Last blog of August

Happy Sunday everyone! What a beautiful month it has been. Very sad to think that August is coming to an end already. Summer is going by way too fast but it's not over yet.

It's been a busy weekend so far. My friend Eve arrived on Saturday and leaves tomorrow. We've been catching up and having some good laughs. Yesterday, we both got a manicure.  It was nice to get pampered for an hour or so. We then came home and sat outside with Russell and the pooches. We spent the entire night outdoors, with the patio heater on, not that it was cold, it just added a nice warmth to the evening. Russell smoked a side of salmon for dinner and it was delicious. Today, we're not doing much although we went for a walk with Cooper & Spicy. I had a bit of cooking to do this morning, then we had a light lunch with last night's leftovers. Yum!  As I'm writing this blog, Eve is out for her power walk and Russell is having a nap with the doggies. Everyone is gearing up for yet another beautiful evening, with more good food, drinks and a whole lot of talking.

Last week was good. I had my root canal on Thursday and all went well. On Friday, we had a little picnic by the water in Pointe-Claire while we watched the 2019 International Fireball World Championship regatta. Pointe-Claire was hosting the event this year. The Fireball is a two person sailing dinghy with 15 countries participating. The most recent world championships were held in South Africa, Wales and Thailand. Pretty exciting to have this event literally a few blocks from where we live. It was the perfect day.

Our travel documents for the Scotland train experience have arrived!. Very exciting, two weeks today. This coming week,  I will start to give some serious thoughts to what to bring in terms of clothes, etc. We can't wait!

Tomorrow, Eve and I will have lunch at Le Gourmand in Pointe-Claire then she will be off to Montreal for a business meeting. We've had a great time, although not over yet.  I will  post a few pics of her visit in next week's blog.

On Wednesday, Russell and I will be celebrating our 37th wedding anniversary. It will be a special day. I wish you all a great week and I will write again next Sunday, September 1... Labour Day Weekend. I leave you with a few pics that Russell took of the garden last week and some taken at the regatta.

Front yard in full bloom.

Backyard bed looking lovely.

Travel documents for the Belmond Royal Scotsman...
tickets and luggage tags plus full itinerary. Exciting!

Cooper, Spicy & I having a lakeside lunch while
watching the Fireball Regatta.

It must be time for a treat somewhere in the world....Cooper
and Spicy giving me their undivided attention.

The flotilla of Fireballs gathering in advance of the race start. 

These guys are thinking hey...wait for us...we'll be there
shortly.

Three weeks and counting

Happy Sunday everyone! Another hot and humid day in the neighbourhood. We need rain badly. We had a few brief showers during the night on Friday but that's about it. I also would like to have a full day of rain so that I can get things done in the house.

Last week was uneventful except for the day I went to the dentist. It was supposed to be a quick appointment, to get my new permanent crown put it. Instead, I found myself being poked around as my dentist suspected an infection in the tooth that was to be crowned. That tooth had a root canal done in 2013 but it looks like the canal wasn't properly sealed. So, a root canal is on tap for this coming Tuesday. Then I get the new crown. Better deal with this before our trip. I don't mind root canals, but I mind having to keep my mouth open for too long which can lead to my jaw locking again. So, my dentist is warned....I will need breaks so that I can rest that jaw of mine. I need this like I need a hole in the head.

I'm still dealing with a rotator cuff issue in my left arm, so is Russell, in his right arm. What a fine pair we are! We are both doing our exercises to fix this but it's taking a while. Oh well, we could be dealing with worse issues.

In three weeks, we will be off to Edinburgh where we will spend two nights. Then on September 11, we will board the Belmond Royal Scotsman. We got a little reminder last week. We can't wait. I think it will be a trip of a lifetime. We truly are excited about visiting Scotland and Ireland.

