Good Morning! Welcome to Saturday. Yesterday was the 40th Birthday of a close family friend for whom I call “niece.” June came in way too fast. Happy Birthday D. I have the office window open and a nice cool breeze is wafting in and gently touching me. It is not too hot in the house but the coolness feels refreshing. I am so grateful for the weekend. Last night after work I had supper and did some laundry. Eddie went for a walk with his Dad this time. Some alone time which I understand. Oh, I just got a whiff of smoke, even though the sun is shining the sky is a bit on the hazy side. I had not smelled the smoke at first but now it is apparent. Perhaps better to close the window before the house starts to smell like a fire. Certainly do not wish that. It was in the early evening that I prepared for planting my new flowers that had been inhabiting the kitchen table. I filled several pots with two kinds of petunias and geraniums and there is one flower that I do not remember the name. Will have to find out. Almost looks like a type of geranium. I took my time and even had Mr. Alvin outside with me. I know it likely sounds a bit off but he used to enjoy that time of year hanging out with me. He would always check out what I was planting and where. Those were some of the best times. I filled nine pots adding to the six other pots that were already out on the deck. Actually I suppose there were two that had in the house. I am debating whether or not to put out my other succulents. I put one of them outside and will see how it does. They like the heat for sure but …… Unfortunately last night I only took a video of all of the plants to send to my daughter and Pauline (had to show her where I put the geraniums that she gave me the night before). So no photos to share today. I will take some photos this morning before I leave for Gillian’s birthday party. Seems like forever since we three were in the same place at the same time. Time passes so quickly! Thank you to Signe for hosting this birthday party. We take turns and it is so great when it is my turn to host our get togethers whether to visit and catch up or for a special occasion like a birthday.
My friend Lucy turns 65 in a few days and Pauline will be 70 in a couple of weeks. So many milestone birthdays. A sign that we are all getting older. A reminder to not get hung up on the little things like work situations and such. I am always reminded that I have so many wonderful friends and my family are amazing. To have them all is a true blessing. I consider myself very fortunate.
Time to go and have a shower and get ready for the party. I do want to take some flower photos before the sun gets bright in the back. Perfect time for photos now.
I hope that you have a great Saturday! Enjoy.
Continuing to live this life with kindness, respect, compassion, patience, love, laughter, understanding, gratitude, focus, possibilities, coffee and forgiveness.
Good Morning! Another beautiful May morning. Hard to believe that there are only two more days left in the month of May. Where does the time go? Feels like sometimes that it is evaporates. There is a coolness wafting into the office this morning. Yes, I opened the window to bring in some cool air. When I go downstairs I will open the windows at each end of the house. One being in the kitchen and the other in the living room. This will bring in some cool air. Gone are the days that I would open them early in the morning so that the main floor would be cool for Mr. Alvin. On the hot days, we would get out for an early morning walk. When Covid struck the planet, we would go in the mornings before work, if it was not too hot at my lunch break we would walk then and then should the temperatures be too hot after work, we would just stay cool by the fans. Sometimes we even went into the basement as it is always a few degrees cooler there. Yesterday morning after I got up and finished my small to do list, I grabbed my mug of coffee and “Alvin” and we sat out under the umbrella. He was in the shade but the umbrella did not quite cover me. There was still a nice cool breeze so I did not mind. We just enjoyed the sunshine with memories flooding my mind. He so loved his walks. His favourite spot on the deck was to lay just under the kitchen window and second was on the love seat next to me. I remember him as a pup and in the more early days how he would lay outside on the nice days soaking up the sunshine. Seems like a lifetime ago. I guess it really was but he will always be here.
Yesterday afternoon just after 4:00 p.m., the wind got up. I quickly brought in all of the houseplants and moved the other plants to the cover of the house or by the fence. I had taken the cushions from the table set and put them into the garage but left the cushions on the love seat and chairs on them. Earlier in the afternoon, my friend Gillian joined me on the deck for a cup of coffee, some sunshine, some laughter and good conversation. She is such a good friend. I am so grateful for her friendship. I was in the house and texting between three friends in two provinces when I noticed that one of the cushions had blown off one of the chairs. First time that has happened. I went out and put them away. All of my small items were moved just in case. If a gust moved the cushion then a little ornament from the table or deck could easily blow away. Not worried about anything get ruined but more of something being air borne and hitting someone or breaking a window. Anyway, after some heavy winds and a bit of rain a couple of hours later, I was out walking with Jeanette, Bruno and Eddie. Bruno, I am not sure how he is doing it, where does the energy come from, but he does a walk. Not a short one either. We take plenty of water and it almost all gets drank mainly by Bruno. We take three pet bottles of water and 500 ml (a lot of water). I will share a few photos of the boys from last night. The grass was “soft” after the rain.
