Monday –

Yeah!!!!!! Made it to Bellerive’s!!!!!  got up this morning after the nite I described to you and got the dogs fed and hit the road for just south of Laconia to buy us some “fixin’ the house to be warmer stuff” at Lowes.  Got a Eden-Pure-like heater that I negotiated the salesperson down on because it was the only one he had and it had scratches (did I do good Jess???) and a stiff push broom to sweep the snow off the back ramp every time we open it (the half-size kiddy broom with waffly fibers wasn’t getting it),some of the window shrinky dink stuff and of course I didn’t bring a dryer so we needed a heat gun!!!

I forgot how mountainous the north portion of NH and Vermont are – lots of ups and 5% grade downs – we went by the Indian Head which I remember from a previous trip but couldn’t see it for whatever reason – I was thinking we went by the profile of I think president Grant that NH uses in their state insignia but that must have been a different road.  The last time we came by the Indianhead his nose was gone…..maybe all of him fell off the mountain!!!  Stopped for diesel for the truck and gasoline at the last city before the border, Newport VT – that’s where I posted last.  The next big anxiety-provoking hurdle- ta-ta-da-da…………….the dreaded border crossing!!!!!  Young guy asked a few questions and said “have a nice day”  Whew!!!  We have have just enough problems at border crossings to make me very nervous…Randy commented after the fact that you would think that when you are as old as we and and not likely drug runners or smugglers your should get an “automatic pass Go and collect $200” but maybe you have to be 90 years old to get to that point!!

So we are parked outside of the barn where the dogs live and have just plugged in the “Eden Pure-like” heater and it seems to be working good!! Here’s to an uneventful and more sleepful nite!!  Will be able to post at Bellerive’s house’s wifi tomorrow!!

We did indeed have a more restful nite and yes, the heater is working well – it’s 60 degrees in here right now at 4:15pm -   We spent the after noon putting the shrink wrap on the windows –not a small project!! Took about 3 hours – 3 windows and 2 overhead vents.  The newly purchased heat gun worked great and I suppose I could even use it for a hair dryer in a pinch!!  We saw Claude briefly this morning and he talked about seeing us this afternoon but no sign of them yet.  We took loaves of bread in to the dog barn (the area we get to use is more like the same level of niceness of my house) and we broke up about 2  buckets of bread to provide carbs for the dogs in their feedings.  Lots of the bread was really really frozen (because we haul in it the sub-floor of the back of the trailer under the dog coops) and Randy and I ended up with some pretty cold fingers!  We treated some dog feet at the last drop and will probably feed about 15 minutes from now – Randy wants to be free to go in the barn and follow Claude feeding his dogs because he said there might be some Randy would be interested in.

Wednesday (I think….)  Happy birthday Lucas!!!!!!!  

Hard to keep track you know – no tv – I just put the radio on for some outside stimulation.  Cold again today, but as yesterday, no wind – that helps a lot.  Perhaps the temp is warmer out because we just have the heater working most of the time and not the furnace as much.  With just the heater it is 68 degrees in here right now at 1p.  Randy is out with Hermel (Bellerive’s dog man) grooming the trail for training tomorrow.  He has been out there quite a while – long enough for me to finish ½ a movie and wash my hair and have it dried!  After he gets back we are going to the grocery store and hardware (2 of the 3 stores in the town of Charette!!)

Soooo a package of ham for sandwich meat was $5 – the small amounts of snap peas and brussel sprouts went for 11 and 14$ a pound…………..it’s way different price-wise up here!

Blew the wad at the grocery store and had a “reunion” with the owner of the store, Mario – we had not been there for probably 5 years and it was good to see him again – he recognized us immediately and spoke good English – he was one of the Quebecers that told us that it is very important to try to speak some French when we are here so that the residents feel as though we are making a good attempt to communicate.  So I used my entire repertoire of French words……about 5!!!

After unloading groceries we fed dogs and then dropped them 2 hours later so we could go out to dinner with the Bellerives.  We went to the only restaurant in town which is also owned by Claude’s cousin – I had my usual = garlic shrimp!!! Delicious!!! Patrick is still not feeling well with his cerebral pain so he did not join us but Hermel was there to talk dogs and provide additional translation ability!

