Counting down the days

Happy Sunday everyone! The last one of March....which means that we are that much closer to our Barbados trip. We are in count down mode now...getting excited and yet, until we have that darn negative PCR test in our hands, our excitement is somewhat downplayed. It's like a small cloud that's hanging over our heads 😏Having said this, I did bring up our suitcases from the basement and put them in the guest room. I sorted out the sunscreen products that we bought for the 2020 trip that never took place. Lucky for us, the expiry date is not until end of this year. I also set aside lots of hand sanitizers and Lysol wipes. Never thought we would be travelling with so many cleaning products 😂Oh...and masks!

This past week was good. The weather was warmish, some rain, sun and muck...lots of it! Our grass is very squishy and hardly any snow left much to Spicy's chagrin. It's the worst time of year for trying to keep our pooches clean yet a small price to pay for leaving Winter behind us. During one of our walks last week, we noticed that the lake was completely open with all the ice chunks pushed away to shore. Quite amazing as you can see in the photo below. 

Cooper & Spicy are doing well. So far, they do not seem to suspect that we're going away soon although they did sniff the suitcases. I started setting aside their own stuff to bring to Talemaker Camp...food, treats, supplements, tooth paste/brush. Their meds will be added at the last minute. Lots to pack for those two little darlings 💓

Not much else to report in this week's blog. We are keeping a low profile until our PCR test so it's rather quiet for us. Our weather today sucks....cloudy, only 1 Celsius, we even had a few snow flakes this morning. It will be colder tonight which will make our walk tomorrow less squishy....there is a silver lining to everything 😄

Have a great week everyone and Happy April Fool's Day on Friday!

Warm weather and windy conditions helped
break up the ice on Lac St. Louis. Large
ice chunks line the shore.

Spicy is energy efficient, she likes
to lay down on the job while
snuffling for treats.

Spicy says "nope, that snow/ice patch is not
big enough to do my business"

Cooper says "come on Spicy, off the 
sofa, let's go play downstairs".

Spicy enjoys her time with me as I 
workout.

Welcome Spring!

Hello everyone and a huge welcome to a brand new season! It looks and feels like Spring. It's been raining on and off for the past couple of days. Our snow is melting rapidly and our little girl Spicy is not a happy camper. She is confused, trying to make her way to patches of snow without having to step on the grass. I had to laugh this morning when I was out with her....she was contemplating going to the snow bank by the fence and I just knew that she was trying to figure out how to get there without getting too wet. I had to take a photo of her, priceless 😊

The last week of Winter was a good one. Russell took advantage of the beautiful weather to wash the deck furniture, clean the glass panels and vacuum the carpet. Our deck officially opened for the season on St-Patrick's Day. We had our neighbours Paul and Marie over for a wee dram (or more) and some good laughs. It was a fun afternoon! Cooper & Spicy were also happy to regain their favorite viewing spots. We couldn't have asked for better weather to celebrate outdoors. 

On Tuesday, my brother came over for coffee. It was nice to see him again, especially since it was his birthday.

We continue to get ready for our trip, getting little things ready here and there. Yesterday, I went to the mall and bought a bathing suit...something I've been putting off for the longest time. Those that know me well know that I hate shopping, always have, probably always will. As much as I would have liked to order a bathing suit online, I thought better of it. I guess the luck of the Irish was with me as I found what I was looking for in a matter of minutes. Tick, done ✅

Russell ordered himself a couple of books for our trip, as well as a sun protection hat. Those should arrive sometime this week. This morning, he also sorted out our COVID vaccine documents...they are scanned, printed, stored in Dropbox, on the cloud, you name it....they're everywhere 😂Russell did the same with our marriage certificate and my birth certificate....I will need both for travelling as my vaccine passport is under my maiden name (a Quebec thing) while my travel passport is under my married name.  The next big thing, other than getting our PCR test on April 6, will be to upload the documents on the Barbados app. I told Russell  that he will be a very busy person 72 hours prior to our flight...that will be his job while I pack. The good news is that we will not need a COVID test on our return.  Progress!

That's about it for my news today. I hope you have a good week ahead and wish you all a beautiful Spring!

Come on! What you guys waiting for...play time
downstairs now...please!

Happy St. Patrick's Day on the 
back deck with our neighbours 
Marie and Paul..good fun, laughs and
a few drams.

Spicy resumes her place, in her chair
at the table on the deck.

Cooper enjoying the fine weather and the
back deck views.

