A New YEAR 2023

Good Morning ALL! Well this year has not got off to the start that I may have anticipated. Last night we had another set back. I managed to get two out of the three doses of Mr. Alvin’s newest medication which is a liquid to line his tummy to hopefully help him with digestion and aid in bowel movements. The last dose was scheduled for 10:30 last night. I started the process about 10:16 p.m. in hopes that it would not take so long and that we could get to bed in a reasonable time. 10:30 is already very late for us. Anyway, things did not go well. Long story short it was 30 minutes later and I had only managed to get maybe 1/4 of the medicine into him. He had got away from me (we were on the sofa) and was hiding under the kitchen table, I was able to get him out but by this time his anxiety level was over the top and perhaps I should have just left it and we should have gone to bed without the medicine. But I did not and he ran upstairs before I could get to him. The lights were not on in the stairway except for the garland from Christmas (thankfully that was still up). All of a sudden I heard him cry and knew that something was very wrong. I got to him as soon as I could and found him in the bedroom. I can only assume that he had problems getting up the second three steps to the upstairs landing. Perhaps missed landed but he definitely hurt his hind leg(s). Might be the one he had surgery on in July of 2021. I am praying to whomever will listen to me that this is not the case. Surgery again would not be pretty. He seems to be walking but is mood has changed. So different and that is what leads me to believe he may be in pain. I left him downstairs with the baby gate up so that he could not follow me. He has not barked and is quiet. Unlike him. So I will keep an eye on him and see what the day brings. Please keep my boy in your thoughts and prayers with good positive energy coming his way. Thank you.

I need to get back downstairs but just wanted to give a quick note about our last few hours. We did have an okay sleep until 3:45 ……… also he has not pooped only peed. Whether that is good or not, I have no idea at this point. Perhaps the medicine is finally firming things up and then it will be good. Hopefully his leg is okay as well.

Have a good day.

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

Always, Carol & Alvin

Last Half 2022 – October

Good Morning ALL! Well we made it, today is Friday, October 14, 2022. So excited for the weekend. What a great way to start with last night my good friend Gillian came over for a visit. We always have such great conversations. I always feel so much better about life in general after we are together. She has good energy. Thank you Gillian. Mr. Alvin was excited to see her…..

We also went for a walk after work. Alvin’s “caregiver” was outside her house with her daughter and a friend as we were going by. Mr. Alvin made a beeline across the grass to see her, tail just a wagging. Safe to say that he loves her very much. Yesterday she brought her pup Cookie for a visit one of the times she came to check on Mr. Alvin. He, we are so blessed to be surrounded by loving, caring and supportive friends and neighbours. My neighbours do not just beside me – they are my friends. I am very grateful for each and every one of them. Alvin had some love and attention while we chatted and then we were on our way. Down the street a little bit we saw other friends out cleaning out their motorhome. We stopped for a quick visit and then headed out to the park. It was such an absolute lovely walk. There was no wind and the temperature was about 21 degrees celsius, perfection. We didn’t make it quite to Pauline’s house before turning around to come home. I always have Alvin decide how far to go and he was ready to go home.

The leaves are so gorgeous now. Reds, oranges, yellows and still a lot of green. My impatiens and other plant out front are still blooming but I will pull the impatiens this weekend. The other plant I will leave out as it is more of a fall plant and I believe is an annual so will wait till we have a good frost and then cut it back / pull the plant. November 7th is the second and last pickup of yard waste. Good to recycle.

This weekend I will put away the patio furniture although next week we are supposed to have temperatures well above seasonal values. But better to get done before something happens! You know what I mean. I really do not want to say the word before it happens. I know that yesterday I mentioned it in my blog.

I am also trying to stop the negative feelings and thoughts that I have been having during this return to the office. Getting used to the earlier rise, the noise levels, being around so many people and so on, has made me a bit cranky and a little anxious. Starting today that stops. I am so grateful to be employed, to have great people to help look after Alvin while I am at the office, I am grateful that we are both in great health, I am grateful for my life. So no complaints. My life is pretty blessed and I do that!

Happy Friday everyone.

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

Always, Carol & Alvin

Last Half 2022

Good Morning All! How are you this morning? Third day in a row we have been up extra early. Tuesday we were up early to go for a walk before the heat set in, yesterday I went to the office and today we are going to walk as it will be another warm one here in Edmonton.

