Stars, Stripes and Snow

Independence Day 2008 (or as we like to call it amongst friends - 'Sod the Brits Day')

The plan was not to waste the day drinking like navvies and falling asleep before the fireworks began but to do something energetic and uplifting! That's how we ended up hiking up to Snow Lake in the Alpental valley (East of Seattle in the Cascade mountains). As it turns out the hike was aptly named as it didn't take too long before we hit some very significant 'slabs' (technical term) of snow - covering the trail and on steep slopes. And there was me thinking the Portaloo at the beginning of the trail was going to be the biggest challenge of the day ( I still haven't built my lung capacity quite enough to be able to take a large enough breath to last the whole time I'm unzipping, weeing and zipping back up again - working on it though).
In the immortal words of the song (maybe only the Brits will get this) 'the only way is up, baby!' and so that's what we did. Went up ( and slid back down a bit) and up again ( and down a bit more, in my case). And all the time the four legged fiends were just bouncing up and down like gazelles as if they were on concrete - oh to be a dog.
Anyhow -the hike was fantastic - well worth the quad/calf workout with superb views of the Alpental valley, beautiful swathes of wild flowers, wild ( and sometimes treacherous) waterfalls and lots of interest for the ornithologists amongst us (way to go Tiff :-) ) The pics show us at the top and the bottom!
By the time we had got back down and home, showered and changed it was time for dinner - of course it had to be a traditional Independence Day BBQ with dogs and burgers, salads and corn - and topped off with a few raucous card games and the firework display over Lake Union - sweet.
The evening wouldnt have been complete without Cortez's arsenal of illegal explosives which he and Leigh expertly ignited in the driveway - ensuring that no-one on 36th Ave (south precinct) got any sleep until after we were done scaring the crap out of them!
Here's to the next Yankee Doodle Day - hoorah!

Critters....

So picture the scene; we are being lazy and sitting eating supper on our laps in the living room. I have a full view down the garden. There we are having a pleasant chat when............'what the &@#! is that?'
It's a possum says Mike. Of course it is - silly me - how could I have been so stupid - I used to have possum wandering through my garden in Warwick ALL the time......errrrrrrrr NOT. Granted my geography sucks - but I know that Dame Edna thinks that possums only live in Australia - and I believe her! This thing was fearless - very slow and not averse to having his photo taken (as you can see). Anyway - thank goodness for Wikipedia. Technically (sorry to publicize your wrongness Mikey ;-)) he was an 'O'possum - which are native of the Americas. The creature I was thinking of is a Possum (minus the 'O') - which is an Australasian mammal - so woo hoo to Dame Edna - she was right after all. Personally I think the 'O' is for 'Oh my giddy aunt there's a creature the size of a large cat tiptoeing through my daffodils' but that's just me:-)
G'day Possums.....

Sweet justice!

So - the story behind our acquisition of the four legged member of out family is that we were on our way to look at new sofas when we were 'diverted' to Gig Harbor by a request by the breeders to visit the pups that very day rather than the next day as we had planned. So we (for 'we' read 'I') never got the nice new sofa to replace the filthy, ratty, flea-bitten 'college' couch I love so much.

However - between the two of them, my husband and dog have had the last laugh - to which the attached picture will attest. Where on earth would our totally spoilt dog have laid his handsome head if we'd had a pristine new sofa sitting where the old one does?

Oh well - you can't have it all! Not much beats sitting on a beat up old sofa with a heap of soft snoozing fur on your lap :-)

Sun at last....!

After what seems like weeks of wearing a hundred layers of clothes (day and night!) I finally ventured out today WITH NO COAT. I knew it was warm as Fergus even managed to muster up a couple of pants during the walk. It was was such a tonic to feel the warmth of the sun on my face - a feeling obviously shared by the garden as the crocuses and daffodils seem to have grown at least 3 inches in the past couple of days.

I got to dog-sit today (by choice) whilst Mike, Heidi and Kristian sailed Kristian's new boat from Lake Union to Elliot Bay. Yes - I'd be lying if I didn't say I wish I'd been there - especially given the weather - but I'm guessing there will be other opportunities - fingers crossed!

My compensation earlier this week was a killer view of the Olympics whilst out walking with Duncan. I thank my lucky stars everytime I see those beautiful mountains out across Elliot Bay and wonder what I did to deserve living in such a wonderful place. A little part of me always wishes Mum and Dad or any of my family and friends were here to share the view - but at least it always prompts me to think of them - so they are there in spirit!

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!