Living … One day at a time.

Hello, it is a gorgeous morning here in Edmonton.

Looks like we are now having more summerlike temperatures.

Will be a hot one today.

Alvin and I thoroughly enjoyed our Sunday.

We had the best weekend.

Yesterday we started the day off with a 30 minute walk.

Followed by breakfast and coffee.

Humphrey came to visit.

The photos below will describe what the rest of our day was like.

My office.  Now just to hang up the bulletin boards that my daughter made for me a few Christmases ago and reorganize the desk drawers and closet.

Each genre of book has a special place.

YAY.

Humphrey was outside and Alvin had just come into the house.

I didn’t see Humphrey at first and then noticed him on the grass, which was odd.

I ran over to see that he had a dragonfly in his paws.

I quickly retrieved the poor little creature from the paws of soon to be not a good ending and he/she was alive.

Me and the dragonfly went to the front of the house where I placed him on the fern plant.

He was alive.

I even put some water on the fern close to him.

He was still there some time later.

I am afraid to look now.

What a glorious creature.

 

My hands sure look mighty dry.

Time for lotion.

 

JENGA with me, myself and I.

I WON.

 

Well time to leave.

Wishing you a day filled with so much KINDNESS and RESPECT.

 

Always, Carol & Alvin

Thought for the day ….

Good Morning and Welcome to Tuesday the 5th day of February, 2019.

I forgot to wish my niece “M” a very Happy 22nd Birthday for yesterday, February 4th.

We hope that you had a magical day.

 

Welcome back to the deep freeze.

Appears this may last for several days.

We folks that work inside warm buildings are grateful and we think of those souls that work outside so that we may work inside in the warmth.

From Farmers to Constructions to Oil Rig Workers and everything in between, thank you.

Thank you to my sister for reminding me of those who work outside.

 

Well two more sleeps until Mr. Alvin’s surgery.

I know that it will all go well.

But still it is surgery on my boy.

Positive thoughts.

 

I am so grateful to my friend and neighbour for giving me rides to work yesterday, today and tomorrow.

Just catching the bus home is okay.

I am very blessed.

Yesterday the bus driver called ahead when we were at West Edmonton Mall asking 119/117 to please wait for passengers.

The 119 was still there when we arrived (very late) and I would imagine it was late as well.

A young passenger and myself hoped off the bus ahead of the others and ran to the 119, yes, I ran.

Just as we were arriving at the 119 he started to pull away …. we both waved.

He pulled over and we got onto the bus.

I could not believe after all of that, he pulled away as we ran to the bus in full view of the driver.

What a guy.

But happy that in the end he did pull over.

Still was 20 minutes late getting home but at least I did not have to wait likely another 20 minutes for the next bus.

Felt blessed at that moment.

 

Well getting close to time to leave the house.

Still have to do the poop pickup before I leave.

Poor Alvin having to go outside in this bitterly cold weather.

I will say this …. he does not stay out long …. does his thing and back into the house.

I wait right at the back door for him, just in case I need to go and help him.

 

Emergency kits in the vehicle.

Layers while outside.

Pull those big WARM boots out of the closet – you are not making a fashion statement this week in most part of CANADA.

You just want to stay warm and retain all your digits and your life.

Be kind to your pets.

They are living breathing animals such as we, don’t leave them outside in these frigid temperatures.

Doesn’t matter …. just bring them into the house.

Watch the kiddos for signs of frostbite.

Drive them to school.

Or maybe keep them home (most of the buses are cancelled anyway).

 

Happy Tuesday.

 

Special Hello to: my family and friends.  Keep warm…..

Always, Carol & Alvin

 

Thought for the day …..

Good Morning and Welcome to Wednesday the 16th day of November, 2016.

I have to apologize to my nephew “J” as I missed his Birthday yesterday on my blog.

Happy Happy Birthday – Wishing you a wonderful day.

*********************************************

Well we had an interesting night.

So happy that we had a nice long walk last night as there is snow on the ground this morning.

That is not to say that we do not walk most of the winter (depends on the temperatures).

Anyway we were in bed, gone early, and I was reading.

Alvin is not so much into reading. ( giggling aloud )

All of a sudden he start retching and then threw up.

I immediately jumped out of bed.

Grabbed his clean up stuff including paper towels.

Cleaned off his blanket and threw it into the wash.

Got another one of his blankets out of the closet.

Cleaned him up and brushed his teeth.

It only happened once and he seemed fine EXCEPT he would not go to sleep.

He basically was awake all night.

I know that I fell asleep off and on.

He would just sit up looking into the night.

Scratching and licking himself here and there.

Poor guy.

