“24”

Good Morning ALL! Happy Thursday ALL! The sky is filled with rain clouds. We had some rain last night and throughout the night. Forecast is for rain today. YAY, we sure can use the moisture. I had not realized until recently that this is the long weekend coming up …… I love the three day weekends. I plan to get my flowers and vegetable plants into the soil over the weekend.

Tonight is the series finale of “YOUNG SHELDON.” I had not watched BIG BANG THEORY from the beginning (I think that now I have seen most of the episodes) but had started just before YOUNG SHELDON started. I fell in love with the characters. MeeMaw, George, Mary, Georgie, Missy and even Sheldon. I am very sad to see the show ending but they are keeping to the story line and that is important in the grand scheme of things. Congratulations to the SHOW – one of my all time favourite television shows.

Last night was a busy night. My daughter stopped by after work to pick up her previously forgotten items. After supper, I walked over to see Aunt J, Teddy and Kobi for a visit while they are in the City for a short time. I have photos. Each time I see these pups they give me a welcome like no other. So much excitement and love. We had a great visit. EPIC. Aunt J always has such great information, I always learn so much for her. Our conversations are so great.

Some photos: The first photo is the gift from Luisa, the mother of my friend. The outside photos are from the park when I was walking to see Aunt J and the pups last night. Starting to look nice and green with the rain. Photos from my visit with Aunt J, Teddy and Kobi.

Gift from Luisa

On my way to friends

last night

Kobi and Aunt J

Miss Kobi

Teddy

close to bedtime

getting sleepy

Me with the pups

I feel so blessed to be surrounded by so many great souls. I am so grateful.

Looks like a cooler day ahead. I turned off the heat on the weekend and some mornings it is COOL in the house, like this morning. Don’t really need the heat on at this time of year so I thought would save some money with heating costs.

Time to head downstairs and put on the coffee. Wishing you a wonderful Thursday.

Continuing to live this life with kindness, respect, compassion, patience, love, laughter, understanding, gratitude, focus, possibilities, coffee and forgiveness.

Always, Carol & My Forever Angel Alvin and all the ANGELS.

“24”

Good Morning ALL! Today is Wednesday, May 15, 2024, almost exactly halfway through the month. Wow, seems like only yesterday we were saying may the “fourth be with you.” Looks like we had a shower earlier this morning as the pavement is still wet and I can see the outline where my neighbours truck was parked out front on the street. We need the moisture and I am very grateful for every drop.

Last night I walked with my friends. The last couple of nights there are many people out walking with their pups. We saw lots of friends. Jack and Eddie had some play/social time with their friends along the way.

Today is one of those days that will be incredibly exciting for some people and incredibly sad for others. I know people today on each end of the spectrum. My heart goes out to friends who are saying goodbye to their beloved cat Clarence, he is 18 years old. Clarence had a great life with his family. Thank you Clarence for being with this family, they needed you and you needed them. Thank you. On the other end, I have a friend who has his Canadian Citizenship Ceremony today and his wife just found out that hers is coming up in a couple of weeks. This makes three people that I personally know that have recently become Canadian Citizens. In between, I have some excitement as I get to visit tonight with Teddy, Kobi and Aunt J. Also my daughter is stopping by after work to pick up the items we forgot to send with her on Sunday. Hugs and lots of love to everyone.

Looks like the sun is coming up. There are still some deep blue rain clouds hanging out there, waiting? Will they bring us some more rain? I hope so.

ANGELS – Bruno, Elton, Penny, Casey, Abi and Alvin

We are forever changed by their time on this earth. These beautiful creatures will forever be in our memories and in our hearts. They were the BEST. I miss them all. Thank you for being in our lives! The joy you gave me and all of us will be carried with us forever!

Bruno (Angel)

ANGEL Elton

ANGELS Elton and Penny

Alvin (Angel)

Casey, Angel

Abby, Angel

CUTENESS

Our three Angels

Penny, Angel

Elton (Angel)

Elton (Angel)

Alvin and Casey (Angels)

Casey (Angel)

Angels Alvin and Penny

Just TOO Cute……

My Forever Angel

Time to head downstairs. Put on the coffee. Think about how blessed I am!

I hope that you have a wonderful day.

Continuing to live this life with kindness, respect, compassion, patience, love, laughter, understanding, gratitude, focus, possibilities, coffee and forgiveness.

