Last Half 2022 – October

Good Morning ALL! We are off to a “start” this morning. Alvin had us both up extra early as I believe that he has an ear infection. So no sleep. I am very tired at this moment. I stayed home from work today so that I could take him to the vet. Hopefully they can squeeze us in so that I can get his ears checked and get some medicine. I have a headache and not sure if due to lack of sleep or no coffee as yet. I made a pot and am going to have a cup soon. I was dozing off and on while on the sofa for the last couple of hours. Fingers crossed all goes well.

It is interesting now that I have to call my carpool (as we were in the office today), the person looking after Alvin today, my Manager at work and email my Supervisor at work. I had to keep going over the list in my head so that I did not forget anyone.

Today is also the funeral services for the sister of one of my long time friends. Sending hugs with love to my friend and her family. Diana will be missed. We never know how long we have on this earth. So important to ensure that we do the best we can while we are here and Diana did just that despite her struggles with mental illness. She was living proof that you can do anything! I had not seen her for many years but have fond memories of Diana and will keep her in my thoughts and in my heart forever.

Rest in Peace Diana Rose, rest in peace.

Be well everyone.

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

Always, Carol & Alvin

The New YEAR 2022

Good Morning ALL! Happy Friday and I hope that you are doing great! The sun is shining here FINALLY and the sky is a beautiful BLUE, not grey. YAY. The long weekend is off to a great start. Oh, I am working but as far as I am concerned we are almost there. It has been one of those weeks, right! But we made it. The weather here in Edmonton is supposed to be quite nice so perhaps I will be able to plant my flowers, oregano and tomatoes that are taking up real estate on my kitchen table, window sills in the kitchen and with nestled in between my other plants.

Okay, so the vet visit yesterday. We were able to walk there are it had stopped raining. We had a nice walk there. While I was waiting in one of the exam rooms for Alvin, I could hear him crying. I wondered what was happening as he was just supposed to be getting his ears rechecked and checking his paws as I thought perhaps something else going on besides the arthritis and sure enough there was. I am not sure why I did not notice it but this is what Dr. Karen told me afterward. He had some matts in his front paws and they were in between his toes so creating some problems walking and otherwise for the poor boy. No wonder. Anyway it was tricky cutting them out and they started to bleed. The bleeding stopped. I have salve to put on every twelve hours for the next 7-10 days. I forgot to ask about walking. Then of course, he has an ear infection. I was truly mortified by how much gunk came out of his ears as I had cleaned them on Sunday. I guess I did not go deep enough. Cleaning his ears is not an easy job for one person. Anyway, he is on medicine for another yeast infection. I swear it must be a all time record for number of yeast infections in one’s life time. Poor guy. Now this sounds like I do not look after Mr. Alvin which could not be further from the truth. I started to cry when the vet was telling me about his paws. I cannot believe I had not noticed. Now his paws are dark and he does not like them being touched. Now he has no choice. I have to call back because I forgot to ask if we can go for walks during this time. The salve won’t likely help if he continually gets his paws dirty. I had to put his paws in a dish of lukewarm water after the vet visit and remove any dirt he got on them after we left the vet and then pat them dry. Well we had more water on the floor than in the bowl. I managed to clean them but wasn’t easy. Then I put on the salve which was hard to see if I was even getting on the right area. Anyway, the ear medicine prevents any cleaning for the next month so I guess that helps. So just have to concentrate on his paws. I will have to watch more carefully when I am giving him a haircut. I know that I usually have pulled hair out of his paws as he would step in some was I was cutting his hair even though I cleaned it up continually. It was raining when we were about to leave the vet so I called my friend and she came to pick us up. So grateful. Then he would not get all the extra grime on his paws from that back walkway. Which I cleaned up a couple of weeks ago and it is filled with garbage again, maybe not as much but still enough.

We did not have a great sleep but I am going to keep the faith. We have medicine.

The coffee is on and I can sort of smell it. I am very congested. The leaves on the trees.

We had a quiet evening after supper and cleanup. I am very grateful to Dr. Karen and staff for helping Alvin. We are adding to the list of his regular 5 week appointments having his paws checked for matts. How lovely!

Sorry.

I am happy that the sun is shining.

Life is good. Better for Alvin now, thank goodness.

My daughter is popping by after work to pick up something that was delivered for her. I cannot wait to see her.

Have an awesome Friday. Be well. Check your dog’s paws for matts.

