It is a NEW YEAR.

Well Good Morning All,

It is windy, overcast and warm here in Edmonton.

This morning I am hosting the birthday party for one of my younger friends.

I was hoping to have the party on the deck but it appears that I will have to wait until the last minute due to the skies and wind.

Perhaps we shall have coffee on the deck and grab our snacks from the house and just take them outside.

Time will tell.

There is a few minutes less than 2 hours till start time.

There will be four of us ladies as the birthday girl is bringing her Mother.

I have not seen her for awhile so it will be nice to catch up.

I have already prepped our snack which is a fruit tray of strawberries, blueberries and watermelon.

Actually three bowls filled with the delectable fruits.

The bowls are tupperware and so colourful.

I thought if we were outside, with lids would keep bugs out more easily.

All taste so yummy as I had to try them while I was getting them washed and prepped.

It has been a bit since I had watermelon and it is ripe.

The watermelon as well as the berries are from COSTCO.

Will be sending watermelon home with the girls as it is just at the perfect eating stage and will not last for long.

I am hoping that it is okay this morning after I cut up half of the large melon early last evening.

We are also having a strawberry shortcake from COSTCO.

It looks so good.

Nice and light and yummy.

We will have coffee as our liquid refreshment.

One of the girls not the birthday girl is very fussy about her drink so she always brings along her tea bag.

I have tried to convert her to Steeped Tea over the last five years but to no avail other than she loves our Sangria teas in ginger ale.

Well help from my daughter yesterday we gave Alvin one of his best hair cuts ever.

With her help the hair cut was done in just a bit over one hour and then the bath took a handful of minutes compared to the usual 3+ hours by myself.

He looks so handsome.

Perhaps I should have snapped a photo, cannot believe that I forgot.

She also helped with a few other chores around the house.

I feel like I did not get much housework done like washing the floors and dusting.

The floor honestly look okay and dusting …. well there are not many dust bunnies hanging around.

With my injured foot, I have been trying to be a good girl and stay off it here and there.

As my son-in-law said yesterday when he came to pick up my daughter …. “it looks like it” ….. meaning not really.

It is hard to keep me down especially when I have company company.

The bruises were definitely more prominent yesterday as the day progressed and even this morning.

My baby toe and the next one are badly bruised with the little one taking the brunt of the injury.

The top almost half of my foot from my toes upward is bruised.

Definitely looks worse than it feels.

I really have not had much pain but I am blessed as I have a high tolerance.

Which I suppose can also be a problem.

Anyway, other than taking it slow up and down the stairs and I am good.

I elevate the foot when I am sitting down.

Icing it from time to time.

 

Alvin for some unknown reason, decided to be up multiple times during the night from about 11:00 p.m. onward.

We were up to stay up just before 7:30 a.m. so I feel a bit on the tired side.

Perhaps an afternoon nap will be in store for us later.

He is napping now.

 

Well I suppose that I should hit the shower and get dressed.

I want to have a cup of coffee before the girls arrive.

Make sure that I have things ready although I will say that having my friends over is less stressful.

We are pretty laid back when it comes to our get togethers.

I have the gift wrapped and the card written up.

Cake and goodies are ready.

Just have to make the coffee and decide on where I am going to set up.

I actually wrote on the “new section of the fence” in chalk “Happy Birthday ….. ” and drew some flowers (my version of a flower).

I have a birthday banner and I will hang it after my shower.

So wherever we are you will know it is a birthday.

Long gone are the days of balloons and streamers.

I do not like balloons and do not use them anymore.

Bad for animals and for the environment.

 

Okay time to fly here.

It is almost 8:30 and I have a short list of things that I would like to do before the guests arrive.

 

I hope that you have an awesome Sunday.

Living with kindness and respect,

I/We remain,

As Always Carol & Alvin

Living … One day at a time.

Hello,

It is the first full day of my 2019 VACATION.

I feel like jumping and down and screaming it to the world.

So happy.

Can you tell?

Yes, I am so excited to be on vacation.

I wanted to sleep in a bit.

Alvin was up at 3:28 a.m. so we moved from bedroom to living sofa where we remained until 6:53 a.m.

