Roxy

Today we got some very bad news about our one of our dogs, Roxy. She has cancer all throughout her body. Roxy was limping quite badly this fall, and hasn't been as spunky as she used to be. Today we dropped her off at the vet all day where the vet x-rayed her leg and did an assessment.

When I walked in the door this evening from teaching weight lifting, I heard Nora crying in the kitchen and as I got closer I  realized that Patrick, Nora and Stuey were all crying.

"Roxy is going to die before Christmas" Stuey told me, tears streaming down his face. The kids were a teary mess, sobbing hard. Roxy has taken a downhill turn this fall and Patrick has been worried about something like cancer. I, admittedly, have told him this couldn't be so. I was in denial.

Roxy was our first baby...I picked her out of the litter, and did all of her puppy training. We got her shortly before our wedding-she is over 10 years old. She is such a sweet dog and has been so good with the kids.

The hard part about the next weeks will be seeing the heart ache for Nora and Stuey. They asked so many questions about death tonight and are really trying to process it all. This is their first loss.

Patrick and I are taking it hard. The vet says that the cancer is in her lungs and we are probably looking at a few weeks left with her. The kids are good at reminding us to pet her each time we walk by her. I can tell she doesn't feel good.  

We are going to enjoy each day with her. We've been so blessed by her in our life. 

Zoya 

Roxy (dog on left) on a hike up Old Womens Mountain with Stuey this past September

An outing with Roxy at white sands beach in Mid September

Roxy as a puppy interacting with real live king crabs on the lawn

Our first baby

Summer Fun - The ones that got away

S'mores barbecue in June when I came back from Old Harbor for the day

While it has not yet snowed in Kodiak it is clearly no longer summer.  Fall is about to end (I hope) and I was looking back through the summer photos and found some that we never put on the blog.  The blog acts as our family photo album, and we do print it out every 1/2 year.  So I wanted to make sure these photos made it into the album.

The photos make me realize how far away summer has already faded into the past.  It seems like ages and ages ago that we were having barbecues on the deck in the late evening sunshine.  I had totally forgotten about the walk we took while waiting to go to Chirikof.  The fog needed to lift at the south end of Kodiak before the plane could take off (the fog never seemed to lift on Chirikof - the 'Foggy Isle).  And remember the fireweed?  I don't think I've ever seen it bloom so early, so intensely, and last so long.  July was very hot and dry, but in August everything returned to normal.

Now we are waiting on winter.

Patrick

Family photo while waiting for the plane to take me to Chirikof Island

Another picture from the walk we took during the Chirikof flight delay

Hard to believe but it was a hot and dry July and we needed to water the lawn

The fireweed flowered early this year

Audubon hike that I lead up Sheratin Mountain in July

Nora with doll and matching nightgown from Grandmother

A visit from aunt Anne

Nora and Stuey say goodbye to Rachel and Matt

Matt reads a book to Stuey

Riding horses at the Baptist Mission camp - every week they had a different themed activity

Stuey's turn - a real cowboy named Johnny Walker taught the kids to ride

Trick-or-treating in the neighborhood

Halloween evening Zoya and I took the kids trick-or-treating down the road we live on.  We went to the same houses we always do, and all the neighbors were expecting us.  Not many trick-or-treaters go down our street - we only had one set visit our house.  These days most kids go downtown for trick-or-treating where all the businesses are geared up for them.  Sadly I think neighborhood trick-or-treating is becoming a thing of the past and the downtown thing more the norm.

This is sad because I think trick-or-treating is how your kids meet and get to know the neighbors.  It is an activity that brings a community together.  And if a neighbor is 'scary' about trick-or-treating that is a neighbor the kids should avoid.  A friend of ours took their kids trick-or-treating in another neighborhood and ran into signs that said, 'nobody home' and 'do not ring the doorbell'.  So it's no wonder that people are opting for the sanitized downtown version of Halloween.  But it is still sad.

But in our neighborhood trick-or-treating is alive and well.  When I first moved to Kodiak there was only one family that went up and down the street.  Now that family's kids are too old for the activity and we drop by their house with our kids.  This year we went a little later than usual and a few people told us they were worried we were not going to show up.  Patrick

'Early Release' and beach glass

On the first friday of every month the kids get out of school at noon.  It's called 'early release' which always make me think they are getting out of jail on parole or something.  The early release always comes as a surprise too.  This time Zoya is off to training in San Diego and we only remembered about the early release the night before.  It's lucky I have a flexible schedule!

Anyway, I think early release is a good thing because it gets everyone outside.  Yesterday was a spectacular day and I took the kids and their friend Estella to the beach glass beach.  They collected beach glass and inevitably got their feet wet in the surf.  At one point I sat in the sun on a flat rock with my back against the cliff and thought I was in heaven.  Up against the warm rocks it was so warm it felt like summer and there was not a breath of wind.