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

Always, Carol & Alvin

The New YEAR 2022

Good Morning ALL! I hope that you are doing well. Looks like a beautiful day ahead. Feeling a bit lazy and Alvin had to “make” me get up and going. I was just thinking that perhaps my iron levels are low and maybe that is why I have been feeling a bit “low energy” the past little while. Could also be due to weather and other things as well but could be iron, too. I have to watch what I eat and ensure that I am eating lots of nutrient filled foods. Which honestly I do but lately perhaps been on the lower scale of what should be eating. Sounds cryptic. Must eat better. I think that sleeping in chopped sections does not help either. For years I have been getting up with Alvin about 3-4 a.m. everyday, I suppose it has to eventually catch up with me. Anyway, I am okay. Just a bit tired. Sometimes a person’s get up and goes seems to have got up and gone. LOL.

Last night Alvin was up at midnight thrashing his ears. Which likely means an ear infection but strange nothing since then. I will keep an eye on him. He is due for his regular appointment at the vet which I should make this week for him. I work at the office on Tuesday so will call today and see if can make for Monday.

So it is the weekend. I believe we are supposed to have double digit temperatures today, which will make walking great. Yesterday we went for two walks and both times, I wore a light sweater and was not cold. I started to take the water bottle with us as well and Mr. Alvin has been drinking the water, so that is good.

I did some laundry later in the week while I was on vacation so I don’t have a day filled with laundry which is nice. I have to get going on cleaning out closets. I think it may now be safe to take the winter stuff and put in the basement closet. Recently I purchased some new spice containers (tupperware) from my friend Val so I will need to go through my pantry and reorganize. I will say that I do clean out my pantries and reorganize fairly regularly. I am one of those people who likes things neat and in order. When things are messy – I feel stressed. With May right around the corner and a garage sale coming up in June, I need to make a plan and get going on it. Do you find that once you get going on a task – it becomes easier? Sometimes you just have to start?

I suppose I am feeling the same way that most people are these days. In a rut? A bit low energy? Unsure of things. What to do? Where to go?

Well this has certainly been a heavy post this morning. I am sorry about that. Also I forgot that yesterday was Earth Day. There certainly wasn’t much mentioned. I know why I was confused thinking that we already had Earth Day and that was because of Earth Hour which was in March. One thing that I do want to do today is to go out and pick up trash. I have been picking up pieces since the snow melted but there is so much. My big wish is that people would keep the trash picked up from around and in front of their property. If that happened, would be so good. I noticed a lot of cigarette butts on the ground which makes me furious. I do not care if you smoke, cause I used to smoke and even on the odd occasion still have the odd puff but I never throw the butt on the ground. Did you know that scientists actually do not know how long cigarette butts/filters take to decompose? Some think could be 500-1000 years and of course there is not sufficient data to support this or deny this thinking. At the end of the day – if you smoke please do not throw your butt on the ground. Animals and birds may think it is food and eat them causing all sorts of issues and eventually even death. Nicotine is not good for animals and the materials in the filter can pierce the organs of an animal causing death.

Okay, I better go as I am clearly walking down a darker path and need to see the light. Have a shower and then some coffee and get this day going. A walk with Alvin. Clean up the “hood.” Today is a good day. I guess you have to walk through the darkness to get to the light. LOL. Sorry. I am in a strange frame of mind. Not bad, don’t worry. I am good.

Alvin is patiently waiting for me.

I hope that the light is shining brightly for you on this day. Have a great Saturday.

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

Always, Carol & Alvin

P.S. working on patience and laughter, today.

2021

Good Morning ALL! Alvin had a rough morning starting just before 4:00 a.m. (actually a bit earlier). His ears once again are bothering him so that means only one thing – ear infection. So as soon as the vet clinic opens this morning – I will call and make him an appointment. The poor guy and momma’s poor pocketbook. I had one left of his pain meds so I gave it to him with his breakfast at 4:30 this morning and it seems to have taken the edge off as he has not been rubbing and shaking his head for the past hour and one half. Hopefully it is on the warmer side as we will be walking to the clinic which is luckily close by.

Yesterday was really nice and we had a nice walk at my lunch break. You never know once “winter” begins how the temperature will dip from day to day and sometimes hour to hour. So when we the temperatures cooperate we will walk.

I am sorry my brain is a bit on the sleepy side and I cannot think of what to say this morning. So I guess this will be a short post.

I hope that you all are safe, warm and happy and in good health, of course that goes without saying. We always hope that everyone is in good health.

Have an awesome day.

Continuing to live this day with kindness, respect, compassion, patience, love, laughter and gratitude.

