The Next Chapter

Good Morning! Happy April 1st. The sky is slightly overcast and there is no wind this morning. The house is quiet except for the sound of the furnace rumbling away keeping me warm. There is also the sound of the odd motor vehicle driving by the front of my house.

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Good Morning and Welcome to Tuesday the 1st day of April, 2014.

YAY, today is the first day of April.

March is over.

I hope that this finds you happy and excited for another day.

Time to crank the music and dance your happy dance.

Dance to the  music.

Even throughout the day …. find your quiet space and do your “happy dance.”

If there is no space without people ….. just sit in your chair …. close your eyes ….. smile and tap your toes …. to the music whether on your iPod or in your head…

Even standing in a line or anywhere ….. you have the space that your body occupies ….. use your imagination and go.

Imagine you are dancing in a big hall with the best floor.

Imagine yourself in a meadow ….. or on a hilltop.

Anywhere …… maybe on top of your bed.

Just let your body go ….. move to the music …… get your groove on…..

Not only is dance is the best exercise on the planet but you will feel so much better – body, mind and soul.

Clap your hands …. today is the day ….. dance your happy dance.

Smile and Be Happy …… Let go ……

Special Hello to: all the dancers on the planet.

Always, Carol and Alvin

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I have been trying to copy and paste in posts from April 1st and only able to succeed with the one from 2014.

I can tell you that on April 1st, 2016, the temperature in Edmonton was 20 degrees celsius and that it is far from that today.

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On April 1st, 2019, I was home sick and Mr. Alvin was keeping me company.

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On April 1st, 2020, I was just a few days in from working from home due to the pandemic. We were enjoying having me at home 24/7. Alvin was having a hard day as the arthritis in his paws was bothering him.

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Back to April 1st, 2023, I just heard my neighbour call out to “Bogart” her cat and as I looked out the window I saw a massive grey cat sitting on the fence between me and my neighbour in the other half. When he saw Sonja come into their yard (they leave the gate open), he jumped off the fence and back into my yard and then back home. Another temporary great escape for Bogart. What a guy! He is a beautiful big guy and definitely has a mind of his own. He likes to be outside and go for walks. Bogart has on his GPS (in case he gets out of the yard). Good way to track him. They still keep a close watch on him. If he got out and was on the street he could be hit by a car. People are not known for driving slow when they go through this neighbourhood. Makes me sad but grateful that so far all beings on our street have been safe from tragedy. Well it is time to get this day going. I have spent a lot of time trying to copy and paste from previous posts. I hope that you have a wonderful April 1st and I hope that the weather begins to warm. We still have quite the bank of snow on our front lawns as we face the north side of the street but I am grateful that most of the ice has melted by the sidewalk. YAY. Happy April 1st, 2023.

Have an awesome day.

Time to get more laundry going. Plans changed from this morning to last night and in between. I did some laundry and work last night so that I can concentrate on the income tax and photos today. Always lots to do when you are on your own.

Happy April Fools Day.

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

Always, Carol & Alvin (My Forever Angel)

Last Half 2022 – September

Good Morning ALL! How are you this morning? We are doing great. Last night we were in bed by 9:00 p.m. as I am working from the office today. About 11:50 p.m., Alvin wanted to go outside so downstairs we went. He had a pee and then we were back in the house where we laid on the sofa. Thank goodness for a comfortable spot. We were just settling in when I heard a noise coming from the front porch, as I was half asleep, I did not think too much of it. Maybe a cat. Then a little while later I heard my phone ping several times, notification of someone texting me. Did not think much of that either. Then off to la la land. Alvin wanted to get up a couple of times before the alarm went off but I managed to coax him to lay back down. We were up to stay up at 5:00 a.m., after I gave Alvin his food, I checked my phone to see a text from the neighbour in the other half of the duplex. She had texted me at 12:33 a.m., she had heard someone on our front porch but did not know if I had company that was just leaving so she did not go outside. Now that is so funny that Mr. Alvin did not bark or make any kind of movement toward the front door. Very strange. Whomever it was did not try the door handle or I would have heard so what were they doing on the porch? I did turn on the porch light once I had read her text to see if someone had walked off with one of my potted plants or the wreath from my door but they were all there. Kind of gave me the creeps. Definitely will ensure every night that I lock the front door. I do but there has been the odd time where I noticed it unlocked in the morning, especially when I had watered the front flowers in the evening. Anyway, that was my excitement. NOT.

