17Aug2005 - The heat, our next trip and our new car (new to us anyway).

The pic is of our 1999 Subaru Forester. So far it's working well and the dog's now have a place to call their own. We always kennel/crate the dogs whn we're driving so it's nice to have room for other people in the car now. It's AWD, which means that all four wheels are driven at the same time. Unlike 4 wheel drive it does not need to be switched on and does not have low gearing for real off roading (not something we'd be doing much of anyway). I'm sure by the time the snow comes we'll appreciate it.

The heat let off for the last few days, low 80's so far this week. I can live with that and Brodie and Kyla get much longer walks during the day. The other side to the heat was our electricity bill for the month of July, 125.00 ouch! Here's to hoping, the last half of August is a little cooler. In the winter the house is heated by gas so it might be expensive to heat as well. The previous owner of the house said that gas was cheaper than oil so we'll have to wait and see.

I've been spending alot of time watching the news about the new NHL. The new salary cap has meant that alot of players having been moving teams. I think fans may be a little dissapointed when they realize that this is not just a one time deal. Players will be moving every season with the new CBA (collective bargaining agreement). Not like the good old days when you fell in love with a team and the players on that team. I would have been hard pressed to love the Montreal Canadiens when I was a kid if Guy Lafleur, Yvon Cournoyer and Larry Robinson left at the end of the season because the team didn't have any cap room left to sign them. Oh well that's what happens when you guarantee rich guys that they will make money by putting a hockey team in a market where no one gives a hoot about hockey (Phoenix, Florida (2 teams), Nashville, Carolina, LA and Anaheim, Dallas..) What do you bet that ticket prices don't come down either? What's the expression, the rich get richer...

We're off to New Hampshire this weekend. Rayne is taking Friday off so we can take our time driving up there. It's about a 4 hour drive from here to the place we are staying in Chocorua. By the time we stop to water the dogs it will likely take 6+hours but I'm sure we'll see some interesting and beautiful spots along the way. We're both looking forward to getting away for a few days (ironic since that's all we've been doing for the last month and a half).

The White Mountain National Forest area has alot to do. There are a couple of skyrides and railroads, lots of hiking and plenty of places to swim, canoe or kayak. It should be a good time and we'll make sure to take pictures along the way. The Lazy Dog Inn sounds like the perfect place for the dogs too!

ciao