The sky is extra pretty this morning. There are wisps of dark clouds hovering below the lighter blue sky. The sun is up and slightly covered by the cloud cast. I can hear a dog barking behind us somewhere, that dog is always outside and always barking. I feel for the poor guy or girl. In the background there is the hum of vehicles on the Anthony Henday highway that circles the City of Edmonton.

When I compare work at home to work at the office there is no difference. Perhaps I have become too comfortable getting up a bit later or earlier to go for walks, having a view of my backyard, being here for Alvin, not having the noise of the office. Working from home is so much easier and way less expensive. With the ever increasing costs and no increase to our pay – having to go to the office more often means changing what I buy for food and not buying anything extra. Someone thinks it is a good idea for people to return to the office but really is it? Most offices have staff in open workspaces with perhaps lower dividers to separate them. Noise carries. When you are on the phone it is hard to just speak in a whisper as not to disturb those around you. The commute time is horrible. Then less time at home. We were finally having a great work – life balance. Back to people being sick all of the time. Meetings for the sake of having meetings. It is always easy to say “go back” when you have a door on your office to close when needed. I am sure it will all work out but in the meantime, there are millions of people worldwide that are suffering from the anxiety of returning to work at the office. I know that millions of people have no choice. But if we can help some of those millions to be less stressed, why wouldn’t we?

Well time to go as I want to take Mr. Alvin for a walk. The cool air wafting in through the open office window is divine. I need to clear the above chatter from my mind.

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

Always, Carol & Alvin

PS: only 26 days till 65! I was carrying the decorator pillows from the spare bed back to ours and I usually look to see where Alvin is located, this time I was preoccupied and tripped. Luckily I didn’t put my full weight on his paws or anything but I did come very close to hitting the corner of the hallway wall. That would not have been pretty. Oh, my life with Alvin

The New YEAR 2022

Good Morning ALL! Well second last day of my vacation. How are you? We all are fine. The sky is overcast and we had some moisture last night. Rain, not the other. Thankfully. Windy out there this morning. We thoroughly enjoyed our walks yesterday. I had a one hour walk with Miss Aspen and 30 minute walk with the boys: Alvin and Mi-Mi. The sun shone for the most part and it was warm. I believe it got to about 12 yesterday. Not to be the case today, Tuesday, April 19, 2022.

My mind has been wondering to the upcoming times that I have to go to the office. My immediate neighbours that were once able to come and check on Mr. Alvin multiple times during the day are now having to go back to their respective places of employment. Thankfully I have others that hopefully will be available on those days that I have to go back to the office. I cannot imagine him home alone for 11-12 hours again. He will not drink. I just do not want to do that to him again. For all those people with pets that have to leave them at home for extended periods of time, I say this. Train them to pee on pads so at least that way they will be comfortable drinking water. Going to the office gives me anxiety partially because of Alvin and partly because I do not wish to be around people in that close proximity. No wonder people were always sick in the past, it is because like those above are always looking at the money aspect. How much can we make? Easy for them to want us to go back to the office sitting in their offices with a door. Just saying. I am grateful to be working for home, I am just going to repeat this often and feel it to my core. There are many employers who are leaving their employees work from home. I believe after this length of time, it should be our choice. I know that some people do not have a choice due to their type of employment but for those of us who work in this environment, why not, work from home. This is 2022. Times they are changing.

Today is the second last day before my grandpups go home. I shall miss them. I shall always miss being on vacation. This was a good relaxing, happy time. Me and the pups.

I cannot believe that we are over halfway through the month of April. One quarter of 2022 almost on the books. 2022 has been a year already.

Well I think it is time to go back downstairs and make some coffee. I did not make it when I came back upstairs to brush my teeth and get dressed and do this post. I am enjoying my coffee these days as I do most days. Again, so nice to be on vacation. I look forward to warmer sunny days ahead.

I wish you a great Tuesday. Be safe and well.

I do want to make one note, during this whole two years of the Pandemic – COVID, this moment is the time where I have known the most people, family and friends that just got over the virus or have the virus. Seems strange, that when it is “winding” down – it would be the highest numbers.

