2021

Good Morning ALL. Welcome to Tuesday, February 16, 2021. Last week I was writing the month of May in my phone log and this morning I almost wrote January. Oh well. Could be worse, I could be actually thinking it is January or May. Would that really be worse. Guess it is not doing any harm. Funny, actually. Sometimes our brains go in strange directions. Or at least mine seems to from time to time. Did you have a good weekend? I thoroughly enjoyed my long weekend. Teddy, Kobi and their Mom dropped a piece of “key lime pie” off just before my supper last night. Always nice to see the pups. They bring instant joy to the house. Supper was the last of the Chef’s Plate meals for this go around. Not sure that I will be ordering from them again or not. I think that I will just cook on my own for awhile. Last night’s meal was a roasted chickpea and red pepper dish with a tabbouleh salad and baked feta. It was quite good. I most especially loved the warm soft feta. Never have had that before and I really enjoyed the feta baked. I eat a lot of chickpeas and peppers roasted/baked in the oven so that part was not new to me. The tabbouleh salad I have made over the years a handful of times but I will be making the feta with a similar dish again. After supper, I had part of the key lime pie for dessert. It was different than I have had before …. but good. I watched a couple of my recorded shows and then it was off to bed. We had a good night sleep and of course, we were up a couple of times before the final get up and go for the day but that is okay. Life is what you make it. If I choose to be cranky and miserable and think that I am tired because of our odd sleep schedule then I have no one to blame but me. As we age and the same applies to animals ….. they have aches and pains and need to go to the bathroom at all times of the day and night. Alvin and I are on the same schedule in life so it makes it so much easier. I wouldn’t change a thing. I am grateful that I am working for home as I end up with a couple of extra hours of sleep. So grateful. I really hope that our employer decides to let us continue to work from home. We go to the office once every month of two and that suits me fine. It is great for Alvin ….. most especially as he is getting older. It would be an incredibly long day for him by himself and not being able to get outside when he needs to as he does now. Well looks like the sun is beginning to rise as it gets closer and closer to springtime in Western Canada.

Well it is time to head on downstairs. I put on the coffee when I had to take a quick break from this a few minutes ago to let Mr. Alvin outside. This afternoon at 3:00 p.m. – Alvin has his regular appointment and his two/three year vaccinations. His nails are getting a bit long as this appointment is a week longer I think than his last one and then two weeks earlier to have his shots. Kind of in between. Today is to be much warmer so we will be able to walk to Alvin’s appointment.

Take care on this Tuesday. Remember to live with kindness, respect, compassion and patience for all other living creatures.

Always, Carol & Alvin

Welcome December 2020

Good Morning ALL. How are you this morning? Both Alvin and I are doing well. Earlier this morning the air was warm with promise of a beautiful day. Just a few minutes ago it started to rain as I noticed out my bedroom window and the wind began to strongly gust AND by the time I started this blog it has started to snow as I look out of my office window. The wind has blown down my shovel and I think my Christmas tree that is on the front porch. Once I go back downstairs I will have to check and see. I just heard a bang and assume it was one or both. So from rain to snow. Not nice and the wind is very strong. So this is not good for anyone having to drive and not good for walking. I only hope that as the day goes on that the sun comes out and the sidewalks are okay for walking. We have missed a few walks and we both need that exercise. Yesterday we managed to get out for a walk after work. I deliberately waited until then as the weather report was for the temperature to warm considerably over the course of the day. It was not frigid but it was cold. We walked just inside the park and then back home. Looking out the window the snowflakes are big and fluffy and swirling about in the wind reminding me when you shake a snowglobe. So here we are Saturday. We are “FIVE” sleeps until Christmas Eve Day. I cannot believe how quickly the time is passing. I am happy to say that I wrapped the last of the stocking stuffers for my daughter and son-in-law and baked another batch of Sugar Cookies last night after our walk. I made them bigger than the previous batch on purpose. I only need them now for Christmas and to give some extra ones to a friend who loves them so much and who is always helping me out by picking me up groceries and helping when I ask. What I don’t need is anymore baking lingering in this house. My friends have been so generous and my fridge is chalked full of baking of all kinds. I am not loving the way that my body is reacting to “all this sugar” and am I surprised, not really. Once you reach a certain age, it is more difficult to munch on everything and then more easily reduce those pounds. Oh, who am I kidding. You cannot blame it on just the Christmas goodies. I love to eat. LOL. Almost wished that I did not like my cooking. Anyway, I am grateful that I have all the goodies to try as I know that I am truly blessed in this life. Oh, the snow has almost stopped. Perhaps the weather will change and be nice after all. I hope so. We have a few gifts that Alvin and I have to deliver for his friends.

