It is a NEW YEAR.

Good Morning and Welcome to a rainy Monday morning.

Last night we had quite the storm with lots of booming thunder and flashes of lightning.

Even startled both me and Alvin.

I have the office window open to bring in that fresh morning air.

There is a bird chirping close by.

Calling out to his/her mate, likely.

The trees are still for the moment.

The grass is gleaming with raindrops and is that most vibrant of shades, kelly green.

Alvin is laying on his little bed as I write this post.

We had a lovely Sunday.

I was able to finish my chores in the earlier hours of the morning.

 

We walked late morning and then we came home and I worked for three hours.

As much as I would like to think that this is helping my state of mine, is it really?

I am not quite sure.

I really don’t know.

Perhaps that entire day that I worked this weekend would have been better spent doing something of a personal nature.

I definitely am finding it difficult to find that life / work balance.

With being at home, work is at home.

They are intermixed and intertwined.

Am I alone in this?

I doubt it very much.

I think for those of us who have jobs where the workload has increased substantially in this pandemic, it is difficult.

So what do we do?

 

Well it is clearly something on my mind as I have made note of this for the second day in a row.

I guess to ponder, to give consideration of this situation is good.

No matter where we are, no matter who we are ….. we are all living very different lives than we were in February.

At the end of the day, I am most grateful that I am employed, that I am able to spend this extra time with Mr. Alvin.

No commuting has been great.

Life goes on.

 

Well it is almost time to get to work.

Have some coffee, already perked and in my to go mug.

Actually I am usually one of my tea travel mugs.

It works great and keeps my coffee hotter longer.

 

So nice to be able to have my window open and listen to the birds.

To the hum of life waking up in my neighbourhood.

I can hear cars and trucks on the highway not too far away.

 

Wishing you a great day.

Whether rainy or sunny ….. it is great to be alive.

We will get through this one way or the other.

Yes, I agree, things, life will be very much different.

But perhaps that is not such a bad thing.

Take care my friends.

Be well, stay safe.

If we all life our lives with kindness and respect, what a wonderful world this would be.

 

Living my life with kindness and respect for all.

I/We shall remain,

As Always, Carol & Alvin

 

Living … One Day at a time.

Hello,

Welcome to a foggy morning here in my neighbourhood.

It may not be the same downtown or in the south end of the city or in the north.

I have found that the City of Edmonton is stretched out over a large area that the weather can be totally different from one area to the next.

The fog is beginning to lift and the sky is partially cloud filled.

The air has a tinge of coolness so that it is comfortable.

The house was not warm/hot this morning but I opened the windows about one hour ago and that will help to keep it cool inside for the pups.

They are resting together on the blue blanket on the floor beside me.

 

Last night I had the best time.

Went shopping to West Edmonton Mall with one of my friends.

I have not really done any shopping for me in ages so it was great.

I had a gift card from her and some other gift money.

There were a great deal of sales on in the mall.

I was surprised to see just how many folks were out on a Wednesday night.

I was very happy to find some sandals …. Clarks ….. not the ones that I saw on DSW’s website but they were similar and felt so good.

I do not think that I have ever put on a pair of shoes and they felt so good.

In total I bought three pair of shoes.

Got some new pyjamas, pair of jeans, two long cardigans and a short-sleeved top.

The retail staff were amazing …. so helping and very nice.

I felt like a million dollars.

Not that shopping makes me feel rich or anything.

Just the fact that I was able to actually go shopping and find some things and able to buy them.

This does not happen often.

Cannot remember the last time.

I try very hard to leave my carbon footprint at a minimum where possible.

Buying things from Thrift stores and swap meets is usually what I do.

So this was nice.

I do love hand me downs (as such) and have worn them my whole entire life thus far.

But sometimes it is nice to get some new things.

No more holey pj’s.

Giggling aloud.

It was great to have someone along as she was honest on how things fit and colours and such.

So I only got what was “GREAT” and not something was cheap on sale and was just okay.

Definitely a lesson for people.

Always better to go with someone.

I so much appreciated her honesty and assistance.

It was wonderful.

Decided not to wear the new sandals today as I may treat them – have to read the labels.

 

Well almost time to take the pups out for one more “bathroom break.”

They did great yesterday.

Alvin was up a couple of times and the last time we went downstairs, he went outside and then we retired to the sofa.

It did take a few minutes to get everyone comfortable.

Three always does take a bit more work.

 

Well I am one excited, happy, grateful, blessed, happy, Oh I said that already girl.

Lucky to have a beautiful home, great family and friends and good health.

To be surrounded by four-legged darlings.

Life is great.

Living …. One day at a time.

Listening to the birds chirping outside the office window.

 

Time to go.

I hope that you have a wonderful day.

Kindness with Respect go a long way.

Spread the goodness.

Happy Thursday.

 

Always, Carol, Alvin & Teddy

 

 

 

Living … One Day at a time.

Hello,

Wednesday morning and the sky is blue with bright sunshine.

The air is filled with the hum of cars on the nearby highway as people go to work.

Last night, Teddy’s Mom asked if he could stay with us for a few days as her two-legged son was in the hospital.

He lives several hours away and I totally understand about wanting to be with your child.

We said “yes” without hesitation.

Teddy arrived last night.

We ended up not going for a walk due to humidity and threat of storm.

So with Teddy’s arrival …. Alvin got some exercise and time outside with his friend.

I am happy that I got up when the alarm went off as with an extra body it does take longer.

The alarm these days is on my phone and it is the sound of birds chirping ….

Some mornings when we “use” the alarm I actually have to stop and think about where the sounds are coming from.

But we are almost ready.

One more trip outside after this post.

I have some photos from a few minutes ago to share.

What a great way to begin the day with these two cutie pies.

They bring me great joy there is no doubt about that ….

Teddy likes to turn down the blanket …. or rather play under it …

 

Acts of kindness filled with respect are always in style.

 

Time to fly.

We are grateful to be of help to our friends.

We are grateful for this amazing sunshine.

We are grateful for all things green.

We are grateful for our health, very important.

Most of all we are grateful for each other.

Me and Alvin…..

 

Always, Carol & Alvin