A Dog Post for Debbie...

Debbie is a fan of Nemo, and wanted more pictures of her and her mother. This is the only way I could do it. So all my readers get a better look of the puppy crew!


This is Nemo at just a few days old. Her eyes weren't even opened yet! And at this point, she wasn't named. She got her name from a student who took care of Star and the puppy over the summer while I was away. They named her Nemo because she was the only puppy Star had.


Here she is, finding something else to chew on, something to play with, looking cute...


Although full of energy, Nemo does love her naps... preferably in my lap or snuggled close.


A close up, just before a nap.


Out on a walk, Nemo is always alert to fun smells and, of course, wherever Star is. She wants to be just like her mom!


Out on an afternoon walk in the tundra... Nemo is galloping towards Star, while mom waits patiently.


However, she is still just a pup, and she gets tired on our walks. After a while, if I stop for even a second, she takes the chance to have a break - resting right on my feet. It's one of her trademark spots. :)


This is mom, to get a better idea of her size. (Do you see the chair right behind her?)


Star is naturally lovely - nice face, very mild tempered. She is also very energetic, and you definitely know when she is excited (particularly when she sees me coming home - she's pretty attached to me), but she has an easy going nature. Nemo has her face and eyes, and I'm certain she has her temperament, as well.


Star is a happy dog with lots of love. She's been great for me! Can't help but love her. :)

So that's the dogs! They're gooduns... :)

Home Sweet Village

To tell you the truth, the weather has been aweful until today. But it's been nice to have some solitary time for a couple of days, in my house, not doing anything, in my own space, alone. It's much needed, methinks.

Anyway, I mentioned in the last post (which got a whopping ZERO comments, thank you very much) that I had sewn my own bag, reversible, which I love. Well, here is a photo. Sweet, huh? I pretty much love it.


Two reversible handbags made with the help of Sarah (Christine's little sister). Thanks, Sarah!

Getting back to Unalakleet proved quite challenging. When I checked online for my flight times, it said on the timetable that it left at 1:30pm. I got to the airport around noon, but my flight had already left... Ugh. But, they weren't going to put my bike on the plane anyway because it wasn't in a box. I was very anxious to get home, so I went to Frontier to see if I could catch their next flight. Fortunately, there was room. Unfortunately, it cost me a little more than I was hoping to spend this week. But they did put my bike on the plane, which I was grateful for. However, putting the passengers on the plane took ages.

Long story short, we didn't leave Anchorage until 5:20pm or so. I had to fly to St. Michael first, and then wait for a charter over to Unalakleet, which was really only a 30 minute flight. Redemption came in a little 702.


My sweet ride from St. Mike's to UNK

I guess you can't really say you've lived in the bush until you ride next to the pilot in one of these. :) It was the sweetest plane ride ever! The view was so cool, because you don't fly as high in these guys, of course. Oh, but on the way, we were flying right on the coast the whole way, and as I looked at the window, face up against the glass, I noticed some people in a raft waving an orange flag. I told the pilot, and to my surprise, without even flinching or questioning, he turned the plane around and flew back. We spotted them again and the pilot called someone to come and get them while circling over them for a few minutes, signaling that we had seen them. Whew.

I didn't get back to the village until around 8 or 8:30. It was still perfectly daylight, though. And that was one of the nicer days. Apparently it was one of the few nice days they've seen all summer, like, one of three or something. I went directly to see my dog at April's house. Well, dogs. Star's puppy is SO bloody cute!!


Nemo at 9 weeks old - doesn't she look exactly like Star?? Only shorter hair? Fortunately she didn't inherit her father's looks... Anyway, I feel like she looks like the poster-puppy, just like in a magazine, this is what a puppy should look like. I could be bias.

The girls called her Nemo because she was the only one Star had. So I guess that's her name. She responds to it. For now, she's still mine. There is a possibility, but I'm feeling very responsible for her. I try to take Star out on walks to let her run, to come with me whenever I can let her, so I like my dog to get lots of exercise. And I try to give her lots of attention. I've also recently begun considering seriously what I'm feeding her. Dog food is very questionable.

http://www.dog-obedience-training-review.com/best-dog-food.html

I don't necessarily buy into everything I hear or read, but the truth is, dog food goes under similar, if not grosser processing than much of the human food we eat. I want to eat well; I should also provide good food for my dog. I don't think I'll have the time to cook for her... haha... but there are certainly other options.

Anyway, today was lovely. I went for a walk on the beach and a bike ride up to first hill. Nemo is very cute, and thus all of the kids in the village want to play in my front yard. The trip up to first hill was both for exercise and sanity. I needed some outside quiet time, without having to worry about other people handling my puppy. Maybe I am getting attached to her.

Hope all is going well with you all. Miss you already!

