We've Come A Long Way Baby !

Back in 2011, while training for Iditarod 2012, we were living "Off Grid".  We had "old Faithful", our generator and lanterns.  We would turn on the generator for a short time in the morning and in the evening.  While running, we would draw water for the dogs, shower,do dishes.and wash clothes.  We had no dryer, so we would hang our clothes to dry (yes, bedding and towels too).   

                                       

We heated our home with a drip stove.  It was either on or off with not a whole lot of control heat wise.  Our thermostat was our window and door.   To turn the heat down, we would open the sliding door a bit and/or open the window in the living room.  The nice thing was that it didn't take electricity to run and it allowed us to be gone on long training runs without risking freezing our pipes...no need to stoke the fire.

Electricity !

Summer 2012, Bob dug the trench and ran power to the house.  I will never forget our first "Plug In"....a programmable coffee pot. I was in hog heaven !  

Life here in Willow has been a work in progress...with more improvements each year.  This year we have made 4 major improvements.  First was replacing the drip stove with a Toyo Stove.  It is programmable and has a thermostat and far more energy and cost effective

Then we added a water system which takes the iron out.  We actually have clear running water and our sinks and shower are no longer orange and our clothing doesn't become all stained and ugly.  I can wear white and wash it and it is still white !  

We also bought and installed a dryer.   Oh, Happy Day !   Can't believe the time saving here.  So nice to have most of our laundry washed and dried in just over an hour.  We still hang dry most of our wool socks and some fleece.  My Woolx clothing goes right in the dryer and doesn't shrink !  

While Bob was in Iowa, I added upper cabinets to our kitchen.  Bye Bye open shelves !  Sure will keep our dishes much cleaner.  The nice thing too, is that it more than tripled our storage capacity.  

Well, we are saying goodbye to 2014 with great feelings of accomplishment.  

We are looking forward to all that 2015 has to offer !

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year ! ! !

Bob and Jan wishing you all a Merry Christmas
and a Happy New Year ! ! !

 Well, I am taking a "Whirl Wind" visit to Edmonds to celebrate Christmas with my family.  My training schedule doesn't allow much time off so the plan was to have consecutive runs in with my team and then they can take the days off while I am In Edmonds.  I am at Ted Stevens International Airport waiting for my flight.  I fly out 2 am this morning (23rd)  and back on a morning flight on Christmas Day, to celebrate Christmas with Bob.

The flight out is booked solid with no empty seats...so, no sleeping well on that flight.  At this time, my flight home is half empty and I have a row of seats to myself, so I hope to sleep my way back home to Alaska !

Update:  My Edmonds Christmas

Well, I had a wonderful Christmas with my family.  I made the decision after Christmas 2011 that I would not, not come home for Christmas.  My Iditarod would not be more important than family.  Sadly, in 2011 my mother passed away on December 29th and I did not spend Christmas with my family.  I really regretted that decision.

I arrived at 7 am and took the shuttle.  Nikki, my oldest daughter came from New York.  It was so wonderful to see her.  We went to the store together and picked up everything that we needed for our Christmas Eve family dinner.  We then spent the evening with my dad and had a wonderful time.
Christmas Eve, the turkey went in the oven and at 5:00, dad put on an apron and cut the turkey.  We had a wonderful family dinner.  While they were all enjoying their pumpkin pie, I took off for Crista rehab unit to visit with Marjorie.  I brought my pie and a piece for her.  We sat and visited and enjoyed out pumpkin pie together.    Then there were hugs and I went back to my family and soon we were off for the candle light service that we always go to.

Home after 12:30 and time to clean up the dinner dishes and kitchen.  After dinner I had placed turkey and stuffing in zip lock bags and put them in the freezer.  They would travel in my checked baggage in a refrigerator bag back home to Alaska.  Christmas dinner for Bob and I.

Two hours sleep and I was up making room in the garage for my dad's car for the winter.  With the car emptied and cleaned up and tucked away in the garage, I woke Nikki at 7:00.  We left for the airport at 7:30.  My flight took off at 10:20 and I had three seats to myself....you got it.  I slept all the way to Anchorage.  I was so glad that the flight was empty.

My Willow Christmas

Had a wonderful dinner with Bob and even though it was a "Whirl Wind" trip, I was so glad that I made it. It was a wonderful time with family and I left with a happy heart knowing that my dad was so happy.  Bob decided to take a Christmas Run with his dogs.  I opted for sleep and went to bed early.

On the 28th Bob's daughter Melissa came over with Josephine.  We spent a wonderful day together.
We started off making and decorating a Gingerbread house.   Then we opened presents and had pizza.

 Then it was time to take the puppies for a walk...or should I say that it was time for the puppies to take us for a walk.  It was great fun watching the puppies play and Josephine loved the pups.