I am starting to get a bit anxious about next week as that is the start of three days each week back to the office. I do have someone to watch over Alvin but it is not the same, it is not me. Although I am very grateful that I have such amazing friends and neighbours who are helping me out. Soon, I hope I will be retiring and then it won’t matter. Soon cannot come soon enough, lol.

This weekend we have to go over the schedule with my friend and neighbor who is helping with Alvin.

Well I am going to go downstairs and outside with the boy and ensure that the main floor is as cool as I can make it. I will close all of the blinds so that it keeps the coolness in as it is supposed to be another hot one today.

I hope that you have an amazing day. Sure cannot believe this weather but am grateful for it. Last year when we were out to see the kids for Thanksgiving it was nice out as well.

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

Always, Carol & Alvin.

Last Half 2022

Good Morning ALL! Thinking that I would change the category name this morning. Definitely no longer a new YEAR. I hope this finds you well. We had some excited already this morning. We went to bed close to 10 and were up at 4:15, so not too bad. Although I can always sleep given the opportunity. By the time that we were up and downstairs and what not, and went outside, it was closer to 4:45 so I gave Mr. Alvin his breakfast. Then after all was done including giving him the second last Tramadol (pain pill) as he was licking his paws and shaking his head. Not good signs. He seems to be okay now. Will have to watch him. I noticed another little piece of fur that must have been wedged in the bottom of his paws had broken free, likely when he was madly licking them. This would have been from his hair cut. I spent a lot of time looking over his paws and pulling out any pieces that had been trapped but it is hard to see, so I may have missed some. Another job which is difficult on your own with a dog that does not like his paws or ears touched. Just more fun in my day to day. Anyway, we went back to the sofa and he did settle down however he decided he would lay across the chaise part of the sofa so I had to move the pillow and lie down on the other part, which is small and I have to bend my legs but I was happy to do it, if it meant he would sleep. Trust me. You would, too. I was dozing off and on when he woke up, I checked my phone for the time and it as 7:48, definitely time to get up and going. I grabbed my sweater as he wanted to go outside and I was in my pj’s. Put on some footwear and grabbed some pooping bags just in case. Poor Alvin has had some diarrhea over the past couple of days but this morning it was almost back to normal. I had given him a bit of banana on Friday, I think. So NO MORE HUMAN FOOD except the pumpkin. Last night for his supper I did not give him pumpkin, now that I think about it. His poop this morning was almost back to what it should be. Maybe I need to cut that out and see? Anyway, time to get this day going.

By the way, I did try several times earlier to download/upload those photos. Something is definitely wrong with the technology as several blank videos showed up on my computer. Three miscellaneous photos. I give up. Thankfully my daughter said she will come by at some point and take a look. Unfortunately not just anyone can look as I have APPLE products and you need to know how they work as they are quite different from others. Anyway, they are having company this weekend so perhaps one night after work this week. I also thought that this was a short week but that was last week, lol.

One way or another I will get those photos to you. You must see her garden. I wished that I was tech savvy.

Yesterday after our very late start, it was raining so we had a quiet morning. I did finish the laundry and later in the afternoon we went for a walk. We were just a few doors away from home, when I thought I heard someone call out my name and sure enough I turned about and saw our friend Joanna out on her porch. So we walked back and stopped for a porch visit. We chatted for several minutes and then were on our way. We made it just inside the park and then he wanted to go home, so we did.

Last night was quiet. The sun came out which was lovely. The sun is out now.

Just after we got up to stay up. We went outside. I thought that perhaps he had to go pee so I had grabbed my sweater to cover, yes my pj’s and headed outside. He walked around the deck for a bit while I went and sat on the edge of the deck that goes down to the grass. I listened and watched this huge crow cawing away and then land on the neighbour’s chimney. He was huge. He sat there for a few minutes making some noise in response to another crow in the distance. After I turned my head to see what Alvin was doing – I noticed that he was looking up. Turning my head in the direction that he was looking, I noticed this big black and white cat perched on the roof of our neighbours garage. Alvin and the cat had a quite intense staring match going on. I got up to see if Alvin would come down and looked back to the garage and the cat was gone. We were both up on the deck and then Alvin made a beeline for the fence on the other side of the deck. Then it was that I saw the cat looking down from the top of the fence. Alvin started to bark and jumped up onto the upper part of our deck and I could not stop him so I quickly followed. He kept barking and the cat was swishing its’ tail back and forth, looking very scary and I was thinking it may jump so I quickly went into the garage and grabbed a broom. I gently placed the broom between Alvin and the cat and moved Alvin away. Finally with the aid of the broom I was able to coral him down the steps and onto the other deck and then into the house. Then I turned and the cat was gone. Alvin likes cats so I was surprised when he barked. Anyway that was our excitement for the morning.

