It was a nice Christmas

Well, here we are, the day after Christmas.  It's all behind us now until next year.  So much anticipation and preparation and poof, it's all over.  We had a nice Christmas.  It was our first in our new home in Beaconsfield and we enjoyed hosting my family. The food was delicious, if I say so myself, and everyone had a great time.  The only thing that we forgot to do is take photos....seriously. No one thought of it, I guess we were all too busy eating and talking away.

We started our day by opening our Christmas stockings.  It was the first time that we actually gave Cooper a stocking to open.  It didn't take him long to get the toys out.  It was so much fun to watch. After breakfast, I got a few things ready and we went for a walk with the Coop.  We ran into a few people and it was nice to wish everyone Merry Christmas on the streets.

Our weather hasn't been too bad but today is not good.  We currently have freezing rain and the roads are very icy.  Not a good Boxing Day for those who are out and about trying to find good bargains.

This coming week is shaping up to be quiet.  We are back at the gym tomorrow after a couple of days rest. Not much else is going on other than getting ready for New Year's, although ours will be low key but nice.

Once the Holidays are over, we will start thinking about our Barbados trip. Six more weeks.  We can't wait to go back, it's been a couple of years since we've been.  Today's weather makes me want to be on a beach really badly.

That's it for my blog this year.  I will write again in 2017. Until then, I wish you all a great week leading up to New Year's Day.  For those who live in an area with a freezing rain warning, please be safe. It's not looking good out there.

The stocking were hung with care....Cooper's
toys were there!

Cooper shaking his stocking.

A determined effort by Cooper to get it all out.

Russell and Cooper visit his parents... a nice
Christmas wreath in place.

The Blue Hour with Christmas lights .

Merry Christmas! Joyeux Noel!

Well, here we are, just seven more sleeps until Santa makes his arrival into our homes.  Still not sure how he gets to visit all those homes in one night....fascinating and magical!

All is good with us and we are getting ready for Christmas. My baking is all done, most of it stored away in the freezer, ready to be given away to family and friends.  Oh, not to worry Russell, I am keeping many of your favorites just for you.

This past week was busy for us.  Our shutters were finally installed, we had work done in the attic and a few other things got done.  The highlight of our week though was Cooper's graduation night. He did really well and we were so proud of him.  Russell was there to capture the moments. To my surprise, there was a judge that was observing the dogs.  In hindsight, it's a good thing that I didn't know about it ahead of time...knowing me, I would have probably gotten myself all worked up.  All this to say that the Coop and I got second place!  Wow, I was so tickled pink about this, so was Coop. We truly make a great team and this makes me want to continue training even more.   On that note, I have registered us for Level 2, starting March 1.  Really looking forward to it.

Our weather has been pretty wintery.  For sure, it will be a white Christmas but I hear that some parts of Ontario have more snow than we do.  We don't have that much but it's been cold.  The Montreal cold is different than the Huntsville cold, much more damp so it feels colder than it really is. We have been out for walks though, the Coop with his Muttluks and us with our Northern Ontario gear.  Oh, and Cooper has a new coat (thanks Tracey) that we will try out tomorrow.

Today, we had Russell's aunt over for lunch.  It was really nice to see her.  Auntie Lorraine is Russell's mother's sister.  The two of them reminisced about the past while looking at old photos of Russell's parents.  I'm glad she came over, she is a sweet lady and Cooper loves her to pieces!

That is my blog for today.   I take this opportunity to wish you all a Merry Christmas.  I truly hope that you all have a great day with your loved ones.  Russell and I know many people who have lost loved ones this year so our thoughts are with you during this holiday season.  I will not do a blog on Christmas Day as I will be busy carving the turkey....but I'll be back on Boxing Day!  Love to all from the three of us.

Santa, his reindeer and a poinsettia!

Cooper kissing auntie Lorraine...a 4 way selfie!

Anne putting Cooper through his paces...
poetry in motion.

Cooper has his attention fixed on Anne.

Nice sit Cooper, after an "about turn".

Cooper kissing mommy asking
did I do good?!

Anne telling Coop he did fantastic and smells great too! Love him to pieces!

