A new beginning

Well, my friends, after 53 years of being in the same house, my parents moved to their new condo last Wednesday. For them, it is the start of a new and fresh beginning where they will make new memories, while not forgetting about old ones.  The move went very well and if you saw them today, you wouldn't know they had just moved in.  Russell and I were there to support them in every way and I must say that I am happy at how it all went.  We unpacked them over the course of two days and organized their new place as much as we could. My brother and sister took over after we left.  All that is left to do is a little bit of reorganizing and they have lots of time to do this.

For me, this move gives me peace of mind knowing that they no longer have to live in a big house, with lots of stairs and lots of maintenance.  As fate would have it, their good friends, and first neighbours of 53 years ago, now live in the same building. As the saying goes, they have come full circle.  We had the pleasure of being invited for a cocktail to their friend's condo after the move on Wednesday and it was really nice to see them again.  Not only did I get to see my parents' friends, but I also got to see their daughter whom I grew up with 50+ years ago! Life has a way to bring people together sometimes.  While in Montreal, we also had dinner with Auntie Lorraine.  It was nice to catch up with her.  She is such a young at heart and fun lady!

Russell and I drove home on Friday morning.  We couldn't help but notice the preparations underway on the Highway of Heroes for the repatriation of Cpl. Nathan Cirillo.  Such a terrible and senseless tragedy.

So, we're back home with our pooch and we missed him a whole lot.  Coop had a great time at Camp Talemaker as always.  Darlah gave him a nice bath on Friday morning so he was smelling real good when we picked him up.  He slept all the way home and then some. He had a real tough life while we were away......

The leaves are now completed gone.  Russell blew them twice this weekend and I think that this is it.  Now we wait for the white stuff.....but not before Halloween please!  On that topic, now that four families live on our road, we hope to have trick-or-treaters on Friday.  We will be ready with a carved pumpkin and goodies.

Today is a quiet and grey day.  We went for a walk after lunch and it was a bit chilly.  I put my gloves and scarf on for the first time.  It was good to get the fresh air though. Better get used to it.

This coming week means the return to the gym for both Russell and I.  We are having some vista pruning done on Tuesday and on Wednesday, Terri and I have a lunch date.  Cooper will go to doggie day care on Thursday and he will have a bath on Friday.  We have his Halloween picture already done. Look for it in next week's blog!

That's about it for my blog this week. I include a few pictures that I took of my parents' move, nice memories to have.  I wish you all a great week and a fun and safe Halloween!

Mom and Dad waiting for the movers.

They are here.......

All loaded and ready to be closed up for the drive...a 4 minute ride.

We are done!

All settled in and having a wine!

Cranberry Goodness

Happy Sunday to all!  There is a definite chill in the air but the sun is shining.  It was the perfect day to go the Bala Cranberry Festival and to visit the Johnston's Cranberry Marsh.  We had a great time and bought some cranberry goodies for the holiday season.  There were lots of people and lots of dogs.  Cooper behaved very well and, as usual, people fell in love with him.

All is good with us. It was a quiet week but busy.  We were in Toronto on Thursday and we had a great time.  We went to a new Italian restaurant for dinner on Prince Arthur.  It was good, the portions were too big and the ambiance was nice.  I guess the highlight of the evening, other than having a romantic dinner with my hubby, was that Toronto was hit with a huge rainfall that night.  Prince Arthur, amongst many other streets, was so flooded that the firemen had to come and open up the drains.  No one could drive or walk on the street.  All was back to normal by the time we walked back to our hotel.

My six-week Bootcamp Challenge is now over.  Overall, it was a great experience and I enjoyed the nutritional part of it. Most of all, this challenge produced some nice results which I'm happy about.   I have signed up to continue the bootcamp workouts and plan on continuing to eat the same, for the most part. It's not rocket science:  it is about eating clean, less carbs and more protein.  Having said this, I do believe in the 80/20 rule:  be good 80% of the time and somewhat bad the other 20%.  Life is short after all!

We are getting ready to leave for Montreal tomorrow.  We will first drop off Cooper at Takemaker Camp, then we will continue on.  My parents are almost ready for the move.  The movers come first thing Wednesday morning and all will be loaded and unloaded in one day. It will be a busy week no doubt but it should go smoothly.  It will also be a week filled with many emotions for all of us.  After living in the same house for 53 years,  this will be a big change for my parents but I know they will be happy in their new home.

The leaves in our trees are now almost all gone but one morning this past week, I was able to capture the leaves in their golden glory during the "golden hour", which occurs one hour before sunrise or sunset.  So beautiful to watch.

That's it for this week's blog.  Our bags are packed for tomorrow, as well as the lemon cookies that I made for my parents and for Auntie Lorraine.  We will get to see her on Tuesday night.  We look forward to it.  I wish you all a great week ahead!

Fall colour captured during the golden hour on our septic burm.

