Living … One day at a time.

Hello,

The sun is up.

The sky is blue.

I can hear the whir of traffic in the distance.

Alvin is sleeping on a blanket near me.

I feel refreshed after a nice shower.

Life is good on this Monday morning.

 

I think that it is safe to say that I love taking photos of Humphrey and the flowers and my backyard.

I do love to take photos of Mr. Alvin and Master Teddy.

Humphrey just seems to be so photogenic.

Always in the right place at the right time.

I am in awe of the purple flowers in the first photo.

Last year the plants were sparse and I think there may have been one flower all summer long.

This year, the plants seem to have spread and are so alive with beautiful pale purple flowers.

Flowers bring out the joy in me.

As to the fur-babies.

If you surround yourself with things that you love.

Life is good.

I filled six pots with flowers this year.

Two at the front and four at the back.

For the grand total of $25.18.

There has only been one spring/summer that I spent less.

Other years I have spent significantly more and although there were only double the amount of pots; this year feels like I have as many.

The plants in the back flower bed are doing crazy good.

The reddish purple shrub on the left side of the bed – is taller, fuller and brighter this year.

Perhaps it has been all of the rain as of late.

 

 

Speaking of Mr. Humphrey; I have to go as I have to run to his house and check on him before I leave for work.

Time flies when you are having fun.

Yesterday it was me, Alvin and Humphrey.

The boys relaxed in the house and also spent time outside.

They were my morale support as I cleaned my Humphrey’s Mom’s grass trimmer.

Well time now to go.

 

Happy Monday.

Take care, be kind and stay cool.

 

Always, Carol & Alvin

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Living … One day at a time.

Hello,

Well happy to report that our weekend has been mostly SUNNY and mild.

We were supposed to have rain until today but that did not happen.

Now I would have loved to have had some rain to help with the fire situation to the North of us and for us at home, as well.

 

This has been an most enjoyable weekend.

Spending several hours with my girl friends has been absolutely delightful.

They bring me great joy.

We laughed together, sometimes almost cried as we share our stories and experiences since we last spent time together.

What a great way to spend the weekend.

So yesterday was incredible.

Teddy joined us about 1/2 hour before the birthday stared.

Started the day hosting the 40th Birthday BASH (no liquor) for my friend who turns 40 this coming Friday.

We nibbled on strawberries, blueberries and some sweet treats (yup, even though it was mid morning) and drank coffee.

We had coconut cake adorned with a 40th birthday candle and presents for the birthday girl.

After the birthday party I went with Alvin and Teddy for a nice walk.

Once home we, meaning I went and picked up Humphrey the Cat so he would have company for the afternoon.

Just me, Alvin, Teddy and Humphrey hanging out.

I have so many cute photos but alas they are on my cell phone and I have to figure out how to get them from there to here.

It will happen ….. just have not had time as yet.

Already the number of photos is in the 100’s…… yikes.

One cute story …..

The boys went outside into the backyard multiple times yesterday afternoon.

I kept an eagle eye on them.

No one escapes during my tenure.

The pups were in the house and Humphrey was hanging out laying in the shade on the upper deck.

All of a sudden our birds came back – I could hear them chirping.

I looked to see Humphrey sitting looking up with his tail just flying about as he was getting an idea.

I figured for sure that he would try and jump up to capture one of the birds but he did not.

So thinking perhaps it would be a better idea if I just went out and distracted him.

Ended up bringing him into the house for a bit.

At one point in the house – Alvin was laying on the sofa, Humphrey in Alvin’s chair and Teddy in the other armchair by the window.

So cute.

Photos were taken.

The boys get along crazy good.

So happy about that.

 

Later in the afternoon I took Humphrey home so that I could get ready for the jewelry party.

So proud of this Canadian company starting in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan and their home base remains there to this day some 30 years later.

They are International.

My friends from the morning birthday party came as well as Humphrey’s Mom.

So three plus me.

We had a great time trying on jewelry and visiting.

Oh, my friend not the birthday girl from the morning brought her 10 year old daughter who was more than happy to try on jewelry.

The bling on my kitchen table was beautiful.

We tried on rings, necklaces, bracelets and held up earrings to see them on us.

So much fun.

The girls enjoyed the CHERRY SANGRIA that I made with the Steeped TEA Cherry Sangria fruit tea made with ginger ale.

Reminds me that I have a whole jug as I made two, that has to be drank soon before the ginger ale goes flat.

Will call someone or take some to friends today.

 

That was truly a great day.

Enjoying the day to the fullest.

 

This Sunday will be more quiet as I prepare for the week.

This girl is Living … one day at a time..

