St-Jean Baptiste Holiday

Happy Sunday everyone! It is sunny and quite warm, the perfect day for St-Jean Baptiste celebrations. It is rather quiet in our neighbourhood today, I'm actually wondering if anyone is celebrating. We just came back from a walk and hardly saw anyone out and about. We are not doing anything special today, just chilling on the deck.

This past week was better than the previous one for me. My jaw is improving and I have regained quite a bit of "mouth opening". I still have to be careful when chewing and have to be mindful of how big a bite I can actually put in my mouth. I saw the osteopath again last week and the treatments are making a difference. This coming week, I have an appointment with a physiotherapist who specializes in TMJ issues. She will work on the actual chewing muscle, which is quite stiff still, thus giving me some pain, but nothing like I had two weeks ago. So, I am happy with the improvement. It is slower than I thought it would be though. I should be back to normal, or close to it, by the time we go to Italy.

I also had my yearly physical last Friday. All my test results are good, so I was happy about that. Russell will have his on July 10.

We are getting excited about our upcoming trip. Our weeks between now and then will be rather busy, with appointments and such. It's amazing how time consuming it is when you start seeing a health professional such as an osteopath or physiotherapist.

Last Friday marked the one year anniversary of Spicy joining our family. It is so hard to believe that she's been with us one year already. I seriously don't know where the year went, then again, a lot has happened in that one year. Spicy has added so much to our lives, and to Cooper's. She is such a sweet girl, in every way. We are truly blessed to have them both in our lives.

That's about it for this week's blog. I wish you all a wonderful week. Oh, the weather has just turned, looking mighty dark out there now!

Heuchera 'Sweet Tart' in full bloom in the front flowerbed.

The wonderfully vibrant color of the Geranium sanguineum
'Cranesbill' in the front flowerbed.

Can anyone say lettuce...Little Caesar to be precise. They
sure are at home in the VegTrug on the back deck.

Cooper chilling on his favourite chair.

Spicy striking a regal pose on a Muskoka chair.

Cooper and Spicy share a favourite pass time...
chews in the TV room.

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Sunday! I want to wish all the dads out there a wonderful Father's Day! I hope your day is filled with love all around. Although we do not have kids, we are still celebrating....after all, Russell is the perfect dad for Cooper & Spicy. They love him to pieces and he loves them to pieces in return. This day is also special for us as we are both thinking about our respective fathers. Mine left us five months ago and Russell's dad has been gone for 17 years. We miss them both and will love them always.

Today, we had my brother, sister, our nephews Sean and James and Sean's girlfriend Sandrine over for lunch. As always, it was a nice family gathering. We ate outside, although at times the heat was a little oppressive. Cooper & Spicy decided that they were cooler inside so they spent most of their time in the house. Thanks to my brother for making his famous Spanakopitas and to my sister for her mini cheesecakes with chocolate chips.  Yum!

This past week was good although it didn't quite pan out the way I had envisioned it. On Tuesday morning, at 6 am, I turned over in bed and my jaw went into a closed lock. My jaw has locked in the past but I have always been able to "get it back into position".  Not this time. Needless to say that I was a tad freaked out.  No matter what I did, the jaw didn't budge. I was able to open my mouth wide enough to brush my teeth, with great effort and pain. Needless to say that I called the dentist and got to see him at 10:30.  There is really not much he could do, other than poke my jaw and reassure me that it will get better with time. Oh, he also said to take Advil every 6 hours for one week. I am not a pill popper so I was not happy about that but if it meant for my jaw to return to normal, then I was prepared to do it. Well, the Advil didn't make a difference after two days so I stopped taking them.

I started doing some research about the best way to "unlock a jaw".... and discovered that an osteopath can do wonders with jaw and TMJ issues. I found one that was able to see me on Thursday. After one treatment, I could feel some relief. The treatment itself seems simple but it's all about releasing the tension that has built up in the canals connected to the jaw....those canals are in the head, ears, neck, you name it. The underlying cause of a closed lock jaw is usually a build up of emotional stress. I guess I've had my share of it lately but never thought it would manifest itself that way.

Today, five days later, I see an improvement although the pain is still there. My mouth opening has gotten bigger. I have graduated from eating soup and very soft food to being able to eat flaky food such as salmon.  I can now put a teaspoon in my mouth with no problem!  All kidding aside, it is not a pleasant experience and I will be glad when all is back to normal. I will see the osteopath weekly until we go to Italy, which is just a little over four weeks time. Imagine having this problem while in Europe....wouldn't be fun although it wouldn't stop me from being able to sip Prosecco, even if I had to use a straw.