Cooper & Spicy are doing well. Last week, we did a little training in the basement. I used the hoops that I got for them. They like to jump through them. We didn't do any work with the cones but we will this week, if time permits. Yesterday, Cooper was walking with a limp. It seemed to get worse as the day went on but he seems fine today. He may have jumped off the couch the wrong way. We're keeping an eye on it. His GI issues seem to have resolved. He's back on normal food now.

Yesterday,  I went to the Montreal Ribfest held in Pierrefonds and picked up three racks of ribs for dinner. We had our third annual pig fest with my brother. The ribs were so good and so tender. It was a fun night.

We are getting ready for my friend Eve's visit this coming Thursday. I will pick her up at the train station early afternoon. Then, we will both have a manicure at Spa Munari. It's always fun to do something girlie together. We look forward to seeing her and catching up. We go back a long way.

That's my blog for today. We're sitting out now, listening to good music. Our pooches are in the house, front room, watching the world go by. It's all good. I leave you with pics of our dogs but also a beautiful photo that Russell took of the many busy bees that we have. Have a great week everyone!

The honey bees are extra busy on the purple cones flowers
in the backyard...they are a joy to watch!

All aboard....the Belmond Royal Scotsman awaits.

Spicy and Cooper were quick to sniff out the ribs!

Can you find the Havanese nose? 

Cooper and Spicy love to share space...inseparable.

Spicy and Cooper 'hooped' doing their best sit stay.

The pooches in position,
looking for a BBQ licking.

It's beginning to look a lot like Scotland....

Happy Sunday everyone! A beautiful day and a wonderful Summer week ahead. Our weather is looking very promising, must take advantage of it....Russell just reminded me that Christmas is in 137 days. Go away Russell!

This past week was a good one. Cooper's new course of antibiotics is doing what it's supposed to do and he seems back to normal on all fronts. Tomorrow, we see our vet. We'll talk about next steps, if any. Spicy is also coming along for a wee check-up. They don't mind going to the vet, it is such a nice place and they like Dr. Stiles.

As you can see from the photos below, things are starting to look very Scottish in our home. Russell got himself a kilt with all the trimmings, and of course the Duncan tartan. He will be wearing the kilt during the two formal dinners on the Belmond Royal Scotsman. Yesterday, he did a dress rehearsal, and again today. He wanted to see how long it would take to get dressed. Today, it took 10 minutes. He's getting the hang of it. More photos in future blogs, this is just a preview. I must say that my husband looks very dapper in his kilt. As for me, I will be wearing a black dress that I bought for a Christmas party some 12 years ago. I wore it once. I got it somewhere in Yorkville, designed by Lida Baday, a Canadian designer. Simple but elegant, will nicely match the kilt.

Yesterday I met up with my friend Lillian for coffee at Le Marche de l'Ouest. Although we always have lots to talk about, we inevitably end up talking about our dogs. Lillian's Havanese is the lovely Blu-Belle. Cooper and I train with them during the training season. What we discovered yesterday though is that Blu-Belle's great grand-father is Cooper's dad, Mugs. How cools is it to find out that Cooper and BB are related in some ways. No wonder they both look gorgeous, Mugs was a beauty. After coffee, we went to our favorite store, Dollarama, and bought more cones for training. I now have a total of 60 cones. That should be enough for a while. This past week, I created a few new routines for Cooper. It doesn't take him long to catch on although each routine requires a few minutes of practices. I find myself having to be quite creative but that's the fun of it.

Last week was a reminder that another season is around the corner for two reasons: the Fall Mums are out at Loblaw, same time each year, never fails....and pre-season football started on TV. Yikes!

Not much else is new. I'm dealing with a rotator cuff issue. I saw my physiotherapist last Thursday, got some exercises to do.....oops forgot to do them today. Anyway, I need for this to go away before our trip. It is annoying and prevents me from doing any upper body workouts and many other things. The joy of getting older.

