I know this may come as a huge surprise to you all, but I'm just not much of a 'girlie girl'. Yes, there have been times in my life when I paid a fair amount of attention to my wardrobe, wore heels to work everyday and even jewelry, but for by far the majority of my life I've been clad in jeans, boots, ball caps, sweatshirts and for the latest chapter - polar fleece.

When I was 17, I came into a small bit of 'inheritance' from my Grandpa, who passed away when I was 2. He had left me a small piggy bank and told my Mom that maybe it could buy me a nice 'party dress' when I got older. I took that money and opened a bank account, squirreling away enough money to eventually buy myself a horse - not a toy one - a real one. So 'party dresses' have never really been my thing!

That said, there are still a few items of clothing that can cause me to squeal girlishly with delight - parkas are right up there at the top of the list. So imagine my delight when I stumbled upon Skookum brand anoraks (http://skookumbrand.com/Skookum.swf) Not only were the anoraks gorgeous, they were well made with great attention to detail - and Canadian made!!!

My Cabelas Trans Alaska anorak was beginning to show it's wear and Cabelas was not being particularly helpful in regard to me getting a new red one made, as they had been in the past. So I had been kind of looking at what else was out there. I wasn't have much luck finding anything I liked and that fit my needs until I came across the Skookum ones, but now we were getting so close to Iditarod, I feared I wouldn't be able to get anything in time.

I dropped an email to the company and got a very enthusiastic response the same day.

Yes, they could get me a parka, they even offered to do some 'tweaking' to their standard anorak to really make it functional for me (like 300 polartec lining instead of the standard 200 polartec). On top of that, they offered me a GREAT deal on it. Sweet!!

Mom, who still shakes her head over the fact that her son (because he makes his living mostly as a musician) has a fancier wardrobe then her daughter, stepped up to cover the price tag. Doug G. offered to pick it up in Dawson City when he was up there for Quest and bring it home in time for the race and we were in business.

It arrived here in Willow today and I tell ya, I'm going to feel like Cinderella at the start of Iditarod this year! This is one gorgeous and better yet - functional anorak. Jamie tried it on and I thought we were going to have to wrestle it away from her.

It's a little deeper red then you are used to seeing me in, but I think that just makes it look more fashionable. And it is trimmed with silver reflective tape, which not only looks good, but will make me much more visible to all those nighttime snowmachines too!

The ruff is a beautiful light colored wolf one - and the hood shape such that it forms a really nice tunnel to keep the cold away from my face. It has loads of lined, zippered pockets too, so I'm unlikely to lose things as I pull my parka on and off.

No pictures yet, you will have to wait until we get it all decked out with patches and stuff, but if you are curious, there are pictures up of the parkas on their website - http://skookumbrand.com/Skookum.swf

Oh I also have to tell you what 'Skookum' means - power, strong and impressive. I'm finding a puppy to name that this year!!! How cool.

Karen