Good Morning! I am a little late writing this morning as I ran over to look after the boys, Humphrey & Bogart and then on my way home I realized that I should water the grass/fertilizer seed that I planted yesterday out front and in the back. So I water everything. Then I thought I should put the houseplants outside and then I made coffee (have not drank yet) and then decided to haul up the clothes that were drying in the basement and then change the bedding and now I am here. Whew. Still no coffee but I will have some soon. What a gorgeous morning! Perfect time to be outside. I definitely will be drinking my coffee on the deck once I am finished with this post and after I have popped the sheets into the laundry. I have more Eddie, Bruno, Humphrey & Bogart photos to share. Who does not like to see photos of cuteness quadrupled? Despite the cancer and the pain that he must be in, Bruno loves his walk. Bruno leads the way – wherever he leads us that is the way that we go. Last night he wanted to go his old path and so we followed. I love these pups so much. I am so grateful to have had the absolute pleasure to have them all in my life.
For AlvinFor AlvinFor AlvinFor AlvinBlinds & baseboards washedSome rearrangingIn Memory of AlvinEddieEddieEddieThe boysEddie & BrunoThe boysEddie looking for lightsEddie BrunoBrunoMy GuysBruno & EddieBrunoBrunoHumphreyBogartHumphrey
Yesterday I washed the blinds on the main floor, washed baseboards, looked after Humphrey & Bogart, did some cleaning. laundry, walked with Jeanette and the boys Eddie & Bruno and miscellaneous things. It was a full day from beginning to end. I would not change a thing. My kitchen looked so bare in the photos as I had taken the plants all except for the aloe plant outside. I brought them in last night just to ensure their well being. If the sun decides to shine all day with no clouds, I will bring them in when it gets too hot. Too much of a good thing is not a good thing. The boys are doing well next door and their parents will be home in a few hours. I framed Alvin’s nose print and paw print yesterday and also put his memory card with the photo side up in a frame. I have him with me in every room of this house. Looking out of the office window at this moment, the sky appears to be a bit on the hazy side. Smoke? Everyday I pray for rain to extinguish all of the fires burning at this time. I do know that Mother Nature creates fires naturally to burn. Nature is so much more intelligent than we will ever be.
Tomorrow after work I have to slip over to one of the nearby schools and cast my vote in the provincial election. Should have, would have, could have voted in the advance voting but here we are! Oh well.
Well today is going to be a quiet one. Going to finish up here and put the sheets in the wash and then have a cup of coffee on the deck. Just chilling on this Sunday now that I almost have everything done that needs to be done. Of course, there is always something. Oh, I had better vacuum upstairs and give the bathrooms a quick going over but that won’t take long after the coffee “break.” I clean regularly so nothing gets too dirty. So much easier to keep on top of.
I hope that you have a wonderful day. Time to relax after the work is done. Time with family & friends. Go for a walk. Enjoy!
Continuing to live this life with kindness, respect, compassion, patience, love, laughter, understanding, gratitude, focus, possibilities, coffee and forgiveness.
Always, Carol & Alvin, My Forever Angel
Look in the photos above and you will see where I finally hung the whirly gift from Jessica.
Good Morning All! How are you this morning? We have had some rain off and on since early yesterday. I pray that the areas affected by the wildfires are getting some of this moisture without the lightning. To all those folks that were able to go back home, I pray that the damages were minimal. On the news last night I saw a farmer speaking of the loss of his beloved animals. They were saved from the first evacuation and then the fire started up again and they were trapped in the barn. My heart bleeds for the loss of them and all of the dear animal life lost.
