Blogging with Buddy December 28th 2020

As we ring in the New Year for 2021 the whole world unites with the wish of a safer place, rid of Covid 19 and an end to the pandemic!  It’s hard to imagine how innocently we came into  March 2020 and were all hit unexpectedly by the Covid pandemic.  As we played through January and February and went about our lives, no one knew what was coming, then bam, in March it hit!  In late February, early March we heard a bit of talk of it on the news but didn’t pay much attention.  Then after the first week of March we were literally hit in the face as our leaders started telling us to get home immediately if we were out of Canada and chaos started in the airports.  In February Mama and Papa were at Hilton Head Island where they’ve gone for the past eight years for a winter break and to celebrate their anniversary.  They arrived home March the 4th as scheduled with no issues at all as everything was still operating as usual.  God was looking after them because by March 7th airport chasos was in full swing.  We have friends who flew home from Florida the second week and barely made it, flying from airport to airport as they zig zagged across the country heading to New Brunswick.  Other friends waited too long until May and couldn’t fly so they had to drive home for the first time every but made it safely back to Saint John.  Mama explained that it is a deadly disease that could affect people but us fur babies had nothing to worry about.  Then Premier Higgs put us all in lockdown and Mama and Papa were home with us every day for months.  Mama was designated for grocery shopping and went to Sobey’s once a week.  She said there wasn’t a car on the road and driving through Rothesay made her feel like she was in the TV series ‘The Walking Dead’ where they’re the only ones driving along the deserted roads.  She was always wearing a mask when she went out which she said was difficult to breath in.  Things were different for us when we had our daily walk at Spyglass Hill.  Mama, Papa and the other parents would hold us all by the collars to keep us apart and none of us were allowed to sniff each other or play together.  Mama explained that this terrible disease could be caught through touching so if someone patted us they could leave the disease on our fur to spread through the next touch.  No one stopped to chat anymore and everyone stayed far apart as we passed on the trails.  Nicholas and I were happy to have Mama home all day and after a few months she started going out to show houses with new precautions in place for her and her clients as set out by the real estate board.  By June the market burst wide open as it seemed everybody here wanted to move into something different than what they had, larger with more space for everyone including extended family, larger yards for pets and children to play, more privacy, a home office or two, finished basements, school rooms etc.  Mama and Charlie hadn’t been so busy in years and it just kept going seven days a week throughout the summer.  Then fall hit and people from other provinces, especially Ontario, all wanted to live in New Brunswick, considered to be one of the safest places to live in the world!  Premier Higgs saved us when he put us all in lockdown in the spring and prevented the spread of the disease.  The Maritime provinces all did exceptionally well as other provinces stayed open and then things started to get out of control for them.  There were very strict regulations for them coming here and Mama and Charlie started showing homes through Facetime with live virtual tours.  Homes for sale are at a shortage here and demand is high, raising the prices to the highest we’ve ever had with more bidding wars than we’ve seen in history!

We all wonder as we go into New Year’s Eve of 2020,  what 2021 will bring.  Seems everything has changed.  We now have hope for a better tomorrow with the new vaccine recently arriving in our province as residents wait patiently for their turn.  2020 was a year no one will ever forget, so many lost family and friends and our hearts go out to them.  Papa lost his dear Uncle John and as the same with others there was no hospital visitation allowed and no funeral.  So very hard for the family.

Nicolas and I had a great thing happen this year with the addition of our new friend and colleague Sparky Turnbull.  He is so smart and so much fun, great companion for our Charlie who takes him everywhere!  Happy selling Sparky!

  Sparky Turnbull

So let’s hope for a future that is free of Covid 19, a future that is better, brighter and safer for 2021!!!  One where we can run and play with our furry friends, our parents can stop and chat and our world goes back to normal.  The new normal Mama calls it with a few changes that may stay with us forever.

Happy New Year!

Your pal,

Big Buddy Bacon

Blogging with Buddy December 24, 2020

Twas the night before Christmas and all the house not a creature was stirring not even Buddy Bacon!  We’re all set for Santa Paws to visit our house tonight.  Nicholas says we’ve been good boys all year but Mama says the elves have been watching and know the score!  Where are these sneaky elves, we’ve searched high and low and we don’t see any elves!!!  They mustn’t have a scent because we can’t sniff them out either.  Mama says they’re magical, we’ll never find them but they know everything we’re doing and if that’s the case we may be in a bit of trouble tonight.  Paws crossed and hoping that Santa Paws turns a deaf ear to the elves!!!

