Family Day

Here in Canada, our government has instituted a holiday during the winter months called "family day." It's meant to give people a day off so that they can spend time with their families. Schools, stores, banks and everything else that isn't essential, like hospitals, close down.
Today was our family day and it wasn't planned to be, but it turned into a family affair for sure.
I have been craving my Dad's pancakes for about three weeks now. He makes a pancake that the Fins like and I think it is similar to a Swedish pancake. No matter what it resembles, it is incredibly tasty. Yesterday I informed my parents that I was coming over for pancakes in the morning and they humoured me.
Mom arrived this morning to pick me up. Mr. K wasn't able to come as he is now fighting off the creeping crud that I've mostly gotten rid of. I loaded up the laundry hamper since we don't have a washer or dryer yet-those are big purchases we just haven't made since returning from the UK. Initially, I was only going to bring Nala and Roscoe. I left the two small dogs in the living room with a peanut butter Kong each and Mom and I started leaving. Just a few blocks away Mom said she was surprised that I didn't bring Hermione. I replied that I didn't want to overwhelm them so had decided not to bring everyone. She made some noise that basically meant that she didn't care and I asked if we could go back for my wee ones. We turned around in someone's driveway and I ran back inside to fetch a very happy Hermione and Otis.
When we arrived, the coffee was ready and Dad was just finishing up the pancakes. We realised that there wasn't any syrup and Mom ran out again to get some. When she got back we all stuffed our faces with pancakes, bacon and ham. Oh, and plenty of coffee. My cousin randomly stopped by as he was in the neighbourhood and we had a little chat. He didn't stay long as his dog was in his truck and his fiance's daughter had cut her hand; he was to return home pronto. (His dog isn't a big fan of others so he opted to leave her where she couldn't eat anyone else).
All the dogs milled about and were quite well behaved. Dad took them all out in shifts since my parents' backyard isn't fenced in. They have two lines and so two dogs would use those while Hermione was allowed to race about free because she never ventures too far.
We also had to take turns sending Flash, my parents' Shepherd/Lab cross, outside as well. Flash is almost 11 and isn't very fond of other dogs. She's fine with Jetta, but anyone else she goes after. I think there are a few reasons for this, but that is for another day's post. She had to spend much of our visit in my parents bedroom. I would go and see her and Dad would take her outside by herself for some play time and bathroom breaks.
Jetta spent most of her time on the couch, blocked in by coffee tables. It wasn't her that was the problem, but rather Mr. Otis. Otis thinks Jetta is his girlfriend and doesn't leave her alone. He thinks she's beautiful. He humps the air and generally follows her around and so she sought safety on the couch. Thankfully, the little stud is off to the vet in a week to take care of a certain body part that will be removed.
We ate, chatted, did laundry and trimmed Hermione's bountiful hair. Her paws were so shaggy it was difficult to tell where her toes were. There weren't any mats on her paws, but snow often clumps to her toe fur and so it was necessary to clean her coat up a bit. She was quite patient while I held her and Mom trimmed her paws, legs and chest.
It really turned out to be quite a low key day, but it was certainly spent with family; fuzzy family members included.