Cooper's Boneyard.....Spooky..

They say that dogs bring out the best in people.  Dogs also bring out the kids in us, at least Cooper does, and we had fun taking a few pictures in the spirit of Halloween!  I hope you enjoy them.

It is a quiet and rainy Saturday afternoon so I thought I would write my blog now.  This is one of the first weekends since we moved to Huntsville that we have nothing to do.  I mean nothing.  The weather is not helping as it is far too wet to go for walks and play outside with the Coop.  We are cocooning and it is kind of nice.  Russell is building a fire and Cooper is having a nap while I'm blogging.

This past week was a good one.  Russell and I went to Toronto on Wednesday for an overnight stay at the Park Hyatt Hotel.  We first dropped off Cooper at Darlah and Nathan's place for a visit.   It was nice to see them again and Cooper was in his element playing with the Talemaker crew.  He even got to play with Jeannie, the newest addition to the Talemaker Family.  A 13 week old Havanese who came to Canada just a few weeks ago from the Germany.  She is an amazing little puppie and she played well with Cooper.  As for Russell and I, we had a good time in Toronto.  We had a nice lunch at Sassafraz then went shopping.  Amongst other things, we were looking for some decorative pillows for our leather couches and found them at Pottery Barn.  It was important that those pillows be soft enough for Cooper to sleep on...... it took us a while to find the right ones. So far, he seems to like them.  Have I mentioned lately that he is a little spoiled?  It was a nice getaway for Russell and I.  We even indulged ourselves in a manicure then had a nice, informal dinner at Dimmis in Yorkville.  We really like that restaurant.  It is not pretentious and the food is good.  We could not believe how busy it was for a Wednesday night.

We woke up early on Thursday morning and picked up Cooper at 9:30.  The traffic out of Toronto has not changed, it is just as crazy at is used to be.  On our way home, we stopped in Barrie and bought our treadmill.  It will be delivered later this week.  We look forward to using it, especially during inclement weather.

On Friday, we received approval from the Town of Huntsville to begin the construction of our carport.  The work will start in two weeks.  Matt will be building it.  It will be an informal carport, which we may turn into an enclosed garage next year. But for now, the carport will be useful to store some fire wood and other items, as well as protect our cars from the snow.

This coming week will be uneventful except for Wednesday.  The editor of Our Homes Magazine will be coming to our house to interview us. The article will focus on our log home and life in Huntsville.  We do not know when the article will be published but I will be sure to attach a copy to my blog.  Wednesday is also Halloween and since we are the only house on this new private road,  it is unlikely that we will have any trick or treaters.  But we are ready if we do get some. If we get none, then I guess we will have to eat the mini chocolate bars...

Cooper exploring the Goblin!

Seems he is saying, "Woof, this isn't so scary"!

That's about it for this week's blog.  I will now settle in front of the fire and browse the few Christmas magazines that I bought today.  This will be our first Christmas in our new house so we look forward to decorating it and getting our first real Christmas tree ever.  I wish you all a good and safe Halloween!

Family and Friends

This past week started with the visit of my brother last Sunday and ended with the visit of some good friends yesterday. Francois spent two nights with us.  Despite the cloudy and sometime rainy weather, we had a great time and we were able to even go on the deck on Sunday night and breathe in some fresh Muskoka air.  We showed him the Town and had a nice lunch at a restaurant by the water, while Cooper was at day care. We also did a bit of shopping.  I bought myself a nice little plaid Woolrich duffle coat and a throw blanket for the Muskoka room. As you can see from the picture below, it didn't take long for the Coop to get comfortable underneath the blanket....So, my brother's visit was a good one and I look forward to his return next year.

The rest of the week was relatively quiet.  Russell had our snow tires put on, I raked some leaves and  went for a few fitness walks.  I also made a batch of some butternut squash soup which was delicious.

Yesterday, we had the pleasure of having Nelson & Maggie and Paisley & Steve over for lunch (Nelson, Paisley and I were colleagues when I worked at JTI).  We had a great time and it was really nice to see them again.  We talked about all kinds of things and shared some good jokes.  I am tempted to share one funny topic of discussion that the guys indulged us in but since this blog is available for anyone to read, I will restrain myself.  Needless to say that we shared some good laughs.  The weather was not the best but we were able to walk around our property before they left.  Russell had a nice fire going all afternoon, Cooper was on his best behaviour and I enjoyed having everyone in our home.  Although Russell took a few pictures, most of the pics were taken by Maggie and Steve.  I look forward to seeing those when they are available.  For now, I include one picture although it is not of the whole group.

This week will be a busy one.  Russell and I are going to Toronto, or as my friend would say, "down South", for an overnight stay.  We will be staying in Yorkville. There are a few things that we want to purchase and can only get those items in Toronto.  While we're away, Cooper will be having a great time at Nathan's and Darlah's.  It's been a while since he has been there and he misses his Talemaker friends.  We are looking forward to also seeing the Talemaker crew.

Today is a quiet day.  The sun is out for the most part. This morning, we had some good play sessions with Cooper.  He loves his new playroom and plays retrieve like he never has before. We continue to practice his agility skills.  I went for my walk a little while ago while Russell gave Cooper a good brushing and line combing.  The rest of the day will be spent relaxing although I have to figure out what to wear when we go away this week. The dress code in Huntsville is slightly different than in Yorkville.......

Anne and Francois....

From the left, Nelson, Steve and Anne.

Cooper 'nesting' in the new blanket in the Muskoka room.

I wish you all a good week!

Cranberries make me jumpy!