Okay story time over and time to head downstairs and get some coffee brewed. It was so lovely on the deck earlier basking temporarily in the sunshine that I think I may go out again with coffee this time.

Have a great Sunday.

You never know in this house – there be cats – there be good poop or bad – technology issues – sun or rain ……..

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

Always, Carol & Alvin

PS: now 37 days until my 65th Birthday. Thank goodness my birthday is in early August or the summer would be gone, lol.

The New YEAR 2022

Hello, I cannot say that it is a good morning. I am terrified to go back downstairs and start this day. Last night while I was cooking supper, I heard a noise from the kitchen. The noise was the lid from Alvin’s wet food tin falling onto something, which I had left by the sink with some dirty dishes. I had put some water in the sink and was going to do dishes after I ate. Both Alvin and Cookie were with me in the living room. My heart sank, I knew what it would be. I stood up and walked around the sofa and to the end of the kitchen counter and on the other side of the sink I saw the creature that I fear the most, bigger than a spider and faster, a mouse. I can barely type those words. My throat is dry as I am so scared to go back downstairs to start this day. Poor Alvin. Anyway, when I saw the mouse, I grabbed my phone from the charger and ran to the door, screaming as I ran to the farthest point from him/her. It took me a few seconds or perhaps even a minute to actually text my neighbour Jessica, and all I could type was HELP followed by the word Mouse. I believe that I was hyperventilating. It felt like my throat was dry and I was crying and screaming. The poor dogs were frozen in positions on the sofa. After I texted Jessica, I texted another friend quickly as I know that she is not afraid of these creatures but I also knew that she has a sore back. It wasn’t long before I heard I heard a noise on the porch, so I scooped up Cookie so that she would not run outside. I surely did not need something else wrong. My neighbour came into the house and immediately went into the kitchen, the mouse was still on the counter. It ended up behind the stove but when she moved the stove, it was gone. It did not appear that there was any place for it to go. Somewhere in between all of this my friend and her daughter arrived. It may have been before the stove was moved, I don’t really remember. I was beside me. My friend had brought a mousetrap with her and the girls were trying to set it behind the stove. But after several tries it would not work. Someone googled to find what could be done in interim. Apparently they do not like tin foil, I did not know that. My neighbour had stuffed tin foil around the entrance points by the stove and counter and floor. I knew that they do not like bounce sheets or dryer sheets and I have them all over the furnace room, well not all over. In a few spots. Anyway, after several minutes of not seeing the mouse, my friend and her daughter went home and my neighbour suggested that she go to Walmart and pick up some traps and other supplies. I feared to be alone but it was the best thing to do. I had the pups there. Also Cookie’s family were on their way home. What a mess. My dinner had been cooking in the oven. So it was on the kitchen table but my appetite was not there but I did have a couple of carrots and roasted potatoes. I held Cookie while the girls were there and she was shaking. I can only imagine that I scared her half to death. Alvin just kept staring at me. It was not long before my neighbour was back. She pulled out the stove, set two traps, just like that and pushed the stove back. At this time, I have no idea if the mouse was caught or not. I cannot move the stove. I will need help. I had to take a day off work as I am so petrified to be downstairs. Anyway, my neighbour stayed for a few hours. We threw away some items from my counter that I could not easily clean and sanitized the rest. We washed, well she washed dishes and I dried. We did a load in the dishwasher. Bless her heart, my neighbour accidentally put the coffee perk in the water before I noticed, it is electric and cannot be submerged in water. How could I be mad? She was in autopilot mode trying to keep my spirits up and help. The pot actually needed to be replaced. Anyway, Cookie’s family got home and picked her up just before 11:00 p.m. and shortly after that we came upstairs to my safe place. Alvin is whining now so I must go. He likely has to pee. He has been so good. My neighbour is going to bring me coffee and stay for a bit while I figure out what to do. I still have to take down Christmas decorations. What a mess! Well not a mess, I feel like a mess. It would not have been so bad if the creature had not been on the counter, that freaked me out bigtime. Note to self, never leave the lid from his food uncleaned on the counter. It was not there long but enough time.

Breathe. Oh and I spent some time on the phone with my daughter while my neighbour was at Walmart. Oh, I am surrounded by strong women. I am so grateful. I wished that I could have the essence of CAT in the house so that they would stay away.