Tonight two of my girl friends and I are going to have our “Annual Christmas Party” via TEAMS. That should be interesting. Usually we go out for supper/dinner and then back to one of our homes to visit, have dessert, to have a drink and open the gifts that we exchange. With COVID19 that has put a stop to our usual plans as it has done for so many people. So we are going to party via technology. Video chatting. Video partying. Is that going to be a new thing. Coming to you from the comfort of your own home. Who would have ever thought that would be happening this Christmas? Not me. I am excited to see how this will work. Definitely not the same but at least we will see each other. I am excited to video chat with family this year. We have the technology so why not use it.

Well the morning is evaporating and I must have a shower. Oh, sky is clearing up now and I can see the sunrise. Blew in and out. That would be great. Wind gusting again. ARGH. I hope that you have an awesome Saturday. Be safe and have some fun. It is the weekend. If you are working as not all of us are lucky to have weekends off, I hope that you are safe and in good health.

Continuing to live this life with kindness, respect and compassion for all. More important now than ever.

Oh, I was going to mention something that I keep forgetting every time I post. I had big dreams of having a million followers on this blog when I started to write over ten years ago, and while I know that is near impossible, I am rounding the 1000 mark which is huge and I am so happy. So grateful to all those folks who take precious time out of their day to read my posts. Thank you so much. Thank you. This has been a dream of mine since I was a little girl to write and have people read what I write. Now I never dreamed that I would be writing in this format but writing is writing. Someday perhaps I will get that book written. But I am happy to share my thoughts, stories and adventures with my Alvin with all of you. Take care and be safe.

Always, Carol & Alvin

Thought for the day ….

Good Morning and Welcome to Monday the 18th day of June, 2018.

An absolutely gorgeous morning out there.

Alvin and I were up at 4:30 a.m.; he had breakfast and went out to the back yard.

At 5:00 a.m. we went for a walk; our usual route.

The air was slightly cool; perfection for a walk.

We were the only two and four-legged creatures out and that was so nice.

The only others up and out were the Geese and some Robins and other BIRDIES.

What a grand walk.

Our temperatures are going to be in the high 20 degree celsius and above this week.

It will not likely cool down enough for us to walk comfortably so an early morning stroll is just right for us.

I actually feel much better after our early morning walk which was followed by writing in my gratitude journal, breakfast of fruit, a shower, dressed and now my blog.

We both enjoyed walking in the early morning.

Surprising how light it was – the sun rises early here.

Actually was perfect daylight.

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Photos.

Fruit Pizza – this was dessert from our family supper on Saturday night.

Front Flower Bed – just had to share my IRISES.  They are the purple flowers, perennials.  THE ferns have almost taken over the bed but you can see the other flowers peeking through.

Love to see the green.

Well almost time to leave for work so better get this show on the road.

We had a great weekend with lots of company from near and far.

Good food and great company.

Does not get better than that.

I promises Alvin a hair cut and bath this coming Saturday.

 

Have an awesome Monday.

Special Hello to: my friends and family.

Always, Carol & Alvin

Thought for the day …..

Good Morning and Welcome to Tuesday the 5th day of December, 2017.

The wind is howling away outside as the temperature rises past zero degrees today.

Another mild day on the way.

I am hopping a ride with my neighbour this morning as I have Christmas Cards to deliver and some cookies for my immediate co-workers.

Yesterday at lunch when I was checking my emails, I noticed three emails from my internet provider resulting in the last one stating that I exceeded my DATA plan, what??

Now could that be??

They even show how much I used over the last year and get this the highest I used out of 300 was 42 (cannot remember the actual measurement amount) so why now would I be at 318.

So I called them ….. I placed the call just before 6:30 p.m. and the recorded message stated it would be about an ONE HOUR WAIT …… really, I thought.

