The Big Night is four weeks away

Happy Sunday everyone! What a difference a week makes. A week ago today, things looked pretty grim for my mom. Once again, she beat the odds and she came out of ICU on Friday. She is still very sick and, being the ever so realistic person that I am, I take every bit of improvement with guarded optimism. Having said this, we are all breathing a little better now and we plan on celebrating mom's birthday on Tuesday, in her hospital room.  Rather than eating the wonderful hospital food, I asked her what she would like to eat and she immediately said, a cream of asparagus soup. So asparagus soup it will be for her birthday lunch.  I will bring enough so that dad and I can share a meal with mom. It will be a birthday to remember.

This past week was crazy busy with gym, dog training (for both), some walks with the doggies, house stuff and hospital visits. I cannot believe that in four weeks tonight, it will be Christmas Eve. I was thinking of putting up our Christmas trees tomorrow afternoon. I think it's time to get into the Christmas spirit, despite the difficult times we are going through. Everyone who reads my blog has been so supportive and it makes it easier for me to get through these times. Some of you I only know because you're friends with Russell, you know who you are. Your support and encouragement mean the world to me.

Off to a totally different topic...Black Friday. People who know me well know how much I hate shopping.  So, I set aside some "free time" on Thursday to go to Fairview to buy a few things that I really needed, like a new pair of boots and some nice smelly body products from Bath & Body Works. I figured Thursday would be a good day, before Black Friday....what a mistake that was. Thursday was the Black Friday at Fairview. Nothing else to add other than I bought a pair of boots and found my coconut smelly body cream called "At The Beach". It's all good.

Yesterday, Russell had lunch with his cousin Kirk. He hadn't seen him in 30 years. The two had a lot of catching up to do. It was truly a nice reunion.

This coming week will be busy in a good way. Other than celebrating my mom's birthday on Tuesday, we will be going to Toronto on Thursday for a little pre-Christmas getaway. In addition to having dinner with friends on Thursday and Saturday, Russell and I will be spending Friday night in Niagara-on-the-Lake and take part, or watch, the Christmas Candlelight Stroll, always on the first Friday of December, We look forward to this getaway and making new memories. Coop & Spicy will be at Talemakers having a wonderful time!

That's my blog for this week. I leave you with pics of our two pooches. Russell was working on his portrait photography and the only "subjects" he could find were Cooper and Spicy. Have a great week everyone!

The guardians at the door...Spicy and Cooper on the
bench in the front hallway, waiting for daddy to come home.

Cooper took time out of his busy treat schedule
to pose for some portrait practice.

Spicy is her elegant diva as she practiced her
posing skills.

Hoping and Praying

Hi everyone. A very bleak day all around.  It rained today,  a few snow flakes here and there. A typical November day. Our day has also been sombre. My mom was transferred back to ICU this morning. Her condition is critical. At this point, we can only hope and pray.

Ironically, on Friday, mom's admission to the rehab centre came but she had a set back and couldn't be released from the hospital. My dad, brother, sister and I have come to terms with her condition. Truly heart wrenching, that's all I can say.  I just came back from seeing mom and despite having the CPAP mask on, she was able to speak and she was quick to say that she loves us all. She is not ready to leave us and her very sick heart just keeps on ticking. Her birthday is coming up on the 28th, hoping we can have a little celebration with her.

Needless to say that we are going through some difficult times. Somehow Christmas doesn't sound very appealing right now but we will get through this. Russell knows how much I love decorating the house and listening to Christmas music.... despite everything, I will do my very best to make Christmas happen in our home.

On that note, on Thursday, we got the Christmas stockings that we ordered for ourselves and our two pooches.  Today, we got our family Christmas photos. They are beautiful! So, some happy moments are happening even through tough times.

That's it for my blog today. I wish you all a wonderful week. My thoughts and prayers are for my mom. Good night maman, we love you!

Spicy and Cooper alerted us to the leaf-blowers
across the street...ever vigilant on the front porch even
though having a bad hair day!

New Christmas stockings for the Duncan clan ready
to be filled and hung with care.

My husband, the model

Happy Sunday everyone! A true November day, gloomy and damp. We had a couple of pretty darn cold days last week but no snow. It was a rude awakening to get up to -8 celsius on Thursday morning. The good thing about the cold weather is that the grass is hard, so cleaner for our little paws.