The fluffOur treesOur treesOur treesOur treesOur treesSigns of lifeLast night at the parkCloudy skiesFruit bush in parkNew lifeMy fav treeBeautifulovercastEddie & Bruno
Photos taken recently. The “Our Trees” were taken in the morning of my tree and the neighbours. The park photos were taken on my walk after supper. I had a lovely walk. This time I took my phone so that I could take some photos of our world coming back to life after the winter. The lovely pups in the last photo are neighbours. Eddie & Bruno. Eddie is social like Mr. Alvin and Bruno does not like the lime light so much. I saw them at the park across the lake and called out to their Mom who was taking them for a walk. After saying hello from a distance, we carried on our way. Who would have guessed that I would have walked all the round and they were just coming out of the park on that side. We chatted and started to walk together. Another pup Bailey and her Dad were coming. All the dogs know each other. Eddie and Bailey were playing. Bruno was just watching and trying to say out of their way. We had a great visit. Bailey is the pup that with her Dad were here one night when the kids and my grand pups were leaving. Bailey wanted to play with Aspen. So cute.
Time to go. I hope that you have an awesome Tuesday. Prayers going out to the areas affected by the wildfires, I hope that they are under control and no further damage to life or property.
Continuing to live this life with kindness, respect, compassion, patience, love, laughter, understanding, gratitude, focus, possibilities, coffee and forgiveness.
Good Morning and Happy Easter 2023. Day three of four day long weekend for me. How are you on this Sunday? Do you have plans to go somewhere or perhaps you are somewhere? Is someone cooking an Easter feast? Company or just for You? Or perhaps you are like me and just spending the weekend doing spring cleaning. The weekend did not start out the way that I had planned or has it continued the way the I was hoping that it would but it is unfurling as it should. All things happen for a reason. The upstairs washing of the walls, blinds, fans, light fixtures and all of that is taking a bit longer than planned. Yesterday I completed my bathroom and bedroom and I did empty the office closet. There was also a load of laundry down in between. Today the plan is to wash the office closet and reorganize, also wash as much of the office walls as I am able to – reason is I have the wall size bulletin boards hanging up and if I take them down, they will be ruined as they are not hanging on hooks. I also would like to take down all of the items on the boards and put up some new things. There are Christmas Cards and others to go through. Books to decide on what to keep. This is the room where it is more going through things than actually cleaning. Although one could say that going through things is cleaning of sorts. Just not with a bucket of water, lol. Anyway, I will finish off the upstairs today. I am making Chili in my handy dandy Tupperware pressure cooker. I realize that I have far too many “things” for one person and I am going to go through each room and be “frugal” on what I keep. I keep things based on emotions. Like keeping cards. I used to have every card that ever was given to me since an adult until in the 1990’s and then I downsized to a couple of storage containers. Christmases, Birthdays, Thank you and on and on. Life. Movie tickets. Concert tickets. You see what I mean. Time to get tough. Keeping a few things only will be hard but must be done. Another sunny day ahead.
Yesterday was a tough day emotionally for me thinking of my Alvin. He would have been trying to find a place to lay down to be near me as I cleaned. We would have gone for a walk as it was so beautiful out. I just miss him. So many memories…….
I just spent a few minutes trying to upload some photos from my photo library to this post with no luck. Time to get going as I have a full day ahead of me and it is already after 8:30 a.m.
I hope that the Easter Bunny made it to your home with some chocolatey treats and maybe a new outfit or something that you need.
Have a wonderful Easter Sunday.
I look forward to taking a walk down memory lane in between washing and cleaning!
Continuing to live this life with kindness, respect, compassion, patience, love, laughter, understanding, gratitude, focus, possibilities, coffee and forgiveness.
Good Morning! How are you this Monday morning? Yes, it is Monday already. Don’t you think that the weekends go far too quickly? I had a fairly good sleep but woke up around 4:00 and then dozed off and on until the alarm went off.
Yesterday a flock of medium sized birds of which I did not recognize flew into my tree. There must have been well over one hundred of them. They dangled and say for a moment while I struggled to take a photo or video. By the time I was ready most of them had flown away and to a neighbouring tree (I did get a short video there). It was like a beautifully orchestrated dance. Safe to say that spring is here. Oh, I hope so.
