Joke of the day

What do you say to a hitchhiker with one leg?


"Hop in!"

The 11th Hour

As the Christmas holidays come to an end, P relaxes in his lovely new pyjama pants (gift from GM) and his new Tshirt (gift from his wonderful wife), snuggles up to Daisy the soon-to-be svelte terrier and Scooby, the jealous pup.  

Lately, Scooby has been acting more like Tigger and less like Shaggy's BFF, running and pouncing and being goofy.  Then, when he stops, he's out cold.  Exhausted!

P's heading back to work which will impact the renovation work that gets completed around the house, but at least we having a working second toilet!  The door is on order and is not yet ready; P rigged up an awesome curtain door that provides privacy and looks great, too. 

Puppies, Pinatas and Patiner

 Daisy is looking great! Her increased activity combined with decreased food intake have improved her figure considerably. Friends came to celebrate the holidays and their dog Willow chased Scooby and Daisy around the pond. Later, the pups snoozed together (cue music: Ebony and Ivory).

To help ring in the New Year, a pinata was smashed to smithereens, and candy was spilled across the floor!  So fun!

The frozen pond was perfect for skating, and the skies contributed a few gentle snowflakes to make it a memorable New Year's Eve.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

House Guests and Blizzards

Our friend H is going away for a few weeks and we get to hang out with his little dog Daisy, who is unbelievably adorable. She is less than half the size of Scooby; well, she used to be but in the past few months poor Daisy has packed on an extra pound or two.  Sadly, this translates to more than 10% of her body weight. So this visit is more than a holiday excursion for H.  For Daisy, it's a trip to the fat farm. 

She's doing well, so far, having walked up the road all the way to the cemetery and back, and all around our front yard.  On day two, it snowed and although Scooby loved it, bounding crazily all over the place, Daisy dislikes standing in the white stuff longer than required.  Her legs are so short that she has to tippytoe up just to pee on the snow.  Now when the door opens and we call the dogs, Scooby flashes past in a nano-second, but Daisy looks skeptically at me and waddles to the bottom step, does her business then climbs back up to the door and waits patiently to go back inside where it's warm and cozy.  Can't blame her, really.  

I scoop her up and carry her half way across the yard then let her down in the snow; she sighs and looks pleadingly at me, then trudges back to the porch.

The good news is that she's looking a bit more svelte and energetic.  She is learning how to sneak away with some of Scooby's kibble when we're not looking; she hides in her crate and it's the crunching noise that gives her away.  

Only 10 more days at the fat farm, Daisy! 

Little Drummer Line Boy

The school concert had the Drum Line performing as everyone entered the auditorium. It was chaotic and noisy, and it was really difficult to get a clear shot of J.  He's in a black Tshirt behind the red shirt. This is the Gr 8 Drum Line's first ever public performance.  Awesome! 

Merry Christmas to me! ... er... us!

Merry Christmas, one and all! What a fun time to bake and wrap and clean the house, and sit and admire the new porcelain tile in the foyer.  This is the best present ever, one that I will remember and appreciate every day for many, many years.  Scooby loves it, too!  Just look at that grin.

 

And on Christmas morning, we all stumbled down the stairs in our pjs and opened stockings and ate cookies and opened presents and ate cinnamon goofy buns (that Grandma made) and sipped hot chocolate and opened more presents.  A wonderful morning!  

It looks like J didn't get a shirt for Christmas.

Sixty-eight Plus Two

Happy Birthday, Bop!

December 22, was a milestone birthday for Bop: he turned 70!  I know, worth celebrating, right?  So we baked a cake, with buttercream icing, no less.  That Bop is 2000 kilometres away in the warm climes of Florida didn't slow us for a moment.  We thought, it's the thought that counts! And if he's too far away to enjoy the yummy goodness, well, I happen to know two teenage boys with large appetites, particularly for cake with buttercream icing.  We dialed up Skype and sang our hearts out and Bop blew out the candles long-distance.  I hope this was the happiest of days, Bop/Dad!  

Foyer Finish Line

The tile is well on its way to being finished in time for Christmas, to which I say a hearty "Yee haw!"  P started at the back door and worked his way past the newly tiled powder room and basement stairs.  This, of course, cut off access to the basement, which was going to limit our putting wood into the furnace. Then our brilliant son said to unlock the storm door, which opens onto a set of external stairs to the backyard.  So smart! P put on a parka and some snow boots and made it so.  Thus, we were able to remain toasty warm.  I'm sure P and I would have thought of it sooner or later. 

The challenge is keeping Scooby out of the mess and off the fresh tiles. We barricaded the kitchen off and closed the French doors in the living room, so that he could stay there, out if the way.

The next morning, once the first phase was dry, P started on the section towards the front door, still using the tile saw in the back porch.

The end is in sight!  We have to keep the front hall blocked off which means no using the front door, and no climbing on the tiles to get upstairs.  Yikes!  Our only functioning toilet is upstairs and I just had a GIANT glass of water.  Gotta go.

Woo Hoo!

SNOW DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!

Completely Floored

The sub floor is down and looking great, and I am beginning to hope for a tiled foyer before Santa comes.  I can't wait!  It's going to look like a brand new house!