Finding Chara

"Oh, you should see these puppies on Craigslist!  This black one is really cute."  

This wasn't the first time I'd said this.  I had been exclaiming similar statements all summer in my search for a good family dog.  Having 37 acres and no neighbors in sight, we thought having a dog for protective purposes would be a good idea.  So, almost every day, all summer, I made the Craigslist search for "puppies."  I found many that would fit the requirements made between my sister, mom, and myself, but all way out of our price-range or too far away.

"What kind?" Tirzah and Mom asked enthusiastically before even seeing the pictures.  They knew the routine.
"It's a mix of Australian Shepherd, Irish Setter, Alaskan Malamute, husky, and German shepherd.  Do you want me to email on them??"
After seeing the pictures, there were a couple cute ones that passed inspection, so I emailed on them.  Last Thursday, on our way to Yakima for a family reunion, we took a detour to look at the puppies that were left.  The one that had especially stuck out--the black one--was still available, so the decision was unanimous.  We handed over the money to have her "held" until we came back from our weekend away.  Then she would be ours to take home.

The actual Chara, I am told.

Now that we had a dog, the next step was to decide on a name.  We are terrible at picking names, and all have a different opinion of what would be fitting.  Last time we got a dog, we literally took weeks to name him.  This time I was determined to pick a name quickly.  A decision to name the dog after a star (or something similar to that idea) came surprisingly quickly because of the white on her chest.  So we began our search through star books and the internet.  Within 2 days, we all came to agree on Chara, a star--actually multiple star system--in the constellation Canes Venatici, 28 light years away.
So on Monday we welcomed Chara home, and she has been wonderful so far.  If only it stays this good through "the terrible twos" as they call it. :)

And, not to ignore the family reunion, it was a wonderful time in Yakima over the weekend!  I only took a few pictures over the whole weekend, which were of the enrapturing sky one evening (excuse me while I now post several of them because I can't choose the best):

Oh, yes.  Can't leave out the healthy lunch
Tirzah and I shared on our way home.

We know how it's done!