Did you know that there are three commercial cranberry farms in Ontario and two of them are on the outskirts of Bala, a little town of about 500 full time residents located 60 minutes from Huntsville.  Bala is well known for its Fall Cranberry Festival, which attracts over 20,000 tourists every year.  The festival is always held after Thanksgiving weekend, which coincides with the start of the cranberry harvest.  So, on Friday, we went to the Bala Cranberry Festival.  It was packed with people and the weather cooperated for the opening of the Festival.  The sun was out and it was not too cold.  We walked the streets and visited the outdoor vendors.  Cooper had a great time, and as usual, he was stopped by people who wanted to pat him.  Two ladies were actually following us and then stopped to ask what kind of dog we had.  They both thought he was so well behaved and just loved his coat.

So, it goes without saying that there are lots of cranberry foods to be had at the Festival......tarts, loaves, sausages, candied apples, popcorn, cheeses, wine and of course juices. We brought home a few cranberry tarts which were delicious.  Bala is truly a small town..... we ran into our former neighbours from Mississauga, who have a cottage near Huntsville.  They were at the Festival with their great dane, Willow.  You may recall that they visited us a few weeks ago.  It was nice to see them again.

This past week was uneventful.  Cooper had his Lepto vaccine booster on Wednesday.  Again, as with the first shot, we were anxious to see if he would have a reaction but he did not.  So, a good job done and we feel good about it.  Russell's back is better, following his fall last Sunday.  We had a lot of rain this week so the leaves are almost gone.  The weather has been quite rainy lately except for a couple of sunny days here and there.  We hope the sun will be shining more as we approach the winter.

A few weeks ago, we ordered an agility set for Cooper and it arrived on Tuesday. It didn't take long for the Coop to get the hang of it.  He really enjoys it and it is good exercise for him physically and mentally. This morning, we had carpet installed in our basement so we now have a nice area for play and training.  I attach a couple of pictures taken a few minutes ago of Cooper in action in his newly carpeted play room.  I plan on doing a video of his agility skills soon.  We also moved his grooming station to the basement for the winter.  He will still have a nice view while being groomed.

On Friday, our new wine fridge was delivered.  The one that we moved from Mississauga stopped working and the broken part was no longer available.  Cavavin, the maker of the wine cellar, made us a replacement offer, as such, we now have a brand new wine fridge.  It came from St-Hubert , Quebec, and was delivered to our front door.  Yep, even in Huntsville things can be delivered to our house!

Not much going on this coming week other than getting our snow tires put on.  However, the week is starting on a good note, with my brother arriving later this afternoon.  He will be spending two nights with us.  The weather is not too good but we will have a good time just the same.  This will be his first visit to Huntsville.  Tomorrow, Cooper will go to day care for a few hours while we show Francois the town and have lunch somewhere.  We look forward to seeing him. Cooper can't wait to wake him up in the morning!

That's about it for this week's blog.  I wish you all a good week.

Thanksgiving wishes!

Russell, Cooper and I wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving.  We hope you will spend it anyway you want and have a good time.

As for us, it is our first Thanksgiving in Huntsville.  It is a beautiful day and the air is crisp.  The bird is in the oven, Russell is building a fire and Cooper is napping.  He had a busy day, running outside in the piles of leaves that I made and we played retrieve with his new favorite toy, an empty plastic bottle of Perrier with just enough water in it to make it easier for us to throw. Simple but effective!

Our day started at the usual time, around 7:30.  The weatherman was calling for -3 Celsius overnight and he was right.  When we woke up, it was, shall I say, a little cool outside and the deck was icy.  This took Russell completely by surprise and sure enough he fell on his left side while taking Cooper out.  He hurt his back and bruised his arm.  He will be stiff tomorrow.  I hope it doesn't get worse.  This morning,  I went for my first walk all by myself in our neighbourhood.  This was more of a fitness walk than a stroll so I decided to walk to our mail box.  No big deal, only 2 km each way.  It felt weird though to walk with hardly any traffic around, except for two cars that passed me and three deers.  With no traffic to speak of, you can really hear the noises in the woods so I was mindful of my surroundings. I had my bear bell with me just in case.  I do need to buy a proper walking stick for protection in case I come face to face with some unwanted species... It was a good walk just the same and I plan on picking up our mail every day, whether permitting.

Earlier this afternoon, we spent 30 minutes in our hot tub.  It helped loosen the muscles in Russell's back and it felt good overall.  Cooper just sat patiently on the sitting area around the hot tub, either licking Russell's head, which he loves doing because it is so fuzzy, or just watching the outdoors through the screened porch.

This past week went by really fast, not sure why. On Monday, we went back to Algonquin Park.  We are glad we did as it was the perfect day for it and the leaves were truly at their peak.  Russell took many beautiful pictures.  I attach one of Peck Lake and one that I took of Russell and Cooper.  Tuesday, we went to Limberlost Forest and Wild Life Reserve.  It is about 20 minutes away from where we live and it offers many trails to choose from.  We went on the Turtle and Solitaire trails.  We were the only people there and the trails, although they run along a lake, are completely in the woods but the paths are amazing, wide and covered with pine needles which makes it cushiony to walk on.  Cooper was leading us and had a great time.

Thursday, we took Cooper to day care for a good part of the day.  While he was gone, we ran a few errands and I reorganized our closets.  When we picked him, he was happy but so dirty.  It had rained so the backyard at the day care was a bit mucky.  He ran and played in the muck with two other dogs.  When we got home, we took a few pictures of our dirty dog and then we gave him a bath.  He was back to his old self in no time.

That's about it for this week's blog. This coming week will be busy.  Russell and I will get our hair cut, Cooper gets a vaccine booster, we will sign off on the construction permit for our carport and I will get ready for my brother's visit next weekend, which we look forward to.  I must sign off now and baste the bird.....

Peck Lake, Algonquin Park in glorious color.

Russell and Coop on the trail.

The "Coop"...we love him clean or DIRTY!

Have a great week everyone!