The New YEAR 2022

Good Morning ALL! YAY, today is Friday, June 24, 2022. Yup, it is Friday and I am oh, so very grateful. How are you this morning? Is the sun shining where you are or is it raining or overcast? Well I am happy to say that sometime before we were first up at 3:45 this morning the rain had stopped. It started to fall just after I was finished work and we were just stepping outside to go for a walk. Yes, we were stopped right in our tracks. We turned around and went back into the house without even leaving the shelter of the porch. I am so grateful and happy that we had a walk in at my lunch break and even had a visit with our friend Pauline. I love our visits. It was cool at noon. I had a short-sleeved top, a cardigan and a jacket on and I was still cold, perhaps having flip flops and bare feet did not help. That must have looked cute. Layers on top with pants that were ankle length and then flip flops. Oh well. On our walk to and from Pauline’s house, we made made stops – especially on the return trip. For some, reason, Alvin seems to know when I do not have the time to just walk slow and “smell the roses” and then he stops every few seconds which adds so much time onto our walks. Now if we are walking after work, there is no time constraints but on my 45 minute break there are ….. especially when it takes a couple of minutes to get ready before we leave the house. Anyway, speaking of roses – the rose bushes at the entrance to our park are in full massive bloom. They are absolutely loving the rain. Pink, pink, lovely pink – a sea of pink – with the petals falling off in the wind the rose bushes are comfy on a bed of pink. The fragrance is out of this world. I wished that we could replicate that scent. I could have laid down on the petals and just sniffed all the day long. That is truly one of my happy places. I am thankful to Mr. Alvin for causing me to slow down and take an extra couple of minutes on our walk. We managed to get home with 3 minutes to spare.

As I look out of my upstairs “office” window the sky is mainly filled with rain clouds but there appears to be a hint of sunshine to the south east and the trees are swaying in the wind. Dancing away. Today is supposed to be rainy until later this afternoon. Looks like a nice weekend ahead. Thank goodness. When I am finished work and a quick supper, out to the garage to move a few things around before the girls come at 6:00 to set up their items for the garage sale. Due to other prior engagements there will only be two of us running the “show,” the garage sale which is absolutely fine. I hope that everything sells and that we make some money. That would be nice. I am going to take a little notebook with me to record when Sonja’s items sell and for how much otherwise I will have no way of knowing a number to give her. Signe is looking after Gillian’s items. There is not a huge amount of things so we have this. I have done far larger sales by myself. I hope that Mr. Alvin will stay in the house for the most part. I am looking forward to a visit with the girls tonight as they set up for the garage sale and I put the finishing touches on my stuff. Even though sometimes I complain, I do love garage sales.

Well it would appear that it is time to head back downstairs and turn on the work computer. I am so grateful to be working from home and for it to be Friday. It was a long week. Somehow extra hours seemed to show up.

I hope that you have a great Friday.

Continuing to live this life with kindness, respect, compassion, patience, love, laughter, understanding, gratitude, focus and possibilities and don’t forget coffee.

Always, Carol & Alvin

PS: yes, there are only 46 days until the 65th birthday of mine. Again, one of my poor Lavender plants was over saturated by the rain, alas I forgot to pull it back out of the rain. I have since moved it to the shelter of the house by the back door. Next time, I will remember, I promise, dear Lavender plant.

It is a NEW YEAR.

Well another windy raining evening.

Everything is so GREEN as a result of the moisture, which is nice.

So nice to have a bright sunny day and then rain in evenings and or overnight.

My neighbour took care of the front lawn yesterday.

Thankfully I am still watching how much I am on my feet and although I have not put on shoes, am thinking that is still a day or two away.

I did put on my CLARKE flip flops with the thing between the toes.

Is there a name for that?

OMG, I totally forgot.

Yikes.

Anyway we walked just inside the park last night after work and then home.

Alvin really wanted to keep going but this time it was his Momma who cut the walk short.

Baby steps, my toes are still quite black and blue and although not painful, no sense in rushing things.

I must say though, I really miss our daily walks.

Our bellies are definitely agreeing with that statement.

 

I made the third meal from the GOOD FOOD package last night.

It was a COD dish with oven roasted potatoes, a green bean with cherry tomatoes, dill and olive salad.

Quite tasty.

 

Not much new in this corner of the world.

Which at this time, I am thankful for.

Quiet is fine by me.

 

The sky is beginning to clear.

Still quite a breeze so I will leave the windows closed.

Yesterday I had things blowing around.