Thursday – Happy birthday Bec!! 

Another cold day but still not as bad as it was in Laconia!  Some snow – about 2 inches – it was training day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Now I don’t remember ever having to do this before, but not only did I have to do all the getting ready for 2 teams of 10, but I also had to be the one driving the 4 wheeler (which, Lucas, has like bulldozer tracks on it……….making it not so easy to turn corners………..) to be out to the road crossing and make sure there are no vehicles coming in order for Randy to cross with the team, but then also follow him around the whole trail (10 miles…….) and jump off and turn the dogs every time they wouldn’t take the turn he was telling them to!!!  The first team out was lead by Scar and Beika – they acted like they had never heard the words “Gee and Haw” and I had to get off at least 10 times to go up to the front of the team and turn them the way Randy wanted them to go!  The second team lead by Snapper and Doe did a bit better but I still had about 4 times getting off to lead them in the right direction.  The training trail is quite beautiful – once you cross the road (which seems a lot busier than it did the last time we were here!) in the first ¼ mile, then you do loops and loops and loops out in farming, hilly country where there is also a well traveled snow machine trail – which we did see several of today!  Several great big hills – the kind that when you are at the top and about to go down the other side it looks like you are going to drop off the face of the earth!!  Luke, you would have loved the winding downhill trail through the woods!!!  I will have to try and take some pictures next run but today I was just getting a grip on what I was supposed to do – we did try out 2 dogs from Claude named Viper and Sterling and they did very well.

Looks like they will become part of “team DeKuiper”!! 

So now I just sitting in the trailer watching some horror CD’s that our kids have given me and waiting to find out if we are having dinner with just us or with Bellerives.  I am still sore from falling down unloading one of the dogs that we got from Claude named “Willy” (maybe after my Dad????)– he has a sore shoulder but you couldn’t prove it by me!!!  He took me down the back ramp and wham, on the ground with the elbow!!!  Today I felt like a train ran me over!!!   No major injuries, just old people stuff – nothing a little Cabernet can’t help!!!!

Used my stove for the first time tonite – hamburgers in the pan!!!  That’s something I never had in the blue trailer – I used to have a single burner in the old brown dog truck, but no microwave – then I had only the microwave in the blue trailer –now I have both!!!!  I am so spoiled!!

Friday-

Up at 8 and let the dogs out – while they were out a front end loader (3 times the size of out backhoe…..could be its “backhoe Daddy…” came and  plowed all around us and the driveways.  Now that we have figured out what day of the week it is (that took me some time and consultation with Randy about the last week’s events..) we are deciding on whether to train again today or not – guess what my vote is?!!!  It seems a little chillier today and there is some wind.  Randy went out on the snowmobile to check out a turn that he missed and found the training trail quite blown in!  So no training until the groomer goes around again. 

Just as I was loading up to walk over to the house to do some laundry, Claude stopped by to ask us to lunch with Melanie and Hermel (Patrick is still having a lot of pain from his neurological problem – apparently they have consulted with 2 different neurologists and are treating for the trigeminal neuralgia but it doesn’t seem to be helping – they are giving a med they use for epilepsy but Melanie could not remember what it is – so perhaps they will try the other specialist and see if he can help with his different diagnosis – which I don’t know either) at the little restaurant in town where we ate Wednesday.   I had some delicious fish and Randy had one of the specials, pizza with French fries!!!  Some foods that they take for granted as going together are just not what we are used to!!!!

Randy is going out with Hermel later today to groom the trail, everybody else went back to work.  Tomorrow Melanie and Patrick are going to his father’s birthday dinner after training and Claude and Renelle are going to Montreal for the weekend to celebrate Valentine’s Day.  Melanie invited us to lasagna dinner at her house for Monday so we are kind of on our own till then – maybe we will go shopping??!!!  I could really use another pair of winter boots!!

So I am in Bellerive’s home right now and Lise, their housekeeper showed me how to use the new washer and dryer in the completely remodeled laundry room and she showed me the re-do on the downstairs bathroom!!!!  WOW!!!  I thought it was luxurious before!!!!! They took out the bidet………..must be nobody was using it, including me!

As I said, people may be busy all weekend so I may not be able to post again until Monday!  Miss and love you all!!!