Doing a happy dance along the way.

Likely should try out some yoga as well.

Loving life and smiling.

 

Always, Carol & Alvin

 

Thought for the day …..

Good Morning and Welcome to Sunday the 28th day of April, 2019.

A glorious pale blue sky greets this Sunday morning.

 

We have been watching a magpie out of our bedroom window with much interest.

I understand where the old phrase came from “too fat to fly.”

This little one had such a round tummy that he/she would land on a branch and the branch would break ….

To be honest they were not really branches as we would deem to be moreover twigs.

Down the beautifully coloured black and white with blue/green feathers would fall to the next twig.

Twigs snapping everywhere.

If only he would land on a bigger branch.

Finally after what seemed forever the birdie got out of the entanglement of twigs and landed on a larger branch before flying away.

Only was a few seconds but did seem forever.

Nature is so entertaining.

 

Earlier this morning as I was opening the living room blind before it was light outside; a brown bunny was hopping toward the house.

I guess he heard the blind movement turned around and hopped to the other side of the street.

 

There remains snow on the front lawn which faces to the north and some on the grass in the backyard.

I would think by the end of the day if the temperatures does warm a bit more it will be gone.

 

What a glorious morning we are experiencing.

 

I found a new battery pack and it has been charged so I was able to download some photos.

These are from our Easter package:

This was the first time that Mr. Alvin actually needed helped opening his treats from our friend V.

One of them was a toy and he pretty much had it opened but the other was a tin of wet food and he just could not get his paws and mouth in unison to work it open.

Between the unexpected trip to BON TON Bakery and the goodies from our friend and a piece of apple pie from Teddy’s Mom; I shall say that I have enough comfort food

to last me awhile …… CARB City.

The third photo in of the Easter Bunny was carrot cake with cream cheese icing …. OMG, so good.  The photo does not do it justice.

Perhaps I should have snapped it without the plastic covering.

The above two non-treat photos are from this morning.

I shovelled most of the snow from the deck yesterday and the remaining has all but melted.

The furniture looks so much happier without being covered with snow.

 

Well time to get this show on the road.

We had a very lazy day yesterday.

Just laundry and spending time with the boys.

Ok, I did sweep the floor and empty the dish washer.

But does that really count.

Do not think so.

The wind was so cold we opted to stay indoors and did not go for a walk.

 

Today there remains a few things to do and one being to hit the grocery store.

A woman can not live on CARBS alone.

Or can she?

I likely could but sooner of later my body would say “enough.”

 

Happy Sunday.

I hope that you are enjoying the day wherever you are ….

 

Special Hello to: My daughter, you will do great.  We are with you.

Always, Carol & Alvin

 

Thought for the day ….

Good Morning and Welcome to Monday the 8th day of April, 2019.

I can see whispers of clear morning sky to the East as the SUN begins to rise.

I love sunrises.

So beautiful the way the sky changes from the deep dark night to the bright morning light.

The sky appears to be a canvas of brush strokes that have been smeared until there were light undertones.

If I look under the semi closed blind on my office window I can see that more of the night sky has begun to change.

Nature is so glorious.

Happy Monday morning.

 

Well here we are starting a new week.

Alvin and I enjoyed our weekend.

As you know Master Teddy slept over Friday night and went home late Saturday afternoon.

We walked on our own and also with Humphrey the Cat and his Mom.

I would not call it a walk as much as it was a sniff fest for Humphrey.

He looked so cute with his harness and leash.

Even children smiled and said “Oh, wow a cat on a leash.”

Humphrey has a good Momma.

Some folks just let their cats roam without a thought.

In this day and age that is not wise.

We had fun.

Going out with Humphrey is starting to give Alvin some patience, starting anyway.

Humphrey has a couple of favourite bushes that he loves to stop and explore.

Alvin just waits outside with the Moms.

Likely a good idea.

Humphrey seems to navigate the rose bushes but methinks that Mr. Alvin might end up covered with thorns.

Tonight Humphrey will be coming over as his Mom has her dance class.

 

This morning as I was sitting down at the computer and before I placed Mr. Alvin’s blue blanket on the floor beside me.

Alvin “whined.”

His way of telling me that he wants/needs the blanket.

I guess he figures when I sit down – down goes the blanket.

Sorry, buddy.

I am not fast enough.

 

Well almost time to go downstairs and grab the lunch etc.

I love that no boots, big mitts/gloves, heavy coat and scarf are required to go outside.

Just shoes and a light jacket.

YAY, SPRING.

I am so grateful that we have different seasons.

I also noticed in my little garden in the backyard that some of the plants are already up and green.

So happy about that.