This morning he seems fine although he was shaking a bit at my breakfast time.

He ate his breakfast (no problem) and had some water.

He did his business outside.

He must be exhausted, I know that I am.

Not much sleep.

We have an off-site staff meeting today – I will have to check myself if I begin to yawn.

He also has a “Laser Light Therapy” session today.

Our Vet’s office has purchased the machine and today they are doing some free sessions to try things out in real time.

I have someone that is going to take Alvin to the office as I cannot.

I am certainly glad that he appears to be okay and I was worried earlier.

Appears that we have some snow.

Just a dusting.

Is winter here?

We certainly enjoyed our beautiful summer/early fall days in November.

Well almost time to hit the road.

I am so relieved that Alvin is feeling better or at least appears to be so.

Happy Wednesday.

I hope that you all have an awesome day.

Special Hello to: my family

Always, Carol and Alvin

 

 

 

Thought for the day …..

Good Morning and Welcome to Tuesday the 25th day of October, 2016.

Dark outside.

Rained overnight.

I could feel the moisture in the air last night as it cooled off during our walk.

Hopefully the roads are not icy.

Still reasonably mild.

Well almost Halloween.

Do you like Halloween?

Do you dress up?

Do you stay home and greet the “Treaters?”

I love Halloween.

I decorate my house inside and out.

I normally dress up.

We are encouraged to dress up at work.

We also have a Halloween potluck which brings out some truly creative dishes and treats.

Some years are more elaborate than others.

Most times I just pull together something from my “tickle trunk.”

Actually I had a tickle trunk so to speak years ago and when I moved to Alberta, I gave away most of my Halloween costume items and decorations.

So over the passed few years I have slowly amassing some Halloween items.

My favourite costumes have been made from take pieces from my closet and adding some makeup.

Surprising what you can do with little or no money.

Trust me if there is a way – I will find it.

There is no reason to spend a fortune on a costume that you will likely wear for only a few hours.

I have snapped photos of my decorations and will post them closer to Halloween.

Nothing fancy just a few things in my house and outside.

Some of my neighbours clearly enjoy decorating as they have strung  white spider webs all throughout their trees.

I think it might be interesting taking it down.

Well here we go again time to leave for work.

I want to get away on time just in case it is a bit icy.

Have a wonderful Tuesday.

Special Hello to: my sister.  Miss you.

Always, Carol and Alvin

Thought for the day ….

Good Morning and Welcome to Saturday the 13th day of February, 2016.

One day before Valentine’s Day.

I am going to start this blog by sharing a great little story from yesterday.

Sometimes you have a day that is well not exactly what you had in mind ….. less than perfect.

Perhaps part of it …. began with me going to empty a glass of water into the sink but instead literally tossed it the opposite direction and onto the countertop.

The countertop that help my electric percolator and electric mix stand, and other stuff ……

But as the water travelled in slow motion through the air …. I realized what I had done. 

I never moved so fast ….. where was my brain at that moment …

During the day I struggled to accomplish what I had planned because I had several unexpected interruptions.

Now I did get several things done but not everything ….. oh well …. before I knew it I was on the bus heading home.

As I unlocked the door my friend “S” was just driving by and stopped for a moment to see how things were and to see if I would be making coffee later and I said “of course, I can.”

She had to carry on as someone drove up behind her ….

When I entered the house  Mr. Alvin was happy as ever to see me, and to go outside to relieve himself …. oh what the hay to go “pee” ….. much better word.

I decided to go straight outside and clean up after him ….. and also finished my conversation with the neighbour who had by now parked her car and was going into her house.

The plan was to feed Alvin, have supper and then make us a cup of coffee.

Originally I had planned to finish up canvassing for the Heart and Stroke Fund but it was snowing and blowing pretty hard making it hard to keep paper dry etc.

So another change in plans.

Oh well.

After I had given Mr. Alvin his supper …. I decided to go upstairs and onto the computer to send a FB message to a friend and to my surprise I had a message from another friend.

It read “GO CHECK YOUR MAILBOX.”

I blinked a few thousand times in utter excitement because when this friend says go check your mailbox …. you just know it is going to be GOOD … no I mean,  GREAT.

So I literally RAN down the stairs …. grabbed my boots and coat from the closet, a bag to put the mail in …. grabbed keys …. locked the house on my way out and carefully WALKED fast to the mailbox.

When I opened the mailbox door I saw the RED tag of the key for one of the PARCEL boxes and lots of flyers.

HEAVEN ….. I knew that I had a parcel ….

I threw the flyers and odd piece of mail into the bag…..

Holding my breath I opened the mailbox with the parcel inside ….

There was a huge box with my NAME and ADDRESS printed on it …..

