2021

Good Morning ALL. How are you this morning? We are good. Thank goodness it is Friday. Snowing again. Lots of shovelling happening in our neighbourhood. Temperatures still on the cold side but then again it is the first week of February and we should not expect anything different. Although slightly warmer would be nice so that we could go for walks. I feel that our bodies are starting to go downhill. So that means we have to get with it and do more exercises in the house. I do shovel but only when it snows. Lately it has been snowing almost everyday so that is good. I started walking on the spot with hand held weights. That lasted three days. It was good I think but I need to keep it up. Lots that I could be doing but somehow when it is cold and dark …. all we/I want to do is eat and sleep and sleep and eat. Oh well. Thankfully I am not a night snacker. I seldom eat after supper/dinner. Just always been that way.

As I glance around the room and notice the rack displaying most of my purses; I feel slightly sad. Seldom do I use them these days. I have three downstairs that I switch about on the rare occasion that I leave the house to go somewhere that requires me to take “money” and stuff. Most of them are collecting dust hanging on the door rack. Thankfully I do not have a crazy amount of purses or I would really be sad. I guess the same goes for shoes. I do put on my boots everyday whether walking or picking up Alvin’s deposits in the backyard or when I am shovelling. But shoes only when I go to the office. I know that they say we should wear a pair of comfy shoes in the house so it helps protects our feet and although I have had no issue with my feet; perhaps it is something that I should look into. I do wear socks. Maybe barefoot would be better – your feet can breathe. What about makeup, jewellery and office clothes? Lots of things are sitting not in use. Although I have started to wear makeup more (not that I wore a lot anyway) and my jewellery and the top part of my office clothes, I have been wearing. I have some pants have I have not wore in almost one year; perhaps they will not even fit me at this point. I have no idea. Anyway food for thought. Us folks that are working from home – will have to start to use our items that are feeling neglected. Fill up that purse and carry it to your workstation and then tuck it out of the way. Wear those earrings and that bracelet. Add some lipstick. If you were going out in public – the mask would cover it and feel yucky – so take advantage of being at home, if you are at home. Maybe start wearing a pair of shoes. It has been an interesting almost one year since we starting working from home. I must say other than a couple of minor details; I love being at home. When the wind is howling and the snow is blowing …. I am safe and warm in my cardigan, tank top, relaxed pants and socks wearing lipstick and a bracelet and socks on my feet. LOL.

Well time to get this day going. Busy time of the month for me at work – who am I kidding most days of the month are busy for me. That is a good thing – I suppose. Although personally the odd slower day would be lovely.

I hope that you are safe, in good health and enjoying life.

Living each day with kindness, respect, compassion and patience.

Always, Carol & Alvin

P.S. the first meal from Chef’s Plate was yummy – Cajun-Spiced Turkey – not too spicy.

2021

Good Morning ALL. How are you this morning? Me, while I am a bit on the tired side. We went to bed just after 9:00 p.m…… Alvin was up at 11:30, 1:30, 3:45, 4:16 and 6:00 and then the alarm went off at 6:45 and I hit snooze for 15 minutes. ARGH. Not sure what is the problem. He does not appear to be feeling ill. Just off his sleep routine for some reason. Anyway, I am hoping that tonight we get a great night’s sleep. He is now whining at the doorway.

Today is the actual birthday of my friend Signe, we had her birthday party in my garage on Saturday. Happy Birthday to a great friend. My life would not be the same without you. Wishing you much love and laughter, great joy, good health and abundance. Happy Birthday from me and Alvin.

Yesterday we putzed for most of the day finishing laundry, some tidying up and went for a short walk. Nothing too much it was a quiet day. We also heard that one of our friends had a baby girl a few days ago and that was great news. Congratulations to them.

I heard on the weather forecast yesterday that we will have a couple of relatively nice days and then back into the deep freezer. I guess it is still Winter. Valentine’s right around the corner. A month full of birthdays. I have multiple family members and friends celebrating this month.