I had been thinking of reading up on the external hard drive and finishing off my taxes but after spending most of Saturday on the computer, I thought “no.” Instead I cleaned. The upstairs. Cleaned the bathrooms. Washed the cabinets, the sinks, the toilets, went through the cabinets (spring clean) and vacuumed. I vacuumed the stairs and the main floor. Just did some cleaning which is good for the soul.
Oh and big news. I had decided to bake a banana pumpkin loaf. Likely should have turned the oven on first to preheat but instead I put together the loaf and then turned on the oven. It did not warm up. I reached out to my neighbour but she did not get back to me and found out a bit later that they had gone out. By that time, I had googled two things. How long can you keep batter in the fridge and can you use the microwave to bake this type of loaf. Surprisingly enough positive searches for both. I ended up popping it into the microwave and after about 12 minutes off and on, it was done. Knife came out without batter. I let it sit for a minute before taking the knife and going around the outside edges to loosen it before turning it over onto a tray to cool. A little while later, I gave it a slice. Voile, it was cooked. Then to taste, well not the same consistency as baking in the oven but it was done and edible. So in case your oven stops working – you can use the microwave and not waste the batter. I had taken chicken out of the freezer so had to pan fry it. Not my favourite way of cooking chicken that is for sure but it works. Now I am oven less until I am able to get it fixed. I think it is the heating element, I had it replaced several years ago. Hopefully that is all.
Time to head downstairs. Have a wonderful Monday.
Continuing to live this life with kindness, respect, compassion, patience, love, laughter, understanding, gratitude, focus, possibilities, coffee and forgiveness.
Morning. The sun was coming up when I first started to read this post. I decided to read back over the last couple of months regarding Alvin. The sun is now shining and the sky is a pretty blue. The temperature is supposed to be warming up and I am grateful. I cannot believe that my darling Alvin has been gone for almost one week. My heart is broken. There are no words and I know that I cannot change the ending of our story and it sucks. I miss him so much. The house is empty without him.
Yesterday afternoon a friend and neighbour came over with a beautiful plant arrangement and cards. Crystal loved Alvin and when I had texted them on Saturday, her husband gave her the news. She as am I are in disbelief. How can our beloved Alvin be gone? Really, how did this happen? We should be snuggling on the sofa and I should be having a conversation with him. Crystal has had to say goodbye to two beloved dogs over the years and I remember her last Daisy. She was a dolly and Alvin loved her. They used to play in the grass. I wished that I had photos of them together but I do not. I also forgot to add Miss Daisy to the list of Angels. He has company. She adopted Stella shortly after Daisy passed as the hurt was too great and then a couple of years later adopted Issy. My friend said that you will have always guilt and wondering why? Crystal is also a Nurse and said that most Vets as well as Doctors seems to treat the symptoms instead of investigating to see why there are problems in the first place. That was this case. By the time tests were actually done, he was in a bad place. I should have pushed earlier. That is something I will regret for the rest of my life. They are our responsibility and I clearly let him down. I was his voice and his protector and I did not. I keep going over everything in my head. Nothing I say or do or think at this point will bring him back, I so wished that it would. All that I can do from this point, is try to breathe and live this life which has been shattered. I am not looking forward to going back to work. But I suppose the drama of that place will give me a different focus for those hours.
I am trying to keep the good memories in the fore front of my brain, of my mind but perhaps it is too soon for that ….. I do not know. My life was touched by the best “heart” ever to be born on this planet. Alvin was the best. He was sweet, kind, stubborn, loving, cuddly, smart, funny and so much more. I was truly blessed to have had him in my life ….. I did not ask for him but he found me and that was a miracle. He was my miracle. Alvin you blessed my life with your presence. I shall miss you and there is a canyon of a hole in my heart that will never heal. I do not want it to heal as it will keep you real.
Trying to remember to live this life with kindness, respect, compassion, patience, love, laughter, understanding, gratitude, focus, possibilities and coffee.
