reno and rent a motorcycle and travel for a week! We enjoyed the motorcycle trip back in 2009 so much that we want to do it again .... well, not that exact trip, but a trip on motorcycle!!