Feisty Fergus....

We had planned to go sofa shopping - but somehow ended up taking a detour to Gig Harbor to 'look' at some pups...........yes, yes - I know! Anyway - we are now three - two of us exhausted and one of us full of energy, lust for life, and poop!

We wanted to give him a Scottish whiskey related name (partly because we love it so much and partly because the first night he came home he took a lick out of Cortez's whiskey glass - and dropped a piece of food into it). However....as most single malts seem to have between 3 and 33 syllables, we plumped for a plain old Scots name - Fergus - which means 'first choice' - pretty apt as he was the first and only pup we saw! We figured he'd be Gus for short - but most people seem to be favouring Fergie - which thankfully for most people over here conjours up a hot rock singer rather than a not so hot ex-Royal!

So far he has been a brick! Hardly any whining at night - just when we put him in his bed - and virtually house-trained already. Mind you Mike has got absolutely no work done in the last week as a result! He's taking fatherhood very seriously! I am a little more devil-may-care - I think because I've done it all once before - with the gorgeous and still going strong Peps. However - I think I'm a little out of practice as Fergus did fall into our icy pond this afternoon whilst in my care! Never too early to teach them the rudiments of swimming I say!

More news from the West soon!

Winter Wonderland

Welcome to the first of the Hoyt (Seattle) posts on the new blogsite!

One of the great aspects of living in the Pacific North West (and one thing I hope I will never take for granted) is the fact that seasons are still discernible. This winter we have already hit the national news because of the amazing winter storms which have brought flooding and huge amounts of snow. We decided to take advantage of the latter for the first time this season and went snowshoeing last weekend.
For the unitiated (ie anyone who lives in middle England!), this involves strapping two tennis racket like contraptions to your feet and tromping through the snow for a few miles. I have made it sound much less attractive than it really is - not necessarily glamorous (especially when the snow is coming down thick and fast, your hair is like rats tails and you are trussed up like the Michelin man for warmth - but an amazing workout and a marvellous opportunity to view some spectacular scenery.

We headed north to a trail in the region of Granite Falls this last Saturday - and despite the rather ominous avalanche danger - had a great time. Here are some photos to prove it!

Just to complete the weekend of winter sports, Heidi, Christian, Mikey and myself hit the Winter Wonderland Ice Skating rink at Bellevue Square on Sunday. Not quite the same as Warwick Castle courtyard it has to be said - but aided by a practice session the week before (at the Snowdome in Tamworth, England - way to go Tennants!) and copious amounts of alcohol - we had lots of fun and avoided any broken bones - although there were a few near misses thanks to some kamikaze youngsters on the ice and some stray snowball missiles launched by Messrs Hoyt and Brekke! Fun times!