PUPS RIDING SHOTGUN

On high alert, heading to town!
TAKEN: JAUNARY 31st, 2026

Because I work from home, I like to get out into 'the land of the living' at least one of the two weekend days. And, no matter where we go, the pups are always happily riding shotgun.

We bought these beautiful sisters (same mother, different fathers) about eighteen months apart.

Growing up, I never had a dog. My mother was a cat person.

My hubby and I got our first dog just prior to my starting my maternity leave with our eldest. I figured that would work best as I would be home for sixteen weeks, having the time to properly finish basic training before returning to work.

Almost forty years later, I still roll my eyes when I think that Jukebox slept through the night after three weeks – and I got up with the dog to pee in the middle of the night for more than six months!

Anyway, as Miya gets ready to turn five, you can see her chin is beginning to turn white and I am starting to think it may be time to consider putting The Oreo Gang back together (two black labs, with our yellow representing the filling). But I know it won’t do that until my amazing breeder decides she may breed again - as she is currently on hiatus.

There is something to be said for a dog that has been hugged and handled from an early onset. The nurturing that both my dogs received in those first eight weeks are a testament to their temperament as well as their responsiveness to affection and overall canine socialability.

I was talking with a coworker that is looking for a female Belgian Malinois, as they currently have males.  I sent her a link to a beautiful girl I found online, and her husband said no.

If Leslie at Labradorables called me tomorrow and told me that she was expecting again, I would be elated. If my husband disagreed with our timing, I would listen intently and quickly respond in a very positive tone.

Informing him that because the garage is heated, and that he would be very comfortable sleeping out there. What… You didn’t think I would make him sleep in back of the car, did you?

Because if there was a mattress back there, how would the girls ride shotgun with us on the weekends?!

#yagottalaughaboutit

COUNTING AND COPING

Our struggle with outdoor doggie
washroom conditions are real!
TAKEN: JANUARY 22nd, 2026

Yesterday morning, the control panel on my 60V Greenworks electric snowblower, bit dust. 

Even worse, their service department confirmed the part's backordered, and they cannot offer a timeline for shipment. I automatically knew I would be back to manually shoveling snow.

Now, as I have written here before, at Old Bessie, our gas-powered beauty of age does the heavy lifting - but I am responsible to clear entrances, decks, and dog trails; that our old girl cannot access.

Well, just as my winter clearing lifeline went on hiatus, The Weather Network announced that we were to receive 40+cm of snow (about 16 inches for my American readers) forecasted to fall within 24 hours. 

So, shovel in hand, I was dealing with the accumulation I had missed through the day last night until I was ready to go to bed, to ensure by morning we could open the back patio door, and that the dogs had a path at 6am.

By 6am this morning, Mother Nature added another 8+ inches fallen, which told me that we were only about half-way there before we might receive any reprieve.

Out went my travel buddy hubby with Bessie blowing in the dark, as I took shovels to the decks in my PJ pants. We worked our way of digging out from the accumulated snow and as the sun rose the blizzard continued. 

Then our obvious problem hit. It was on my 9:30am break, where the dogs go to do their business. 

Where the hell do they go?

All I can say is that from the photo I am sharing… their struggle was/is real. 

Hope I can see their eyes peeping over the banks by this time tomorrow!

#yagottalaughaboutit

REMEMBERING 2025

I don’t know about you but for this cat, 2025 flew by incredibly fast.

The Psychology Today website says it is because ‘time speeds up with increasing age because we have fewer new experiences and our perception is less vivid.’ Whatever, I call that therory total bullshit.

As this past year was jampacked with a ton of new experiences that were carefully executed as well as financed thanks to a hectic year at work; with a plethora of overtime worked and rewarding deadlines met.

As we all prepare to raise a glass and get ready to welcome a new year, I would like to wish all the best to you and your loved ones in 2026… And thanks again for reading.

~ Rhondi

PS: As you reminisce with me electronically you can click links to the month of journal offerings (57 in total) and photos that you may have missed, or wish to revisit. 

Remember, never one to shy away from being blunt, so keep your hands and feet in the ride at all times!

Most Unexpected Moment (centre) - The swift and unexpected passing of my mother in law. My husband called me when he was leaving work to tell me he was headed to meet the ambulance at the hospital, and less than eight hours later she was gone. Godspeed Angie, may you forever rest in peace.

