Patti, the booties are made of a tough nylon or a felt. There are volunteer groups that sew them for the mushers, otherwise they can be as expensive as $1 each. They use Velcro to keep them on but they will eventually fall off on the trail. It's mandatory that all dogs wear booties during the race so the musher has to pack up to 1,000 booties to replace all the lost ones for the 16 race dogs over the course of the next 10-13 days on the trail. Many years ago I worked with an Alaska historian to learn more about my Eskimo roots. I was able to meet him face to face for the first time at the ceremonial start, in fact there's a chance that he took a photo or two in my video because I'm short, he's very tall, and the crowd was incredible. Anyhow, the guy used to be a sled dog racer and explained a lot of what was going on during the race and with the dogs. We said our goodbyes after the race and I walked back to my hotel. The day we were checking out to come home, there was a package at the front desk with my name on it. It contained several booties (one for each of my co-workers as a souvenir) and an actual race dog harness. So cool! Jodi-

I wore a dress to each of my kid's college graduations (my DH wore a suit and tie). Comfortable shoes are key -- lots of walking, standing afterwards etc. I burn easily so I recommend sunscreen, sunglasses, hat or even a lightweight scarf that can cover burning shoulders :). Throw a bottle of water in your bag. As for the chance of rain, perhaps a light hooded poncho/jacket? The college website will inform you if umbrellas are allowed. College graduations usually require you to get there early for a good seat and then wait, wait, wait. Congrats.

Were they sold out of samples? I ordered three samples back in June and they were all fairly aqua-colored, tempered with a tinge of neutral. I didn't see any celadon in the tiles I got.

Dedtired, I rarely visited my fathers grave site either. DH has always taken on the responsibility of keeping things clean, trimmed, free of moss up there. He has a BIG family, many residing at the cemetery. At Christmas, one of his sisters makes wreathes and swags and the two of them distribute at the cemetery. This year she made 27, but a couple are friends he lost in Viet Nam. He would take care of my dads grave site even though I'd lost him years before meeting DH. (in fact. the couple right next to him doesn't seem to have had family visit in many years, and even though we know nothing about them, DH has taken over keeping theirs free of moss and debris too ;)) I knew it wasn't especially important to my father. Old family story of him driving cross country with my mother to their class reunion one year, and going many miles/hours out of their way to visit a tiny country cemetery. When they finally got there, he didn't even get out of the car. He didn't want to visit, he only wanted to see that it was still fenced and reasonably maintained overall. My mother was furious - so we heard about it. More than once. Now that the two of them are together again, I do go. With DH, he has his little cemetery supplies with whisk broom, sometimes edger, weed in lawn spray, moss treatment. It all looks lovely. Somehow having them there brings me comfort and peace. We may only stay a few minutes, but I can tell them Hi together, know things are clean and bright. It's the first time in my adult life I've had my mom within a few minutes of my home and less than a couple of hours freeway drive.