Living … One day at a time.

Hello,  good morning to you.

The sky is beginning to lighten as hopefully the sun will rise shortly.

YAY, today is Saturday.

Master Teddy slept over last night as his parents went out to the farm for today.

The boys well Alvin is curled up on the blue blanket beside me and Teddy is just sniffing about at the moment.

After work on our walk we walked or actually Alvin pulled me over to Teddy’s house.

By the time we arrived my shins were aching.

Oh, yes.

We had a little visit and then were on our way.

Me and the boys walked around by the lake in our park to home.

The grass is still very much green amidst the partially turned leaves on the trees.

Some trees are still very green.

The water is flowing.

Oh, how I love this time of year.

We enjoyed our walk home.

The boys spent a bit of time in the backyard but mostly they were right beside me as I cooked my supper.

Alvin is motivated by food …. I think you know.

So even this morning at 5:00 a.m., Alvin, after he ate his food wanted to eat Teddy’s.

Yup, we were up eating well they were eating.

Deep sigh.

What can you do?

Teddy is wanting to get up onto my lap but it is not easy to type/key with a puppy on your lap.

He always slides down.

 

I was just thinking last night and earlier this morning …… about being more proactive when it comes to my job.

Instead of being reactive …..

Hard to explain without getting into details which I cannot.

But I am excited to try these ideas in my work life to see the results.

Perhaps giving folks ideas how to make processes easier instead of reacting to them.

I will get back to you about this.

Life is way too complicated and I want to make it easier.

Life is short so why not make it as easy as possible.

If you have to work why not enjoy it.

Even the most demanding, frustrating of jobs could be made easier and less complex.

Simplify.

We all need to simplify our lives.

Our work  ….. our home.

Life balance.

We have over the years made things way too complicated.

Complicated = Stress

Or at least that is my opinion/my view after being on this earth for 62 years.

I have seen this first hand.

 

If we look to the Animal Kingdom we could learn so much.

Instead of destroying them …. learn from them.

 

Well I have two puppies that are ready to get downstairs.

I need some COFFEE.

Time to get going on the laundry.

I have changed my bedding and gathered the laundry.

And the COFFEE.

Yup, simply a cup of coffee and I am in heaven.

Nothing better than to be sipping on a mug of hot perked coffee surrounded by pups.

Life is good.

My life is great.

 

Happy Saturday.

If we continue to learn and live our lives in kindness and respect, we will live great lives.

 

Always, Carol & Alvin

 

Living … One day at a time.

Hello, sorry but it is late afternoon already.

Yesterday first thing in the morning my son-in-law dropped my grandpups off for the day.

After I got them settled, I went for a walk with Miss Aspen.

She is the Yellow Lab Shepherd Cross.

This was just a few minutes after 8:00 a.m.

Our walk took us to our nearby park

We had some fun.

There was a Bunny being chased by some very aggressive Magpies.

We should have turned back but this silly Grandma thought we could scare the birds giving the Bunny time to make his escape.

It was a great plan in theory.

The reality was a far different story.

Needless to say I found out the hard way just how strong my girl Aspen is as I almost did a head plant into the sidewalk.

But managed to stay upright as I made that sill trip after her.

I was very careful during the rest of our walk.

Once we arrived back home I went into the backyard with Aspen, Alvin and Milo.

Humphrey the cat was in his backyard.

Aspen was trying desperately to get to him.

She would have pushed her way right through our fence.

She was very determined and she did not want to visit or make friends.

When she was a pup during her first year of life the poor dear had to fend for herself.

So she will go after rabbits, cats and birds.

She is fast and they do not stand a chance.

Needless to say I am careful with the cats and wildlife.

I did figure that the birds had a better chance of escaping.

Anyway it was an exciting way to start the day.

After that, I needed a COFFEE.

So perked up a pot of coffee and had a late breakfast.

We just had a quiet couple of hours or so.

About noon I went for a walk with Alvin and Milo.

We stopped by the garage sale.

Yes, the same one that I attended last weekend and Friday night.

They were happy to see Milo and Alvin.

We, I took a check around and picked up a couple of items.

Alvin and Milo and I continued on our walk after the garage sale.

We were on our way to the park when I heard my name being called and turned to see our friends had stopped in their van.

So we walked back to their vehicle.

They were wondering if I had a six foot high ladder as they were putting up Christmas lights and their son had borrowed theirs.

I just happen to have one and told them I would take it to them after we got back home.

When it arrived near Alvin’s Best Friend Teddy’s house we saw his Dad or actually Alvin spotted him up a ladder.

We were invited to go into the house so of course, the pups were up the steps in no time.

It was nice to see Teddy and his Mom.

We had a little visit and of course the babes had a treats before we continued on our way.

Stopped briefly at the garage sale and picked out one more item.

Leaving them there for pick up another time.

Which reminds me I have to go and pick up my items.

After we got home – I grabbed the ladder and walked it to my friend’s house.

Had a short visit and then back home.

We had a quiet rest of the afternoon.

Eating supper early.

Followed by some quiet time and then another walk with Miss Aspen.

Our walk was filled with more adventure.

While walking around the park there was a bunny running through someone’s backyard.

I managed to hold onto Aspen.

This time it was short lived.

After that a couple of small dogs who seemed friendly …. well ended up one was not.

So we carried on.

On the home stretch we walked by our new friend John’s house with Bug the black cat who spends some time on a leash basking in the fresh air.

Now I was watching for the cat as I know Aspen and cats.

I did not see her but Aspen walked close to the bush that circles their front yard and all of a sudden I heard a hiss.

Quickly called Aspen and pulled her back.

There was Bug in the bushes.

Everyone came out safely.

Thank goodness.

Finally back home …. we just had a quiet evening.

The kids were going to pick up the pups last night.

They ended up staying over last night.

Poor Miss Aspen was up at 3:00 a.m. with diarrhea.

Is this a reoccurring thing at my house?

Seems like poop and more poop.

Anyway it was poop and more poop throughout the night.

I felt so terrible as she had been whining/crying for a few minutes before I got my backside out of bed to take her downstairs.

Of course, we all went outside.

After that, we spent the rest of the night/morning on the sofa which was closer to the back door.

Poor Aspen.

Bad Grandma.

I texted my daughter about 8:30 a.m. to let her know about Aspen.

She came a bit later and spent some time here which was great.

Well that was my excitement.

Time to go and check on supper.

How about some photos?

The first photos from out on the deck were from yesterday and I am not sure what they were seeing?

I did not see anything but the pups certainly did.

Inside photos were from this morning while we were waiting for my daughter to arrive.

Well what a wild and wacky weekend we had …. I learned several valuable lessons.

1. Always wear running shoes not flip flops when walking with Miss Aspen.
2. When Aspen whines/cries in the middle of the night – Grandma needs to get the heck out of bed right away.
3. Pups make me happy.

Time to fly …. Alvin wants his supper.

 

Always, Carol & Alvin

 

Living … One day at a time.

Hello, good morning … yay it is Saturday.

The sun is up and it is going to be a GREAT day.

The grand pups are on their way to Grandma and Alvin’s house as we speak.

So excited to spend the day with them.

I have planned lots of walks for them and playing in the backyard.

Just as the above photos show from their last visit.

So grateful that today is going to be a nice sunny warm day but not too warm.

Just perfect.

In between there will be the odd nap for sure.

Well this is going to be a short post as we need to be downstairs when they arrive.

I hope that you have an awesome Saturday.

Spend the day having fun.

Relaxing.

 

With emphasis always on being kind and respectful.

 

Always, Carol & Alvin

 

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

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