EddieBrunoBruno
The time is getting late here and I have a few things to do before leaving the house for the day. Tonight I vote in our provincial election. That will be after work. I hope that you are doing well and have a wonderful Monday.
Continuing to live this life with kindness, respect, patience, compassion, love, laughter, understanding, gratitude, focus, possibilities, coffee and forgiveness.
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! Mostly clear blue sunny skies this morning. The smoke cleared by late afternoon, early evening and I was grateful that I could open my windows. I know that the smoke here was by no means as bad as those areas in the thick of the fires but I am grateful. There is a breeze this morning but I do no smell smoke unless my sense of smell is not functioning this morning. I am congested between the Mayday trees in full bloom and the pollen going on. Today is Thursday. Today is my dental appointment where they remove the temporary crowns and put in/on the permanent ones. I am also having two upper back molars extracted and two upper front fillings redone. Hopefully everything goes smoothly today. Fingers crossed that the pushing and pulling is at a minimum as my mouth was sore for almost this whole time. Not painful just sore. Anyway, I am grateful that all is well and will be soon over for now. I will definitely keep up the regular appointments no matter what is going on in the world. Next is medical appointments – get all those checkups done. When you are feeling mostly good – we tend to forget and with the Pandemic, no one went to the Doctor unless it was an emergency. Anyway.
I have been thinking of my Alvin this morning. I miss his cute face and the way he walked. I miss him sitting in the bathroom while I had a shower with his back to me, always the gentleman. I miss snuggling in bed and on the sofa. Life is not the same. It is okay but definitely not as great as when Mr. Alvin shared this home with me.
Alvin at Laser TherapyMr. AlvinCutenessIn kitchen with MomA proper GentlemanLoving BroccoliPauline’s -Happy PlaceJust chillingMe and my Alvin 2018Walking with MomOne of many for himGift form ValWhat?Soon there will be flowersTemporary bedroom
The flowers are for Mr. Alvin as he loved them so much. I cannot wait until I plant flowers in his honour. Miss you buddy.
Have a good Thursday. Be safe and keep cool.
Continuing to live this life with kindness, respect, compassion, patience, love, laughter, understanding, gratitude, focus, possibilities, coffee and forgiveness.
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! Looks like today and following days are cooling off a bit. So we shall have a reprieve from these 30+ days. I think of Mr. Alvin when it is hot and the many ways, I worked to keep him cool. A cool wet towel laid over him, the fans going full blast, opening the windows early in the morning before work and then closing the blinds to keep in the cool air. I cannot believe that it is going to be three months in a couple of weeks since he passed on. Sure miss the little guy and my life certainly is no where near the same without him. He was a good companion and the best little buddy one could ever ask for ever …..
I guess this is May 5th and CINCO DE MAYO.
I am so grateful that today is Friday. One day closer to retirement for some of us. Not rushing my life away or anything.
So yesterday I took the bus to my dental appointment. I really had no idea what was in store for me as I have never had crowns before and the prep work is a bit on the painful side. Well not really painful but lots of pressure as they prepped the two teeth for the crowns. Which is a whole deal, I am finding out. I will be getting two crowns on May 18th, 2023. YAY, me. I am so grateful that I have a good dentist. He really care and is gentle. All of his staff are very nice. There was only one that I had not worked with to this point. Yesterday I had Cheryl. She was wonderful. Explained every step and was so gentle and thoughtful. She helped the process in a huge way. The block that they place on the opposite side of your mouth from the “rubber dam/tent” was so big and my mouth is very small and it was causing me to gag. She realized and said we have a smaller one and got it right away. The assistant from Tuesday, did not pick up on that but she was clearly in training. I am also glad that I have good dental coverage and have a Health Spending Account so all the fees have been covered thus far. I will be paying for one crown come the 18th. On that appointment I will be having two front fillings replaced and two extraction all on the top. This should be fun. Better on the top though. Should heal more easily.
The sun is shining so brightly. I have a long list of things to do come this weekend. Time to get the deck washed, reorganize the garage and work on finishing washing the walls. The upstairs walls. Then will be the main floor. At least the blinds on the main floor were done recently.
