Sasha

Blogger has a new feature that allows your humble author to attach short video files (about 5 MB, so be patient), in lieu of photos, and this seems like as good a way to introduce Sasha as any other.

We got Sasha a week ago from the Humane Society... a gorgeous 2-month old female black lab mix. We think the mix is something like 80% black lab, 10% chocolate lab, and 10% pitbull. It's too hard to nail down now while she's a little puppy, but we'll see.

Carlos thinks Sasha is the best toy we ever bought him. Sasha has already figured out that a well-placed bite to the lips or ears will get the big dog off her back. Anyway, they get along famously... and we look forward to her big brother helping in her training.

These videos are admittedly lame, being taken in the garage at 10pm, but whadda ya want for free, huh? Now that I know this video-thingy actually works, I'll start taking some better footage.

So have a nice Labor Day; Happy Birthday, Merritt; be safe y'all; and keep those comments coming-

KML

OK, Here's Some Pictures

We have a new house. It has a kitchen off the open living room floorplan, and here it is:

And here's the view from the kitchen into the dining area:

The hot tub is through the sliding door... ahhh, the hot tub.

The living room...

I will publish some outside shots of the house and garden soon, but it's late right now and I tired and have to get up early in the morning...

We went hiking this last weekend, and Carlos treed a juvenile black bear, a small 2 or 3 year old out on his own, startled while eating a salmon next to the trail. Good Carlos!

This was earlier on the same hike... Julie's friend Melody on the beach, with Carlos in the background, and our new puppy Sasha peeking around Julie.

We also went yachting... I got qual'ed on the Morale boat, and we took off to the Taku Inlet, tooled around for 60 or 70 miles altogether. Everything's better on a boat...

A few weekends ago, on a perfect SE Alaska day, we hiked up the Perserverance Trail into the Silver Bow Basin, a classic Juneau hike and well worth the effort. The mountains standing straight up all around, and the running water through the valley floor... this is why we came to this place.

Lastly, another hike while we were camping out the road at the Eagle Beach State Park... Carlos is exploring a spawned-out salmon, just minding its own business waiting to die and be returned to nature.

Hope you enjoy!!

KML

Yes, Sir! No, Sir! No Excuse, Sir!

These were the three acceptable responses to an upperclassman while I was at the Academy. The first two are easy enough, and the third will stay with me the rest of my life... What it means is: Hey, I screwed up, I know it, I take responsibility for it, and I am ready to move on.

In my case, I have been kinda busy, and my blog has suffered as a result. It has been two-and-a-half months since last I wrote. In my defense, a lot has happened for Julie and I; but, no excuses.

In no particular order, the last two months have seen Julie and I buy a new house, teach Carlos to catch a frisbee, attend Beth & Chris' wedding, and assemble a workbench in the garage (complete with pegboard, but this is another story). I spent 10 days working at the edge of the planet in Bristol Bay for the June salmon opener, where my team completed over 650 fishing vessel dockside exams. Julie, Jessica and I joined my parents in Europe, to celebrate their 51st anniversary with a 10-day cruise of the Western Mediterranean. I earned my certification from the State of Alaska as a FireFighter I, and I am an active volunteer at the Auke Bay Station.

All this excitement needs to be shared with my gentle readers, so expect that I will do a better job of posting than I have recently. I have lots of pictures (like over 1200 from Europe), so I will post some of the best.

It has been a cool, wet summer in Juneau, and we are staying busy. When not busting butt trying to get rid of the moss that we call a lawn, we are hiking with Carlos. Or, stockpiling fresh wild salmon for the freezer. Or, enjoying the hot tub. Life is pretty good.

More to follow soon...

KML