It is a Small World After All

This morning we set the alarm again, this time we had to get to north Gatineau (about 65km away) in order to pick up our meat order. The lady that we used to buy from has been ill and no longer distributes so now we are buying it directly from the another distributor or even perhaps the mfr. He made a run from somewhere the other side of Montreal, along the Quebec side of the Ottawa River to who knows where. We arrived at the meeting point 15 minutes early and already there were several cars and trucks waiting. We all huddled in our vehicles, staying out of the wet snow. Finally a large transport truck backed into the little side road and people started lining up to get their order. We struck up a conversation with the young man in front of us, and wouldn't you know, he lives just a few km away from us, with his parents just a km up the road! We exchanged emails and promises to take turns making the trip. Our turn was up and we got our 160lbs of raw meat mix. The dogs will eat!

You might wonder why we go to all this trouble to get food for the dogs. Firstly, we don't think that dry kibble is the healthiest food - sure it is okay, but I liken it to us eating only processed food - a diet of Kraft dinner might keep you alive for quite a long time, but how healthy will you be? And as you grow older you might have more health problems... So we feed them (mostly) a raw diet. They get a variety of meat - chicken legs with backs attached, pork neck bones, beef bones, pork roasts, beef or pig hearts, liver, whatever we can find on sale and cheap. The main base of their diet though are these raw frozen ground blocks of food. They contain ground chicken (with bones), fish, organ meats - all at the proper ratios (80% meat, 10% bone, 10% organ). And this stuff is super cheap. We were paying $.80lb but this new arrangement is only $.32lb - what a deal! So it is not only better for them, it is also cheaper than feeding a quality kibble. And the dogs think they are getting filet du beuf au croton! Pretty spoiled pooches.

We finished our trip to Quebec by a quick trip into Costco - what a zoo on a Saturday morning! No whole wheat flour though... isn't that weird?

Even though we were only 65km away from home, being in Quebec feels very different from being in Ontario. The rise in elevation (we were getting into the Gatineau Hills) gives a different feel, but also the architecture is different. And of course there is no English on any of the signs (we aren't really in Canada anymore it seems...). I won't get into a political discussion, but the new premier is wanting to make Quebec even less a part of Canada.

Happy Tails!

My Warm Feet

Spike has the "could you please bring me my socks" thing down pat now. He trots right off down the hall to the bedroom while I sit on the sofa. Of course I have to remember to keep a pair on the floor - I forgot today and sent him away twice before I clued in! I also have to make sure there aren't a ton of other clothes lying about on the floor as these would only confuse him - no more lazy mornings!

This morning was another one of those beautiful mornings full of sunshine. I love going out for my little walk on those mornings. The surroundings are uplifting and go a long way to starting my day in the right frame of mind.

Yesterday we went with friends to a do-it-yourself wine place where we picked up BOXes of wine! I never thought that we'd have wine in a box as Carm is such a connoisseur... Each box holds 5 liters (about 6 1/2 bottles), but supposedly since it is in a bag that keeps the air out, it will keep for a long time. I hope so as we don't drink more than one or maybe two bottles a week. This format will make it easy to grab a few ounces to put into a sauce.

After several days of being totally off track with our diet, today we kept to healthy food. Roasted vegetables graced our plates tonight - I love roasted vegetables.

I'm using the new software to write this post and it seems to be working fine. Last night though I had a little post written up and then hit the wrong key and it disappeared. DOOH! I immediately sent an email to the developers to suggest that the default when backing out of the program should be "save locally" and not discard the whole thing.

O, thou art fairer than the evening air clad in the beauty of a thousand stars.

Christopher Marlowe

Wasted Days and Wasted Nights

I am perhaps the worlds best at lolling around doing nothing. The internet sucks up huge amounts of my time, and I can also burn hours organizing stuff on my computer and creating documents to organize my life with. Getting up and doing something is not my forte these days.

by Freddie Fender (downer lyrics aka country music, but the song is good): http://youtu.be/TUVgkXVDkBA

And while we are at it (I was on YouTube after all), a time warp song: http://youtu.be/spsVigJCvNU

All that being said, the last few days I’ve spent getting back into the proper eating swing of things. I’ve found a few more recipes to try and have spent some extra effort cooking.

• Last night we had roasted cauliflower tossed with Thai Green Curry sauce (no added fat), over lentils sautéed with onion and spinach. Cauliflower was roasted in 450F oven for 22 minutes.
• Tonight we are having roasted sweet potato, Brussels sprouts and mushrooms, with lemon quinoa.

