Happy Halloween!

Hello everyone and Happy Sunday! Today is the last day of October and Halloween. Tomorrow, Christmas ads will be full on...we already saw quite a few on TV last week. Crazy how smoothly we go from one season or holiday to another. 

It's a dark and rainy day for us....the perfect day to have a nap with our doggies. That is exactly what Russell, Cooper and Spicy are doing now. Coop has been under the weather since yesterday and he's kept us up most of the night. Between trips outside in pouring rain and bum washing, Russell and I didn't get much shut-eye. Spicy slept through most of it, lucky her. Cooper seems better today so hoping for a better sleep tonight.  We always feel so bad when our pooches are not feeling well. 

We're not sure how many kids we will have tonight given the weather but we will be ready. Our candy bowls will be protected from the rain under our front porch. I will find a way to donate whatever we have left. I have indulged in a couple mini chocolate bars but I'm done now. I kept a small stash of Kit-Kat and Coffee Crisp for Russell, his favorites 😋

This past week was good. We got more raking done, mostly in the front yard. Our maple tree is almost bare now. I was able to get a photo of it against the blue sky on Friday, so pretty.

On Wednesday, we celebrated our sweet girl's 11th birthday. Spicy seemed pleased with her cake and new hair bows. Cooper chose to wear a pink polka dot tie for the event...it was a pink kind of day 💝Russell took great photos and I'm sharing a few in this blog.

Russell had an eye exam and all is good. His vision is still legally 20/20, 25 years after his laser eye surgery. Despite the good vision, Russell will be getting prescription glasses to be worn at his discretion, when reading, using the computer and driving, depending on the light. His eye muscles are getting a bit lazy, for lack of a better word, and it makes for a tired vision sometimes. The glasses will help. 

Those are our little news. I wish you all a great week and a fun night tonight!

Spicy and Cooper want to wish every ghoul
and goblin a Happy Halloween!

Happy 11th Birthday Spicy, time has flown
so quickly since you graced our lives with your
special presence.

Spicy was very pleased with her cake and bows,
here she smiles in appreciation.

Cooper wore his special pink polka dot tie to the
celebration to match Spicy's pink bow, too cute!

As only these two can do, cake sharing at 
its very best!

Brilliant yellows against a sky of 
blue - Fall colours on our front 
maple tree.

Sunday Baths

Happy Sunday everyone! Another beautiful Fall day although a bit on the cooler side. We have rain on the way for the next few days, a Colorado system which will bring quite a bit of precipitation. That's OK, I quite enjoy some rainy days. For me, it's often the excuse I need to get things done around the house...or not, sometimes, I just like to snuggle up with a good book.

Our pooches had their monthly bath this morning, thank you Russell! We are always amazed at how quickly four weeks go between baths. Sometimes we wait five weeks but it is the Spice girl's birthday on Wednesday so Russell wanted to make sure she was all cleaned up for her special day. I have a cake being delivered tomorrow and we got her some pretty new hair bows. I'm sure Spicy will be thrilled with her gift 🎁I already picked Cooper's tie for this special occasion...photo shoot on Tuesday 😍

Our week was good. On Monday, we blew and bagged a ton of leaves. While doing so, I aggravated the bursitis in my left arm. I was in quite a bit of pain for a couple of days but I'm much better now. I know what I have to do to keep it that way. That's my goal. Russell cut the grass, possibly for the last time this season. We're almost ready for Winter....I suspect the snow markers for our driveway will be installed very soon. 

Our neighbourhood is getting ready for Halloween. I haven't bought any mini chocolate bars yet....will probably buy them on Friday so that we can munch on a couple before Halloween 🎃We will give out candies the same way we did last year...I will prepare the bags and leave them in a bowl on a bench outside our house. Young and older kids can just help themselves....we will be watching from the front window 😈

I leave you with a few photos that I snapped this week. One is of Cooper desperately trying to catch a squirrel going up the tree. Nice try Coop!

Have a great week everyone!

On patrol looking for the squirrel, nothing 
gets passed these two.

