Ready to go!

Happy Sunday to all!  It is cloudy, mild with rain on the way.  Crazy Winter we're having.  To think that, all things being equal, we only have about eight weeks left in this season.  Almost two of those weeks will be spent in Mayan Riviera.  I say that's pretty good.

So, here we are, just three sleeps away before we head to Toronto Wednesday morning.  We will drop off Cooper at Camp Talemaker where he will be spending thirteen nights with his furry friends. We know he will be having the time of his life.  His packing only consists of his tooth brush and tooth paste.  He travels light, what can I say.  After we drop him off, we will be going to Toronto for haircuts and a manicure for me, courtesy of my hairdresser.  Then, we will make our way to the Sheraton Airport hotel where we will spend the night.  Our flight leaves at 6:15 am on Thursday morning.  It will be an early start to our day but we will be in Mexico in time to enjoy lunch and a tropical drink by the pool.  Sweet!

We are virtually packed, with some things to be folded and added to our suitcases at the last minute. I have two workouts left and Russell has one.  Then, we are giving our bodies a much needed break. We look forward to long walks on the beach, perhaps a visit or two to the hotel gym but that will be the extent of our exertion.

This past week was good and went by very quickly.  Yesterday, Terri and I attended the official opening of Spa Works, a recently expanded business of Massage Works.  That is the place where Russell and I get our massages. Spa Works now offers facials, mani/pedi and reflexology.  It was a nice event and our mayor was in attendance for the ribbon cutting ceremony.  Angela Urquhart, the author of Dramatically Zen, was on site to sign her book, which I bought.  I was told that it is a good beach book.  Who knows, I might come back from our trip with a "zennish" outlook on life.

This was a slow week for photos, however, yesterday, I caught Cooper guarding then sniffing Russell's birthday gift so I took a quick photo.  Russell's birthday is on the 12th but Coop and I wanted to have an early celebration last night with a special dinner and a little gift.  I didn't know what to buy then thought about adding to Russell's recently acquired Scotch collection.  After getting some advice from his friend Matthew, I got him a bottle of Oban Single Malt Scotch Whisky, 14 years old, along with a book.  To your good health Russell!

That's it for this week's blog. I will try to do a short blog from Mexico.  Until then, I wish you all a great week!

7 tasted...994 left to try!

Cooper is such a curious fellow.

Nope...nothing in here worth eating.

Spa Works ribbon cutting with the Mayor and Kristin Adams

A cozy day

Another week has come and gone....and it has brought us beautiful sunrises.  Russell was up and about with his camera almost every morning this past week to try and capture the display of colours before it disappeared.  Those sunrises don't last long at all, barely one or two minutes.  It's a good thing that we're early birds.

We had a nice and quiet week.  The weather was rather cloudy and coolish but we didn't get any snow.  I was hoping for more sun.  We did what a lot of people do in January...not a whole lot and watched a few movies:  the latest Mission Impossible and Everest.  Everest was a very good movie but not as good as I expected, although the true story of survival is pretty incredible. Mission Impossible was as good as the others, action packed from start to finish.  So, two movies in one week. That's a lot for us.  We're not big movie watchers.  Here's a little fun tidbit:  the last time that Russell and I went to a movie theater was in 1984, in Burlington, to see The Cotton Club. I'd say it's been a while!

It won't be long before our trip.  Today, I started putting a few things aside. I have the bathing suits and shorts lined up.  I need to freshen up a few things this week and will start packing next Sunday. We leave for Toronto one week Wednesday.

Today is a cozy day.  We decided not to go for a walk but rather stay home and relax.  Russell is watching an important football game that will decide the fate of the Patriots, one of his favorite teams.  So far, it's not looking good.  Cooper is enjoying a dental stick.  After I finish my blog, I will catch up on the news and read a book.  Oh, by the way, my Mom is loving her iPad.  She Googles stuff, reads the news, sends email.  I think she is as addicted to it as my Dad...or maybe as Russell and I!