 

I hope that you have a wonderful Monday.

Go outside, smell the fresh air and maybe go for a walk.

Enjoy NATURE.

Always a good way to start, take a break or end the day.

Maybe you are retired and can do all three.

I have started to go for a walk on my morning coffee break.

Feels so good.

 

Special Hello to: all those folks who are retired …..

Always, Carol & Alvin

Thought for the day …..

Good Morning and Welcome to Monday the 22nd day of October, 2018.

Well here we are back and Monday once again.

I guess that is a good thing compared to the alternative.

What a beautiful afternoon we had yesterday.  SO wArM.

I had an interesting and not quite as planned yesterday afternoon.

My friend came over to help/assist me in replacing two of the upper boards on my fence.

Upon further inspection (meaning when he went to pull off the boards) …. he found that some of the vertical boards were rotten.

Part of this comes from the way that the fence was built.

They left a opening at the top where all of the moisture could sit and eventually rot the wood.

SO yay.

Decided that as I did not have the boards to replace them right away that it would be a spring project.

My friend secured the boards that had loosened, the ones that we were going to replace with screws.

So Project #1 for next spring.

Then we set to work, well actually he set to work on making a trap door on the deck to access the dryer vent.

He loosened the board closest to the house so that he could find the exact location of the vent.

Voile located it.

Next step was to saw a couple of boards and ended up making a trap door.

So nifty.

The handle is off to the side behind one of the posts that hold up the pergola.

The handle is made with a screw.

When our friend first turned on the saw …. Alvin started to go to him as he thought he was in danger.

I quickly snagged Mr. Alvin as that would not have been a good scene.

I ended up with a cool trap door.

My friend’s wife ended up coming over and we chatted throughout the door making process.

Also found a few screws on the deck and tightened them.

We chatted about the other side of the fence which is leaning in to my side due in part to the stone/dirt garden wall on the other side and because they did not properly anchor the posts.

Project #2.

Project #3 will be replacing most of the deck closet to the house.

Project #4 will be clear staining the deck (suggested by my friend).

Inside of a couple of hours, I have my spring all lined up with projects.

Will have to work hard at petting sitting, selling Steeped Tea and NORWEX to pay for all of these projects.

But they will have to be done.

No doubt about it.

I am so grateful to have such good, no great friends.

 

After that outside, my friend looked at one of my kitchen chairs as one of the legs has loosened.

He will fix it later.

Then up to the bathroom to fix the drain assembly.

He had an extra assembly in the van (imagine that) but it needed one little part that was not included.

So that will be another day.

 

After they left for home, we left for a walk.

Whew what an afternoon.

Some projects finished but most outlined for the fall.

YIKES.

 

Well it is almost time to leave for work.

It was not easy getting up this morning.

Too much dreaming.

 

Have an awesome day.

So grateful for good friends.

Are you?

 

Special Hello to: my little brother who is setting off on new projects…..happy blogging.

Always, Carol & Alvin

Thought for the day ….

Good Morning and Welcome to Wednesday the 18th day of April, 2018.

Well the snow went by us yesterday with the exception of a few flakes later in the evening.

Otherwise we had mostly sunshine yesterday.

This morning the sky is the most glorious yellow and pink hues on the rise but a few scattered clouds from the night hovering above.

Looks like a beautiful day ahead.

I am going with a positive mindset as this snow has to go.

The water in our backyard has all but disappeared.

The streets are dry again and the sidewalks will be there as soon as the snowbanks on our lawns have melted.

Summer is just around the corner.

I heard a Crow cawing yesterday.

So excited to see my first Robin as they are one of my favourite birds.

 

Alvin and I hit the sofa for some extra zzz’s this morning.

So nice to have that extra time snuggling.

 

I was able to print off the RECYCLING DO AND DON’TS from the City of Edmonton’s website.

Just want to ensure that I am doing everything properly.

Sometimes folks it does not hurt to check and make sure that you have not strayed from the proper way to do things.

We all innocently forget sometimes.

 

I hope that you all have a great day.

Today we all will learn something new.

Doesn’t have to be rocket science – just something new.

Whether the name of a bird or a flower.

How to plant a garden?

What to plant in your garden?

 

Special Hello to: my friends back in Saskatchewan …. always nice to catch up.

Always, Carol & Alvin

Thought for the day …..

Good Morning and Welcome to Wednesday the 1st day of November, 2017.

Woke up to SNOW, SNOW and more SNOW.

Poor Mr. Alvin did not wish to go out to the back yard.

The first snowfall always makes him hesitant.

 

We had an awesome Halloween.

I dressed up as a Hippie and it went over well.

