A smoky morning

Happy Sunday everyone! We woke up to a very smoky sky caused by the forest fires. Environment Canada calls for a sunny day with smoke. Lots of rain on the way though this week so hopefully it will help with those fires. More people had to be evacuated in some parts of Quebec. There seems to be no end to this terrible situation. 

All is good with us. On Tuesday, I completed my root canal. It was a little more complex than anticipated but it went very well. Next up in a few months is a new crown. Russell and I also had our dental hygiene appointments on Thursday. Next one in 2024!

The highlight of our week was our Havanese gathering hosted by Eveline on Friday morning. The weather was perfect. Eight pooches attended the party: Cooper, Spicy, Billy (Cindy), Macey (Eveline), Bella (Cheryl), Sparky (Mary), Ella and Jazz (Wanda). Then, a 3 month old puppy made an appearance. Her name is Patty and she belongs to Myriam (Elevage Amyla). She is the cutest little thing. Cooper and Spicy were quite taken by her. 

All pooches got along just fine. They all knew each other except for Billy whom we met for the first time. Billy is the youngest of the bunch, I believe three years old. He is adorable. Spicy got to see her brother from another litter, Sparky. They were born within days apart and share the same dad. How cool is that!

It was also nice for the human moms to get together...oh, and two of the dads showed up: Russell and Terry. It was our first gathering since the start of the pandemic. Someone dear to us was missing though...our friend Lillian and her beloved Blu-Belle. We raised a toast to her loving memory. A huge thank you to Eveline for organizing this event!

We have a lot of cardinals in our backyard and thought it was time to feed them. We got the feeder that we had in Mississauga, a Droll Yankee Dinner Bell. We bought shelled black sunflower and safflower seeds. It took one day and they found the feeder. So did the black cap chickadees and gold finches. It is in the crabapple tree across from our deck so we get to see the birds all day long. What a wonderful sight. 

There is rain in the forecast for most of the coming week. We need it. It will be my excuse to get a few things done in the house. I also have a hair cut on Tuesday. Russell has a pedicure on Wednesday. Cooper goes to the vet on Thursday to get some blood work done to check his kidney function. He continues to be stable on all fronts and his appetite is good for the most part. Yesterday, I made another batch of pill pockets and cooked some ground turkey with vegetables to add to their kibbles. They both had a lovely dinner!

That's my blog for today. I leave you with a few pics from the Havanese party and two photos of the cardinal that Russell captured. Although it is a long weekend in Quebec, it is very quiet in our neighbourhood. Not much partying going on it seems. Have a great week everyone! Another long weekend coming up!

A brilliant red male cardinal inspecting the 
seeds on offer at our new Droll Yankee
Dinner Bell.

And now to sample the seeds...yum!

Our group photo moment, it was easy to get 
everyone to sit still and say cheese or woof!

Cooper and Spicy greeting Patty the puppy 

Cooper nose to nose with Patty, she is a 
"mini me" version of Cooper from a markings
point of view.

Macey is the perfect hostess.

Watermelon time will always get their attention.
Thanks for those treats Eveline.

Sparky greeting Jazz, best buds.

Cooper knows that Wanda has a few treats!

Sparky and Spicy take time to pose for a 
photo.

Cooper and Billy on a sniff and greet!

Cooper and Spicy found a spot in the shade to
chill and relax.

Celebrating all Dads!

Happy Sunday everyone and Happy Father's Day to all dads out there! A heartfelt loving wish to our Russell, the best human daddy Cooper and Spicy could ever have! Thank you for all you do for our pooches. On this day, we also think about our own dads who are no longer with us. Russell's dad left us in 2001, mine in 2018. They are always in our hearts 💗

This past week was rather quiet. I woke up to a sore tooth on Monday. I was able to see my dentist that afternoon. Sure enough, an infection was brewing. Dr. Korman sent me home with antibiotics and booked a root canal for Thursday. I woke up Tuesday with the left side of my face all swollen. This lasted well into late Wednesday night. Then, the antibiotics started kicking in and the swelling was down by the time I had the root canal. The procedure went very well, four canals in total, with hardly any freezing at all.  I go back Tuesday morning for the final part of the procedure. The worse is behind me. I can't thank my dentist enough for finding the time in his fully booked schedule to get it all done before he goes on vacation on Thursday. I have so much faith in him that I didn't want this to be done by anyone else and I told him so.

