A house for sale(?), celebrity boat shoppers, and ashfall.

We talked to our friend Laura about renting our house, and she mentioned she might actually be interested in buying it. This was a welcome idea we had entertained, but put on the side burner because of time restrictions. With a willing seller and a willing buyer, it might just work. Laura is a wonderful friend, and most important to us is we remain friends throughout the process. Here's a photo doing the diclosure forms after we accepted her offer. A glass of wine soon followed.

This puts our biggest hurdle within sight, and we can move on selling C-Worthy, our 22' C-Dory Cruiser we've loved owning for 6 years. Posting on the C-Brats website and Craig's List have generated a lot of interest, and a few lookers. Two of the folks that came by to look over C-Worthy brought over one of our favorite authors - Alvah Simon and his sailing soul-mate Diana, of North to the Night fame. Their remarkable sail exploration articles and the adventures of Halifax, the famous polar bear detecting cat, can be found at Crusing World. We'd attended a talk of Alvah's the night before - hosted by the Seward Yacht Club.

The other notable event was ashfall in the Anchorage area from Mt. Redoubt's continued eruption. We got a trace of ash, but the streets were eerie and deserted, pedestrians with dust masks as we walked to an empty sushi restaurant. A 'burnt match' smell in the air. The only other eater in the place was telling us the lines at Home Depot for masks, duct tape, and other suppies was impressive. For some incredible photos of the volcano, see what Bretwood Higman saw in the night.

We had a very nice going away party and managed to squeeze thirty or so and five dogs in our tiny house. Mediterranean theme - why not. Very sad to say good-bye to a group of wonderful humans. Our Alaska family for 10 years. We will greatly miss them all, and promise to keep in touch. Chance thought the night was for him.

Other than that, the boxes are getting more numerous, and the walls are bare. Weird to think we may be staying in our home for the last time this week. With all the packing and activity, I think the dog is getting nervous. His anxiety really came to light when Chance announced he was now to be addressed as Captain Grey Whisker. I hope it is just a phase...