So, this was my week in a nutshell. Other than that, things are pretty good.

I leave you with some photos that Russell took of our Peonies. Too bad they don't last long. Have a great week everyone!

Pink peony in full bloom....wonderfully fragrant on the
side of the house.

White peony in our backyard.

Red peony about to go into full bloom...
wonderful but short lived.

Me and my Dad on Father's Day 2017...miss you, love
you and remember you always.

Spicy and Cooper in prime position on the back deck,
 to get a 'licking' as the plank salmon cooks on the BBQ, last night.

Cooper and Spicy set up a road block so that nothing
and no one can get past them...always on treat alert.

A great weekend!

Happy Sunday everyone! I hope you are all having the same kind of weather that we have now, sunny and not too hot...a perfect Spring day. The weather this weekend was beautiful and we took advantage of it, in the company of my very good friend Eve.

Eve arrived on Friday by train, all the way from Oakville. It was really nice to see her again. We go back a long way, having been co-workers for the longest time. It did me a lot of good to spend time with her.  We had some girlie time (got our nails done), went for a nice power walk, had some good food (thanks to Russell for barbecuing) and some good wine. Yesterday, Eve and I went to Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue and had lunch at Violet Angel. We ate outside, by the board walk along Lake St-Louis. It was relaxing to just sit there, chat away, while sipping a cold Summer Rose.  Needless to say that we had our dinners on the deck every night. Cooper & Spicy were the perfect hosts, as always. Eve gave me a wonderful cookbook entitled "Yum and Yummer" by Greta Podleski. Some really good, healthy and fun recipes that I will try starting this week.  So, my friend went back home today. I always feel a little sad when she leaves but I know that I will see her again in a few months.

The day that Eve arrived (June 8) was my dad's birthday. He would have been 85. He was in my thoughts throughout the day. I include this photo of him, taken a few years ago on his birthday. Those are the moments that I choose to remember, when both my parents were doing well and looked healthy.

This coming week is a bit busy for me. I am gearing up for my yearly physical so I have a few medical tests to get done prior to the physical. Nothing earth shattering but I want everything done before we go away in July.

That's it for my blog. I will now look at that cookbook that Eve gave me, again, and choose a few recipes for this coming week. Then, I will resume reading the third and final book of the Natchez Burning Trilogy. Oh so good! Have a great week everyone!

BFF's, Eve with Spicy and me with our big boy Cooper!

Leave it to the Spice girl to shower Eve with kisses!

Dad's birthday with Mom and me a few years ago...
fond memories of happy times!

Those strawberries!

Happy first Sunday of June! A beauty of a day for us. It is a bit breezy and warm, the perfect combination. I'm writing my blog on our deck while our two pooches are patiently waiting for their dinner. They had a busy and fun day. They spent a good part of the day at Chez Winston, enjoying the company of Winston, while Russell and I had lunch with our good friends Gord and Karen in Montebello. It was great to catch up.

It was a beautiful drive to Montebello, lots of bikers on the road. We had lunch in town, at a lovely Bistro. Russell and I got there early so we went to the Chateau to take in the sights. I thought I had been there once but now I know I never set foot at Chateau Montebello until today. Russell was there many moons ago. What a beautiful place, all log of course. As soon as we walked into the lobby, we were reminded of our beautiful log home that we built in Huntsville. We do miss that house.

All is good with us. Our garden is doing well. Everything is growing so fast this year. Our Maple tree and our Japanese Maple are also doing much better than last week, thanks to Darlah's tip about cutting off the deadwood. It is clear now that those trees suffered from Winter kill but they are thriving again. Amazing how mother nature knows what to do once you give it a little help.

Our strawberry planter is also doing well and I expect lots of strawberries very soon. For now, we have a few that are good enough to eat. I had one a few days ago....nothing beats the taste of a strawberry fresh off the vine.

There is rain on the way for the next two days. That's good because I have things to do in the house. I also have to get ready for my good friend Eve's visit on Friday....we have a lot of catching up to do. It will be a weekend filled with good chats, great food and wine, some girl stuff and good times spent with Russell, Cooper and Spicy. We look forward to it.

That's it for my blog today. Time to feed the canine crew. I wish you all a wonderful week!

At the peak of perfection, strawberries basking in the sunshine
in our planter on the back deck...yum!

Jacob's Ladder in full bloom in the back garden.

The massive fireplace at the
Chateau Montebello...fond memories
of our log home in Huntsville.

Cooper and Spicy 'peas in a pod' in their classic
'what is next pose'!

An aerial view of the "Swiffer pooches"...
side-by-side besties!