Christmas Tree Trimming

Happy Sunday to all!  Ours is cloudy but not cold.  The snow that we got last Sunday is all gone, not a flake left on the ground.  We had a lot of rain this past week and some pretty mild temperatures.  Crazy weather.

This past week was quiet but good.  We bought our Christmas trees and they were delivered on Friday.  They are Fraser Fir and they smell so good.  The outside tree is about 8 feet tall and the inside is 7 feet.  Today is the day I trim the tree, right after I'm done writing my blog.  I already put 400 mini clear lights on the outside tree.  Now I'm waiting for darkness so that I can fuss with the lights.....and Russell will attest to that.  I will look at the tree from different angles, including from our kitchen window,  and rearrange those lights until I am completely satisfied that they are perfectly in place....that is, until the deer find the tree and start nibbling on it and move all the lights!

All the decorations are ready to go and I also have 400 mini clear lights for the inside tree.  Cooper has sniffed the tree once and that's it.  All is good he says.

The Christmas Music Channel is now on, as of today.  I love the Holiday music although I find some of the songs a little nostalgic at times.  I haven't started the baking yet but I bought all the ingredients, so I'm one step closer.  It's all coming together.

December is just around the corner.  Amazing that this year is just about done. We will be going to Montreal for Christmas this year.  We look forward to it.  In almost two months, Russell and I will be heading for Mayan Riviera for a little Winter getaway.  We are returning to the same place we went to last June, The Royal Hideway Playacar.  Can't wait!

This is a short blog as I'm anxious to start trimming the tree!  I only have two photos this week and one is of Russell sporting his new look.  He grew his beard for "Movember" and wasn't going to keep it. But I will say that I like it a lot.  I think it makes him look quite "Sean Connery-ish".  So, it's a keeper, at least for now.  Photos of our interior Christmas decorations and tree in next week's blog.

I wish you all a great week.

Russell and Cooper pose for a Movember selfie.

Ice flows down the granite on the Huntsville Summit Center road.

And so it begins.....

Happy Sunday to all!  We woke up to our first snow dump of the season this morning, about 10 cm of the white stuff.  As we went to bed last night, I was kind of hoping that we wouldn't get so much but in the end we didn't get as much as they were predicted so we lucked out.  But what we got was heavy and wet, the kind that makes it hard to shovel.

So, our snow routine has begun. I shovelled the deck, then made some paths in the backyard so that Cooper can play without sinking in the snow but most importantly so that he doesn't get snowballs on his coat.  When Russell took Coop out first thing this morning, he went nuts and ran around the backyard like crazy.  He does love snow! When he came back in the house, his undercarriage and paws were covered with snowballs.  We took him in the basement, ran him a bit hoping the snowballs would fall off but they were too thick and wet. That's when a hair dryer comes in handy.  All this before we even had our first coffee.  Now, let's hope that Cooper uses those paths.

Russell was quick to take pictures as it was truly beautiful out there.  Our Winter pots are so much nicer with a dusting of snow. When we woke up, our private road had already been plowed and our guy did our driveway mid morning.  We're off to a good start.

This past week was good and busy, although I came down with a stomach flu at the beginning of the week which kept me in the house for two days.  Luckily, I was almost back to my old self when we left for Toronto on Thursday morning.  We had a good time and the weather was nice and warm.  We got a bit of shopping done and had a few nice meals.

This is the last week of November and Christmas is just around the corner.  Time is going by way too fast.  Towards the end of this week, we will go to the nursery and pick our Christmas trees, and hopefully have them delivered first week of December.  I haven't started holiday baking yet but I will soon.

This coming week is busy with all kinds of appointments.  It is also my Mom's birthday on Saturday.  We wish her a wonderful birthday.  We will see you at Christmas!

That's it for this week's blog. I leave you with the photos that Russell took of our outdoor Wintery decorations.  I wish you all a great week!

Cardinal in the front hanging basket with snow orbs.

The globes decorated with berries and soft pine boughs.

Front door pots with birch, magnolia leaves and dogwood flank the entrance.

Back deck planter with a dusting of snow.

Cooper keeping an eye on all that happens in his domain.

About 1 foot of snow on the roof...a light load.

Planter wheel barrow almost buried.

Same time, last year

Another week has come and gone and it was marked by such tragedy.  Paris, such a beautiful city, will never be the same again.  So many lives were lost and so many lives will be forever changed.  Russell and I were in Paris for my 50th birthday.  Truly the city of love, the city of lights, the city where no one would expect such a massacre to happen.  Sadly, such is the world we live in now.

Here, at home, the weather continues to surprise everyone.  Today, we are enjoying a sunny day with a temperature of +10 celsius.  Given the weather, I thought it would be a good day to get our Winter pots done.  I spent the better part of this afternoon decorating our front pots with boxwood, dogwood, magnolia leaves, red berries and birch branches.  They look pretty and add some nice colour to the front. I also did the kitchen window box. I will post some photos in next week's blog. All that we need to do now,  outside, is get some wreaths for the front doors and, of course, the Christmas tree.  That will be in a few weeks.  All in good time....then we start the inside Christmas decorations...and play Christmas music!

Last year, at exactly the same date, we had our first major snow fall, and it snowed for the whole week.  I thought I would include a photo of Cooper on the tree stump, taken on November 15, 2014, and the same photo taken today.  Same time, last year.  What a difference a year makes.  By the time the snow was done, we had two feet of snow on our roof.  We're not complaining....if this weather keeps up until the end of November, we will have had one less month of Winter to deal with this year.  That makes me so happy!

I haven't started my Christmas baking yet but I will in a few weeks.  In the meantime, I am making a list of what I want to bake....some old favourites and a few new ones.  Most of the baking I make is for sharing with friends and family but we do indulge ourselves in a few bites here and there.  That is why we work out so hard after all.