So on that note HAPPY 1ST DAY OF FEBRUARY 2021.

Definitely is a coffee morning. But really is there ever a morning that is not a “coffee morning?” Not for me. I seldom do not have coffee in the morning. I most especially love the smell of coffee as it perks.

Well I must apologize as this post will be short today. My brain is foggy from lack of sleep and I only hope that I will have some semblance of intelligence as I make my way throughout the day. He is just sitting staring at me. Oh my Alvin.

As I continue to live with kindness, respect, compassion and really working hard on having patience. Today will be a test for sure.

Always, Carol & Alvin

It is a NEW YEAR.

Well folks we made it through another week.

This weekend marks the end of February 2020 and the beginning of a new month March 2020.

March is an extra special month for me as it is the birthday of my daughter.

Also is the birthdate of my Dad’s only sister, my Aunt, son-in-law’s brother, friend’s children, sister-in-law, niece in-law and some of my most dearest friends.

A busy month to be sure.

Which reminds me that I forgot to pop a card and letter into the mail for my Aunt.

I will do that this weekend and even though it may be late ….. always better to send than not to.

She is of the generation that cards and letters were important.

The largest way of communication next to the telephone.

Long before the days of email, texts and video chats and social media.

I have a good stock of miscellaneous cards as I still love to send them from time to time.

 

Last night on our walk …. oh, it was so beautiful.

We bumped into the gal that delivers our flyers down the street at the houses near the park.

We stopped for a chat.

The chat carried on for several minutes when all of a sudden I saw out of the corner of my eye and then did a quick spin …

To see by Alvin and me, this chocolate lab pup off leash.

There was a family coming down the sidewalk and I called out to them.

They explained as they got to us that this pup had just joined them.

He/She walked beside them the whole way.

Now as they were on a busy street they were concerned.

No one happened to have an extra leash.

As we were near the house of a friend, I ran up the walk to see if she could help us out with a leash.

She has two small dogs.

But no one was home.

Quick thinking, I thought of tying some poop bags together but that didn’t seem like a great idea, no one had a scarf (I would have given up my scarf, for sure) but I did have

my Bath & Body Works lanyard on my keys.

So I removed the lanyard and it worked perfectly as the pup did have a collar with a ring for hooking leashes.

We hooked up the lanyard and I asked if they were able to take the pup and contact the appropriate authorities and they said of course.

The pup seemed perfectly happy to be with them.

Alvin did okay with the pup considering there was no leash on the pup and hard to hold him/her.

There was a bit of growling on Alvin’s part but the pup was so good natured it did not last.

I hope, pray and wish that they found the pup’s home or the authorities did.

Such a beautiful pup.

There was no one out looking during the time we were out.

I am not certain where exactly the dog joined them.

Best of luck to you little one.

I should have carried my phone but did not have the appropriate place and my hands were full.

 

Well almost time to leave here.

My neighbour is feeling better and will give me a ride to work this morning.

Yesterday funny story.

I left home a few minutes earlier than what I normally would to catch a bus and when walking by my friend’s house, she was backing out.

She saw me and gave me a ride to the bus stop.

That helped greatly … no dodging ice …. yay, me.

I caught the earlier bus and was to work before 7:30 a.m. ( I do not start till 8 but like to be there early).

 

Well time to fly.

I hope that you have an awesome, amazing, wonderful day.

Isn’t the morning sky beautiful?

Getting more light everyday.

Take Care.

 

Always, Carol & Alvin

Treating the world with kindness and respect.

Trying …..

It is a NEW YEAR.

Yes, we are well into this new year.

One month over and done.

Now almost one week into February, 2020.

Where are we?

 

Well some folks are vacationing and enjoying life.

Some folks are at home working, waiting for said vacation to arrive.

While others work and never get away on a “tropical” or winter vacation.

Now there are likely a great many folks who never have the luxury of going away on vacation whether it is a winter or summer one.

That is very true.

What percentage of the population has that luxury?