Long Week :: Long Blog

Friday morning, July 11, I was finally reunited with my long time (okay… 2 years?) dear, dear friend, former roommate, Christine. She drove from Pittsburgh to pick up me and Emily, another friend from college, to drive us north to New Hampshire. We took this roadtrip for a very important reason. Amanda, a close friend of all of ours, finally got married to her boyfriend of a million years (give or take), Andrew. It was quite the event, one not to be missed. In fact, I was so dead set on going, I set my entire summer to schedule around her wedding. Fortunately, I was able to do everything I wanted to do in addition to the wedding. But this was definitely a very important happening!

We drove through ridiculous traffic, hoping to make it to town in time for the rehearsal dinner, to which we were all invited (sweet, huh?). Kamorin, yet another close friend and former roommate of mine, was getting a little anxious. She was a bridesmaid, but the only person she knew there was the bride. I got a text from her that said something like, “Hurry up and get here. I’m uncomfortable.”

Well, we did get there, eventually. We checked into our castle, I mean our hotel first. Seriously, though, it looks like a castle! Emily made all the booking for us, so we got a pretty sweet deal for a hotel room. If it were me, we would have been staying in some hostel downtown, or some cheap motel… I bet the girls were glad I didn’t do the booking. :)



Anyway, we ate dinner in Andrew’s backyard, had an awesome reunion with old friends, had some laughs, etc. It was fantastic to be with them again. :) I hope it isn’t two years until our next meeting!

That evening the three of us decided, on Emily’s suggestion, to do a little exploring of the hotel. This included looking for the pool…



Scaling rock walls in the parking lot…



Climbing trees…



And the general roaming of hallways.



Finally we went to bed, which frankly, the beds were unbelievable – so comfy! The first thing we did, in fact, when we got into our room, was jump on the beds. I believe it was simultaneous for the three of us to notice their basic amazing-ness.

The next morning we prepared ourselves for the wedding! We all know how dressed up I get for events like these. Ha. I had my khaki skort, which looks like a skirt (sweet), and a white shirt. Everyone else had bought dresses and looked lovely. I felt a little out of place in my Tevas… Oh well. I don’t think I own a skirt, and I couldn’t be bothered buying a one-time-only dress. At least the complimentary breakfast was fantastic.

Well, we were a little caught up in traffic (again) on the way to the wedding. But I can say, we never got lost. Christine used part of her Economic Stimulus check to buy a GPS unit. It’s original name was Jill, because of the voice, but I thought she was rude and obnoxious, so I muted her. Then we decided to rename it Sven (sp?). He got us through the hard times. Anyway, back to the wedding, it was a sweet as building, so retro, all brick, really lovely. And the wedding was just gorgeous! I think the most unforgettable moment was when the guy marrying them slipped and called them “Amandrew.” That’s basically their full name now – Amandrew J. Beyea. Pretty sweet that they now have the same initials – both of their middle names start with J. :) Anywho, there were tears of joy, smiles, relief, and everything was just perfect.



After the ceremony we were able to have our mini Houghton reunion. Chris, Rob, Breanna, Emily, Christine, Kamorin, and Amanda were all there. It was good. :)





We at our yummy lunch, danced for a bit, etc. There was wine at the wedding, and it is amazing what a little wine does to older folk… the dancing was hilarious! So we got a little crazy, but it was loads of fun. We hung out with some of Andrew’s college friends, since they were the only other people there our age.







After a bit, we all went out to “decorate” Amdandrew’s car. There was window paint, there were plastic cups tied to the back, there were balloons, and it was wonderful.





The reception ended and Amandrew headed off to Boston for the night. The following day they headed off to Paris, Switzerland, and some other place in Europe that I don’t remember. Andrew went to all these places for architecture study. Amanda has never left the country (until now). This time Andrew is going to show her all the fun places, they will do the sight seeing, and of course have all sorts of fun. ;)



Anyway, after the reception, we thought it would be fun to hang out with the other guys for a bit. They came back to the hotel with us and we hung out in the lounge area for a few hours, just talking, but it was cool. Made the time pass.

The next morning we gathered our things and Kamorin, Emily, Christine and I began the road trip down to Philly. Emily was originally going to go back to NYC, but she decided to come down to Philly with us to see Kam’s place. It was a long car ride, but it was fun with all of us together. By this time in my travels, though, I began to get more ancy, more restless, more tired, and of course, more moody. I wasn’t quite myself, mostly, I think, because I was just ready to be in my own space. But whatever. It was sooo good to see Kam’s place and meet her boyfriend Evan and roommate Shannon and see her life. She seems very happy, which is good. Hopefully I can get down there sometime when I am more travel anxious and have more time. Maybe Hawaii? ;)





We had dinner and ice cream, hung out at the house, and then of course watched a movie. We watched The Labyrinth, which frankly, was a horrible movie. I think Christine and I were alone in this one. But I don’t care so much that it’s a classic. I could totally see it in Mystery Science Theater 3000. But it was fun anyhow.