Now today is a different story. ..   Patrick

Stuey's Family Portraits

Nora

The other day Stuey worked hard to draw a portrait of all the human members of our family.  Next step is to draw portraits of all the dogs.  Patrick

Stuey ('ME')

Mommy

Daddy

My Old Red Sox Cap

Wearing the hat - Karluk One excavation mid 1980s

The Alutiiq Museum is in the process of publishing a book about the Karluk One excavation.  So I have been going through old photos from the dig looking for suitable images.  This was the dig that first brought me to Alaska in 1985, and I have enjoyed finding some serious 'blasts from the past' - photos that strike a memory chord.  A couple days ago I found this one of me in a Boston Red Sox cap.

I was a serious Red Sox fan and wore that hat until the red was pink and the blue faded.  In the photo the hat looks almost brand new, but I later took that hat with me to Africa and I dipped it in every major river or ocean that I ever visited.  It has been dipped in the Indian Ocean, and the Zambezi and Mississippi Rivers among other bodies of water.  I wore the hat while waiting in line for over 40 hours to buy Red Sox tickets in 1986.  A photo of me sleeping in the hat even made it into the Boston Globe. I still have the hat somewhere about the house.

I always used to wear the hat when the Red Sox were in the playoffs.  It was supposed to help them win.  And yet they always lost.  Ironically, ever since I stopped wearing it they have actually been winning championships (2004 and 2007).  Now it seems everybody BUT me is wearing a Red Sox cap.  I very much want the Red Sox to win, and so I did not even dare make this post prior last night.  And last night they won it all.

This afternoon I'll have to look around for the hat.

Patrick

Stuey and Bob the Horse!

Tonight Stuey and I drove out in the pouring rain to the fairgrounds for his first horseback riding lesson with Ms. Rebecca and horse Bob!

The pre-riding horse brushing routine. 

Even though Stuey is only in first grade, I"ve felt borderline guilty about the fact that he isn't involved in anything extra curricular. Nora has girl scouts and Dance, and all summer Nora had her auditory processing program with me 5 days a week. When I heard of the lessons, it was a gorgeous fall day and the kids and I piled into the car and drove to the fairgrounds to meet the teacher, Ms. Rebecca and Horse Bob.

As a kid I took lessons for maybe a year out at a small arena in Bells Flats. My recollection of those lessons is quite vague-I remember there being a LOT of cleaning out horse hooves with semi-sharp implements and little riding. (I don't know if this is my skewed memory or really how it was. I also remember never being able to gallop or jump after months of lessons. Maybe it wasn't the case, but goes to show how those moments from childhood lessons really stick with you!) 

Learning the ways of the reins and how to hold them.

In any case, as I watched Rebecca take Stuey through the grooming rituals this evening, it all came back to me...the combing, how to tighten the saddle, putting the bridle on, etc. 

Stuey learned about where the horses' ticklish spot is, where to not stand (behind it!) and then we went to the arena where Stuey began riding.

Rebecca has an incredible patience and intuition with kids and horses, which I really appreciate. She taught Stuey how to respond should Bob decide to shake-which he did at one point. Stuey held on for dear life as Bob vigorously shook his body. She taught Stuey about horse body language and how to give Bob nice "atta boy" pets. 

At the end...scoopin' the poop!

I anticipated sitting in the bleachers and reading my book while Stuey took his lesson. But in the end, I didn't. There was something viscerally very pleasing  about watching Stuey go around the arena on Bob and watch Ms. Rebeccas cues to him. 

It was nice to be on an outing with just Stuey.  As we drove home from the lesson, I didn't ask Stuey questions about the lesson. I wanted to, but didn't.  Stuey sat quietly in the back looking out the window at the rain outside. I turned on Pandora and decided to just let him look out the window and "be". 

I have a good feeling about horseback riding for Stuey. It will be a skill builder, confidence builder and something I think we'll really look forward to together!

Zoya

Walking Bob

Halloween Gathering

Last weekend we had some friends over for a halloween party. This year I used a gift certificate on a DJ that I had from an auction last winter.  He set up in the corner of our living room with lights, incredible muscic, etc. It was so much fun to dance with others in costume and have the DJ take care of keeping the tunes current, fun and dance-able!

Family pic! Stuey was an "ink blot"...he wasn't terribly inspired to dress up during that evening...so he just stayed in his school uniform clothes!

Mary Poppins and A Hanson brother form the movie Slapshot 

Characters from the miniseries "Glee"

Poseidan and mermaid

Mildred-lunch lady!

A vintage evening!

Cave man/woman and the cave art (center!)

Spook-tacular food!

Retro milkman and wife!

Winner of most creative costume-jellyfish! Home made by Adelia!

From TV miniseries about women in prison

Another TV miniseries costume

group pic in the kitchen

Freida!

Ms. Alaska and Mr. Clean!

Dancin the night away!

Snowden--with top secret info on his flash drive!

Zoya