Snow, rain, sun...a little bit of everything

Happy Sunday to all! The last Sunday of November and a pretty mild one too. It's overcast now but we had beautiful sunshine earlier on. We didn't have much sun last week. On Wednesday, we got about 8 cm of wet snow, then it rained and the snow is now all gone. 

This past week was good. Our deck railing got installed. We are so pleased with it. It gives us a better view of the backyard and makes our deck look much bigger. Cooper and Spicy were a little confused at first....they sniffed it then thought it looked pretty nice. It also gives them an obstructed view of their yard.

On Thursday, I decided it was time to put up our Christmas tree. This year, we are only doing the one in the living room. I will post photos next week. It looks quite nice. 

Cooper and Spicy are doing well. They have adjusted to their new low fat diet and seem to like it. It took a bit of serious calculations to figure out the right amount to feed. I was in touch with our vet clinic a few times and we got it all figured out, I think. We may have to tweak their portions depending on whether they lose or gain weight. I will continue to do weekly weigh-ins and monitor this very closely. I have to admit, I lost a bit of sleep over this....I'm very rigid when it comes to calories and weight, for humans and canine LOL!

On Friday, Cooper had his first B-12 injection, weekly for 4 weeks, then monthly for probably 6 months. Our Coop seems to be reacting well to his gallbladder medication and we have noticed a difference in his output. I won't give you the specifics but suffice to say that we think it's working. Good news for the Coop and us!

I haven't done any Christmas baking yet. I won't do nearly as much as in the past years though. Tomorrow, I will take a look at my "holiday baking folder" and figure out what to do. This will not be an ordinary Christmas for us, and for most people I suspect, but we will do our best to make it as festive as possible.

I signed up for the Advent Calendar - 24 days of dog fitness, with Fit Fun Canin. It starts on December 1. Daily, for 24 days, I will get a new exercise for our pooches, no equipment required. I look forward to it. 

That's it for this last blog of November. I wish you all a wonderful week. Stay well and safe!

Cooper and Spicy inspecting the new glass railing
on the deck...they approve!

The awning and railing are now installed, clear, 
weather protected views on the deck now.

The deck with the original railings, it
served it purpose.

First snow and Cooper and Spicy want to play

Same backyard a few days post snow...these two
adapt well and love the grass.

Cooper says, hello there...what you doing?

Spicy in her "on alert" position...you looking
at me?

A little over four weeks away

Happy Sunday everyone! I heard that we may get our first snow fall tonight.....if we do, our doggies will be happy campers tomorrow morning. The first snow fall is always exciting for dogs! With mild temperatures, it will be even better...snowballs galore! 

All is good with us. Cooper had his consultation with the internal medicine specialist last Wednesday. Basically, we're dealing with intestinal and gallbladder issues, both being managed for now with a change of diet and medication. Cooper had more blood work done that day and he will now require B12 injections for 4-6 months. His follow up appointment is on December 29. At that time, we will check the triglycerides and pancreas. At this point, we feel optimistic that the outcome will be a good one, having caught these issues early on. We started the low-fat diet a few days ago. We are half way through the transition from the old to the new food. We have switched Spicy to the same food after discussing it with our vet. A low fat diet is not a bad thing especially with heart issues. Both are doing well on the new food. 

With a little more than four weeks away until Christmas, I thought it was time to buy our outdoor planters. They look nice and festive. We plan on putting up our indoor Christmas tree next Sunday. We're not quite in the mood yet for Christmas, with COVID-19 putting a damper on things, but we will do the best we can. We will not have my family over this year, just too risky. Our government is "allowing" gatherings between December 24 and 27 as long as people voluntarily isolate one week before and after the holidays. Just not practical when my brother, sister and nephews have to work, and cannot work from home. There is some promising news on the vaccine so let's hope for a better Christmas next year.

Friday, I went to Chapters to buy Cooper and Spicy's favorite blankets, the softest blankets ever. I get them every year around Christmas.  Did we need more blankets? Nope! We have them all over the house, they are so cozy 😊  I met my friend Lillian and we chatted for a while. It was nice to see her again. 

Yesterday, I baked some treats for the dogs, 450 to be precise. Thanks to my friend Wanda who gave me the idea of using a silicone dot mat and recipes using baby food. They were a hit in our family!

Today, my sister, brother and nephews came over for the final estate paperwork and settlement. I realized, as we were all meeting outside on the deck,  that we were essentially "breaking the law" about the "no gatherings allowed". There were four cars in the driveway, including ours. Thank goodness none of the neighbours called the cops on us.

