The Race Is On!!!!!!

Go look.......Aliy is staying with it.
Robert Sorlie is kicking musher butt...damn that man is good.
But can Aliy catch him? We are still pulling that she will finish second.
Go Aliy!!!!!

he's a tired boy...7 miles today. oh, see the bear? it giggles 

Of course there is a bone and behind him is the kaola  

lame ass photo for the day 

 

 

I think I may have found Jinxs' brother.
Please go have a look at Petfinder
For those that think I have lost it, wait before you judge.

Here goes.

Jinx came from the town of Astoria.
We got him in March 2002, he was 10 weeks old at the time. Placing his birthday between December 26 2001 and January 1 2002. We came by this number two ways. He was brought to the vet's office there by a woman that had the three pups and she was trying to get rid of them. The vet asked a few questions such as.......Breed? German Shepherd/Malamute................How old? nine weeks.
The person with who I use to share a few things in life was a teacher in Astoria, his student picked Jinx up by the river road. My teacher friend took the dog to the vet to get it a shot before bringing it home to his dog. It was there the vet shared some information and then added that it was possible there would be no owner to look for.....most likely the dogs were just dumped, he said there were at least 2 more. The next week we see that one has been added to the Humane Society page. One was enough for us, well with the other dog and the house full of cats. But I always wondered what happened to the other dogs. I can't what the history of Lester is but I know from conversations with a person at the rescue that Lester is thought to be 3 years of age and a wonderful dog but he came to them as a stray. Let's find Lester a home!!!! If you want to know more about Lester go check the page out and email them questions. Let's go see Lester....whoever takes Lester into their home would make me very happy as well. Especially if we can get the dogs together. I am considering going up there to Warrenton (a suburb of Astoria) to see the dog and take Jinx along. But I am not in a position to get another dog but Lester is someone special, I can feel it from here. I just knew from that first image that they must be related and I can't wait to find out. Jinx and Lester look lots alike.

Oh, and let's think of a really cool name for Lester.
I am thinking Sorlie....after Robert Sorlie.

Aliy Zirkle and Dee Jonrowe are demonstrating that a musher is a musher. This is a race of indivisual strength and endurance. Currently Dee and Aliy are holding positions 3 and 4. This is a random picutre I took from the Iditarod home page. Just thought it a great photo. Go have a look.

Kick Butt Girls!!!!!

The Great Race is underway.

The official start of the Iditarod was moved north of Anchorage to Willow.
Jinx and I are pulling for Aliy Zirkle. She's been our favorite for a while but we are also happy to see any woman out there kicking snow boy butt. Dee Jonrowe is steadily moving up in the standing. Jessica Hendricks is moving along at a good clip. She was awarded the Rookie favorite of 2003.....actually I think was the first first rookie to cross the finish in Nome.

Being from Oregon I have to mention and pay tribute to Rachel Scdoris, a 20 year old Alfalfa, Oregon native. A small town girl with a dream to run this race. She has probably had to work harder than anyone to be allowed to race, she is blind, but she does not this as a disadvantage but rather just something that is. She requires a guide, she has previously run races with snowmachine guides but the Iditarod trail committee said "NO" and so they have compromised to allow her another musher to run in front of her and communicate to her by radio. Imagine the things one could encounter, a pissed moose, a low branch, hairpin turn, broken ice......by all means her dogs are her eyes, but she is navigating in territory unknown but a runner ahead of her should help. Some have complained this gives her an advantage but hello....she can't see 20 feet in front of her self, this means that her lead dog might only appear as a smudge, if even that.
I say "Go Rachel!!!" I hope she kicks butt too. Any finisher of this race is a winner. There are very few athletes that embark on The Last Great Race (shoot, I have to look that up......is the Yukon Quest called the last great race? or just the hardest? a little research is in order).

Good Luck all mushers and dogs on your way to Nome.


