It was a nice Christmas

Happy Sunday to all!  It's hard to believe that Christmas has come and gone.  I know, I say that every year but it's true.

I hope you all had a nice and happy Christmas. Russell and I had a lovely one with my parents and family.  It was good to be home for a few days and spend quality time just chatting away.  The weather was perfect for travelling and all went smoothly.  On Christmas Eve, we had lunch with Auntie Lorraine, Russell's aunt.  It was really nice to see her again and we had some good laughs.   We then had dinner at my parents' condo.  They made us a really nice meal and it was very relaxing.  On Christmas Day, my sister and her two sons, and my brother,  joined us for dinner.  Another nice family get together.  We returned to Huntsville yesterday afternoon, after picking up Cooper.

I read in Darlah's blog that Cooper and his furry friends had some duck treats on Christmas Day.  Yum, that must have been good.  Coop had a good time as always and the gals were apparently all around him.  He is such a charmer.  I include a couple of many photos that Darlah took while he was playing.  I will say that Christmas was not the same without our Coop but he was in his "home away from home",  happy and content.

I went back to the gym this morning.  Russell is going back tomorrow.  This coming week will be quiet and we want it to be relaxing, sort of like a "vacation" week.  Except for going to the gym, we will just go for walks, watch some movies and get ready for the New Year's festivities.

We still don't have snow although we got a bit of freezing rain last night but not enough to make the roads treacherous.  I think that some snow is in the forecast for this week.  That's OK.  It has to come sooner or later.  We basically have two months of Winter behind us.  Not bad at all when you consider that normally Winter lasts about five months in Muskoka.

My next blog will be in 2016.  Until then, I wish you a great week and hope that you have a wonderful New Year.  I leave you with a couple of family pictures that we took at my parents' place and a few of the Coop, courtesy of Darlah.  A special thought goes to Russell's dad who left us 14 years ago today. We miss you dad.  You're always in our thoughts.

The Pelletier clan:
my sister Lynn, my Mom, my brother Francois, my Dad and me 

Anne, Russell and Auntie Lorraine at Christmas Eve lunch.

Cooper giving chase to Casey...run Casey run!

Cooper in full furry flight.

Cooper surveying the action from the pool cover.

Merry Christmas! Joyeux Noel!

Here we are,  just a few days away from the Big Day!  Children from all over the world are waiting for the Big Man dressed in red and white.  Will he make a pit stop at 31 Forest Hill Lane?  I sure hope so!

This past week was good and busy.  We ended the week with our Toronto trip and we had a great time.  We left Friday morning, dropped off the Coop at Camp Talemaker, then went to Toronto for our hair cuts.  Following the hairdo, we had lunch at One Restaurant, in Yorkville.  I guess you could call it our pre-Christmas celebration.  It was truly lovely.  The food was excellent and the ambiance was great.  I had grilled calamari and sauteed kale......yummy.  Before going to dinner, we went to the Roof Top Bar of our hotel and had a drink on the heated patio.  How cool is it to be able to have a drink outdoors on December 18?  Then we went to our favorite restaurant for dinner, Dimmi Trattoria.  As usual, it was very nice and very festive.

We picked up the Coop early yesterday morning.  We were anxious to get on the road as they were calling for lots of snow in Huntsville and big snow squalls, with up to 30 cm of snow.  Well,  thankfully, the weather person was wrong and we only got a dusting, at least where we live.  The roads were good for the most part with the exception of a small area of near zero visibility.  Russell used his perfected driving skills and maneuvered through the area with no problems.

We got home to a pretty cool house, as in no heat.  When we woke up Friday morning, we realized that our water furnace wasn't working. Since we were leaving for Toronto, there wasn't anything we could do about it except place a service call.....they came yesterday afternoon but couldn't fix it.  The next service call is tomorrow afternoon. So much for emergency service.... We are grateful that the weather forecast is not calling for frigid temperatures. Our house is a cool, but manageable, 58 degrees F.  Russell has the fireplace going and I have an excuse for baking more cookies....with the oven on, the house stays that much warmer.

A few more trips to the gym before Christmas then we're done for a few days.  Cooper will have his Christmas bath on Tuesday and we go home on Wednesday.  Mom and Dad are counting the days. Coop will be spending Christmas at Camp Talemaker.  We will miss him but we will see him again on Boxing Day.