I wonder of the ones that go away how many run up their credit cards in order to do so?

It doesn’t matter where you fit in above, we are all blessed.

I am blessed to live in a nice, no beautiful house, a home with my trusty companion Alvin.

We may not travel far from home but we have our house, our sanctuary.

We have a yard to putz about in the spring and summer and fall.

We could build a snowman on the front yard or the back when the snow is sticky.

I can plant flowers and some vegetables, if I desire.

Having this house is important to me, it is not just a house.

It is my place to relax, to entertain, to live, to grow, to write, to clean and so much more.

 

Sometimes we do not know where life will take us when wherever we are, we can make it our own.

Grab a piece of cardboard or heavy construction paper and make that Vision Board.

Make your dreams come true.

Some may have small dreams and some may have large ones.

But whatever they are ….. you have the ability to make them all come true.

Live in gratitude each and every day.

 

Well, I am thinking that I should go and shovel the front sidewalk before my ride comes.

There is lots of time and then Mr. Alvin will need to go out back.

 

Life always amazes me.

Whether it is work or play, it never ceases to amaze me.

 

Wishing you a great day.

Filled with kindness and respect.

 

 

Always, Carol & Alvin

 

 

 

Thought for the day …..

Good Morning and Welcome to Tuesday the 6th day of February, 2018.

I could hear the wind howling a bit earlier this morning.

Not so much now.

Doing happy dance sitting down.

Keep moving that is my new motto.

One thing I have heard that is vitally important as we age is to KEEP MOVING.

Do not sit still ….

Do not sit so much….

If your job requires you to sit down you have to get up and move around each hour.

Ideally it would be about ten minutes each hour but any amount is better than nothing.

So this week, I shall endeavour not to sit so long at work.

I am going to move more.

 

First day back after being gone for a week was not quite so bad.

A couple of my co-workers helped with phone calls and some of the mail.

What a wonderful treat.

I appreciated not having to answer roughly “40” phone messages.

 

So day two.

Here we go.

Keeping active.

Going to move more.

It is my life and no one will care at the end of the day that I worked through coffee breaks or took shorter lunch breaks, no they will not.

So get going and keeping healthy.

 

Time to go and finish getting ready.

Moving about.

Keeping active.

 

Special Hello to:  all my friends and family.

Always, Carol & Alvin

Thought for the day ….

Good Morning and Welcome to Tuesday the 28th day of February, 2017.

Last day for this month.

Today is the Birthday of one of my nephews.

The second oldest one.

Happy Birthday “D” ….. Wishing you a great day.

We are well into this new year, for sure.

The mornings have been cold but have warmed up over the course of the day.

I have not had a “bad” cold for quite some time now I have the sore throat and runny nose.

Too bad all of those folks who cough into the air on the bus would not take a few more precautions.

Oh well ….

Last night my daughter gave me a ride home from work as she had to come to our area to pick up something.

It was nice to see her and for the ride.

I always enjoy our conversations.

Alvin was happy to see her.

Well this morning my head feels full of cob webs so I shall make this short.

I hope that you are all well and are enjoying this last day of February.

Special Hello to: my nephew “D” on his Birthday.

Always, Carol and Alvin

Thought for the day …..

Good Morning and Welcome to Wednesday the 8th day of February, 2017.

Do you ever think back to the same day a year ago or perhaps two or three or more?

I wonder how many of these days draw exact parallels to each other.

Okay for starters today is Wednesday, and last year the 8th of February was a Monday.

So the actual day is not the same but perhaps the feelings are closer to being the same.

If we think that we stray from our core basic feelings over time  …. I would say that is not really true.

We may have the odd day or two where we stray from our true feelings, the ones in our core.

Our basic emotions.

BUT ….

It is funny that in large part it holds true one year later.

I did wake up feeling today was going to be a great day.

Just as I was blowing my hair dry the phone rang and it was my neighbour; offering me a ride to work.

A great way to begin the day.

This gives me about twenty extra minutes.

