Oh Deer.....

Not sure if this means that the holidays are almost over, but our friendly neighbours, the deer, have been eating away at our outdoor Christmas tree.  They have been coming everyday, many times throughout the day and even at night, and they take chunks of our Douglas Fir tree and just eat it up!  I must say it is fascinating to watch from our kitchen window.  We've even had Cooper sitting on the counter top so he could watch. He is also fascinated by the sight and doesn't make a peep.  I attach four pictures that Russell took yesterday. He has appropriately captioned them.....

I hope you all had a great Christmas and that Santa was good to all of you.  As for us, we had a quiet Christmas, not as "merry" as I was hoping for.  My Mom took sick on December 23 and has been in the hospital ever since.  She is quite ill.  Needless to say that Christmas was emotional for all of us, especially for my Dad.  I will be travelling to Montreal this week to see my Mom and give support to my Dad.  I do not know what the prognosis looks like but I do know that she has a long road ahead of her. I pray that she recovers and that the new year brings her and our family brighter days.

During my absence, Russell and Cooper will hold fort in Huntsville.  The "boys" will hang out and keep each other company.  Despite these difficult times, Cooper always manages to bring a smile to our faces and for that, we are grateful.

I wish you all a happy and healthy New Year!

Not me....I didn't eat a thing...seriously...it was the other two!

The 'tree' amigos......

Not M&M's...not Glossettes...yep, deer processed Douglas Fir!

A relaxing nap on the berm chewing their cud post the Christmas tree feast.

Merry Christmas! Joyeux Noel!

Here we are, just a few days before Christmas.  In Huntsville, it will be a white one for sure!  We  got about 10 centimetres of snow on Friday, a few more to come today.  It is truly a winter wonderland outside, the trees are covered with snow and the deer continue to slowly nibble at our outdoor Christmas tree.  As for the indoor tree, Cooper has lost complete interest in it.  He doesn't even try to nibble at the ornaments.  Good for the Coop!

Yesterday, we went for a nice walk in the neighbourhood.  It was sunny and cold but we were dressed for it.  Cooper had his fleece lined Muttluks on and was comfortable.  There was no need to put his coat on.  I am saving this for the -20 temperatures!

This past week was uneventful.  Like everyone else, we had errands to run and things to do.  We watched a few Christmas movies on TV and I baked a few more cookies.  Last Sunday, we had some neighbours over for drinks and nibbles.  It was very nice and Cooper was a good host.  Yesterday, the Winter 2013 edition of Our Homes Magazine, Muskoka, came out and we got to read the article about our house.  Once I have the link, I will include it in a future blog. It is kind of fun to read about ourselves in a magazine!

It will be a quiet Christmas, just the three of us, our first Christmas in our new home.  As I am writing this blog, I can't help but think of the families who have lost some loved ones or who are going through some difficult times.  Christmas is not always a happy time for many and can also be emotional even at the best of times. Having said this, I wish you all the very best for Christmas.

Anne and Cooper stroll down Forest Hill Lane...everyone has boots on and fur trimmings!

I include a picture of the Coop and I taken yesterday during our walk.  I also include a video that Russell put together yesterday.  Enjoy!

Life is precious

Just as we are all getting ready for the festive season, so many lives have been turned up side down. The senseless tragedy that took place last Friday is making us realize, once more, how precious life is.

So, here we are, just a little over a week to Christmas.  We are as ready as we can be.  The house is nicely decorated and the holiday music is playing non stop.  We do have some snow, although I suspect that it may be gone in a few days.  We have freezing rain at the moment, and it will rain later today and tomorrow.  So far, winter has been kind in terms of temperatures and precipitations but I do prefer snow to rain at this time of year.  So, let's hope for a white Christmas.

Our inside Christmas tree has been up for almost a week now and we haven't had to take down any ornaments.  Cooper has been tempted a few times to sniff them but we have quickly stopped him.  Kuddos for the Coop.  I can't say the same about our outdoor tree.  The deer have been around it,  eating away the branches ever so slowly.  We do not mind as it is such a pretty sight to see them "rocking around the Christmas tree" from our kitchen window.

Other than the deer, we have been granted the visit of a flock of wild turkeys this week.  As we were coming up our driveway, right in front of our house, there were about 24 turkeys, parked and gobbling away.  We literally had to wait for them to walk away before we could park our car.  Needless to say that Cooper was intrigued.  He didn't bark but was rumbling away at them.  When you see two dozen turkeys or so, all in one pack, they are quite impressive.  Of course, we didn't have our camera with us.

Russell and I had our first visit with our new dentist and we were impressed.  The staff is very nice and the office is well appointed with the latest dental equipment, and it is 10 minutes from our house.

This blog is a little short this week.  I feel somewhat subdued by the events that took place in Connecticut. Having said this, I have to get my act together as we are having some neighbours over this afternoon for a little festive gathering.

Cooper 'posing' in front of the Christmas tree...wishing he could run with an ornament or two!

I wish you all a very good week.

