Arriving Ecuador Jan 17, 2011

We left my brother's place in Toronto at 5 am this morning and arrived in Quito just after 7 pm. The trip was uneventful. Longish wait in Miami for a connection, but that was okay. Neither plane was full, so we had space between us and separate spaces to Quito. The city lights were wonderful coming in. The street layout is quite circular in the old part. The population is about 2 million. Our driver was waiting for us at the airport and I don't want to drive here! The hotel is in the old city and is old itself. Three flights of stairs to our room. We went next door to a cafe for a beer and a beggar spotted us tourists. He tried to come in but the owner drove him away with a stick. Driving in the old part, we did see a lot of poverty. We will have to be careful. Robin and Anne have yet to arrive. I hope the bad weather in Washington state didn't delay them. Hope to do a city tour tomorrow.

Woodpecker

This past weekend, I spotted a new visitor to the yard. It turns out to be a red bellied woodpecker. I had never seen on before, so I emailed Bird Expect Neil and he confirmed. Apparently, they have expanded their range recently and now can be seen in SW Ontario. Extremely pretty bird.

We Passed!

Rainne and I have been attending classes at McCann's Dog Training. We did the Headstart classes starting when she was 8 wks old. Today, we graduated from Grade 1! It was tricky as she really wants to play with the other dogs and can't. The instructors are great and very encouraging. There were only 7 in class today and 5 instructors. They really do a great job and teaching me what to do. We start Grade 2 at the end of April. I must make sure I keep the training up until then. Rainne is 5 1/2 months old now.

Preoccupied with Puppy!

The pup is almost 11 weeks old. She is a going concern believe it or not. She loves to wrestle with Tux and I'm glad he puts up with it. The cat actually seems to enjoy it. We are doing well on our walks and Rainne doesn't fight the leash. We have been to one puppy training class and our second is this Thursday. She likes the other dogs and appears happy to be there. She is very adaptable and confident so we're very pleased.

Introducing Rainne

We brought Rainne home on Dec 22 and it has been go-go-go ever since. She has had lots of visitors and has been to Waterloo, Carlysle, Waterdown and Kitchener on various days. She needs sleep! She has adapted very well and learns quickly. Everything except what is appropriate to chew! Puppy teeth are a challenge. She is friends with the Wheaton next door and loves to play with her. Rainne also loves to play with Tux, our 8 yr old cat. Tux initiates it sometimes and wrestles her to the ground. We are both a bit sleep deprived because of making sure she has lots of opportunity to do her business outside and not thinking inside is okay. She is fun and a challenge and just what we needed.

Closer to having a puppy come home

The puppies are now four weeks old. They are starting to interact but are still wobbly and fall over a lot. Teeth now and they want to chew clothes and fingers. They just started on dog food so they should be weened soon. I'm quite drawn to Pumpkin (the last one in this series) but the breeder worries she might be a bit "soft" which might mean she wouldn't be suited to doing agility challenges. Right now, I just want someone to walk with me again. I miss my treks through the conservation area trails. It's too depressing to do without Kaylee.

Nov 18 and Golfing!!!

Had a lovely day at Flamborough Hills Golf Club today. It was a bit windy, which made it a bit cool, but quite nice and sunny. Just great to still be playing this late in the fall.