The night before last the bargaining committee for my son-in-law’s employer settled. They did not come yesterday. I am grateful that they did not have to travel in the heat. Even with A/C in cars, not much fun for pups.
Well time to fly here. Have a wonderful Friday.
Continuing to live this life with kindness, respect, compassion, patience, love, laughter, understanding, gratitude, focus, possibilities, coffee and forgiveness.
Good Morning! Today is the Dentist day. My appointment is for this morning. Fingers crossed that all goes well. The house is warm this morning. I am going to run downstairs and open the windows to cool the main floor before the pups arrive in less than one hour. Change to plans as they have to come earlier today which worked out okay.
Last night after work I had planned to go for a walk but was having some groceries delivered so had to wait. I ended up going for a walk after supper. The Universe is also watching and guiding. I decided to take the cards for my friend Sara down the street. Yes the thank you card and memory card for Alvin. We just did not seem to connect and I thought I may be able to catch them at home. We had a nice catch up visit and then I continued on my walk. I did not get far at all, one house away when I saw my friend Jaime, her daughter and dog Sadie and then I heard in response to my “hello” to them on a porch another friend “Ada” and would find out in few minutes her sister. Of course, I had not seen these neighbours since before Alvin passed away. We had some tears and hugs and a nice visit. Ada’s sister told me when her pup passed and how she just could not go for walks anymore. I find myself going but feeling very alone when I am out, like someone is missing. He is missing, of course. My Alvin was an important part of my life for a long time, 13 years plus. I miss him. The next few months will be hard as I am sure we will see more people that I had not had the opportunity to tell them. It was funny, not haha funny, that both Jaime & Ada seem to know when they did not see Mr. Alvin with me. I guess we were always together. I don’t think that I ever went for a walk without him. Jaime had her phone with her so she took my phone number for a planned future walk. I seldom take my phone with me and sometimes miss out catching photos and numbers. When plans change there are reasons why! Had I gone right after work, I would have missed seeing Ada, meeting her sister and Jaime & Sadie and meeting her daughter. Just as I was about to continue on my way more friends showed up to the party “Allie & Bailey.” Bailey saw me first and I could hear her squealing with delight. They were on their way home from a walk so I joined them.
I decided that I would work from home for a little bit this morning before heading out to the Dentist appointment.
I have a bit of a headache this morning. Perhaps from being hot. Supper did not sit well with me last night. Maybe a bit of worry about the dentist. I know it will be okay but there is always the unknown.
Time to head downstairs and prepare for the pups arrival. I set up my computer last night so it is ready for me to work for a bit before I leave for the appointment.
Have a wonderful Tuesday.
Continuing to live this life with kindness, respect, compassion, patience, love, laughter, understanding, gratitude, focus, possibilities, coffee and forgiveness.
Good Morning and Happy Friday. The sky is a little overcast and hopefully will clear over the course of the day. Not to be warm today coming in about 5+ celsius. Thinking of all my friends and family back in Saskatchewan as they relive “winter” all over again. Hopefully the sun will come out and the snow will melt quickly but not that quickly for flooding.
Yesterday when I came home from work. Miss Cookie had been busy. I noticed that she did a bit of climbing as ornaments were tipped over and a photo frame. I had to move the “soft” coffee table as she jumped up and then knocked over some items on the floating glass shelves under the television. She also left me some presents. Thankfully she peed on the pee pad (she is pretty good at that) although she did get excited when I arrived home and peed just at the edge of the entry mat on the floor. There were a few “brown” presents as well most of which did make it to the pee pads but not all. She was happy to see me. My grand pups did not come as my daughter worked from home yesterday so my son-in-law had the car. All good, a bit of poop never did bother me as easy cleanup. However the climbing – not so happy about that. Hopefully she will be more calm today. My kids and grand pups will not be coming today as my daughter can work from home again today so the son-in-law has the car.
I sent photos, an update and video to Cookie’s family. They will be back one week from tomorrow. They are enjoying time in the U.S. with family. But Cookie will be okay. We did try to walk but that is another story. Oh, I hear her upstairs.
Photos will be posted of my little visitor tomorrow when I have time. Time to head downstairs. Oh, she slept really well last night so that is great. I was hoping the first night was just due to missing her family.
Wishing you a very Happy Friday.
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) and our visitor Cookie.
Good Morning. The morning sky is slightly overcast. How are you this morning? I am well. Just going to sneeze. ARGH, holding it which I know that I best not do. Okay, was only a little one, lol.
