So long January!

Happy Sunday everyone! Wow, I can't believe that this is the last week of January. Because we were under the weather for a good part of the month,  it seemed like it would never end...and here we are,  January is almost behind us. That's a good thing, I do not like January.

All is good with us. Russell went back to the gym last week. He had some gentle workouts with his trainer. He is still a bit winded when he exerts himself too much but that will go away soon. On Friday, I completed my third full week at my new fitness studio. I truly enjoy it and I feel like I'm back on track as far as my fitness goes. My bicep is still giving me some grief but I'm learning to live with it and work around it. It is what it is. I can think of worse things to have to live with.

Last week, we both had a pedicure. It felt good to have our feet pampered. We also did some purging in the basement. It was one of those days where I had so much energy that I decided to do some cleaning. Purging is my specialty!

Our pooches are doing good. We had a few good walks with them. We've been going to the park in Pointe-Claire since we don't have that much snow. It's totally walkable, unlike this time last year.  It's a nice place to go and the scenery is nice. On that note, we woke up Thursday to a beautiful sky. It's so incredible to be able to see that kind of light early in the morning.

Not much else is going on with us. Now that January is almost behind us, we will start the countdown to our trip to Barbados in April. It may seem far away but it's not. Until then, we will have a few celebrations:  Russell's 65th birthday and Valentines Day in February. Two fun events to look forward to.

I had lunch with my sister and brother today. It was good to catch up, just the three of us. We talked about our daily lives but also reminisced about our parents. It will be two years on Wednesday that Dad passed away. He's always in our hearts.

Tomorrow is a big day for our Fun Obedience instructor. She will be having a total knee replacement surgery. We wish her all the best for a speedy recovery.

That's my blog for today. Have a great week everyone, I will write again in February.

Sky ablaze in January beaming in on our kitchen.

Cooper and Spicy waiting for daddy to come home

Spicy likes her comfort and blankets...here she has nested and
buried herself in blanket, a new nightly ritual it seems

Cooper in full on run mode in the backyard...he loves
new snow.

Spicy was not going to be outdone by Cooper....she is in full
gallop...she actually gets airborne.

Cooper and Spicy navigate one of the many paths I have
created in the backyard.

Longer and brighter days

Happy Sunday everyone! I hope you're all having a nice, quiet and relaxing Sunday.  Ours is good, just the way we like our Sundays at this time of year.  Did you notice how much brighter the days are getting? We sure did. When we take the pooches out after their 5 pm dinner, it is brighter and soon we won't need to turn the outside lights on. Same in the morning. It's happening folks, the days are getting longer!

This past week was quiet and good for both of us. The remnants of our flu are disappearing with each day. Russell saw his doctor and got a chest x-ray. All is clear, good news. He's still winded but that will go away. He will go back to the gym on Wednesday and take it slow. I'm much better...not sure if being a woman has something to do with it....just kidding. Anyway, we're good and are not complaining. When we see what's going on around us and around the world, we count our blessings.

Our pooches are doing well. They haven't been on walks much lately but they don't seem to mind. We play with them, do some fun training and lately we've been playing the "find it" game. We hide a tiny treat somewhere in the house and they have to find it. Cooper, being the food hound that he is, will tear the house apart just to find the treat. Spicy prefers the "point me to the treat please" method... much easier and faster!

On Thursday, a Havanese friend of ours had to say goodbye to her wee pup Mikey. He would have been five years old in May, so young. It was a very sad day.

Friday marked the one year anniversary of Russell's knee replacement surgery. Wow, one year already, so hard to believe. Just for fun, I thought I would include a couple of pics of that event....the first one taken a few hours after surgery, the other taken when Russell got home two days later. The new knee is doing very well.

Yesterday, we got some snow, not a whole lot though. It is crisp out there so the snow is light and fluffy. I shovelled some paths for the pooches this morning. They seem to always enjoy fresh snow.

That's my blog for today. Russell is watching football, the Super Bowl Teams will be decided today. I'm reading a good book. Cooper and Spicy are waiting for their dinner. Have a great week everyone!