A few weeks ago on the camper I had cold feet so decided to teach Spike to bring my socks. I started with my favourite socks (thanks Ruth). I kept them in the same spot and he learned with just a few attempts what I wanted. Once we were home I thought I would try the same thing, this time with a different pair of socks. I left them on the bathroom floor and from 10 or so feet away asked him to bring me socks. He looked around for a minute then picked them up and brought them. Success! Today I tried it from the living room (a long way away). Right away he went down the hall to the bathroom and brought me socks! Jackpot! These seems like the lazy way to get warm feet, but I actually get up and give him a treat every time. He is a mercenary for food!

But… it was a fluke. Later on I asked again and he ran around with his toy in his mouth looking for something to bring. I had to help him a few times by walking towards the bathroom. More practice is required.

Weight loss challenge summary to date 10/10 (I’ll post another summary on 10/20):

• Bjorn – down two pounds!
• Merikay – also down two pounds! She is getting to be a real skinny minny as I believe she has lost over 40lbs to-date.
• Dorothy – time to fess up! Don’t give up!
• Christina?
• Me – well, technically it is 3lb but I think the first 2 were water retention, which makes it only 1.

To keep the body in good health is a duty... otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear.
Buddha

Pandemonium of Poodles Picture

A couple of photos of the three poodles.

Draconian Measures

I really dislike barking dogs, and I'm pretty sure there aren't too many people that like the sound. When we are camping it is even more important that silence be maintained... it's a quick route to being kicked out, or at least disturbing your neighbors such that they hate you. It is really not fair to people around you to have to listen to your dog. It's the same thing when you have close neighbors at home - it just isn't right and in my book is downright rude to let your dog bark and bark.

Which brings me to training dogs not to bark. Kabira and Bella were pretty quick to train. I used the LAT (look at that) training where as soon as they see the dog I click and then treat. They start to look at the dog then come over to me for a treat. Bella sometimes forgets herself and needs a refresher, Kabira only if someone comes up to the camper.

Spike on the other hand... lets just say that he has a pretty strong bark gene. The LAT will work with him to a degree - he's never been able to get past the point where he gets the treat, so if I'm not paying 100% attention the bark comes back. That's where the bark collar comes in. I'm only human and can't give him my undivided attention all the time. Like yesterday. I was visiting with Jo Ellen and Don and didn't always notice the oncoming dog until it was too late and the bark had already escaped. So I gave myself a break. He hasn't worn it very many times and learned quickly that it was barking that set it off. Now I don't even bother turning it on. But he knows what it is for.

It was unfortunate about the bee sting though - even though he wasn't wearing it I think he associated the sting with the collar. And unfortunately he wasn't doing anything other than walking around being a good dog. Which would just be confusing for him.

So think of me what you will - just know that my general training methods are positive reinforcement (clicker training), and I find that works best, but there are just sometimes that I need a break.

Spike Was Skunked

Of course it was just before I went to bed, freshly out of a bath... Carm let Spike in and as he ran through the door - "Laura!!! Skunk!!!". We always keep a large bottle of Nature's Miracle or Skunk Off in both the trailer and in the house. It is a liquid that is poured, full strength on the skunky bits (all of him). It works surprising well, and is quick to do. I've had to do it going out the door to work and unless the people at work thought I had bad BO and were too polite to say anything, it neutralizes the odour quite well.

Spike was foaming at the mouth - it seems he got a close up spray, but his eyes were spared. How could a little dog be so stinky? We soaked him pretty good with the stuff and he "mostly" smells okay, but I can tell that he needs a bit more work. And now that he's tried drying himself on every soft surface in the house the house "mostly" smells okay... I see a big laundry day coming up...

Tomorrow when we have more time we'll give him a good bath with just regular shampoo and another wipe of the Miracle stuff.

For tonight we got him reasonably cleaned up and have vowed to keep him off the bed tonight, and certainly from under the covers!

I wonder if they have skunks in New  Zealand?

I have lots to write about the past few days, but haven't had time to devote to a proper write up. The next few days are really busy too so it is possible I'll just have to keep notes and do a good write up when Kirsten is gone.

Taking Back the Deck

We got back home yesterday afternoon. The dogs quickly flaked out on the futon, barely even getting up to eat their supper. I’d forgotten how tired they get! Even this morning they were reluctant to go on our morning walk – Spike even took a shortcut back to the house.

