Tony doesn't want a chestnut tree any time soon

Well, it was a Saturday with lots of activity.  The dogs had their teeth set for company early in the morning and had Chantelle and Lee going at an unreasonable hour - thanks Bob!  That offered the opportunity to get kitchen activity underway and life a bit more organized.  That meant breakfast for the troops - Ken and Chantelle were tickled.  It's not a week end without a formal breakfast.  Chantelle had grooming lined up that would fill a month of Sundays.  Included was a visit from Tony and Karen to put the finishing touches on young Anjin.  Ken did a bit of work on the areas that Susan had started and repaired her little mistakes. Tony and Karen's arrival is always an event - with treats for the grooming room to get all who pass through it set for the day.  But today's arrival was different - in addition to the grooming room bounty, Tony arrived in the office to visit with Lee, replete with bacon, ice wine and Lakka.  We can't think of anyone who has brought bacon as a Regalridge 'last day of winter' offering but then, Our Tony is pretty unique.  There was some work done on a DVD player in the kennel (we won't go there will we Tony) and the next we all saw of Tony, Ken had appropriated him and turned him into 'Ken staff'.  Chantelle and Lee breathed a sigh of relief - Our Ken likes staff and Tony filled the bill taking the pressure off of those who live here.  At one stage, Tony came down the hall noting that spring cleaning of the big front yard is like dealing with the Taliban.  To a raised eyebrow, he continued that just when you get rid of a few hundred chestnuts, a hundred more pop up.  Our Ken ran his new tiller, turning over soil in as wide a swath as he was able and grinning from ear to ear (not a common and a somewhat frightening countenance on Ken).  He has now bonded with the machine and the stars are properly aligned.  At dinner, there was a big sigh and the day was pronounced as a great one. 

The kennel continues to empty.  Abby, the Wal-Mart greeter departed as did Briggs and Brady.  Only the  little Dachshund thought that staying here might be the best option available.  He was the most concerned of the three on arrival and the most reluctant to leave on departure.  Sophie and Shadow are enjoying the space in their big yard.  Ruff had a yard to himself and enjoyed that as a change.  Maddie and Jasper are doing well, are in the double run and are as content as they can get.  Reese began the hair trimming procedure with Chantelle.  Little Maggie is thriving and is communicating with Chantelle after learning that lesson from Liard. 

The house dogs are doing well.  Patti is thriving - she went to see Ken and Tony yesterday at full throttle and looked like a two year old flying around the yard.  The little crew is doing great - noisy and rolling around the floors, looking for trouble in all the right places.  The Welsh are ready for Truro shows, with lovely trimming. 

Meals were good - sausage and scrambled eggs with rosemary, caramelized onion and cheese and oatmeal-grated apple muffins.  With our great latte machine offering up the best coffee in NS, it was a memorable meal.  By early afternoon, though, Our Ken needed sustenance once again (and Tony needed a break from raking acres of chestnuts).  Lunch was cold chicken, pumpernickel bread (with graham flour, coffee and cocoa), salad with fresh fruit and Olive Garden Italian dressing (Lee has a new cookbook), coffee and the muffins yet again.  Tony and Karen enjoyed the meal with us and we all relaxed for a while in the kitchen, telling Susan and Shirley stories to gales of laughter - Tony is still not over the pellets!  Dinner was a lovely bar b que with pork chops from across the road, potatoes and snap peas (spring is here).  And we are ready for Sunday, we think.