Cooper and Spicy navigated the paths...
they found their favourite lookout spot.

Cooper took his time to survey all the new
snow!

Spicy stopped to taste the snow...she likes it!

This is their classic pose...what is next!?

Russell post op one year ago....looking good!

All the comforts of home after surgery...a pup duvet! 

Another slow week

Hello everyone! I hope your week was a good one.  Ours was rather slow again. It seems that this flu that we had just wants to linger so it was a mixed bag kind of a week.

We did manage to get a few walks in. Cooper and I also resumed our Fun Obedience Class. It was good to see our friends again. I also went to the gym three times. It was not easy but I listened to my body and didn't over do it. I quite enjoy this new fitness studio that I joined. It is rather quaint and the classes are small. Two of my three classes only had 6 people in it. I think what I like the most is that it is literally a 3 minute drive from our house! Russell also went to the gym but skipped Friday. He wasn't feeling well enough. He's had a bigger set back than I have but seems better today. He will see his doctor this week just to be on the safe side.

Our weather has been a real roller coaster. Yesterday, we had so much rain, all day. We also had a freezing rain warning for the evening but we got lucky and only had snow pellets instead. I was awake last night worrying about all the ice that we would have to deal with this morning, so it was a nice surprise to wake up to a coat of white powdery snow pellets. This storm was predicted to be worse than the 1998 ice storm.....it didn't materialize that way for us, where we live anyway. And we are grateful.

This is a short blog. We really haven't been doing much other than chill and watch some mindless TV, in between napping and having some play sessions with the pooches. I suspect this coming week will be more of the same. That's OK. Rest is good, we have to take care of ourselves.

I leave you with two photos of the pooches: one of them cuddling on the couch. They follow our lead. If we cuddle, they cuddle. The other photo is of them waiting for their 3 pm afternoon treat. Whether we're under the weather or not, they expect their treat.... and guess what? They get it and it makes us feel good to give it to them. Coop & Spicy are the best medicine anyone could ask for!

Have a great week everyone!

Two BFF snuggle buddies....they are so smart, they
mirror the circumstances of their humans.

Some say patience is a virtue, Spicy and Cooper test that
saying whenever they can and guess what...they win!

A slow start to the new year

Hello everyone! Happy first Sunday of 2020! I hope the holiday season was a good one for all.

This past week brought a full case of the flu for Russell and I. Last Sunday, we were under the weather but thought we would dodge the bullet....that wasn't the case. We spent the week either in bed or on a couch, wrapped in blankets,  in between tending to our pooches. We turned a corner yesterday and have been feeling better since. I read somewhere that this year's flu season is a tough one, I believe it. I can only imagine how much worse we would have been if we hadn't gotten the flu shot. Lots of fluids, rest and cuddles from the dogs were the best remedies!

It's a thing of the past now and we are getting our energy and appetite back.  Today, we had our first walk with Coop & Spicy in over a week. It felt good to be outdoors and get the body moving again.

The timing of our flu recovery couldn't be better. Tomorrow, Russell plans on going back to the gym and I get to join a brand new fitness studio. Having said this, neither of us will be running a marathon any time soon. This flu has depleted our energy level quite a bit so we will be smart about it and go at our own pace.

On Tuesday, Cooper and I resume Fun Obedience classes. I was hoping to practice a few things with him during the holidays but I wasn't able to. We will do what we can and have fun.

It's a short blog today, not much news on this first week of January. I wish you all a great week!

Icy snow at the park today and open waters on Lake St Louis...
nice day for a walk...sunny and crisp.

Cooper and Spicy at the cross roads on one of the backyard
paths.

Cooper resting up in a comfortable blanket....
keeping an eye out for us as we recover.

Spicy likes to curl up in a blanket and she too
kept an eye on us.

FedEx delivers even in snowy conditions..New Year's Eve

The backyard cedars got a nice dusting
of fresh sticky snow.

A winter wonderland after the snow on NY Eve, 10 cm of snow