Copper (summer catch up post #1)

At the end of June David and I became the proud owners of a very handsome 7 year old golden retriever named Copper. We will be his third family. My sister's partner owned him just previously but he could no longer could take care of a large dog and wanted him to go to a good home, so we offered. Dave has long wanted a dog and the fact that copper was a golder retriever was just too much.

Copper quickly became part of our family. He was slowly introduced to the "girls" (our cats Miss Mineu and her daughter Miss Hibou) by being crated for the first week or so. It didn't take long for everyone to get along and Copper is very good with cats. Mineu tends to keeps her distance but Hibou is quite curious and likes to get very close and sniff Copper's nose, which he enjoys.

Dave requested that I share two videos on this post. One is Copper at Clearwater Lake (for Gody and Naomi's wedding in August, which will be a subject for a future post). Copper LOVES the water and when we were at the lake he spent most of the time in the water

The second video is Dave's recent homecoming after being away for a few days. Perhaps it's because Copper is a boy but he has a much stronger preference for males. He likes me but absolutely adores Dave. I try not to take it personally.

long overdue post

It's been a long time since we added a post to our blog, the last one was dated June 6th and now we're already at the end of September! So i guess you could say we took a break over the summer. Lots happened over those summer months so we'll try to catch up over the next few posts. i chatted with dave this morning when I drove him to the VIA station and got some direction on what to share in the first summer catch up post.

best brother ever

Brother Gody gave me the greatest gift of all for my birthday (which seems to be dragging along nicely). This gift was the last installment: "the weed hound" which pulls 'em out by the roots! Lined up on the sidewalk are my greatest hits.

Dan (of Dan and Renee) has some brewery hops growing in our front yard. This morning Gody popped by for breakfast with emma and brought along a trellace for the hops! Dan was quite pleased, as was I. (Gody knows where the best beer is brewed).

I'll post a progress shot of the hops growth in a week; they grow so fast.

-dave

summer???

We're impatient for summer weather but have proceeded to plant the garden and work on the yard despite the cold weather. Our lilacs and our neighbour's cherry tree normally bloom in May and are finished by June. We're still waiting for our lilacs to finish blooming but our neighbour's tree looks beautiful!

Emma was growing impatient waiting for a ride in a uncles dave's wagon. Last thursday we had gody and fam over for dinner and miss ems got her wish.

Last weekend my mom and I went to Sage Garden herbs. We had a lovely time looking, smelling, and touching all of the different herbs and plants. We carefully selected our plants and on the way home stopped by St. Leon's to check out their stock (it is becoming a tradition of mine to buy my porch planter there).

hosting mother's day + brunch = new room!

It's 10:00 on Sunday night and David and I are feeling particularly satisfied with our accomplishments of the day. We had my family over and we enjoyed pancakes (grandma's recipe), whipped cream and strawberries (a favourite of my mom's), dave's fabulous pouched eggs and sausages. yum. before breakfast dave and I tackled our old bedroom which had become one large dressing room and junk dump.

Leonard Cohen concert, April 30, 2009

Leonard Cohen played the MTS centre in Winnipeg, likely for the last time. Dave and I had tickets and were eagerly anticipating the concert. Mr Cohen did not disappoint. He was a class act, his voice was perfect, and the musicians and back up singers were simply phenomenal.

Although I don't have any pictures or video to share of the concert I thought I would post a link to the Juno awards when they were hosted in Winnipeg (I went with Tamara and Sheryl). kd lang covered Leonard Cohen's song Hallelujah. (I read somewhere that although his song has been covered by many artists over the year, Cohen believes kd lang has covered it the best).

I think my top three concerts are (in no particular order): Leonard Cohen (2009), Neil Young (2008) and the Pixies in Saskatoon (2004). And I suppose I should add Depeche Mode who I saw in Calgary, the summer before grade 10. That was a big deal back then! I have been to many concerts over the years so I'm sure I could have several "best of" lists based on different criteria but I think at this moment, those are the top three. Reading over my shoulder Dave said Lollapalooza in 1992 would be at the top of his list (jealous, that would have been amazing). And that got me thinking about Pearl Jam in '93 at the long defunct SunFest in Gimli...okay I better stop while I'm ahead!

birthday boy

It was David's birthday on May 6th. He was on the train (and I was battling a particularly treacherous work week). He got home Thursday and was quite pleased to share that his colleagues marked the occasion by buying him an ice cream cake, signing a card and singing happy birthday while on the train back from Toronto. Apparently this never happens; birthdays come and go uncelebrated.

We had a fabulous birthday dinner tonight (grilled salmon and asparagus, parmesan and lemon risotto, cupcakes from the cupcakery in the village). Earlier today we went to Canadian Tire to pick up his gift: a garden cart. He is quite excited to cruise around with this cart in tow and pick up large rocks that he has noticed in the area. I think he should do this accompanied by a child or people may be concerned (he is becoming more eccentric each year, I must admit). We also picked up a new reel mower (the one that was found in the basement is just too heavy). The mower was 50% off so both felt completely justified in the purchase.