Bye Bye Movember

Happy Sunday everyone! I hope you're all having a nice and relaxing day. No doubt many people are starting to get ready for Christmas...just a tad over four weeks away.  Incredible!

This is the last week of November. It's been a dreary month, weather wise. Not much sun, some very cold temperatures and some snow, although it's mostly gone after today's rain. So, Movember is coming to an end and Orange Theory found the perfect way to end it...a fundraising for men's mental health. All we had to do is buy a moustache and the proceeds went towards this great cause. I think I look quite stylish!

This past week was good but some days were too cold for walks, at least for us, humans. Instead, we had some fun training sessions with both Cooper and Spicy. We practiced the weave with cones,  jumps through the hoop and target training. Each session ended with a long "down stay" and "sit stay", which lasted about 75 seconds. Our pooches did very well. It was a fun way to get some energy expelled.

I had lunch with my brother and sister today. It was nice to catch up. They will come over to our house for Christmas. Russell and I will be having a traditional dinner, with turkey and all the trimmings. It will be the first Christmas without my parents but we hope it will be a joyful one just the same. On that note, I put up our Christmas trees today. We're ready, as far as decorations go. I haven't started my baking but will do so next weekend. I have all the ingredients though.....

Not much else is going on. Russell is truly looking forward to having a new knee in February. Walking is becoming quite an ordeal. Having said this, he is a trooper and manages quite well.  As for me, all is good. Tomorrow, Spicy and I will visit John Abbott College and meet with the students. We hope to bring them comfort and help with whatever stress they may experience, especially at this time of year.  On Tuesday, Coop and I have our weekly Fun Obedience training. On Thursday, I will meet with the notary and go over some estate paperwork. It's a process and it takes time, that's all I have to say.

That's my blog for today. The rest of the day will be quiet. Russell is watching football, Cooper & Spicy are napping until dinner time and I'm listening to Christmas music. I leave you with a few pics. Next week, I will have photos of our Christmas tree. Have a great everyone!

Me and my Movember moustache...think I'll keep it!

Cooper and Spicy doing their best long down stay after a
fun filled training session.

Ahhh...the sit stay behind the hurdle...practicing patience
for Cooper and Spicy.

Our growing collection of custom Christmas tree
ornaments for our small family.

Let the Christmas baking begin...all the ingredients under the
watchful eye/nose of Cooper...chief supervisor.

We have a date!

Happy Sunday everyone! It's a beautiful day, sunny, no wind, not too cold. We went for a nice walk by the lake this afternoon. Hardly any snow left on the path, just enough to actually keep the paws clean but not enough to warrant booties. We had some snow on Friday morning. Strangely enough, we only got about five centimetres whereas where my brother lives, in Ile Perrot, they got about 15 cm in total. Our snow has mostly melted now, although we do have some patches left in the backyard. As always with the first snow, our pooches were excited and yet a bit taken aback....Spicy was desperately looking for a patch of grass to do her business, Cooper couldn't have cared less but he was looking for bunny M&Ms under the snow.

Last week, we got a date for Russell's knee surgery, February 7. He is on the cancellation list for an earlier date but either way, we are both happy to know when it will happen as we were hoping for beginning of February. All things being equal, nine weeks later we will be off to Barbados with a good knee to boot. Better yet,  Russell will have a new knee for this birthday. The best gift I say.

We didn't do much last week. The weather was actually quite cold for a few days. On those days, we didn't go for a walk. We need to adapt slowly to the changing temperatures, the cold seems to have come early this year.

Last Wednesday, I had my 6th and last needle treatment for my jaw. I still have some lingering tightness, which should dissipate with time. Depending on how things go, I may get a "tune up" treatment from time to time. We'll see. Tomorrow, I will resume osteopathy treatment which will help. It's been five months since my jaw went into "closed lock" mode.  I hope I never have to go through that again. One thing is for sure: my next visit to the dentist will be on my terms:  I will insist on many breaks in order to give my jaw a rest, whether it's for a cleaning or another procedure. So, this is the end of the jaw saga.

Cooper and Spicy are doing well, as always. Today, we received the proofs of our Christmas family pics and our pooches look wonderful. We are so happy with the photos. Can't wait to share some in my blog!

Christmas is fast approaching. I read somewhere that Santa was busy this weekend, making appearances in many cities, such as Montreal and Toronto. In two weeks, I will put up our trees and all the decorations. I want to get everything done before we go to Toronto. I'm looking forward to it.

That's my blog for this week. I leave you with a few photos that Russell took after Friday's snowfall. It was pretty, now not so much. Have a great week everyone!

Zebra grass dusted with the first snow of the season in our
backyard.

A close-up of the Zebra grass plume encrusted in snow.

Cooper loved the first snow and he took full advantage to
sniff below the snowy surface looking for bunny 'treats'.

Spicy was careful in planning her trek around the snowy
backyard...she is a diva and didn't want her paws to
get any snowballs.

Cooper says don't mind me..."I am having a bad hair day."

Spicy trusts her nose...and she got a good
whiff of the egg white muffins fresh from
the oven. Yummy!

