Much Better Week!

Hi everyone!

Well, the last couple of days in Pat and Cathy-land have made for a much better week than the last one. We've become true Vancouverites, lived through a West Coast deep freeze, healed some scars and celebrated two very special occasions. Let us explain...

A quick update on Riley...we are going to see the vet this Thursday to discuss the results, as well as the next steps we need to take. It will most likely involve having him on steroids for the rest of his days, and a change in his diet, but we'll know more this week. He's recovering just fine. The first few days after his surgery were difficult for him. Our walks were quite short and very slow, as he tried not to stretch his incision. But for the last couple of days, he is definitely back to old form! Chasing his football, waking us up in the morning to eat...we're very glad to have him back! We definitely missed him!

Not sure if any of you heard, but there was a warning here in Vancouver that we would be experiencing a deep freeze last week. Have no fear, we both survived with all our fingers and toes. We experienced first hand, what Vancouverites term a deep freeze. To paraphrase a news cast, "Make sure to bundle up as Vancouver will be in a deep freeze. Temperatures will dip to -5C overnight, but with the wind chill will feel like -15C". Better stock up on survival gear to weather through the deep freeze!! This we heard on Thursday night, and Saturday morning....we were in shorts and t-shirt running after that ever elusive frisbee!! Gotta love the West Coast!

Our first of two celebrations this week was of course Valentines Day. Although we went to dinner the following night for some Italian, we exchanged gifts on Tuesday. Cathy bought me a very nice Team Canada Torino Olympic hockey jersey, and I bought Cathy some yoga sessions.

That's right, we are now true Vancouverites as we are now hooked on yoga. We attended our first yoga session on Friday (Cathy's neck was sore on Tuesday, so we decided to postpone to Friday). But this wasn't the regular yoga we are used to seeing. We attended

Bikram's hot yoga

. It's basically the same as the regular yoga, but done in a room that is heated like a sauna. And we loved it! Lots of sweating, but very worth it in the end. Although Cathy and I both discovered that we are not very flexible and our balance could use alot of work, so hopefully hot yoga can work those things out for us!

The second celebration we had this week, was Cathy's birthday. Actually, it was more of a birthweek, as she made sure I was well aware that her birthday was coming up.....ouch!.....yes, dear....Cathy's birthday is very important to me, which is why it was extended by a few days, as she has worked very hard the last couple of weeks. :) We had some friends over on Saturday night to kickoff the night. We headed out to a club for some dancing later on amd had a great night by the end of it. Here are a few pictures of our night...








On her special day, we had a chocolate chip pancake breakfast in bed as we watched a dreadful Canada hockey game. For dinner, I was able to pry her away from her school work to enjoy a nice steak dinner with veggies and a cupcake for desert! Riley and I bought her a day at the Spa for that special day when her work calms down a little, and she feels a need to get re-energized! Happy Birthday Q!

That's all for now. Leave some comments on how your week went!

Pat, Cathy and Riley.