(LINK TO REVIST: SHOCKINGLY, UNEXPECTED)

January: After a deep freeze the first of the month, the end of the month had us and the pup (top left) enjoying the Fire and Ice Festival. Nothing too spectacular, except for the fact this was the very first time they wore a collar and walked with a lead, and circulated in public. They both did amazing, getting lots of pets, love, and attention.

(LINK TO REVIST: JANUARY POSTS & PHOTOS)

February: The implementation of the tariffs in the United States, along with the 51st State rhetoric had us make the decision to not to cross the border for the next four years. As a result, we had numerous staycations in Ontario and traveled twice to the Caribbean and Mexico.

(LINK TO REVIST: FEBRUARY POSTS & PHOTOS)

March: The ice storm of the century hit Muskoka at the end of the month, and it was unlike anything we had ever experienced. Scary times for sure. Though the month came in like a lamb, it most certainly went out like a lion. We were hit so hard at the cottage, that we still have approximately 40% of the branches that fell to clean up and burn. 

(LINK TO REVIST: MARCH POST & PHOTO)

April: This month, my travel buddy hubby and I traveled to Aruba to celebrate my milestone birthday. My birthday (top right) had me enjoying a drink with my dad on beautiful Palm Beach. This adventure was one for the record books. We experienced the entire island while we were there.

(LINK TO REVIST: APRIL A-Z POSTS & PHOTOS)

May: After February had us cancel our plans to travel to Colorado and experience Sheryl Crow at Red Rocks Amphitheatre, it was announced that Zac Brown Band was returning to Ontario in May. I immediately joined his Fan Club and secured front row tickets. Coincidentally, the only other artist I had experienced in the front row at the venue was in fact, you guessed it... Sheryl Crow!

(LINK TO REVIST: MAY POSTS & PHOTOS)

June: This month, start to finish, was spent clearing the cottage from the ice storm. From repairing fascia, to rebuilding stairs, we worked hard to contain the mess and burn whenever we could. The photo I am sharing was my hubby (with Katie Kate's) trying to process the tree he hit with his AVT before he went into the water. It was so large, it never got removed from the water until September.

(LINK TO REVIST: JUNE POSTS & PHOTOS)

July: An early morning phone call from my son Goob had my husband rushing him to the fracture clinic in Orillia for surgery. He had an e-scooter accident that resulted in a broken humerus bone right at the shoulder that required the four screws and a metal plate being inserted. Thank God he was wearing a helmet!

(LINK TO REVIST: JULY POSTS & PHOTOS)

August: This month saw our entire community work together to find the beloved neighbourhood girl, Josephine. This pup, a rescue that was a street dog in Isreal, knew how to hide and not be found. We first began looking around dinner time on August 19th, and all the posters, and social media support had her home four days later. A real good new story for sure.

(LINK TO REVIST: AUGUST POSTS & PHOTOS)

September: This month had one explosive weekend that produced a ton of fun. We stayed in Downtown Toronto to experience the Toronto International Film Festival, as well as taking in Brittany Howard and Alabama Shakes at Budweiser Stage. An expensive weekend, but money very well spent.

(LINK TO REVIST: SEPTEMBER POSTS & PHOTOS)

October: A busy month with us hosting Thanksgiving dinner, we decided to head to our fourth concert of the season and experienced Amanda Marshall for the second time in two years, this time, up close and personal. Unable to perform for twenty years because of her former manager, you would never know it. This lady can most certainly sing, and offers an overall vibe that compares to Janis Joplin.

(LINK TO REVIST: OCTOBER POSTS & PHOTOS)

November: This month offered me some closure of sorts. As you've read here many times, my former colleague was brutally murdered by her husband in January of 2023. Her murder, which was featured in an NBC Dateline episode (The Running Man) answered some questions that I thought would always remain hidden. Rest in Peace Ash, I miss you...

(LINK TO REVIST: NOVEMBER POSTS & PHOTOS)

December: This month ends my year with a selfie by the Christmas tree, and other than a couple of blonde whisps at the very bottom, my hair is officially white. When I got it cut just before the holiday break, my hairdresser told me she was proud of me that I stuck it out. A journey I started on May 5th, 2023.

(LINK TO REVIST: DECEMBER POSTS & PHOTOS)

TRIMMING TRADITIONS

Finally finished trimming the tree.
TAKEN: DECEMBER 13th, 2025

The Wednesday evening after we returned from Cancun, our highspeed internet went out. Just as we always do, my travel buddy hubby called his sister who lives in assisted living two streets away.