In just the 4 nights we were away the path became over-grown.

I've woken up the last few days feeling anxious and somewhat depressed. I haven't had this sort of start to my day for quite a while, and honestly  it comes as a surprise to me. I have spent each day fighting this mood deviation with all that I have. Cognitive thinking, exercise, mantras, they've all been put into play - perhaps if necessary, tomorrow a trip to Dairy Queen for a blizzard fix. I  think what I have done is  working - I'm not getting worse thru the day... also I realized this morning that I haven't had my omega 3's for a few days so took 2 right away, just in case. Tomorrow morning will tell.

This afternoon Grace and I headed outside for some swing time. I noticed that one of the robins from the nest just above the deck had flown the coop, and another was sitting on the nest edge. I put Grace in her cage and sat down beside her - well... the parents went berserk. I thought they'd settle down but when they started to dive bomb Grace it was clear we were not welcome. After these babies have fledged we will make sure to take our deck back and make sure no more babies are hatched so close to where we want to be. There are limits after all!

The wish for healing has always been half of health.
Lucius Annaeus Seneca

Hi Ho! Hi Ho! It's Off to Camp We go!

We are here at our "regular" close to home campground for the first camp of the season. We are all set up, the first beer and snack consumed, out for a walk and onto the internet. Everything went smoothly which isn't always the case on the first outing - I think last year we forgot to disconnect from the power and antenna at home before pulling away... a few very minor repairs required. So far it seems that we've only forgotten one thing (toaster oven - it's been added to the packing list for next time). I have a spreadsheet that I fill out for each trip, it really helps.

Once we started the final load up of the camper, and Carm mentioned in passing to the dogs that we were going for a car ride to go camping the dogs were crazy! We could barely get out the door without them escaping to stand near the truck. When we managed to get out of the house without them they'd stand by the door the whole time. When we were in the house they ran between us, getting more excited by the minute. Even Grace got caught up in the excitement, whistling and whooping. Singing Hi Ho, hi ho just upped the frenzy.

Finally it was time to go. I got out Grace's carrier and she leapt onto my hand when I went to get her. She was keen! The dogs stood stock still to get their camping collars and then ran to the truck and as soon as the door was open (and they got the go ahead) they all jumped in, heads out the window, ready to roll. We did the final light check and away we went. It felt good to get onto the road.

After a short 45 minute drive we arrived at the campground to check in. The next step after driving to our site is backing in. This can be acrimonious... there have been many times when we've ended up shouting at each other - how dumb! We are not alone in this... However, today was easy peasy and we were parked and unhitched in no time. Then comes the set up: hookup electrical, unlock all doors, unload the white panels, the chairs, carpet, dog bed, unload and setup the fence, setup the bbq, setup the satellite, hookup the water, put out the slide, setup inside, take Grace's big cage out... make a snack and open beers. And finally... drink beers and eat snack. It takes us just over an hour before we are enjoying that cold beverage. Whew... and by then we deserve it. As you can see we don't exactly rough it!

We sat around for a little while getting into the camping groove and then headed out for our first walk. Not too far today, just 1 1/4 hours, it's awfully hot. We broke the walk up by stopping to visit a few people, it is nice to renew acquaintances!

A Sunny Walk on the Property

We are so blessed…

For every person who has ever lived there has come, at last, a spring he will never see. Glory then in the springs that are yours.
Pam Brown

Ticks Already

Last night just before I went to bed I found a little tick on the bathroom floor. Kabira had just run in from outside so I guess it fell off her. We caught it on a piece of damp tissue and trapped it in a ziplock bag. It is still running around inside looking for a way out. I wanted to keep it for a bit so that I could get a good ident on the web today. I gave the dogs a quick check over, but the tick was so small I would be lucky (or is that unlucky) to find one on them. Fast forward to today - after our walk this morning I found something small crawling around on Spike but squished it too much to identify it.

doesn’t it give you the heebie-jeebies just to look at these photos!

Needless to say I spent a good part of my night awake with my skin crawling. And when I did fall asleep I was quickly awakened by nightmares of ticks on me. At one point my shouting to turn on the lights woke me up! So now here we are... do I get the drops for the dogs, which will kill the tick once they bite. But since they can walk around their host for up to 4 hours before biting (and in that time may fall off onto me) what good is that? One website mentioned tick collars. Do they work? Are they dangerous for the dogs? Or perhaps the risk of Lyme disease offsets any risk? Or maybe my peace of mind (and not having my sleep patterns disrupted) make it well worth the risk? Or do we do both?