I have cards and what not pinned to my wall mounted bulletin boards and things were jumping around a bit.

Looked like some pieces might have sprouted wings and flown away.

 

Well time to get to work.

I am not sure why the mornings seem to be passing so quickly but they do.

Wishing you a fantastic Wednesday.

Filled with amazing kindness and lots of respect.

We all deserve this ….. each and every “one” of us.

Yes, we do.

 

I/We, shall remain

As Always, Carol & Alvin

 

 

 

Living … One day at a time.

Hello, sorry but it is late afternoon already.

Yesterday first thing in the morning my son-in-law dropped my grandpups off for the day.

After I got them settled, I went for a walk with Miss Aspen.

She is the Yellow Lab Shepherd Cross.

This was just a few minutes after 8:00 a.m.

Our walk took us to our nearby park

We had some fun.

There was a Bunny being chased by some very aggressive Magpies.

We should have turned back but this silly Grandma thought we could scare the birds giving the Bunny time to make his escape.

It was a great plan in theory.

The reality was a far different story.

Needless to say I found out the hard way just how strong my girl Aspen is as I almost did a head plant into the sidewalk.

But managed to stay upright as I made that sill trip after her.

I was very careful during the rest of our walk.

Once we arrived back home I went into the backyard with Aspen, Alvin and Milo.

Humphrey the cat was in his backyard.

Aspen was trying desperately to get to him.

She would have pushed her way right through our fence.

She was very determined and she did not want to visit or make friends.

When she was a pup during her first year of life the poor dear had to fend for herself.

So she will go after rabbits, cats and birds.

She is fast and they do not stand a chance.

Needless to say I am careful with the cats and wildlife.

I did figure that the birds had a better chance of escaping.

Anyway it was an exciting way to start the day.

After that, I needed a COFFEE.

So perked up a pot of coffee and had a late breakfast.

We just had a quiet couple of hours or so.

About noon I went for a walk with Alvin and Milo.

We stopped by the garage sale.

Yes, the same one that I attended last weekend and Friday night.

They were happy to see Milo and Alvin.

We, I took a check around and picked up a couple of items.

Alvin and Milo and I continued on our walk after the garage sale.

We were on our way to the park when I heard my name being called and turned to see our friends had stopped in their van.

So we walked back to their vehicle.

They were wondering if I had a six foot high ladder as they were putting up Christmas lights and their son had borrowed theirs.

I just happen to have one and told them I would take it to them after we got back home.

When it arrived near Alvin’s Best Friend Teddy’s house we saw his Dad or actually Alvin spotted him up a ladder.

We were invited to go into the house so of course, the pups were up the steps in no time.

It was nice to see Teddy and his Mom.

We had a little visit and of course the babes had a treats before we continued on our way.

Stopped briefly at the garage sale and picked out one more item.

Leaving them there for pick up another time.

Which reminds me I have to go and pick up my items.

After we got home – I grabbed the ladder and walked it to my friend’s house.

Had a short visit and then back home.

We had a quiet rest of the afternoon.

Eating supper early.

Followed by some quiet time and then another walk with Miss Aspen.

Our walk was filled with more adventure.

While walking around the park there was a bunny running through someone’s backyard.

I managed to hold onto Aspen.

This time it was short lived.

After that a couple of small dogs who seemed friendly …. well ended up one was not.

So we carried on.

On the home stretch we walked by our new friend John’s house with Bug the black cat who spends some time on a leash basking in the fresh air.

Now I was watching for the cat as I know Aspen and cats.

I did not see her but Aspen walked close to the bush that circles their front yard and all of a sudden I heard a hiss.

Quickly called Aspen and pulled her back.

There was Bug in the bushes.

Everyone came out safely.

Thank goodness.

Finally back home …. we just had a quiet evening.

The kids were going to pick up the pups last night.

They ended up staying over last night.

Poor Miss Aspen was up at 3:00 a.m. with diarrhea.

Is this a reoccurring thing at my house?

Seems like poop and more poop.

Anyway it was poop and more poop throughout the night.

I felt so terrible as she had been whining/crying for a few minutes before I got my backside out of bed to take her downstairs.

Of course, we all went outside.

After that, we spent the rest of the night/morning on the sofa which was closer to the back door.

Poor Aspen.

Bad Grandma.

I texted my daughter about 8:30 a.m. to let her know about Aspen.

She came a bit later and spent some time here which was great.

Well that was my excitement.

Time to go and check on supper.

How about some photos?

