Mischief Monday - Abandoned!

 Dear pals,

Our Lady, who told us she was not going to be traveling as we are in our last chapters and she wanted to maximize time with us, abandoned us for 87 million hours.  We had to stay home for 2 whole days and one night with the Man.  Lady lied.

Lady tried to tell us that this was a little different because she was away to be the duty driver for the Big Guy, who needed a ride for a minor medical procedure. (Editor's note - all went well, he is doing fine). She said that it made more sense to just go there overnight after a day in the office, as it saved her driving. We think she lied and are mad at her. Saying she went to Grammie and the Big Guy's without us, doesn't help her case. 

In spite of this, we were very happy to see her when she came back.

your pals, who think people should be at home all the time, Lee and Phod

FFF Nature Friday - Dreams of Colour - by Phod

 Thanks to  Aunty-Yam and Rosy and Sunny for hosting this event.

Dear pals,

It has been a wild winter week. It has been really cold -26C/-15F, we have gotten a couple inches of snow, and one day it was so windy, I thought we would blow away. You know, in general, I love winter, but this week I could use a break. 

Lady it is really, really windy out and I don't like it.

So I asked Lady to pull out some flower pictures from Man's birthday trip.

Now my FFF.

I love the winter and the snow

in it all I love to roll

And sit and watch the world go by

Staring at the cold grey sky

And as the days come to pass

I start to miss the smell of grass

So I wait patiently for the spring

and all the colour it will bring

your pal, the winter loving Phod

Picky, Picky - by Phod

 Dear pals,

When we were younger dogs, Hailey especially, would eat about anything. We happily ate the food put in front of us. We had some preferences, like we always liked a cookie on top, but Lady says we were happy to eat.

Now we are picky. Some days, we just skip meals (we didn't do that before) and some times we decided the food we have is garbage food and just won't eat it. Lee will pick a piece out of the dish and try to bury it. 

We decided to pull this trick again. We have been eating kangaroo. We have loved kangaroo. It has given us excellent energy. Lee has been eating a special food for her tummy as the topper. While we were eating breakfast later in the day, we were eating what Lady and Man would expect in a day. Lady says I have lost some weight and while it is good for my joints, I can't lose too much. 

Last week we decided we no longer ate kangaroo. This was after our people had just bought us a huge bag of it. Lady and Man decided they would pick up another food to use as a topper to see if this excited us.

I must say, kangaroo topped with rabbit is very good.

Finally eating again

your pal, the picky eater, Phod

Wordess Wednesday - Hibernating

 

Travel Tuesday - The Man's 50th Birthday Trip - Back in Barcelona

Our trip ended where it started, back in Barcelona. We were to have about 2 days here, but the second we ended up hunkering down in our hotel as the rain was so bad, there was flooding near where we were. This was about a week after the tragic flooding in Valencia Spain. We decided not to risk it. 

After dropping our luggage off at the hotel, we went back to the city and explored Parc de la Ciutadella. For decades this 77 acre park was the only green space in Barcelona. It is home to the zoo, the Museum of Natural Science, ponds, statues, and lots of birds. Not pictured, out of respect to the residence, it is also home to many of the un-housed and clusters of matching tents were found around. 

Arc de Tromf

The fountain

                          

Fun fact, Chris hates birds - they scare him!

While walking the streets near the park we found a dungeon. While it was too scary for me to go in, I had a little fun at the door. 

Our final big stop, was the Picasso Museum in Barcelona. Here are some favourites. 

The beautiful building the museum is housed in.

Back at our hotel, the 3 of us and our luggage hardly fit in the elevator. We had a good laugh. 

The desk pulled out into what I called the hobbit bed. 

After our quiet day of reading and movies, we had a very early flight from Barcelona to Paris and then Paris home. 

The Man enjoying business class

And that concludes our grand adventure for the Man's birthday. Thank you all for joining us. The happiness research says reliving some of a vacation can boost your happiness. Thanks for boosting mine during these long dark days.

Note: People have asked if we have another big trip planned and the answer is no. At this time, we don't want to leave the dogs. Their time with us is limited and we want to enjoy as much of it as we can. 

Mischief Monday - Power Stealers - by Lee

 Dear pals,

It was so cold a few mornings last week that clearly the Hydro was overwhelmed and the power was out for about 6 hours each morning.

Tuesday, the power went out for 5 minutes, it came back. In that 5 minutes Lady stepped in a nighttime poop accident we hadn't woken them up for.  Lady got ready for the office and then it went out again. Man was home and got the generator running and the fire burning. 