Afterwards Grandpa took Melissa and Josephine for a sled ride behind the snowmachine.   They went out our trail from the kennel and through the tree tunnels.  Then they took a tour of the neighborhood.

Grandpa ready for the ride

Josephine and Melissa

  Afterwards, Josephine got to snack my dogs with herring.  She loved watching the dogs devour the fish, heads, tails and all !  A great day for all of us !

Jimmy waiting excitedly for his herring snack

Guess what we had for dinner...

GOULASH !

Well, this evening I made a rather large pot of Goulash.  Enough left over for two race meals, and another dinner.  The food saver machine has now officially been put into service for this Iditarod.  It will be going full steam ahead.

From this point on, I will make more of everything that I make and put up race meals with the leftovers.  Hmmm....Steel Cut Oats for breakfast?   Steel cut oats for the trail.

Devastating Fire Next Door, Our neighbors, Jaimee and Justin High

This morning when we were getting ready to run our teams, Bob hear a loud "POP".  He looked in that direction and saw flames through the trees.  Our neighbor's house was on fire.  He yelled to me to call 911.  I called 911 and then frantically call DeeDee Jonrowe to let her know that Jaimee and Justin's house was on fire.

The fire spread so quickly from their sewing shop to their house.  Jaimee showed up and then Justin arrived.  It was the most heart breaking experience, to watch their home burn to the ground and not being able to do anything about it.

Jaimee was able to get the two dogs who were in the house out safely.  All of the dogs were safe.  We helped take all the dogs over to DeeDee's kennel and they are safe.  Jaimee and Justin are staying with DeeDee for the time being.

My heart goes out to the two of them.  They built their cabin and kennel together and together they watched it burn to the ground.  Please keep them in your prayers.

Beautiful Run...Paradise

Glorious

 Up early and the usual, water, scoop, breakfast.   This morning we were looking forward to checking out new trail and bumping up our mileage.  I drove a 9 dog team with Lemon and Turbo in the lead.   Bob drove my other 8 dogs, with Ursa and Cadillac in lead.

It was a wonderful run.  Today we saw 6 teams out there.  A couple head-on passes.  So beautiful out in the swamps.

Visit from Anna Hamman

I am looking forward to having two days off from running the dogs.  On the agenda for Saturday is de-worming the kennel and a huge list of other tasks.  Friend/photographer/vet assistant in training, Anna Hamman is coming over.  It will be great seeing her and having help de-worm the kennel is always good.

Anna joined us for breakfast and we discussed the day.  We both thought that it would be a good idea to do the picture taking first...and then de-worm the dogs.  As usual, Anna got some great shots of the new dogs to my kennel.  She is one fine photographer.

Then it was time to tackle the de-worming.

We made a chart of all the dog's weights and then did the calculations as to how much Safe-Guard to use on each dog.  This is a 3 day process, so I will give them each another dose on Sunday and Monday.

 Anna filling syringes with the correct dose.  

 Magic ready for her dose

Magic made it seem easy.  She was a trooper and was the easiest dog in the kennel to give the de-wormer.  Clarence got the award for being the most difficult !  Anna was so great at administering the doses that she ended up doing most of the dogs.  She had the technique down.  After my kennel, we did Bob's.  

Puppy Time !

WHERE DID MY WEBSITE GO ? ? ? ?

Well, I am not very techie...should I say not at all techie???  Anyways, back in 2010 my website was developed and all I had to do was send a check each year and there were no issues.  Andrew at Rick Steves' Europe did all of my updates for me.  Well, this past October when it was time to send that annual check, I was informed that my web designer was no longer going to be in business and I would have to transfer the domain into my name.

The transfer went through and I thought all was well...but Andrew couldn't do any of my updates and my website is terribly outdated.  I again made calls and was advised what to do.   I followed the steps as instructed...and Poof !   My website disappeared off the face of the web.  

I began receiving emails telling me of my missing website.  Ugh !   Back on the phones and back to the territory that I have very little understanding of.  I was told that they couldn't find my website.  The thought of losing my website was a very sinking feeling.  No luck getting it back online.

Well, I was back on the phones again today and the end result was that my website was recovered and it is back up and running.  Yeah ! ! !    Now we just have to get it so that it can be updated.  Has to do with hosting.... : )

PS  Nice to know I was missed !

OUT IN THE SWAMP

Well, the day starts like a typical day.  Up early and water the dogs.  Then back inside to have some breakfast.  Then back out to scoop the kennel.

Today we will run out of the kennel and head over to the other side of the highway.  I am running two teams a day so that all of my dogs get out on a run.  Pretty easy on the musher, as my runs aren't that long yet.  I am a bit behind schedule from where I would like to be, but we are catching up.  The main thing is that I have very happy dogs and it is a joy to be out there with them on the trail.