With the root canal behind me, I was able to fully enjoy the rest of our week, especially Friday. We had the pleasure of having two great people that live in our community over for lunch. We met them a while back "virtually". It was nice to finally be able to chat in person. We shared some great stories, had some good laughs and they got to meet Cooper and Spicy. It was a lovely afternoon. Russell cooked planked salmon on the barbecue. It was delicious. 

Cooper and Spicy are doing well. Coop has regained most of his appetite although he doesn't chow down like he used to. Food is not "his thing" anymore but he's eating more and that's what matters. We transitioned him to the new kibbles that Dr. Javard recommended and he appears to like it.  His weight is up by 0.4 lbs. That's good news. He seems to have more energy although he sleeps more than before. Then again, all dogs sleep more as they age. His nocturnal "peeing" outing caused by the diuretics is more predictable:  at bed time, which we try to do around 10:00, then 2:00 am and 5:15 am. Russell takes the 2 am shift and I have the 5:15 shift which includes a pill. This is now our routine and we are used to it. Spicy sleeps through it all 😊

Summer comes on Wednesday and will bring warmer weather. It's been cooler the past few days but we are enjoying our time on the deck regardless of the weather. We had our first thunderstorm of the season on Thursday. Spicy developed a dislike for thunderstorms last Summer. Since then, she has become deaf in one ear, so thunder seems to no longer be an issue for our little girl. Bonus!

The weather is looking fantastic for our Havanese get together on Friday. We all look forward to this reunion which is overdue. I'm sure that our friend Lillian will be watching us from up above. 

That's the last blog of Spring 2023. I wish you all a great week and a wonderful Summer!

Cooper and Spicy want to wish
Happy Father's Day to their human daddy and 
all fathers.

Happy Father's Day to my dad, we know 
you watch over us all the time. We 
love and miss you always.

Happy Father's Day dad, you left us in 2001 and
we think of you daily with love and fondness.

Cooper relaxing in his most 
majestic pose in the backyard.

Spicy and Cooper want to know what o'clock it 
is: treat o'clock, pill o'clock or dinner o'clock!?

The duo ever ready at the BBQ buddy station
looking for a taste.

Spicy on her chair at the table,
looking regal and ready for whatever
comes her way.

A lovely June day

Happy Sunday everyone! It's a beautiful sunny morning. The cardinals are very busy, flying in and out of our backyard. They have a nest in one of our cedar trees. Such beautiful birds. 

I got up at 5 am to take Cooper out and to give him one of his pills. The Coop decided he wanted to go back to bed so off to the bedroom we went and slept until 7 am....but not before I sent my friend Linda a note about the hockey game last night. I knew she was up so we exchanged a couple of messages. Vegas won and it is likely they will win the Stanley Cup on Tuesday. We are both huge hockey fans but Linda is more obsessed than I am as she always watches the games until the very end 😂 Next big hockey event will be the 2023 NHL Entry Draft in Nashville on June 28 and 29. Fingers crossed that the Montreal Canadians get some good picks. After that, we wait for the new hockey season to start in the Fall. 

This past week was good. On Tuesday, we saw Dr. Javard. We spent well over an hour with him discussing Cooper's overall condition. He gave the Coop a full checkup and thought he was much too lean. He weighed in at 17.2 pounds, down from 18.8 a few weeks ago. Those 12 pills a day have been doing a number on his appetite and that is not sustainable. So, a couple of tweaks with his meds and some new food seem to be doing the trick. Coop's appetite has returned and his RRR remains stable. He is not eating with gusto, and not full portions yet, but he is eating and for that, we are grateful. We have the most amazing medical team behind us. Oh, and Dr. Javard got to meet our little girl Spicy. He thought she was the sweetest!