Russell, Cooper and Spicy taking
a little break during our walk.

Cooper had the squirrel trapped 
up the tree...but the little critter finally
made its way to safety.

Nearly ready for the trick and treaters!

Fall Colours

Happy Sunday everyone! We're enjoying a typical Fall day...sunny, a little on the cool side and the colours have really peaked in the past few days. The leaves are also falling, especially since yesterday's rain. Our front lawn is a carpet of maple leaves, very pretty. We thought about blowing them but decided against it, at least for today. It makes for a really nice and bright front yard. During the heavy rain yesterday, Russell captured the honey locust in our neighbour's backyard. It's a good thing he did, that tree is almost bare today.

Our past week was good. The highlight of the week was Russell's successful colonoscopy. He's good to go now for the next five years. The appointment was in Montreal. I was not allowed to go in the clinic with him due to COVID and we had been told there was no parking so Russell took a cab. All went very smoothly. The appointment was at 10:30, back home at 12:15. 

While Russell was doing his thing, I kept busy doing laundry, prepping dinner and groomed our pooches. Yep, I do grooming too. I actually spent quite a bit of time removing knots on Cooper's front legs and paws. Too much morning dew and too much hair makes for knotty legs and paws sometimes. We constantly feel for knots on both but Coop gets the prize for getting the most. We're on top of it so it's never an issue but we have to be diligent.

On Thursday, Cooper and I had a great training class. We did a Rally course.  It was something different and it required some "brain" work on my part....if the Coop doesn't do well, it's usually on me so I had to focus a little more. We had fun 😄

I finished all 5 seasons of Line of Duty and truly enjoyed it. There is a 6th season, only available on BritBox. I may subscribe to it eventually, not in a rush. I started another great series, The Morning Show. Having spent all my working life in Human Resources, this particular series somewhat resonates with me. It is excellent!

I started reading The Forever Dog, released last week (thanks Lori for suggesting that book). I pre-ordered it quite a while ago and got it on Wednesday. It is a wonderful read, a must for all dog owners. There is actually a lot in the book that holds true for both humans and dogs.  We're all for learning ways, even if small, to help Cooper & Spicy live a longer and healthier life 💖

That's my blog for today. We're on the deck now, admiring the Fall colours. For dinner tonight, we're ordering Chinese Food from La Perle. It's been a while and it's a nice break from cooking, plus it's delicious. Have a great week everyone!

The front yard has a carpet of red and yellow
maple leaves which fell overnight.

Fall colours have arrived on our street.

A honey locust tree in a neighbour's yard...
brilliant yellows leaves...now almost all gone.

Spicy enjoys lounging in her chair on a 
rainy afternoon on the deck.

Cooper giving that look which says...
is it crunchy time yet?

Cooper and Spicy waiting on the front 
porch for their human daddy to come home
post colonoscopy.

Cooper on the ready for his turn
on the Rally course at Fun
Obedience.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving Sunday everyone! Our weather is overcast and a bit cool but what a glorious week we just had 😎 We have also been enjoying some beautiful early morning skies. More Summer like weather on the way for this coming week.

All is good with us. Our week came and went in a flash. The main event was Cooper's follow up consultation with his specialist, which went very well. The blood work results are good and the gallbladder ultrasound showed no more biliary sludge. Needless to say, it's a big relief to know that Coop is stable on all fronts and for that, we are grateful. His next follow-up is in one year. It's been a process to get to this point.  Cooper's digestive system seems to be in a good place now and we will do everything we can to keep it that way. 

On Wednesday, after my workout, I got some yard work done.  I hope to do more this coming week. 

We noticed that our leaves are not changing fast this year compared to last year. Our crabapple tree has lost most of its leaves though and it makes for very pretty branches with just the crabapples hanging on. The squirrels love them. 