Always, Carol & My Forever Angel Alvin and all of our Angels.

“24”

Good Morning ALL! What a beautiful morning. The sky is a beautiful BLUE not grey. There are a few remaining wisps of dark blue from the night sky that are slowly dissipating. There appears to be no wind.

Last night I walked with the PACK and it was wonderful. There had been a few drops of rain at the start of our walk. Kind of disappointing that we did not get a nice shower as we desperately need some moisture. We saw so many friends last night. Jaime and Sadie. Miss Mave was outside with her Dad for a visit. It was awesome to see people and all the pups.

I snapped a few more photos of my flowers and plants while they patiently wait to be planted. I also picked up a couple of stems of “fake” flowers to freshen my arrangement in the living room. Yesterday I decided to change it into two. I love flowers. Can you tell? They bring me great JOY! My house is filled with them. I did not even take photos of the ones upstairs. My Violet has the most incredible purple blooms, I am wishing that I had snapped some photos of her. She is gorgeous. Everyone needs JOY in their lives. Just a simple flower or plant, something green or with colour. You can see the one Pansy in the first photo was dipping down a bit. I had not realized that she got so dry over night but she is slowly recovering. I checked each one last night multiple times. I want to ensure that they stay in good health.

Flowers

Oh, the sun is shining so brightly as I glance out of the office window. YAY. I wore capris today and a light top and lighter cardigan, so was hoping that it would be as nice as they were forecasting.

Well time to head downstairs and put on the coffee. I hit the snooze button a couple of times this morning.

I am grateful for the sunshine. I am grateful for family and friends. I am grateful to be in good health.

I am grateful to be alive. I am so grateful for all my flowers and plants. I am grateful to be financially abundant.

Continuing to live this life with kindness, respect, compassion, patience, love, laughter, understanding, gratitude, focus, possibilities, coffee and forgiveness.

Always, Carol & My Forever Angel Alvin and all the ANGELS!

“24”

Good Morning ALL! The sky is once again grey. Yesterday we had a reprieve from the heavy smoke filled air and sky. The sun tried to break through a few times during the day but for the most part it was grey smoky sky with a few raindrops. We cannot even say shower because there literally were only a few drops. Windy again.

I am wearing my new earrings that were part of my Mother’s Day gift. They are pretty and dainty. I like dainty earrings, they are my favourite.

Yesterday we slept in but it was nice to have Amanda and Milo in the house. We had coffee and the last two peach scones for a late breakfast. Actually neither of us eat breakfast any longer but it was a special treat. COBS sure makes delicious treats. I have to watch that they stay as treats and do not fall into a regular habit.

Amanda went to COSTCO around noon to do some shopping. I elected to stay home with Milo. Some Grandma time and also I had laundry to finish.

She reported from COSTCO that it took a bit to find a parking spot. Not surprised. As it was busy she stuck to the list and did not do much browsing.

I guess it was about 1:30 ish when she returned. We loaded up the car and away they went. Unfortunately I forgot to send her Mother’s Day gift and Milo’s wet food from the fridge. Somehow we always seem to forget something. I even made a short list and still missed two things. She will come back and pick them up. Milo’s food will have to be soon. Surely do not want that to go bad, expensive oversight.

Well time to head downstairs. Happy Monday Everyone. I hope that you all have an awesome day.

I am grateful for the time spent with my daughter and one of the grand pups.

I am grateful for this moment and all the moments ahead.

I am grateful to have some vegetables and flowers to plant.

Continuing to live this life with kindness, respect, compassion, patience, love, laughter, understanding, gratitude, focus, possibilities, coffee and forgiveness.

Always, Carol & My Forever Angel Alvin and all the ANGELS.

“24”

Good Morning ALL! HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY! My daughter and one of the grand pups, Milo came yesterday afternoon. We had coffee and a PEACH SCONE from Cobs bakery (here at home) before heading out to CREEKSIDE NURSERY. This nursery used to be out of the city and even though it is a short drive from my house (less than 10 minutes), it felt as though we were in the country. Well that has changed with the city growing and all of the building going on. It seems like this is the area where all the construction of homes and apartment buildings is happening. We walked around outside checking out all of the shrubs and trees as my daughter wanted to pick up maybe a lilac and I though if I found something that I could plant in the front flower bed, something good for partial sun/shade and that would only be 3 feet tall, I would have purchased. There was really nothing that fit my specifications. Oh well! That is okay. I did find a few flowers and some vegetables. Currently they are taking up residence on the kitchen table. We also forgot to take photos at the nursery with the exception of a selfie that my daughter (she thought of) of we girls outside before we left for home. I will share the photos. There were a lot of people out and about at the nursery but not so bad that made one anxious from the crowd.