We didn't do much last week. Our Havanese get together didn't happen due to the weather and smoky conditions. We have two new potential dates. We also didn't walk until yesterday. We got a little bit of rain on Friday which helped clear the air. We need more rain though to help with the forest fires. 

I resumed my workouts last Monday, got three in. It felt good to sweat a little. Our pooches got to snuffle almost every day. They really enjoy this little activity, dare I say they are obsessed with it! Russell has been doing some exercises for his knee. He will most likely need a knee replacement down the road. He will meet with the surgeon in a couple of months.

 My brother is coming for lunch today. We haven't seen him since mid-April. It will be good to catch up. That's my blog for today. Have a great week everyone!

A photo opportunity while on our walk with a
splash of colour from the purple catmint.

The church spire of St. Joachim stands 
majestically in the distance as seen from
Edgewater Park.

These two know how to help
change the bedsheets.

Looking for treats in the carrot patch!

Spicy keeps watch while Cooper
takes a nap -- teamwork!

Hello June!

Happy Sunday everyone! It's hard to believe that it's June already. Time needs to slow down, at least a bit. It's a beautiful morning. We've been up for a while. The pooches are having a pre-breakfast nap, Russell is catching up on the news and I'm writing my blog.

All is good with us.  Cooper continues to do well on the meds although it is affecting his appetite, which is to be expected.  He now takes 12 pills a day, up from 6 just a few weeks ago. He is totally off kibbles now, only wet food, with a topping of white rice and chicken that I cook. We are now feeding him at the same time as Spicy in the morning, which is later than what he's used to. That seems to work better for him.  His RRR is stable, I measure it every other day. Overall, Coop has more good days than not so good days. When he grabs his enzymatic chew, we know it's a fantastic day 😊 Russell and I are on an emotional roller coaster but we are strong. One day at a time. 

Last Wednesday, Russell's long time high school friend, Brian, came for lunch with his wife Janie. They hadn't seen each other since the early 90's. There was lots of catching up to do. We had a great time and it was truly nice to see him again. Then, on Friday afternoon, our neighbour Marie came over for a drink. We sat on the deck for a couple of hours, chatting away. It was nice.

As in many other parts of the country, we had our first heat wave of the season on Thursday. For two days, we didn't do much. I sat on the deck with the fan on. Our pooches went outside only to do their business. Then Friday night, at around 2 am, I took Cooper out and the temp had dropped to 12 Celsius. I was only wearing shorts and a T-shirt. It was rather fresh! We resumed our walks yesterday. 

Not much else is going on with us. Our trip to Italy seems like a lifetime ago. We have fond memories of that vacation and are grateful that we got to go when we did. With Cooper's worsened heart condition, we have no more trips on the horizon. That's OK with us. We are quite happy to stay home and enjoy each day with our duo.

This week will be a busy one. On Tuesday morning, Coop has a follow up appointment with his internist,  Dr. Javard, who has the latest medical info on Cooper. The goal is to review and discuss how to best manage his GI issues while taking all these heart medications. Both of us will go and we will bring Spicy with us. It is a family affair after all 💗

On Thursday, weather permitting, Eveline and Macey will host a Havanese get together. It will be an opportunity for all of us to remember our good friend Lillian. She never missed those gatherings. Cooper and Spicy look forward to seeing their Havi friends again. 

That's my blog for this first Sunday of June. I leave you with random pics of our duo taken last week. Our thoughts go out to all those affected by the raging forest fires. 

Have a great week everyone! 

Something smells good on that
BBQ, will we get a taste?

Who says watched pots never boil...
Cooper says he smells chicken in
that pot.

Just lounging in the TV room.

Cooper in fine form with his 
chew and on alert on the deck.

Spicy loves her comfort and a spot to keep
an eye on everything.