Friday, January 24, 2014

Birthday boy!

Last Sunday was Gordon's B I R T H D A Y, so I had to be nice to him ALL DAY. It was very difficult, I must tell you.

First I made him these chocolate chip waffles with a side of strawberries. He proceeded to drown them in maple syrup.



 Later we went off cross-country skiing. It was a bit slippery, still quite icy under the inch or two of fresh snow. I fell on my butt three times but Gordon managed to stay upright. We took a selfie in the woodlot.




The dogs had a blast. Sophie is always on some mission...





And here comes the B I R T H D A Y  B O Y !!



We really love cross-country skiing and we should do it more often.



Sophie was distracted!



And look who came along! I was a bit worried it would be too much for old Tristan, but he was quite energetic and seemed very happy. 


Sweet old boy. I'm glad his various meds minimize his arthritis woes enough to allow him to plod along with us. He has developed a bunch of new lumps that we had biopsied this week. His hemangiosarcoma (spleen and tumour were removed in August) are always in the back of my mind, but he is still doing well and enjoying life.


Sophie has not slowed down one iota and is as energetic at age 11 as the day we got her.

It has been a bitterly cold week, with temps down to -35C/-31F (although my wildlife cam registered -40C/-40F one night). Being as fascinated by weather as I am, I don't mind experiencing these extremes for a little while each winter. I do feel sorry for the ducks and chickens, because I don't let them out of their coops into the barn in this cold, for fear of frostbite. So they are a little cooped up, so to speak! It warmed up a little this afternoon so I let them out for a few hours to run around the lower barn.

I took this photo of the shadow of our chimney yesterday...


In this weather, the furnace goes through logs like they're toothpicks! It's amazing how much wood we burn at these temperatures. We do have an oil/wood furnace and can use either fuel, but I prefer using wood. I always feel warmer, and I hate paying for oil!

Louise keeps warm another way...


She looooves her daddy!

When I got up the other morning, this is what the thermometer looked like:



An hour or two later, it hadn't budged. The funny thing was, the night before I forgot to turn on the clothes dryer. The next morning, I found my clothes frozen solid in a lump in the bottom of the dryer (which vents outside.) THat is a first!

Meanwhile...


Louise kept warm next to the slow cooker!
The last 48 hours have been quite eventful. First off, I wiped out on the two wooden steps leading to our family room and landed so hard on my back that I had the wind knocked out of me (and bruised my back and arms and dropped my laptop, which thank goodness didn't break!) I've never had that happen but I now completely understand where the expression comes from. I thought I was going to suffocate but Gordon, a veteran of many childhood wind-knocking-out incidents, talked me through it.

Then yesterday morning, Gordon gave me a nice-looking cuppa tea that tasted liked bad cheese. The brand-new carton of milk he'd used was sour. Gaaaaaah!!

Then when I was feeding the cats supper yesterday, Emily leapt from the kitchen table to the "kitty credenza" (where we feed the cats) just as I was walking by with Louise's supper. I was covered head to toe with raw-meat cat food. The newest fashion for 2014!

And this morning, to top it all off,  I LAUNDERED MY PASSPORT! Aaaarrrghhh!! Yes, I have to replace it now. I got it out this morning to take to the Service Ontario office because my driver's licence and health care were expiring. I (stupidly) laid it on top of the laundry hamper I was carrying to the basement, which was full of dark clothes that blended perfectly with my blue passport cover. 

Then I threw the whole lot in. And remembered the passport about ten minutes later!

I'm hoping that's all the excitement for now. I turn 50 next week, which is more than enough for me to deal with at present. :)

Have a great weekend!

29 comments:

  1. I've worn the meat outfit,but never laundered my passport. Happy birthday to the bearded one!
    We are going through wood like it's going out of fashion too.
    Jane x

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    1. I see it's a bit warmer today! I don't encourage passport-washing.. sigh.. oh well, the government will make another 90-odd dollars off me!

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  2. So. Which is worse, falling or being nice to your spouse ALL DAY?

    Recover quickly...at least you didn't break anything!

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    1. Hahahaha, that's a toughie!!!! :)

      I'm glad I didn't break anything too!!

