The Everbell Adventures

February? Seriously?

2011-02-01T17:28:00.001-08:00

Okay, so January just flew by ... how the heck did that happen? Oh right, we were somewhere warm and (mostly) sunny. :) Just to rub it in, I've posted some pix on my Facebook page. Enjoy! Joce Bellefeuille

2010

2010-12-20T06:23:00.001-08:00

Once again it’s time to wrap up the year for our friends and family. If you follow this blog, you probably already know most of the high- (and low-) lights.

2009 ended on a sad note for us. Shortly after Christmas, we had to put Roxane to sleep. She was very ill and the vet confirmed that nothing further could be done. We still miss our little grey kitten, but are comforted knowing she is out of pain.

In March, we returned Shiraz to the breeder to be bred for her last litter of puppies, Bo went to camp and we went to the Caribbean.

At the end of May, Shiraz had six puppies (2 girls and 4 boys). We picked her up (for good) at the end of July. Bo was thrilled to have his big sister home … it’s amazing how close the two of them became. She was fixed in September, so no more pups for Razzie!

In August, my niece Sophie came and stayed with us for a week. We had a great time shopping and doing tourist things.

In September, we made the decision to move one more time. We have purchased a new home in the Village of Carp and will hopefully be moving at the end of June. We will no doubt have many updates as construction moves into full swing.

Work has been busy for both Rich and I, but no job changes this year. Richard’s running season went really well, and he posted his best time (and Boston qualifying-time) in Scranton, PA in October (3:13 and change). So, it looks like we will be going back to Boston sometime soon.

We have also gotten involved in dog-sports with the dogs: Rich did a cani-cross race with Shiraz in October (and they came in 1^st overall – no surprise if you know Shiraz!) and I’ve started scootering with the dogs. In both cases, the dogs wear mushing harnesses and pull us. Rich connects the dogs to a cani-cross belt, while I connect them to an adult-size scooter (with brakes). It is a lot of fun, and great exercise for the dogs.

2011 promises to be very busy – we have another cruise planned in the new year, then putting the house up for sale and moving. I will try to be more diligent in posting updates!

Wishing you and yours’ a very happy and healthy New Year!

Why we are moving

2010-09-19T15:25:00.000-07:00

Pictures say a thousand words, and this one explains why we are moving ...

This lake is literally five houses up the road, and is surrounded by trails (both winter and summer). When Rich and I saw this. we just couldn't pass up the opportunity to have a home that takes advantage of this little piece of country. We've already spotted our local blue heron.

This is the approximate area where our house will be. The trees and rock-outcropping should remain after the construction of our house.

Today we began the colour selections for the house.

These are the exterior colours ...

A little closer up ... the paint chip will be the colour of our front door and garage door.

Our kitchen cabinet, tile, hardwood and carpet selections ...

Our spare bath and powder room colours ...

And our master bath colours

So, did we make the right choices?

Busy times at Casa B

2010-09-06T16:28:00.000-07:00

It's been quite a busy month and a bit since I last checked in.

1. My niece Sophie (14) came to stay with us for a week. We had a great time checking out some local attractions (Karter's Korners, 1000 Island Boat Cruise, Mont Cascade) and shopping in Montreal.

2. Since the muffin-maker (Shiraz) is officially out of production, we had her spayed on Friday. She is recuperating well from the surgery (also got her teeth cleaned ... sparkly!) however still seems a little more lethargic than is normal for her.

3. We've bought a new house (in Carp) about 10 minutes from where we are now. We close in June 2011. We are very excited since we have been working with a local builder (Holitzner) and have customized one of their bungalows to suit our lifestyles perfectly. The lot is larger than the one we have now, plus there is a beautiful forest and lake about 5 houses up the road. We will be sure to take lots of pictures and keep everyone updated on the progression of the build.

The gang's all here!

2010-07-18T05:59:00.000-07:00

Wow! Just noticed I haven't posted in awhile. To make up for it, I have puppy pix!

That's right -- Razzie had her puppies on May 22, and we brought her home (for good) yesterday. And we resisted the temptation to add to the family -- we think we deserve a gold star!

