Last Half 2022 – July

Good Morning ALL!. Looks like we are down to the last few days of July 2022. Another super hot day for us here in Edmonton. This is going to be a short post. Already it is hot upstairs although this is a bit later than I usually write and that is because we are making another trip to the vet at 10:00 a.m. this morning. Alvin threw up twice between 2:00 and 3:15 p.m. yesterday afternoon. My daughter left work early to pick up some medicine from the vet, the same prescription he had just over a week ago to stop him from vomiting, I do not remember the name. He is hot again as we went for a short walk. I left it a bit too late. Even though it was 7:45 a.m. when we left and we were home by 8:01 a.m., he is hot. Hopefully I can cool him down. Out with the cool wet towel again. They were a lifesaver for him to sleep with. Thank you to our friend Gillian who came running in the heat when I called after Alvin’s second time throwing up and who has graciously said that she would take us to his appointment. I am so grateful to have such great friends.

Alvin’s BF Teddy did not come as they had an unexpected situation so we will get together later. His Mom and Dad are leaving today to visit family in British Columbia but Auntie Janine is there so as soon as it is cooler we will set up a visit.

I hope that you are well and keeping cool. Fingers crossed all is well with the boy. The Vet suggested he come in for blood work as it has been a year since his last panel was ran. I sure hope that everything comes back normal. Hoping that the events of yesterday were just due to the heat. I am praying, thoughts out to the Universe and to anyone including me that will listen.

Stay cool. Be well.

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

Always, Carol & Alvin

PS: now 11 days / sleeps until I turn 65. Fireworks!

2021

Good Morning ALL! What a whirlwind of previous days we have had here in Edmonton, weatherwise. The wind has howled. The clouds have rolled in and I mean rolled in. I am not sure if I have seen clouds motoring that quickly ever or at the very least in a very long time. One minute the sun would be shining and the sky would be blue as I looked out of my kitchen window and then I turned and looked out of the living room window only to see darkness. I would run to the living room (which is not far) to see these huge dark looming clouds preparing to pour some moisture down upon us along with wind. I moved my flowers back onto the deck from the garage in the morning before I started work. When the winds got up throughout the day, I moved some of my pots to the shelter of the house. I snapped some close ups of my beautiful plants and will download them from my phone to the computer later on. The sun is shining brilliantly this morning and there is a breeze. I will say after being such a hot Monday, then hot and humid Tuesday today is a welcome relief. Luckily for us last night it did cool down. Oh Summer Weather. Now for some reason I have one of the songs from GREASE stuck in my head. “Summer Nights,” I think it was called. Anyway, worse things could be stuck in my head.

Yesterday after work we headed out for our walk. We missed the one at noon because I wasn’t sure if it was going to pour on us or not. So we stayed home. After work we got ready quickly and headed out the door. Alvin was pretty much leading the way as always to the park. When we arrived at the park, we usually turn and go into the park but no he had other ideas. He pulled with all his might as he kept on going. I knew where he was going. As he was a guy with a mission, I just let him go. Alvin was firm in his plan and would not give an inch that was for certain. He did stop at one point to pee. Not surprised. All dogs have to do that at least once on a walk. As we got closer and closer to Teddy’s house he ran faster and when it came to the street to turn down, he knew exactly where he was going. Up their driveway ahead of me and then up to the door. I ran the doorbell and I could hear Iris say, just give me a minute and then her husband opened the door. I apologized for just showing up as I always do and he said as they always do “we love to have you, don’t apologize.” In fact, a few minutes after our arrival as Iris had been upstairs she remarked “you know if the pups were kids, they would all be at your house or here” and that could not be a more true statement. I said that I would try to not apologize when we arrive unannounced as if it was not a good time, I know they would kindly let us know. We went in and then out onto the deck where we enjoyed a cool drink. I had can of ginger ale. Not much for pop, but I do enjoy ginger ale occasionally. Alvin was quite vocal for a time on the deck and we were not quite sure what he was trying to say and then he calmed down. We had a great visit and then we were off home. Home to have supper for both of us.

We spent the evening quietly. Just putzing and watching recorded episodes of “BEAT BOBBY FLAY” and I really enjoy them as they are 30 minutes long and go quickly and I learn a lot from these cooks and chefs. I love seeing his guests interacting with him. Plus it is funny.

Well looks like the time has really passed quickly and I had better head on downstairs and get signed onto the computer and plug in my coffee. Good thing that I prepared it before coming upstairs.

Have an awesome Wednesday.

Remembering to live each and every day and moment as full of kindness, respect, compassion, patience, love and gratitude and adding thoughtfulness and listening. I have to work on listening.

Happy Wednesday.

Always, Love Carol & Alvin

It is a NEW YEAR.

Good Morning, Saturday ….. so  happy about it being the weekend.

Both Alvin and I are super excited.

His best buddy Teddy is coming over about 9:00 a.m. to spend the whole day with us.

At 10:00 a.m. two of my best girl friends, the young ones are coming for coffee on the deck.

One of them is bringing Tim’s coffee and donuts.

She even asked our favourites.

I had planned to have coffee and muffins but there is no changing her mind.

I have offered to pay and that went over like a lead balloon.

Now, don’t I have such great friends ….. coming for a visit.

We are moving out of the garage – thankfully there is not gale force winds like last time.

The sun is shining brightly so it should not be too cold sitting on the deck.

