Goodbye April

Happy Saturday night everyone! I'm writing my blog a day early as we're off to a dog show early tomorrow morning. We haven't been to one of those in ages. It will be fun and a few Havanese dogs will be in the ring. 

This past week was good. Our weather was nice for the most part, a little on the cool side but it's warming up now. We dethatched our lawn, front and back. We filled up 8 bags of dead grass. That night it rained and it really perked up the grass. We bought a Sun Joe Dethatcher a few years ago, it works really well. 

On Tuesday, we had another visit with some cute Havanese puppies. It was wonderful and it felt good. Russell got himself a new grooming tub. It will be installed in our laundry room in a week or two. Grooming will be much easier on Russell's knees and back. 

Our new Palisade has arrived. We will pick it up on Tuesday. Yesterday, we went to the dealership to get the paperwork done. We had to bring our current car registration.....and realized that, for the past four years, we were carrying a registration that expired in October 2020. It didn't dawn on me that the yearly renewal invoice came with the new registration slip. How silly of me.  Thanks to my good filing system, I was able to find the current one right away.  

Our birds have been really busy. For the past few days, we have observed the Cardinals feeding each other. It is so cute to watch. Yesterday, we saw a Pileated Woodpecker on one of our trees. What a beauty!  We also have quite a few Norther Flickers. 

That's my blog for today. I leave you with some cute photos of Cooper and Spicy, one dating back to 2014. We look at our library of photos all the time. They bring back heartwarming memories of our one of a kind duo. Always in our hearts 💕

This coming Thursday, I have a long overdue lunch with Lise and Diane. We will have a lot of catching up to do! Have a great week everyone!

Cooper was intrigued with this frog he found in 
our yard in Huntsville, June 24, 2014.

Riding in style was the only way that
Cooper travelled at Jasmin 
Garden Center, May 11, 2017

Cooper enjoyed his time on the pontoon boat,
 sitting pretty on my knees June 30, 2015.

Spicy was a wonderful registered therapy dog,
she is modelling her vest September 30, 2018.

Spicy and Cooper on the deck, paws up
with eyes on the prize, August 1, 2017.

April Blooms

Happy Sunday everyone! It's a little on the cool side this morning. I find it's taking a while for the warm weather to come and stay for good. Despite the coolish weather, everything is blooming as it should. 

This past week was good. Our days are much brighter now and the deep sadness of the past few months is mostly behind us. Cooper and Spicy are in our hearts daily and we talk about them often. We always will. Our digital photo frame is filled with hundreds of their photos. Wonderful memories 💕

Russell had the snow tires removed on Monday. The four year lease on our Palisade is coming up in July. Given the low mileage, 18,000 km, we opted to lease a new 2024 Palisade instead of buying the old one. It should arrive in the next few weeks. We have been really happy with that SUV. It is one of the safest vehicles we've had in a long time. 

We had lunch with friends on Wednesday. It was a good way to get through hump day. We shared some good laughs and stories. 

Yesterday, we got some work done outside. Russell washed all the windows and eavestroughs. He also cleaned the gutters and washed the garage door. He's the best window washer in town! I did the garden cleanup, raked some leaves and removed the cover on the VegTrug. Next on our list is to dethatch the lawn.  We also smoked our first batch of cheese, a Monterey Jack and an Austrian Emmenthal. We sat on the deck for a few hours and enjoyed the wonderful aroma of applewood smoke. 

Before I end my weekly news report, I want to share a little bit of information about cholesterol testing, in my own layman's terms. Every year, I have a full blood panel done, including lipids (cholesterol, HDL, LDL). Those tests do not usually include measuring the Lipoprotein (a) levels. Lipoprotein (a), or Lp(a) for short, is a lot like LDL cholesterol  (bad cholesterol) but it is more "sticky" and is usually passed on in our genes. A high level of Lp(a) means a higher risk for heart and blood vessel disease even if all other cholesterol levels are normal, which mine are. What is interesting is that by the age of 5, we should have our "adult level" of Lp(a) and it tends to remain the same for the rest of our lives. So, this test is usually done only once. Although not new, this additional blood work is now recommended by many doctors. On the advice of mine, I had it done last week. I'm glad I did and I'm happy to say that my Lp(a) levels are normal. That's my little public service announcement for this week.

That's my blog for today. I leave you with some cute throwback photos of Cooper and Spicy on our deck.They loved that space. Have a great week everyone!

Cooper and Spicy loved their deck
time...here they are waiting to go 
downstairs for a romp, May 24, 2021.

Spicy laying down while on watch, and
Cooper checks in with us, May 29, 2021.