SO I have learned better to put the phone on speaker and carry about your business.

As I had the emails and my account open on the computer I stayed in my office instead of going downstairs to have supper …

I was late away because we went for a walk and delivered thank you card and some money for our friend who fixed our clothes dryer and then stopped at another neighbour ….

So I did some things on the computer while waiting for them to answer.

Not a fan of the music ….. sounded like the theme song from one of the daytime soaps ……

Decided while I was waiting so long that I had better eat as I was starving so warmed up my leftovers.

Not even five bites into supper ….

So after one half hour a female voice said “Hello” ….. she confirmed who I was and the problem before stating “Oh, I will transfer you to the technical support department and it will be about a 15-20 minute wait.”

Okay, I said half stunned.

What kind of customer service is this?

I guess because in Canada there are only a handful of internet providers that they have cornered the market.

I don’t know but here we go again.

Dessert …… then

Finally at the hour mark …. a male voice, said “Hello” and asked what was the problem.

I said I thought the other customer service person was going to explain at least that was what she said.

So I explained.

He even agreed with me that the usage seemed out of whack.

Figured that possibly I was hacked.

He gave me a $20 credit to my bill and after a total of one hour and fifty minutes, I was no further ahead but had a $20 credit to my bill.

Said he would follow up on Sunday and see if the usage continued to climb.

He did recommend that I change my user name and password, which I did.

If you ever have to call your internet provider and have to wait – just get some food and they will answer.

Well time to fly here.

I am disappointed in the customer service.

There is no customer service.

Bad buzz words.

 

Have a great Tuesday.

I am laughing because there is no way I am paying for more DATA and I certainly do not use anywhere near the limit I have now.

 

Special Hello to:  all those folks out there who spend precious time waiting for customer service via the phone.

Always, Carol & Alvin

 

Thought for the day ……

Good Morning and Welcome to Friday the 1st day of December, 2017.

We are now on the countdown to Christmas.

Can you believe it?

The house is VERY QUIET without me Alvin this morning.

I am going out tonight (yup, I am) with two of my friends for supper and then hosting dessert and party afterward.

Dessert:  Homemade Oreo cheesecakes (mini) and chocolate chocolate chip cookies that I made last night.

It is very seldom that I go out in the evening …… there is something about leaving him again after I have been away at work all day ….. that I just cannot do.

I love snuggling with him in the evenings.

One would think that I would have all this time but it took me twice as long having a shower and getting ready?

What is up with that?

I guess he keeps me in a healthy quick rhythm.

My daughter picked me up after work and then took her little brother home with her ….. he is not a good traveller but managed okay.

He will be home tomorrow.

 

Another nice day on the way.

I believe another plus temperature day.

Hopefully I can get some more of that ice chipped away.

The snow melted and the ice builds up in front of my house, go figure?

Just in the right spot.

 

I hope that this day finds you in a good place.

Happy with life.

Kind to yourself and to others.

Patient –  most especially when you are waiting in traffic, please no road rage.

Patient with yourself and with others.

 

Have an awesome 1st day of December,

I better go and have breakfast ….. whoops as it is almost time to leave for work.

How did that happen?

I had one hour?

 

Special Hello to:  my friend “J” who has a birthday tomorrow.

Always, Carol & Alvin

 

 

Though for the day ….

Good Morning and Welcome to Saturday the 24th day of June, 2017.

It is a beautiful morning here in Edmonton.

The wind is blowing a bit and the sky is bright and blue.

 

Had a great supper with my daughter last night.  We girls, and Alvin went for a walk and even took in a garage sale.  Found two dragonfly ornaments for my backyard and bought them.  Love garage sales.  Right price.

Found out that Mr. Alvin has some serious separation anxieties as at the garage sale – I handed the leash to my daughter and she moved to the outside of the garage so that I could pay for my purchases.  Well Mr.

Alvin would have none of that and just fussed until she brought him near me again.  YIKES, buddy.

We returned home after the walk and had our ice cream treat from DAIRY QUEEN, with thanks to my daughter.  Alvin and I enjoyed our visit.

 

Okay now that I have set myself to doing this COUNTDOWN: 60 Days to 60 post – have found that I am running low on things to say.  Fancy that?

