Four weeks away

Happy Sunday everyone! Writing my blog early in the morning seems to be a new habit....while sipping on coffee and eating a clementine. We woke up to another gorgeous sky. It's quite mild and a tad cloudy. Rain coming later today. 

This past week was good. We did a little bit of this, a little bit of that. Christmas is four weeks away and I haven't thought much about it. I suppose it's time to get my act together although I did buy our outdoor holiday planters. I will put up our tree next weekend and will start playing some holiday music. I'm not doing much baking this year, only two of Russell's favorites...coconut macaroons and cranberry/pistachio shortbread. My family will come over for Christmas dinner, first time since the start of the pandemic. Crazy! 

Our snow has melted, it took a while as we had cool nights and very little sun. We are enjoying mild temperatures now. 

Cooper & Spicy are doing wonderful. They now expect to play with their snuffle mats each and every morning...I started a "bad" habit. They wait at the top of the stairs or give me the stare down. I just laugh. Since I won't let them snuffle unsupervised, I now do it while I do my workout warmup on the bike. All three of us get to do our thing 😂We got them two Nina Ottosson dog puzzles last week and a third one is coming this week (thank you Lori for the recommendation). It will be fun to see how they do. I suspect Spicy will be curious, gentle and perhaps methodical like her daughter Pepper. I expect Coop to be more aggressive and frustrated if things don't go his way...time will tell and I will write an update in next week's blog.

It is bath day for the pooches. Russell said it was time, I looked at the calendar and it's been five weeks since their last spa day.  Time sure marches on.

We have a cute little bunny that has been residing behind our generator. He stays there during the day and moves around at dusk. He's quite cute to watch. It must be his safe zone.  Cooper & Spicy cannot see it from the backyard gate but they can smell it....they know it's there.

That's my blog for today. I will now get busy prepping my chicken pot pie for dinner. Have a great week everyone!

Another spectacular sunrise as seen from our
kitchen window this morning!

The workout/snuffle zone, everyone
is content!

Spicy in full rest mode...not a care in the world!

Cooper messing up his topknot in the 
comfort of his bed. What a cheeky 
lad he is!

A tad windy during a walk last week

Peter Rabbit likes the security found between
the wall and the generator...lounges there 
all day long.

Is it snuffle time yet?!

Some drone fun

Good morning and happy Sunday! I'm writing my blog early today. We got up at our usual time, around 6:15 am.  It's a bright sunny day so far, not too cold. My brother is coming for lunch, take 2 ... he was supposed to come two weeks ago but he forgot 😏

This past week was good. We had our first snow fall of the season on Wednesday, about 5 cm. Some of  it has stayed on the ground given the low temps at night. A nice layer of snow on the ground makes for clean paws so we're not complaining...especially when Cooper the scratcher likes to scratch the grass every chance he gets! 

I resumed my workouts after taking a break for a couple of months and it feels good. My knee is doing better thanks to the stretching exercises that I've been doing. I'm also taking Glucosamine Chondroitin as per my physician's suggestion and it is making a difference to my great surprise. He said to try it for three months then we would look at an injection if no improvement. So far so good. 

On Friday, my Havanese friends and I went to a puppy party at Elevage Amyla in Ile Perrot. Myriam has been breeding Havanese for quite some time and wanted to socialize her 9 week old pups. There were five of them, all delicious in every way. It was pure heaven 😊

Yesterday, Russell had fun with his drone. He flew it in the backyard and took some photos. Pretty cool to see our neighbourhood from up above. Cooper was quite intrigued by the sound, Spicy not so much. 

Our pooches are doing well. They live the best life. Their yearly echocardiogram is booked for December 21. Hoping for a good stabilization of their heart condition now that they've been on two medications for over a year. 

I suppose it's safe to say that hibernation has started. Having said this, I find that time is going by so quickly, especially when I think that Christmas is five weeks away so I'm thinking that Spring will be here before we know it 😂We are not going anywhere South this Winter, only to Italy at the end of April. Looking forward to that trip.

Those are my little news. Today is Pepper's 10th birthday, Spicy's gorgeous daughter. Happy Birthday to this sweet girl 💖I leave you with puppy and drone photos. Have a great week everyone!

First backyard flight of the drone.

Think we will call the drone the Red Baron!

Backyard neighbour's place, who knew they had
an addition 😂

Cooper had no challenge spotting the drone.

I took the opportunity to wave at the drone as
Russell looked around the yard.

The view straight down from about 40 feet up.

Cooper looking skyward for the buzz
of the drone.

Spicy looking regal and nonchalant about the
drone.

Few things better than puppy kisses.

My arms full of fun, these little
bundles of energy are adorable.

The great escape, puppies on the move!

Happy 10th Birthday Pepper...
doesn't she look like Spicy,
her Mom!