The puppies are: boys -- Bailey, Bolt, Billy and Moses; girls -- Ditta and Rosa. (For those of you less familiar with running they are all the names of famous runners -- talk to Rich, who suggested the names.)

Here are some shots of the little wigglers (who start going home to their permanent homes today).

Hiya!

Hello!

Ooo ... you must have something good in your hand.

Momma Raz guarding the pups from Bo!

Puppy nose!

Tired from playing

Bogey relaxing after some horsing around with Raz.

Raz back as queen of the castle -- after her 2 1/4 mile run with Rich this morning.

Cruise Days 8, 9 & 10 -- Aruba, At Sea and San Juan

2010-04-12T16:52:00.000-07:00

So Aruba was the last of the islands we were to visit. Joce Z. and I headed out for a little retail therapy in the morning as we had an afternoon snorkel planned. Richard in the meantime had a run up to Hooiberg Hill.

Here are some shots from Rich's run.

Cactus in the Caribbean

Hooiberg Hill

The steps up

The view at the top

Shots of Oranjestad

Hooiberg Hill as we leave Aruba...

The beach and our priate ship

The Antilles wreck

A fishy friend

San Juan, Puerto Rico

Conclusion

We're done for now ... but ready to go back!!!

Cruise Day 7 & 8 -- At Sea and Curaçao

2010-04-12T16:32:00.000-07:00

Not much to say about the at sea day, except that we swam at ate (and repeated many times).

As I already mentioned (boo! hiss!) I forgot my underwater camera when Joce Z. and I headed over to Jan Thiel Bay for a morning of snorkelling. This was really unfortunate as it was without a doubt the best snorkelling I have ever done. Schools of fish and super healthy coral. Go on to youtube and search for Jan Thiel -- there's a couple really beautiful videos (unfortunately, about how this area is under threat for development). I would go back here in a heartbeat.

Rich spent the morning running up the coastline and the headed over to the town to take some snaps. As it was Good Friday, most of the stores were closed, but Willemsted is a very pretty town.

On the run

Flamingoes!

Willemsted

The famous pontoon bridge

Cruise Days 4 and 5 -- Barbados & Grenada

2010-04-12T16:13:00.000-07:00

Barbados
Been there, done that.This was a relaxed day for us ... visited Brandon's Beach, did some shopping and hung out on the ship.

Brandon's Beach

Carlisle Bay

Grenada

Our plan for the day was hike through the rainforest. On the way we crossed a nutmeg plantation and went down a very steep and long (25 minutes down) hill to reach the waterfalls. Sooo worth it though. Grenada is a very beautiful island, and of course, being the spice island, I stocked up!

A representation of the flag of Grenada (note the nutmeg on the left)

A view of the island

A rainbow mahogany tree

Highest point on the island

Beautiful flowers and plants

On the way down ...

Our guide, Rooster, telling us all about the spices grown in Grenada

Pineapples

The falls

On the way back up

A beautiful butterfly

Pictures of St. George's

Cruise Day 3 -- St. Lucia

2010-04-11T16:47:00.000-07:00

Back to one of my favourite Caribbean islands for March 29. This time we decided to visit the Pitons and mineral baths heated by the Soufrière volcano.

Shot of Castries and our ship

Marigot Bay

Banana plantation (and immature bananas)

Mineral Baths

How the other half lives ... (mom and dad's next boat ???)

The Pitons

Do you recognize this from the "Pirates of the Caribbean"?

Cruise Day 2 -- Sint Maarten

2010-04-11T16:40:00.000-07:00

March 28 -- nothing planned really for the day, but shopping. (Can you think of a better way to spend my first 39th birthday? :) I got a couple new silver bracelets (so did Rich) and we bought some clothes as well. Rich gave me a gift certificate to a local spa -- can't wait to indulge!!!

Rich did a little jog around the town and then we hooked up with Joce Z. (Rob was diving again) to hit Front and Back Streets for a little duty and tax free shopping. Gotta a little wet on the walk over, but then it got steamy! Here are some snaps of Sint Maarten care of Rich's jaunts around town.

Cruise Day 1 -- British Virgin Islands

2010-04-11T16:34:00.000-07:00

Okay, technically, Day 1 was San Juan, but we've "been there, done that" already...