Always, Carol & Alvin

2021

Morning, I honestly cannot say it is a good morning other than I am breathing. My life feels like it is spiralling out of control. This darn keyboard is not working, press a key and it chugs and hesitates and runs things together making it frustrating and taking forever to write this post. This is only a fraction of my nerves being close to shattering. I had to take half a day vacation to take Alvin to the vet. Originally it was meant to trim his nails, anal glands, check his ears and check the range of motion of his knee and leg but because he has not been sleeping and cries out in pain, definitely something further wrong. Well as it turns out he pulled a muscle in his neck and has yet another yeast infection in his ears. But there was some good news – he has excellent range of motion in his injured knee/leg. Some good news, I suppose.

If i wasn’t so tired, i would feel like a bad Momma but there isn’t anything in the tank, it is empty. Yesterday i was so hopeful with the news thinking that once he could have the Robaxin (which we had left from last year’s neck injury and didn’t have to buy) we, I could have a good night sleep but that wasn’t the case. We were up and down with up being more. Isn’t old age fun.

Well I am beyond frustrated mainly with this keyboard. When i popped upstairs to wash my face, get dressed and brush my teeth – Alvin barked the whole time. I lost it. No physical harm came to him but I did say some unkind words. I cannot pretend that things are good when i haven’t had a good sleep in weeks, actually months.

I apologize for the negative rant but I have to get it down on paper so to speak with hopes that maybe something will change.

Really need that coffee. i just could not go for a walk with Alvin this morning.

If this keyboard / phone was cooperating i could better explain and now I am out of time. Now have to work.

Feeling frazzled ……

I cannot type my regular closing as not feeling it….

Always, Carol&Alvin

2021

Good Morning All! How are you doing today? Are you busy and doing well? Are you working, going to school or retired? What fills your days and nights? I know some people’s days are reversed. We are just back from a walk. The sky is grey with dome dark blue rain clouds. There is rain in the forecast. Time will tell. The air is cool and for a moment when Al was stopped to sniff some grass, I was certain that I saw my breath. It did not freeze last night. Late yesterday afternoon I brought my three pots of geraniums into the house. They are temporarily taking real estate on my kitchen counter.

Last night after work my daughter stopped by on her way home after work. I should clarify that first stop here and then to their rental house and then to their new home in the country. She was picking up some things for the estate sale that they are having and dropping them off snd picking up a load to take to the new house. She had a quick supper with us before heading out. I helped load the stuff from here. She is pooped snd will be glad to have this done. They have done the whole move themselves with no help.

We or rather again I am running late as the boy had a restless night. He may have another ear infection do will have to take him to the vet today if I can get him today. Rather if they can see him today. Coffee is ready and I am less than ten min yo start work time.

I hope you have a great day.

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

Love Carol&Alvin

2021

Good Morning ALL. How are you doing today, this morning? It is still morning. The sunrise is beautiful and the sky is clear. We should have a sunny day ahead. We were up and down this morning so I am off to a little late of a start. I think that perhaps Mr. Alvin has another ear infection or at the very least his paws are bothering him. He has been thrashing his head about and usually that means his ears are bothering him. I am congested so cannot smell anything out of the ordinary. Poor boy. I have to get the flashlight out and look inside his ears as I cannot see properly without that extra beam of light. I hope that it is not an infection. He seems to be prone to them. Fingers crossed. My head is a bit achy and I am pretty sure that is due to dehydration as I have not drank much water since last night so I am working on a large glass as I write these words. We do not always realize how important keeping hydrated is until things go wrong. Like headaches, dizziness, etc.

So it is once again the weekend. Again, laundry and cleaning the house. We will get out for a walk in the afternoon. I have changed the bedding on our bed already so at least I feel like I have done something. OMG, why do I always feel guilty about not getting up at the crack of dawn? Not like there is anyone else in the household to complain or place guilt upon me. Human nature, in part, I suppose. Most of that guilt is always self imposed as I put so much pressure on myself to be almost “super human, a superwoman.” One would think at 63 that I would be over that but I guess not. Oh well, every day is a new day and I always try better and part of that is doing better for myself. So to myself – it is okay. Okay to sleep a bit later on the weekends, especially in the winter time when it remains dark later. It is okay not to be “perfect.” Sometimes I think that we should remove that words from our language and from the dictionary.

Work is back to be busy, busy once again and no longer am I caught up on mail. That always adds a bit of stress. But I remain within the acceptable outstanding mail amount so really I should be easier on myself.