The first photos from out on the deck were from yesterday and I am not sure what they were seeing?

I did not see anything but the pups certainly did.

Inside photos were from this morning while we were waiting for my daughter to arrive.

Well what a wild and wacky weekend we had …. I learned several valuable lessons.

1. Always wear running shoes not flip flops when walking with Miss Aspen.
2. When Aspen whines/cries in the middle of the night – Grandma needs to get the heck out of bed right away.
3. Pups make me happy.

Time to fly …. Alvin wants his supper.

 

Always, Carol & Alvin

 

Thought for the day …..

Good Morning and Welcome to Sunday the 1st day of April, 2018.

WOW, it is officially April.

April 1st, 2018.

The sun is shining and the sky is a pale blue.

Still signs of winter with snow still covering rooftops and the ground.

Temperature feels colder than usual.

I am longing for the warmth of summer days and nights.

This has been a long winter.

Too much snow and ice.

We are ready for flip flop weather although yesterday when I was out for a walk with Alvin and Teddy, I saw …..

a young woman, a teenager most likely, wearing a zip up sweater and flip flops.

I could hardly believe my eyes.

Both Alvin and Teddy had on their winter jackets as did I along with my winter boots, scarf and mitts.

The sidewalks were not clear of ice and snow as she walked along in her flip flops.

This action brought a smile to my face and laughter to my heart.

WOW, it was about minus 15 degrees celsius and she had on a hooded sweater and flip flops.

The wind was COLD.

No mitts, no scarf and flip flops.

Yup, flip flops.

I wanted so desperately to yell out from across the street “to ask why?”

But I restrained myself.

Alvin was enjoying the walk and wanted to keep going however Teddy was not feeling it.

We were almost at the park when he stopped suddenly – planting his feet on the sidewalk.

Not moving forward.

It was at that point that I figured we might just as well go back home.

So I called out to Alvin that we were going home.

He turned around and looked at me as if to say “really?”

Back home we went.

It was funny anyway because Alvin was pulling on his leash going ahead and Teddy was lagging behind me almost tripping me with his leash.

At the end of it – chalked it up to a funny story and fresh air.

When back home I began to prepare supper for our company.

I made a huge pot of “Easter Chili” and for dessert “Apple-Berry Crisp.”

The boys stood beside me waiting for the possibility of a piece of apple to fall onto the floor.

I gave them each some small pieces.

Everyone happy.

My daughter and son-in-law arrived with their pups in tow.

They left Aspen and Milo with us as they had to make a quick trip to COSTCO.

Well me and four pups.

Milo and Teddy did not take to one another right away.

There was lots of growling and barking while they got to know each other.

At one point Aspen growled at Teddy as she was likely thought that he was hurting Milo.

It all worked out.

The kids were not gone long before arriving to better change the ratio of pups to humans.

Teddy reminds us all of our beloved Elton.

A few minutes later my friend arrived to take Teddy home.

She stayed for a little visit.

Afterward we enjoyed our Easter Chili and Apple-Berry Crisp.

We also had some homemade buns that my friend “V” had sent to me from Saskatchewan.

Supper was a hit.

After supper was over and cleaned up – we played a couple of games before my family left for home.

A great day.

 

Happy Easter Everyone.

Have a wonderful day.

 

Special Hello to my family and friends.

Always, Carol & Alvin

Thought for the day …..

Good Morning and Welcome to Friday the 20th day of May, 2016.

It is raining here in Edmonton.

Started last night and has not stopped.

Most welcome after the City was blanketed late yesterday afternoon by SMOKE.

The wind changed just right and the smoke came right on in.

Fox Creek, another of our northern towns is threatened by forest fires.

The fire has stretched from Fort McMurray to the neighbouring province of Saskatchewan.

So much devastation along the way.

I sure hope that this rain is going everywhere that it is needed.

Likely not such the perfect day for a garage sale but you know it will work.

As long as we are having some much needed moisture it will be okay.

After all the garage sale is inside the garage so we will be dry.

It is so nice to have today off from work and to be at home.

I can take my time and finish off getting ready for the garage sale.

My daughter will be over later to help.

I am excited to visit with her and everyone who comes to our sale.

We always meet such wonderful people from our neighbourhood and from the area.

 

One funny story to lighten the morning.

This morning Alvin did not wish to go outside.

He had to go …. really had to go if you know what I mean.

So recognizing the signs he “DOES NOT LIKE RAIN” …. I grabbed my huge big umbrella and donned my flip flops and we went outside.

