Seventeen more sleeps.....

Well, this is it.  The countdown has officially begun in the Duncan household.  No joke about it, no more "let's start tomorrow", no more "we have time".  Time is no longer a luxury when it comes to packing our house.  I know because I started packing this past week.  Although I made good progress, there is still lots and lots to pack in between doing other things.  It takes even longer to pack if it is done in a very orderly fashion (those who know me well know what I mean).  As I pack, I dispose of little things that I know we will not need.  It's amazing how quickly you can fill a bag full of nik-naks.  I also clean up as I go along so that on move day, once the truck is loaded, we can just lock the door and leave.  All this has been happening despite my trigger thumbs.  Those thumbs of mine are the same, actually the right thumb is now as bad as the left, but I am getting used to managing without them.  If I use my thumbs by mistake, believe me, I feel it!

What else did we do last week?  Russell went to Huntsville on Wednesday to drop off the foyer chandelier and the ceiling fans.  We took Cooper to Nathan and Darlah's on Thursday for an overnight boarding.  This gave us an opportunity to run some errands and get more packing done.  We got new towels for our bathrooms, new bathroom accessories, we also finally bought Russell's belated birthday gift, a telescope.  This is something that Russell has always wanted, especially now since we will have the perfect sky to watch the stars and planets.  On Thursday night, we had dinner with some former colleagues of mine.  It was really nice to see them again.  We hope they will accept our invitation to come and visit us in Huntsville :-)

While we were busy running errands, Cooper was having a grand old time with his furry friends.  He went swimming and really enjoyed it.  He played non stop and tired everyone out.  When we picked him up on Friday afternoon, he was really happy to see us and was licking us all over.  Nathan and Darlah are such nice people and they take such good care of, not only their own dogs, but the dogs that come and visit them.  Cooper will go back to their place for two nights when we move.  He can hardly wait to go swimming again!

Yesterday, we picked up some of our interior and exterior lights.  We are still waiting for some sconces to arrive probably this week.  We will need to take those lights to Huntsville next week. While we are at home this weekend, some work is being done on our property, specifically, we have Muskoka Wild Life Control securing under deck of both the front and back porches. This will eliminate any potential criters from building a little "den" under our porches.

So, it's been a busy week and this coming week will be as busy.  We start off the week by having my father and brother over tomorrow and they will stay the night.  They are coming up from Montreal to pick up a couch and two arm chairs that I am giving my brother. This furniture will be replaced by our new Muskoka room furniture which is being delivered tomorrow morning.  We can't wait to see it.  Patricia, our interior decorator, helped us choose the furniture and fabrics.

This week, we also have a bunch of appointments such as a physical for Russell, ART treatments for my thumbs, the soap dispenser of our dishwasher will be fixed, and of course more packing will take place. Cooper and I will have our respective physicals the week after.  We want to get that stuff out of the way before we move.

Last but not least, the progress on our house continues at a fast pace.  Matt and his crew are doing a great job to ensure that all is done by our move date.  I attach a few pictures that Matt sent us on Friday.  You can see for yourself that things are coming along very nicely. I also include a picture of the chimney, which is a work of art!

I am writing this blog outside, sitting on our back porch.  It is a beautiful Sunday morning and, for a change, there is no humidity.  Cooper is snoozing after playing "catch me" with Russell in the backyard.  Russell is reading the news on line and looking for a set tub for our mud room.  We need to get one soon so that we can use it to bathe Cooper once we move.

Those are my news for this week.  I think today will be a day of relaxation and no packing. I need to give my hands and thumbs a rest.... We may go for a walk by the lake.  Then again, I may pack a box or two.  I seem to be on a roll now.

Really taking shape now.....

This deck is smooth enough to dance on.....all 40 feet of it.

Awesome chimney and stone work by John Davidson Masonary.

Cooper doing his version of the breast stroke.

Cooper in drip dry mode!

Have a great week everyone!  The forecast for the whole week appears to be quite nice.  Despite the extreme heat and humidity, I think we've had a nice summer so far.