Good Morning ALL! Another beautiful sunny morning. Talk about warm yesterday. Looks like a bit cooler today. The sky is partially cloudy and it is windy. I forgot to put down the umbrella when I got home last night. I basically got home and double checked doors to ensure they were locked and came upstairs to prepare for bed. What a weekend I had! Two birthday parties. Talk about lucky and the cake so good. Yesterday was a quiet day for me as I did some cleaning and watched some television and then got dressed up for the birthday party. I had not thought about the temperature when I volunteered to pick up the birthday cake as I had planned to walk to Pauline’s house. In the end, Pauline texted and said that she would come and pick me up. The cake did not melt! Thank goodness. By chance the decorations and the cake matched with a butterfly theme running through both. I surprised Lucy when she came to Pauline’s house. She lives close to Pauline’s house so she walked over and I was hiding around the corner. I totally surprised her and she was so excited and happy to see me and for the party. She said that when she was a little girl they did not have birthday parties as they were poor. Lucy told us that this was the first real birthday party that she has ever had …… we were honoured to host her 65th Birthday celebration. We had decorations, we had gifts, we had good food, we had birthday cake and flowers but most of all the presence of friends. That truly is the most important thing. I was so honoured to celebrate friends this weekend. So grateful. I have a few photos that I will share and on my way home last night, I decided to walk and come through the park as it was still light out at almost 9:00 p.m. and had cooled down slightly. I will show you the photos to tell the story.
Ready for the partyFlowers & DecorationsHomemadeReady for the partyThe cake
I forgot that I took the picture from the opposite side of the table and the writing is upside down but you get the idea. It was so colourful and pretty. I think that yesterday I posted the card for my other friend’s birthday party, oh well. We had such a great time. Lucy is in the last photo behind the balloon. As I have not asked permission I did not wish to post photos of my friends. I guess I should be asking whenever I take photos. Anyway, it was so much fun and I am so blessed. I forgot to add some photos, I will put them in tomorrow’s post and you will see what I came across on my way home last night from Pauline’s……. sorry.
Time to head downstairs and make some coffee and go outside and turn down the umbrella and I want to water my flowers as well. So best be moving.
Have a wonderful day.
Continuing to live this life with kindness, respect, compassion, patience, love, laughter, understanding, gratitude, focus, possibilities, coffee and forgiveness.
Always, Carol & My Forever Angel Mr. Alvin …… sweetness, my boy!
Good Morning ALL! Another beautiful morning out there. The sun is shining. There is some smell of smoke wafting in through the open office window. The sky is a bit on the hazy (smoky) side. I hear Sonja outside with Humphrey & Bogart. Oh, how they love to be outside in the backyard. Likely Bogart will try and make a run for it but his Momma will be watching him closely. He does seem to listen better to his “Dad” but that is another story. I live in the best neighbourhood. What a busy weekend this has turned into. Yesterday I attended Gillian’s birthday party at Signe’s house. We had coffee, fresh fruit and crepes and then a strawberry shortcake birthday cake. So yummy. The birthday girl was spoiled with all sorts of gifts. We laughed and shared stories catching up on all of our news. Sometimes we forget what each other knows. Actually I realized when talking about our summer plans that I had not told Signe about going to my nephew’s wedding in Calgary at the end of this month. I have not been anywhere for so long, I am grateful that I am able to attend this family event and with my daughter. We had a great visit and birthday celebration. Today I am going to my friend Pauline’s for supper to celebrate another friend and neighbour of hers, Lucy whose is turning 65. You may remember me writing about my friend Lucy. She is the one that I went for a New Year’s Eve walk in the River Valley just six month ago. Yikes, here we are halfway through 2023 already. Pauline and her husband Al had been fishing so they had caught their quota and want to share some of that with me and Lucy. So tonight she is hosting her 65th Birthday party with a fish fry for supper. I picked up a birthday cake. I had planned to have another friend (coworker) who has made some birthday cakes for me in the past make one together for both Lucy who turns 65 this week and for Pauline who turns 70 the following week but then that idea went south with Pauline’s plan. So I was able to get out (thanks to Signe) yesterday afternoon and pick up a birthday cake for Lucy for tonight. I put together a small gift and a card and also some decorations. In addition to some decorations that I happen to have in my “birthday collection” – I made some 65 birthday stars. Whew! I kind of lazed around and decided to order pizza for supper. It has been a long time and with my dental story, I was unable to eat that for awhile. So last night was the night. It was good. After supper I lazed about for a bit and then decided to water the flowers. I also water the front and back flower beds and gave the front grass some water as well. I was just filling the watering can with water at the kitchen sink because it is easier than opening the back gate and filling from the outside tap when I saw my friends Alyaa & her daughter Sonia coming up the front walk. I quickly wiped my hands and went to the door. She was so happy to see me. We gave each other a big hug. I have not seen her since they returned from visiting her sister and family in Phoenix, Arizona. That was back in April. I missed her. She is such a great human being and has become a wonderful dear friend. I am so blessed to be surrounded by wonderful people and consider myself the luckiest person on the planet when it comes to friends. I have so many and they are all awesome. She came in and said that she could only stay for 2 minutes and almost two hours later they said goodbye. We had so much to tell each other. They also wanted to give me something for watching Cookie while they were away. Too generous it was a Master Card gift card. I graciously said “no thank you” but she would not accept this so I gave in.