The next morning we said our goodbyes. Christine and I took Emily to the bus station, and then we began our final road trek to her house in Pittsburgh. We met up with her boyfriend Jason and went to eat and rent a movie, after we went to REI. I had to introduce Christine to the coolest store ever. I needed to exchange my backpack for one that fit and was a little more practical for me. Success. That night we watched The Other Boleyn Girl, which was fantastic, and went to bed around 2am. Poor Christine…

The next day was a sewing day. Christine had to go to work, but her sister Sarah helped me with the sewing machine. Without a pattern, we designed a reversible purse, which is what I wanted, and I made two: one for Christine, and one for me. I got kind of into it, so I got some fabric for some other projects at Jo-Anne's. :)

The next morning I was supposed to be on a flight at 7am. Boo. So we were going to get up and leave by 5am or thereabouts. Unfortunately, we both turned off our alarms, so her mom woke us up at 5:36am. Not good. But everything worked out and I got on the next available flight, and since I had two stopovers before Anchorage (NYC and Chicago...), somehow it was all okay and I made all my flights. They lost my luggage, but they said they'd send it directly to Unalakleet, so I'm okay with that. I was going to mail it myself anyway.

So here I am, in Anchorage... I actually like it better than most cities, and I'm familiar with it, so I'm definitely glad to be back in Alaska. Thursday morning meant the dentist for me again. Super. So I went, and the cleaning wasn’t as bad as the last time. And then I got two cavities filled. It didn’t take very long, but somehow it’s always a very traumatic experience. But it’s done, and I am so glad I have dental insurance! For some reason, it makes me feel more secure. I also went ahead and bought myself a bike, which I was planning on doing anyway, so that’s done. It’s a pretty nice bike, actually, and even though I got the cheapest one, it’s the nicest one I’ve ever owned. I guess since I’ve only owned 3 that I can remember (this one and two others), I hope this one lasts for ages. It’s going back home with me. :)

I did a little grocery shopping, and there are still some things I'd like to get, but I'll be back soon. I'm good for now. I'm very excited to be getting back to Unalakleet. So cheers to you all. And I hope all is well with you! Write soon! :)

And once more, I want to say CONGRATULATIONS to Amandrew - I'm so happy for you both!! I love you, and I can't wait to see you again soon!

An Average of 2 Comments: NYC & WB

Alright, this will be short and sweet, since new things have come up since then...

As you know, I spend some time in NYC with my big brother, Karl. On Monday, I was still hearing the, "What do you want to do??" as if there is ALWAYS something to do in the city. :) Of course there is. You just have to spend money. Anyway, I saw an advertisement for a Horse Exhibition at the Museum of Natural History. That's a pretty cool place, and that sounded like a pretty cool thing, so we went.



Well, we weren't allowed to take photographs. Boo. I grabbed one anyway. I hope I don't get arrested for posting it on the internet. This is a life size horse figure made completely of driftwood. Cool, huh? The rest of the show was interesting. Lots of history, etc. The horse is the most influential animal in human history. Unfortunately, there was very little explanation of what the horse does right now, so what little attention and respect is given Equestrian at this point remains the same. There were little blips, but not enough to make it relevant for those who are unaware. I thought that was kind of a bummer. It seemed like a very small room for the price we paid. Oh well.



Monday night I took a bus to see Michelle!! Since Karl worked Tuesday and Wednesday very long days, I decided to take a trip to Wilkes-Barre to visit a good friend. This is an old picture, but I didn't take very many pictures while I was there, so this will have to do as a visual for who I'm talking about. It was a fantastic 2 days, by the way. Lots of catching up, good conversation, and of course lots of laughs. :) Time with Michella is always refreshing.



This is Dante, Michella's young superstar from Germany. He doesn't really hold still... I worked in the barn, both to help and because it was cool to do some physical labor again, and because, honestly, I kind of enjoy it (to a point). I'm glad, though, that I don't have to do 15 stalls a day... Two would be fine. Anyway, Dante likes to create games, and his newest one makes me laugh every time. He's very oral, likes to smell, bite, lick, etc. He also, not even kidding, likes it when you grab his tongue. He will seriously stick it out for you. So you grab it and sort of play with it, move it around a bit, and he will often bite it with his teeth and hold it back. But then after you let go he'll stick it out for you again. Not animal cruelty. He's everybody's best friend. Moving on, Tuesday we went on a trail ride, and on Wednesday Michelle gave me a real riding lesson. :) She says I actually looked better position wise, which is cool, since I haven't seriously ridden in over a year. (Side Note: I didn't ride Dante... I rode Benny, the cute little paint she has that I love.) It was a good time. Hard to leave, but that time always comes, doesn't it?