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

Always, Carol & Alvin, Aspen and Mi-Mi

The New YEAR 2022

Good Morning ALL! I believe today is Friday but quite honestly I am mixed up on my days due to the start of this week. I am so relieved that situation is over. Guess what I did but was a bit anxious about – Alvin was up at 4:00 ish to go for a pee and have his glucosamine chew and we did manage to get back upstairs to bed but then he woke up at 5:22 and wanted his breakfast so once he once done he was firm in his stance and would not go back upstairs – he went beside the sofa and asked to be helped up. Politely. So taking a deep breath, I helped him up, turned off the lights, took off my glasses and set down and then grabbed our favourite red fluffy blanket laid down beside him on the sofa. My heart was racing for a minute or so and then with him beside him, I settled down. I would not say that I had a great “nap” but it was okay. A start back to our normal routine. As norm as any are these days.

I noticed that it is snowing as we have a nice little bright white blanket covering everything.

Yesterday my friend asked if I needed any groceries so I asked for her to pick up cans of pumpkins and a head of cauliflower. When she dropped them off, my “early Mother’s Day” gift had arrived. I did not hear a knock or doorbell but that is okay. The gift is a replacement for my beloved coffee percolator. My kids gave me the coffee perc early due to the accidental demise of my previous one. Actually it did not owe me anything as I had it since 2009. I am going to drink my first cup of coffee from it in a minute or two (once I am finished this post). It smells good.

Please on this Friday, January 7th, 2022 – be kind and respectful to all. Have patience. Remember we do not know what they are going through. Looks can be deceiving. Be understanding and have compassion. Be grateful for what you have and who you are. Focus on those endless possibilities. Love and laugh.

Happy Friday.

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

Always, Carol & Alvin

The New YEAR 2022

Good Morning ALL! Despite the rocky start to the New Year, things are starting to get better. Yesterday over my lunch break, I asked a neighbour to come over and check behind the stove to see if you know what was in the you know what! I won’t say because I am not one that takes taking a life no matter what lightly. All life is important for this Earth unfortunately there are some that are short lived. Anyway, K checked behind the stove and it was there, so it was disposed of properly. I felt bad but I also felt a massive sigh of relief and the anxiety that I had been feeling for two days was substantially lifted. I will not say that I was immediately anxiety free, as I was not. Continuing to work upstairs likely helped. After work I took a deep breath and started to empty the dishwasher, put away the clean dishes that filled the kitchen table and wiped the counter completely with disinfectant wipes once again before return any items. The only items on the counter are the electric kettle, food processor, stand mixer and the glass cake container which houses the bananas but I am using it as though they were a cake. They are covered. There are two containers with utensils. That is it. I also folded up some tin foil and placed it at either end of the top of the stove resting against the countertop. I pushed in more foil beside the bottom of the stove as well. It just gives me a bit more peace of mind. After that I started to gather some of the remaining Christmas decorations to put away. I even got brave on my own and went into the basement, not the furnace room but the “family room” and got some empty rubbermaid containers for the ornaments/decorations. In between I gave Mr. Alvin his supper. Every time I have food out I scrub and wipe to ensure there are no crumbs anywhere to be found. The lid from a new tin of Alvin’s dog food well I took it off the can, washed it and the can once emptied into a covered container and place clean items in a bag and put in recycling. NO CRUMBS. It took awhile but I managed to put away most of the Christmas stuff from the main floor. There are still a few things up and out but I think I will leave them until the weekend. I have to decide what things I will bring back up from the basement from my regular ornaments and things. I am again grateful to my neighbour for bringing me coffee yesterday late morning per my request and for her bringing me some today. Tomorrow the new coffee perk arrives and I hope it is early in the day. I will have to keep an eye/ear out for the delivery. My office is at the back of the office so not easy to see the street without getting up and physically going into my bedroom and looking out the window and I am unable to see the porch from there. Oh well.

All things considered it was a good day. Work is a bit on the scary side at the moment being short two people and issues with our computer system. I am happy that once again most of the anxiety has been lifted, erased. Although I am not able to sleep on the sofa in the mornings when we are up at 3 or 4 and 5 but I will in time. Poor Alvin has to make those steps a bit more often than he normally would. I do like having my workspace upstairs for a change but will have to decide if I leave it up here for awhile. Might be a nice change!