I was thinking “Really” this is my vacation …. I would like to sleep until 7:30 a.m. – so I did.

Then up threw a coat over my nightgown and out the door to go and look after Cinder and Humphrey.

When I had finished everything – I asked Humphrey if he wanted to come home with me and see Alvin.

He ran over to the steps going to their upstairs and waited for me to slightly bend over and scoop him up.

He perched himself on my shoulder and I am glad that I had my coat back on …. because he was holding on.

So locked the house and went back home.

At home the boys are like it has always been this situation.

They do well together.

As I have mentioned before Alvin has just a bit of uncertainty about Humphrey to make it a perfect relationship.

Hi Humphrey who has just joined us.

 

Last night after I arrived home from work, did the usual, let Alvin outside, got changed, we went for a walk, brought Alvin home and then went to pick up Humphrey.

He spent the evening with us.

Made a huge salad for supper and I must say that I love my thrown together homemade salad dressing.

No recipe that I can even share.

Just after I had eaten and finished the dishes the phone rang and I saw that it was my friend V from Saskatchewan.

She had left me a message on my cell but I was busy and had not noticed.

Instructions to go and pick up the mail …..

We all know what that means.

A parcel.

In this case …. an early Birthday parcel.

Grabbed my keys, locked the house so that the fur babies could not escape and ran to the mailboxes.

Okay, perhaps that was a stretch, no running but walking quickly.

Lots of flyers in the mailbox along with a key to the BIG BOX.

Quickly picked up the parcel locked the mail boxes and was on my way home.

Once inside the house – Mr. Alvin started to get excited.

He knows all about those boxes and very likely he could smell the contents.

So I quickly went about opening the box with Humphrey and Alvin standing by not so quietly, especially my boy.

First thing was to locate his special treat from our friend and then grab my phone to video him opening his present.

OMG, so cute.

Wishing that I could show you the video.

If you follow me on INSTAGRAM @  carolylewis

You can see the video with Alvin opening his treat.

After he was finished I gave him some of the treat and then proceeded to the rest of the box which was filled to the brim with all sorts of sweet homemade delectable treats.

Two kinds of cinnamon buns, cheese buns and regular buns, chocolate biscotti and some other bought sweet treats.

 

As I was opening my packages – Alvin had taken the box that I had set beside the pantry door on the floor and pulled it over to where the photos are which is a few feet.

He was looking for more treats.

I laughed so hard, what a boy.

Photos above are of my sweet treats.

What a decision to have to make?

It was lucky that I had a salad for supper.

So in the end I had a cinnamon bun and one chocolate biscotti.

Heaven …. truly.

 

The fragrance emmanting from these gorgeous lilies is intoxicating.

Humphrey and AL relaxing last night.

Pleasant surprise as the solar light inserted in one of my flower pots came alive last night.

The colours were glorious.

 

Well time to have breakfast and get these boys outside into the backyard to enjoy some fresh air.

Wishing my niece-in-law “S” a very Happy Birthday.

Wishing my friend “K” a very Happy Birthday.

So many August Birthdays.

Happy Birthday ….

 

If you spend each moment treating others with kindness and respect then you will be living your life with kindness and respect.

 

Always, Carol & ALvin and Humphrey.

 

Thought for the day …..

Good Morning and Welcome to Tuesday the 19th day of March, 2019.

Well here we are and it is Tuesday morning.

Back to work for this gal.

 

Humphrey came to spend the evening with us as he will tonight and tomorrow night.

His Momma has year end and that is a busy time for her.

We don’t mind and Humphrey loves to spend time with me and Alvin.

The boys go outside onto the deck and hang out.

There are a couple of spots that Humphrey loves to lay down and relax.

Most especially if the sun is shining.

 

It was so great being at home.

Making your own schedule.

Having an unexpected nap in the middle of the afternoon and waking up with a start to realize that it was 4:30 p.m.

Time to get out for a walk.

Which we did.

Walking on the opposite side of the street as too icy on our side.

I did chip away at the ice and unblocked the storm drain after some lovely person filled it with chunks of ice and snow.

We had a great day.

