Spring showers

Hi everyone! A very soggy and windy Sunday for us. Russell took the pooches out about 20 minutes ago, one at a time. He carried Spicy to one of the few snowy spots that we have left in the backyard, with a golf umbrella over the princess' head. She did her business quickly. Spicy hates getting her feet wet at the best of times, worse when it's raining sideways. Then Russell took Cooper out on a leash. Unlike Spicy, he doesn't care about the rain. Being on leash during these downpours will stop Coop from running after squirrels. He's easy going so no big deal. Sometimes we do what's best for the humans. So, that's done for a while. Hoping that the rain dissipates next time they go out.

This past week was good considering what's going on. Our daily routine has changed somewhat but it's all good. I found myself doing three full workouts with on-line programs provided by my fitness studio. I used my heart monitor and was able to track my intensity. I found two 35 pound kettle bells that we bought years ago and they came in handy. My keyboard bench and resistance bands purchased years ago were also useful. All in all, I'm pleased that I was able to find the discipline to do three workouts.  Cooper & Spicy always make their way downstairs and seem to enjoy watching me workout. It's nice to have the company. Russell is also doing his own workout and stretches. Good for him. Together, we also started power walking. It's nice to be out, holding hands and getting the fresh air. And yes, we are allowed to hold hands since we live together. No social distancing between us however we respect it fully when meeting other people. It's kind of nice to see so many couples walking, saying 'hi" to everyone from two meters away. Our current reality. Oh, this is in addition to walking our two pooches!

Our weather has been quite nice so we used that opportunity to clean the deck. We removed the chair covers and chipped away the last of the ice that was in one corner of the deck. We will be good to go when the weather warms up a little. We noticed the many buds on the trees. These Spring showers will help with the budding. We still have some snow/ice in one corner of the backyard, where there is no sun otherwise we now have grass, albeit mushy and soggy. A Spring reality which will go away soon.

I've been doing more daily training with Cooper and Spicy. I practice the usual...long down/sit stay (3 minutes), we play the "find it" game, we do recalls, jumps, anything that will keep them, and me, busy in a good way. They love it, so do I. I miss our Fun Obedience classes and the human interactions but I apply what I've learned in class and try to make it a fun experience for both our pooches.

We have made it a habit to watch Francois Legault's daily press conference. Not in the least discouraging, very upbeat and factual. We applaud him and his team for the work they're doing. Today's press conference was particularly reassuring. Ca va bien aller. On that note, have a great week everyone!

Cooper and Spicy are my constant workout spotters!

These BFFs take their job of watching me seriously....
they even manage to get in a nap.

My home gym...complete with Sonos workout tunes.

Spicy on her last island of snow/ice...she
now attempts to navigate between these islands
to keep her paws dry. Failing this she is
carried.

Happy Coop!

Spicy and Cooper in a 3 minute long down...
2 minutes and counting!

Spicy and Cooper concluding the 3 minute
long down..I walked around them. Well done!

A tribute to Katsura

On Friday, Katsura from Talemaker Havanese crossed the Rainbow Bridge. Kat would have been 15 in July. He was a beautiful champion show dog who produced beautiful puppies. Spicy is one of many pups who lost their canine dad. We are terribly sad. Those of you who have followed my blog over the years know that Talemakers are an extended part of our family. Darlah paid a wonderful tribute to Kat on her blog. Nathan also wrote a beautiful message. Below is an excerpt of his tribute to Katsura which I found very moving:

"We all learn at some point in our lives to deal with death. The world is falling apart around us with a global Pandemic and here we are mourning the loss of a dog, our Katsura. For those that are not dog people, stop reading now. You won’t understand our grief. I’m writing this to our Talemaker families and to everyone that shares their lives with a dog as a beloved member of their family. 
Yesterday afternoon we did the last good thing we could do for the dog that has been a part of our lives for so many years. We put him down. Writing, you cannot tell that tears are falling from my eyes as I type. You can but imagine (if you’ve been there yourselves) the pain and grief Darlah and I felt as we cradled him on his last journey at our side. This was our Kat".   

Kat was a great swimmer and I believe the first of the Talemaker Havanese to ever dive into a swimming pool. When Russell and I read his bio yesterday, we laughed at the following "Fun Tidbit" of Katsura: "he loves car rides and flirting with the girls. When the girls talk him into it, none of them can catch him at the classic Run Like Hell game except Spicy". Now we know where she learned to be such a pistol, from her canine dad.  I include some wonderful photos of Katsura, thank you Darlah for those.  Spicy sure got her good looks from her daddy. Rest in Peace beautiful Katsura.