Choosing our perfect Christmas Tree

When we woke up this morning, Russell said "let's go get our Christmas Tree".  It was the perfect day for that since we had fresh snow on the ground, the sun was out and the roads were fairly good.  Russell had already found a place, Copeman Tree Farm in Sundridge, about 45 minutes North of Huntsville. So all three of us got in the truck and headed for Sundridge, with our saw.  It was actually a nice drive on Highway 11 North, although the road was partially covered with snow that fell yesterday.  This is our first natural Christmas Tree ever so, when we got to the farm, we weren't sure how to go about getting our tree.  First, we found out that dogs are not allowed at the farm.  At first, we were surprised since this is an outdoor place but we quickly understood why:  if dogs start doing their "business" against the trees, those trees become "marked territory" and you can imagine what can happen once you bring the tree home.....  all this to say that we promised Rick, the Christmas Tree cutter, that Cooper would be a good dog, and he was.  We walked amongst many rows of trees just to find the perfect tree.  We didn't need the saw after all as Rick had a chainsaw.  So, today, we bought our perfect Christmas Tree.  It is outside at the moment, in a bucket of water.  We will wait until Cooper is at day care tomorrow to bring it in and put the lights on.  It will be fascinating to see how he reacts to the tree.  Something to write about in my blog next week, in addition to a video that I will put together.

This past week was rather busy.  I wrapped up my Christmas baking on Tuesday. It took me longer than I thought.  I got a little carried away but I enjoy it. Then, we went to Montreal for a few days to visit our families while Cooper was at Camp Talemaker.  It was a short but very nice visit.  I spent quality time with my parents and Russell did the same with his mom.  We flew back yesterday and picked up Cooper at Nathan and Darlah's.  We were happy to see him.  As usual, he was exhausted from playing almost non stop for two days.  He slept all the way home, and then some more.  When we left Toronto, it was raining and plus 5.  As we were getting closer to Huntsville, it started to snow and was 1 degree.  We got about 5 cm of snow.  It was so pretty to see the snow on the trees.  I attach a picture that we took this morning when we woke up.

This coming week will be busy.  Russell and I have dentist appointments, hair cuts, Cooper has grooming and day care.  In between those appointments, we want to buy another Christmas tree for outside.  I also have to start stocking the pantry and fridge with Christmas "nibbles".  We will have friends coming over throughout the holiday period so I want to make sure that we are properly "stocked".

That's about it for this week's blog.  It is now 4:30.  Cooper is patiently waiting for his dinner, Russell is watching football and I have a pot roast in the oven.  As I am writing this, I look at our view and it is truly spectacular with the snow covered trees.  I really hope that the snow is here to stay, although we are expecting freezing rain tonight.

Rick cuts while Anne and Cooper give 'direction'.

Rick ensured the tree was 'perfect' before cutting.

Sunrise and freshly fallen snow....perfect combination.

Until next week, have a great week everyone!

It's beginning to smell like Christmas...

I do not consider myself a baker, as a matter of fact I can't say that I like baking that much but I do enjoy baking at Christmas time.  I especially like sharing my baking with friends and family.  As always, Russell makes himself available to try the cookies when they come out of the oven.  As for Cooper, well, what can I say, he watches me in the hopes that I will drop some crumbs on the floor.....no chance of that happening my friend!  I am ever so careful, especially if I bake with chocolate, which is a big no no for dogs.  All this to say that I started my Christmas baking today. A little bit of Christmas music has helped put me in the mood.  So, it's been a good Sunday, although a rainy one.  The snow that we had has all melted.  I never thought I would say this but I much prefer snow to wet and soggy grass.  Cooper has been out a few times despite the rain but not for long.  He doesn't care much for the rain.  I do hope that we will get snow again before Christmas.

This past week was uneventful.  For the most part, it was cold and cloudy but we did get quite a bit of snow.  The plow came twice in one week.  We went for a few walks and Cooper got to wear his Muttluks.  He has not forgotten about them since last year.  When it was time to put them on, he simply got on the couch and we put them on.  He was, however, hopping and prancing all over the house with his boots on.  He is truly a funny dog with such an amazing personality!

We started decorating our house for Christmas.  We bought a few wreaths for the outside doors and one for inside.  Our stockings are up, waiting to be filled......I had a few Christmas teddy bears and wasn't sure where to put them so that they were out of Coop's reach. Russell found the perfect place for them:  in the nook of one of our beams.  They look down on us and Cooper cannot reach them, although he thinks he can.  I will take some pictures in the next few weeks.

As promised, I attach a mug shot of Russell taken with his "Moustache".  He went a little over board and  grew a full beard.  He then trimmed it to what you see in the picture.  He will keep it until his Mom sees it then it will come off, so he says.  I don't mind either way.

This week will be busy.  We will be visiting with our family and Cooper is off to Camp Talemaker.  Last night, I was reading Darlah's blog and some of the comments that people have posted.  Lori, who owns Scruffy, referred to Nathan and Darlah's place as Camp Talemaker.  I quite like that.  It is a fun place for our dogs to go to and have lots of fun, in addition to being so well taken care of.   So that is where Cooper will be for a few days this week.

That's about it for this week's blog.  Russell is watching football, Cooper is having a nap before his dinner, and I may start a new book.  I wish you all a good week and hope your holiday preparations are going well.

Christmas cookies anyone?!

A Huntsville chin warmer.....grown for Movember!