Good Morning All! I am writing this post from my smart phone, not sure how smart it is. Alvin is laying on the sofa beside me. I apologize for the font size, not sure why the default is not a bit larger. Break out your magnifying glasses, lol.
Last night it was late when we went to bed. Lights were out at 10:30 and next time we were up was 4:30. To be honest I got up once but Alvin did not. Then outside at 4:30 to pee and then it was 7:22 when we got up. I wanted to try something different with Alvin’s breakfast so I only gave him his wet food. He sniffed it and walked away. So clearly with no chicken, he won’t eat. I felt badly as he hasn’t eaten much the last day so I added chicken and he pulled out the chicken leaving his wet food in the dish. I have created a monster, a spoiled one. Yesterday I took an unplanned trip with my friend Gillian to Costco and upon arriving at home found a pile of semi digested food in the middle of the living room floor. That was the little bit of hard food that I have him a bit before I left the house. He still does his “downward dog stretches” morning. Okay, not sure how that means anything. Just to mention.
So not sure what to think. He does not seem to be in pain or uncomfortable.
Baking in the oven is an Epicure Lemon Cranberry loaf. Smells good.
We walked over to Gillian’s to take some lemons as I bought a bag at Costco. Too many for me. I bought them to make the glaze for this loaf and to clean my glass stovetop. I saw a video on Instagram to use baking soda and lemons. Worked pretty well even removing some cooked on stains. Hsppy about that.
Once back home I thought that I would try to download some photos from my old computer to the external hard drive but ended up just looking at about 1500 photos, some I don’t remember even taking. So many memories.
Then it was tome to make supper. I baked a chicken breast and some root vegetables (sweet potatoes, carrots & onions) snd boiled a chicken breast for Alvin. Again for second day in a row, he picked out the chicken. I also whipped some cream to top my chocolate pudding. So good.
Then it was cleanup followed by movie watching. I, we watched Ant Man & The Wasp. I have seen before but always enjoyed.
Now I am drinking coffee and writing this post while curled up on my comfy sofa with Alvin resting beside me.
I am going to get some photos onto that hard drive.
Happy Sunday.
The homemade chocolate pudding and Mr. Alvin, such cuteness.
Time to go. Have a great day.
Continuing to live this life with kindness, respect, compassion, patience, love, laughter, understanding, gratitude, focus, possibilities and coffee.
Good Morning ALL! Well another pretty good sleep, I would say. Alvin is waiting downstairs for me while I got dressed and writing this post. Today and tomorrow, I happily work from home and then I am on VACATION for two weeks. I do not think that I have ever taken vacation in February or in the wintertime or at least not this many days. I am looking forward to the time off. We are going to have some fun and I have some “work” to do.
When I was setting up my workstation at home last night, I had such a feeling of calm and getting up knowing that I do not have to leave my house for work today was awesome. I have appreciated working from home the past almost three years. Being with Alvin mostly everyday has been awesome and I am so grateful that I had that time with him. I am not sure what I would have done when he had his surgeries and had some illness, what I would have done. I did take some vacation days immediately after the surgery because that would have been too much but I was home and that was great. I enjoyed our walks at noon and after work and some early morning ones on those days when it was very hot. Despite there, being a global pandemic going on – our life was pretty good. It had to be said as I am very grateful for this time at home. There were times especially during the first two years where I was working many extra hours and seven days per week to keep on top off all the changes that the government made but I was home and that was so good.
The air is warm this morning and I think it is going to be plus temperatures today and tomorrow as well. Hopefully the weather will be nice for the next two weeks as well. There will be times when we have to leave the house (walks and appointments and such). Mr. Alvin needs his nails trimmed. They sure grow fast when he is not out walking every day. We went for a walk last night after work but again did not get too far, this time I was happy to go home as the sidewalks were a mess (due to large snowfall night before) with snow and ice and salt. Another friend was out walking, that was Ali and Bailey. We saw them just as we were coming home, they came inside for a visit. Always nice to visit with our friends. Bailey is getting so big. Alvin and Bailey were happy to see each other.