All is good with us. Since my last blog, a lot has happened in Quebec in terms of COVID-19. All gyms closed, restaurants were asked to work at 50% capacity, schools closed, all until end of March. As of midnight tonight, these measures are extended to May 1 at least and new ones have been added.  No family gatherings, inside or outside. Restaurants are to close completely except for take-out and delivery. All hair/beauty salons, malls will close. This is just a summary of what was announced today. A big shout-out to our Premier, Francois Legault. His restrictions are difficult, some would say extreme, but will make a difference in the end. Bravo Monsieur Legault!

On the gym front, starting tomorrow, my fitness studio will provide 4 in-home video workouts per week. I also have access to the ones provided by Orange Theory. I actually did one yesterday and I got a good sweat. No equipment required other than soup cans for weight. I also use our pooches as weights for my plank and hip bridge. Creativity has no end. We have been going for walks and have actually seen more people walking. Kind of nice.

Bottom line, we must do our part if we want to contain and eliminate this virus. The nice weather is around the corner, so we can all be outdoors more and enjoy it. Not sure to what extent gardening centres will be open, time will tell I guess.

That's my blog for today. I wish you all a great week. As for us, we will continue to get used to the "new normal". Be safe, practice social distance and wash your hands!

Katsura...what a handsome fellow he was! R.I.P.

Kat contemplating his jump into the pool!

Tail up as a rudder...Katsura swimming to his human daddy.

Kat was the champion at diving into the pool but only
after Nathan was in the water...smart boy.

Kat in first gear on a 'run like hell' chase. Only Spicy is
faster!

Spicy was pleased to provide additional weight for
my hip bridge during a recent workout.

Cooper pitched in by adding his weight to my plank...
thanks Coop.

Spring is upon us

Happy Sunday everyone! We're enjoying a beautiful day, a little cool but the sun is warm. Our snow is rapidly melting and we now have grass showing in the backyard! What a pretty sight.

As I was reading the news this morning, I realized that, this year, Spring Equinox falls on Thursday, March 19, which apparently is earlier than it's been in a century. Wow, Spring is truly upon us. It doesn't matter what the weather brings in the coming weeks, it will be Spring. That makes me happy.

This past week was relatively good despite the fact that the world is in turmoil. We're all affected by this crisis, one way or another, some more than others, and yet life goes on. Last Thursday, we cancelled our upcoming trip to Barbados for obvious reasons. As a friend said, when life gives you lemons, you make lemonade. So, we decided to rebook our trip for Christmas. We have always wanted to be in Barbados for Christmas. God willing, we will make it happen this year.

Russell's second round of antibiotics is working. He's feeling much better. He was scheduled to see his doctor this coming Tuesday for a follow up. His doctor just returned from March break so he is in self isolation but he took the time to call this afternoon to find out how Russell was doing.  He also suggested, as a precautionary measure, to avoid any public places for a week or so. As such, no gym for the week and no trips to the grocery store. No big deal.

As for me, last Friday, I had an ultrasound of the shoulder followed by a cortisone infiltration. As a result, no workout for me for 10 days. Just as well as I was going to stay home anyway. Best to stay away from fitness studios for a little while. In a few weeks, I will resume more aggressive physiotherapy, which should help resolve the shoulder issue.

Cooper and Spicy are "off work" for the next two weeks at least. No Fun Obedience Classes and no dog therapy visits. Looks like we will all be taking it easy for a while. We will take in some walks, I will catch up on my reading, maybe do a bit of Spring cleaning in the house....perhaps even clean the deck. Sounds like fun. Can't wait for deck season to start! On Tuesday, we will celebrate St-Patrick's Day. I will make Russell's favorite, Dublin Coddle and a Guinness Chocolate Cake to die for.

That's my blog for today. I wish everyone a good and healthy week. Happy St-Patrick's Day!

The ice is out on Lake St Louis, the steeple of St.
Joachim Church in the background.

Beautiful sunshine,  blue skies, and calm waters on the
Lake today during our walk.

Partners in 'crime' Spicy and Cooper always on alert...
even under the table.

A classic pose for these two....waiting for what life will bring next

Remembering Winston

Today we remember Winston,  a beautiful Old English Sheepdog who crossed the Rainbow Bridge one week ago today. He was almost ten. Winston was the resident dog at Chez Winston, a wonderful home where Cooper and Spicy spent some time on many occasions. Winston was kind and loving. We called him the gentle giant. He was the first dog that Cooper met when we moved to Quebec in 2016. Winston was also smitten with Spicy. We have fond memories of this special pooch. Our hearts go out to Tracey and Mark. May you cherish the wonderful memories of Winston forever.