A day to remember

Sunday, November 11, 2018 ... a day to remember all those men and women who fought for us and sacrificed their lives in action. They fought for our freedom, which should never be taken for granted.

The sun is shining beautifully on this Remembrance Day. We got the last of the yard work done this afternoon. All the leaves have fallen and are bagged. We covered the two maple trees that got frost last year. Russell covered the patio table. We're good to go.

This morning, we had our family Christmas photo shoot. This is our third year doing this. We use Erika A. Photography, a well known animal photographer. It's fun for us and the doggies.  Her photos make for nice memories to look back on.

Last week was a good one. Spicy and I visited two seniors homes. Spicy is getting used to her new career as a therapy dog, so am I. Our visits bring such smiles and comfort to the residents. They just love her to pieces. As for the Coop, he had another great Fun Obedience class. Cooper LOVES training and I love training with him. We make a good team. It is particularly nice to be able to bring home some new tricks and practice on a daily basis, with both pooches.

Russell is doing good and continues to strengthen the muscles around the knee that will be replaced, hopefully in February. Sooner would be nice. He also started doing Tai Chi every Friday morning. He quite likes it as it addresses all components of fitness: flexibility, balance and strength. It is not as easy as one would think. I admire him for doing this....me, I wouldn't have the patience to sit through a class.

I guess the countdown to Christmas has started for many.  The holiday season will be somewhat nostalgic for us and my siblings, remembering my parents who left us earlier this year but we will get through it. Life does go on.  I plan on putting up our Christmas tree and all decorations before we go to Toronto. I have always liked Christmas, the lights, the music, the baking, all the things that bring comfort. And today, I bought Cooper and Spicy their second Christmas ornament and one for our little family with our names on it. When the time comes, I will include a photo of them.

That's my blog for today. Keep well and have a wonderful week!

Remembrance Day 2018...Uncle Charlie served proudly and
we thank him and all who served to enable our freedom.

Cooper and Spicy have mastered the "Sit Pretty"
command...what is next?

 Spicy 'digging in' for the night...shenanigans!

Now everyone is settled for a good night sleep.

Ready for a new season!

Happy first Sunday of November! A beauty of a day, what a treat! We haven't seen the sun much in the past week. Lots of rain, wind, cool temperatures. But today, it is sunny and warmish. As I'm writing the blog, I can see how the sun is starting to fade away. With the return of Daylight Saving Time, it is quite noticeable. Having said this, we did get 50 minutes of extra sleep....couldn't quite make it to one hour...my fault. I woke up, started to move and that was the signal for the pooches to make their way up to our faces and lick us silly. I will admit though that this day seems long somehow.

So, we're ready for the next season. Today, we blew and bagged more leaves. We put away the patio chairs and some garden ornaments. Our Fall Mums are done and will soon be replaced with festive planters. On that note, on Halloween Day, I went to Loblaws and sure enough, the Christmas planters were out. Crazy!

Halloween Day came and went. It was raining so we had about 30 kids in total. Not bad for a rainy night. At 7 pm, we turned the lights off and had dinner. It was a good day as we had my childhood friend over for lunch with Brian. It was a very nice get together and we had lots to talk about, catching up on old stuff. Denise brought a homemade apple pie for dessert. Yummy!

Give the rainy weather last week, I spent some time doing tricks with Coop and Spicy. Cooper learned a new one last week at Fun Obedience, it's called Sit Pretty. It didn't take him long to get it. I also taught Spicy the same trick as well as how to spin right....up to now, she would only spin left no matter what we did. So, thanks to a few tips from Wanda, I persevered and yesterday morning, she did a left and right spin. She was over the moon happy to please me! So, the Spice girl now has a few tricks up her sleeve. Next one to teach her will be "weave" through our legs in a figure eight pattern. Cooper has that one down pat. Those fun tricks keep them busy and challenged, especially on rainy days. It's fun for us and for them, a win win... and they get to show off when we have guests over!

Not much else is going on. This month has just begun and I feel like it will be over before we know it. Everything is about Christmas now.....well, almost.... lots will be happening, or not, in the US on Tuesday. Crazy times going on in this world that we live in. On a brighter note, in a month or so, Russell and I will be going to Toronto and Niagara-on-the-Lake for a little getaway. We look forward to it.

That's my blog for today. It's almost dinner time for Cooper & Spicy and it's getting dark....but the mornings are brighter now, it's a good thing. I leave you with a potpourri of photos. Check out my new Havanese socks, thank you Russell! Have a great week everyone!

Spicy and Cooper were quick to investigate my new
havi-socks...apparently they approve.

My new socks with photos of Spicy and Cooper...
how special are these!

Christmas anyone....the seasons collide...on Halloween Day
the Christmas planters are out at Loblaws.

Spicy and Cooper sat patiently for their official
Halloween photo...complete with zombie eyes.

The Japanese cut leaf maple in our front yard in full
Fall colour...a deep red!

Not to be out done by a maple, the larch in the backyard
in brilliant yellow...stunning in full sun.

Found this stray leaf in our backyard...any botanists know
what plant/tree it comes form....looks suspicious?!