Last Half 2022 – August

Good Morning ALL! Well we were up at 5:30 Alvin had his glucosamine chew, went outside and then had breakfast before we settled down on the sofa until 7:30. We have been up for awhile now. I am happy to report that we had a full walk. Alvin sniffed happily all round our walk. I had to watch him very carefully to ensure that he did not eat something that he should not. It is foggy and humid this morning but with a cool breeze making it comfortable to be outside. There were a few big rain drops during our way and also our large dog friend name Grizzly whom we met a few weeks ago, I believe. Grizzly is a playful big guy and he reached out with his large paw to pet Alvin and Alvin got scared. I guess I would be scared if a huge paw came down on my head. He is truly a gentle giant our Grizzly friend. I did not freak out so Alvin was okay. Just an initial bark and he was okay after that.

Last night before bed I applied for the Canada Pension Plan for which I have been paying into for over 40 years. I wished that I would have applied for OAS at the same time but I had this voice in my head saying it is automatically paid as I had been listening to a YouTube guy speaking about applying for these benefits. Anyway, I just went to apply for OAS and their Government of Canada website is down. So will have to try later. Just wishing I would have done it last night, woe is me, lol. I will keep trying over the course of the day and tomorrow. I did the hard work last night getting all of the signins worked out. Nothing is straightforward with the government or so it would seem. Anyway, it is what it is.

Yesterday we were happy to have Teddy, his little sis Kobi and Aunt Janine stop by for a visit yesterday afternoon. So nice to have company, we thoroughly enjoyed their visit. Alvin was over the moon. So excited to see his friends. It was a great day. Janine and I had coffee and I shared some of my birthday biscotti with her. By the way, Val if you are reading this post – Janine loved the biscotti.

Last night for dessert, I baked an apple crisp with the remaining apples before they spoiled. For the supper portion I made large chicken stir fry. Both were yummy and I will have leftovers for a few days.

There is such a refreshing breeze coming in through the office window. I appreciate it so much. Looking forward to having a cup of coffee earlier than yesterday.

I am so grateful that Alvin had a good weekend. Today is looking good as well. Tomorrow we take an urine sample. That should be interesting.

Oh, I had a lovely chat with one of my brothers, the older of the two who will be turning 60 in a few days. Two days after mine to be exact. I will be having a video chat with my sister today so I want to get everything done. At least I have leftovers for supper so we can always chat after an early supper.

Now I just need to reach out to my youngest brother and have a chat. Also wonderful to chat with my siblings. I miss seeing them. It has been a long over two years since we were together. I am hoping that next summer we are able to have a get together. Time flies and we need to see each other.

What a busy but yet relaxing weekend. There was plenty of time for snuggling with the Alvin and time for visiting with friends, chatting on the phone and doing a bit of work. The work part – well let’s be serious, my house does not really get dirty. I am always picking up and putting things away as I go. That is the secret to keeping things tidy. A bit of dust can easily be wiped. If you keep things clean as you go – less work in the long run. I have learned that in my almost 65 years on this planet.

Wow, today is August 1st and now only 8 days till my birthday on August 9th. Janine and I made plans to have our “Mexican Supper” on my actual birthday so that will be great. I did not have any plans for my actual birthday and now I do so that is great. She is putting together the meal and I am doing dessert. Not sure what yet but I will figure it out. Maybe it should be cake or cupcakes since it is my birthday. I can always run to the grocery store and pick up a couple of pieces of cake or cheesecake, that would be lovely.

I am enjoying the over a week long celebrations. Why not!

Well time to go and perhaps I will try again to apply for OAS which is Old Age Security here in Canada. It is nice that you can apply for and start these benefits and still be working.

Have a great Monday. I am enjoying this long weekend. So great to have the extra day. This Friday is my last day of work before I begin my vacation. I took one week and one day and will enjoy every moment.

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

Always, Carol & Alvin

PS: only 8 sleeps till I turn 65. I cannot wait.

The New YEAR 2022

Good Morning ALL! How are you this Monday morning? Alvin and I are doing great. I changed his bed in the office and I think that he likes this one better. He is one lucky little guy as he has three beds. Now one in the family room in the basement, one in the living room and one upstairs in the office. I do not have to haul them around so that is great. Alvin is one wonderful little guy. Yesterday was so nice that despite the messy icy sidewalks we ventured out for a walk. I had cleaned our walks pretty good with only one chunk of ice that is in the dip nearly impossible to remove at this point. We still have the five feet of snow and ice chunks lining the streets and our sidewalks. Keeping most people from parking on the street including company and delivery trucks. One of the neighbours from a few doors down is parking in front of Sonja’s house and I believe the reason is because they have an opening in the snow to the street or at least it is lower. Not really the way it should work. They should be parking in their garage or garage pad. The street is for company and delivery trucks not to park one of your five vehicles. I am kidding about five but some people have at least three vehicles which makes it difficult. Most times this street is down to one lane and people drive way too fast. Our street is really busy. Anyway, we went for a walk. We got down the sidewalk very carefully to the corner where our friends live across and made sure we checked both directions and in a low spot we crossed to their side of the street. The sidewalks were not too bad. We walked up the street and then I realized that I found the perfect walking place, the crescent. There is a pile of snow from the graders and we walked around the crescent and the pile of snow ten times and then went home. It took us 20-25 minutes so I figured that was perfect. Mr. Alvin was slightly confused as he kept trying to break free of the circle walking and go down the back walkway toward the other park. I was happy and felt like we actually had some exercise and we so enjoyed the warmth of the fresh sunny warm air. One of my friends posted that it was +10 degrees celsius. So today we will do that same walk. We were walking on the street in the crescent but I was able to watch for cars and not as busy as being on our main street. YAY, a safe place to walk. I hit the motherlode.

The forecast is for continued nice warm temperatures and hopefully SUNNY blue skies. I am a bit tired of the grey ones. My body craves the sunshine. My mind needs the sunshine. My soul would very much like the sunshine a bit more often. I can see the sun starting to rise with partially clear skies so we are definitely off to a great start. Happy Monday that be!

I wish you a great day. If it is nice where you are – go outside and take that walk. Whether it is 5, 10 or 30 minutes, fresh air and exercise is magic. Good for your heart, mind and body.

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

Always, Carol & Alvin

I am so grateful to have a cup of homemade perked coffee. Oh, I forgot to mention that one of my dear friends called yesterday morning to see if I was up for a cup of coffee? I had just made 10 cups and was going to have one, what great timing and usually I do not make that many cups so it worked out perfectly. We had a great visit and even had some good laughs. I am so lucky to have such great friends and happy for such a wonderful surprise on a Sunday morning.