After confirming she was out too, I reminded her that she could create a mobile hotspot with her phone and she could run her Smart TV using that. It was at the point that she told us it wasn't an option, as she didn’t own one. The very next day my husband bought her a 43” streaming television for her bedroom.

Since our children finished post-secondary school, each year our pups buy gifts for those that wouldn’t necessarily buy that item for themselves. This year it was a new television, one year it was a laptop for a mother of one of the twins that was a shut-in from chemotherapy – the list is long.

That said, this will be the very first year that there will be no wrapped gifts under our tree, nor monitary gifts haning in the tree. 

This year, 100% of our spending will be donated by Miya and Katie Kate to those in need. Gift cards for the grocery store, cellphone bill payments for the year, even the payment of streaming subscriptions.

I used to put cash in stockings in the tree but this year I have decided against that. As the money will be long gone by new years and bills will still keep coming in.

I guess that is why I cut off the base of my Christmas tree in the photo I am sharing. 

For me the tree is all about the Christmas lights and how they make me feel. It has never been about what is under it.... And for the very first time, there will be nothing.

Not going to lie, taking that offical step feels great!

SNOWY STAIR TREK

The girls were kind enough
open a path on the stairs.
TAKEN: DECEMBER 6th, 2025

When I posted November 2nd that we had closed the cottage down, what I neglected to mention was that short of converting the pups into Sherpas, there was no way to get all the items in our fridge up the hill in one haul. So, rather than making a second trip, we decided we would return the following weekend.

Short story long, we never made it back out. Time got the best if us and we left for Toronto on the afternoon of the 20th and flew out at 6am the morning of the 21st into Cancun. 

Back in Toronto on the 29th, we drove home to Muskoka the morning of the 30th in freezing rain that turned into snow by nightfall; and the snow has not let up since.

As the next week unfurled, every day we discussed the urgency of the fact that we had to get back out there. Our main concern was that the fridge was still plugged in and sucking energy from the electrical panel.

Finally, this morning arrived and after a cup of coffee and a breakfast bagel, we loaded up the pups and headed on our fifteen minute drive. I still find it amazing how our pups react when we turn off the highway. 

Back windows go down, and out the window their heads go. They know exactly what is waiting for them when we get there.

Even covered in a blanket of snow, it is one of my very favorite places on earth. Yet, as we plan for retirement, our plan is will be sold. 

Just not sure if that it is what we really want to do. I guess time will ultimately tell what we decide... But we both know that clearing and climbing those stairs all winter in Muskoka is definately NOT an option. 

Construct a two car garage with year round living space above at the top of the driveway?

Definately, maybe!

ANOTHER FIRST

What a difference a couple
of hours make.
TAKEN: OCTOBER 31st, 2025

Today is Halloween, it makes no matter to us, we don’t get kids at the door; nor do we attend any local parties.

Anyway, just after lunch, I was on the phone with a coworker, when I spun around in my swivel office chair and declared, “holy cow, it’s snowing outside!”

Once again, it appears that we left the cottage water on later than we should have.

For the record, I wanted to winterize the weekend we rescued Stella, but my travel buddy hubby had other ideas. We knew we had the leaves to process at the house in town last weekend but neither of us factored in the Toronto Blue Jays and their run at a World Series title.

Our plan two weeks ago was that I would head to the cottage at noon today so I could get it warmed up. We would enjoy one last weekend with all our services before we shut the water off.

But midweek we decided the TV in town trumped the one 10 kms away, and the winterization exercise had to wait until Sunday morning.

So, this post is to recognize yet another first for us at Orillia Lake in 2025.

Getting into the lake with a torch to disconnect the water intake while it is snowing outside!

#yagottalaughaboutit

STELLA ESCAPED

Our girl embracing an
autumn adventure.
TAKEN: OCTOBER 17th, 2025

After our epic day of burning on Saturday September 27th, we spent the next few weekends in town.

With a Baker’s Dozen dining with us for Thanksgiving, I had to steam clean our carpets the weekend before. A week after our turkey coma subsided, we were back to the cottage to begin shutting it down.

Because my travel buddy hubby cannot bring his work truck home throughout the week, we swap at lunchtime which has him picking up the car at home. In this instance, it had him taking the pups and me to the cottage to get the place warm and where I would finish my workday.

As I headed down the stairs, my immediate reaction was that someone had stolen Stella. As I sauntered toward the dock, I discovered that she had simply escaped. Will the fall colour in bloom, I thought she looked so pretty perched in our alcove, keeping our turtles company.