I even cooked up a big pot of chilli.

 

Once the snow and ice is gone from our back yard I must find a place for my Rooster weather vane.

I bought this as a birthday present to myself last summer when my daughter and I took a nice road trip.

It is extremely sharp so I must find a safe spot for it.

Somewhere that it can easily be removed and put into the garage for winter, I think.

Maybe not.

Depends where it goes?

 

Flowers picked up from a local nursery a few years back.

Didn’t they look pretty.

This is what I have to look forward to again this year.

Shopping with my daughter to pick up flowers to plant.

I am going to add some herbs and more tomatoes.

I have just the perfect pots for herbs and tomatoes.

Spring is close by.

 

Well almost time to finish getting ready for work.

I hope that you all have a wonderful day.

May your kindness shine through to the world and its back to you.

Happy Tuesday.

 

Special Hello to: all those folks longing for spring to arrive, it is almost here.

Always, Carol & Alvin

 

 

Thought for the day ….

Good Morning and Welcome to Tuesday the 12th day of March, 2019.

TODAY is the BIRTHDAY of A VERY SPECIAL YOUNG WOMAN.

That woman is my beautiful daughter, Amanda.

I cannot believe that she is thirty-nine years old today.

Seems like only yesterday that she was born.

Her birth was the best gift that I have ever received.

 

I want to share my post from June 22, 2010 – A day with my girl.

As I believe everyone that knows me, knows how much I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE spending time with my daughter Amanda.  She is the best person that I know.  Kind, warm and generous.  We love to be together.  This past weekend we did a couple of things that we absolutely love to do.  First thing was shopping, followed by an adventure, and ending with viewing show homes.  I must say it was the best Saturday.

We started out by going to Shoppers (okay a free plug).  They have the best rewards program going.  It is so nice to get free stuff after spending your “hard earned” cash.  Stopped by another favourite place of ours, and that is STARBUCKS.  We like to go to our local Starbucks,  sit in and enjoy our favourite blend while we are out shopping.  This time we picked up coffees, and were on our way to check out a possible “nursery” in the country not far from where we live.

We first found a place that sells shrubs, trees and rock but no flowers.  There was a kindly employee there that pointed us in the right direction.  Not far away, we found this awesome flower place.  The best part other than all of the beautiful flowers – okay perhaps there are a few things GREAT about this place.  First off, it is a short, easy drive from our homes. Secondly, it is in the country and is so pretty.  Third, they have more than just flowers and soil.  They have stuff.  All sorts of stuff.  They sell jewellery, crafts and too many things to mention.  For those people living in the Edmonton area the name of the place is “Dunvegan Gardens”.  Fourthly, they are open at Christmas.  YAY.  Another place to go.  So check it out.  They are great.  The staff are very knowledgeable.  Prices are good as well.  Once we picked out some flowers we were on our way.  It was a hot day on Saturday so we were happy for the air conditioning in the car.

When we got back to the city we dropped our flowers off at our each of our homes.  Alvin was spending the afternoon with Steven, my wonderful son-in-law and my grand-puppies Elton and Penny.  So I didn’t mind being away from home.

Next stop was the show homes.  We actually checked out some on our way to the garden places.  They were very nice.  The ones that we have especially been wanting to view were the “million” dollar ones that are situated by the lake in our neighbourhood.  As always, there were ah’s and mmm’s happening as we made our way through the homes.  I am always amazed at the decorating.  We found one that was especially interesting.  In one of the children’s bedrooms they decorated it realistically by scattering clothing, an empty chip bag, and other things on the floor and throughout the room.  At first I thought it was odd especially in a new home but it made an impression and I won’t soon forget it.  We certainly had a good giggle over that bedroom.  We even found a couple of homes that had “walk thru pantries” ….. the one thing that I think is so important in a house/home.  For all those contractors (would be nice if one read this), take the time, space and money and make a walk thru pantry off the kitchen when you are building these homes.  For all those of us who are getting older and even for those younger it is so much handier.  Instead of having all those kitchen counter top appliances taking up space on the counter – you can put the ones that you do not use in the pantry.  Easy to get to.  I love the fact that you can actually see what you have instead of forgetting a can of corn in the back of the pantry …. finding it ten years later.  Okay perhaps that is an exaggeration but you get my point.  Amanda loved the main floor or upstairs laundry rooms.  She would love to have her laundry area right beside her bedroom.