Did everyone celebrate St. Patrick's Day with a pint of Guinness? We didn't... but the bubbles we had came out of a green bottle - does that count?

Pleasures:
1. being "here" back from the grey abyss - there are pleasures to be had again
2. bouquet of yellow tulips brought over by a friend. They are like yellow sunshine in my house
3. bare tree branches against a moonlit sky
4. being outside early in the morning and listening to the cacophony of sound - all the bird song was almost deafening
5. sharing a bottle of bubbles with Carm, along with a little piece of steak and some perfectly grilled zucchini
6. windows open – it’s 24C (75F) in March!!!!
7. sitting outside in the sun with Grace. She was smiling in that special way that parrots have

“My dog is usually pleased with what I do, because she is not infected with the concept of what I “should” be doing.” — Lonzo Idolswine

We Can Become Known

Whew! I am pooped... this morning as soon as Carm was out the door I had the house torn back apart. To get the job done required dozens of trips up and down the stairs - my legs are like rubber. Especially since our path around the field was all blown in with snow - it was boot top high this morning.

I'm not going to say much about what I did as I plan to link up to the 1 month organization challenge over at this web site. I found the challenge motivating - it got me up off my ... At the end of the month I will have a post where I just talk about what was done with shameful before pictures followed by amazing after pictures. There's nothing quite like thinking photos of all your stuff will be on the internet to get it cleaned up!

We spent the evening at a friends house last night. Trudie made the most amazing meal. First, along with drinks, she had made a Garlicky Beet Spread  served with a variety of crackers, some dried figs & apricots and some cheese. Then we sat down at the dinner table to the most beautiful stewed tomatoes you have ever seen or tasted. I can't remember the variety, but it was a golden heirloom tomato - the colour was amazing. Of course they were from Trudie's garden, and canned by Trudie herself. Then we had a mixed green salad with homemade lox and homemade cheese (you see where I am going with this!). Then we had salmon with a maple/pinenut crust, butternut squash cooked with chicken broth, rosemary and thyme. Along side of that were homemade gnocchi in some kind of tasty wine sauce. We brought the dessert - store bought chocolate mousse cake (how lame). Then there were cheeses and chocolates to nibble on (as if we were hungry) while we had some sort of national Chilean liqueur (i.e. firewater). Aside from the wonderful meal the conversation was interesting and fun. How will I ever match her hospitality? There was a time in my life that I would go all out making dinner for guests. Those days are long gone! Now if I can get something on the table that everyone likes then I'm happy.

I read a blog post yesterday (read it here) that really made me think. I'd like to share it with you to see what you think about her views. Carm's opinion was that the author is very unhappy and trying to make the reader unhappy too. However it didn't make me unhappy... it made me think and it lead to an interesting discussion. And somehow, to me anyway, it validated my recent openness. Maybe that is why I liked it.

One big hurrah for the newest firmware update to my Asus Transformer! Spell check! In blogger and email. Oh yay cause I am a terrible speller!

I received this from a friend the other day – I thought it was so poetic.

Keep concentrating on the simple pleasures and may the only dogs accompanying you be the dogs you own and love, not the black dog of depression.

Is it Spring?

The last 2 days have been well above zero, all the way up to 6C (42F)! The snow is melting and in some areas with a southern exposure the grass can even be seen. I know this is just a taste, but we could actually start getting spring in a month from now. The winter has zoomed by, with barely a peep. Sure we've had a few days of freezing rain (always when we have to go to the city), but we've only had to have the snowplow guy in once so far (touch wood).

With the warm weather the snow pack has been changing. Today the dogs seemed to like the feel of it under their feet - especially Spike as he raced around. Kabira though took a pretty spectacular face plant as she was racing back to me on a recall. She got up and dusted her self off then continued on her way. Whew - I worry about them hurting themselves when the snow gives way like that.

Speaking of recalls - I've been practicing a bit with the big dogs... Kabira is getting pretty good but boy oh boy she is going to send me flying one of these days. She comes running at TOP SPEED, right for me and then puts on the brakes right at the last second. She either stops right in front of me or goes flying by ‘cause she can't stop in time. I can only stand still, in fear, hoping that she misses me. All for a tiny piece of hotdog!

