Eat Dinner on the Roof like Shakespeare

Maverick

It seems kind of awkward to have this whole blog of me. I mean you all know what I look like. But the dogs have so much personality and then of course I want to be in the pic with them so you get both of us. Here's maverick and I. He is a sweetheart and makes the most entertaining movements with his mouth when you get close. It is hilarious. And he loves attention. We go running a lot together and this was taken after a run, he got to spend the night in the house and was absolutley loving it.

Maui

CB and I

I like CB, he makes me smile

what i've been reading

I don't know why you would be interested, but if I was a celebrity you probably would be. This is what I've been eating up with my eyes lately; Currently The Brothers Karamazov, Under the Banner of Heaven, Angels and Demons, Grace and Addiction, Seeing is Believing, and National Geographic. Feel free to let People Magazine or US weekly in on the gossip. If you tell one they probably all will find out.

things I am thankful for

In an effort to bring Thanksgiving a bit closer to my heart this year I have compiled a list of things I am thankful for. This year is, perhaps, the farthest away from thanksgiving I've felt. At least in the proximity to turkey, stuffing, and family. We do have a unprecedented amount of cranberry sauce in our pantry right now so every morning when I glimpse in to get the cereal I am reminded briefly of the impending holiday. I'm sure that after the holiday the cranberries will still be there. I have never lived out in the country and Alfalfa, OR definitely qualifies as "country." As a result driving in the evening is uber dark, I mean really dark as a result I am very thankful for anything reflective; specifically reflective paint. I also have a deep appreciation for those reflectors on shoes and jackets. Other material items I am thankful for: pilot precise V5 extra fine pens, coffee with cream and sugar in the raw, chocolate, dogs, snow, my ipod (I include my because I enjoy my music), danskos, down comforters, chopping wood (although I suck at it), russian literature on a stormy afternoon in front of a fire, canoes, water, jewelry, yoga, cookies and making them, journals, my mountain hardware fleece, carharts...the list could go on but that will suffice for now. I hope you all take time to contemplate those things that you are thankful for. My list was tangible so if you feel left out don't worry, I didn't mention anyone or any metaphysical element-so you're cool.

I apologize for not using spell check more often.

In second grade I scored 100 percent on every single spelling test. That legacy was lost long ago. Perhaps next time when I am not as highly caffeinated I will look more closely at my letters. But you get my main thoughts.

the morning commute

yeah I know it's cheesy. But this turn is absolutely stunning when it is below freezing and therefor frosted. I can feel my MN roots coming out. The other day it was 8 degrees when we started. (As an aside my room was a balmly 44-not bad under my down comforter but getting out of bed to put the clothes on is more of a challenge.) As my coworkers were commenting on how chilly it was I was delayering and saying that really it's not that bad. Could have been the caffeine.

Our family outing

I felt special today as Kyle, Josh, Jessica, the baby (Kyra), cody (the crazy looking little dog), and I took a field trip to Costco to load up on groceries. I've never been part of a large family so it was a taste of what it would be like, if only for a few minutes. No fighting though, and no parents telling us that no we can't get that sugar cereal. Such the life. Attention TV networks: we'd make a cool reality tv show. But too bad for you, we don't want to have one. Talk to our agents. Josh, Jessica, and Kyra arrived about a week ago and we've been having a great time since they arrived. Now, as a amendment to "A Typical Training Day" I must insert sit in living room and let baby entertain us. She is a sweetheart to say the least. And the first baby that has actually excited me about potentially being a mom someday. Yeah, my mom is pretty excited about that statement. Josh and Jess are coming off a summer working up in Alaska mushing dogs on a glacier. They are super laidback and fun. We can sit around and talk for hours. The pace of life is definitley slow here right now and I am savoring it because it doesn't happen all that often. One of my favorite parts of the day is coming in from chores sitting around eating toast from Great Harvest, and conversating with everyone. We eat a lot of bread from Great Harvest, a lot.

alison plays lead dog

Being the lead dog is tough work. To train the puppies we use a human leader and walk the puppies around the house a few times. I naively thought that being the lead dog would be fun and not too difficult. Wrong. It is quite a good workout. But hey I look pretty cool up there huh? That's really what's important...

view from the outhouse

Shakespeare and the Phatties

Our tour dogs tend to be a bit more, shall I say robust, than our racers. They tend to be quite a bit furrier, bigger, and don't get to run as much because they just don't need to. There are a few dogs that we endearingly call fat. So besides being a good name for a band, shakespeare and the fatties, happens to be one of my favorite teams to hook up. If only all Americans were as excited to go for a run as these dogs are, obesity would perhaps not be on epidemic terms. When you think about it these dogs have it made. First of all they LOVE to run. As soon as we walk outside the kennel erupts with barking, jumping dogs all trying desperately to get your attention to harness them or at least give them a pet. Otter is the only exception. He is a bit apprehensive to put the harness on and perfers to make himself blend into the hay. They really have a sweet training program. Perhaps if I had someone who got me up, got me dressed, brought me to a team that was ready to roll, and then gave me the pace, distance, water, and breaks, I'd probably be in better shape than I am now. Then to top it off, these dogs get their food delivered right to their house, take a mid-morning nap, play with their neighbor, and lounge around after working hard. It's quite the program. I think I would get tired of the same food though everyday. Anyway that's a picture of shakespeare, he's about 12 and pretty awsome. His eyes are some of the coolest I have ever seen.

16,721

That's how many pounds of dogfood were delivered acouple days ago. Pretty impressive huh. We usually go through 150 pounds of food a day. Check out the food shed.