Once home we put the plants, shrubs and soil in the garage. I made us a pasta supper with coleslaw and green peas and for dessert we had butter tarts from Cobs bakery. We also spoiled ourselves and had SKIP bring us ice cream from Dairy Queen. Perhaps a bit too much of spoiling as ice cream even though I love it, does not agree with me.

After supper my daughter brought the plants in and they are taking up temporary residence in the kitchen. I have to figure out when to plant them. Some of them are my daughter’s of course. I scaled way back this year as I have about six pots in the house that will transition to the deck and front porch once the weather is consistently warmer.

Last night we watched a couple of movies one of which I would recommend and the other I would not. The first one was “Mother of the Bride” with Brooke Shields, Benjamin Britt and Miranda Cosgrove. It was funny and worth watching. The second, I honestly do not remember the name. There were part of it that were okay but overall not great. Then we went to bed. I did not know until I got up that Milo had a night. My daughter said that he would not settle in the guest room and they ended up sleeping downstairs on the sofa. We forgot that he had never slept on that bed in that room. I did not even hear them. They must have been in stealth mode or I am now a “sound sleeper.” Poor little guy. My daughter is still having a sleep as she was up and down for a while with Milo.

The sky remains smoky today. I missed the beautiful light show from Friday night. Guess I needed to stay up much later to take that in. Lots of photos posted by people on social media and on weather channel.

Mother’s Day Card

Silver sparkly hoops

Amanda opening gift

Mom & Daughter

Selfie at Creekside

Flowers from Creekside

more

Pansies

Assortment

veggies in there

more

Milo

I hope that all the Moms have a wonderful day and that you are spoiled.

Remember being a mother is more than just giving birth to a child. If you care, nurture, and love any living being on this planet you are a mother.

Happy Mother’s Day.

Continuing to live this life with kindness, respect, compassion, patience, love, laughter, understanding, gratitude, focus, possibilities, coffee and forgiveness.

Always, Carol, My Forever Angel Alvin, my daughter Amanda and grand pup Milo and all the ANGELS!

“24”

Good Morning ALL! YAY, Happy Saturday. How are you doing this morning? I am doing great. I am grateful for the day ahead and for this very moment and all those minutes in between. When I woke up this morning without any alarm, I could smell smoke in the air. I quickly jumped out of bed and raced to the window. The sky is overcast and I think there are wildfires somewhere and the wind is blowing the smoke into the city. I just decided to search the internet and found that there are wildfires burning in northern B.C. and even in the U.S.A. and with the wind blowing it is bringing the smoke north to Edmonton and all over Alberta. The sun will have a tough time breaking through the smoke. I worry about the areas affected by the fires. If we are seeing this now, we are going to be in for a long hazy, smoky sky summer. It breaks my heart to know that the majority of wildfires are caused by “humans.” Yes, we stupid, inconsiderate, creatures that no not think of anyone but ourselves. All of the wildlife and domestic animals that is lost due to these fires, the damage done to forests, land, structures and human life. One would think that in 2024 people would be smarter, more educated and more considerate of life but not so.

I am sorry to start on a YAY note and then go into this rant. Not really a rant, I am just disappointed in people. It is not a squirrel or a cow or a bee that starts these fires. Think about that for a moment. We should truly be ashamed of ourselves.

The air quality is not good for the areas where the fires are burning and in many areas so far away, like us. I feel for those people with respiratory issues, this is not going to be a fun summer for them. Not so nice when you cannot even open the windows to bring in the fresh air. Windows open – smoke filters inside and everything smells like smoke. No escaping the smoke.

Please if you outside be careful. That one cigarette butt can destroy a forest, millions of insects including bees which we desperately need, also foxes, coyotes, deer, squirrels, skunks, cows, horses, chickens, pigs and more; decimate farms and ranches, towns and more. Think about it! One spark can change the course of a life forever!

Remember this: One spark can change the course of a life forever.