 

So I will leave you with this …… ENJOY your time with your children – if you are blessed to have them.

If you do not have your own ……. spend time with nieces and nephews or the children of neighbours or friends …… children are the light to the darkness at any age.

Go for a walk ….. play a board game.

Or just talk to them.

 

Have an awesome Saturday.

Time to get downstairs and get this day going.

 

Special Hello to: all my friends …. thank you for sharing your lives with me.

Always, Carol & Alvin

 

P.S.  clouds appear to have rolled in ……

 

 

Thought for the day …..

Good Morning and Welcome to Wednesday the 15th day of June, 2016.

Well it be raining out there ….. yes it is.

Pretty steady rain ….

The kind that has that sleepy time rhythm that invites you to sleep a bit longer.

I sure could have slept longer.

Wonder of all wonders for the second day in a row Mr. Alvin has got up with me when the alarm went off.

Now both nights we were up until about 10:00 p.m.

That could well be the reason.

Oh well …… maybe this is a new thing.

I am a bit tired so definitely will have to hit the mattress earlier this evening.

I can see sunny skies or at least light sky from the extreme south.

So perhaps this will not be an all day affair but who knows.

We still can use the moisture.

 

Well my thoughts to be honest are me laying down on the sofa under my soft red blanket snuggling with Alvin.

After all, is that not what we should be doing when it is raining?

What is this work all about?

Oh, I know …. unless you win the lottery working is a means to pay for the roof over your head and the food in your belly and maybe a new top once in awhile.

Just one of those days.

Well I see by the clock on the wall that it is time to collect my dessert for the potluck at work today and head out to catch the bus.

It will be an umbrella day for sure.

 

Take care and I hope that you are able to take the day to just snuggle up with your puppy or someone just as loveable.

Special Hello to: my friends who always make me smile and to my sister who makes me laugh aloud.

Always, Carol and Alvin

Thought for the day …..

Good Morning and Welcome to Monday the 18th day of January, 2016.

It is snowing outside ….. not quite globe like but very pretty all the same.

The temperature has warmed up from the weekend and that is a good thing.

We cannot complain our winter has been quite mild thus far.

I will say thus far because you never know what Mother Nature will throw at you.

But for today …. it is warmer and snowing.

I see shovelling in my future …..

Nothing like shovelling after a day at the office.

Exercise then supper.

 

Yesterday was an odd day for me.

Started out having a cup of coffee with my neighbour and a quick visit.

Followed by a 1.5 hour Baptismal/Communion Mass at a nearby Catholic Church

My friends “G” and “K” were baptizing their two young boys.

The mass went a bit longer than expected.

It was nice.

One young girl had on this white dress and veil.

The dress looked like a designed wedding dress ….. very pretty.

Her brother had on a white suit.

The whole family was dressed very designer-like.

It has been a long time since I visited the Catholic church.

I do not belong to that particular church and did not remember about the wedding like dresses for the girls and white suits for the boys.

However, not every child was dressed like that.

We were chatting at my friend’s house afterward and I asked about the cost to buy something like that for the children.

Apparently the suits and dresses can run in the hundreds.

Yikes.

They did look slightly out of place as they were dressed so fancy.

I guess each to their own.

But does make one think ….

After the lovely ceremony we went to my friend’s house.

My other friend “G” and her daughter had picked me up and I went with them.

We had a lovely visit and awesome lunch.

Another friend had made some beautiful cakes for the boys.

One was a bible and the other a cross.

Very nice.

I finally met the rest of the family …. which was nice.

Afterward I came to me Alvin …. I always feel guilty when I leave him at home.

Actually truth be know other than work and the grocery store …. I seldom leave him.

But it is did not help me feel any better.

After supper I was invited to another friend’s house to celebrate Ukrainian New Year.

She had her family, myself and another friend from the neighbourhood.

I realized quite quickly after arriving that the dessert and drinks turned into lots of snacks.

So more food.

There were two “crystal glass accidents.”

I was helping taking trays of food to the basement and had set my tiny crystal glass onto of the tray.

Not thinking that I had set it on a ceramic part of the tray and that it was slippery.

Well you can guess the rest.

My sweater smelled like coconut for the rest of the evening.

