first snow! usually in fairbanks once it snows it stays everyday until june, but it is warmer this year than last.

when i took this picutre, ben did a full on model pose for me.

we started our anniversary at dialysis treatment. it takes about 4 hours total. this is what it looks likes, taking all of my blood and filtering it through a dialyzer(just like the kidney) and back in thru the catheter. ben and i did go to the vallata afterwards for a short dinner. he gave me a great card and he wrote:

"in sickness and health, alaska or outside, young or old, I will love you always." ben
how sweet is that? It was not the ideal anniversary being on dialysis, but that's life an we still had a good day.dea

when we arrived home we had flowers from stac for our anniversary, which is tomorrow!

ben and I are back in fairbanks. the surgery went well, besides that I am a little sore in the chest where the tubes stick out and the iodine will not come off(you see both in the picture, kinda gross)..I also did my first hemodialysis session in anchorage to make sure everything worked. It was similar to when my kidney's first failed and I was on dialysis, except the technology has advanced. It actually made me feel alot better today and now I will continue on with dialysis three days a week at the kidney center in fairbanks,until we find out more about another kidney transplant. we do have some good news though, ben is O positive a match to donate a kidney. we will know more after we decide on a kidney transplant center and so forth.


we did not blog much in anchorage, we only had coffee shop internet, but stac was down there for a wildlife convention. she gave us the raven, we named it Orso(good restaurant in anchorage) Audrey stopped by the dialysis center too, it nice to have their support.


this one's for my parents. they visited denali with ben and i when this strip was bussling with tourists. this is what it looks like from sept 15th on everything is boarded up even the hotels.

Hi all,
Ben and I are down in Anchorage for the weekend, I have not been feeling well. After our visit today with Dr. Tucker today,I will have surgey monday to put in a permcath(tubes to hook up to the machine) and start dialysis. Dialysis takes place of the kidney and I go three days a week until I have another kidney transplant, possibly 6 months. Though it is big news, we are trying to remain in fairbanks and for now take things day by day. we don't know if ben is a match, we just started testing today.

The good news is we get to hang out at Titlewave books and CDs today along with a stop at Skinney Raven Sports. We are also staying at this nice bed and breakfast on cook inlet, it is a great deal in the off season.

most of us are out of town for the weekend so we had pizza, salad and beer night at julie's cabin. since bow hunting off your porch for moose is legal in her neighborhood, the dogs found a moose carcas not far from the cabin and were banished to the cars(except turtle).

Equinox Marathon and Relay

The 44th Equinox Marathon was Saturday in Fairbanks. One of the biggest running races here and a 3rd hardest marathon in the US after Hawaii and Pike's Peak in colorado.


here is stacia on her way to cheer the runners, she calls herself the "exotic cheerleader". (she is available for hire at your sporting events!)


julie and audrey pre-race, they ran the entire equinox marathon, over 2200 feet of steep climbing and decending, mostly on trails.


here are dan and martin at the 3rd hand off in the relay and yes the Nitrate Radicals win again this year! Ted's team with Brian and Leslie put up a tuff fight. Martin and Leslie were within sight of each other near the finish.


Our good friend Matias and Mike Kramer in the lead of the race from mile 1! Matias put up a good fight and came in 2nd overall in the Marathon.


Julie finishing the marathon with all of us cheering behind. of course ben is shooting this pic.

Audrey, Ned, Curtis and Brad also had a great marathon. it was a fun day of cheering everyone on! dea

Pre-Equinox Marathon Dinner @ Ted's

the big equinox marathon and relay was this past saturday. it is a huge community event and this is our pre-race dinner. our 2nd year rivals sweet river trio and nitrate radicals competed head to head in the relay.


the morning of the race. i was not feeling that great, so i had a "pinch runner" at the last minute julia(UAF cross country runner :-) so this picture is part of the support crew for our friends racing the entire marathon and relay. stacia is pre-costume here..

fall is almost over, the sun is dissappearing, we are having some fantastic sunny weather in Fairbanks. this was on the way to the bus this morning, then I missed the bus!

cool super foggy morning yesterday.

we had a great dinner last night at matias's house sitting gig. we also watched a stage of the tour, a little late up here. jeff raced bikes in colorado so we talked alot of "back in colorado" stories...BUT the ben was excited because he is from IOWA, his wife and Jill too! so of course lots iowa talk.

mellow labor day weekend

caz and pella waiting for a treat from ben after swimming in the tanana river.


martin is back town and we all took the dogs for a run on gilmore trail. the leaves are changing and it is fall in fairbanks.


ben and i facing the cleary summit area. martin comments how nice it is to be back and run on the quiet trail with no people (except some random hunter shooting, we think not in our direction).

girls night

we had a girls dinner party at stacia's cabin the other night. here is julie and kumi making the pie from handpicked blueberries, rasberries and rubarb eariler in the day. stac made a great citrus salmon and laura picked some kale from her garden.


smiley face pie design by kumi.

we are also super excited to get the october issue of Alaska Magazine because ben's photo will be in the raven article by Ned. it is an exciting step for ben, thanks to stacia and her ravens!