Not much else to report so it's a short blog.  I leave you with a few photos that Russell took of the sunrises.  Some of my blog readers who are on Facebook will have seen those but not everyone that reads my blog is on FB so please indulge me.  Russell also took a photo of a hawk that seemed very interested in the turkeys that were roosting in one of our trees.  Finally, I leave you with one picture of the Coop eating his dental stick....the blog wouldn't be complete without at least one photo of the Coopster!

I hope you all have a great week ahead.

A cold sunrise that briefly flashed some awesome color.

There was a little hoar frost on the branches this sunrise.

Sunrises are quick, this was taken 30 seconds after the one above.

Minus 24 C and this Red-tail hawk took a break in our trees. 

Turkeys roosted for almost 3 straight days after heavy snow.

Cooper chowing down on a dental stick!

18 Days and counting

Happy Sunday to all!  Well, in last week's blog, I was commenting on how little snow we had so far.    I guess I spoke too soon.  This past week, we had quite a bit and that snow is here to stay.  We still don't have nearly as much as last year but it's starting to pile up.  It is pretty though.  The trees have been covered with the white stuff for the past few days and it makes for very beautiful scenery.  Russell took some photos,  Cooper had fun playing in the fresh snow and I made some paths in the backyard for the Coop.  It is looking like a maze now and he loves it!

Regardless of how pretty it is out there, we are starting to count the days until our trip to Mayan Riviera. We especially look forward to seeing the sun.  We haven't seen much of it in the past few weeks and I miss it.  Maybe this week.....

This past week was quiet.  Russell and John had their monthly "guys" breakfast together. We went for a number of walks on our road, went to the gym, and watched some TV.  Cooper went back to doggie day care, after a 4 week break due to the holidays and all.

Yesterday, we watched the movie The Martian.  What a great movie and worthy of all the Oscar nominations it received.  It was great from start to finish.....well, we missed the first 10 minutes.  When we placed the order for the movie, we thought we had 48 hours to watch it, as per usual.   By the time the order was processed, it was 1:40 and we realized that the movie was already playing, "live" from 1:30 to 4 pm, with no opportunity for pausing or rewinding.  A word of advice:  if you want to rent a movie, better do it via Netflix or CinemaNow, not through Bell.

Another quiet Sunday.  I went to the gym this morning then came home and made French Onion Soup for dinner.  A snowy day deserves a nice comforting soup.  It will be yummy and cheesy.

That's it for this week's blog.  We're just relaxing now, doing what we normally do on Sunday afternoon in the Winter months...not much.  Have a great week everyone!

Front porch planter dusted with fresh feathery snow.

Can you see the driveway? 

Cooper is a great foreman watching the clean up of snow.

Mr. Coop on his stump....can you see the stump?!

The snow is gently piling up on the branches.

It's January...really?

Happy Sunday to all!  What a soggy and mild day we're having.  It's hard to believe that we are entering the second week of January, with hardly any snow and lots of rain since yesterday.  Granted, the weather will turn colder this week but just the same.  The less cold weather and snow we have, the better it is, for us anyway.  And, did you notice that the days are getting longer?  It's all good!

This past week was a good one and ended with my trip to Toronto to attend a retirement dinner for my former boss, Michel.  What a great evening we all had and what a wonderful reunion it was for me.  I must say that I was a tad anxious (in a good way) about seeing everyone after all this time but in the end, it felt just like yesterday.  Everyone looked the same, with the exception of a few more grey hairs on some..... If some of you are reading my blog today, I want to say again that I was truly happy to see all of you!  Hope our paths cross again at some point.

While I was away, Russell and Cooper kept each other good company.  They went for a walk, played and watched TV.  When I got off the bus on Friday, they were both waiting for me.  Cooper didn't waste any time in showering me with kisses and lickings when I got in the car.  It was good to be back home with my guys.  I missed them even if I was only gone for one night.