A gloomy November day

Hello everyone and happy Sunday! Our weather is not as glorious as last Sunday, it's rather gloomy. The perfect day to prep our meals for the week ahead. Also the perfect morning for Russell to watch an NFL game from Munich. Start time was 9:30 and Brady is playing and winning so far. The GOAT hasn't been all that great to date, unlike our HABS who are doing quite well. Those young players are growing and thriving, whether they win or lose. It's been wonderful to watch them play. 

This past week was good although Monday was a slow day for me. I had my 5th COVID booster in the morning and had flu like symptoms a few hours later. I didn't do much until Tuesday afternoon. No big deal, just had a few naps and took it easy. 

We had some nice walks with the pooches. This time of year can be quite messy with leaves, twigs and all but Fall walks are always lovely by the lake. 

On Wednesday, I met up with my former OT gym buddy, Kathy . It was nice to catch up. We had lots to talk about. On Thursday, Russell washed the venetian blinds from our bedroom. It was a nice day so he hosed them down outside and hung them up on the fence to dry. He washed all the windows and screens. Good job done!

November 9 marked 11 years since we brought our Cooper home. We will always remember that day. He was six months old and full of beans. I thought I would share some of the photos of his early days. Did you know that he came from Pocopayasos Havanese and his registered name is "Pocopayasos Sinfully Delicious", call name Sinner. We changed his name to Cooper when we got him but we often think that we should have kept Sinner.  He suited that name then and would suit it now 😂We do love his name though...there are so many variations.....Coop, Coops, the Coop, Coopster 💖

We woke up to another beautiful sky the other day. I quickly grabbed by phone to capture it. Seconds later, it was gone. Early risers catch beautiful sunrises.

That's my blog for this week. I leave you with a few pics of puppy Coops from 11 years ago, photos taken in our Mississauga home. Have a great week everyone!

Spectacular Fall sunrise from our kitchen window!

Wonder what time it is? These besties  
know it's snuffle time!

Snuffling for freeze dried chicken crumbs
is serious business, no distractions allowed.

Look mom....all snuffled clean. 
Spicy is proud of herself.

The Coop lounging in the kitchen in Mississauga,
at six months old with his favorite toy.

Coop exploring his forever home and making it
his own.

What a cute puppy Coopster was,
 still so handsome today.

Coops had mastered the 'stink-eye' at six
months old and still uses his cheeky looks
to this very day! That's a Sinner look 😂

Glorious November weather

Good morning and happy Sunday everyone! We woke up today to a warm 18 celsius, pretty mild for this time of year. This past week gave us another good stretch of beautiful weather, especially the past few days. We've enjoyed every minute of it. 

All is good with us. Our week started off with Halloween and it was a successful night for the little goblins. Our set up was such that no one came to the front door (less disruptive for our pooches) and it was a "help yourself to a treat bag" kind of night. We watched it all from our dining room window and interacted with the kids and their parents. Cooper & Spicy were very quiet and enjoyed taking turns watching it all perched on Russell's knees.

On Thursday, I had a routine colonoscopy.  All went well and I was very impressed with the clinic, the staff and the doctor. As everyone always says, the prep is worse than the test itself but it makes for a good purge 😂I had my first colonoscopy when I turned 50, so 14 years ago. I was due again a few years ago but kept putting off, with COVID and all. I'm glad I had it done. A procedure well worth having.

A few weeks ago, while on a walk, we met a man who was flying a drone. When we got home, Russell remembered that he got one while we lived in Huntsville, a DJI Mavic Air. It was tucked away somewhere in the basement. That got him thinking that he should fly it. In order to do so legally, one has to have a drone pilot license. So Russell studied and got his Transport Canada Pilot Certificate last Friday for a Small Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS), Visual line-of-sight (VLOS). Pretty cool. Now the fun begins!

Russell and I finished the last of our Fall cleanup. Anytime Mr. Winter wants to make an entrance, we're ready...although it doesn't have to be just yet 😏

Tomorrow I get my 5th COVID booster. On Wednesday, I will meet an old friend from Orange Theory Fitness. We used to be gym buddies at OT and haven't seen each other since the start of the pandemic, although we've been in touch. It will be nice to see her again. 

That's my blog for this week. My brother is coming for lunch today. Then Russell will watch football, the pooches will roam around the house and I will watch a few episodes of Downton Abbey...yep, last week I decided to watch the series all over again. I needed a "feel good" series and it's as if I'm watching it for the first time. So so good!

I leave you with a few pics from Halloween, a few photos that Russell took of our still beautiful Fall colours right at home and our Halloween morning sunrise. Have a great week everyone!

The golden yellow of the larch set against the 
brilliant blue Fall sky!

Our Japanese cut leaf maple, stunning red!

Halloween morning sunrise from the kitchen 
window...amazing pastel colours.

November Al fresco dining for the pooches, love it.

Ready and waiting for the Halloween goblins!

The trick or treat station...help 
yourself and enjoy!

Cooper and Russell checking out 
the first batch of kiddies

Spicy loved her view of the little 
goblins.

Our next door neighbours made the stop for
some treats with Henry and he politely
took a treat. Freddy, his little brother, was sound
asleep in his father's arms.