What A Stud

Unlike many places throughout the U.S., in Alaska it's legal to drive on public roads with studded tires. Mid-October brought snow mixed with rain to our region so it was time to update the tires on my car.



It felt completely different driving once the new and improved tires were on my car. I love the ticking sound the studs make when I pull out of the school parking lot. The slow tick that eventually grows to a reassuring hum that lets me know my tires are firmly connected to the pavement.



I guess I have two people to thank for my snow tires. Tizita was C.O.'s assistant the evening he changed out my tires. When Harold was little, he spent a lot of time out in the shop being daddy's "helper." A few people asked if our little girl would learn the mechanic trade as well.

 

Of course! We are all about equal opportunity at the Rudstrom household. Tizita's a mechanical natural. Her cute pink snow pants have been permanently stained with dirt, grime and grease from her time out in the garage. Our sweet little girl loves getting her hands dirty and helping out with dad's projects. 

 

Here's to driving safe this winter!

 

~AnnMarie

We Are Not (Do You Hear Me?) Going to Get a Dog

There is no way we could add a dog to our already hectic life.

Dogs need tons of exercise.

They get hair on the carpet.

Not to mention the hair on your clothes.

Have you seen the price of dog food?

A dog would be such a hassle when we want to travel.

I'm sorry but, they are just too much work!

. . .

*sigh*

Meet Aussie: The dog that chose us.

It is not terribly uncommon for a dog to wander through our yard. We have quite a few neighbors and everyone in Alaska seems to have a dog. About a week and a half ago a very friendly and handsome dog ended up playing in the yard with the kids. Come evening, he didn't go home. We woke up the next morning and found him sitting on the back porch. It was hard not to take pity on him when he sat at the back door looking at us like this:

We wrote our phone number on his collar hoping he would wander home, that his owners would call and we could let them know that he had been spending quite a bit of time at our house. This is sort of what happened. "Our" dog ended up at one of the neighbor's house who decided to look him up on a facebook page which listed local missing dogs. What do ya know? A picture of this dog had been posted. The neighbor called the owners and said their dog had been found. The owners were worried about his well being since he had been gone for over a week but the lady said he looked great and even had a collar with a phone number on it. The owners ended up calling us and asking if we had been taking care of their dog.

C.O. explained the situation and by the end of the conversation they asked if we'd just like to keep him. It turns out, they had been out biking one day when a lady pulled up in her car asking them to take her dog since she was leaving town shortly and couldn't take him along. The family took him out of pity but really weren't interested in having another dog. We learned that he is part Australian Shepard and part German Shepard. He is named Aussie, he's already had his first round of shots, is house trained, knows how to sit, is gentle with children and can walk nicely on a leash. He's just an all around nice dog so despite or intitial misgivings . . . we think we'll keep him.

~AnnMarie