Last night my daughter stopped by after work, where she is busy accepting applications for the municipal election to be held in the fall. She brought the package with my new bras and socks. So happy to see her and to have new bras. Mine were beginning to look like they had been dragged around in the mud, lol. Why is it that underwear are the last items of clothing or articles to be replaced? Out of sight out of mind? Anyway I am glad to have some new ones. Last night I was doing a little happy dance. As she said her goodbyes to Alvin, he had that look of panic in his eyes. He always thinks that he has to go with her in the car. What a guy.

Also last night I decided to order pizza for supper. Not sure if that was a great idea or not but I am helping to support a local business and in these times that is important. They always make great pizza.

Well from lack of sleep to lots of work to pizza to new bras, it has been quite the week. But I am always grateful to be working from home, to have the money to order pizza once in awhile, to purchase new bras and for any sleep that I am able to get.

Happy Saturday Everyone. I hope that you have an awesome day. Whoa, the sun just started to SHINE. It is going to be a great day. Time for a quick shower. Also I am chatting with a good friend from Regina as it was her birthday this week and we have to catch up.

Living our lives with kindness, respect and compassion.

Always, Carol & Alvin

Second Half of the NEW YEAR – last quarter.

Good Morning All. Alvin and I have company. Humphrey the cat from next door will be spending the day and evening with us as he has been having a few problems lately not recognizing his brother when there is a cat outside. Confused. Me, too. But I guess it is territorial thing. Which does make sense. Anyway his Momma has to go to the office today and to ensure everyone’s safety Humphrey is spending the day with us. He just walked into the office to join me and Alvin. Oh, good news Alvin slept pretty much through the night ….. first woke up at 3:54 a.m., so downstairs and outside for a pee and gave him his glucosamine chew and then to the sofa for some more sleep. I was wanting a bit more sleep when the alarm went off at 6:00 so I gave myself another 15 minutes. Definitely needed that for sure. Feeling pretty good after a nice shower. Alvin is walking about not sure what to think as it has been awhile since Humphrey has been here this early in the day. Thankfully they get along quite well. Both Lords of the Manor but they know their boundaries.

I am so grateful that I was able to get Mr. Alvin into the vet yesterday. His regular vet Dr. Karen was on a well deserve week long break and her replacement Dr. Meryam was so nice. We managed to get his regular nail trim and “stuff” done along with the ear exam and of course, the boy has an ear infection, not one but both. So $450. and change later we left the clinic equipped with two bags of food, one tray of canned food, bag of treats, bag of chews for his teeth, tooth paste, ear cleanser, more of the pain meds (Onsior) that he could take daily if needed and I think that is all but the “brief examination recheck”, ear swab and then the Osurnia for his ears. I am so grateful that I had the money to pay for this visit. I will say this again to people who are thinking about getting a pet ….. you have to look after them properly and that takes money, patience and time not just that you love that cute furry little guy or girl. I do love Alvin and he is not just the family pet, he is a part of our family. He deserves the love, attention, medical attention and all of that and more. According to the age chart at the clinic he is 65 and will be 69 next year on his 12th birthday, in human years that is. So he has surpassed me in age. I must always ensure that he is given the respect that age deserves. I am also grateful to my neighbour who lent me her car to take Alvin for his appointment and that we got in for 10:30 a.m. which was perfect. We even were able to go for a walk at lunchtime. Now armed with lots of food which should last until December we are good. He will have to go back next Thursday to recheck his ears as they only had one tube of the meds that I requested. The other option was drops that I would have to put in everyday and that would not work with him. So I wanted the ointment that lasts for a month. They had to put half in one ear and half in the other. Doesn’t hurt to ensure that the infection is gone. That is our story.

Wow, we are experiencing some beautiful weather. I am so grateful for that. My mind is wondering to the weekend with both Halloween and Tree/House Decorating happening. We may have Teddy and Kobie here for Friday until Saturday late afternoon. Lots going on. Just debating with myself about dressing up for Halloween. Has to be something simple as I will have the pups here. Food for thought.

Time to head downstairs and put the coffee on. So happy that Mr. Alvin is feeling better and happy to have Humphrey here for the day.

Wishing you a great Wednesday, yes it is hump day already. How did that happen?

Living my life with kindness and respect for all ……. are you?

Thank you for reading my post.