I immediately walked over to the bed where Alvin was laying watching me and gave him a big hug.

I do know that when the early morning is great, the rest of the day will be fantastic.

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

Good Morning and Welcome to Monday the 8th day of February, 2016.

Have you ever awaken to feel like this is going to be a great day.

A day like no other.

Feeling like something magical, fun, wonderful and absolutely fantastic is happening to you on this day.

Well that is how I feel on this Monday morning.

I will admit a bit unusual for a Monday morning …..

Usually I do not sleep well Sunday night and Monday mornings are sometimes a bit of a strain to get up and get motivated but not TODAY.

I will admit that I asked Alvin to stay in bed until the alarm went off but it was not because I did not want to get out of bed.

Just because I wished to lay there and soak in the morning …. un-feted (is that even a word) by the day.

So here we are ….. breakfast done, shower check, make-up check and writing blog …. almost check.

Mr. Alvin is as usual laying outside the office door waiting for me.

He is so loyal ….. we could all learn lessons from our four-legged friends.

He is always waiting by the front door for me to arrive at home after work.

He is always happy to see me and I know he has to pee and is hungry …. but nevertheless he always takes that minute to ravish me with attention.

Now what a way to welcome someone home.

It doesn’t matter if I am gone all day or for 20 minutes ….. he welcomes me in the same way.

So today is the day …..

Perhaps a dream will come to fruition or just something nice.

It does not matter ….. I just feel great and that is what matters.

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

So on this 8th day of February 2017 – life is magical.

I am so happy to be here right now in this place surrounded by magic.

Have an awesome day.

Fill your heart with joy and the magic will follow.

Happy Wednesday.

Tea deliveries today ……. that makes me happy.

Special Hello to: my darling sister.  Baby Milo is fine.  Are you available to SKYPE on Sunday?

Always, Carol and Alvin

 

Thought for the day …..

Good Morning and Welcome to Wednesday the 1st day of February, 2017.

WOW, another new month.

February 2017 …. has a nice ring to it.

Snowing this morning here in Edmonton.

It was a cold walk to the bus yesterday morning after being so spoiled with over zero temperatures for the past couple of weeks.

But this is winter and part of it is cold temperatures and snow.

So we just dress for it and then grumble about it.

That is what we do.

We are grateful for all that we have and for where we live but from lack of sunshine and only on some days, we just grumble about it.

That is okay.

 

I love turning the page on the calendar and seeing the new picture.

I have a calendar from Zoe’s, an animal rescue society.

The animals are all rescues and the captions along with the photos are guaranteed to melt the coldest of hearts.

I love the Happily Ever After Stories …..

I am proud to say that “me Alvin” is a rescue and he certainly rescued me right back.

That is what they do……

 

Yesterday I posted my very first blog from way way way (okay not that many ways but it certainly feels like a long time ago) back on April 5, 2010.

I love to write.

I love to give information.

I love to share.

I love to make people laugh.

So if I am doing any of the above, I am feeling pretty great.

To my sister and family and friends back home; I miss you all as well.

 

Well looks like almost time once again to hit the cold hard icy road …. literally …. not physically.

Yesterday I hit an icy patch and went down on my knees.

That was on the way to the bus.

Will be extra careful this morning and will remain upright for sure.

 

Have a Happy Happy Wednesday.

Making dreams come true one day at a time.

I hope that your dreams are coming true one day at a time.

 

Special Hello to: all my family and friends back in Regina …..

Always, Carol and Alvin

 

 

Thought for the day …..

Good Morning and Welcome to Sunday the 5th day of June, 2016.

It is a glorious bright, sunny warm with a slight cool breeze.

Does not get more perfect than that.

 

Yesterday’s birthday party was amazing.

We laughed and cried, well I cried, I do that sometimes.

Things can get emotional.

My friend baked a red velvet cake for the birthday girl.

We also had muffins and watermelon to begin the party with …..

It was a great visit and party.

We all had fun.