Well time to sign off. I hope that you are doing well. Hopefully things in your home are good. I am trying to remain positive and hopeful that this does not happen again. I fully realize that had I had the virus or everyone around me had it – I would have been in a much worse place. I did try and contact a professional but for a time yesterday I was unable to make outgoing calls or take incoming ones. That has now been rectified.

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

Today is a much better day and I am so grateful for my awesome neighbours. I could not have got to this place and I am happy to be here both mentally and physically. Thank you.

Always, Carol & Alvin

The New YEAR 2022

Good Morning. Well my anxiety level has decreased somewhat but still no capture. I have moved my workstation upstairs to my personal office and confused Mr. Alvin. He wants to be downstairs and just does not understand.

Thanks to my next door neighbour for bringing me coffee as I will have to wait to make my own until the weekend. Thanks to my daughter for ordering me a new coffee perk. I am not sure that I will be able to actually make coffee – if I can stay in the kitchen that long. Longest time I spend in there now is to get Alvin’s breakfast and supper. Yesterday my neighbour also helped me take down the Christmas tree. Which has opened up the living room space and gives me breathing room. All the other decorations remain up at this point.

Also thanks to my daughter for stopping by on her way home from work and for bringing me supper.

I am running late as I could not close my eyes without seeing you know what. Sometimes even just the mere thought drives me to the edge. I know that I have to be strong and I can get through this.

We have make contact with professionals via email and I will call them today to see what can be done. I cannot live like this for long and neither can Mr. Alvin. I realize that all these extra trips upstairs is not great for his poor legs but if need be I will carry him up and down.

I must go and get to work. Truly short commute. One chair over.

I wish you a wonderful day. With no anxieties.

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

Always, Carol & Alvin

2021

Good Morning ALL! How are you today? It is a cool bright sunny morning here in Edmonton with a temperature of 10 degrees celsius. Very refreshing. This will be a brief post as I am upstairs on the computer. I had some banking to do this morning and of course, Mr. Alvin is not happy and has been barking since I came upstairs. Does not help with my ever increasing anxiety. I am thinking at this rate, I will be taking medicine soon, lol. He does not bark every morning but for some reason this morning …. he is and he has the most down to the bones frustrating as I cannot think of a word to describe it at this moment. Anyway, not pleasant to listen to. We did not sleep well. Bed at 10 p.m. and up at 2:50 a.m. and then outside twice and back to bed (on main floor) at 3:30. He woke up at 5:52 a.m. and had his breakfast and back outside. I just needed more sleep so back to sleep although I am pretty sure that he did not sleep. If I could just have some decent sleep it would make things so much more easier to deal with. But alas I feel that it is not in my cards.

I am going to give him his next round of meds right away here and then go for a quick walk before starting work. Coffee is definitely going to be my best friend today.

I am so grateful to my friend Gillian for going and picking up Alvin’s medicine yesterday. If I did not have such great kids and friends, I would be in some serious trouble.

Looks like tomorrow, Saturday and Sunday are going to be in the 30’s. Won’t that be lovely. I am going to give Mr.Alvin a haircut this evening and then just a sponge bath to remove any extra hair. Otherwise it will be brutal giving him a haircut when it is so hot.

Well I must go before he has a coronary – is that even possible with dogs. OR else his Momma may have.

I think that the windows are open downstairs so the neighbours or anyone going by will hear his cries and think he is in trouble. What a guy!

Anyway, I wish you a great day. Things will get better. I sure hope so anyway.

Continuing to live this life with kindness, respect, compassion, PATIENCE, understanding, love and gratitude.

Always, Carol & Alvin

2021

Good Morning ALL! How are you doing this Friday? YAY, we made it to another weekend. Alvin and I are well. He slept good so I slept good HOWEVER, since we came back upstairs for me to shower and get dressed, he has been a whiny pants. There is something about the placement of his water dish in our bedroom that now the past couple of days is suddenly freaking him out. He whines and paws and paws and whines when he tries to get a drink. Now if I was not in the shower it would not have been a big deal but of course, he is barking away when I am in the shower. Not just a matter of jumping out and back in. So I try to talk him down “off his ledge” from the shower. Did not work. He barked the whole time that I was in the shower. I sure hope that our neighbours did not hear him or me. Oh, please. Once I was out he stopped and I coaxed him to drink. I moved the dish over a bit but not sure if that will work or not. As the days, months and years pass, I have noticed that he has more anxiety. He used be anxious but that has climbed. I try to retain my patience and manage other than occasionally raising my voice which I know never helps any situation but when it is you are alone in the house except for an anxious dog …. HELP. Perhaps I should have taken him to see someone when he was younger but I did not. Now we just try to get through one day at a time. If anyone thinks that only humans suffer from anxiety – think again. I was thinking how great it has been for him to have me home for the last more than a year but I do not know anymore. I think that Alvin was sent to me to give me more patience. I would say that patience is definitely not a virtue for me. So I will continue to work on it and he will keep testing my patience to see if I am resolved my issues. What can you do?