This past week was good and busy. I probably sound like a broken record when I say there are not enough hours in a day, these days.  I do what I can and make the most of my time.  I had two excellent training classes with Cooper and Spicy. Tuesday's training with Cooper was awesome. Oh boy, he loves to jump and loves to train, especially when it's fun! As for my Obedience class with Miss Spicy, well, we had a breakthrough on Saturday. Spicy loves to train but she has a little bit of a "stubborn streak" in her. Our practice paid off and we did really well, actually extremely well. I was so excited during the class, her heeling and focus were perfect. I think that if there was a prize given out to the handler who shows the most excitement, I would win it!  I would be remiss if I didn't mention that I am using all the good tips that Wanda has given me..."ready ready ready", using a positive marker, praising, etc. It's all good and I can't wait for next Saturday.

On Thursday, we had Auntie Lorraine over for lunch. It was nice to see her and she brought us two hand knitted doggie blankets. Spicy and Cooper love them to pieces and love to nest in them. On Friday, my dad came over for dinner. It was a good change for him and our pooches always enjoy his company. On Saturday, I decided to make my Winter pots. The soil in the pots was not quite frozen so I figured, why not do them now. Off we went to buy what we needed and the pots are done for the upcoming holiday season.  Tick, done.

This morning we had our family Christmas photos done by Erika, a photographer in Beaconsfield. It was fun and we got some good shots of the four of us, as a family, and of Cooper & Spicy together. Can't wait to see the final product. Another little Havanese that we know was also getting her Christmas photo taken. Very special to be able to do this.

Now, let's talk about my hubby. He was a model at his photography class a week ago last Sunday. He was told that he is very photogenic. I agree, which is why his "portrait" is the first picture of my blog. The topic of the class was how to use natural light for portraits. Kind of cool!

A little bit of news about my mom. She is still at the Lakeshore Hospital waiting to be admitted at the rehab center. This could take another week or two, we don't know. In the meantime, there is a bit of rehab being done but not a whole lot. She is very tired, both mentally and physically. Tough times for her, my dad and all of us.

That's it for my blog today. I hope you all have a great week!

Hold that pose....got it!
Who knew Russell was a natural
born model?

Christmas basket by the front door!

The front yard Japanese maple is
still holding its leaves.

The new TV zone upstairs...seems that Cooper and Spicy
approve central to the kitchen...what more could they ask.

Cooper stands on guard while Spicy catches a quick nap.

Backyard wind chime
a long time member of our
family.

Fall back

Happy Sunday to all! I just came back from visiting my mom at the hospital and casting my vote for the municipal elections. Not a good day to be out and about, lots of rain and it's already getting dark. Getting back to daylight saving time is good as we get an extra hour in our day to do whatever we want...some say we sleep it off, I don't. Truthfully, these days I could use extra hours to do all the things I want to do. On the flip side, falling back in time means the nights get darker that much sooner. Oh, I so don't like that but I do like the brightness that we get in the morning when the time changes...so all this to say that there is a positive to everything.

Back to visiting my mom. She is doing quite well, although a bit tired, both of being at the hospital and of not being mobile. For some reason, the staff at the hospital has not been very proactive in getting her out of bed. Her doctor is on it and hopefully this week will bring some form of physiotherapy. Having said this, a requisition has been put in for her transfer to a rehab facility. Fingers crossed that it will be near where my parents live so that my dad doesn't have to commute a long distance to visit her.

This past week was good but busy. Between my four weekly workouts at the gym, two weekly training sessions with Coop & Spicy, including doing some "homework", being there for my loving supportive hubby, house stuff, visiting my mom and doing what I can for my dad, my weeks have been going by pretty quickly. The thought of going to Barbados in three months sounds pretty good right now. Such is life and we do what we can.

Halloween came and went and it was fun. We had about 40 kids and our two pooches were very good. The first batch of kids came earlier than expected so the door bell got Cooper & Spicy excited. But after that, Russell kept an eye on the street and I was keeping our two little guys busy, doing a bit of training. We shut it down at 8 pm.

Not much else is going on with us. We will be going to Toronto at the end of the month for a little getaway and meeting some friends. Looking forward to it. When we come back, it will be time to get ready for Christmas.

That's it for my blog this week. My dad is coming over for dinner tonight. It will be nice to see him and I know he will love seeing Coop & Spicy. I leave you with a few Halloween pics, one of a beautiful sunrise taken last week and our famous NYC doggie clock....we spotted this clock in New York City just before Russell's mom passed away. She wanted us to get something special for our new home in Huntsville, so it has a loving place in our hearts. Have a great week everyone!

Did you remember to fall back? Cooper and Spicy
slept through the whole extra hour!

Cooper and Spicy on the trick or treat training trail...
"good quiet - no bark"!

Caught in the act, I got treats too!

Spicy and Cooper took time to get in a nap at the gate
between trick or treaters.

The door bell rang, new kids at the door...
Spicy and Cooper were perfect greeters.

Mr. Pumpkin in all his glory!

Sky was on fire for an instant as the rising sun kissed the
clouds in our backyard this week.