World Championship Sled Dog Races

Today was a busy day!  Third day of the sled dog championships, so we were up there volunteering and checking dogs at the start for several hours, then walked down to watch the first teams come up the hill on Cordova Street.  Home to warm up and have something to eat, then Brian skied out the Coastal Trail to Kincaid Park (from Valley of the Moon) with Lance, our landlord.  Then we went to see Hugo at the Bear's Tooth Theatre and came home hoping to catch the tail end of the Oscars - we missed it.

The dogs were fun to watch at the start, and today we BOTH had our fur hats on.  It was warmer - 20 degrees- but a breeze and a kind of dampness made it feel pretty cold.  One of the teams came all of the way from Pulaski, NY - Robb Worden drove across the country with his dogs and came up on the ferry.  He was here by himself, and it was pretty tough for him with no help.  Brian helped him a little this morning, so you can see him here with the team, but we don't know how to do much!

Fur Rondy Sled Dog Races

The beginning of Fur Rondy - started yesterday and will continue through next weekend!  We volunteered with the sled dog races Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  At least it was warmer this year.  The dogs start right in the middle of downtown on 4th Ave. and finish there too.  We had to check this morning to see which dogs were being "dropped" - that is, they raced yesterday but weren't being raced today - and paint a yellow mark on their legs so that they can't be rested today and raced again tomorrow - once they're out, they're out!  No putting in a fresh team!

 That's Brian in his new red beaver fur hat -- bought just down the street, on the street, from the furrier that Judy bought hers from last year.  As the dogs come to the start line, we have to count them and check them against the clipboard - plus make sure each dog is marked for being in the race, ensuring against substitutions.  The dogs are excited and chomping at the bit at the start - it's fun to watch them!

Here's a shot of Brian and Judy's friend and colleague, Diane Hirshberg, checking dogs at the start - Judy's taking the picture - 10 degrees this morning - the sun was very welcome when it made it over to where we were standing -- and it was a beautiful day.  More snow forecast for tonight -- and fireworks tonight for Fur Rondy at 6:45 pm!  Great fireworks too!

A week of being with a cold!

Yuck!  Back from the east coast, first Brian got a cold, then Judy.  Not a little cold - a big, drippy, sneezy, total fatigue, need a nap, can't ski cold.  Brian's back skiing now, but not Judy yet.  Fur Rondy starts tomorrow, and we'll be volunteering at the dog races. www.furrondy.net/ Trying to brace ourselves with Robutussin, Zicam, EmergenC, and chicken soup.  Here's the chicken soup and kale chips (our new attempt to eat kale - they

 ARE pretty good, just as we heard).  

Picked up our vegetable box from Full Circle Farms http://www.fullcircle.com/
tonight and dried the kale in the oven at 350 degrees on cookie sheets for about 10 minutes with a little olive oil and salt after clipping off the stems with scissors.

We got a little more snow today, and it's been a comfortable 25-30 degrees all week.  Judy stayed home from work yesterday, finally convinced by the people she worked with that they REALLY didn't appreciate her bringing her cold to work.  By 4:00 she was stir crazy and went out for a walk - wasn't sure how far she could walk - REALLY sick with this cold, but then she remembered the Mayan hot chocolate at the Modern Chocolate Dweller's Lounge and was pretty sure she could make it THAT far!
http://www.moderndwellers.com/

So on to the dog races tomorrow for Brian anyway - Judy's working, then both will volunteer Saturday and Sunday!  Brian got really excited watching them last year -- our jobs last year were to paint colored "spots" on the dogs' legs before they started so it was clear only those dogs could race for the multiple days - no substituting "fresh" dogs!  We continue to see moose all over the place and you probably saw the moose that was inside the hospital -- just across the street from the university -- it wandered in through the automatic doors!

Fireworks on Saturday night for Fur Rondy!  Best fireworks ever!  We'll try for pictures!

Transitioning from our trip back east!

I can't believe it's been so long since we posted!  We were out east for Colin and April's wedding for a week, and jumping right back into work has taken over for this week!  It was great seeing friends at a "Welcome Home from the Honeymoon" party for them just before we left, and that created good memories for the 22 hour trip back home -- terrible itinerary, and you would think we were going to the other side of the world -- really, it's usually much faster and easier to get to Alaska!  Colin and April had a beautiful wedding, and we were so happy that Brian's kids were able to join us in Albany for the wedding as well as Jessica from California, who was in the wedding!

Brian's had a bad cold since we got back, and I've been overloaded trying to catch up in two offices at work . . . all good though!  Exciting things happening for spring at UAA -- we have a retreat-style conference that we're planning for the end of March with students, faculty, and community members working together on 3 community issues to create a working partnership and address them together -- health disparities in things like obesity and suicide; food security, for those with insufficient food, eating locally with community gardens and perhaps even disaster planning for adequate food access; and planning for affordable housing and land use over the next decade.

And before that . . . Fur Rondy coming right up and the Iditarod.  Check out the two week schedule of events (http://www.furrondy.net/2012/2012_preliminary_schedule.pdf) or the official website (http://www.furrondy.net/) for the big party in Anchorage.  Great fireworks!  Sorry no pictures lately!  Maybe this weekend we'll come up for air!