 When I was running Shirley Towne, all I heard was how congested the trails were on the other side of the highway.  I wasn't looking forward to heading over there with so many dogs teams.  Funny thing is I didn't even see one dog team out on the trail on either run.

 So beautiful out in the swamp...so quiet and peaceful.  The view is ever changing and my favorite time is near sunset.

Clouds and sunlight are awesome....

On the way home.  

A Truckin' We Will Go...and a Moose Encounter

 Well, I loaded up all the dogs today for the 3rd day in a row running the hills of Shirley Towne.  The above picture is team one, with Magic and Ursa in lead.  A beautiful day, and great trails.

 One of the many hills, with more to come....

 Almost to the top...

 Team two with Arnie and Turbo in lead.  

A great run.  However, got a bit tense near the very end.  A rather large moose was stopped at the edge of the trail.  He/she seemed not at all interested in leaving the trail, and wouldn't take his/her eyes off my team.   I had stopped well back on the trail and was standing on my brake.  Not enough snow to set a hook and the dogs started going nuts.  Barking and barking at the moose and starting to drag my sled closer.

With a firm, WHOA, my team quit pulling and I was able to hold my sled.  Finally the moose got off the trail and went into the woods.  I took that opportunity to take off down the trail with the dogs going at top speed...which is what they generally do when they see or sense a moose.

We went on past with no sign of the moose.   Thank goodness !

Day Two On A Sled !

Day two on the a sled and its a GREAT day.  Dogs are happy and were raring to go.  

 So was the Musher !

I am running two 8 dog teams.   Yes, that is only 16 dogs.  I have a very small kennel of 13 dogs.  At a minimum, I would prefer to have 24 dogs to train up an Iditarod team.  So, I am borrowing a few dogs to complete my team.  I have 5 of Bob's dogs in my kennel and he has two of mine, which leaves me with 16 dogs.  My friend Lev has offered me the dogs that he will be training all winter that don't make his team.  So, I should be covered.    

The dogs all get a snack and a drink after a run...sometimes the mushers do too.

Anticipation..Outside Alaskan Dream Espresso

A great way to end a fantastic run...a white mocha !

First Sled Run of the Season

 Well, when I left Willow on Monday, we had just a skiff of snow covering what was like an ice skating rink.  We had to wear cleats on our boots out in the kennel so that we would not fall...or hope to not fall.  Unfortunately Bob took a nasty fall.  When I came back on Friday, we had over 12 inches of snow.

Too much snow for training with a 4 wheeler and not quite enough snow for a sled.  We each decided to take out an 8 dog team.  Setting a hook and expecting it to hold would be risky.

 It was glorious to be out on the runners...weaving through the trees.

Bob snapped this picture of my team in what we call the "needle eye".   After heading out into the swamp, we encountered a lot of overflow which was frozen like a sheet of ice.  I was sure glad that we didn't encounter any teams heading our way.  Actually, we did not see any other teams at all.

GOODBYE EDMONDS...HELLO WILLOW !

Saying Goodbye to my Father

Willow...I have been gone so long.  The time spent in Edmonds was for my dad.  He made the Big move from Assisted Living on Halloween Day into the little house that I have spent 3 1/2 months remodeling to make it handicap friendly.  As with all building projects, it took far too long and cost far more than I had anticipated.  However, the end result was wonderful.  

My father loves his new room and living back in a house again.  My brother helped with the project and installed a sliding door in the kitchen and had a wonderful deck built off the Kitchen, 

Puppy Love...I finally get to meet Nik and Nak

At the kennel, it is back to the usual routine...up early and water the dogs, then scoop the kennel.  Back inside for breakfast.  Then head back out for a training run.  Right now we are running the dogs with the 4 wheeler.  Absolutely no snow in Willow.  

Back in the Saddle

First training run for me of the season.  Biscotti is in lead with Ursa.  Dogs are doing great !  A HUGE thank you to Bob for getting the training runs on my team while I was taking care of family in Edmonds.

 

TO ST. MATTHEW KIDS

Hi Nancy and Kids !  It is so great to be back in Alaska and home with Bob and my dogs.  Biscotti is doing great and has even been running in lead.   I have been running him with Ursa and Magic.

I am going to take this time to answer a few of your questions.   I will keep at it until I answer all of them.  It make take a few days, but I will answer them.  Keep checking back.  

Turner:  You wished me good luck on the race and to have fun.   Thanks Turner.  I am having fun      already. 

Sophie:  You thanked me for coming to you school and said that you learned a lot.  You are so welcome.  I always love coming to your school and I am glad that you learned a lot.  I am sure that you will learn a lot more in the months to come.   Have fun learning and following the Iditarod !