As you may recall, we were on the cruise (Celebrity Millennium) with our friends Joce and Rob from the neighbourhood. To avoid confusion (or thinking I'm talking about myself in the third person, I am me, and Joce (our friend) is Joce Z. Clear enough?

Day 1 - British Virgin Islands (Tortola and Virgin Gorda)

So we arrived in Road Town the morning of March 27.

After quickly saying good-bye to Rob at the ship (he went diving), Rich, Joce Z. and I, and our snorkel gear headed down to the dock to catch a ferry to Virgin Gorda. Our destination? The famous "Baths" of Virgin Gorda.

We managed to hook up with Egbert on the docks who is a private boat operator running tourists back and forth from Tortola to the Valley (our landing point in V.G.). For $35 each, we got there and back, and Rich had all the rum punch he could handle (note: do not let Rich EVER try to keep up in the rum punch department with a former professional football player. Geesh!)

Anyhow, after a lovely 30 minute boat ride, we arrived in V.G., boarded a transfer trolley and shortly found ourselves walking the Baths. Words do not do this area justice ... the area is beautiful and the snorkelling was awesome. The pictures speak for themselves.

Postcards from camp

2010-04-11T15:39:00.000-07:00

If we have never mentioned it enough (and yes, we do refer ALL our friends there) we and Bogey love having him go to "camp" at Oak Meadows Pet Resort.

Here are some candid shots of his time at camp.

Apparently, this was supposed to be a golden retriever shot... (Bo never one to miss the excitement ...)

Bo and an english pointer ...

Bo and his new friend Alex ...

Handsome boy!

On terra firma

2010-04-07T05:53:00.000-07:00

What a great vacation ... I will be posting lots over the next few days as kind of a travel journal, but suffice it to say, I already want to go back :D Number one priority? Curaçao -- the best snorkelling I have ever done (but of course, I left my water camera on the ship. D'oh!).

Bogey had a great time at camp while Raz was "vacationing" with Heather at Nuthatch. Hopefully all has gone well and we should be expecting little Raz-muffins in late May / early June. We're off to collect her on Saturday so Bogey will have a few weeks of big sister before her due date.

In like a lamb ...

2010-03-03T06:10:00.000-08:00

out like a lion?

Bah! Who cares? We will be floating on a ship somewhere in the Caribbean.

That's right; another cruise for us! So excited as the plans come together! And our friends Joce and Rob will be aboard as well. The itinerary is: San Juan (Puerto Rico), Tortola (BVI), Sint Maarten, St. Lucia, Barbados, Grenada, Curaçao, Aruba and back to San Juan.

Still waiting for the muffin-maker (ie. Razzie) to go into heat, so we will be sending her back to Heather for some quality bonding time in Georgetown. (Can you just imagine a female in heat at a kennel? I think we would be banned for life!) On the plus side, Heather's agreed to breed her on this cycle (if she goes into heat while visiting) which means we will be done with that sooner rather than later.

So the next few weeks is comprised of emptying the fridge, delivering Raz to Southern Ontario, getting our summer clothes out and packing. Can't wait to be on the ship and share our experiences with our friends via this blog.

More details available mid-April :)

February Blahs

2010-02-08T15:33:00.000-08:00

So February has started off as a bit of a downer.

First, and most importantly, our friends Rob and Joce had to say good-bye to their old girl Bee on the weekend. This is a pic of Bee and her sister, Keeper. Bee was a super cool old girl and she did great up until her last few days. She was a true survivor and made me just fall in love with senior citizen GSPs.

RIP sweet Bee (1996-2010)

Keeper (in blue) and Bee (in yellow)

Second, my football team lost yesterday. Sigh! Now, I'm not upset up N.O. winning, 'cuz I think they are a city that could use some good news. It was just that Indy blew it on a bad pass by Peyton. Oh well. There's always next year.

Third, darn Razzie hasn't gone in to heat yet, which could throw a serious wrench into our travel plans. (Can't kennel a hot dog!) Well, we have three weeks until we start to panic!

And just one for the road, here's what Booger gets up to when he's bored.

A Tale of Two Quills

2010-01-11T16:28:00.000-08:00

Okay, so up until now we've been pretty lucky with the dogs and the wildlife they encounter in the forest. Well today that ended.