The return address ….. yes it was from my friend “V” in Regina …..

I quickly closed the door and put the key into the letter slot and was on my way home.

I yelped with excitement and decided to stop and see my neighbour “S” ….. she was the one that I had seen just as I was arriving home.

She came to the door …. I was so excited …… quickly explaining that  there would be some good treats inside for sure.

I told her of the chocolate covered biscotti that this friend had sent me a couple of years ago AND said that we would have a treat with our coffee later.

Then she told me “thank you and to be careful walking down the sidewalk and home.”

I abided by her and in a couple of minutes was safely back home.

Parcel in my hot little hands.

OMG …. I do love receiving packages …..

Alvin was not sure what happened to his Momma.

So I grabbed the letter opener and some scissors and ran upstairs as my computer was on and my camera was upstairs as well.

I placed the parcel on my desk …..

THE PARCEL

THIS IS WHAT GREETED ME WHEN I OPENED THE BOX

THERE WERE DIFFERENT KINDS OF BUNS …. CINNAMON ….. CHEESE AND PLAIN AND THIS HUGE WHAT I THOUGHT WAS A COOKIE BUT TURNED OUT TO BE THE BEST BROWNIE EVER MADE.

The Brownie was/is heart-shaped and decorated with perfection.

I was totally overwhelmed ……

How extraordinarily kind, wonderful and thoughtful is my friend “V”.

My day went from being kind of a disappointment in some ways to being so WONDERFUL …. it felt like winning the lottery.

I had this overwhelming feeling that I was so extra special.

Alvin as I mentioned was not certain was had happened but he knew it all smelled great.

The next thing I did after snapping photos was to post my surprise to Facebook, thanking my friend.

Not only did she send all of the sweet treats but she wrote me a special letter, gave me a Valentine’s card, she put in some napkins with pink hearts and forgot to mention …. she had filled the card full of tiny red hearts that flew all over my desk and the floor when I opened the card.

I know that I am babbling and not using proper punctuation and all of that ….. but this is straight from the heart.

This gal knows that she is very blessed to be surrounded by the most wonderful people on the planet.

I do not take any of them for granted.

This morning I want to thank each and every one of my friends for choosing me to be a part of your life.

I know that without your love and support I would just be Carol.

This morning I want to send a special thank you to my friend “V” back in Regina ….

************

You are so kind and thoughtful.

You lightened my dreary day.

You made me scream with delight.

You made me feel special.

You filled my tummy with the most exquisite treat.

You are talented beyond words.

You are the best …..

Thank you.

*************

So now I had better get this day going …. I have massive amounts of towels and bedding to launder as now my dryer is fixed thanks to other friends.

On this Saturday morning I am feeling so blessed to be surrounded by good, honest and caring people.

My friend and my family are the most incredible beings and I am so grateful to have them all in my life.

Thank you

 

Special Hello to:  “V” in Regina …… there are no words ……

Always, Carol and Alvin

 

P.S. ….. “V” …. my neighbour loved the brownie, too.

 

 

 

 

Thought for the day ….

Good Morning and Welcome to Sunday the 20th day of September, 2015.

Three more days until it is officially fall, September 23rd.

There was no rain when Alvin and I were first up at 4:30 a.m. ….. I have an early bird for a household companion.

Woe is me …… well actually not, because he does lay down after he goes outside and eats breakfast.

Now it has been raining for a few hours not exactly sure how many.

I am so grateful that I spent the time outside yesterday doing yard work.

Mowed the front including my neighbours and the back.

Raked it all including some leaves that have turned and fallen.

Pulled flowers and cleaned out some of the “13” flower pots that I planted.

The impatiens out in the front flower bed are doing well thus far so I left them.

Also left some of the pots out back as they were doing well.

Rearranged and tidied up the garage.

Pulled some weeds between our garages and our houses.

Watered the remaining flowers …..

Even enjoyed a snack and coffee on the deck in the sunshine.

It was fabulous.  So nice.

Back inside: I finally rearranged the basement (after the dry wall now complete); did six loads of laundry, vacuumed and dusted and bathroom…… whew.

Closet in the office will have to wait for another day……

Alvin was outside this morning and he was looking up and barking.

He barked for a few minutes before I figured out what he was barking about ….. it was the lily pad ornament and piece of rock that I had set up on the railing by the garage but had forgot to put away inside.

Mr. Alvin reminded me to put it away …… a bit late but better late than never, right.

What a guy.

I am going to whip up a batch of pancakes.

My daughter is coming for a visit this afternoon and we will have pancakes for a snack/late lunch.

Alvin gets another haircut and bath.