We had a great time, Amanda and I, last Saturday.  I urge you to spend more time with your children whether they are five or thirty.  So good for the heart, mind and soul.

Happy Days ……

 

Alvin and I look forward to seeing you all on Sunday.

Here is a sneak peek at what awaits you….

Happy Happy Birthday My Darling Daughter.

May your life be filled with good health, great joy, much love and laughter and abundance.

We love you so much,

Love Mom & Alvin….

 

 

Special Hello to: the Birthday Girl.  We love you.

Always, Carol & Alvin

 

P.S.  the fruit pizza has not been made just yet, I will make it on Sunday morning so it is fresh, fresh, fresh.

 

Thought for the day ….

Good Morning and Welcome to Sunday the 21st day of January, 2018.

The sky is overcast and appears to be one enormous snow bank.

The air is filled with fog.

So when you look outside it appears to be white, white and more white.

WINTER.

 

We have had a great weekend, lots of company which both Alvin and I love.

Yesterday Master Teddy spent the day with us.

The boys get along well which is nice.

Alvin is not so much one to play but they had their moments.

Teddy follows me wherever I go, much like the Alvin.

My daughter, son-in-law and grand-pups stopped by as they had been out and about.

So at one point we had three people and four pups.

They all got along however that being said Baby Milo was not quite sure how to take Teddy.

Teddy likes to cuddle and got the attention of my daughter.

Teddy also happens to remind both my kids of their past boy Elton.

The kids brought some heavy duty chews for Alvin and the pups.

Alvin was on that for hours…. he loved his birthday present.

We drank coffee and ate some Steeped Tea Scones that I baked earlier.

GREAT VISIT.

In between, I did all of my household chores.

This morning the girls are coming for coffee.

Or were.

Just had a call from one of my girls and she has the flu/cold.

Sending her good energy to be well soon.

We will have one of our friends with her daughter and daughter’s friend.

Looking forward to the company.

 

Recently I have had some comments on my blog and thought that I would just say this.

I write about my daily life and to offer positive thoughts about life in general.

I try to keep this blog on the light, humorous side however as life goes, sometimes this is not possible.

I write because I love to write.

I am not a journalist and do not have a degree.

I am just a person like you.

Only wishing to share some of my stories and experiences and perhaps along the way to make you smile, laugh and enjoy.

If we learn from one another, what better gift is there.

 

I wish you all a wonderful day.

Special Hello to:  all those folks who take the time to read my blog, my words.

Always, Carol & Alvin

 

 

 

Thought for the Day …..

Good Morning and Welcome to Monday the 25th day of September, 2017.

Partially sun cloud mix this morning.

Up earlier and then back to bed for awhile.

Took a vacation day, today.

Nice to have another day at home with Alvin.

Although not sure about his thoughts on that matter.

 

Watched the new STAR TREK television series premiere last night.

STAR TREK DISCOVERY on CTV.

They only showed one hour whereas the SPACE channel had a two hour premiere.

I checked on CTV’s lineup and could not find it for next Sunday.

Guess I will have to change up my cable channels as I really enjoyed watching the new show.

 

Well here we go Monday …… time for coffee ….. a bit late to start.

Had a wonderful visit with our BABY Milo …. little fur ball yesterday.

Followed by the fastest birthday party ever.

Alvin and I hosted our son-in-law/brother-in-law’s birthday celebration.

It was a busy day for them and because his birthday falls during the week …. Sunday was our only time to get together.

We managed to have coffee, DQ Ice-cream birthday cake and give him his present.

We even had balloons.

It was fun and so great to see his niece “E-K” as have not seen her for a long time.

Who says short cannot be wonderful.

It was great.

 

Well back to Monday.

We hope that you are having a great day.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the folks from Costa Rica.

Three massive Hurricanes.

So many folks affected and likely will affect the world.

 

Special Hello to:  you, take care.

Always, Carol & Alvin