Not wanting to try and rescue her with the unconditional help of two pups, and a premonition that I would end up in the lake, I decided to wait until the next morning to hunt for the hip waders.

The next morning the closing ritual began. Up and out came the pedal boat and dock ladder, in came the ramp with Stella safely perched for the winter. With it too windy to burn, we managed to work at getting the cottage close ramped up.

With everything out and up the hill and the only task left is to shut off the water, we are officially prepared for the end of another cottage season.

...Which has been our 26^th.

Stella is all settled for the winter.
TAKEN: OCTOBER 18th, 2025

THANKS, BUDDY!

Wee Katie Kate supervising the
disconnection in progress.
TAKEN: JULY 1ST, 2025

The weekend before my mother-in-law unexpectedly passed, my travel buddy hubby and his best cottage mate finally coordinated the dissection of the last fallen tree (from the ice storm) stuck in our shoreline.

They had tried several times to connect but as it would have it, day-to-day life got in the way; until finally the morning arrived. 

A couple of efforts in July (one seen above) to remove the bulk of the tree from stump had my husband realizing that no matter what he tried, this sucker was NOT going to float away. It would have to be dismembered and removed to shore piece by piece.

With Stella (our floating picnic table) anchored to aid with keeping the tools dry, and wee Katie Kate once again was in supervision mode, the project began.

They landed in the water that Saturday morning just past 10am, I served them lunch around noon, and the last of the tools were slugged out of the water about 2pm. Words can’t describe how blessed we are to have such great neighbours in he and his wife. They are truly amazing.

So, check their effort out... Below are just a few photos of the last of the water trees from hell that have literally consumed our time since opening the cottage in May of this year.

Assessing to start...
With dogs in the mix.
TAKEN: AUGUST 23rd, 2025

Turn out my Dad's antique saw
worked best because of Katie Kate's help.
TAKEN: AUGUST 23rd, 2025

Hauling to shore on the home stretch!
TAKEN: AUGUST 23rd, 2025

Mission accomplished... At a cost of 
a couple of burgers and a beer!!
TAKEN: AUGUST 23rd, 2025

TROLLING THE SHORES

Miya Maria (left) and Katie Kate (right).
Soaking up the super fun Stella vibes.
TAKEN: AUGUST 9th, 2025

With us having to unexpectedly cancel my travel buddy hubby’s birthday weekend in Montreal, I decided to use my Triangle reward points to buy new super speedy trolling motor for our floating picnic table. 

Trouble was, with all the ice storm clean up, we never had the time to get it unpacked and attached when he was off in July.

Well, once we got my sister back home, we decided there was no time like the present to get the party started; and down to the dock we went to strap our girl into her shiny new double battery powered upgrade.

Honestly, I had no apprehension about it being Katie Kate’s first trek, which was probably my first mistake. To offer insight, I posted a series of neat photos on my socials with the following caption:

‘We got the pups out on Stella (our floating picnic table) this afternoon. A first for the wee Katie Kate.

It was spicy and dicey getting off the dock, and both girls only jumped off 4 times in the half hour we trolled. Which is probably why we were out only for half an hour!

Don't get me wrong, our dogs are very well behaved and very well socialized. They go everywhere with us. 

So, I shouldn't have been surprised that as soon as someone on shore acknowledged the pups off the chart "cuteness factor," off of Stella they went. Quickly swimming the fifteen feet to say hello to the people and kids waving. 

You know, I have shared here this season that I feel it may be time to tune up the fat lady and sell the lakeside shelter where we've spent the last 25+ summers.

Then we ultimately realize it will never be replaced... and how fortunate we truly are.

MY CANADIAN GIRLS

Happy Canada Day!
TAKEN: JULY 1st, 2025

I would be remiss if I didn’t put up my annual dog shot of the pups at the cottage on Canada Day. 

The last few years Miya has been my model; this year I thought Katie Kate could wear our Canadian (dollar store) crown.

With cookie pals behind my ears to bribe her, this was as close as she was going to allow me to put this silly thing on her head. Still a cute shot but this is what a hard NO from a cheeky yellow lab looks like.

All and all we really enjoyed the day. Next year I think I may have to try and snap a photo when she’s a sleep.

... Though I am sure my result will be precisely the same!

#yagottalaughaboutit

A PAW-FECT TEAM

Katie Kate is the epitome of a great team player!
TAKEN: JUNE 28th, 2025 

What a week. 

I was so grateful when end of day Friday of the Canada Day weekend officially arrived. When we started our chores on Saturday morning, the magnitude of what had to get done really hit home. 