Good thing that I had layers on …… so the drink spilled on the black top ….

Afterward when we were back upstairs to have “dessert” one of the guys picked up his glass and the top came off from the stem.

Thank goodness that she has several hundred glasses …. truly she has hundreds of glasses.

But that did not take away how badly I felt.

It was a great evening and although I had decided to stay for only one hour that magically turned into over two.

Again the guilt …. but this time mellowed with a bit of alcohol.

Good thing I am not a drinker …. yikes.

Anyway it was an odd Sunday for me but most enjoyable.

The alarm came early or so it seemed.

Well that was my Sunday …..

Back to reality …. early mornings ….. work …… early mornings …. work.

I hope that you had an awesome Sunday.

See you later.

Special Hello to: all my Ukrainian friends …. hope you had a great Christmas and New Year’s.

Always, Carol and Alvin

 

Thought for the day…..

Good Morning and Welcome to Sunday the 21st day of June, 2015.

How glorious has this weekend been?  ….. VERY.

Started out with a vacation day on Friday.

Spent the day fixing and making the outside look beautiful for Saturday as well as the inside of the house.

I also did some more baking.

Saturday, I held my very first “Steeped Tea Party” and it was a huge success.

Mr. Alvin was very excited about all of the company, the ladies, to say the very least.

He even had my friend’s puppy “Sadie” over to play …..

He definitely likes to be the centre of attention that is for sure.

At one point I saw this long red thing hanging out of his mouth followed by the roar of the ladies, only to find he had been smelling about, and found this piece of liquorice in a purse.

I will admit he looked so cute and so guilty with this liquorice hanging out of his mouth.

He managed to eat a small piece before I got it away from him.

His first and last liquorice.

Needless to say his Momma apologized to our guest.

We learned lots and had a great time.

I give my thanks and gratitude to all those ladies for their orders and attendance, it was off the charts.

I love this tea …… so much to learn about steeping tea and have learned that it is truly an art.

So looking forward to learning more ……

I knew some about the wellness properties of green tea but there is so much more.

After the tea party was over and the last of the guests departed my daughter and I headed out for the Shopper’s Gala.

That was fun, too.

More treats, free things and some shopping.

Quick trip to the grocery store and then home.

Once home it was clean up from the party followed by a walk with Alvin.

Good thing because it rained for awhile.

We had such a great day and I am so tired …. slept very late today.

Not tired ….. really.

Well I guess I better get this day going ……

It is going to be a quiet one and deciding what to get for free stuff from my party.

I love free stuff.

YAY …….

I encourage everyone to try tea so good for us.

There are even some blends that will help with having dessert after supper.

I have always been a dessert person ….. I have a serious sweet tooth.

So this will help.

I hope that you all have an awesome Sunday.

Filled with love and laughter.

I will have that memory of Mr. Alvin looking guilty and pleased all at the same time … with that long piece of liquorice hanging out of his mouth …… the laughter, too.  Great moment frozen in time.

Oh my boy ….. he should be in the movies ….. he is quite the star.

Happy Sunday.

Special Hello to: all those folks who drink and enjoy tea …..

Always, Carol and Alvin

Thought for the day…….

Good Morning and Welcome to Monday the 20th day of October, 2014.

It poses to be another great day.

They are forecasting 21 degrees celsius for this day.

What a great way to start the week.

Yesterday we celebrated my daughter and her husband’s 6th Wedding Anniversary.

I picked up some yummy cupcakes from a little kiosk in West Edmonton Mall called “Once Upon a Cupcake,” on my way home from working at the store.  The kids ordered in Chinese food.  We had a yummy supper and dessert.

As time goes on here my nephew is slowly recovering.  I hope to go and see him one night this week.

Sometimes we want things to go at a wicked fast pace and that is not always the plan.

We just have to take one second, one moment at a time.

If you are in the moment and just do one at a time they will of course roll into many more and it will become easier to live the life of your dreams.

Always dream ….. I know that sometimes we get hung up in our day to day life and forget to dream.  Dreams are a very important pat of our lives.

So on this Monday just remember to live in the moment and do not be afraid to dream a little.

I hope that you have an awesome Monday.

Special Hello to: all my fellow bloggers …. keep realizing your dreams.

Always, Carol and Alvin