Enter: the dogs...exit: peace and quiet

So, yesterday I picked up Strider, who is Raven's brother and Ruffles, who is their mother. I also got Sneaky Pete and Parker, my two pups. So now my fledgling mushing operation includes six dogs. Bull, Raven, Strider, Ruffles, Sneaky Pete and Parker. The sad, and I mean funny sad, thing is that Strider is my only decent race dog at the moment. Bull's getting a little old, although I will try him out and see how he does in training. He did finish half the Quest this year after all. Ruffles is retired and was pretty much just part of the Raven-Strider deal. Raven, as we all know, is crippled though she does hobble around pretty good and is definitely happy to have her mum around.

(Parker, five months old)
And Sneaky Pete and Parker will be harness broken, but too young to race. So, sad but true I actually only have one sled dog. I'm still trying to think up a name for my kennel. Sam suggested something with the word Crash because, well, I've had a lot of crashes on the sled and that day I backed into a tree and crumpled the back of my truck...c'est la vie....
As for our new cabin, all the logs are on and the roof trusses are going up later today. Sam and I are really, REALLY, excited about it all. Our friends and family have been so generous and helpful in this stressful process. Thanks to all.
So when I went up to Windy Creek Kennel to get my two pups yesterday I stopped by to visit with Lance Mackey who just moved to Fairbanks from the southern part of Alaska. Lance has won the Yukon Quest (1,000-mile sled dog race from Fairbanks to Whitehorse) for the last two years in a row. He was seventh in the Iditarod last year (1,000-mile race from Anchorage to Nome) and hopes to win this year. His father and brother have both won the Iditarod. Anyway, I know him and his wife from covering the Quest for the Yukon News and stopped in to welcome them to the neightbourhood. His wife Tonya told me they named one of their puppies after me. So maybe some day in a few years, you'll all hear about how Jillian won the Quest or Iditarod in lead for Lance Mackey...! Of course, needless to say, she is the cutest, smartest, funniest pup of all their litters...she also eats her own poop, but whatever....we all have our faults...


More pics to come...I'm outta time