On their run through the woods with Rich today, little madam, a.k.a Razzy, managed to spook a porcupine and get two quills in her snout for the effort. Of course, from all accounts Bo reacted exactly as a big, scary dog should -- cowering behind Dad for protection. Well, shouldn't complain -- it could have been much worse. On Christmas Eve the dogs actually found a porcupine nest. (I guess the porcupine was sleeping off too much Christmas egg nog to care about two dumb dogs.

Here's a pic of the two dogs yesterday posing before the Christmas tree (before it was unceremoniously ripped down and tossed on the curb.)

In other news, today was the first day of my new job -- I've accepted a position in our policy branch to to provide communications advice related to the assessment of our enabling legislation. As dry as that may sound, I think it will be interesting from my perspective. Much more hands on and writing. I was needing a change, and I hope this is a good one. It's a 6-month assignment, so if it's really not my cup of tea, back to the web advising gig.

New Year's Resolutions

2010-01-02T16:21:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I'm technically 2 days late in making my resolutions ... so, obviously resolution number 1 is "don't procrastinate". And the rest:

2. Stick to my eating and exercise plans (2 days in and check, and check!)
3. Work on training my dogs to be good canine citizens (sigh! always a challenge) Most importantly: stop their darn barking at everyone who walks down the street, and greet people on four legs (must remember to read animal farm to them -- but stop before the pigs start walking on two legs).
4. Remember Roxy in only happiness.
5. Take more photos of the dogs, especially when they are playing like fool animals (currently, they are both working on old socks of Richard's... too funny!)

All right, I realize these are some pretty basic resolutions, but they always say to have achievable goals. Number 2 and 3 will be the hardest to stick, so will rely on the support of friends and family.

Most importantly, I resolve to treasure every day I have with my family (bipeds and quadpeds) and friends (who we are lucky to have in abundance), and to enjoy life.

RIP Roxane (1995-2009)

2009-12-29T07:48:00.000-08:00

Unfortunately, today we need to advise you of the passing of our darling Roxane.

Our darling girl joined our family one month after we were married. The tiny little thing immediately stuck to our heart. She was with us through the good times and the bad.

She was our fierce guard cat as well as a lovable, soft plush cuddle toy.

In the past couple years she had been sick and had developed a tumor that made it difficult for her to walk. Lately she had been in a lot of pain, and today we made the difficult decision to end that pain.

We will love her always and she will always have a very special place in our heart.

Missing you already

xoxoxoxo Mom & Dad (Joce & Rich)

Oui, je PEUX parler français

2009-12-21T07:17:00.001-08:00

Just heard from my advisor at the School and I got my C for my oral exam (this is a GOOD thing -- crazy government system). Now I can relax and enjoy my holidays. Yippee!!!

Christmas is going to the dogs ...

2009-12-20T07:13:00.000-08:00

We had a lovely dinner at our friends, Rob and Joce's, last night. Those of you who know our dogs have probably heard us talk about Rob and Joce -- who also live in the neighbourhood and have two GSPs. So no, it's not me talking in the third person.

Joce made some of her amazing chili and I test-drove a gluten-free Black Forest trifle. Joce said I'm more than welcome to continue test-driving desserts on her, so it must have been okay. Now, I have my contribution to Christmas dinner at John and Rachel's all set!

The dogs were also warmly welcomed and they ate, well, whatever they could get their snouts on frankly! (Plus a few pup-sicles from outside, on Razzie's part. Eww!) Bogey even came home with a present -- a ball-toy that neither Bee, 13, or Keeper, 8, play with. Score!

Now, I meant to get a picture of all four dogs together, but I forgot (again!). Will try to get one of them all over the holidays. Here is a previous picture of taken of the girls (previously referred to as Bo's harem before Razzie joined the Everbell zoo!)

Keeper (in blue) and Bee (in yellow)

Je peux parler français?

2009-12-16T16:47:00.000-08:00

Well, I guess we'll find out in a couple days. The oral exam is done, although there were a couple questions I wasn't quite sure of ... sigh! Hopefully this'll be second time lucky.