Cooper graduated...the certificate
proves it!

...and a bag of treats for placing 2nd!

Starting to feel like Christmas

Hello everyone!  I'm a little late doing my blog today.  It's been a busy day in the kitchen and with company coming over.  I finally started my Christmas baking, made two different recipes, both tested by Russell.  He says they're pretty good.  I have some shortbread dough in the fridge for baking tomorrow and the mix for my date balls is ready as well.  All and all, a good start and the house smells delicious!  Tomorrow will be a full baking day.  I decided to take the day off from the gym and focus on making cookies instead.  Russell will be going to his normal Monday training session, he will burn a lot of calories and will be ready for the cookie tasting.

All is good with us.  It is truly feeling like Christmas is around the corner, although no snow to speak of...but that will change tonight and tomorrow.  A bit of snow on the way we're told.  This will be our first Christmas in our new home and we will be hosting my family for dinner.

Our Christmas decorations are all up and our house is looking festive. We have a few special ornaments on our tree for the Coop.  We debated about what to do outside then decided to put tiny little lights around our ornamental armillary sphere that we have in our front flower bed.  It is looking very nice and quite different.  We will take a photo this week.

That's it for my blog.  Short and sweet. Another busy week ahead for us.  Tuesday night is Cooper's Basic Obedience Level 1 graduation night.  It will be a fun night and Russell will take a few photos. I leave you with pics of the Cooper ornaments as well as a photo of the Coop in a toy basket that I got at HomeSense with his name on it (thanks to Wanda). Way cool! I wish you all a great week! The big day is in two weeks!

The tree wouldn't be decorated without a Cooper
ornament or two...maybe four!

Cooper in his fur ever home frame.

Bones and paw prints...perfection at this time of the year!

This sums it up quite nicely!

Cooper says, I am ready ready to get my
Christmas present basket filled!

A great getaway

Happy Sunday everyone! I hope your week was a good one and that your Christmas preparations are going well.  Three weeks today my friends!

Here we are, back in Quebec after a three day festive getaway in Ontario.  We had a great time.  Niagara-on-the-Lake was beautiful and enchanting in every way.  It is such a quaint little town at this time of year.  We walked along Main Street and went into every little shop.  The Christmas Store was of course packed with people looking for that special ornament and sure enough, we found two for the Coop.  We went to Russell's favorite store, Irish Design, and he found a great Winter coat, Irish of course, as well as a nice cap to keep his head warm during the next few months.

The candlelight stroll was very nice and it is estimated that about 5,000 people attended.  We didn't walk the whole length of the street as we had a dinner reservation but it was nice to be part of it.  We stayed at the Prince of Wales Hotel.  Our room was quite nice, with a fireplace.  The bed, although comfortable, was one of those high beds...we commented to ourselves that there is no way Cooper could have jumped on that bed.  He would have had to use the step ladder....I did.

Yesterday, we made our way back to Mississauga and went to the newly renovated Sherway Gardens. We were surprised to see how empty the mall was.  Not quite sure what's going on but very unusual for this time of year.  It's a nice mall but not my cup of tea. We then met up with Melanie for drinks, then had dinner with my good friend Eve.  We had a wonderful evening with lots of good conversations and good laughs.

While we were having a great time, Cooper was doing the same at Camp Talemaker.  Darlah captured many fun moments.  We were happy to see him this morning.

That's it for my blog.  It's a short one, just a recap of our week.  We're a little tired from the drive home....Russell drove, Coop slept on my lap the whole way.  He's an exhausted little dog.  Lots on my plate this week, have to really get ready for Christmas and start my baking...oh and do my homework with Cooper for his training.  Graduation is next week!  Have a great week!

Niagara on the Lake Town square and the pre-stroll
announcements and Christmas carols!

The Just Christmas store...feel free to find
the perfect ornament.

A Christmas scene tapestry...with wonderful
LED lights. 

Stair way to Heaven...nope, just the stairs to bed
at the Prince of Wales.

Cooper running flat out on the pool cover!

Cooper says...I swear I saw Nathan with a treat!

Collision course for Cooper and Stone...