This past week was also a big week for my mom.  She got her own iPad and is now learning how to use it.  My dad got her an email address and we have been exchanging emails ever since.  I think my mom sent me more emails than I did to her.....she truly loves it and I am so happy for her.  Technology can be intimidating, especially as we get older, so I'm glad that she is embracing it the way she is.  What started all this is that the newspaper La Presse is now only available online.  I actually find that sad for those who truly enjoyed reading the paper copy of La Presse.  My mom was one of them.  She also now reads two of her favorite magazines online, Figaro and Paris Match.  Way to go mom!  I'm proud of you.

Not much else is going on.  The next few weeks will be quiet as we slowly get ready for our trip to Mayan Riviera.  It won't be long now.  Funny, because the Winter has been so mild, we don't actually feel like we need a break from it.  But it will be nice to get away.

Today is a quiet day.  With all the rain that we're having, there is not much to do.  Russell is watching football, not too many games left in the season.  I've been cooking up a storm and prepping meals for the week.  I have a pot roast in the oven, which will be ready in about 3 hours.  The house smells yummy.

That's it for this week's blog.  I wish you all a great week.  I leave you with a few photos that Russell took last Monday morning, when we woke up to -21 Celsius.  It was a cold and frosty morning and the scenery was beautiful.  Russell also took a few photos of the Coop while I was gone.  Enjoy!

Hoar frost blanketed the trees...coffee by the fire-pit anyone?

Looking out to Lake Vernon from the back deck, trees all frosted!

The neighbourhood pileated woodpecker on his favourite tree.

Cooper was intrigued by the racket created by the woodpecker.

Cooper deep in thought, wonder what he is thinking!? Food?!

My Mom reading her paper on her new iPad!

Brrr...it's cold outside

Happy New Year to all!  We hope it's a good one, filled with happiness, love and health.  I didn't realize until a few days ago that this year has 366 days....hmmm, what to do with that extra day...

All is good with us.  This past week was nice and relaxing.  We didn't watch as many movies as we wanted to, we actually only watched one:  The Twelve Dogs of Christmas.  Now, you know you are a dog person when you start watching doggie movies!  I actually bought this movie a few weeks ago and thought it would be fun to watch it with Cooper and get his reaction from it.  As you can see from the photo, he was watching it with great interest!  We were hoping that The Martian and Everest would be on Netflix but it looks like we have to wait one more week. We could have watched other movies but didn't feel like it.

We went for a couple of walks, one of them at Arrowhead Park.  The walking trail was quite nice, covered with fresh snow.  Oh, did I say snow?  Yep, we finally got some this past week but not as much as some other areas in Muskoka.  I think it's safe to say that this snow will stick around for a while.  We are actually experiencing our first cold day of the Winter today.  It is -11 Celsius and quite breezy, but sunny.  That didn't stop us from going for a walk on our road.  It was actually good to get some fresh air, plus we need to get used to the cold.  The next two days will be the same but a warm up for the rest of the week.

Our New Year's Eve and Day were nice.  We stayed home both days and relaxed in front of the fireplace.  We didn't quite make it to midnight but almost. Yesterday, we spent a good part of the day putting away our Christmas decorations.  Done for another year.

So, here we are, at the beginning of a brand new year.  Not sure what this year will bring for us in terms of whether we will move or not.  Time will tell.  What I do know is that we leave for Mayan Riviera in just about four weeks time.  For some reason, this trip seems to be coming up really fast.  It will be nice to get away to a warm and sunny place.

So, life returns to normal this week now that the holidays are behind us.  I am off to Toronto on Thursday, solo.  I will be attending a very special dinner for my former boss who is retiring.  I look forward to seeing him and many former colleagues.  I haven't seen most of them since I retired in October 2011.  I will be taking the bus to Toronto and will be coming home on Friday.  Russell and Cooper will hold down the fort in my absence.

This is it for this first blog of 2016.  I wish you all a great week!

A New Years Day kiss...one of the best kinds. Cooper says "not on my watch"

Cooper woofed a little while watching this doggie movie,
The 12 Dogs of Christmas.

Mr. Coop dances for his after dinner treats, a piece of turkey! Quite a showman.