Happy St-Patrick's Day....a little early

Happy Sunday everyone!  We woke up to clouds this morning but this day has turned out to be quite nice, sunny and rather warm.  The snow on the deck is now completely gone and we have a patch of grass in the backyard.  Now, how good is that?  I might just sit on the deck once I'm done writing the blog....

This past week was a good one and the weather also cooperated.  On Tuesday, we decided to go to Bala and walk the trails at the Johnston Cranberry Marsh.  The trails are fairly easy to walk but it was a nice change from staying in the Huntsville area.  When we got there, we were greeted by Trooper, the owners' golden retriever.  He followed us the whole time.  What a gentle dog he was.  After the walk, I went to the store and bought some cranberry goodies, maple syrup and some local cheeses.  It was a fun day enjoyed by all.

On Wednesday, Terri and I had our girl's lunch date.  It was nice to catch up on things.

We had a little bit of excitement one late afternoon last week.  We were watching TV in the Muskoka room and all of a sudden, there was a baby raccoon staring at us through the window.  You can just imagine Cooper's reaction when he saw the critter looking in on us.  Luckily, he went away and we haven't seen him since.

I did a bit of baking this past week.  Terri gave me a recipe for healthy chocolate chip cookies, made with flaxseeds, applesauce and dark chocolate. I made a batch and they were delicious.  Then Russell saw this recipe for a Guinness Gingerbread Cake and thought it would be a good thing to have for St-Patricks' Day.  I made the cake yesterday and we had a piece last night.  It was simply divine!  I gave some to John & Terri today and thanked them for helping us eat it.....I cannot imagine Russell and I eating the whole cake.  It was good though and we still have some left for tonight, and tomorrow, and Tuesday.....Now, you're probably wondering what I will be cooking for St-Paddy's Day.  I will make a Dublin Coddle for Russell.  It's basically a sausage, bacon, onion and potato hotpot, which cooks for 3-4 hours.  As for me, I will treat myself to an Irish Whiskey roasted salmon fillet.  Yummy!

There is one other thing that I did this past week:  I booked us a trip to Mayan Riviera for one week in June.  We've been debating where to go next Winter and Mayan Riviera was highly recommended by many people, including Scruffy....  We took her recommendation and thought, why not check it out first just to make sure we like it.  More on that trip as we get closer to the date but it's something to look forward to.

We're off to Toronto on Thursday for our 6 week hair cut.  Cooper will be at Camp Talemaker for the night.  I'm hoping the weather cooperates so that I can wear shoes and a spring coat....wouldn't that be nice.

That's it for this week's blog.  I include a few photos that Russell took of Cooper earlier this week when we had more snow and a few taken in Bala.  I wish you all a great week and for those of you on March break, have a safe and fun week. Today is my brother's birthday so a huge shout out goes to Frank!  I leave you with a quote by Adrienne Cook:  "St-Patrick's Day is an enchanted time - a day to begin transforming winter's dreams into summer's magic".

Anne, Cooper and Trooper relaxing after a trail romp.

Treats and a sip of water on the trail...what could be better.

Cooper in a stiff breeze.

Ahhh...it is better to look into the wind, now I can see.

A snow free deck at last!

What are you guys watching and do you have any treats?!