It was late when I finally turned out the lights. I went upstairs to bed about 11:00 p.m. and then read for awhile. So it was almost 8:00 a.m. when I got out of bed. Oh well, I am prepared for the birthday party today. Plants are all watered. I will do some vacuuming and dusting and throw together my outfit for work tomorrow. I am going to change to something more birthday party appropriate later in the day. Otherwise it will be a lazy hazy day for this girl. I still also have to figure out how to redecorate my wall size bulletin boards in the office as I look at the almost empty boards. Hard to decide.
Okay, photo time. Flowers and birthday.
2023 Flowers thus farLavender plantSo prettyPetuniasGeraniumsMy backyardGillian, the Birthday GirlGillian & SigneThe Three AmigosFor LucyHomemade decorationsFor tonight’s partyThe Three Amigos
I had to repost the photo of us three girls as Signe’s face in the smaller photo was cut off and I wanted to show you me and two of my dear friends. As, I said I am the most luckiest girl on the planet. I have the best friends. Usually I do not post photos of people but I know that sometimes they post photos on social media of our get togethers so I thought this time I would share. I just wanted to share this joy with you. For Lucy’s party it just so happens that the birthday cake I chose from Safeway’s bakery yesterday matched with the decorations that I had on hand. I even made some 65th Stars for her special number.
Okay, time to head downstairs as it is almost 9:00 a.m. and I need some coffee. I can hear dogs barking in the near distance. Have an awesome Sunday. Enjoy and I hope that you are surrounded by wonderful people and some of them are called “friends.”
Continuing to live this life with kindness, respect, compassion, patience, love, laughter, understanding, gratitude, focus, possibilities, coffee and forgiveness.
Always, Carol & My Forever Angel Mr. Alvin ……..
P.S. feels like I need some more flowers in the backyard. I had to move the begonias to the front and they are the yellow flowers. They just were not doing very well. I would like some pansies and impatiens. I love flowers.
Good Morning! Welcome to Saturday. Yesterday was the 40th Birthday of a close family friend for whom I call “niece.” June came in way too fast. Happy Birthday D. I have the office window open and a nice cool breeze is wafting in and gently touching me. It is not too hot in the house but the coolness feels refreshing. I am so grateful for the weekend. Last night after work I had supper and did some laundry. Eddie went for a walk with his Dad this time. Some alone time which I understand. Oh, I just got a whiff of smoke, even though the sun is shining the sky is a bit on the hazy side. I had not smelled the smoke at first but now it is apparent. Perhaps better to close the window before the house starts to smell like a fire. Certainly do not wish that. It was in the early evening that I prepared for planting my new flowers that had been inhabiting the kitchen table. I filled several pots with two kinds of petunias and geraniums and there is one flower that I do not remember the name. Will have to find out. Almost looks like a type of geranium. I took my time and even had Mr. Alvin outside with me. I know it likely sounds a bit off but he used to enjoy that time of year hanging out with me. He would always check out what I was planting and where. Those were some of the best times. I filled nine pots adding to the six other pots that were already out on the deck. Actually I suppose there were two that had in the house. I am debating whether or not to put out my other succulents. I put one of them outside and will see how it does. They like the heat for sure but …… Unfortunately last night I only took a video of all of the plants to send to my daughter and Pauline (had to show her where I put the geraniums that she gave me the night before). So no photos to share today. I will take some photos this morning before I leave for Gillian’s birthday party. Seems like forever since we three were in the same place at the same time. Time passes so quickly! Thank you to Signe for hosting this birthday party. We take turns and it is so great when it is my turn to host our get togethers whether to visit and catch up or for a special occasion like a birthday.
My friend Lucy turns 65 in a few days and Pauline will be 70 in a couple of weeks. So many milestone birthdays. A sign that we are all getting older. A reminder to not get hung up on the little things like work situations and such. I am always reminded that I have so many wonderful friends and my family are amazing. To have them all is a true blessing. I consider myself very fortunate.