I am going to text Jessica and she will bring over some coffee. I definitely need coffee. I will put my winter boots back on, they give me a false sense of security but a security nonetheless. I put them on right away last night when this all started. I had to take the bag of garbage out to the garage and then they were covered in snow so I had to put on slippers. Not quite as good.

What a night. I pray and hope that it is gone forever and never to return.

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

Always, Carol & Alvin

PS I am thinking that I may set up my workstation in my office for the rest of the week. Not sure if I can work in the kitchen at this point. I am even afraid to open cupboard doors and drawers. All the things we washed are cleaned and sitting on the kitchen table.

Second Half of the NEW YEAR.

Well here we are at Sunday morning.

What an odd weekend for us.

The last 24 hours seem like a blur to me.

 

Mr. Alvin did not have a great day yesterday.

In the morning he did not want to jump down onto the grass or go down the steps to the grass.

We were on the deck when my neighbour came home from grabbing a coffee.

I told her about Alvin and that I thought maybe he had injured his leg/paw.

Before I could ask.

My neighbour and our friend happens to be a Reiki Master.

She said that he was very anxious due in part to me feeling some anxiety and something that happened to him.

That makes sense as the past few days especially Thursday had me feeling pretty anxious and I am quite certain that upset him.

I do believe that his paw was hurt at the vet, not intentionally

 

He started to shake and pant at one point, so I called my neighbour.

Thankfully she was at home.

She said he definitely was feeling a lot of anxiety.

All you can do is let him get it out.

My friend also felt his paw had been hurt, his front one.

 

We all went back to her house as she thought the kitten might have got out in the backyard.

All of us went into the backyard where Alvin went down her steps onto the grass but did let out a yelp when he got down the last step.

He did his business which I was glad about and I cleaned up, of course.

We visited for a bit.

I helped her with a little job.

 

My neighbour thought that perhaps going on a walk would help calm him down.

I put his harness on him and we got as far as the lawn.

He walked around a bit and then just stood there.

So we sat on my neighbours retaining wall for her front garden and chatted through the window before heading back into our house.

 

We just had a quiet day with me doing some laundry and rearranging in the kitchen while he laid on the sofa.

Sometimes whining when I disappeared for too long.

I baked a coffee cake for this morning.

Been a long time since I baked a coffee cake and I had to try a piece for dessert (turned out pretty good).

Fed him supper.

I ate supper and then we had a quiet evening watching a movie.

He eventually was visibly calm, no longer panting or shaking.

 

We slept on the sofa last night as I thought it would be easier for him.

We went to bed just after 9:00 p.m. and I woke up first at 5:45 a.m….

I went to the bathroom and laid back down.

He showed no interest in getting up but was awake.

I set the timer on the microwave for just after 7:00 but I was so awake I was up just before 7:00 a.m.

I gave my boy his glucosamine chew while he was on the sofa.

When he first got up he stood on the arm of the sofa and then onto the sofa.

No attempt to jump off.

I gingerly picked him up and he made a slight sound of discomfort.

Already I had got his food out of the pantry and put in his bowl.

He made no attempt so I gave him a piece and he dropped it on the floor.

So I put the bowl on the counter and coaxed him to go outside.

Outside he sniffed the flowers and eventually I was able to get him down to the grass.

I did lift him down the steps.

He did his business and I lifted him back onto the deck after picking up the bundle he left behind.

Alvin walked on his own to the house, not limping or showing any signs of pain or discomfort.

In the house, I ended up hand feeding him and he easily ate all of his food.

Then I gathered things up to go back upstairs.

Took me a couple of minutes to convince him to go upstairs but he slowly went up the steps.

Even took a jump on the last two, which surprised me.

Now he is laying on his bed in my office while I type/key this post.

 

I am so grateful that today is a better day than yesterday.

He was panting and shaking for awhile …. that was anxiety.

I guess we all have some of that these days.

Animals are so intuitive and he feels whatever I feel and sometimes we forget.

So I am going to make a point of trying to remain zen especially now that I am working from home.

I can no longer leave my anxieties and issues at the office, home is the new office.

So I have some things to work out.

I know that.

Dealing with people is not always easy but I am going to work on being more “zen” and that is the best word to describe the end result.

I am a pretty positive person by nature but I also wear my feelings on my sleeve so to speak.

I do take things personally ….. with my work and I have to learn that it is not personal.

It is the job.

Sometimes it is not always easy to separate.

Lessons to learn for sure.

I have also decided that while my extra time spend doing work might help me out in some respects it is not helping Alvin out.