Seems like I just cut his hair …. yes, only a few weeks ago.

Later when my friend finishes her Steeped Party sales I will enter them and submit the party.

I also have to run out for a couple of errands at the store / drugstore.

Then after supper I am going to simply relax and watch some of the new fall line-up.

I hope that you are having a great Sunday and make sure that you take the time to relax.

So important to your well being.

I know sometimes if you are the only one that does the house work, outdoor stuff, you work, children and or pets, part-time job, and whatever else you may have on your plate or all of the above…… taking the time to RELAX does not feel like an option but you must.  If you are not well then none of those things will get done.

Well it is time for this gal to get the show on the road ….. whip up the pancakes and make them so just have to warm them up….. so easy peasy.

Then cutting Mr. Alvin’s hair well that is not exactly the easiest most especially his paws.

But I will do my best as always.

Happy Sunday.

Special Hello to: all the inhabitants on the this planet whether two or four-legged, fish or fowl … Hello.

Not to forget the Ants, LadyBugs, Dragonflies and such.

Always, Carol and Alvin

Thought for the day ……

Good Morning and Welcome to Saturday the 19th day of September, 2015.

It is a warm, bright sunny morning here in Edmonton.

WOW, it is the weekend and I am so happy.

Mr. Alvin has his regular monthly pedicure / other checks appointment this morning.

When I mentioned the receptionist name “J” he jumped up and gave me a kiss.

Safe to say that he loves this girl.

It is so funny he is always excited to go and see “J” and the other girls that work at the Clinic but when he is having his nails done he is not so happy.

At least I do not have to carry him there ….. now that would be something.

After I write this blog it will be time to get ready and go.

After I get home I am going to make me a pot of coffee and set down and write up my TO DO LIST.

There are items that must get done over the next few weeks plus the routine items such as laundry and cleaning.

Did you have a good week?

I hope so.

It was good at the office ….. busy as per usual.

I like to be busy but it is always nice if one can be “caught up.”

It has never happened since I started at the office.

It is the nature of the beast so to speak that one always has an inflow of work.

Never to be “caught up.”

Well one of the things on my list is to clean out the closet in this office.

I have kind of stashed things in there since the kids moved in April.

Well that is not entirely true.

It has always been my gift closet, craft storage, odds and ends storage.

But it is time to go through it and see what is needed and what is not.

Last weekend I cleaned out the guest closet and it looks great.

One closet at a time.

Closets are always interesting.

We always seem to put things behind doors just in case we might need them.

Eventually the doors barely close and you have to make some decisions.

Otherwise you become a hoarder or sorts.

I am not making light of this issue for sure.

So many of us ….. keep things thinking we might need them at some point.

Part of this comes from not wanting to do without.

Part comes from perhaps laziness.

Part comes from history …. depressions ….. wars….

There are all sorts of reasons.

But for me, it is the thought I might use it.

I have found that since I turned 50, I do find it easier to “toss” and “give” things away when I am not using them.

There is something freeing about it actually.

Well I had better go and get ready to start this day.

I have a bit of a headache … maybe because I have not had coffee yet.

But it will have to wait until we return from the Vet.

That is usually a quick visit …. so I won’t have to wait too long.

I wish you a Happy Saturday.

I wish you great pride in whatever you accomplish or not.

I wish you time to relax.

I wish you to be surrounded by love and laughter.

Special Hello to: my friend “M” who brings back fond memories.

Always, Carol and Alvin

Thought for the day …..

Good Morning and Welcome to Wednesday the 2nd day of September, 2015.

It rained a wee bit overnight as the deck has wet splotches here and there.

You can begin to feel the difference in the air that September brings.

It is not so much cold as cool and crisp.

It smells fresh.

You definitely need a wee jacket in the morning while waiting for the bus.

Most especially if there be wind.

I feel the Scots part of me coming out this morning.

Likely soon to be followed by the Irish and English.

What a lovely combination.

Well here it is mid week.

Work has been going well …. busy but that is nothing new.

Somedays I wish that I could be completely caught up when I leave at night.

But alas not likely ….. nature of the beast so to speak.

I am excited we are down to three sleeps before my girl friend arrives from Regina.

I have been patiently waiting since she confirmed her plane ticket.

It will be nice to sip coffee and catch up.

I am also excited to see the photos of her newest grand-baby.

YAY ….. baby photos ……

I wished that they could bottle the smell of a newborn baby.

Well what is on your plate for this fine morning/day?

Going to work?

Staying at home?

Cleaning the house?

Filing papers?

Going for a walk?

Volunteering some time at a local senior’s home or animal shelter?

Cleaning out your closet and bringing your fall/winter clothes to the front?

