Lazy, cozy Sunday

Happy Sunday to all!  I hope your day is going well.  Ours is quiet. We decided that today would be a Jammie day. We all need one of those once in a while.  Russell is just about to start a fire.  Cooper is going along with our laziness and is just chilling....although no doubt at some point today he will want to play.  And he has a way to tell us when it's time for him to expel some energy.

This past week was good.  The weather wasn't as bad as it was supposed to be.  We were expecting a lot of snow but only got about 10 cm, if that.  We didn't do much other than go to the gym and went for a number of nice walks to the park.  Did you know that people come from all over the place to visit Arrowhead Park?  It is such a beautiful place to walk in the Winter.  It's amazing how busy it is even during the week with school trips and all. Nice to have this little gem so close to home.

We will be welcoming March in a couple of days.  It's amazing how fast the Winter has gone so far. And it's been a good one, albeit not over yet but just the same.  Nothing to complain about.

This is a short blog and just a few photos.  One of Cooper that Russell took one day last week.  I think Coop could have used some sun shades.  Russell also captured our resident pileated woodpecker, perched in his tree, against the bright blue sky.  The last picture is of a Harris Hawk, the newest addition to the Royal Hideaway Resort.  Every day, a man would come in with his trained hawk, and his job would be to chase away the many birds that used to sit around the edge of the pool. Quite fascinating to watch.  And if you wonder if the hawk actually caught some birds, none that we saw. I think the birds were smart enough and knew better than to hang around.

OK, time to sit in front of the fireplace and ponder life.  Russell has a really nice fire going now. Cooper is playing with his toy and all is good.  Have a great week everyone.  Enjoy Oscar tonight!

Cooper on a bright fresh morning soaking up the sun!

Spring is in the air as this pileated woodpecker was sounding his territory.

Harris hawk at Royal Hideaway...beautiful bird of prey.

Home Sweet Home

Happy Sunday to all!  Here we are, back home from Mexico.  It's always good to get away but nothing beats coming back to your own home, even if it means coming back to Winter.

We got home Tuesday around lunch time, with the Coop in tow.  Oh my goodness, he was so happy to see us when we picked him up.  I almost lost an earring from his licking.  It didn't take him long to get back to his old routine, although he was mighty tired from playing his heart out at Talemaker Camp.  Let me tell you that he had some pretty long naps for a day or two after we came home.

As for us, it took us a little longer to get back to our own routine.  I came down with some kind of a 24 hour flu on Wednesday and that put a damper on my day.  I had planned on going back to the gym that day, and the next day, but that didn't happen.  Such is life.  I went back to Bootcamp yesterday and this morning.  A little hard but I think I'm back in the groove now.  Russell goes back this week. He also was a little off, not sure from what.  I say probably germs from the airport or airplane. Anyway, we are back to normal now and ready to tackle the balance of the Winter and whatever else life brings.

The weather has been pretty decent since we've been back although we had a lot of rain yesterday. The snow started to melt again in the backyard, and once again, Cooper was confused at the sight of some grass.  We have noticed that the days are so much longer and the sun so much stronger. It's all good.

Our house is still listed and the market is starting to pick up again.  We actually had a showing today. Who knows what the next few months will bring.

Back to our trip.  We had a really nice time and we would go back to that resort.  Although the weather was a little cool at the beginning, it warmed up nicely afterwards. The resort itself was very nice, the beach was pristine and the sand, oh so soft.  The food was exquisite and the staff very friendly and polite.  I am including some photos taken during Russell's birthday dinner.  It was truly a special evening for my sweetie and the food could easily rival any top restaurant in Toronto or Montreal.

That's it for today.  I wish you all a great week!

Anticipating the Chef's Table on Russell's birthday!

Anne and Chef Marco.

Closed circuit TV for seeing the fine details of the meal prep.

Chef Marco strutting his stuff as he prepares our courses.

Attention to detail is a hallmark of Chef Marco.

Our second course....tomato salad a la Marco.

Looks too good to eat!

From the pastry chef...Happy Birthday! 

Charly...aka Carlos the pool butler extraordinare!

Anne captured a spectacular sunrise early one morning.

LOVE IS IN THE AIR

Happy Valentine's Day to all!  Another short blog, our last day here, tomorrow we fly home, then we pick up our precious Cooper on Tuesday morning....early.  We both cannot wait to see him!

It's been a great vacation, happy to have missed the cold front that passed through, but anxious to get home to our normal life.  All good things come to an end and we feel refreshed.

Russell's birthday was great and we had an amazing dinner, prepared by the executive chef of the hotel, just for the two of us.  Pics to come.

The weather has been wonderful, after a cool start last week.  Nothing to complain about...except that we miss Cooper ...but he has been having a blast.  Words cannot describe how we feel about the way Darlah and Nathan care for him. Thank you to the Talemaker family for all you do!

A big thank you to John and Terri who have looked after our home during our absence.  Such good friends and neighbours.

The only photos I can post when doing my blog from the iPad are old pics already saved (don't ask me why).  So I found this picture from the three of us at Christmas and I thought it would be appropriate on Valentine's Day.  I wish you all a great long weekend. Off to a few more hours of sun tanning!

Hola!

Happy Sunday from Playa Del Carmen!  This is a short blog, long enough to say all is good with us.  We are having a great time and the resort is as good as we remembered. Scruffy, I will give you a full report when I get back :-)))

The weather has been, shall we say, a little cool, until today.  El Niño may have made its way to Canada but not to Mexico.  This morning, we were wearing long sleeves for our walk on the beach.  But it has greatly improved since and I am happy to report that we have tan lines.....

Tonight is Super Bowl 50 and it will be broadcasted in the main theater.  We will be there for a while then will have dinner at Palazzo, an Italian restaurant.

No photos as it is too complicated to download and I can't be bothered....sorry, we're on vacation.  All is good on the Cooper front.  We have been following his antics through Darlah's blog.  He is having a blast and we miss him dearly.

I wish you all a great week.  Will blog again next Sunday, Valentine's Day!