We're open for business!

Happy Sunday to all!  Barely 24 hours after the moving truck unloaded 10,000 pounds worth of our belongings,  precisely 242 items tagged, all is unpacked except for a few boxes in the basement.  That will be done tomorrow.  We gave it all we had and we are now living in a home that looks like we've been here forever.  All of Coop's stuff is organized and ready for his arrival in a few weeks. Only thing left is to hang up the pictures.  Darn, we didn't get to do that today!

So, here we are in Beaconsfield, Quebec.  The move went very smoothly at both ends.  Our movers did an amazing job and what a great crew it was.  They left at 2 pm yesterday and I started unpacking, one box at a time.  Anyone who knows me well knows that I am rather organized.  I had a system and I got it all done. Russell spent a good part of the day today with the Bell guy...now that's a challenge in itself.  I much prefer unpacking boxes.  It took 6 hours for Bell to get everything done.  Having said this, our email is not activated yet....we have to call Customer Service and find out why....another challenge.  On the positive side, our Internet is working perfectly and, wow, what a difference in speed.  Our upload went from .9 mbps to 10 and our download went from 5 mbps to 25.  That's why I'm posting so many pics on my blog today.  It's so fast!

Allow me to backtrack a little.  This past week was very emotional for us.  One emotional moment was Tuesday morning, when we took Cooper to Camp Talemaker.  Unbeknownst to him, this was his last day in his Huntsville Kingdom.  Russell took photos of the two of us on the deck with the Coop, both of us very teary eyed.  Another sad moment was when Russell and I locked up the house and drove down Forest Hill Lane for the last time.  We stopped at John & Terri's for a hug and got to see another good friend, Terri's aunt, Diana.  It was very nice.

This coming week will be busy for us but now that the unpacking is behind us, we can take it easy a bit. Tomorrow morning, our washer/dryer and a few other pieces will be delivered.  Tuesday, the company that will install the sound system will show up.  Their work should take a few days.  On Wednesday, the fence install will begin, weather permitting.

We miss our Coop very much and I took such great pleasure in getting his things ready.  I can already picture him in our new home.  So far, the plan is to pick him up around July 7 or so, give or take a day.  By then, the fence should be done.  It seems so far away!

I think that's about it for this week's blog.  Tonight, we will order in....St-Hubert BBQ Chicken.  I will start cooking tomorrow.  I leave you with a lot of photos taken in Huntsville on our last day and a few in our new home.  A new beginning has started for us and we are happy. Oh, and we already met a few neighbours!  All nice people.  I wish you all a great week and a great upcoming Canada Day weekend!

Hey...I'm fragile too, handle me with care says the  Coop!

A last teary snuggle before closing this chapter with the Coop.

Love the Coop and he loves us more!

Almost empty....

Empty and ready for the new story the next owners
will write.

Oh the stories this table could tell and the new ones...

Full load ready to roll down the Hill to Beaconsfield.

Totally empty in Beaconsfield...ready to unpack.

Where is Anne.....boxes galore!

24 hours later...Anne did her magic!!

Happy Father's Day!

On this beautiful and warm Sunday, I wish all the dads out there a very Happy Father's Day!  A tender loving wish to my own Dad who has been kind enough to keep a close eye on our house in Beaconsfield until our move.  A special loving thought to Russell's dad who is watching us from above. Always in our hearts. Finally, a Happy Father's Day to Cooper's human daddy!  Oh, Russell got some good kisses and lickings when he woke up this morning.  I thought it would be very fitting to include this beautiful photo of the two of them.

So, this is it my friends, my last blog from Huntsville.  I don't know if I will get through writing this blog without shedding some tears....it's been an emotional week filled many "lasts".  The tears come easy these days.  As much as we are excited to start our new adventure, we are very nostalgic about leaving Huntsville, especially our beautiful log home and our dear neighbours and friends, John & Terri.  We will also miss the many people that have touched our lives since we've been here.  Even Cooper will miss the many friends he has made, human or canine.  He had his last bath at Pet Value last Tuesday and the staff gave him a nice going away gift.  They will miss his weekly visit to the grooming salon and his cheerful bark.

Yesterday afternoon, John, Terri and Saba came up for one last cheer on the deck.  It was nice to get together and yes, tears were flowing.

Four more sleeps for Russell and I and two more for Cooper.  On Tuesday, we will take Coop to Camp Talemaker, where he will spend about two weeks while we unpack and prepare his new kingdom.  We will drive back to Toronto early July, stay overnight, then bring Cooper home.  I cannot wait to see how he will react once he sets "paws" in our/his new home.  We will be sure to have all his things in strategic locations so that he feels right at home.

Tomorrow, Russell will have his last personal training session.  Did you know that he had a total of 182 sessions since he joined the gym!  Well done Russell.  As for me, it looks like I have reached the 400 Bootcamp mark!  My last day at the gym will be on Wednesday, last Bootcamp class and last personal training session.  We both hate "lasts" but we look forward to new "firsts".