Lauryn:   You said that my dogs are adorable.  : )   I think so too !   

Steven:  You asked if I can bring my sled when I come back to visit in the spring.  Absolutely !  I will most likely also be bringing one of my sled dogs and I will bring most of my gear.  

Aliyah:  Thank you for the wishes to do well on the Iditarod.   I will do my best.  

Mateo:  It is nice to know that you are all rooting for me.   Thank you !

OK kids, I have to get back to my chores and get ready to truck my dogs to Shirley Towne !   Have a great day.

Well, today it rained and the dog runs turned into ice skating rinks. So very slick.  We made the decision to not run dogs.  So it was time to get chores done around the house and kennel.  
When we were out feeding dogs this evening, it was so slick out.  We wore creapers on out boots...spikes on our boots so that we could get around on the ice.   Unfortunately, Bob fell.  He is going to be quite bruised up and really sore tomorrow.  

So, I am going to take this time to answer some more of your questions or messages to me.  Then it is off to bed and up early in the morning.

Edom:  Thank you Edom.  I do believe in myself, but I also believe in God and will pray and praise my way down the trail. The power of prayer is awesome and a great comfort to me.  I am grateful that I have many people who pray for me and my dogs as we train and run the Iditarod.

Sam:  I am glad that you liked trying on my Iditarod clothes.  You would make a great musher !

Nell:  You asked how you keep up with others in the race.  It is so important to be efficient in the check points so that you have time for some sleep.  I will try and keep a schedule and get in and out of the check points without staying too long.  Each little delay adds up and you can never get lost time back.

Sofia: My oldest sled dog is Ursa...she is 10 years old.

Maida:  Who is my favorite dog?  That is one of the most difficult questions to answer.  Tok was a very special dog to me.  I will never forget him.  He will always have a very special place in my heart.  Then there is Amber girl...and the list goes on.  I guess each dog is special for its very own way.  They each have their very own personalities.  There are definitely some who I have a stronger bond with.  Jimmy is one of my special dogs, along with Yen, and Turbo and Chad and Otter.

Sam:  How many dogs have I had in my whole life?  Well, I have had 24 dogs.  Right now I have 12.
Sofia:  I am running 15 dogs right now.

Time for bed...I need my sleep.   Will continue later.

Cherry Valley Visit

Thursday morning I got up at 4:30 and pulled out my school visit suitcases and loaded up the car.  Also loaded up everything that I needed for work.  Six am, I was on the road to Duvall.  Just as I expected I had wonderful traffic on 405.  No worries.  That is why I always leave early.  A no stress drive in rush hour traffic.

I decided to call Jule and see how early she was arriving at the school.  She was on her way and we figured that we would both arrive at about the same time.  Her husband Bruce was on his way and was stopping at Starbucks to get us all coffee.

Cherry Valley Elementary was the first school in Washington State that I visited after my 2012 Iditarod.  It is one of my favorite Elementaries to visit...and it is one of my earlier visits as these kids come an hour before school starts.   Julie has been involving Iditarod in her reading program for over 18 years.  She is awesome !

Early arrival and going over my presentation.  Enjoying my Mocha !

Kids arrive and they enjoy their muffins and fruit.  

 Great listeners...what always amazes me is that the kids remember my dogs names from previous visits.  They also remember my stories.  I love it !  I never know which stories I have told...there are so many.   When I visit Cherry Valley I get to see some of the kids year after year.  Nice to see familiar faces.  

The 2012 Suit worn to Nome !

Interesting shot...the Red Lantern and my helmet.   

Sharing Moose Stories

2012  Red Lantern

 The students wanted to know why I didn't get to keep the big red Lantern Trophy...Iditarod must have known that I would be taking my Red Lantern on the road to school visits far and wide...so they gave me a travel size one.  There are two of the Large Red Lantern Trophies, one is in Nome and the other one is at the Iditarod Headquarters in Wasilla.

"TOK"

The students unanimously agreed to the name of "Tok"  for their mascot.  I will have to sew his left ear down.  Tok will be in my sled and will travel with me to Nome.  Tok is my "One Ear Up" dog and my kennel was named after him.  He crossed the Rainbow Bridge while I was on the Iditarod last year.  A very special dog in my heart.  

Leader Tok
Always in my heart

Julie's Reading Stars

I would like to thank Michael, Samuel, Sullivan, Lita, Sam, Maia, Kazandra, Faith,Tyler and Joey for a wonderful Visit.  I am looking forward to visiting you kids again after Iditarod.  I also want to get updates on your training for your read-a-thon.  Train like the dogs !  Read every day like they run every day !  Happy Trails, Cherry Valley!