Pretty comfortable costume, I will say.

That is the mark of a great costume – if you can comfortably wear it all day or most of the day.

We got to pick the best costumes at our office and at noon we had the best POTLUCK ever.

The food was great and the treats even better.

I had a pasta (macaroni) with cheese and veggies.

It turned out so yummy.

I wrote the recipe down.

That is the trouble I always make up recipes and then do not usually write them down.

I am getting better at writing them down.

Last night the first treater showed up at our house at 5:45.

I was sort of surprised to see the boy get out of a vehicle.

I asked him as he was older, I would say 11-12 approximately “if he lived in the neighbourhood?”

He said no.

I asked him where and he named an area about 10 minutes or so away.

AS I was asking questions, asked him why they would drive to our area and he said we give bigger and better treats.

Yikes, I thought.

So because we give better treats people are driving their kids here.

There were several vehicles that stopped and let kids out.

Some would be due to the weather but some come from elsewhere.

Funny ….

I had about 92 treaters.

There were a couple of times that my steps were filled with children so I may have missed one or two.

This is the least amount that I have had since I moved to Edmonton.

Two cute stories from last night.

First one:  the doorbell rang and there were three boys and a man standing just a few feet away from the steps.

I answered the door with the obligatory “Happy Halloween” and proceeded to hand out some treats.

The man stood more into the light and said “Hello” …. we just wanted to thank you again for bringing our dog home ….

One of the boys said “yes, thank you so much for bringing (cannot remember dog’s name) home.

I almost cried.

This is a dog that had accidentally got out of the yard.

Anyway, it has been about three years since this happened and every year they stop by to thank me.

How sweet.

Good deeds do not go unnoticed.

The second story …..  Alvin was on his leash as he loves to check out the children and as we know so many of them ….. he was right with me at the door.

One of the Dad’s said from the darkness ….. “Hi, Alvin …. he is so cute” and stepped into the light and here was this guy that I had met on the bus.

So Alvin is a star.

We had fun.

I took some photos on my tablet but unable to get downloaded but here are some from work and home from my camera.

Then gotta run.

Decided better not to post photos of people as I do not have their permission.  The two officers (reflections) were/are masked.

Have an awesome Wednesday.

Special Hello to:  you

Always, Carol & Alvin

Thought for the day …..

Good Morning and Welcome to the 2nd day of April, 2017.

Looks like a beautiful morning with a bright blue sky and the sun shining.

We had a bit of excitement this morning.

Alvin had been in the backyard and then barked to come in and raced through the house at lightning speed.

Only to stop at the windows in the living room and start barking loudly.

One our neighbour’s dogs was out.

He is a big big guy.

ALMOST as tall as me…. almost.

I know approximately where he lives.

He was in the yard right across the street from us …. sniffing and then peed.

He continued down the way going in the direction of his home.

I kept careful watch for the next while.

When he did not come back – I thought he had made it home.

Think again.

Alvin and I had come upstairs so that I could write my blog.

Just before sitting down at the computer – I put the decorator pillows back on the bed.

As I walked by the bedroom window I saw a white flash and then my neighbour “S” coming back from across the street.

I waved and she gave me the thumbs up.

So I opened the window and asked if it was the big dog and she said he is now home.

I also made sure that one of the owners was outside.

Apparently the big guy was chasing a rabbit and it was the rabbit that was the white flash that ran by on the street.

YIKES.

Thank goodness it ended well.

First time that I have not just ran out to help.

Feeling guilty and grateful.

Is that possible?

Always some excitement.

Love happy endings.

 

Well just a few things on my TO DO list today.

1.  ENJOY a couple of cups of coffee
2. Pick up a few items at the grocery store
3. WALK with Alvin
4. Bring up clothes that were hanging to dry in the basement
5. Write my Blog – check
6. Call my friend as it was her birthday on Friday
7. SKYPE with my sister tonight @ 7:00 p.m.
8. Prepare breakfast for the next three days – it is the cold oatmeal
9. Make lunch and get clothes ready (like to be done ahead of time)
10. Empty the dishwasher …

If there is time I want to shovel the last bit of snow from the front yard onto the street where it will melt faster.

Oh and sweep the back deck.  Almost all of the snow has melted back there.  Now just to get it looking nice.

The grass by the deck after the snow has melted looks terrible.

Of course, there is a bit of “poop” that somehow was missed during the winter.  How did that happen?

I wonder…..

Well time to go and finish my coffee before hopping into the shower.

I hope that you all have an amazing day.

Remember if you are a dog owner – to always know where they are ……

Special Hello to:  my friend “M” – thank you for being you and for taking the time to read my blog.