I leave you with only one photo, the Coop's Christmas picture.  All three of us wish you a wonderful Christmas.  We know a few people that have lost loved ones recently.  We are thinking of you and hope that you find peace during the Holiday season. Hugs and Kisses to all!

Mr. Coop wishes everyone a Merry Christmas!

Will it be a White Christmas?

Well, here we are less than two weeks before Christmas. Will it be a white one or not?  Only time will tell.  I believe there is snow in some parts of the country but in our neck of the woods, not a speck of snow to be seen.  We've had nothing but relatively mild temperatures, clouds and rain.  I don't remember when we last saw the sun.  It is actually looking a bit sad out there, so dark and dreary looking and although not cold, it is very damp.  Ok, enough about the weather.

All is good in the Duncan household.  Like everyone else, we are getting ready for Christmas.  My baking is mostly done, and most of it frozen, ready to bring home on the 23rd. A couple more things to bake later this week, then I'll be done for good.  Today, we started our Christmas celebrations by having John & Terri over for lunch.  It was nice to get together and to toast the holiday season.  I made a good old French Onion Soup.  It was yummy and cheesy.  Russell had a nice fire going and it made for a cozy afternoon.

We have a busy week ahead with some appointments in town and a trip to Toronto on Friday.  This will be our last hair cut of the year.  The next one will be the day before we leave for Mayan Riviera in early February.  Then, next week,  it will be Christmas and we will be off to Montreal for a few days.  My parents are counting the days until we go home.  So are we.  It will be nice to see them again.

Cooper is doing good.  He was a good host this afternoon although he had moments of craziness.  They say that having a dog is like having a two year old forever.  Aint' that the truth.  But we wouldn't have it any other way.

This is a short blog.  As I'm writing it, I'm looking at the fireplace, which is still roaring.  I'm actually feeling sleepy just looking at it.  I think I will just sit in front of it and close my eyes.  Russell is watching football and I suspect that he may be watching the inside of his eyelids from time to time.  As for Cooper, he's out like a light.  That's what a Christmas celebratory lunch will do!

I hope you all have a great week.  I also hope that your Christmas preparations are going as planned.    Be safe on the roads if you go out.

Christmas wreath with fresh bows in the great room.

A 6 point buck graced our lot and munched on our Christmas tree.

More of the hungry herd of deer...they love a fresh Christmas tree.

A mild December day

Happy Sunday to all!  What a beautiful, mild and sunny day we're having.  It's hard to believe that this is December.  Not a flake of snow, none in the forecast for a while it seems.  Gotta love it, although I feel for the snow resorts and for those who truly enjoy the snow.  As for us, we are quite happy with this kind of weather, so is Cooper as he doesn't have to wear his booties for his walks.  

All is good with us and we had a good week.  On the house front, we had two showings, back to back.  I was always hoping for at least one showing during the holiday season so that we could show our house in all its Christmas glory.  And so we did.  We even had the Christmas music playing in the background.  Not sure if anything will come out of the showings but at least the interest is still out there, especially at this time of year.  We do expect that Spring will bring a lot more activity.  In the meantime, we are happy to have the luxury of time on our side.  As such, we have given a lot of thought to where we want to move next.  We originally thought about Cobourg but we have decided on Burlington instead.  This is where we lived some 31 years ago.  We like the area,  we know quite a few people that live in the west end,  it is close enough to Toronto and to many other smaller cities,  and it is also close to the Niagara region which we love.  It's all good.

I got some baking done yesterday and froze most of it.  I have more to do this afternoon and in the next few days.  We plan on bringing some to my parents when we go home in a few weeks and we also want to give some to Russell's aunt.  

Our workouts are going well.  We have renewed out personal training sessions at the gym for another six months.  I can now do three chin ups in a row.  Russell can do more.....lucky him.  

That's it for my blog this week.  We will have lunch now, then go for a walk with the Coop. When we come back, I will bake and the house will smell yummy.  I leave you with some pictures that Russell took of some of our Christmas decorations as well as a photo of the wreath we ordered for Russell's parents.  We will visit them when we go home.  Oh, by the way, the deer found our outdoor Christmas tree and started nibbling at it.  

Have a great everyone!

Christmas tree all decorated with Teddy on watch above.

A close up of some of the ornaments.

The stockings are hung by the chimney with care...

Terry and Art have their decorations up...watching us from on high.