Two sets of eyes on the lookout are better than
just one set.

Happy Monday, the treats arrived for these two...
next step... inspection and sampling.

Happy Birthday Francois!

Spicy says, what is this green wet stuff and how
can I get to the next snow pile without getting
wet paws?

Spring forward, Spring cleaning

Happy Sunday everyone! Here we are again, daylight savings time is back. Longer and brighter days ahead with a new season set to begin one week today. It doesn't get any better than this. 

The four of us had a good week. With Spring just around the corner, we decided to get some house cleaning done. We took advantage of a sunny day to wash the living room curtains. It's a bit time consuming as I wash them by hand, in the bath tub. They go back up and dry naturally. Russell also washed all the inside windows...he's the best window washer around 👏 As soon as we were done putting the curtains back up, Cooper & Spicy were back in position..lining up their noses for new snot marks 😂

Our weather has been rather nice. We expected a huge snowstorm on Saturday but it didn't materialize. We got maybe 7 cm,  just enough to cover the yellow spots on the snow. Russell was able to capture the larch trees in our backyard during the blue hour Saturday morning, after that bit of fresh snow. Beautiful photo!

Last Thursday, we had a telephone consultation with Dr. Javard, Cooper's internal medicine specialist. We wanted to follow up on a couple of things before we go away. A little peace of mind is always a good thing 😌We are so pleased with this vet, very responsive and he takes the time to listen. 

Coop & Spicy are doing well. Their new habit of going downstairs after their breakfast is becoming hilarious.....Spicy lies down at the top of the stairs, Coop makes his way down then Spicy follows him....and they wait for us, until we're ready to indulge them 😂

This morning was bath time for the pooches. Another good job done Russell! The rest of the day will be spent relaxing. Although sunny, there is a wind that's biting so no walk.

That's my blog for today. For those on March break, enjoy to the fullest!

Twin tamaracks (larches) with a dusting of 
snow captured during morning Blue Hour!

Spicy is lined up to join Cooper 
downstairs for some morning fun.

Cooper leading the way to the basement...
come on down Spicy! 

Play session today was snuffling for treats, 
it's a nose game.

Spicy has a nice comb over after snuffling!

Cooper says to Spicy, these curtains smell 
fresh...let's put some nose prints on them.

Sounds of Spring

Happy Sunday everyone! I hope you're all having a nice and relaxing day. We're enjoying a Spring like  day....partly sunny and warmish. We had a freezing rain warning this morning but didn't get much of anything. Our windows are open wider than usual and as a result, we can hear the delightful courting songs of the cardinals. We have two or three pairs of those beauties that reside somewhere in our backyard and they start the courtship song at around 4 am....kind of early but hey, the early birds get the worm. On that note, Russell and I have also been waking up earlier than usual lately, around 6 am. Not sure what that's about but we're just wide awake. It goes without saying that Cooper and Spicy are just as happy to get up early and get on with their busy day!

This past week was good and rather lazy. Our weather didn't cooperate too much so we didn't get our daily walk in. It was either too cold or snowy. We don't handle cold that well these days so we just stayed home and cocooned. That doesn't mean that we didn't do our workouts or stretches, got those done three times. Not bad for a lazy week 😂

I took advantage of one slow day to sort out our tax receipts. I will be dropping those off at our accountant's office in a week or so. I also washed some big bedding items including some doggie blankets. At any given time, we have about a dozen blankets out everywhere. What can I say, Coop & Spicy like their comfort 😊

Not much else is new with us. Like everyone else, we are following the world news. Very upsetting to say the least. Our hearts go out to all those affected. 

I leave you with a potpourri of photos taken throughout the week.  Last Tuesday, we enjoyed a beautiful, but brief, early morning colourful sky. During our walk yesterday, we noticed the buds on the maple trees. Such a pretty sight at this time of year. 

That's my blog for today. I wish you all a great week and good luck to our Canadian athletes at the Paralympic Games!

We call it the 'sniffables' ... Spicy and Cooper
inspect and sniff every grocery bag hoping for
something good.

This maple at Edgewater Park has started to show
buds...a sign of longer, warmer, brighter days.

Cooper and Spicy on their walk.

Lounging on a favorite chair or
catching a few rays of sun...it is a 
dog's life.

The BFF dinner bells, these two begin their stare
down at around 4 - 4:30PM. Come on Mommy,
get our dinner ready, it's almost 5!

Sunrises are special at this time of 
the year.