Time to go and have a shower and get ready for the party. I do want to take some flower photos before the sun gets bright in the back. Perfect time for photos now.
I hope that you have a great Saturday! Enjoy.
Continuing to live this life with kindness, respect, compassion, patience, love, laughter, understanding, gratitude, focus, possibilities, coffee and forgiveness.
Good Morning. So glad today is Friday. The sky is blue and the sun is shining. We had some well needed rain yesterday so the grass and trees all had a nice boost. I hope that the areas affected by wildfires were blessed to have this moisture as well. I hope.
Yesterday was a good day. I walked with Eddie and Jeanette after supper. So different without Bruno but he is no longer in pain or suffering even though he was a master of not displaying the appearances that something was wrong otherwise than the physical changes. What a dear guy he was. Handsome and regal and well behaved. He would even say “thank you” for the treats in his way. I shall miss him always. We had a good walk bumping into friends along the way including our friends Jaime & Sadie. They were walking with two other sets of friends. So many pups so lovely. Eddie enjoyed playing fetch with the ball. He even “laid down.” Something he did not do very much before that moment. During our walk Jeanette had to take a long distance conference call between her Father’s Doctor and her brothers. When I say long distance it truly was: Venezuela, U.S. and Canada. How is that for distance? During this time we walked and I looked after Eddie. We played fetch and enjoyed our time together. We were playing fetch by my friend Pauline’s house and I noticed that her windows were open so I texted her in the off chance she was home and not busy. Her husband Al noticed me and waved and a few minutes later Pauline was outside and we were in the backyard. It felt so strange being back there without Mr. Alvin. Eddie walked around and smelled everything and looked around which reminded me of Alvin. Pauline and I quickly caught up with all of our news. They are going on a small fishing trip in June to B.C., how lovely. Our friend Lucy turns 65 in a few days and is leaving for a three month visit to family and friends in China at the end of June. Pauline turns 70 in June as well. Lots going on. We are planning a little party for her and I volunteered to bring the cake and I was thinking to myself that we can celebrate Pauline’s 70th with Lucy’s 65. We will invite another neighbour and friend of theirs (and mine).
Photo time once again. I seem to have a lot of photos to share and that is nice. My dry eye is bothering me once again, the burning and then I am obviously allergic to something as my nose is running. Will have to get my eyedrops, they help right away. I have included some photos of Pauline’s yard and my plants from Costco. Yesterday morning before work I went to the garage and brought them all inside to sit upon the kitchen table hoping they would get some sunshine but we did not have much of that yesterday but today is another story. I will plant them tonight or tomorrow morning before Gillian’s birthday party. A busy weekend ahead. I still need to wrap the birthday gift and write up a card for Gillian. Where did the week go? LOL. I gave a few plants to Jeanette as I know how much she loves them and now she has something to plant right away and enjoy. Just in case they are not able to get to a nursery.
Flowers to plantEddieEddie & JeanetteEddieVisiting with PaulineEddie checking for lightFlowersBeautiful yardMy Flowers From Pauline
Well time to hustle downstairs and put on the coffee. My eye is better now without the relief of eyedrops, yay. I hope that your Friday is awesome. Whatever happens today I feel good things are in the air. Our office group won $10.00 from Wednesday’s lottery draw so just adding a few more zero’s and we will be there. We are excited. Retirement is closer than we think.
Feeling so very blessed and fortunate this Friday morning. To be surrounded by such loving friends and neighbours is so wonderful.
Continuing to live this life with kindness, respect, compassion, patience, love, laughter, understanding, gratitude, focus, possibilities, coffee and forgiveness.
Always, Carol & Alvin, My Forever Angel
Thank you Bruno for being my friend ……… I hope that you are out for a stroll with my Alvin!
Good Morning! I am a little late writing this morning as I ran over to look after the boys, Humphrey & Bogart and then on my way home I realized that I should water the grass/fertilizer seed that I planted yesterday out front and in the back. So I water everything. Then I thought I should put the houseplants outside and then I made coffee (have not drank yet) and then decided to haul up the clothes that were drying in the basement and then change the bedding and now I am here. Whew. Still no coffee but I will have some soon. What a gorgeous morning! Perfect time to be outside. I definitely will be drinking my coffee on the deck once I am finished with this post and after I have popped the sheets into the laundry. I have more Eddie, Bruno, Humphrey & Bogart photos to share. Who does not like to see photos of cuteness quadrupled? Despite the cancer and the pain that he must be in, Bruno loves his walk. Bruno leads the way – wherever he leads us that is the way that we go. Last night he wanted to go his old path and so we followed. I love these pups so much. I am so grateful to have had the absolute pleasure to have them all in my life.