Up up and away, there must
be treats up there....
Jul 11, 2022.

It was a great week

Happy Sunday everyone! It's a beautiful sunny morning, the kind that makes me smile. 

This past week was great. It started with the amazing solar eclipse on Monday. We couldn't have had a better day to watch it. We sat on our deck all afternoon, waiting for the magical moment, which didn't disappoint. We could see a distinct change in the colour of the atmosphere and of course a drop in the temperature. A beautiful phenomenon 🌑🌞 It was our first time sitting on our deck this season. That was also nice, although we missed the presence of Cooper and Spicy. They never leave our hearts 💕

Tuesday was a special day. We spent the better part of the afternoon playing with Havanese puppies of all ages. The wheels are in motion for us to get another pooch (or two) in the not so distant future. Cooper and Spicy have taught us so much about love, life and happiness. We are ready to embrace it all again. We are leaving you with that bit of news for now.

Spring has sprung everywhere. The trees are blossoming, our perennials are popping up, our grass is very green. We got some yard work done last week but we have lots more to do. Tomorrow, Russell gets the snow tires removed. 

The regular hockey season is coming to an end. The Habs have two more games to play. They will not make the playoffs but it's been a good season nonetheless. It's been fun exchanging messages with my friend Linda during games. 

Yesterday, I made a moussaka for dinner. It was the best ever. It's a bit involved but it's all worth it. We're slowly moving away from "Winter" meals. I'm somewhat of a seasonal cook. I especially love what Spring and Summer offer in terms of fruits and vegetables for cooking. We will also be smoking cheese soon. Yum!

That's our little news for today's blog. I leave you with two photos that I took of our backyard during the eclipse and a few throwback photos of our duo. Have a great week everyone!

A breezy day at Edgewater Park for Spicy and
Cooper perched on their favourite boulder 
April 20, 2022.

The dynamic duo loved to assist me with my
morning workouts, April 23, 2021.

The eclipse at the moment of totality in our
backyard, captured at 3:26 PM, April 8th, 2024.

....and just like that, 2 minutes later at 3:28 PM
everything returned to full daylight.

Once in a lifetime

Happy Sunday everyone! We've been up since 5:30 am. It's a beautiful morning. The next few days are looking very sunny and warm, especially tomorrow for this once in a lifetime event, the total eclipse of the sun. 

This past week was good. We had some nice walks, I had a couple of workouts. I reorganized some closets and disposed of some things (donations). On Thursday, we got a lot of snow, about 20 cm of the white stuff. It was very wet and heavy, the kind that would have stuck to Cooper and Spicy's coats. We only shovelled our front walk. Our snow service, which ended on April 1, gave us a courtesy pass. It all melted very quickly. Our backyard is back to grass and is looking greener. 

We were supposed to go to a sugar shack to celebrate Errol's birthday. That got cancelled due to the weather.  Instead, we got some Spring cleaning done. Russell washed all the inside windows. I washed the living room sheer curtains. As we were pulling back the leather sofa from the front window, we noticed the back of it was covered with nose drippings from our pooches. That made us smile. It was their favorite spot to keep an eye on the neighbourhood. They are always in our hearts 💕

We haven't landed on a travel spot yet. We're not sure what we want to do, where we want to go. We thought we knew, not anymore. We might just do little trips here and there. We have our nephew's destination wedding in Punta Cana on January 4. Nothing is booked yet, we are still waiting to hear from the wedding planner on rates, etc. This will all be dependent on the timing of Russell's knee replacement surgery. For now, we are just happy to stay home.

The weather is looking perfect for the eclipse tomorrow. Russell got us a pair of glasses. It will be fun to see if the neighbours are out and about on the street looking at it. 

With the nice weather forecasted for the next few days, we will get some yard work done,  clean up the deck and maybe sit out for a bit. 

That's my blog for today. My throwback photos take us back to my training days with Cooper and Spicy. I also have a pic that I took of the sky on Wednesday morning when I woke up. It was gorgeous. Have a great week everyone! Enjoy the eclipse if you're watching it. 🌞🌚

Morning sky on fire before the storm

Cooper was always up for training with me...
here we got 2nd place for our efforts on 
April 13, 2017.

Cooper and I, another proud moment captured on
April 13th, 2017.

Cooper was always very focused when in training...
April 13th, 2017.

Spicy was a real pistol at training, here we are
on December 10th, 2017.

A proud moment with the Spice girl...
December 10th, 2017.

 Beaconsfield is a neighbourhood watch
community thanks to Cooper and Spicy...
October 6th, 2018.