At the end of the day it is not helping me out and I understand that now.

My job is not to work 7 days each week.

My job is Monday through Friday.

I have defined work hours and if I work a few minutes after 4:00 to finish something that is okay but to spend hours on Saturday and Sunday or Friday night working.

Nope can do.

I need my down time, I get that now.

I work hard and I don’t think anyone can ever dispute that so I am going to work when I am supposed to work.

Alvin needs me to be present and with him.

Not having him laying in the hallway or on his bed in the office while I work on the weekends.

I guess this was another learning weekend.

 

We were supposed to meet Bailey, the new pup a few doors down yesterday afternoon.

Alvin was in no shape to be meeting with a puppy so we cancelled for now.

Today the girls are coming for coffee this morning and then my daughter might pop in for a visit around noon.

Teddy, Alvin’s BF is supposed to come for a sleepover but I might cancel that as well.

Likely better if he gets rest.

I will assess the situation tomorrow and see if we need another trip to the vet.

Also will have my neighbour check him out as well.

Does not hurt to do so.

 

Well time to head to the shower.

I need that water pounding down on me – well it does not really pound but you know what I mean.

We did get some rain overnight and there are still many clouds in the sky.

Might have to move my flower pots again.

 

I hope that you are having an awesome Sunday thus far.

Living with kindness and respect.

I/We shall remain,

As Always, Carol & Alvin

 

 

Second Half of the NEW YEAR.

Good Morning and that it is ….

The sun is shining and there is a nice cool breeze.

We survived a HUGE storm last night …

It has been awhile since I have heard thunder booming like a massive drum held up to your ear.

The light show was nothing to sneeze at either.

Lighting up the entire room when it flashed.

I looked out of the bedroom window at one point when the lightning flashed and it lit up the whole street in my view.

I must have fallen asleep shortly after I put my book down because the storm woke me up before 10:30 p.m.

Poor Alvin was a little stressed by it all but likely didn’t help when I was startled by the start of it all.

I heard that extra cracking and thud of hail as it hit the house and ground.

So happy that I had moved my precious flower pots out of harm’s way.

We were lucky as I surveyed the damage this morning.

Oh and the wind …. it was scary.

There were moments when I thought the roof was going to blow off.

My mind wandered briefly to the thought of a “tornado” but again we were lucky.

Just a huge wind.

It was the whole package …. one of those out of this world summer storms.

The rain was coming down so hard at one point that I could not see the other side of the street.

I have not got to the basement to check things but our drain system seems to function well.

I can hear the slight mews or it sounds like a cat but then as it got closer it was a crow.

Well as you can imagine after last night it was most difficult getting out of bed this morning.

Alvin did not want to lay down.

We were up and down a few times before finally settling on the sofa.

That seems to be his safe place.

 

Well as I am running extra late this morning …..

Will have to cut this short, I am sorry.

We are doing well.

Had two awesome walks in yesterday.

Which we so badly needed.

 

Supposed to be hot tomorrow so likely another storm tomorrow night.

Take care.

Be safe.

Live your life with kindness and respect.

Time for that first cup of coffee.

I/We shall remain,

As Always, Carol & Alvin

It is a NEW YEAR.

True it is a New Year and today is a New Day, Tuesday.

A cold morning here in Edmonton.

We are grateful to be inside a warm home.

Alvin is resting on his blue blanket beside me.

This morning while I was in the shower and getting ready he stayed resting on the bed.

Not his usual routine.

He appears to be okay.

He got up and off the bed okay.

Perhaps he is just tired although he did sleep through from 9:30 p.m. to 4:30 a.m.

Oh, well.

I feel the same way.

I would have loved to have just stayed at home today.

Just curling up on the sofa with me Alvin under our warm red blanket.

But I have lots of work to do today and if I miss a day it just piles up.

Becoming way too stressful.

So off I go to the office/to work.

 

Teddy went home just around noon yesterday.

The house is quiet without him.

Not that he is particularly loud or anything.

We miss him.

I know Alvin does.

 

Perhaps some photos of cuteness and beauty this morning.

Will help us get through this cold Tuesday.

 

Just close your eyes and visualize laying on the grass ….. just relaxing.

Okay, perhaps I got a bit carried away with the photos.

Too much cuteness, I don’t think so.

Too much natural beauty, be serious.

More words …. well maybe.

 

I wish you a wonderful day.

Filled with love, joy and abundance.

May everyone you see and everything you touch be done so with kindness and respect.

Happy Tuesday.