After supper, I had a lovely hour or so chat with my friend Pauline. Feeling blessed. Had a chat with my sister and a friend all within a few days. I need to call other friends. Nothing like hearing a friendly familiar voice to bring joy to your days.
Time to head downstairs and plug in the coffee pot. Mr. Alvin has been quiet thus far. He probably wonders what is going on.
I am also very grateful that he is doing so much better. His poop gets better with each passing day. I do think it is going to be interesting weaning him off the chicken. He loves the chicken, lol.
Have an awesome Thursday. Be safe and take some time for you. Remember no one else can!
Continuing to live this life with kindness, respect, compassion, patience, love, laughter, understanding, gratitude, focus, possibilities and coffee.
Good Morning ALL! Bed late and up late this Saturday morning. So excited that my daughter slept over last night. We had such a good night and as she is getting ready to go home to her family, a bit of sadness creeps into my heart. I love when she arrives and am sad when she leaves. I guess that is a Mother thing or parent thing. She is such a great human, person, woman and daughter. Just love my girl to the moon and beyond.
One thing that I want to figure out with my new computer is how to access my photos through Word Press. Somehow the new computer does things differently or perhaps it is the old me that just cannot see the trees for the forest. Oh, well, as I recently told my daughter, eventually I figure things out. Sometimes it takes me awhile.
Last night for supper we had black bean burgers enveloped by Val’s most delicious dill pickle cheese biscuits with a splatter of her raspberry jalapeño jelly. OMG, so delicious. We added cheddar cheese as you cannot have a burger without lots of cheese. My mouth is watering at the mere thought of that burger. I do not think that anything will ever top the most deliciousness of that burger with those biscuits on either side. My friend Val sure knows how to cook and bake. She is the bomb, so talented in the kitchen. I am eternally grateful for all the goodies that she sends to us. Alvin loves his homemade treats as well. We had later in the evening this incredible chocolate brownie. Hidden in the brownie/icing was pieces of a Kit Kat chocolate bar, one of my favourites. It was so rich and delectable. My tummy was so full and content by the goodness. This morning I gave my daughter one of the apple tarts for “breakfast” with her coffee, I will have my later (dessert for supper tonight). Thanks Val, you rock.
Thank you to my daughter for helping me with computer things this morning. She is on her way and I am about to “publish this post.” Photo of Alvin is from last night. What a cutie!
I hope that you are having a wonderful Saturday. Mine has been good thus far. Lots going on. I am also watching over Humphrey, Bogart and Cynder for a couple of days.
Continuing to live this life with kindness, respect, compassion, patience, understanding, gratitude, love, laughter, focus, possibilities and coffee. I need coffee ……
Good Morning ALL! I hope that you are doing well this morning! Wow, can you believe that it is Monday, November 21, 2022 today? We had rain before 4:30 this morning. Rain past mid November. That is just very strange. Thankfully I am working from home today. Anyone having to drive, I hold you in my heart and wish you safe travels to work and back home or wherever you may be going.
Well this truly was a weekend of diversions from the “TO DO LIST” but in the end I managed to get most things crossed off/completed. I took this afternoon off from work as Mr. Alvin has his regular 5 week appointment for ears, nail trim and “anal glands.” Thankfully the weather is nice so we should be able to walk there and back. By later this afternoon any ice should have melted. I could not believe that it was +3 degrees at 8:00 o’clock last night. Wow, this weather. Can you imagine if it was like this for Christmas. So much of the snow has melted although the ground still remains with a thick thick blanket but gone are the four foot snow banks. We had a nice walk yesterday afternoon and Alvin enjoyed sniffing along the way. We also visited with neighbours that were out and about on the warm afternoon. One was even putting up outdoor lights. Perfect time to do it. After our walk, I dropped Mr. Alvin off at the house and went over to my friend Gillian’s for a cup of coffee and to pick up the floor mats. Yes, I ordered two more of the floor mats that I had recently purchased from Costco. Reason being is that I have been using my yoga mats on the floor for Mr. Alvin. I really do not want the wear and tear on them plus they look a bit odd. Not that appearances really make a difference to me but this time, they did/do. We had a great visit with her brother making a surprise appearance. I had not seen “D” for a long time. Nice to chat with him. Once back home, I finished upstairs. I had previously gone through both of the bathrooms and cleaned out the cabinets upper and lower. Throwing away unwanted things. Felt so good. I vacuumed. Did some things before making supper for me and Mr. Alvin. After supper I did dishes and then set up my workstation for today.