For AlvinFor AlvinFor AlvinFor AlvinBlinds & baseboards washedSome rearrangingIn Memory of AlvinEddieEddieEddieThe boysEddie & BrunoThe boysEddie looking for lightsEddie BrunoBrunoMy GuysBruno & EddieBrunoBrunoHumphreyBogartHumphrey
Yesterday I washed the blinds on the main floor, washed baseboards, looked after Humphrey & Bogart, did some cleaning. laundry, walked with Jeanette and the boys Eddie & Bruno and miscellaneous things. It was a full day from beginning to end. I would not change a thing. My kitchen looked so bare in the photos as I had taken the plants all except for the aloe plant outside. I brought them in last night just to ensure their well being. If the sun decides to shine all day with no clouds, I will bring them in when it gets too hot. Too much of a good thing is not a good thing. The boys are doing well next door and their parents will be home in a few hours. I framed Alvin’s nose print and paw print yesterday and also put his memory card with the photo side up in a frame. I have him with me in every room of this house. Looking out of the office window at this moment, the sky appears to be a bit on the hazy side. Smoke? Everyday I pray for rain to extinguish all of the fires burning at this time. I do know that Mother Nature creates fires naturally to burn. Nature is so much more intelligent than we will ever be.
Tomorrow after work I have to slip over to one of the nearby schools and cast my vote in the provincial election. Should have, would have, could have voted in the advance voting but here we are! Oh well.
Well today is going to be a quiet one. Going to finish up here and put the sheets in the wash and then have a cup of coffee on the deck. Just chilling on this Sunday now that I almost have everything done that needs to be done. Of course, there is always something. Oh, I had better vacuum upstairs and give the bathrooms a quick going over but that won’t take long after the coffee “break.” I clean regularly so nothing gets too dirty. So much easier to keep on top of.
I hope that you have a wonderful day. Time to relax after the work is done. Time with family & friends. Go for a walk. Enjoy!
Continuing to live this life with kindness, respect, compassion, patience, love, laughter, understanding, gratitude, focus, possibilities, coffee and forgiveness.
Always, Carol & Alvin, My Forever Angel
Look in the photos above and you will see where I finally hung the whirly gift from Jessica.
Good Morning. What a gorgeous morning it is! I have been over to feed, change water, clean letterbox and just visit Humphrey & Bogart, I have moved plants outside, done some cleaning, gathered and started laundry, and now writing this post. I think that the following photos put into words my life at the present time, filled with friends whether two or four or three-legged and the beauty of nature and FLOWERS. So this post will be photos today. I appreciate all the lives in my life. I hope that you are having a great day. The air is a tad cool which is lovely against the slightly hazy sky. I do not smell smoke but alas it is out there somewhere. I pray that all lives are saved from the fires.
Jax, a 17 year old LabJaxJax & BrunoEddie & Bruno & JeanetteOh, BrunoBruno & EddieThe BoysBrunoSon & FatherEddie & BrunoBrunoEddie, Sadie & her DadBogartHumphreyBogartThose EyesChecking things outBrothers just watching lifeSome Houseplants outsideGetting some fresh airHouseplants outside
What can I say! My life is full. I have wonderful family, many amazing friends, so many pups and cats, a beautiful space to call my own and the sun is shining. Coffee has brewed awaiting me to go and have a cup of that delectable gold. I am so happy. Alvin is with me always, he follows me wherever I go inside the house or out. My forever Angel and friend.
Have a wonderful Saturday everyone. I am walking with Jeanette and the boys later. Checking in on the boys every so many hours. Doing some housework and laundry. I need to wash those dusty blinds on the main floor so that will get done this weekend. I am just enjoying life. No major housework to do so might as well just be outside as much as I can. Might be hot this afternoon.
I have two friend birthdays coming up. Gillian’s on May 31st and Pauline’s on June 13th. So much to celebrate. June and July and August are filled with birthdays.
Continuing to live this life with kindness, respect, compassion, patience, understanding, gratitude, focus, possibilities, coffee and forgiveness.
Back again, I noticed when I published the post seconds ago that two of the photos did not show. So I am going to do a second post with only photos and see if I can get this figured out. Fingers crossed.
Repotted houseplantsUmbrella upBegonias
Hopefully this works. Not sure what happened. I hope that today is a wonderful day for you and that you are able to share it with some of the people that you love.