We have our little tree up in the family room right in the window.  The lights are multicoloured and the ornaments are all types of animals cats, mice, raccoons, rabbits, horses and of course lots of dogs.  We love it and just lay and stare at it waiting for the big night (just one more sleep).

Our own little tree in the family room.

We have our big tree up in the foyer as well.  Mama and Papa always get a real tree at Cochran’s Country Market.  This is the smallest one we’ve ever had at nine feet (sometimes they’re twelve feet).  We had a great time timming it with old nostalgic ornatments from Mama’s family, each one a treasure.  Papa loves Christmas as much as Mama does and gets right into the action with the tree trimming.  He’s very fussy that all the ornaments are hung just so and spends time going around the tree making sure each one is straight.

  

Nicholas and I have been love, love, loving the snow.  We roll in it, run in it, eat it and make snow angels.  We just can’t get enough.  All Mama has to say is “Boys, it snowed!” and we just fly out the door.

  

My sweet little brother Nicholas turns nine on Christmas Day!  He’ll be so excited and Mama will give him extra turkey for his birthday feast (I’ll get extra too of course).   We put our turkey in at midnight and let it slow cook all night.  Nothing beats the smell of a slow roasted Butterball when we come down the stairs Christmas morning.  Join me in wishing Nicholas a very Happy Birthday!

We wish you a Merry Christmas and look forward with hope to a better, brighter and most importantly safer year in 2020!

Blogging with Buddy December 14, 2020

Well with Christmas just around the corner it’s beginning to look very festive around our house!  Yours too?  We’ve been helping Mama inside and out, first with the big wreath and planters outside the front door and by the pond and then placing our nostalgic decorations around the rooms inside.  Both Mama and Papa love Christmas and been collecting special pieces on the travels for years.  Mama has her mothers, aunts and grandmothers old items from as far back as 1918.  Nicholas and I have our own little animal tree up in the family room.  We love it and just stare at it by the hour waiting for old Santa Paws to drop off our presents.  We’ve tried to be good boys all year but I have to say it hasn’t been easy!  I stole Papa’s glove a few time and even stole one right off the hand of one the workers in our yard.  Don’t know what is going on with Nicholas but this year he just doesn’t want to listen at all, just ignoring Mama and Papa when they call him.  Guess he thinks he’s his own boss!  We have a special stocking for him hanging on the mantle that reads “The Boss”.  Mine say “Dear Santa Paws, I’ve been a dog dawg all year, please leave lots of treats”!

On the real estate front, serious buyers are still out viewing our listings looking for that special place that they will call home in the new year.  Many buyers right now from Ontario looking to move to our beautiful province who are doing virtual Facetime and Duo showings with Mama and Charlie.  They love the fun new tech stuff, always something new to make the business more efficient for buyer, sellers and their Realtors!

 

    

We are soooooo very happy to be back in zone yellow in New Brunswick!!!  It’s was so hard on everyone going through the orange stage again, causing a lot of stress in an already very stressful season.  Our hearts go out to all those who cannot be together this Christmas due to Covid.  Keep in mind that it’s very important that we stay cautious and there is light in sight as we start receiving the vaccine this week!  This will be our very first Christmas ever without dear Lisa who lives in Ottawa.  Mama and Papa will miss her but it’s just not safe for her to come home right now.  We have been having some nice talks on Facetime (she likes to see our smiling faces and vice versa) and this summer she’s going to come home for an extended stay to make up for this time missed!  I guess we’ll have Christmas in July!  Then I can take her down to New River Beach and show off my improved swimming skills.

We have an accepted offer on the lake front property I featured in my last blog, 49 Farrell Lane.  An Ontario buyer who is just over the moon they are so excited about their purchase.  It’s everything they ever dreamed of and more!

Hope you have a good week, it’s going to be busy, busy, busy with last minute shopping, decorating, picking up our live Christmas tree and a wee bit of our favourite baking!  Talk with you soon an stay safe!

Your pal

Big Buddy Bacon