We have lots of room to move around out there.

If it does get cold, we will just move to the shelter of the garage each with a chair.

 

Tomorrow is Mother’s Day.

I cannot believe it, already.

I wish that I had a special treat for every “Mother” on the planet.

Whether you crawl, fly, are two or four-legged, Mothers rock this world.

Have an awesome Saturday.

 

Gotta fly, here …. lots to do before the company starts to arrive.

 

Take care.

Be smart when you are out and about.

Social Distancing will keep us safe and alive.

Have an awesome Saturday, did I say that already.

 

Gotta go.

 

With so much kindness and respect, to ALL.

I/We, remain,

As Always, Carol & Alvin

It is a NEW YEAR.

Yes, it has been quite the NEW YEAR thus far.

Good Monday Morning Everyone!

How was your Sunday?

Mine was great.

There were changes to our coffee plans right up until a few minutes before show time.

Originally one of the girls was going to have on her driveway (she has no garage).

Would have been fine but was chilly with HUGE wind blowing.

So then we changed to the other friend who happens to live across the back lane from her.

Then decided it was too windy and cold there.

I have a garage with no cars.

So the coffee party changed to my garage.

We practiced social distancing.

We opened the big door on my garage and closed the regular door to the garage from the house (garage detached).

This shut the wind out as it was coming from the north and west.

It was not too bad ( I was dressed for cool ).

We enjoyed a couple of hours of coffee, muffins and good company.

We laughed and chatted and chatted and laughed.

Alvin was on his leash and spent the time with us.

He would never have stayed in the house by himself.

Also to note the winds were so strong that they were blowing bags of garbage all around.

So many neighbours have recently been raking their yards.

Well you can see where I am going with this story.

Luckily I have an assortment of garden gloves in the garage.

So when a bag would blow down the back lane I picked it up and threw it back to the place of origin.

I cannot believe that people are not more careful.

But I guess why would you if other neighbours watch out for your “trash.”

Anyway, we had a great time.

Our first get together in over 1.5 months.

I missed my girls.

I have seen them individually as they often drop off groceries for me.

But to have so much time together was amazing.

 

I booked this afternoon off as originally EPCOR and my plumber were to come and fix my tap.

Okay, why would I require EPCOR you might ask.

Well the builder of my home put in a very cheap water shut off valve in the basement.

My plumber had to remove the handle as it would have broken off it was so tight.

I have never had to turn it off.

In fact, I wasn’t even sure where it was (my first house).

I should have asked about it and maybe I had in the early years and forgotten.

Anyway, with no shut off under the kitchen sink as that is the leaking tap, it had to be shut off from the main one in the basement.

Had it been working.

He got it half way and decided not a good idea to continue.

My only other alternative was to call EPCOR, the utility company and have them come out and turn off the main water shut off out front.

So I called them.

Firstly, they now charge for the service.

Secondly, they had to send someone out to check things out first before setting up an appointment to actually turn it off.

So they came out on Thursday and then I set up the appointment for this afternoon.

Late after work on Friday, my plumber got in touch to say that he was unable to make it today but could on Wednesday.

I called the utility back and luckily I was able to change to Wednesday afternoon.

Now I have to change the time off.

But then I was thinking that I need to pick up the trash in the hood so I am going to keep this afternoon off and then book Wednesday afternoon off for the plumbing job.

There is possibility of rain this afternoon but because we have been having so much wind as of late and the forecast is slight wind, I am going to keep this time off.

It will be nice to have a couple of afternoons off.

 

Well Alvin is squeaking so perhaps he has to go outside.

Time to grab some coffee.

Oh, Alvin’s BF Teddy came over in the afternoon yesterday for a visit.

So it was a great day.

We had a nice walk after Teddy went home.

Good day for both of us to spend with our friends.

 

I wish you a great Monday.

With kindness and respect we shall make it through another day.

 

I/We shall remain,

As Always, Carol & Alvin

 

It is the NEW YEAR.

Good Morning and Welcome to the fourth day of our FREEZING COLD temperatures.

The temperatures started to drop this past Friday and are going to get even colder this week.

Please, please keep your pets indoors.

If you have a pup that needs to walk, make sure that they have boots and a coat on them.

Keep them warm.

The pads on their paws WILL freeze, they are no different than our hands.

If you see a dog out in a backyard for more than a couple of minutes call the authorities.

Make sure that everyone in the household that has to go outside is dressed warmly and in multiple layers.

Layers are what keeps you warm in these temperatures.

 

Yesterday I went for groceries in the afternoon with Teddy’s Mom.

Teddy came for a visit.

I am proud to say that I finally remembered to take all my reusable mesh bags with me to the grocery store.

And used them, too.

Finally ….. I am posting on social media “tips to reduce plastic consumption.”

So I had better walk the talk …..

Teddy ended up staying after I came home until after supper.

It was nice for the boys to have company.

Teddy does have his little sister but there is nothing like your best friend for company.

 

Well I had better get going as on poop patrol again.

If I leave it and it snows, then I will be playing detective trying to locate the brown parcels.

Life in the fast lane.

Better to pick up now when it is frozen than in the spring when it melts.

No one wants that …..

 

Have an awesome day.

Today is an awesome day as it is the 55th birthday of my youngest brother.

Happy Birthday …. have a great day and keep warm and stay safe.

 

Always, Carol & Alvin