Not much else is going on. This coming week will bring another trip to Toronto and an overnight stay for Cooper at Camp Talemaker.  Russell and I always look forward to this get away, so does the Coop!

I leave you with a few photos that Russell took of the Coop....he was practicing his lighting so he used Cooper as his "subject".  Russell also captured a fox that was out for a stroll on our septic berm and a beautiful sunrise.

I wish you all a great week.  May it be a peaceful one.

Cooper on his 'stump' November 15...no snow, 2015.

Cooper on his 'stump' November 15...plenty of snow, 2014.

The neighbourhood red fox navigating the septic berm.

Mr. Coop in the foyer awash in natural light.

Lounging...actually posing for his Daddy.

Moments before full sunrise as seen on the back deck.

A Time to Remember

Another Sunday is upon us.  Only six to go before Christmas.  After Remembrance Day, I suspect that the race to get everything ready for Christmas will be on for most people.  Some will start their shopping, baking, and even decorating.  But before we get down to it, we will take the time, on Wednesday,  to remember all those who fought for us and sacrificed their lives in action.

Today, we went for a walk at the Summit Centre and sat by the monuments that commemorate the many Canadians that fought in the war. Russell's uncle Charlie was one of them.  Lest we Forget.

This past week was great on all fronts, but I must say that the weather was truly out of this world.  We had two days of +20 temperatures, with beautiful sunshine for most of the week.  Can't ask for better weather in November.  The long range forecast continues to be above average and that suits us just fine.  On Friday, we were treated to a rain and wind storm and lost power for 10 hours. Our generator kicked in within seconds, so that was good. That same day, in the morning, we had a showing.  Not a good day to show off our house but, on the other hand, the view can be quite spectacular when there is a storm.

Huntsville has been hopping these past few days.  It is hosting the 2015 National Women's Under-18 Hockey Championship, being held at the Canada Summit Centre.  The tournament includes roughly 160 athletes traveling from all over the country to compete for the title as well as provincial pride. Some pretty powerful and talented women in this group! The gold medal game is today, at 4:30 pm,  between Team Manitoba and Team Ontario Red.  Team Ontario Red will be defending their gold medal.

It is hunting season in many parts of Canada and Huntsville is no different.  Deer hunting is currently under way, I believe for another week.  It breaks my heart to think that some of those beautiful creatures are being killed.  Even if we complain that they eat our plants, we wouldn't wish them any harm. Until yesterday, we didn't realize that it is legal to hunt on private property, as long as the hunter has permission to do so.  So, to our great surprise (and shock), as we were going down our driveway yesterday after lunch, we saw a hunter, all decked out in orange, with a high power rifle in hand heading towards the woods that belong to our next door neighbour.  Enough said.   We sure hope that our neighbourhood deer were not around.

Tomorrow will mark 4 years since we brought our little Cooper home.  He has brought us nothing but joy and love.  Wednesday is Remembrance Day and Friday is my sister's birthday.  So, a week filled with events of some sorts.  I leave you with a "pot-pourri" of photos.  Have a great week everyone!

Uncle Charlie, as we knew him.  He served his country well.

Anne and Cooper take a moment at the Summit Centre Monuments.

Cooper surveying the rain and wind storm from his fav perch.

Cooper homeward bound....he arrived in our lives 4 years ago.  Photo taken by Nathan and Darlah as we were leaving their house

All set to broadcast the Women's U18 Hockey Championship Game.

 A fox caught on the critter cam on the septic berm.

A deer posing for the critter cam on the berm....nice and safe.

November 1st: National Eat Your Kid's Halloween Candy Day

Happy Sunday to all! Not a pretty day out there, raining and windy but not cold.  Once in a while, I like a rainy day as it forces us to just stay put and relax.  And that is what we will be doing for the rest of the day after I put away all the Halloween/Fall decorations.  Getting ready for the next holiday season!

Halloween was a huge success on Forest Hill Lane.  For the first time since we've been here, we had two families with one kid each that came to our house around dinner time.  Wow, it was hard to keep up with the crowd.....  but it was nice to finally be able to share our candies with the little ones. As you can see from the photos, Russell took great pains in turning three pumpkins into spooky Jack-o'-Lanterns.  Those pumpkins are now scattered on our septic berm for the deer to eat.  I have to tell you that they ate all of the small pumpkins that we had in our wheel barrow, in about two days.  Russell was able to capture one in the act.  We never knew that they liked pumpkin so much.  What a great way to dispose of them!

So, today is Eat your Kid's Halloween Candy Day.  Hmm....I wonder how that works in real life.  I don't recall that special day when I was a kid.....

Today is also the beginning of a brand new month, the 11th month of the year.  Wow, I can't believe that Christmas is next month!  Our Independent Grocer already has all the Christmas decorations out and the local stores are gearing up for the holiday season.  What is missing is snow and that's fine with us.  November of 2014 brought a lot of snow in Huntsville.  So far, at least for the first week of this month, the forecast is nice and relatively mild.  Bring it on!

All is good with us and the Coop.  We didn't do much this past week other than going to the gym.    We had two full days of rain and I was still under the weather from that nasty cold.  Russell spent a lot of time blowing the leaves.  We seem to have a lot more this year, strangely enough.

That's about it for my news.  All the photos in today's blog are Halloween related.  I wish you all a great week and a good start to November.

Caught in the act. Pumpkin, a tasty treat for the neighbourhood deer.

Oooooooo....very scary!

The trio of pumpkins...how inviting!

Cooper in his finest spooky outfit...wishing all Happy Halloween!

A scary sunrise on Halloween Day in Huntsville.

The twins...same mother, different fathers.