Well time to head downstairs, back downstairs. I will have a few hours before his appointment this afternoon to clean out some kitchen drawers. Then all of the kitchen drawers and cabinets will have been cleaned/tidied up. I moved some coffee mugs about by putting the Christmas ones in the cupboards where they can be reached when company comes over.
It is beginning to look a lot like Christmas!
Have an awesome Monday.
Continuing to live this life with kindness, respect, compassion, patience, love, laughter, understanding, gratitude, focus, possibilities and coffee.
Good Morning ALL! I hope that you had a great Monday and a wonderful Halloween. Last night we had 45 treaters of all ages arrive on our porch. I had put Mr. Alvin’s harness and leash on so that he would not get away on me and then realized that he wasn’t going anywhere. Depending on who was at the door he might walk onto the porch otherwise he stayed in the house. It was so nice to see some of the children from the neighbourhood. There were several of the 45 that I did not recognize but there have been lots of people moving in and out over the last year. We made note that several, actually a lot of our neighbours did not hand out treats. Some perhaps due to the expense and others because they were unable to buy any. I bought mine weeks before the big day. Not something you want to leave until the last minute. Our first treater was a little LION named Grayson, oh so cute. Just started to walk. On cue when Mum asked what sound does a Lion make he went “GRRRR” and then he blew me a kiss. Such a cutie. Alvin sure loves him and he loves Alvin. One of the few little ones that was not afraid of him. Other children we knew of course were not afraid of him. We even had a Samurai – so cute. Most of the children whether young or a bit older – all said THANK YOU. I was very impressed by that show of manners. It was 45 minutes bordering on one hour between the first visitor and the second. I decided early on that I would just give out a handful (sometimes more) as it was apparent that the numbers were down this year. Our neighbourhood is maturing I suppose and we do not have the numbers of children that we did for the first decade after I moved here. Very sad but that is life. Our friend Maddie even stopped by and I scored a bag of cheetos. Just needed something not sweet. I have managed to eat only a minimum of Halloween treats this year. Which is good! We had a good night and I turned off the porch light and closed the blinds at 7:51 p.m.
Alvin and I went outside to the backyard after that and as I waited for him to do this thing, I noticed these tiny, tiny snowballs hitting the ground and bouncing about. Some hit my coat bouncing off while others landed on Mr. Alvin and just stayed. I would not say that it was cold out but I guess cool enough for miniature snowballs.
This coming Sunday we turn our clocks back by one hour. That always takes some adjusting and will take more considering we are back to work three days each week. It is not something that I particularly look forward to, that is for sure.
Well, we turned our calendars over today to: NOVEMBER 1st, 2022 for this Tuesday. Today is back to the office for the next three days. ARGH. It will be okay.
My burning eye incident passed after about one hour but was miserable for the duration.
Well almost time to go downstairs and have some snuggles with the boy before I leave for the office. I am so grateful to have a ride to work. Very grateful. I am grateful that I have the time to snuggle with Alvin before I leave for work. I am grateful that I live in this beautiful house, our home. I am grateful for time. I am filled with a deep sense of gratitude for my life.
Continuing to live this life with kindness, respect, compassion, patience, love, laughter, understanding, gratitude, focus, possibilities and coffee.
Always, Carol & Alvin
PS: a mug of java will taste mighty fine this morning. YAY.
My New Life @ 51 