James and I just got back from yet another day at the rental. We are finding ourselves looking in each room finding the little things we missed.
Just about everything is done with one or two things in each room to finalize. Stuff like trim molding, paint touch ups or switch covers... there are not words to express how grateful I am to be at this moment in time. We have waited so long to see the end of this project and it is FINALLY in sight!!
Pictures to come, I promise... for now you will have to settle with an updated shelter pup photo! :)
I also wanted to share a wonderful blog from a friend of mine, actually two blogs... she is also an artist and a dog mom. Its wonderful to make these connections with like minded folks and I delight when I get a spare moment to chat with them about goals, dreams and the love of our dogs. Hopefully I can get many more of those spare moments very soon!
While the site is not ready to fully be launched the home page was shaping up so well and all the bugs worked out that I wanted to share it with you all.
There is still much to build. I will be working frantically on it as time allows since I need to get this out of the way, along with my regular work load, before seriously taking on any new projects. I will continue building on these new ideas however, but only in my mind for now. I would go mad if I try to do all of these things at once!
The links on the home page will take you back to the old template but eventually they will work to allow exploration of the site and the many interesting facts and stories there. I am writing it geared towards new and old mushers alike. So if you don't know much about the sport your bound to learn a thing or two, and if you've been at it for a while you will greatly enjoy the stories of the trail and of the dogs themselves as you will no doubt have lived them yourself in one way or another with your team and your own travels.
In a few posts back I was saying how wonderful it was to have some extra time away from making husky hair hats this summer since they were selling at a slower rate at the Yukon Quest. Well, yesterday changed all that, they only have one left!
The last of my extra stock is going in today so I have to shift my focus yet again on replenishing what I have on hand to be ready for winter. The good news is that the second over mitt (Griffin's) is nearly done, the first (Mercury's) has already been finished and just needs sewing the fur liner in the canvas overmitt.
At least my personal major husky hair projects will be out of the way. Though I did find an extra bag of Aquila that I am jealously guarding. My idea was to make a scarf from her fur to use while mushing and around town.
Her fur is especially wonderful and the memories there are priceless. I cant imagine any of it going into any other garment...
So if your looking to purchase husky hair hats visit the Yukon Quest cabin to see their supply and I will do my best to keep up with the demand there as well as making sure there is a nice assortment for their race start in February.
Ive had a lot to think about over the past few weeks and months. The economy has hit everyone in one way or another and many are quick to see the negatives. They are easy to see... but the harder things to focus on are the positives.
I am convinced this is a hard thing to do because of the way we were all raised. In one way or another we are taught to talk about the bad things in life and only celebrate the really good things, things worth a full day of celebration. But what about the good simple things that we experience every day? Our heath, the love of our dogs, the sun finally setting on the horizon as I am typing this post... okay, maybe some of you out there don't want to see the sun go down but I see it as a good thing! At least it will lower the temperature for a few hours. It crept up to just over 80 today... I could hardly work I was so hot!
But to focus on the good things... these hot days just make me enjoy winter so much more! : )
And focusing on the slow times that our economy has provided us is not necessarily a bad thing. Sure there is less money than what we are used to, maybe some are finding more time on their hands but it doesn't have to be all bad. Everything has its purpose and most times that purpose is provided for our benefit.
Now I don't have the luxury of a whole lot of time this summer but I have been experiencing a shift in my work load that has changed my focus a whole lot. There are things that I have had time for and things that I have not... things Ive put off on the back burner that I only now dared to think about due to our economy.
For example, our merchandise is selling well at the Riverboat and the Yukon Quest (surprisingly well at the Quest!) but not as much as last year. Many retail clients are feeling their sales run a bit slow this year and instead of being upset about it Ive decided to see it as a blessing. I'm not getting the extra time back that I would usually be frantically filling orders, most of that time is going into our rental house, but the shift has led my mind to other more exciting things.
One is reformatting our kennel website and giving it a complete overhaul updating all the pages with some great informational stuff which has led me to actively advertise doing dog sled tours this year, which I have been doing for years but only by word of mouth.
This shift has also got me thinking about my art and where I really want to go with it. I wont go into too many details here but one major idea popped into my head today that was really exciting. I'm sorry I cant spill the beans just yet but I will later as the idea becomes more solid. What it means right now is that I will be putting off any future commission work until 2012 and will be reexamining the idea of opening it up again at that time. I'm uncertain if I will take commissions on again or not, only time will tell. The main reason is the time constraint and these other projects that James and I have in the works. I am confident that if I close a few doors I will open a few big windows onto some great challenging ideas that will make my soul soar!