This past week was quiet. It's been that way lately. Must be the time of year. Our snow is evaporating rapidly. We are expecting a lot of rain Tuesday, not much snow in the long range forecast. Perhaps we are nearing the end of Winter. It feels like Spring though, especially today. It is mild, the sun is shinning and we moved the clocks forward.... a brighter evening tonight.

Russell is doing good although he went back to his doctor last week. He still has remnants of the flu from January. Nothing major but he wanted to reassure himself. As his doctor said, he has "incomplete remission" of this flu so he was put on another course of antibiotics. He already feels better. As for me, I'm good although I will also see my doctor tomorrow. I want some imaging done on my deltoid/shoulder. It's been 6 months now and not much has changed. It is a tad debilitating at times so we'll see what I can do about it.

Despite my arm injury, I still workout three times a week and thoroughly enjoy my classes. I have learned to work around the arm discomfort and my workouts are just as good. Having an injury shouldn't be an excuse for not doing something, my thought anyway. Tomorrow is the start of March Madness at Uniti Fitness. It will go on for 6 weeks. Not quite sure what it means other than the workouts will be slightly more intense (!?!) and something about getting the highest number of intensity points. Regardless, it will be fun! A little bit of a challenge prior to Barbados can't hurt!

That's my blog for today. I want to take this opportunity to wish every woman a Happy International Women's Day. Each of us is amazing in our own way.

Have a great week everyone!

Winston, Spicy and Cooper lounging on the deck at
Chez Winston. RIP Winston.

Cooper and Winston were good buddies.

Winston was smitten with the Spicy kitten.

Ahhh the good life, doggie style, on a sofa and Winston has
the Spicy girl next to him

Nose to nose in the snow at Chez Winston.

Winston looking at Spicy....I like you a lot!

Hello March!

Happy Sunday to all! A beautiful sunny,  first day of March. It's hard to believe that January and February are behind us. Now, we look forward to longer and brighter days, with warmer temperatures on the horizon. Some will say that Winter is not over by any stretch...I say it's almost over. It's all a matter of perspective.

This past week was good and relatively quiet. We watched a few good movies and took in some nice walks with the pooches. Wednesday night, we went to bed fully expecting to wake up to lots of snow but the winds changed in our favour and it rained all night instead. Thursday, we did get a few centimetres of wet snow but we didn't bother shovelling. I did use my snowshoes to pack down the snow in the backyard but that's about it. I had forgotten how fun snowshoeing is!

There was a bit of excitement going on in Pointe-Claire Village last week. The village was transformed into a Christmas movie scene for the new Home Alone reboot movie, produced by Disney Plus. Many of the stores were temporarily named differently for the purpose of the movie. Russell went into the village early one morning and took some photos. All is back to normal now.

Two weeks ago, I dehydrated some chicken in the oven for the pooches. Last week, we splurged and bought a dehydrator. I made banana chips on Friday and dehydrated more chicken today. The dehydrator is a bit noisy so we decided to put it in the guest room while in use although next time we will put it in the bar area in the basement. As predicted, Cooper and Spicy spent a lot of time in that room today. The process takes about 6 hours but totally worth it. This coming week, I will dehydrate sweet potatoes. I'm sure our kids will approve.

We are now getting really excited about going to Barbados next month, in 6 weeks time. I made a small list of things to do/buy before our trip. Yesterday, I bought a few good books, beach worthy books.

This morning, I went to my second deep stretch yoga class. Although I enjoy it, it makes me realize how tight my muscles are. Some of the stretches are actually a little difficult but I suppose they will get better as I become more nimble.

That's my blog for today. I wish you all a great week. For many, it is school break. Enjoy and have fun!

"Blowin' In The Wind".... Spicy and Cooper found it a little
windy on our walk at Park Bourgeau by Lake St. Louis.

Shards of ice piled up along the shore of Lake St. louis.

Home Alone reboot filming...
Artizan Pizza is usually a clothing store. Christmas trees for sale!

The famous GiGi Pizza is now Pete's Pizza...Chicago style -
deep dish during the filming.

Who knew we had a Jaslow in the Village. Home Alone
made it happen.

Wow, a taco shop! Thank you Home Alone reboot.

Spicy and Cooper know something smells
irresistible...dehydrated chicken.

Two downward dogs on my yoga mat.

Spicy and her human daddy watching a movie.