I/We shall remain, As Always, Carol & Alvin

Second Half of the NEW YEAR – last quarter

Hello All, what a morning or rather what a night. It would appear that Mr. Alvin may have another ear infection or it may be that the rainy weather has flared the arthritis in his paws. He even did the butt drag for a moment a few minutes ago. Clearly something is wrong so off to the vet we go. I will call them as soon as they are open and fingers crossed that I can get in today. I cannot go another night with not much sleep. Work is hectic and I am pooped as it feels like things are coming at me from all directions. Did I say work is hectic that is perhaps the biggest understatement of all time. Okay perhaps I am exaggerating just a bit as I am feeling a bit sleep deprived. The wind is blowing this morning and it has been raining. Today is supposed to be +11 degrees celsius. Now that is a beautiful day. Hopefully the sun comes out as I do not wish to be walking Alvin to the vet for an ear appointment in the rain. He does have a raincoat and perhaps I could wrangle him into it as he is now comfortable with his new sweater.

We did enjoy a wonderful walk yesterday at lunchtime. The air was warm with a tinch of coolness but comfortable for walking. Alvin strutted along in his new sweater not giving any clue that just the days before he was not happy about wearing it. I am glad that he calmed down and loves it now.

How are you doing today? Tuesday morning? Are you working? Home or at the office? Or perhaps you are a front lines worker. Isn’t it funny we never or rarely heard that term but now it is every day. Life has changed so much since the the early part of the year. Does not even seem possible that I have been working home for almost one year. Wow.

I forgot that our time changes this weekend on Sunday, I believe. We FALL back one hour.

I just see red lights out by the garage and realized that it is the garbage guys. That would not be much fun picking up trash in the dark. Not much fun at all. Could be dangerous. I did not see any lights on the side but there must be as not everyone has lights down the back lane.

I am going to end this post as my brain is a bit foggy for lack of sleep. I hope and trust that everything will work out for each and every one of us. Things may not be perfect but that is okay. Life is a new perfect now. Change is the new norm. Whether that is good, bad or indifferent, I have not decided.

Take Care, be safe. Live with as much respect and kindness that you can fit into your days and your life. I believe that this is how we shall survive.

I/We shall remain, as always, Carol & Alvin

P.S. on the upside it is four sleeps until Halloween and five until Christmas, I mean my Christmas Tree goes up and I decorate the house.

Second Half of the NEW YEAR.

Good Morning and Welcome to a very Windy Tuesday.

The sky was overcast earlier but is beginning to clear.

With hopes of a bright sunny day with no rain.

We do need the sunshine.

The crops and gardens need the sunshine as do the animal life including we humans.

 

Last night after work we went out for our walk.

It was super cloudy with a great chance of rain or so I thought by the looks of the sky.

But I wanted to get a second walk in if it were possible.

We were just a few doors down when I heard music turning my head to listen, I was startled by someone calling my name.

One of our friends down the street was in her front yard and was partially hidden by her tree.

She wanted to chat.

Her son had made her a new wooden television stand and she had a brand new t.v.

He did a beautiful job as the pieces of the stand were carved and then put together.

Very nice.

So we chatted and was nice to catch up.

During this time it started to pour so when we left no further walking.

We ran to our house.

I dried Mr. Alvin off including his ears.

He is prone to yeast infections in his ears if they get wet.

So always watching them.

 

Last night after supper,  I had brand new combination smoke/carbon monoxide detectors installed on all three levels of my house.

So happy to have that done.

The last ones had expired as I did not realized that they had to be replaced.

They are hard-wired HOWEVER the battery life of the detectors only last a specific amount of time before need to be replaced.

The new ones are 10 years.

2030 they will need to be replaced.

Will check the date on the box to ensure that they weren’t sitting on the shelves for a year or more.

Very happy it has been done.

Another job checked off my TO DO LIST for this summer.

I am most grateful.

 

I noticed on the front door wreath last night I had a little visitor.

I suppose he/she stopped to take a rest perhaps thinking what a pretty flower.

Sorry it was not a real flower.

So beautiful.

DRAGONFLIES are one of my most favourite creatures on this Earth.

Also reminded me to find a way to clean that wreath which is starting to look a bit on the dingy side.

 

Well time to get to work.

We were up early before settling on the sofa.

I believe it was 3:30 a.m.

I gave MR. Alvin his very last pain med with hopes that he could settle down and sleep.

I woke up with a headache.

Go figure.

So decided against coffee this morning.

Just water today.

 

Time to go.

Wishing you a great day.

Maybe something will come off your “TO DO LIST.”

Remembering always to live with kindness and respect for all living creatures and our environment.

I/We, shall remain,

Always, Carol & Mr. Alvin