I signed up for Pintrest yesterday. I'll have to play around with it for a few days before I will be able to tell if it is useful to me or not. So far, one strike against it - it is really slow. I can't abide slow.

Did y'all have a nice Valentines Day? Ours sort of sucked... I woke up in a funk and never really got over it. Take-out comfort food and mindless TV were the name of the game last night. We'll just pretend that tonight is the night. I am slightly jaded about the whole thing. Really - what's the big deal? I suppose if we had kids and needed a special night for the two of us, or maybe if we didn't spend every waking moment together it would make more sense. I can't see spending $5 on a card that gets looked at for a second then thrown in a drawer, but, we do talk about our love on a regular basis, so no one is feeling desperate for the validation. I guess I'm just a Valentines Day Scrooge! Or perhaps to me everyday is Valentines Day!

Last night we watched the first night of the Westminster Dog Show. The herding, toy, non-sporting and hound groups were judged. I love looking at dogs and really enjoy seeing all the different breeds. It is interesting to see how some breeds have "evolved" over the years - some to their ruination (to my mind anyway), while others have maintained a sound structure. The winning dogs, to my mind, were all breeds that have been ruined. The herding group was won by a German Shepard Dog - the poor dog could only move at one gait (the show gait), in all other movement it seemed almost crippled. I was sickened. There were any number of sound dogs to choose from. In the toy group the Pekinese won. Again, to my mind, a ruined breed. Hound group was won by a really long backed dachshund - I remember a day when their backs weren't so long and prone to debilitating injury. Thankfully in the non-sporting group they chose a nice Dalmatian that had lovely movement. But really they should have chosen one of the poodles! Many people think that Poodles are ridiculous, but it is only their hair cut that is funny - underneath that hair is an athletic dog.

10 Downing Street

Tuesday we took advantage of the reduced rate and went to see "Iron Lady". It was a great movie, and Meryl Streep was amazing (surely she'll get an Oscar for that). It is a much different experience watching a movie at the theatre - firstly there are no interruptions - the dog doesn't have to go out, or Grace doesn't ring her bell, or the phone doesn't ring... I love how when the feature presentation starts, it gets totally quiet, you could hear a pin drop. People stop chewing their popcorn and shuffling in their seats - the anticipation is palatable.

I found it interesting to see some of the news clips that they included in the movie. Some of them were from 1974 which is when we lived in England. I was just a 12 year old girl, and because we didn't have a television (imagine that!) there was never news on. I did know that there was an oil embargo and power restrictions. The local shops weren't allowed to use lights, so they were lit by candles and lamps, likewise, we were only allowed one light on in the house at a time. I remember being afraid of the dark - just before we had moved to England I had seen a horror movie, ironically called "Don't be Afraid of the Dark",  with little monsters that could only come out in the dark. There were no night lights to protect me... we were living in this older home that had fireplaces everywhere (that's there the little people came from)... oh my. A trip to the bathroom from the warmth and light of the lounge was fraught with danger! And going to bed… all by myself… way up the stairs… in the dark…

I wasn't aware though of the political unrest, not in a way that seemed real to me anyway. I think if I had seen the news clips of car bombs and riots I would have been more affected. As it was, the bomb scares and evacuations that we periodically had at school just seemed like a fun way to get out of class. It is sometimes good to be young and naive.

I've been out on my snowshoes the last few days but have had only limited luck packing down the new path. I think it will have to wait until all the snow is gone before the path is really boot ready. Today I was able to walk the entire route, but I did break through several times. It will be interesting to see what the melting and refreezing does for the ice layer. 

 

 

The sun is getting higher. I love how it cast our shadows this afternoon.

Happy Tails Trails

Unpuffing Poodles

I still can't believe it was time already, but yesterday was haircut day for the poodles. I did a terrible job and left them with some clipper burn - I just feel awful :-(  To add to their misery all the dogs had a shower today. They weren't too happy - I could see them shivering in anticipation/dread but they are so good and cooperative. After their baths I bundled Spike into his fleece blanket and they all curled up in a sun spot. They hadn't had a bath since the last hair cut day which was sometime at the beginning of December and needed one badly. The air is fresher now!

We spent some more time today in the basement getting things organized. I don't think I mentioned it, but last week we spent a couple of days in the workshop - what a difference!  It looks good, but there is more work to be done. I'll post all about it when everything is in its final place and labels are made, etc. It will be a showcase! (ha ha I can dream...)