 

I kept physically busy yesterday by cleaning up the front lawn after my little garden dig ….

Followed by laundry, washed down the house and deck and front porch.

Mowed the back lawn as my neighbour that I share the front lawn with had mowed the front, thank you “S.”

Vacuumed the main and upstairs floor followed by steam mopping them.

Of course, dusting and bathrooms….. cannot forget them.

I will say that hauling my Electrolux canister vacuum up and down is a work out in itself.

 

After all of my work and supper was done ….. and a MOVIE …. Alvin and I joined another neighbour for an extra long walk …. over one hour.

So nice.

It was perfect outside (that was about 8:50 p.m.).

 

Well today I am preparing to call and email customers to see if they would like to order some tea as we have one back in stock that was a huge favourite.

After that I am going to canvas for the Heart and Stroke Foundation.

I have two routes both in my immediate neighbourhood so that is great.

I figured that as I received the kits a few days ago that I had better get right on it as time seems to evaporate.

In February I helped canvas for the Heart Fund.

Nice to help out.

 

Update:  Alvin has definitely made a game out of pushing his chew treat off the sofa … off the front porch ….

Also yesterday when I was working out front … I had Alvin on the front porch with no leash.

Carefully keeping an eye on him and talking to him to remind him to stay.

He was doing good considering my neighbour’s sister was visiting and she was out front in her vehicle.

Anyway …. he decided to go and say hi …. so I walked over …. before I knew it he was doing 360’s on the front lawn.

He ran from one side to the other semi losing his balance and slipping but happily free and playing.

It was fun to watch.

When he was done I called him to the porch steps …. ( I was right there – watching him).

We can hear some dogs big and small barking outside and with the window open Alvin perked up to listen.

Now they have stopped.

You never know what goes on …. I just know that I love and respect my Alvin and I do the best to keep him safe, healthy and happy.

 

Well I had better get this show on the road.

Ended up really late last night and Alvin was up at 4:30 a.m. (per usual) ….. I thought going to bed after midnight might help him to sleep in but I was wrong.

So we hit the sofa for a few more zzzz’s ….. I needed it.

So lots to do.

I hope that you have an awesome day.

Happy Sunday to you.

 

Special Hello to:  my sister, looking forward to the SKYPE visit after supper – about 6:30 p.m. ???

Always, Carol and Alvin

Thought for the day …..

Good Morning and Welcome to Saturday the 27th day of February, 2016.

Wow, can you believe it?

It is raining here in Edmonton?

The deck was wet when Alvin and I were first up at 5:30 a.m.

Looks like it has stopped now but raining at night at the end of February …. well that is just crazy.

The forecast was for snow flurries today ….. so that will be a lovely mix.

Rain through the wee hours of the night/morning and then snow in the afternoon.

Okay, then.

 

Well today is a busy day in our house as we prepare for a birthday dinner party for one of my friends who lives down the street.

It is an extra special one …… she turned 70 this week.

We, I will do the laundry, clean the floor, bathrooms, dust, get ready and then ice the special carrot birthday cake I baked last night and final step will be cooking the pasta supper.

So lots to do ….. so this will be short.

I do not like to rush and we already slept in as it fast approaches 8:30 a.m.

Wow, how the hours on a Saturday roll on by.

 

It will be fun as I love to entertain.

The extra strength ADVIL is helping maintain the pain from my strained neck / headache so that is good.

Hard to work when your body is not in top shape.

Anyway, no woe is me here ….. that life life there are things that pop up or out from time to time and you just deal with them and carry on.

 

I hope that whatever you are doing on this wonderful Saturday that you enjoy the day.

Always be grateful for what you have ….. where you are in life …… and then do each thing a bit better each day.

Keep on dreaming ….. one dream at a time ….. your life is amazing.

Happy Saturday Everyone.

Special Hello to: all those folks who are feeling less than special …… take a deep breath….. look in the mirror and repeat these words:  ” I am worthy. I am good. I am deserving. I can do anything.”

Always, Carol and Alvin