I'm writing my blog on the deck and I can smell the turkey that's in the oven... so can Cooper & Spicy 😋 Our 20 pounder will take about 4 hours and a bit to cook, rest time for one hour then dinner around 6:30. I'm hungry already! The vegetables are all cooked, just need to reheat.  There will be lots of leftovers for the week. It's a good thing because Russell has a colonoscopy on Friday morning at 10:30. As of Tuesday, he will be on a low fiber diet and will be allowed to eat lean meats and root vegetables...turkey and turnip will be perfect. On Thursday noon, the cleansing process starts. 

Those are my little news.  We hope everyone is enjoying this long holiday weekend. As for us, it's a quiet day, just us four. We are counting our blessings, not just today, everyday. Happy Thanksgiving!

Cooper, Spicy and a pumpkin...what says
Fall and Happy Thanksgiving any better!

A romp in a colourful Fall forest is perfect 
for these two darlings!

The bright red crabapples are hanging on...
most of the leaves have fallen.

A wonderful pot of Mums on the deck...
perfect for a splash of Fall colour.

Morning skies are amazing, this was Monday.

The evening pill ritual, these two
let us know when it is pill time.
Pill pockets to the rescue.

A cloudy October Sunday

Happy Sunday everyone! I think this is our first rainy weekend in a long time. We had a mist most of the day yesterday and it was rather cool. We stayed in the house all day. Today is better, although cloudy and dull. I'm writing my blog on the deck though, with the awning blinds open to let more light in. It is coolish but I'm comfortable with a fleece on. I'm all for being out in the fresh air!

All is good with us. We've noticed how much darker it is in the morning now so we've been sleeping in....waking up at 6:45 instead of 6:30 😂We've also noticed the same at night, especially when eating on the deck. We need more candles. That's OK, it makes for a cozy and romantic setting. 

Spicy has recovered nicely and quickly from her pulled neck muscle. We resumed our walks on Wednesday and she was a happy camper. Cooper had a good Fun Obedience class on Friday. I have to say that when I watch him "perform", my heart swells with happiness. He truly loves to work and it shows. 

October 1st came and went. With the start of this brand new month, I reflected that it's been 10 years since I retired. So much has happened in those ten years... we moved  to Huntsville then Quebec, got our first pooch, then a second, travelled to many great places. During those years, I also lost both my parents, Russell lost his mom. Despite some sad moments,  I feel blessed that retirement has treated us well but we never take anything for granted.

Not much else is going on with us. We had planned to get away for a few days but it never materialized. Somehow, life got in the way. It happens sometimes. The 6 month countdown to our Barbados trip is coming up soon. We look forward to it. 

On Tuesday, Cooper will have his follow up appointment with the internal medicine specialist. For this appointment, he will have to fast. Dr. Javard will be doing blood work to check Coop's protein levels and will do an ultrasound to check his gallbladder. Russell will be going with Cooper and will be allowed in the consultation room for the first time. Nice! I will stay home with Spicy and will FaceTime with Russell. Fingers crossed for good results 💗

This morning, I baked two batches of oatmeal raisin cookies. I froze half and we will enjoy the other half throughout the week. It will be a nice treat for the upcoming Thanksgiving weekend. On that note, it seems that 20 pound frozen Butterball turkeys are scarce this year, at least in our area. Our stores have lots of small ones but I was looking for a twenty pounder...finally found one (actually two, one for Christmas) but I had to drive all over the place to find them. I suppose that I could have bought two small ones but I quite like cooking a big one...big enough for two humans and two pooches 😋

That's my blog for today. I had planned on watching the Downton Abbey movie this afternoon but I want to watch it uninterrupted and that won't happen today. Maybe tomorrow. Instead, I will continue watching Line of Duty, really enjoying it! Russell is napping with the kids. Soon time for their treats!

Have a great week everyone! 

Ready for a romp in the backyard, always
hoping to find the rabbit.

Morning routines...waiting for some
grooming and teeth brushing!

Spicy likes to stay cozy with her blanket 

My workout buddies.

Cooper patiently waiting for the
Fun Obedience class to begin.

Cooper and Macey, the only 2
Havanese in Fun Obedience
this year.