Our deck railing will be done on Tuesday. We look forward to having it all completed so we can put away the baby gates. Other than that, it will be a quiet week.

I leave you with a few photos that Russell took during one of our walks last week. I just love the ice on the branches. Have a great week everyone. Stay safe and well!

Shoreline grasses nicely iced with a view of
the Pointe Claire Yacht club in the distance. 

More grass encased in ice on the shore of 
Lac St. Louis.

The spire of Saint-Joachim Church in the 
distance along an iced shoreline.

450 treats, fresh baked yumminess.

Treat batter in the dot silicone mat ready for the 
oven.

Cooper basking in the afternoon sun
with his BFF - Spicy.

Spicy warming up my side of the bed!

A beautiful morning sky

Happy Sunday to all! Today, we woke up to a beautiful pink sky. When I first walked into the kitchen, one of our walls was literally pink. I grabbed my phone and went outside to take a photo. Seconds later, the sky was grey. So glad we woke up early or we would have missed it. 

This past week was good and the weather was exceptional. It felt like Summer in November and we enjoyed every moment of it. It was also the perfect weather to get our awning installed. The workers showed up bright and early on Monday. It took two full days to install. The crew came back at 7 am on Wednesday to put in the retractable blinds. Later that morning, we had someone come to measure the deck for the railing. We are getting clear glass panels. It will look very nice and much more open than the railing we had before. It should be installed in less than two weeks. Wednesday afternoon, we sat on our deck while a little rain was falling. It was kind of nice. Our patio heater can no longer be used under the awning but we have it near the barbecues. No doubt it will be useful for next year's outdoor gatherings! We did buy a table top heater that works good, not as well as the tall one but it does the job. Having said this, our deck season is almost over unless we get warmer temperatures. That's OK. We can now look forward to sitting outside from Spring all the way to late Fall next year, rain or shine! We are very pleased with the end result. Well worth the investment. 

Russell is doing good and the physio on his knee has helped. He may have one more treatment and that will be it. As for me, I started physio again, this time for what seems to be a compression of the neck...the reason for the pins-and-needles tingling in my arm. Life would be so boring if we didn't have aches and pains.

Last week, I started watching the Netflix series Designated Survivor. I am totally hooked, one season in one week, a record for me!. After lunch today, I watched two episodes of Season 2. That's it for today though. After I write my blog, I will be glued to my iPad and watch the live launch of NASA's SpaceX Crew-1 Mission to the ISS. So far, launch time is scheduled for 7.27 pm ET.

Cooper & Spicy got new beds last week, not that they needed them (hahaha). They really like their new digs and they each have been in both. They're happy campers, so are we. Yesterday, I got their 2020 Christmas ornament. It's a cute one. 

This coming week will be kind of busy. On Tuesday, I will have my last meeting with the notary to finalize my parents' estate. When all is said and done, it will have taken almost three years to settle the estate. Crazy! On Wednesday, our Cooper will have his consultation with the internal medicine specialist. He will have to fast again in case the specialist wants to do more exploratory tests. Because of COVID, we will not be able to go in with Coop. We will wait in our car and the doctor will call us and take us through his findings and discuss next steps. Needless to say we are anxious to find out more. 

That's my blog for today. I wish you all a great week. Stay well and safe!

A fantastic sunrise as seen from the backdoor....
here for 30 seconds and then gone.

Cooper and Spicy making themselves right at 
home in their new tartan doggie beds made by
Bowsers, a Canadian company. 

Spicy snug as a bug, post
breakfast nap.

Cooper loves his bed..perfect for a nap.

Spicy and Cooper's traditional Christmas
ornament for 2020. 

Tabletop propane heater, tiny but does 
the job of keeping the chill off.

The awning gives us protection from the 
elements...Spicy & Coop approve.

Installing the awning was a 2 man job and it
took 2 plus days...a job well done.

Cooper and Spicy enjoyed the awning install 
from a worker friendly safe distance.

A Picnic in November

Happy Sunday everyone! My goodness, what a beautiful stretch of weather we've had and are still having. Summer in November, it doesn't get any better than this. I can't believe I'm writing this blog outside. Apparently, there are a few more days of this gorgeous weather on the way!

This past week was somewhat exciting, given the US election. A wonderful victory for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. The next few weeks will be very interesting no doubt. A new chapter for America is about to begin, let's hope filled with unity and peace.