Johnston Cranberry Marsh being harvested.

Russell and Cooper take a break while Anne shops..yummy!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday for many reasons.  I love that it is in the Fall, when the colours  are at their best.  I love that it gives us a good excuse to roast a turkey.  I love that it can be as festive as Christmas but without the stress.  Most of all, I love it because it is the perfect time to be thankful for all that we have.  Russell, Cooper and I wish you a wonderful day!

The weather for this Thanksgiving Sunday couldn't be better.  We had rain almost every day last week  so the sunshine today is most welcome.  We went for a walk with Cooper earlier this afternoon and it was nice to get some fresh air and feel the warmth of the sun on our faces.  When we got back home, I got the turkey ready and it is now in the oven.  It smells good already and Cooper is pacing the kitchen.....yes, he will have a piece of turkey tonight, and tomorrow, and the day after....after all, we are thankful to have him in our lives and he deserves something good.

This past week was quiet but busy at the same time.  I went to the gym every day except Tuesday.  This Bootcamp thing is rather addictive.  I went again this morning as the gym is closed tomorrow.  Having said this, there will be no rest for the wicked as there is a special Thanksgiving Bootcamp class  at 10 am tomorrow, at Sandhill Nursery in the greenhouse.  The purpose of this special workout class is twofold:  raise money for our local Food Bank and burn off the calories from our turkey dinner tonight!  Russell and Cooper will be coming along and will watch me sweat it off.  It is expected that over 100 people will show up for this workout.  Should be fun and it is for a good cause.

Our uninvited guest from last week, the buck, hasn't been back in Coop's backyard.  That's a good thing.  As a matter of fact, we haven't seen the deer much this week.  Neither have we seen the wild turkeys....they are probably in hiding as it is hunting season for the turkeys....very fitting on this special day.

This coming week will be busy as we are off to Toronto on Thursday for our haircuts.  Cooper will be spending the night at Camp Talemaker.  He will get to meet the new addition to the family:  Inula, a Tibetan Terrier.  We can't wait to meet her also.

On our return from Toronto, we will go to Bala for the Cranberry Festival.  We go every year and look forward to buying all sorts of cranberry goodies.  Then, we will be off to Montreal to move my parents.  Lots on the go!

I leave you with a few pictures that Russell took this morning.  The turkey is starting to smell really good and probably needs basting now.  Have a great day and enjoy the day off tomorrow.

Fall colours seen from our deck...looking at Lake Vernon.

Fall mums in the kitchen window box.

View from the kitchen window.

The grasses have gone to seed!

An uninvited guest

This past week was uneventful but did bring an uninvited guest into Cooper's fenced in backyard:  a young buck with an attitude.  On Thursday morning, I happened to look out the Muskoka room and to my surprise, there was the buck eating the acorns.  Russell was able to take a picture and, despite Cooper barking, he didn't go away.  Russell had to go out and scare him away, although that wasn't easy either.  That buck is as brazen as they come and stomps when things don't go his way.  He has been back many times and we are not happy about it. The last thing we want is deer poop in the backyard, but most importantly, we don't want a confrontation between the Coop and the buck.  Our neighbour John has offered to lend us his sling shot.  Apparently, a good shot at the behind may keep the deer away for good.  We may take him up on his offer.  We have not seen the buck today so perhaps he's off pestering other people.  We hardly have any acorns left now anyway so he may not be back at all.  Time will tell.

Other than that, it's been a quiet week.  The weather wasn't the greatest but we did manage to walk with Cooper every day. I had a head cold all week that just didn't want to go away.  Not sure how I got that but I'm thinking it could be from all the germs at the gym.  That didn't stop me from going to the gym four times this week, and again this morning.  I am in my 5th week of the Bootcamp Challenge and I really enjoy it.

Russell is doing well.  He bought himself a pair of steel toe boots and happily chopped some firewood yesterday without the fear of losing a toe.  He also blew the leaves almost every day this week.  They are falling quite rapidly.  One night last week, Russell went out to the bottom of our driveway and took pictures of the night sky.  He was able to capture the Milky Way.  He posted this picture on Flickr and over 30,000 people viewed it.  As a result, his picture was entered in a special category of pictures called "Explore".  Pretty impressive.

As I am writing about the Milky Way, I can't help but think about the stars and what is beyond and think about Russell's Mom who is watching us from up above.  This coming Tuesday will mark the first anniversary of her passing.  She is always in our thoughts and we miss her dearly.

Today is another soggy Sunday.  It is cold, rainy and very windy.  Russell has a nice fire going so we are warm and cozy in our house.  A good day to read a book, snuggle up by the fireplace, listen to nice music and just relax.  Cooper is having a relaxing day also, no walk for him today!

I wish you all a great week leading up to Thanksgiving weekend.  Stay warm!

The brazen buck....dining on freshly fallen acorns!

MilkyWay as seen at the end of our driveway at 9:30 PM.