The sky today is mostly sunny after a few days of freezing rain and snow. This winter has been the worst for freezing rain!

Congenial Kitchen

Saturday,  after a day of house cleaning and playing around outside, we had friends Bruce & Tina over for supper. We gathered around the kitchen island nibbling on snacks and sipping our Lemon Thyme White Wine Spritzers, while I put the finishing touches on supper - prime rib and yorkshire pudding. I turned away from the stove to see the three of them talking and laughing and I realized how lucky we are to have such a great house for entertaining. The kitchen works so well, with its two sinks, corner windows, and giant island.  It is great to have friends seated at the island while I buzz around the kitchen getting our meal ready. It was very congenial.

The kitchen was put into good use today too, although for a vastly different purpose. You see, Carm came home with 66lbs of partially frozen chicken carcasses (or would that be carcai?). We pulled them all apart then layered them on waxed paper to go into the freezer. They are big and meaty, much better than the chicken backs that we've gotten before. A few times a week I'll be able to grab one or two to augment the dogs regular meal of raw ground meat/bone/organ. Nature's toothbrush :-)

Seek home for rest, for home is best.
Thomas Tusser

Boy Genius

You've probably already guessed that this post is about the golden boy, Spike (who isn’t at all spoiled). Of course you are right! Saturday afternoon when we were out for our little walk I (purposely) dropped a mitten. After we had gone about 20 feet, but the mitt was out of sight, I called Spike over, showed him my remaining mitten and asked to to "Find it!". And you know what - he did - and he even brought it back to me. What a wonder boy :-)  We tried it a few more times, each time with the mitt further away. My mitten got a little slobbered, but what's a little slobber in the name of fun.

Later, I wanted to show Carm, but Spike got confused and I had to help him a bit. I suspect he was thinking I wanted him to find Carm cause that's the find it game that we most often play. In the end he did track down the mitten from 10 or 20 feet away.

We had fun playing around outside Saturday afternoon. It was so beautiful, about -11C, full sun and only a breath of wind. We did our walk - did parts of it again and generally putzed around outside until we couldn't put off the inevitable anymore. Company was coming for supper and our house was a wreck - time to get the vacuum and dust cloths out.

We got the house all polished up in time for Deirdre and Chris's arrival. Deirdre and I share a love of horses, in fact we used to ride together, went on the Cattle Drive together, and have spent many congenial hours both with horses and without.  Chris is a friend from work - we've known each other for about 27 years - wow! We had a lovely time visiting with them. As a real treat they brought me the most lovely roses in an amazing deep pink, almost red colour.

Fresh flowers in the house are so luxurious feeling, especially in this icy cold climate.  I've been really lucky this year with fresh flowers - Jo Ellen brought beautiful roses on New Years,  Steve brought potted daffodils and now these roses. No wonder my emotional health has been so good this winter.

The Amen of nature is always a flower.
Oliver Wendell Holmes

The Fire is so Delightful

How does it go? Oh yes:

Oh the weather outside is frightful, But the fire is so delightful, And since we've no place to go, Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!

It doesn't show signs of stopping, And I've bought some corn for popping, The lights are turned way down low, Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!

When we finally kiss goodnight, How I'll hate going out in the storm! But if you'll really hold me tight, All the way home I'll be warm.

The fire is slowly dying, And, my dear, we're still good-bying, But as long as you love me so, Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!

That about sums up the day, except for the freezing rain that accompanied us on our morning walk... again, we were happy not to have to brave the wicked roads. Instead Carm started a roaring fire. Perfect -  I pulled the loveseat over to the fireplace and read. I could look up and see either the warm flames or I could look out the window to see the snow fall. I'll have to say - a day spent like this is no real hardship!

At our regular 3:30pm walk-about time we bundled up and headed outside. There was a lot of snow! Carm shovelled the decks while I took the dogs (minus Kabira who woossed out and stayed inside) for our walk. The snow was deep, 3/4 of the way to my knee. It was a hard slog but we made it for both loops. Spike and Bella were having fun leaping through the fresh snow. Spike always amazes me cause he's so little and works so darn hard to keep up but he's 100% keen.

It feels like we should be having a treat supper - after all we survived the blizzard, but I don't know what to make so will stick to my plan of spiced lentils. It's a new recipe that has fresh cilantro and mint. What is your snow day supper?