Funny thing is he did not even want under the umbrella …. he just wanted his Momma outside with him.

I guess he figure if he had to go out …. then I did, too.

Made me smile ….. a great way to start the day.

Now time to shower and get going on the final preparations for our two day garage sale.

 

If you are in Edmonton please drop by.

Have an awesome weekend.

For we Canadians we celebrate “Victoria Day” and most offices are closed for the day.

 

Special Hello to: Everyone …. thank you …. remember you are so important to us all.

Always, Carol and Alvin

 

Thought for the day…..

Good Morning and Welcome to Tuesday the 2nd day of June, 2015.

It is overcast and raining.

YAY, water for our lawns and flowers and CROPS, of course.

Last night on our way home from our walk, and the delivery of invitations to a “Steeped Tea” party that I am hosting later in June; I decided to stop and pick up the mail.

Now most times all there is in the mailbox is flyers, and the occasional piece of actual mail.

This time there was a key to the bigger mailbox.

The ones that hold parcels and special items.

I was stumped as I could not think of anything that would be coming to me.

But the Universe and one of my dear old friends had something else in store.

So I took the key and opened the mailbox.

There was a huge box inside.

My heart stopped.

It was not my birthday ….. I had not ordered anything.

So I carefully with one hand holding Alvin (who was ready to get home), and a bag with invitations and the mail in the other …. removed the parcel from the mailbox.

The parcel was addressed to both me and Alvin ….. our first parcel together.

Ah …..

Then I quickly checked out the return address to see it was from one of my dear friends that we had recently reconnected via Facebook.

She had mentioned about sending something but I had forgotten about it.

So exciting.

Once I removed Alvin’s harness …. threw off my flip flops and put the “flyers” down …. into the kitchen to grab some scissors to open the package.

What could it be?

I opened the package to find ……..

Isn’t this the cutest leash holder ever ….. the puppy looks just like me Alvin.

Addressed to us both and Alvin’s first parcel.

Well I must tell you Mr. Alvin was pretty excited.

As was I.

Did I mention that I have the most thoughtful, wonderful, amazing creative friends on the planet?

Thank you my friend “M” …… I could not be more tickled to receive such a beautiful gift.

You are so talented ….. we love it.

Alvin was pretty excited, too and says “thank you very much.”

I have just the place for it and it is perfect.

Special Hello to: my friend “M” ….. thank you.

Always, Carol and Alvin

Story Line by line – September 6, 2013

Chapter Two:

September 1, 2013

“Alvin, you found me”, I cry as my heart and soul are filled with a gratitude magnified by the love I have for my friend and I know we will find our way together.

September 2, 2013

There is silence between us – no words or barking – just silence in knowing that as long as we are together we will figure this all out and get back home where we belong and we continue on our way side by side.

September 3, 2013

“So me Alvin, what now?” as I search his body to make sure that he has no wounds and give him hugs  and wished that the fog would lift so that I could see where we are going.

September 4, 2013

“Well Mr. Alvin, I guess we had better get moving so maybe we can eventually walk out of this fog and actually find some help” with this Alvin begins to move forward slowly and we are on our way.

September 5, 2013

I have no idea how far we have walked or where we are but I know one thing it is getting colder ….. freezing in fact.

September 6, 2013

Thank GOD, Alvin has a fur coat and that I had not cut it recently but me on the other hand, I only have flip flops, cotton capri pants, a t-shirt and light jacket; the jacket hadn’t really been needed that morning but I needed a place to put my keys and poop bags for Alvin; my keys?

Thought for the day…..

Good Thursday Morning and today is the last day of May 2012, the 31st.

I love this time of year …. spring turning into summer.

Just a few weeks and it is officially summer.

We tend to take license and start doing summer things while we are officially still in spring …. before the first actual day of summer.

But that is okay …. we just want to enjoy the weather and the time.

So on this gorgeous spring almost summer day ….. I hope that you are smiling and laughing and having a grand time.

Wherever you are and whatever you are doing …. make sure that you take a few moments/minutes to enjoy all that Mother Nature has to offer….. the sunrise, the clear blue sky, the trees, the green grass, ladybugs.

Just enjoy.  It is a fantastic day….. full of promise.

If you are unsure of what to enjoy first …. may I make a suggestion?  Remove your shoes or flip flops and walk in your bare feet on the grass. I can feel it now.

Have a great day.

Special Hello to:  all those people walking around in bare feet on the grass…..

 

Always, Carol and Alvin.