07Dec2003 Welcome the newest member of the Gaylord Family: Tutka! He is an 8 week old Yellow Lab, Golden Retriever and other mix. It was obvious to me the minute Allison saw him, that he was coming home with us. He is one soft cute bundle of puppy. Friday night was a long rough night; new food, new location, being separated from his siblings and being locked in the bathroom. It was a night of messes, howling and barking. Saturday, we cottoned on to that he had selected a place he wanted to sleep; the cooler linoleum entry-way. We installed him there for the night after many opportunities to take care of business outside, the result; a quiet messless night which we all needed. Tutka was named after a small inlet across the bay from Homer.
21 December 2003
Merry Christmas and Peace on Earth
22Dec2003 We are going to have a white Christmas for sure. We got about 8 inches of the white stuff over the last 12 hours. A few more inches are expected tonight. May Santa bless me with a snow-blower. 100' x 8' x 1' of snow is a lot to shovel. Any deeper and the Subaru will not make it up the driveway. It appears we are going to have a horizontal tree on our "mantel" this year. Wherever you are in this amazing world, we hope you have a Joyous, Merry and Peaceful Christmas. Love, malcolm, Allison & Tutka
28 December 2003
Christmas Day Snowshoe
25Dec2003 Allison got us both snowshoes for Christmas. We went up to Crossman Ridge, above Homer, to try them out. There was 2 to 3 feet of very fresh powder. Here we are on the Homestead trail, a snow machine (snow mobile) trail in winter, where the going was easier. On the way back down, we broke our own trail down through the clearings and spruce stands. Breaking trail was much harder than I expected. Still it was very enjoyable. Going through the spruce stands was as magical as it was tough. Today it is raining and the snow is melting. Such is winter in Homer, Alaska.