Today we had Auntie Lorraine over for lunch. We ate outside and it was lovely to see her again. This coming week is busy with all sorts of things. Next Saturday, it's Ribfest, yum! The week after, my friend Eve is coming over for a few days. Then we will start thinking about what to bring for our trip, which is four weeks today. We are getting really excited!

I wish you all a great week!

A sporran...or a man purse when in
Scotland.

The Duncan tartan kilt complete with kilt
pin, sgian-dubh and ghillie brogues.

Cooper and Spicy thinking about the next maze...

Cooper and Blu-Belle...who knew they were related...
maybe Macey knew.

Cooper's father, Mugs...what a handsome Havanese.

Cooper and Spicy....doesn't that look
melt your heart.

Fall must be around the corner...the Mums are out at
Loblaws.

August already?

Happy Sunday everyone! A gorgeous day and the cicada is singing non stop. It's hard to believe it's August though, June and July went by so quickly.

This past week was good and quiet. On Wednesday, I completed the rowing challenge, not a big deal but it was my goal and I did it. Glad it's behind me. The weather last week was great, some days were too hot for a walk but we enjoyed sitting out just the same. Cooper & Spicy are in and out of the house when it's too hot. Their choice and we know the sign: they both face the screen door, time to go in please!

Our grass in the front is a beautiful shade of brown, in the backyard it's not so bad. I must say we need rain badly. I don't remember when it last rained. The flower beds are doing good but I've had to water them quite a bit. Our VegTrug is still going, the cilantro is almost done but the chives, rosemary and basil are going strong.

Today marks 200 days since Russell had his total knee replacement.  When he had his last physio treatment some weeks ago, the physiotherapist told Russell that his recovery was textbook perfect. He couldn't ask for better range of motion and mobility. Well done Russell, the initial pain and discomfort were all worth it.

Cooper is still struggling with GI issues. We started him on another course of antibiotics yesterday for 10 days. We hope that whatever bacteria he is fighting will go away for good. He's not in any pain or anything, he is his usual self but his "output" is sloppy, has been for weeks, not normal. This makes for a lot of cleaning up, if you know what I mean. Not that we mind, we love him so, it's par for the course. It's just not fun for him I suppose. If nothing changes in 10 days, we will get an abdominal ultrasound done. We need to get to the bottom of this before our upcoming trip.

Spicy is doing well. She has adjusted to her heart medication, no issues. She's been a bit fussy at breakfast lately, don't think it's due to the medication. I hear her daughter Pepper is the same sometimes....a family trait for sure. So, I try to be creative and make breakfast fun.....I will even hand feed our little princess, once in a while. Call me nuts, that's OK! This morning though, Spicy said to me: I'm not hungry just yet mommy. I said no problem darling. So, she ate her breakfast a little later than usual, nothing wrong with that. As a result, I had to change the timing of her meds which must be taken two hours after meal but I can deal with that. As Russell keeps saying to me, "we're not launching a shuttle here, there is room for flexibility".... I know, he's totally right. I'm just so anal that way!

Otherwise, all is good with us. In 36 days, we're off to Scotland and Ireland, Scotland being the first leg of our trip. We are getting really excited. Today, we contacted a tour guide recommended by our friend Pat. We are planning a couple of day trips once we get to Ireland, in Cork and Dublin. More on this as we get closer to September.

That's my blog for today. I leave you with a few pics taken this afternoon at the Vintage Car Show in Baie-D'Urfe....needless to say that our doggies were as much of a hit as the cars, if not more. Have a great week everyone!

Taking a little break in the shade at Fritz Farm while
attending the annual Vintage Car Show in Baie D'Urfe.

A lovely 1940 Cadillac.....a sexy curvaceous car.

1952 Cadillac Coupe de Ville...sweet!

A very yellow MG!

A Painted Lady butterfly on our purple cone flowers
in the back yard.

A sea of daisies.....

TV time means a nap before bed for Spicy
and Cooper unless they see a dog food commercial.

Spicy and Cooper on the back deck doing
what they do...on the look out for intruders.