Oh and a quick update on the weight loss -- had a weigh in today and I'm up to (down to???) 16 pounds lost. Yay! (On track for a pound a week at the end of the program!)

So the thief (Bogart) nabbed a tea bag yesterday. Fortunately, after a quick phone consult with the vet, I was assured that it wouldn't hurt him irreparably, aside from tummy upset, and perhaps a more hyper dog than usual (Gaaa!! Imagine Bo with MORE energy!) Also, I have discovered the dogs LOVE almonds and both have tried inserting their snouts into my mouth to get the almond crumbs out. Add that to the list of other human foods the dogs love, including peanut butter, yogurt, carrots, pumpkin, etc.

Anyhow, during a quiet moment post-my-french-test and a post-run-around-the-lake-with-Richard, I got some update pix of the rawgs. You can tell they really have it rough chez nous! Hopefully, if it's warmer this weekend, I'll get out too and get some action shots!

Bogey

Razzie

Home and Abroad 2009

2009-12-13T16:10:00.000-08:00

We started off 2009 in sunny Mexico, again. As planned, we returned to the Mayan Riviera with our friends Mike and Lori. We stayed at another amazing hotel and did plenty of snorkeling and visited Sian Ka'an, an ecological park and UNESCO Biosphere habitat. Joce has finally found paradise -- see the picture below.

Other than a couple trips to Waterloo (to visit Jocelyn's sister) and Toronto (for a marathon) we spent the rest of the year at home. No trips planned for 2010, but that could change any time.

We decided to invest in finishing our basement instead of more traveling this year -- and it was well worth the investment. We now have a comfortable, warm and cozy basement, perfect for watching films and exercising.

We also decided to add to the family one more time: we have been fostering Shiraz, a five year-old German Shorthaired Pointer since April. She is actually Bogart's half sister. We will be fostering her until her last litter (scheduled for Winter/Spring 2010) and then we hope to adopt her permanently. She and Bo have become fast friends and she is a real little snuggler.

We also bought a second car, since the Matrix has now officially been converted to the dog-mobile. You can often see Joce zipping around town in her snappy little red Hyundai Accent.

We also had the opportunity to volunteer at two dog agility championships held in Ottawa this summer. What an amazing thing to watch these highly trained dogs perform up close. In order to give our two dogs a bit more variety, we are also looking at getting them involved in dog-powered sports: cani-cross, skijoring and scootering. (For more information on what this involves see skidogs.ca.)

Speaking of the animals ... Our "senior" cat, Roxane, is still kicking along, but we have noticed her slowing down considerably. We hope she will still be with us for many more years. She and the dogs seem to agree to keep out of each other's way, but Lily loves to egg on the dogs.

Rich

Rich continues his work as a Trademark examiner with the federal government. He has also been busy with his running this year, achieving 4 new personal bests (in 4 different distances). Part of his success is probably due to changes he has made since his diagnosis with celiac disease in the summer. Once we switched him to a gluten- and wheat-free diet, he has had a lot more energy and seems to be feeling much better overall. (For more information on celiac disease see http://www.celiac.ca/.)

Joce

Joce is still on full-time French training in order to get her required French levels for her position. She is scheduled to go for her oral exam on December 16, so fingers crossed that she will be successful this time. She has also decided to make some lifestyle changes recently, and started an exercise and nutrition program at the end of August. (She even completed an eight-week learn to run program). She is about half way through the program at this point and is happy with the results so far.

Family

Fortunately, our extended family is happy and healthy. Our only oops in the year was Jocelyn's mom, who broke her ankle and foot in October (but is now well on the way to recovery). We are looking forward to spending time with both families over the Christmas holidays.

Wishing you and your families a very healthy and happy Christmas and New Year's.

Rich and Joce
RichAndJoce@gmail.com
http://theeverbelladventures.blogspot.com/

Cast of Characters

2009-12-11T16:42:00.000-08:00

Welcome to our adventures. We are going to use this site to update you on our adventures, as well as those of the inmates, inhabitants of our zoo.
Here's some recent snaps!

Bo and Raz getting cozy ...

Roxy surveying her kingdom ...

Lily being, well, Lily ...

And the two principal inmates, Rich and Joce:

Look for more of our adventures coming up!