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  3. Wow - you have had a time of it. I fell once so hard skating and got to experience the wind knocked out of me, too. It is very frightening. I'm glad Gordon was there. Raw meat, eh....gawd! Well, I'm glad Gordon had a good birthday and wish you a great one next week. I hated turning 50 and yet 51 didn't bother me a bit. Turning 60, well, let me tell ya! THAT knocked the wind out of me, for sure. Onwards and upwards...

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    1. Oooh, I am so bad at skating. I would really like to take some lessons!! You can really whack yourself falling on that ice.

      50 is disturbing me. 40 bothered me, but 50 is freaking me out. 60 is... wow, just ten years away. But hey Deb, you only look 50 at most, so no worries!

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  4. Happy birthdays all around, Seeing Tristan trailing along made me smile.

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    1. Thanks Joanne! Yes, Tristan is doing surprisingly well. He's a good old guy.

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  5. Ouch! That's cold! I know why you fell so much when you were skiing. You were busy taking pictures!

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    1. It's true! :) Plus I'm too much of a daredevil on skis. Went too fast for the conditions ha ha. Good thing I never drive like that.

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  6. I forgot to say Happy birthday to Gordon. It looked like he had a very good day.

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    1. I passed that along and he thanks you, Red! I also took him out for supper and a comedy show a few nights before the big day.

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  7. Happy birthday to Gordon, and happy upcoming birthday to you! I'm sorry to hear about your fall and hope you aren't too bruised.

    Those waffled & strawberries look delicious.

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    1. Thanks Ahab! I'll be okay. I'm relieved my computer survived.

      THe waffles were very easy. Recipe is here:

      http://www.tastebook.com/recipes/1867020-Amazing-Overnight-Waffles

      They used yeast but there was no kneading or anything like that. So crispy!

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  8. Washing my own passport would drive me NUTS. I sympathise!

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    1. Still can't quite believe I did that, but I'm grateful I have time to replace it before my next trip!

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  9. Well, see it that way, the Laptop stayed ok and you can entertain us with all the events at your place.
    But, yes, I am sorry for your mishap on the steps. Hope you feeling better today.

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  10. Jeez, what a week! To think that beautiful young snow bunny (pictured on skis) could be approaching 50 smelling like bad cheese and raw meat.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You are so good for my ego, Mitchell! mmmmwah! :)

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  11. Happy Birthday to Gordon :)

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  12. Natalie, for heavens sake, will you take more care!!! Winding is awful, I've done it too.
    They say things happen in threes, was that three? Oh no! Four..

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  13. I hope you have recovered from that fall!
    I am surprised your passport did not survive. They seem to be all covered with a plastic-like material nowadays.
    Happy birthday to both you and Gordon.

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  14. How can you stand so much excitement?
    Gordon's birthday sounds like it was a lot of fun for the both of you!
    Those temps look scary. But they do make you appreciate a milder winter.
    I am glad Tristan managed to to the walking, such a good boy. And Sophie, well, woman are more resiliant, no need to say more :)
    Enjoy being 49 for a few more days!

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  15. Anonymous1:20 pm

    Ouch! I feel your pain. I had my own "Death by Birkenstock" fall many years ago and am still reaping the consequences in the form of sciatica and various pains in the rear. Hope you recover soon!

    And, I swear, you get prettier every year, Natalie. How do you do it? :)

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  16. Happy b-day to Gordon =)
    Love the couple's selfie photo-cute!
    Gentle ear scritches to sweet Tristan. What a honey (don't tell my cats I gooped over a dog. They wouldn't approve!)
    What a cute snuggle photo of Louise!
    Is that a hot plate/pad under your slow cooker? I could have used one the other day.
    Always lots of fun stuff going on at your place =)

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  17. Your 'selfie' could be framed. In ten years it will make you look young. Seriously though it is a wonderful picture. We listen to the Ottawa weather every morning and night. We are glad we came west again on Dec 27 as it seems to have been a true Canadian winter ever since.

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  18. I hope gordon had a good birthday - and that you didn't hurt yourself too badly when you fell!

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  19. Wow, that's a lot goin' on! Hope your back is okay. Mine has been very cranky lately.
    Happy Birthday to Gordon!

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Thank you for all your comments, which I love to read!