So after this last commission I am working on now all you will see from me for some time is personal work and any logo designs that I am contracted for. Speaking of which, I just entered in discussion with the Quest for the 2010 shirt/patch/pin design. I will post updates on that very soon as we are already very close to their deadline.
If you are also 'struggling' with the economy remind yourself of all the good you have around you. There is so many wonderful things to focus on, so many wonderful things to see, to explore, to enjoy, that wont cost you a cent. Just today I was out laying on our lawn, spread out on my back looking up at the sky and enjoying that wonderful simple moment. Of course I was interrupted by dogs (my constant companions) and the moment was further expanded and enjoyed by them.
Spock was acting so much like a puppy and he and I shared a few moments reminisce of our cabin days when he was one of few and not one of the many we share our lives with today. Each stage of our lives are so precious, the memories, the good times, even the bad ones... our choice is how we see each moment.
Do you want to want to see the good or the bad? All it takes is a bit of focus...
And here is a wonderful bit for you to practice on!
(Olive is our foster dog who is available from the Fairbanks Animal Shelter and the two foster pups in the video have already been adopted)
The fireworks have passed with only a few being popped off here and there... probably because of the half price sales they have after the holidays.
Ichabod is still not enjoying the occasional noise and will dive into his house if he hears anything loud but over time hes gotten a lot better and his recovery is much quicker. Hes come to trust me as a safe haven and reaches out for strength when he gets the nerve to come out of his house again.
The summer smoke is rolling in... Every year we have at least one fire burning in the interior and the wind usually blows the smoke towards us and clouds out the sky.
Its not nearly as bad as it was a few years ago but its never fun. The heat has been really bad too. James and I have been melting in 80 and 85 degrees! I know its not nearly as hot as some of the other places in the world but anything over 70 is very hard to deal with. Give me 50 degrees or colder and I am one happy camper!
The dogs are already growing their winter coats in and are also having a hard time with the heat as well. Having the kiddie pool in the yard helps a lot but their nightly play has been slowed down a bit. Running around in the coolness of the night helps but even at 65 or 70 degrees no one wants to play too hard.
I caught up with everyone on the camera yesterday since Ive been way too busy for decent photos. There were too many fun things to capture so I will leave you with only a few of the many shots I took last night...
Sweet Ichabod jumps up on me for reassurance from the fireworks noise and a few extra scratches under the collar
Griffin loves his pool! It amazes me that these guys will stand in the water so long. I was filling it right from our well and the underground water is freezing! Must feel wonderful though with all that heavy fur.
Gaea is a natural babysitter and the shelter pups just LOVE her! She tolerates them like a good mom and really enjoys their company.
The little female shelter pup sits outside the 'dog pile' taking a breather. In the background you can see an example of their nightly pile up. They pull on each other and play together for hours on end.
Chronos takes a break in the pen enjoying the fading light. We are very close to having our nights back again. I should think about setting up our dog yard lights. It wont be long before we have snow and darkness! My favorite time of year!!
As many of you know I am not a fan of holidays, for various reasons, but the 4th of July and New Years are on the top of my hit list. I used to like the fireworks and the festivities but since Ive had dogs those days of the year have become a nightmare. The pups do pretty well compared to most, but I still worry about them. Aquila used to be really bad and Ichabod is still very, very afraid of the noise.
Every year the fireworks seem to get larger and louder... if we had our property out in Talkeetna already I would talk James into loading us all up to head out. A quiet weekend out in the woods is far, far better than all this noise and worry!
Fortunately we still have a lot of daylight so the fireworks in the sky are pretty much wasted but the noise remains. I'm not sure if the military is doing anything over there (the base is just down the road) but something went off that shook our house windows. Now this is all getting quite insane!
Tonight will be a lock down night, no one gets to run just in case one of those big ones goes off again and someone decides to jump the fence. The shelter already has enough scared dogs ending up at the shelter this time of year and I am not about to add to that number.
Hopefully tomorrow will be quieter and we can get back to normal...
On a more positive note I had a particularly strong nagging in my brain to start another smaller piece while I'm resting at night after dinner. I cant stay still in front of the TV and my hands are getting cramped again from spinning so much dog fur. So to take a break I worked up this sketch of Ursa last night and will continue to color her over the nights I have the evening to relax.
Ive been meaning to do work of her for some time. I wasn't going to post the sketch but I liked the way this one turned out. While I was working on her last night I had an eerie feeling, as if she was alive again at that moment... perhaps she is, my memories of her are still so strong.
Saw this on-line today and was so inspired by it I had to share... "The Holy Land is everywhere, Not just your little patch of land. Everything is sacred."
James and I just got back from yet another day at the rental. We are finding ourselves looking in each room finding the little things we missed.