I am going to have a shower, do some laundry and have some coffee. My daughter is coming around noon today and we are going to drive to one of our favourite places – Creekside Nursery. Now that is if they are open. Last year they were closed some days when the smoke was so bad. I am excited for Amanda to sleepover and be here tomorrow morning for Mother’s Day.

I hope that you have a good day. Remember we are all responsible for this planet! We only have one.

Continuing to life this life with kindness, respect, compassion, patience, love, laughter, understanding, gratitude, focus, possibilities, coffee and forgiveness.

Always, Carol & My Forever Angel Alvin and all the Angels.

“24”

Good Morning ALL! Happy Friday! The sun is shining and the sky is a brilliant blue and there is a breeze. Well I am sporting capris today! I feel like summer is in the air. So why not? The temperature is supposed to be 25-26 at the height of the day.

Last night I walked with my “pack family” for the first time in a few days over one month. Oh, how I missed them. Jack was so happy to see me. He kept coming close to me. Eddie was happy but less obvious. It was great to walk a regular walk. I missed my friends. We had a great walk.

I am happy it is the weekend. I am going to spend some time with my daughter. She is coming to visit. We are going to take a trip to one of our favourite happy places in the world. Creekside Nursery. I love walking through and taking in all of the plants and flowers. The colours are breathtaking! I love FLOWERS.

I have to make a decision about the quantity of plants/flowers that I purchase this year. Luckily I have quite a few that I wintered in the house and also quite a lot of perennials in the front and back flower beds. The quantity does not have to do with the cost but the watering. We have no idea how wet or dry this season will be and if we are on a watering ban, I do not want my plants to perish because I cannot water them. Food for thought. On the other hand, we usually do get some rain over the season. I was thinking of getting a rain barrel. Something to look into.

Well I hit the snooze button a couple of times this morning so I need to hustle it up here. I was in bed close to normal time but read for a while.

I hope that you have a wonderful Friday. I can see the sun glowing on the trees behind my house. So pretty. The leaves look gold in the sunlight.

I am grateful for this day.

I am grateful to spend time with my daughter.

I am grateful to be in good health.

I am grateful to be financial secure.

Continuing to live this life with kindness, respect, compassion, patience, love, laughter, understanding, gratitude, focus, possibilities, coffee and forgiveness.

Always, Carol & My Forever Angel Alvin and all the ANGELS!

“24”

Good Morning ALL! I am running late on this beautiful sunny blue sky Thursday morning. Should I tell you why? Not very interesting. After a shower and putting on a bit of makeup, I was getting dressed. I had purchased some clothing items from The Shopping Channel from a well known brand that I had been watching for years and never purchased. I have one question, why oh why do designers need to make the cut on a top so low that everything is showing. I do not wish to have my boobs hanging out for my coworkers to see. I am almost 67 and even though I like my body, I do not wish to display everything. I have made a decision that no more ordering clothing that I cannot try on and besides I know that I should have been going to a thrift store or such. Honestly sometimes you just want some new items and when you see how nice they look on the models, well they drag you in. Anyway, the prints are nice and the material feels good but the cut has left me not real happy. To make matters worse, I was trying to thread a needle and thread so that I could fix it, which would have been easy. Cannot get that darn needle threaded for love or money. So I fashioned a safety pin to close it up a bit. Not the best solution but I am running late and that always makes me anxious and stressed. No one likes to be rushed. It is funny that when I tried the top on when it arrived, did not seem that low at that time. Anyway, I guess it is funny as I cannot stay in a foul mood.

Okay time to head downstairs, I need some water and COFFEE. Really need the COFFEE.

Next time you get an idea to purchase something without trying it on – wipe the idea from your mind.

I hope that you are having a great Thursday. Thank you for listening!

Continuing to live this life with kindness, respect, compassion, patience (working on), love, laughter, understanding, gratitude, focus, possibilities, coffee and forgiveness.

Always, Carol & My Forever Angel Alvin and all the Angels.

On the upside, the day looks beautiful. The rain has stopped and we are so grateful for every single drop. Thank you.