I do not wish to complain ever as I have a GREAT life. We live in a beautiful home, have lots of good food to eat, I have a job, I am surrounded by loving, supportive, caring family and friends, we have good health, and we are able to walk everyday and I can do some of the things that I love to do such as writing. So I will plod on ….. plod on.

Well speaking of plodding – I had better get this train back on the tracks. One really has nothing to do with the other, lol. Really need that coffee ….

Please have a wonderful Friday. The weekend is just a few hours away …. some time perhaps to do something special for you.

Continuing to live this life with respect, kindness, compassion, PATIENCE, love and gratitude.

Always, Carol & Alvin

P.S. it may not sound like it but I love the little guy with my whole heart …. just sometimes the barking is not easy to handle. …… but we will get through it …. one moment …. one day at a time.

Second Half of the NEW YEAR.

Good Tuesday Morning,

Another night without Alvin.

I know he is okay with the kids but I miss him.

It is good for us to be apart once in awhile.

We will appreciate each other all the more upon his return on Sunday.

Through some conversations and reflections, I believe that I have been causing Alvin anxiety since I have been home.

So I am going to try my very best not to let my job get under my skin.

I think that likely a lot of us are feeling this way now.

No matter if you like or love or don’t fancy your job …. we are all experiencing some form of stress or anxiety now.

I will say that our in person team meeting last Thursday helped us all.

We or most of us LOVE working from home and I would like to remain working from home until I retire.

So whatever I can do to make this be a positive experience for both me and Alvin, I am going to do.

My daughter stopped by yesterday on my lunch break to pick up the groceries that “we” forgot to pack into the car after the birthday party on Saturday.

She says that Alvin sleeps through the night until they get up in the morning and he has been doing great.

This is good for both of us.

Although I have never minded being alone …. I will say that the house is empty without the boy.

He is a force that is for sure.

Tuesday already and I have some things that I wanted to do this week so I guess I had better get the show on the road.

Tonight my girl friends are coming over and we are going to work on our “diamond paintings.”

It will nice to have them over.

I have some yard work to do.

When I opened the blinds in our bedroom this morning I saw that the sidewalks were wet.

I was not expecting rain.

The patio furniture still has the cushions out as I had not put them away.

Oh well.

I left the kitchen window open.

Luckily it was not a hard rain or coming in on an angle.

A nice rain is okay for us in the city but I hope that the farmers did not have rain as they are right in the midst of harvest.

My brother that lives in the country has been helping out some farmers with their combining.

So I hope it did not rain out there.

 

I was watching the weather channel last night before bed – trying to see what Saturday’s weather will be for the wedding.

They always switch it to something so I did not have the patience to wait.

I also noticed that yesterday in weather history ….. parts of Alberta had huge amounts of ….. should I say the word ….perhaps not.

Starts with a S and ends with a W and is four letters in total.

I am going to check my blog from last year and see if we had any??

Don’t remember.

That is the beauty of being Canadian we seldom remember the weather from year to end.

 

Well it is almost time to head on downstairs and have my first cup of coffee and perhaps start work a few minutes early.

Get organized.

I wish you an awesome day.

The sky out the office window kind of looks overcast so maybe this will be a rainy day.

I hope that the skies are clear on all the farms.

Live your life with kindness and respect.

Help when you are able and always do your best.

 

Living my life with kindness and respect.

As Always, Carol & Alvin

 

P.S. last year it was sunny and warm, Edmonton did not have the S–W that other areas of Alberta experienced.

Also I had put all of my patio furniture away and was cleaning up the flower pots already in preparation for winter.