Finding a good balance of owning and keeping a home and a cottage maintained twenty kilometers from the other, has always been a challenge the last two plus decades. Throw in an ice storm of a lifetime and the reality that there will never be rest is a harsh reality.

We’ve always invested in the right tools to do the exterior maintenance efficiently but there is just so much we literally choose our battles wisely. Saturday was 'whipper snipping, leaf blowing, and clearing the upper drive and ATV trail', as I took the hacksaw to any saplings’ I wanted gone. 

With my travel buddy hubby in the hospital last summer, all our ongoing maintenance was overlooked; and the ache in my lower back Sunday morning was the reminder it was missed.

When I finished on the ATV trails and septic bed area, Miya and I headed to the top to see how our other crew was making out. As you can see, they were just finishing up and the team leader was rushing up the drive to give me her report.

Specifically, that her coworker WAS wearing his hearing protection, but NOT his safety glasses. After careful consideration, it was decided not to formally write him up. And that a verbal warning (this time) would suffice.

The corrective action was successful implemented once he began leaf blowing! 

#yagottalaughaboutit

Important Notable: Not a single treat was not used to entice a favourable recommendation from our paw-fect team leader!

Y IS FOR YUMMY

Doesn't my puzzle look yummy?
Katie Kate thinks so!
TAKEN: FEBRUARY 15th, 2025

A few years ago, I went to the local Habitat for Humanity, and for a whopping ten bucks I bought myself a puzzle table. Prior to that I have an old piece of plywood I would fetch from under the spare bed on Sundays, then I realized it was worth setting up a 'puzzle specific' table.

You can see I am sitting in front of our exterior sliding door but to my right there are big living room windows with base board heaters. Each year after the holidays are put away, I tuck the dining room table to the side to maximize heat output and minimizing the hydro bills.

For whatever reason, I tend to do puzzles with vibrant colour that also tend to have a focus on with food. The one after this one was yummy too – dogs making pizza!

I only puzzle from New Years Day until I leave for my birthday trip. Not only does it relax me, it helps we gain extra light in the winter months and relax while sports plays on the television in the background.

K IS FOR KINDRED

 

Our kindred sisters...
TAKEN: MARCH 7th, 2023

This is Miya (on the left) and Katie Kate (on the right). Sisters born eighteen months apart to the same Mum and different fathers.

Miya came to us via a CKC breeder once we discovered that our 10 year old yellow named Puddin' was full of cancer. After Puddin' passed, I was so lost without her, that I called my breeder to get on the list for another yellow. 

Well, that call came less than six months later. Now, we could have passed and waited for Minnie's next litter, but she had gone into distress and an emergency section had to be performed to save her nine pups.

The breeder instantly decided to have a full hysterotomy done, deeming Minnie sterile. If we wanted a sister to this black beauty, we had to buy a pup from the nine that were birthed on December 5th, 2022.

From the moment Katie came home, these two were inseparable and the best of friends. Our older girl, a flat-coated retriever named Annie, welcomed her as well and The Oreo Gang was back together just over six months since Puddin' died.

With Annie leaving us last September after a short battle with brain cancer, these two became even closer.

I say that they are kindred sisters, but it's more than that. The two of them, along with my travel buddy hubby and I, are all kindred spirits.  

Unconditionally connected for as long as we have time together on earth.

WALKING ON SUNSHINE

Miss Katie Kate embracing 
the double digit sunshine today!
TAKEN: MARCH 19th, 2025

CLICK HERE: To have Rhondi read you this post on her new podcast platform

Even though it isn't officially Spring for a couple of days, the massive amount of dog crap land mines that have suddenly appeared in my yard have me feeling like it is already here. I don't know about you but I'm elated; about the warm temps, not the dog crap.

The last month or so had been brutal for me. Had a bit of a meltdown at work last week, as I can't seem to stay caught up, and in the background I am fixating on what is happening to us politically. That said, the state of world affairs, and my heightened anxiety isn't my point here today.

As I was basking in the sunshine this afternoon, enjoying the last doggie daycare break of the day, I was lucky enough to snap this amazing photo of Katie Kate. As cute as she is, she isn't the reason I wanted to capture this specific musing.

Today, I thought I would hop and share an important realization that crossed my mind as I entertained my pups. 

I literally chuckled to myself when I suddenly realized, what a sad state the world we live in is... when the weather man (who can never get it right) is the most reliable news source we have!

#yagottalaughaboutit

That is all. Thanks for checking in. Seacrest OUT!!