I should tell you that the other day when I was reading the paper I got really emotional about the race. But then again anytime I read about the race emotion just wells up. It is powerful, the whole race and the solitude of the north.

I have a passion for the north, not to mention that some of my family lives in Cordova, Alaska.

When I was in first grade we were asked to write a paper on what we wanted to be when we grew up. I wrote that I wanted to be an Eskimo and I wanted to eat whales. A second grader told me I would never be an Eskimo, that you are born an Eskimo. My first lesson on ethnicity. I was crushed.

Three hours to the start of Iditarod 2005

I will be reading Yukon Quest throughout the race. Unless of course someone has a suggestion for a book I have not read about the Iditarod.

Good luck all mushers and dogs!!!!

Ever do something you think you might regret?
Get close to doing it?
done it and was able to change your mind just in time?

Thought about doing something and knowing the whole time you would regret it if you did?


I am on the verge of throwing caution to the wind and making some changes in my life.
I don't why I let myself feel the way I do and then think I would feel better if I could just do more, give more, be more - be something I am not.

A good friend once described this behavior as a need to go away and lick wounds.....I think I need to do some wound licking and let the soul and ego heal. Mostly I don't really get hurt very often and when it happens it is on a moments notice and the wound seems to cut so deep that not even stitches would hold it together. There is no bandage big even to cover it.........like the Grand Canyon, some wounds leave a scar and a memory but eventually that is all they are and the river winds itself a new path.

Two more days!!!!
The Iditarod starts and we are pulling for Aliy Zirkle

I love reading about the adventures of dog sled racing. I think it is a sport that goes fairly unnoticed unless of course it is to bring controversy to mushers over the dogs. Check out the above sites, these dogs were born to run. I worry about the musher, but they do it because they love it. It is not a grossly financially rewarding experience, it can be but not for all the racers. I'll dig around for some good links about dogs and racing and mushing.

The Jinxie Pie giving me the evil eye 

Jinx and Lisa the mysterious disappearing and reappearing couple.
Tons to write but often not the time or energy to do so....okay perhaps that is a cop out. I have been busy and naturally find many mnay ways to distract myself as to avoid dealing with life and the little things.

I just recently left a note for someone I care about telling them that I love them. Today I sit and wonder if it was wise.....my heart says yes my mind thinks I must be nuts. Confessing feelings of affection to anyone is always a risk but it was a risk I needed to take. I consider myself a fairly affection and caring person and I like to share these feelings but sometimes I hold back for fear of rejection. Some times it is not always about me and but this time I needed to let the words out and risk whatever consequence would follow. But I couldn't rattle the words because I feared I might mess up the meaning or find myself behaving like a crawfish and backing away from what might have seemed like danger. So, I wrote it on a note with a little wooden boat surrounded by water. It is true, I do love this person. Sure, I risk not having the feelings come in return but that is not what I expect, we must stay true to who we are and not expect others to behave as we would. Epressing my love for my friends and even for someone I am intimate with is important to me. The only weight it should carry is that it is unconditional, I don't need to hear the words in return in order to have the feeling, it is a feeling, I feel it my heart and even the pit of my stomach.

When you catch that glimpse of someone and you just have a warm rush flush over you.....even if they have snot dripping from their nose or spinach stuck in their teeth.....the feeling is there. Now I know it is probably ill timing for this person but I want to make it a safe feeling, the fact that I feel this way but don't expect it back. I like doing their laundry and making sure they have clean unwrinkled cloths to wear. Just doing little things I think might make their life more easy. I don't expect anything in return, not too much anyway *wink* I feel safe asking for a hug when I need one or a kiss, asking and knowing that it will feel so good and that it doesn't need to be anything more than that, but that I can ask. If you don't ask it is probably safe to say they won't be able to read your mind.

I love hugs........human touch is great. Sure dog love is too but it is different.

The person that I wrote the three little words to doesn't do things he doesn't want to do, but when he does them, he does them well. He gives the best hugs and has the warmest smile. I can't wait to see it again.