Last night after work I went for an extra long walk about 45 minutes which was great. I desperately needed to clear my mind from all things “work.” I know that these days a great many people have issues with or at work. Unfortunately seems to be the norm. I am trying to keep a positive attitude throughout but sometimes I fail and walk to the dark side. That is why getting out in nature and breathing that fresh air is not only good for your body, it is good for your heart and soul and brain. Decompressing, I texted my neighbour as I had to drop off the oven element to be sent back to Amazon as I did not use it in the end. So grateful to have a stove that works.
Yesterday at noon, I walked to the neighbourhood mall where I picked up our new office lotto tickets. I sure hope that our tickets were lucky and that we won a huge amount of money. Nothing like a lotto win to boost the moral of everyone. Also at the mall, I had previously noted that they had a M & M’s shop and I was eager to go and check it out. We used to have one close by in our neighbourhood and I had one in the mall close to my apartment back in Regina. I am not a huge fan of “processed” food but they have a few items that I love and for a treat occasionally, why not? So I picked up some “quiches” and I had one of them for supper last night. They also had a display of kitchen items by the checkout which included some fibre made pot cleaners and I picked up two. I first came to know these handy dandy little items when one of my friends gave me one as part of my Christmas present. So now I have four. Lucky me.
Cookie will be coming over this evening after I return from dress shopping with my friend Gillian. We are going after work to West Edmonton Mall. I have not been shopping for anything “fun” in a long, long time. Usually groceries or “oven elements” so this is exciting. Also my grand pups will be hanging out at Grandma’s house as of today for a bit. Not that this is a secret so I guess I can say, my son-in-law and his coworkers are going on strike. I do not even like to say that word. Scary. I hope that the employer agrees to their terms and it does not last long. Unfortunately these days, income increases are extremely small like 1% or nothing. The cost of living is like 8-10%. Seems like everything from food to utilities have increased hugely. So as always, the big corporations continue to make huge profits while their employees have to decide what they can afford to feed their family this week and what activities, if any their children can partake in, very sad. I am grateful that the pups can stay here and not have to be alone at their home which is one hour away. My son-in-law will be out for part of the day so they will not be alone for long and I leave later and home early due to my short commute, which I love. Anyway, I am excited to have a house full for the next bit. Cookie will be with me until the last Saturday in April, I believe the 29th. Last night Cookie and her Dad came over for a visit to discuss the handover plan. She was sporting a hair cut and I mean hair cut. Very short but it had been very long and poor Cookie, I would say is hyperactive. She is this bright light that never turns off. I love her and will be nice to have a pup sleeping over.
Okay time to sign off for this day. This morning we are outside at the site checking a list of things. Should be fun. Hopefully it will warm up a bit.
Have a wonderful day.
Continuing to live this life with kindness, respect, compassion, patience, love, laughter, understanding, gratitude, focus, possibilities, coffee and forgiveness.
Good Morning. Yesterday was an odd day. We did not receive the forecasted rain until I arrived home from work and then it has been raining off and on since with mini snowballs from time to time. This morning the sky is the most delicate of blues with streaks of orange and of pink on the horizon as the sun rises for the day. Looks like a beautiful day ahead. I should be walking at lunch break and after work. I did not get out yesterday between weather and office.
Last night I came across an old post and comment from over a decade ago. I had mentioned Alvin in the comment and was excited to read the actual post. I looked and looked but was unable to find it. Will have to spend more time investigating over the next few days. Tonight I will reach out to Cookie’s parents and see what the plan is for Thursday as they leave on their trip to the U.S. around noon on that day. Work is insanely busy so not likely that I will be able to take any time off. When you take time off it is thousands of times worse to come back to. Isn’t that sad! I am excited to have Cookie with me, too bad that I will one at work during the day but at least with this short commute I will be here with here most of the time. We will have time for walks and playing.
I have been thinking of Alvin, oh who am I kidding I am always thinking about Alvin. Better him than many other things. Of course, at work, I mainly think of work but he does slip into my mind from time to time and of course, he is always in my heart. When I go for walks I think of time and let him know what is new and where I am. One year ago, I would not have thought I would have been in this place. But some things you cannot change.
Have a great Tuesday. Take some time for yourself, go for that walk. Does not have to be 10,000 steps all at once, just go out and breathe some fresh air. Take in nature. Will do your heart and soul much good.
Continuing to live this life with kindness, respect, compassion, patience, love, laughter, understanding, gratitude, focus, possibilities, coffee and forgiveness.
My New Life @ 51 