 

I know the Tuesday after a long weekend, feels like a Monday.

 

Have an awesome day.

 

Always, Carol & Alvin

 

 

Living … One day at a time.

Good Morning and it is Monday, the 23rd day of December 2019.

Can you believe it?

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve.

The house is quiet this morning with only Mr. Alvin sighing and Humphrey resting downstairs.

Quite the change from yesterday about this time.

We had a great day yesterday and both Alvin and I were ready for bed last night early.

Humphrey went home earlier last night than I had planned as he was at the front door, clearly wanting to go home.

I went over and picked him up already, looked after Cynder, shovelled the front walks including some of the neighbours.

I threw my coat over top of my pj’s went I went to pick up Humphrey and feed Cynder.

It was kind of freeing to be outside in my pj’s covered by my coat.

Anyway.

I hear Mr. Humphrey came upstairs to join us.

I wanted to share some photos ….. let us try this once again.

Then I need some breakfast and COFFEE.

Then charging ahead with this day.

PHOTOS:

First ones were of the puppies and Humphrey taken yesterday.

Thankfully it was mild out so we went into the backyard often.

Teddy found himself a getaway spot on top of the sofa.

GIFTS all wrapped for all of our fur babies:  Alvin, Aspen, Milo, Humphrey, Teddy and Kobi.

The office shots were from our tour of our newly renovated office.

That will be my workspace.

Yup, just a table.

Desks are a thing of the past.

Where do I put my coat?

I did not see anywhere for our coats.

Next was the highly anticipated parcel from our friend in Regina.

Alvin “did not keep his paws off till Christmas”

He even tried to open my gift and since then it is on the table until time for opening.

The baking was also in the parcel and the bag of pretzels, nuts and other goodies was made by one of my coworkers and since I loved it so much, she brought me my

very own bag.

Well the guys are getting restless and I am hungry after my workout shovelling.

Time for breakfast and start some more laundry.

Perhaps I should think about getting dressed soon.

but then not I think not.

Well another casualty …. Humphrey was playing with a hanging that I had on the closet door.

He pulled so hard it came off the door and broke.

ARGH.

Time to go now.

I hope that you all have an awesome Monday.

Almost Christmas now.

 

Happy Monday.

Always, Carol, Alvin and Humphrey

Living … One day at a time

Hello,

Good Morning.

Raining outside.

Shout out this morning …. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY DEAR SON-IN-LAW.

I am so grateful that he came into our life almost 2 decades ago.

He is smart and funny.

Warm-hearted and the best son-in-law and brother-in-law to Alvin.

Wishing you a great day my boy.

We love you very much.

Wishing only the best in the year(s) ahead.

 

Yesterday morning I snapped these photos of my tree as I was waiting for my carpool.

Bear in mind that it was dark outside.

The leaves are turning but still a great many are green.

The lawn is covered with crunchy gold leaves.

 

 

Last night we had a GREAT walk.

We stopped and visited with our friend who was out in her garden.

Winterizing.

After our visit there we continued walking until we reached Alvin’s BF’s house.

This time I said let’s go and visit.

We walked up …. rather Alvin flew up the steps.

I said as I was going to ring the doorbell …. Alvin why don’t you bark and announce yourself ….. he did.

I was surprised.

I could hear Teddy recognizing who was at the door.

So inside we had a nice chat and visit.

Alvin had some treats.

He is terribly spoiled.

After leaving there we continued on our way home.

We stopped to visit with some new friends.

There was a one year pup named —, oh dear I have forgotten her name ……. she was really well trained.

This pup was a lab and oh how smart they are.

The other was a three year old Basset Hound named FLOUNDER.

Alvin did really well with them as they are bigger.

After watching the Lab pup and Flounder the b hound play we headed home.

Lots of visiting going on.

Then when we were home we saw Humphrey outside.

Chatted with my neighbor for a bit and then Humphrey came to stay with us for a bit.

We were walking into the house and he was on his leash and walked up the steps.

He wanted to come in.

So I yelled back to his Mom that he was with us.

After that I quickly cleaned the front flower bed.

Trimming back the flowers.

Putting the cut stems/leaves into a blue bag and into the garage.

Also decided to clean up part of the deck …. put away a few items.

I put my flowers in the garage as I was worried it may freeze.

They are doing so well.

If we get some sunshine, I will put them back out.

 

Well time to fly here.

We are busy.

Happy Birthday to all those folks celebrating today.

 

If we treat ourselves with kindness and respect it comes naturally to treat others the same.

 

 

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