Lots to do.

Cleaning the yard?

There is always something to do if you wish to do it.

Always start with a list ….. makes life so much easier.

Write down what you have to do ….. even a bit of a timeline if you wish….

Check items off as they are completed.

Trust me you will have such satisfaction when you check an item as done.

YAY ……

I do it all of the time.

Plus, you do not forget anything.

Well here it is time to leave once again.

Happy Wednesday folks.

ENjoy.

Special Hello to: my friend “P” see you soon….

Always, Carol and Alvin

Thought for the day…..

Good Morning and Welcome to Thursday the 25th day of September, 2014.

Still dark out, why am I surprised?

Oh well, now we are working towards the shortest day of the year.

Something to look forward to, I guess.

Perhaps this is just a tad on the “dark” side for this awesome Thursday morning.

It is awesome; after all any day that you wake up and can place your feet on the floor and stand up and walk, is amazing.

Any day that you wake up and have food in the fridge and pantry so that you may enjoy breakfast before going out into the world, is amazing.

Any day that you can go into your closet and pick out something different  (and that is clean) from what you wore the day before, is amazing.

Any day you wake up with a house filled with love, is amazing.

I guess this is a pretty awesome day …… whether the sun is up or not.

It is amazing.

Soon it shall rise and beam that gorgeous light all over us and it will be amazing.

Take a look around …. there is always something good to be grateful for ….. right.

I am so blessed.

Thank you.

Special Hello to: all those folks out there who just need to see kindness …. we shall show them that today.

Always, Carol and Alvin

Thought for the day……

Good Morning and Welcome to Monday the 4th day of August, 2014.

Funny story from last night.

As you know my daughter, son-in-law and grand-puppies are living with Alvin and I for a few months while their house is being built.

Also this weekend they were away looking after my son-in-law’s niece and nephew.

Only for two nights.

Saturday night it must have taken about one hour to get everyone settled.

This was the first time that the puppies would sleep in our new bedroom and the first time since they moved in without Mom and Dad.

They all came upstairs when I said bedtime and then both Elton and Penny went back downstairs so I played catch me if you can for a bit.

Then we were all in one room …… door closed.

Penny kept walking all over the bed not wanting to settle down.

Elton really was the only one that picked a spot and laid down.

Alvin up down looking out the window.

It felt like we were playing a board game.

Eventually we got to sleep.

Cut to last night.

I worked at the store until 6 and then caught the bus home.

My daughter and son-in-law had brought the kids over to see the dogs so they had a break in the afternoon.

I took Alvin for a walk first and then Elton and Penny before bed.

Thinking it would tire them out.

WE did our regular bedtime routine.

I then call them upstairs to bed.

One, two and three all upstairs.

I had turned off the air conditioning because I really don’t like to run it all day and all night.

It was warm upstairs.

Penny and Alvin went into my daughter’s room and jumped up onto the bed.

Elton then went in and of course needed a hand getting up onto the bed, so I helped him up.

Thinking it would keep them calm until I had a chance to get ready for bed.

So I did my thing ….. Alvin in the meantime was bored and as I was in the bathroom came and laid outside the bathroom on the rug.

Once I was ready I called them to come to bed …… Alvin came and jumped up on the bed.

The other two no ….

So I decided to borrow their fan as it helps keep Penny from being distracted from any outside noises and also would keep us cool without the air conditioning being turned on.

I went and got the fan and rearranged things and plugged in the fan.

It felt so good.

Then I went to get the other two and Alvin went and jumped up on the bed.

I took that as clear sign that everyone wanted to sleep in the other room.

So I unplugged the fan and moved it back to the other room.

Grabbed a loose cotton sheet from the closet and closed the door to the bedroom.

Everyone seemed to settle down right away.

I read for a couple of minutes.

We had a great night’s sleep …… the phone rang once during the night and made us all jump.

Note to self: always listen to the dogs.

At this very moment: Elton is laying on his bed, Penny on the rug outside the office door and Alvin is in our bedroom with me and he is looking out the window.

There is a coolness to the air and it feels good ….

Special Hello to: owners of dogs ….. make sure you listen.

Always, Carol and Alvin

 

Here are the three amigos.

Note: Alvin at the window (a different day and now has a smart looking hair cut);  Miss Penny laying on a chair from another day and Mr. Elton definitely another day because he too is sporting a wicked good haircut.

But just wanted to share photos of them.  Of course, you know that if I went downstairs to grab my camera they would all jump up from their spots and I was not on the ball enough to think I would need it.

Woo, time for coffee …… wow 10:30 already ……. where did the morning go…. Have a great Monday everyone. 🙂