Wednesday will be a big day for us in terms of finalizing the packing.  With Cooper gone, we will be able to put away all of his belongings as well as bigger items such as lamps, TV, etc.  Then, Thursday morning, the movers show up.  Russell and I will be driving down Forest Hill Lane for the last time later that afternoon.  It will be a sad moment (the tears have arrived). We plan on stopping by John & Terri's house for one last hug.  We may even get to see Diana who will be visiting them.  That would be nice.  We will spend the night at Deerhurst, relive the day and start our journey for La Belle Province Friday morning.

I leave you with just a few photos, some of the Coop playing with his new toy, one of him sitting on the high chair, probably wondering what his new home will look like.  I also took a pic of two deer this afternoon.  We haven't seen much of them lately so it was nice to see them today. Perhaps they came to say goodbye....

This is it for the Huntsville edition of my blog.  The next blog will be from Beaconsfield, Quebec, hopefully next Sunday. Until then, I wish you a great week and I wish my fellow Quebecers a great St-Jean Baptiste Weekend coming up!

Peas in a pod, Cooper and Russell pose for selfie!

Nom....nom...nom, I love this new chew toy!

One more tug and I'll have the ear off this thing.

Cooper on a bar stool...he likes the view up there.

The deer of Forest Hill Lane stopping by for a farewell nibble.

The countdown has begun!

Hello everyone and happy Sunday!  I don't know about your weather but ours truly sucks.  It's been cold, windy, rainy and it really feels like Fall.  The nights have been downright cold and our house is on the cool side.  People often wonder why we don't have air conditioning.  A log home will keep a house cool in the Summer so there is no need for AC.  But when it's cold outside, with no heat on, a log home can be pretty cool. We have been keeping the windows closed and I must say that I feel like I have cabin fever.  Almost too cold to sit on the deck although we did spend some time out there towards the end of the afternoon yesterday, with sweaters on.

Enough said about the weather.  We are now in the countdown mode.  Wow, we are moving to Quebec end of next week.  I can't believe that it's coming up so fast.  There is still quite a bit to do and most of it can only be done a few days before the move.  I am happy to say that the "to do" list that I had on paper is now done.  The operative word here is "on paper".  The rest that needs to get done is in my head....maybe it's time to start another list before I loose my mind.

This week is a busy week for us with all kinds of appointments, in addition to the normal stuff that we do.  Cooper and I will also visit with Sandy.  She is the owner of the doggie day care that has brought so much joy and fun to Cooper.  We will miss her and her beautiful dog Brenna.  I hate saying goodbyes. There will be lots of those next week.

I leave you with only one photo this week and there is a bit of a story to it.  Two years ago, once the lupins were done and had turned black, I went lupin hunting with a neighbour.  We stopped alongside of Highway 11 and filled bags and bags with lupin branches.  My neighbour told me to just stick them in the ground and they would seed themselves.  Well, two years later, we have lupin flowers all over the front yard. Isn't that amazing!

That's it for this week's blog.  Another quiet Sunday.  Russell and Coop are now having a nap and I'm  hoping that the sun will come out so that I can sit on the deck.  I wish you all a great week.

Lupin blossom set against the bright yellow barberry.

A rainy day

Happy Sunday everyone!  Ours is a soggy one.  It was pouring when we got up this morning and it has rained for a good part of the day, although the skies seem to want to clear up now.  Perhaps we will be able to sit on the deck for a late afternoon cocktail.

Russell is a happy camper with the rain.  We had a 20 pound bag of slow release fertilizer and a 10 pound bag of grass seeds that we wanted to get rid of.  He has been fertilizing the grass for the past few weeks and seeded the lawn yesterday.  The rain will help our grass grow even more than it has in the past few weeks.  We've had to cut it four times so far. It is very green and lush.

All is good with us  This past week was relatively quiet and we didn't do much packing other than pack all the art work.  Today was a different story.  I started packing the wardrobes and it took longer than I thought. I wanted to organize our clothes/shoes for the move and I also made a bag of donations.  I also realized that Russell has way more clothes than me.....he has two wardrobe cartons and I only have one.  Who said women have more clothes than men!

There is still a fair bit to pack this week, such as lamps and bigger items but we're in pretty good shape nonetheless.

This coming week will bring three special events. It is my dad's birthday on Wednesday.  We wish him all the best, lots of love,  and we will toast him in person when we move.  The second event is our niece's convocation on Tuesday.  Sara is graduating from Trent University, in Environmental Studies. She will be off to Lakehead University in the fall to further pursue her post secondary education and get her law degree with a focus on the environment.  We are super proud of her and wish her the very best.  Oh, and she got engaged to Jake a few weeks ago!  Congratulations on all fronts! Finally, the third event is about my friend Terri who will be running a half marathon on Saturday in Huntsville.  Wow, that is impressive.  She has been training for it for quite some time. We wish her a good run.  Way to go Terri!

That's it for my blog today.  We will spend the rest of the day relaxing.  I wish you all a great week!

Cooper loves to lounge on the cool green grass.

Coop also knows the walkway stones offer relief from the heat.