There is no later. This is later.

Keith & Mia Pia

Keith carries Mia across Boyd Creek
camping on the Selway River

Keith and I have our tent set up in the back yard. Well, next to the dog pen. Mia and I went in yesterday to lay down ----until it got too hot.

I was holding a minimum of 45 pounds of dog for over 400 miles. DVT alert!
But we're here now and it was all worth it.

This is the woman who was semi-fostering Mia, taking her for walks while she was at the shelter, etc. In fact, she brought Mia to Portland from ARNO in New Orleans. Karin's getting ready to go back down to volunteer at the shelter (and have fun in New Orleans with her friends). She said ARNO still has many animals at their shelter (3 years after Hurricane Katrina).
Her friend David is a pet photographer and they were taking some "family pictures" of all the dogs that came from ARNO so they could make a scrapbook for the shelter workers. David is also a photographer for the Oregon Humane Society so he was used to working with "difficult" dogs. Mia was good. She got a little stressed by the end of the shoot (an hour or so) and she's still acting up a little when we go out on walks,…

Mia has this little schtick she does when we head home from our walks. She used to do it infrequently, randomly, but now she does it more often. Maybe it has something to do with trying to get rid of her winter coat (I just realized)... Anyway, she'll stop, and just lay down. Sidewalk, grass, wherever. Just resting. She flops onto her side. Lays there a minute. And then starts to squirm on her back like this for a minute or two. She especially loves if you scratch her stomach, too. It makes me laugh every time.

We don't know who's luckier, them or us.

carrots dipped in chunky peanut butter
rolled in dog food
down the hatch

The time has finally come.
We are moving.
Slowly.
The new apt is, as anticipated, much quieter and also a little cooler. But windows that face the neighbors' apartments = less naked time. Booooo.
Keith and I both feel like the new apartment is already Home and we haven't felt that way in a long time, if ever. (Well, the house we rented in Missoula was close. And we're not counting Mexico.) I finally decided it was because we've been thinking about moving into this apt for the last 6...7...or 8 weeks, since we knew it was coming open.
So, our internet down there will be hooked up on Sunday. (Ok, what takes so long to send someone from Comcast to my apt for a 10-min connection check. Seriously.) So, until then....