I got back to NYC on Wednesday night late. On Thursday my brother and I went to JFK airport to pick up our Dad!! The three of us took a taxi over to our hotel where we actually all spent the night. After, we took a walk in Manhattan. On our way we saw some breakdancers. I've always thought it was cool, and I have a lot of respect for people who can do it. I made them stop so we could watch for a couple minutes. This guy is doing a back flip!!



We strolled down to a place my brother made reservations - a steakhouse, but I forget the name of it. We both treated Dad, since he probably never buys steak for himself. Also, he's the best Dad in the world. It was good to spend time with him and the brother all together.



These are the two coolest guys I know, absolutely. The dinner was amazing, also. We had a good time.



More walking after dinner in Manhattan towards Central Park. I don't think I'd ever want to live in the city. But if I did, I'd have to spend a lot of time at the park. This is a cool horse, by the way, in case you were wondering what the picture was.



Among kickball and softball teams, we also saw this raccoon. It's been a while since I've seen one of these guys, alive anyway, so I thought I'd snap a photo, along with everyone else in Central Park.

Well... we returned to the hotel and enjoyed our time together. On Friday morning the two men bid farewell as they began their day. I stayed at the hotel to wait for Christine to come and pick me up to begin our fantastic weekend. But that's another post. :)

Exit NZ, Enter USA

Sadly, the day had to come when Bec and I had to leave NZ. It all came very fast, as is always the way. On our last day in Kerikeri, Bec's uncle took us to to a Kauri forest - these trees are massive!! They were cut down quite a bit when people first began to populate the islands, and it's the tree that is used to make a waka (Mauri canoe) because of the size and how long the wood lasts. But it is illegal to cut them down anymore because there are so few left. It takes 500 years for them to mature, so we want to conserve what we have!


This is a younger tree, and is about half the size of the one they used to make the waka in the picture in my last post.



Wednesday afternoon we drove back down to Aukland to visit another friend of Bec's - Sarah. We stayed with her family who owns and runs homestays, which is kind of like a hostel, but is run more like a home. Everyone has chores, there are house parents, that sort of thing. Anyway, lots of drama trying to get Bec's passport back from the consolate. They mailed it, of course, but every time they delivered it to the address in Aukland (Sarah's place), it was turned away. We ended up having to walk to the Courier place to get it, which was an hour and a quarter's walk - a little longer than we had anticipated. Later on Bec and I took another walk (in the rain...) to the supermarket so I could pick up something a friend had requested - food you can only get down under. :) We watched lots of movies and enjoyed our last day in New Zealand. On Friday morning before leaving, Sarah straightened Bec's hair for easier handling while traveling. Cute, eh?



Then her friend drove us to the airport. He actually started driving off before we were in the car! But we all made it safely. Everything seems to go awry somehow when Bec and I are doing things together... Anyway, after airport fun, we finally were on our way. We had a stopover in Tahiti again, but unfortunately it was too short and too late in the evening to enjoy the island. We left NZ on Friday afternoon, and arrived in Los Angeles on Friday morning. :) After waiting an hour and a half at the LAX airport, we finally got our shuttle to the hostel where we spent most of the time sitting by the pool, trying to relieve our swollen feet and ankles. We did enjoy a walk around the neighborhood, but we were both quite exhausted. Even though it was the 4th of July, we went to bed around 9:00. We had to be up really early for our early flights Saturday morning. At around 5:30am, Bec and I said our farewells. (I miss her already...) She went on to Chicago, and I am in here NYC with my big brother, Karl.

Like the good big brother he is, he had already planned a dinner to make when we got home. He made a great chicken pasta, and he even bought a bottle of red wine for dinner. We sat on his porch, which actually has a pretty cool view. Out the back of his building there's an old garden that noone has done anything with, so there's a huge tree and bush and overgrown land, so although I knew I was in a huge crowded city, it felt nice to at least look at something other than skyscrapers. But then I saw a giant centipede, and since we were finished eating anyway, we went directly inside. I slept for about 11 hours that night...

Around noon or 12:30 we left Brooklyn for our day. We went first to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I went there with him last time I was here, and I wanted to go again to see what I missed, and see some other things I really liked. Salvador Dali, Jackson Poloc, and my favorite room, the East Asian art. Last time I was there I didn't have a camera. This time I only had my cell phone, so I'll have to figure a way to get those photos onto my computer. So far out the sculptures. Anyway, afterwards we went back to Union Square for dinner at Chipotle's (the best burritos ever), a visit to Strand bookstore (bought a couple books, couldn't help myself), and a movie. We saw Wall-E, which, despite the poor previews, was actually really good. I'd recommend it.

Anyway, it's good to be hanging out with the brother. We'll do some other things tomorrow - the Museum of Natural History, I think we're going to go to the city farmer's market, and of course, the post office. Ha. :) Anyway, this is me talking about me. So write to me and tell me about you! Cheers!