“24”

Good Morning ALL! How are you this morning? The sky is a bit brighter this morning however there remain rain clouds. We had rain for a good portion of Tuesday and overnight. We surely needed the moisture. I was not able to take my umbrella when I walked over to the nearby strip mall yesterday on my lunch break when I went to pick up the office lottery tickets. It was so windy, I truly would have been “Mary Poppins” and been up, up and away. My hood stayed up for part of the walk so I had a very tousled hair style and by the time I was back to the office, my hair was pretty wet. Thankfully it was not pouring it was a steady light rain but with the wind it was interesting. The air was not cold but not warm, somewhere in between. I did pick up the “winning” tickets and cashed in our other winning tickets for a total of $22.00. A few more zeros added to the end. $50,000,000.00 has a nice ring to it. Just over $8,000,000.00 each. I could live with that. How much could you live with? Would you share or would it depend on the amount? For me, I have an amount in mind and once exceeded that amount, I would share the remainder. Why be greedy. Over time on this planet, humankind has struggled with power and greed. We terrorize each other. We do unspeakable things to one and another! But why? Usually for POWER and MONEY and JEALOUSLY! So I would definitely share as much as possible.

Okay, that went a bit dark and it is too early in the AM for that. Food for thought!

We are only on this planet for a blip on the screen of time so why not make things as good as you can for yourself and others. Be kind, compassionate, helpful and thoughtful. Be grateful not greedy. Be kind not mean. Be aware and thoughtful and not closed in. Be respectful and less judgmental.

I think that on this note, we need some PUPPY photos and as I miss my Alvin. I will share some photos of him. I think of him every single day and will for the rest of my life. He was my companion, my housemate, my walking partner and my family. We shared a love for bananas, flowers, walking, our neighbourhood and our family and friends.

Alvin

Alvin

Alvin 2022

Alvin 2022

Me & Alvin Dec 2022

Halloween looking treaters

Laser therapy

LOVE

New sweater

Alvin

CUTENESS

In kitchen with Mom

A proper Gentleman

Alvin & a chewy

GRATITUDE

Alvin

An adventure

Me and Alvin Oct 2013

Top of stairs, body?

Enjoying the flowers

I know that I am cute.

Alvin at home…..

Alvin with his toys & the blue blanket was a gift from his foster parents.

Alvin’s first stocking …. from his family.

Well my life changed when he came into my life and it has changed since he left but we will always have our time together. I am forever grateful for this little guy. He was the best!

I hope that you have someone in your life that has changed you and made your life better!

Happy Wednesday.

Continuing to live this life with kindness, respect, compassion, patience, love, laughter, understanding, gratitude, focus, possibilities, coffee and forgiveness.

Always, Carol & My Forever Angel Alvin and all the ANGELS!

“24”

Good Morning ALL! It be raining here in Edmonton or at least in my neighbourhood and the sky is filled with grey rain clouds. I am so happy for the moisture. We had some rain off and on yesterday but last night it started and raining during the evening and over night. Now I was not awake all night so I cannot attest to it being continual but based on the water puddles, I would say it has been pretty constant. I thought that I heard thunder during the night but cannot be sure as I had been sleeping. The wind is blowing and some of the trees that were only budding up until yesterday are now covered with those beautiful baby leaves. I love those first small leaves, so dainty and sweet and GREEN. I love the colour green. The green leaves and the green grass. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!

So it is Tuesday. I am feeling great this morning. I made a decision last night to go for a walk with my friends on Thursday. I will take it easy and not be on the other end of the leash for a bit of time. Just get my “walking legs” back before I go taking on Mr. Eddie. He doesn’t pull much but when he does he is strong. I miss my pack and it will be nice to get out there and get some much needed exercise. I have been doing short walks and doing lots of stairs at home to help plus a few stretching exercises with my knees/legs. I reached out to the pack leader and she was excited to hear my news. YAY. Cannot wait.

Yesterday was a typical Monday. Not to much expected so that was good.

I need to walk over and pick up lotto tickets at noon, I hope that the wind dies down by then or that it stops raining as an umbrella will not help in the wind. I may end up being Mary Poppins. Up, up and away! Now that would be a sight.

Wishing you a wonderful Tuesday.

I am grateful for the rain, this will help extinguish the wildfires, water the trees, grasses and plants, top up the rivers and lakes, give water sources for the bees and other insects and all the wild and domestic animals.

I am grateful for my life, such as it is! I have a great life.

I am grateful for all the abundance in my life.

Continuing to live this life with kindness, respect, compassion, patience, love, laughter, understanding, gratitude, focus, possibilities, coffee and forgiveness.

Always, Carol & My Forever Angel and all the ANGELS!