Aside from the US election, our week was pretty normal except for Wednesday when our Cooper had his abdominal ultrasound. He did well and he was a trooper. Coop was a bit groggy from the sedation but he bounced back quickly. We got the results on Friday night. We're dealing with what is called Protein Losing Enteropathy as well as some gallbladder issues. Our next step is to have a consultation with an internal medicine vet, which will take place on November 18. We are of course concerned but we know Cooper is in good hands and we are hopeful that the early detection of these issues will be manageable and treatable.

On Friday, we decided to have a picnic by the lake. We packed up a lunch, a blanket, treats for the pooches, and off we went. It was lovely. Who would have thought a picnic in November!

This exceptional weather is also making it possible for us to have our awning installed tomorrow, finally. We can't wait. Once we're done sitting outside today, we will move the deck furniture on the grass. The workers are showing up around 8 am tomorrow. Then, on Wednesday, the company who will install our new deck railing will come for final measurements. All things being equal, weather wise, our railing will be installed in a few weeks. Until then, we will use our baby gates. I laugh every time I think about how often I wanted to get rid of those....I'm not a pack rat at all so it's a wonder we still have them, but I'm happy we do. They will be useful until we have our new railing.

That's my blog for today. I wish everyone a wonderful week. Stay safe, stay well!

A picnic by Lake St. Louis with Cooper and
Spicy, in November ... doesn't get any better!

Cooper and Spicy always enjoy deck time on, yes,
you guessed it, a shared favorite chair.

Ready for more outside time or a treat...you decide.

Cooper showing off his shaved belly
post abdominal ultrasound...he is a
trooper and a sound sleeper.

A rainy start to a new month

Happy Sunday everyone! Our day started cloudy but it's raining now. After today and tomorrow, we are in for a nice stretch of sunny and warm weather. That's good news as our awning is now scheduled to be installed one week tomorrow, as long as the weather holds. 

Our week was good. Russell cut the grass once more, maybe the last time this season. We'll see. Our flower beds are put away for the Winter. We got our snow tires on yesterday and the driveway snow markers were also put in. Our Winter gear is ready to go, for us and the pooches.

On Tuesday, we celebrated Spicy's 10th birthday. It was a fun day. That night though we got Cooper's blood liver enzyme results and they were not what we, and our vet, had hoped for, despite being on a liver supplement for 8 weeks. We owe it to Cooper, and ourselves, to investigate further so the Coop will be having an abdominal ultrasound this coming Wednesday. We are grateful that our vet could make it happen so quickly. We pray and hope for positive results. 

We dusted off the piano keyboard that Russell got me when we lived in Huntsville. I plan on resuming playing the piano this Fall/Winter. I took lessons in Huntsville and luckily I remember most of it. I guess it's like riding a bike....as long as I know where the C and F notes are, I'm good to go!

Halloween was a success on our street. We had a good turnout and it was done in a very safe way. As a matter of fact, we were talking with our neighbour this morning and we thought that doing it the way we did it is probably the best way moving forward. Much less disruptive for us and the doggies, no door bell ringing. We were able to eat our dinner at the dining room table while watching the kids help themselves to candies. I think we have reinvented the way Halloween will be in the future!

Our province continues to be in a semi-lockdown until November 23. Covid cases have stabilized for the past 4 weeks but now they need to really come down. The pandemic is not looking good anywhere else, be it in Canada or in other countries. As if this wasn't enough for people to deal with, there was a terrible tragedy that took place in the old part of Quebec City last night. Two people died as a result. Our hearts go out for the families of the victims and the whole province. 

That's my blog for today. I leave you with a couple of pics from last night, one taken during our walk yesterday and our famous NYC doggie clock. We bought this clock in 2012, in New York City, as were walking back from a Broadway show one night. We fell in love with it. It's actually a gift from Russell's mom, who wanted to buy us something special for our home in Huntsville. When we saw the clock in the window of a tiny store, we just knew we had to get it. It will always have a special place in our hearts.

I wish everyone a wonderful week. It will be one for the books, I suppose, with the US election on Tuesday. We hope the right person wins but we're not holding our breath too much. Our focus though will be on Cooper's exam on Wednesday, our main priority at the moment. Stay safe and well!

Our gift from Russell's mom,
a NYC doggie clock.

Cooper and Spicy at the shore of Lake
St. Louis yesterday

Trick or Treat...Halloween reinvented...
with the honour system "take just one, or two". About
45 kids later it was all done.

Cooper and Spicy had a front window
view of the kiddies from the 
dining room.