Cooper & Spicy's Kingdom : Goodbye Summer

Sunday 20 September 2020

Goodbye Summer

Happy Sunday everyone! The last Sunday of Summer 2020. It's been a good one and went by too fast. We are not ready to let it go just yet. This past week, although it's been a tad cool, we sat outside in the afternoon every single day. Our patio heater wasn't working properly so we placed a service call. The earliest date we could get is in two weeks so Russell came to the rescue....he took it apart, cleaned it, put it back together and it's been working like a charm. Way to go Russell! I must say it makes quite a big difference having it on. We wear a fleece, I have a blanket and my Uggs just for good measure. It's all good. There is something to be said about wanting to be outdoors as long as we can at this time of year.

On that note, we got our awning permit last Monday and we have a tentative installation date...week of October 26. This just might extend our patio season into November! Once the awning is done (it takes one day to install), then we will get the measurements firmed up for our patio railing. Until that's done, we will simply use the doggie baby gates that we almost threw away so many times. It will all come together and we're grateful that it's looking like this year.

These past few weeks have brought back the wonderful memories of our trip to Scotland and Ireland last year as well as our trip to Iceland three years ago. It's been fun to go back in time and relive those amazing adventures.

I started homeschooling with Cooper....hahaha! We practiced a few things that we learned last year and we did a course outside: jump, figure 8, jump jump, heel and spin then another figure 8. I know, it sounds crazy but Coop enjoyed it. Working outside is very different than inside with all the distractions so it's a bit more challenging for the Coop but that's a good thing. Spicy was happy just to watch us.

The new season brings cozy meals so on the menu tonight is our first chicken pot pie of the new season. This morning, I also made a double batch of a 52 Garlic Clove Soup....double that is 104 cloves. Lots of garlic peeling went on in preparation for this soup. Last year, I was able to find the peeled cloves at Loblaws but not this year so I did it all by hand. That soup also has onions and lots of ginger. It actually doesn't taste like garlic but the heat comes from the ginger. It is our "go to" soup for cold and flu season. I always have some in the freezer. Having said this, with mask wearing and the sanitation measures in place, I would expect that the flu and cold season may be lessened this year. Time will tell.

A good friend of ours tested positive for COVID last Monday. She is 29. She is the first person that we know who has the virus. She's had all the symptoms and is starting to feel better but it's not a walk in the park. We made her a batch of homemade chicken soup and put together a care package which we dropped off in front of her patio door. We are in daily contact with her. We wish her a good recovery.

That's my blog for today. This week is looking to be beautiful, weather wise. I also heard that Fall will actually be nice and last longer than normal. Fingers crossed. I wish you all a good week. Stay well and healthy!