Always, Carol & Alvin

 

Thought for the day …..

Good Morning and Welcome to Sunday the 19th day of February, 2017.

Well after some snow last night, I see shovelling in my immediate future.

Front sidewalks, deck and driveway at the back.

I just have to recant a cute story from actually just a few minutes ago.

Alvin wanted to go outside.

He took with him one of his chew treats.

Just as he went out – we both noticed a Magpie sitting on top of the fence with one of Alvin’s chew treats in his/her beak.

Well, I chuckled out loud while Alvin jumped up to try and retrieve the chew treat but the Magpie was too quick and flew away.

It was one of the cutest things that I have ever seen but happened so quickly that I had no chance to grab my camera.

Note: to Alvin, do not leave your chew treats on the deck.

I would have loved to have seen the Magpie picking it out of the snow.

Time to go and shovel.

My daughter and grand-puppies are coming for a visit this morning.

I guess that will depend on the highway.

I would not blame her if she passed …..

The plan is to have pancakes with a surprise ingredient.

I will not say as she usually reads my blog.

So if you have snow or even if you do not …..

Somedays you just need some beautiful flowers.

Okay, perhaps a lot of pretty flowers.

After you glimpse these beautiful flowers – simple close your eyes and imagine the most glorious fragrances.

Now what a great way to start your Sunday.

Summer of 2009, my first summer here in Edmonton

More pretty flowers……from my first summer in Edmonton

FLOWERS FOR FRIENDS

Happy Valentine’s Day

Finding a place to showcase this piece…

Beautiful roses,
Not long away,
My gift to you,
Happy Easter …..

Flowers for Easter ….. Happy Spring.

Flowers in the garage ready to be planted.

 F

More flowers

My flowers …. so proud

Flowers still blooming late in the season

The flowers are from over the past few years. Some from my garden, others from Devonian Gardens near Edmonton, a painting, special occasions and more

Have a wonderful Sunday.

Special Hello to: my friends back in Regina……

Always, Carol and Alvin

Thought for the day …..

Good Morning and Welcome to Sunday the 4th day of December, 2016.

The countdown is on – only 20 sleeps until Christmas Eve Day.

Yesterday we had baby Milo here for a visit while his parents were out for a Birthday/Christmas party.

Wow, he is for sure a puppy as his energy level is through the roof.

But he as are all babies is so cute that even when his yellow fur ball self was running from one of the house to the other all his Grandma could do was smile and say “Alvin, you once upon a time

had that much energy.

Bless his heart Alvin did play with the little one.

They both love to fetch ….. and then pay tug of war.

It was cute.

I took a video and will post it soon.

I was able to get everything done before his arrival so that was nice.

This morning at 4:30 which seems to be Alvin’s new wake-up time came quite fast after we went to bed at 11:30 p.m.

So up we got and after what seems like 3 seconds Alvin was done eating (actually I think it takes longer for me to make the bed and for us to get downstairs) and I let him out.

When I opened the door I could hear a dog barking which is odd for that time of morning.

At first I didn’t think much at first.  (it was early).

Alvin after doing his business stood on the deck and raised his shoulders and head to the sky and let out this yell, not his usual thing.

So into the house and for the time it took us to go back upstairs I realized that I had better investigate.

I opened the office window which opens to the south side of our house and to where the barking was coming.

I could tell from his bark that it was a small dog – likely smaller than Alvin.

So I closed the window, told Alvin I gotta go and help him/her.

Ran downstairs donned my coat and boots and grabbed the keys to the garage (it is detached from my house).

Opened the back door and across the deck and unlocked the garage, turned on the light and opened the big door.

Once out I listened for a moment to get my bearings.

Once done, I knew it was the folks behind me but there is no access to the front door without going down the length of the back alley and then up the block and around the corner and into the

crescent to their house (and I had to listen once again to make sure it was the right house).

I could hear the little one still barking.

So I rang the doorbell, once twice and three times no one came.

So I opened the screen door and knocked as loud as I could on the door.

Finally a woman came to the door.

I told her when Alvin and I got up this morning I could hear your dog barking in the backyard.

She seemed kind of confused as first and then acknowledged that they must have left her in the backyard.

She said Thank you and closed the door.

After a couple of minutes the barking stopped.

Thank goodness.

It was cold outside.

I am grateful that it is not tonight as it is supposed to be almost minus 20.

Lesson learned anytime you hear a doggie barking in the night or early morning go and investigate.

Well I am off to a coffee date.

I definitely need coffee this morning.

Have a great Sunday.

Special Hello to: all those folks who help others including the four-legged kind and all creatures.

Always, Carol and Alvin