About Me

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Douglas, Alaska, United States
I have lived in Alaska since 1978, having come to Juneau as a Jesuit Volunteer. I fell in love with Alaska and now live on Douglas Island with my husband and two dogs.

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Here She Is!

Please allow me to present Frida Gonzales Rohrbacher, our new puppy!


She is the reason that I have not been blogging for several weeks!  She was my birthday present (October 24th) and she is a very demanding puppy.  She either sits on my lap (which makes typing rather problematic) or is draped around my neck like a fur stole.

She and Beans are getting along famously.  They play-fight for hours, followed by long naps.  We tried to crate train her, but all those experts that say a dog will not soil its crate are WRONG.  We had her in a crate with enough room to sit, stand, turn around and lie down, and she still was soiling her space.

We tried putting her crate in our room so she wouldn't be lonely.  Nope.  We tried putting her crate in the living room so we couldn't hear her plaintive cries.  Nope.  The laundry room.  Nope.

Finally, in a fit of desperation, we put her on our bed, snuggled under an afghan.  That worked like a champ, and now she sleeps with us.  She does try to burrow under our blankets, but the first time her cold nose touched my warm skin (I will spare you the location of said warm skin), it was game over.  She is getting used to us - she is attached to me like a tick.  She is happy, bright-eyed, and more fun than several barrels of monkeys.

The reason I only have one picture of her is because, when she is awake, she never stops moving.  All the pictures I have taken of her have been a little black and tan blur.

She is so cute, and frustrating, and challenging.  I told Charles that it's a good thing she is so cute, or I would be giving her away to the Gypsies and she would be playing a doggie tambourine!

At any rate, we are happy she came to live with us!  Thanks to the Gastineau Humane Society, who rescued her and approved our application to adopt her!


Thursday, November 10, 2011

It's Been A Long, Long Time!



Phoebe at her opening

Hi everyone - sorry I haven't posted for a while (since Hallowe'en)!  There has been lots of activity around here lately!  Both Charles and Phoebe had gallery openings the First Friday of November and they were busily preparing for their shows.  Both shows were great successes and I was so proud of them!  I made the snacks for the attendees (Mexican wedding cakes, brownie bites, stuffed mini peppers, cheese, crackers and sparkling apple cider) - everything was flying off the table.  We had big crowds, considering the terrible weather!



Grown up ghouls!

We celebrated Hallowe'en as we usually do, over at our friends Pat and Kim's house.  Their three kids are our God children, and the neighborhood they live in is great for trick or treating, so they usually have an open house and offer their place as a home base for their friends to bring their kids for a warm cup of soup or cider between rounds of trick or treating.  Kim had a great costume - folks at her office dressed in sheets, as in "The Sheet Hits the Fan", "Holy Sheet" (Kim) etc.  I wore an orange jacket the exact color of marshmallow circus peanuts, so that was my costume!  




Looking south from the causeway to Shrine Island

On All Souls' Day, there was a noon Mass at the Shrine, where the Bishop intoned all the names of all the people in the Diocese who have died in the past year as Charles lit candles for each of them.  The candles were given to the loved ones present at the Mass and the others will be sent to the pastors of each parish for them to give to those who live in other communities.  A nice new tradition for All Souls' Day.




Last Sunday evening, we attended a fundraiser for our friend Buddy Tabor, who has been diagnosed with Stage IV cancer.  The evening was wonderful - great bands, wonderful food, dancing, auction items (both silent and outcry) and a tremendous outpouring of love for Buddy, who is a great songwriter who has many friends and fans in Juneau.  He took the stage for a short set (all that his limited energy would allow), and it was a bittersweet moment for everyone.  Charles donated an icon for the outcry auction and Phoebe and I baked a chocolate torte and apple pie for the silent auction.

So, as you can see, it has been an action packed couple of weeks.  And I haven't even mentioned the new puppy!

I'll save that for my next post!