Keeping Warm

Wednesday the power went off again at about the same time. Lady took Phod out (I was still sleeping, what is the point of getting up if it is going to be pitch black), and tried to start the generator. While she was fighting with it (she lost, Man had to get up and do it), Phod ran away. Well, more walked really slowly away. Lady found him in front of Callie's, on the road. She had to drag him back and then basically lift him into the house. He was too scared. 

Lady then had to move out of her office as there was no heat and set up a place near heat. When the power came back, our little generator and fire had kept where Lady was working 17C/62F,  the main house 15C/59F and Lady's closed up office 11C/52F. They are apparently starting to look into getting a generac (bigger generator) because this is just getting silly. 

We are hoping for a whole week we won't get to experience what many people in third world countries do.

you pal, doing her best to stay warm, Hailey Bug

Nature Friday - This Week's Winter - by Lee

 Thanks to Rosy and Sunny for hosting this event in Gail's Memory.

This week has been a true winter week.

First it was really cold. One morning it was -27C/-16F without the windchill. 

Then it was cold and snowy.  Look - can you see all the snow on my nose and back?

The snow is pretty. 

We didn't spend too much time outside at the beginning of the week because it hurt our paws. Even Phod, the snow lover didn't want to spend too much time outside. 

Yesterday, it was a little warmer -8C/17F. Lady even took us for a walk once it was light.

Because we had been cooped up for so long, we may have had a little fun with our friends the turkeys.

Fly Away Turkeys!

Silly Lady trusted me off leash - don't worry, I didn't go too far, I didn't leave our yard, the snow was too deep!

Hope you all had a good week!

your pal, Hailey Bug the turkey chaser

Slow - By Phod

Dear pals,

I feel like Hailey has been hogging the blog. She says she can because it was her blog first, and she lets me share it, when she wants too. I convinced her to let me have a turn.

As you know, I am an old Man now. I am doing ok. My Librela shot is helping. I can't walk as far as I used to, and I will admit, I am now really slow when I do walk.

Walking by Lady's embarrassing snowman. 

Hailey shared about her birthday adventure. I was a good boy, and stayed in the yard for a lot of it. However, I got a little worried about where my Lady went and followed her tracks. She found me coming towards her, as she was circling back. (I will point out technically these woods are ours, so I had not left our yard). Then she and I walked back to the house, where we found Hailey. 

Looking for my lost Lady

While I am the slowest, I will point out that Hailey is way slower than she used to be too, she just won't admit it.

your pal, the Pokey Little Puppy, Phod

Wordless Wednesday - When Lady Sits In A Different Chair

 

Travel Tuesday - Man's 50th Birthday Adventure - Geona, Italy

 Our last port of call was Genoa, Italy.  This was one of the prettiest cities I have ever been to and I would love to have the opportunity to spend more time there.

Our tour started with a short boat ride across the harbour to the old harbour. 

The World's 4th Oldest Lighthouse

Here, is where the adventure began. We did a Segway tour. 

Our group of 8 were all a little nervous as first time riders. However, our guide did a great job at explaining the basics and we got time to practice driving in a big open space. Other than a near crash when I first got on,  it was smooth sailing. At one point the Man said "this is how we are going to see all of Europe!"

In our hour and a half on the Segway, we covered about 1.6km/1 mile.

This is where I got off and forgot to hold my Segway - it didn't roll away

The Rolli Palace

Some of the most beautiful buildings were on  Via Giuseppe Garibald. Here we parked our rides and walked around and in some of the palaces. 

                          

Cathedral di San Lorenzo - Famous for hosting a bomb from WWII that did not explode (it was an accidental friendly fire). The bomb, defused of course, is still in the church. 

One of the most famous violinists of his time, Paganini, was know as the Devil's violinist. It was believed he had sold his soul to play as well as he did. It you look closely, you may be able to see the horns on this statue. He could play up to 12 notes a second, play without sheet music and he also composed his own music.  

We finished our Segway tour back at the old port. Other than having really sore feet (as you steer with your feet and are making micro movements with them, you don't every day), the Man and I went on a quest for food.

Genoa is famous for pesto, so after a short walk, we found an artisan shop that made it. 

Well I can't eat the bread, I scoped some of the Man's pesto out, and let me say, it was one of the best things I have ever eaten. I was tempted to buy a jar and eat it right there. 

Next quest was to find some good gluten free pasta or pizza. We found a little cafe, outside the Cathedral pictured above, where we shared a really, really good gluten free pesto pizza. Italians do gluten free really well. 

Our view

This is one of my favourite pictures from this trip 

We then slowly walked back to the ship, discussing another visit to this beautiful city.

Next week we will wrap up our trip.