Good Morning. Went to bed with clear blue skies and warm temperatures and woke up to the smell of smoke earlier. I immediately closed my bedroom window. The skies are filled with smoke this morning. This is the first time that it has been really smoky here in my neighbourhood. There may have been other days with the wind that other parts of the City of Edmonton were smoky from the wildfires but this is the worse. The wind is so strong and is blowing the trees with their young leaves from side to side. To all my fellow Albertans, I wish you to be safe. I pray that all the wildlife and domestic animals are safe from the fires. My heart hurts as I know that there has been so much loss of life when it comes to animals, insects and birds. The loss of trees. We, humans have to be better. Stop being careless! Please.
So different between yesterday morning and this morning. One morning bright with blue skies and the next grey and the smell of smoke in the air burns my eyes and hurts my nose. The smoke from our wildfires as I have mentioned previously has been blown by strong spring winds to other parts of Canada and even into the U.S. I cannot imagine how hard it must be to breathe if you are surrounded by smoke.
This post is short. My mind is foggy with thoughts of smoke and fires. I am grateful that the temperature has decreased today and for a few days.
Please be safe and strong. Look after your animals and yourself.
Time for coffee and I should go and put the cushions from my patio furniture into the garage although they will smell like smoke now. Maybe I should just leave them. Not sure. I am grateful to be working from home.
Continuing to live this life with kindness, respect, compassion, patience, love, laughter, understanding, gratitude, focus, possibilities, coffee and forgiveness.
Always, Carol & Alvin (My Forever Angel)
Photos of my flowers from last spring waiting to be planted. I cannot wait to pick up some this year.
Good Morning. Happy Mother’s Day to All the Moms out there. Mother’s Day celebrates all those humans that care, look after and love another living being. If you have children or if you have a pup or a cat or a fish or a bird we celebrate you. I think it is important to celebrate all those people that keep another living breathing being safe, cared for and loved. Happy Mother’s Day.
Yesterday I was lucky to have my daughter, son-in-law and grand-pups Aspen & Milo visit me. We also had a special guest Miss Breeze who is a black lab and will be spending a few days with my kiddos while her parents are away. She is such a sweet doggie and I fell in love with her. We had take out for supper. The kids had ordered some Vietnamese dishes and picked them up on their way over. The food was so yummy. For dessert my son-in-law had his favourite chocolate chip cookies (I baked them) and we gals had a Key Lime Pie from M&M’s (obviously not baked by me, lol). We even had time for a game of Sequence. My family gave me an air fryer (see photo) and I gave my daughter a bag full of Mary Kay products. What girl does not like makeup!
I did snap a couple of photos of Humphrey & Bogart from my earlier visit to them in the afternoon. Their Dad came home early so that ended my responsibilities. Miss Aspen sure loves her spot by the living room window. I made sure that I had set it all up for her before their arrival.
Last night after the kids left for home, I say outside and had some coffee while the sun set. What a beautiful evening. This morning the air is cool with the office window open.
Today will be a quiet day. I will go for a walk with my friends Alejandro, Eddie & Bruno. I hope that Bruno is doing better. Might be later than 6 p.m. if it is too hot then.
Last night I realized that I would like to learn some languages. Perhaps not to be fluent but to be able to converse with someone and to understand. I am thinking Spanish (I already know some words) and Arabic. Perhaps I could do this when I retire.
Time to head downstairs and make some coffee. I wish you all a wonderful Mother’s Day.
Have a great Sunday. Be safe!
I hope that the wildfires are burning out, stopping. I wish moisture to fall upon them and stop further damage. I hope all life is safe and unharmed.
Continuing to live this life with kindness, respect, compassion, patience, love, laughter, understanding, gratitude, focus, possibilities, coffee and forgiveness.
Good Morning ALL! This is what happens to you use the airdrop function on your phone and somehow there is five million copies of each photo. Well Cookie is running amuck. Enjoy the photos and have a great day. Cookie goes home today but not until actually really early Sunday morning. Family arrives to Edmonton airport at 11:00 p.m. and may be home by 12:30. We will be waiting. They miss her and she misses them. I will stay up late tonight for them. She will be so excited to see them. Photos include under the red blanket on the sofa last night with me, Cookie becoming a blogger, my flowers from Savannah and Grayson, grand-pups Milo & Aspen at the window.
Time to fly before someone gets into something.
Continuing to live with kindness, respect, compassion, patience, love, laughter, understanding, gratitude, focus, possibilities, coffee and forgiveness.
Always, Carol & Alvin (My Forever Angel) & our dear friend little Miss Cookie.
P.S. had a great day, the best day at the office thus far. Accomplished so much. Felt good at end of day. Came home to Steven, grand-pups and Cookie. I took Miss Aspen for a nice walk. Was a great day.
My New Life @ 51 