Yes, it is understood that the blog has been in hiatus. The pilgrimage to Virginia was true to form and Billy had a wonderful vacation. The dog with the miles under his paws charmed the South yet again, winning friends and influencing local dogs. Remus, the little Welsh, welcomed the Regalridgemobile and wagged for a solid three weeks. There was the requisite shopping, punctuated with coffee at the 7/11 as votes were cast for our presidential candidate. Now, that was interesting. The height of the piles of available red or blue containers depended entirely on the area of the convenience store - the one located next to the hut advertising Thursday night "Bullets and Beer" had a smaller assortment than most. It was time to buy Remus' dog license - and in this gated community in which we spend a considerable amount of time annually, the place to buy your license is, of course, at Bill's Gun Shop. Yes, as odd as it seems to Canadians, they sell fishing, hunting and dog licenses next to high powered rifles and a plethora of handguns and ammunition. Only in the south. Sunday at the Jefferson was a weekly ritual, with our regular server offering up endless good champagne to accompany that outstanding afternoon of over-eating. Our Ken's seven desserts was slightly under his high of nine achieved in the spring. Linda had three crystal cups of chocolate mousse and was replete. This year Regalridge was managed by a fabulous young woman. Alisha has a dog 'outreach' business that includes training, exercise and house sitting. She is reliable, responsible, and thoroughly delightful, capable of managing the Regalridge crew and assorted additions with ease. What a terrific addition to our lives and a person highly recommended should such services be needed.
Settled back into the daily routine, Lily arrived and offered a family of Airedale puppies. All are well, fat and happy. Lily is very, very proud. Logan is the father and the puppies have the potential to be stunners given the parents' pedigrees and great looks. The weather is finally becoming seasonal and the first hard frost was experienced this week. Prior to that, the days had been early September-like, with warm to hot afternoons. Still, the time has changed, daylight is shorter and evenings seem the longest period of each 24 hour cycle. Some of the winter birds have arrived and Our Ken is handing out seed by the bucketful. There is a new feeder for small birds and special fruit and nut seed is included in the daily menu. Chantelle added a window feeder, supposedly for small feathered friends. The Blue Jays did not get that memo. One has become very, taken with the kitchen goings on, peering through the window while sitting on this exalted perch and is likely to move in at the first opportunity. And there are adventures. On this day, it was the appearance of a pervasive black covering. During the early morning stampede, Lee noticed the floor's call for a cleaning. Somewhat surprised since it had not rained the day before, the mop was brought out for a little early morning exercise. Three buckets later, and with a dent made in the film, there was a realization that 'something happened'. On Our Ken's arrival two hours later, a bemused expression crossed that otherwise benign countenance. The engineer among us had cleaned the oil stove the evening before - with a vacuum cleaner. In went the soot and out it spewed, apparently. There is no better avenue for spreading a full oily covering through a very large room than a powerful vacuum - words to live by. So, hours of cleaning later, a start has been made. There is no worry about filling time for the coming week.
The kennel is quiet and that is a good thing.
The house crew are well and impressed by Our Ken's prowess in motivating all of this great room activity. Their paltry attempts of tearing apart the orthopedic bed and working as a team to spread chips of memory foam through the entire area look pitiful by comparison.
Dinner has ranged from pan fried haddock to chicken wings with the lovely blue cheese dip; sirloin from the favourite butcher across the road to pot roast (first of the season); burger night to prime rib. There have been multi-tiered carrot cakes (Our Ken had an annual celebration) and pumpkin pies, cranberry muffins and banana breads. Cream of onion and tomato-basil soup have graced the table. Apple crisp from brother Reg's apples and homemade bread have made appearances on Regalridge plates and platters. And there is a strong rumour circulating that Christmas is coming.
Settled back into the daily routine, Lily arrived and offered a family of Airedale puppies. All are well, fat and happy. Lily is very, very proud. Logan is the father and the puppies have the potential to be stunners given the parents' pedigrees and great looks. The weather is finally becoming seasonal and the first hard frost was experienced this week. Prior to that, the days had been early September-like, with warm to hot afternoons. Still, the time has changed, daylight is shorter and evenings seem the longest period of each 24 hour cycle. Some of the winter birds have arrived and Our Ken is handing out seed by the bucketful. There is a new feeder for small birds and special fruit and nut seed is included in the daily menu. Chantelle added a window feeder, supposedly for small feathered friends. The Blue Jays did not get that memo. One has become very, taken with the kitchen goings on, peering through the window while sitting on this exalted perch and is likely to move in at the first opportunity. And there are adventures. On this day, it was the appearance of a pervasive black covering. During the early morning stampede, Lee noticed the floor's call for a cleaning. Somewhat surprised since it had not rained the day before, the mop was brought out for a little early morning exercise. Three buckets later, and with a dent made in the film, there was a realization that 'something happened'. On Our Ken's arrival two hours later, a bemused expression crossed that otherwise benign countenance. The engineer among us had cleaned the oil stove the evening before - with a vacuum cleaner. In went the soot and out it spewed, apparently. There is no better avenue for spreading a full oily covering through a very large room than a powerful vacuum - words to live by. So, hours of cleaning later, a start has been made. There is no worry about filling time for the coming week.
The kennel is quiet and that is a good thing.
The house crew are well and impressed by Our Ken's prowess in motivating all of this great room activity. Their paltry attempts of tearing apart the orthopedic bed and working as a team to spread chips of memory foam through the entire area look pitiful by comparison.
Dinner has ranged from pan fried haddock to chicken wings with the lovely blue cheese dip; sirloin from the favourite butcher across the road to pot roast (first of the season); burger night to prime rib. There have been multi-tiered carrot cakes (Our Ken had an annual celebration) and pumpkin pies, cranberry muffins and banana breads. Cream of onion and tomato-basil soup have graced the table. Apple crisp from brother Reg's apples and homemade bread have made appearances on Regalridge plates and platters. And there is a strong rumour circulating that Christmas is coming.
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