The New YEAR 2022

Good Morning ALL! How are you this morning? We are doing well. The sky is blue and the sun is shining and there is a slight breeze. Does not get better than that! Yesterday was a beautiful day. We had a little shower but not too much. Our plants, flowers, gardens, crops, lawns and trees just need some sunshine at this time. So nice to be having some this morning.

How was your Sunday? We were busy. Well I was busy! Mr. Alvin was busy having me wait on him. But I do not mind. We enjoyed a walk but had to cut it not too much shorter as it started to rain. I did some cleaning, baked a banana/pumpkin/orange loaf with chocolate chips, took photos of the items in the garage sale and lots of other odds and ends. It was a full, good day.

Hard to believe that I had a three day weekend and that it is over already. Where does the time go?

Also tomorrow is the first day of summer, Tuesday, June 21st, 2022. I will change the wreath on our front door and put up our wreath with the roses on it.

Not much new here. Oh, I have been dreaming like a huge amount. Something is going on within my brain. Seems like one ends and another begins. I don’t remember too many details but I know that there are many of them and they are different from one another.

I love looking out the window and seeing the green leaves on the trees swaying in the breeze. The trees are pretty much full now and look so great. I love the colour green. I think it is my favourite colour. Although I do like other colours.

Well I have to go shortly here and do a couple of things before I start work.

Plug in the coffee pot to perk for one thing (I can taste the coffee in my mind). Put out the bags of bottles to be picked up.

Looks like we will have a good walk at noon. I think I am going to have to get mobile earlier so that we can walk in the morning. There is nothing like that morning coolness, not cold, just perfection. Sometimes by noon it is too warm for Mr. Alvin to be out walking. Today should be okay.

I hope that you have a great Monday.

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

Always, Carol & Alvin

PS: only 50 days until my 65th Birthday. Cannot believe it. Still.

2021

Good Morning ALL! How are you doing on this Wednesday morning? We are doing well. The sun is rising earlier each morning and although it normally gives me that extra boost to get up and go, not so much the past few mornings. Last night we were in bed a bit later about 10 p.m. and Alvin basically slept until 4:30 a.m. which was great. He did try to get up earlier but I instructed him to go back to bed and he actually did. So I did get a good amount of sleep this morning. There is something about just snuggling under the blanket that keeps me from getting up and going some mornings. Oh well, we up and after this post ready to get to work for the day.

I was wondering who do you admire? Who were your childhood heroes? Did you have any? What did you learn from them? Are you continuing to learn from those people? Perhaps they have passed. Did you learn life lessons? Did they make an impression on your life? on your future? on your personality? on what you chose as a career? So many questions.

The above questions were asked yesterday. Did you ponder them? Maybe you even made some notes. I was thinking since yesterday that I will just start with the first question.

Who do I admire? I admire a great many people. Topping the list are my daughter and son-in-law, my sister, my brothers, my cousin LL, my friend since we were toddlers Deanna, a dear friend Val, I call them my young friends G & S, teachers and another longtime friend LH. Really when I think about it there are way too many to write. I admire a great many people and definitely so many over my almost 64 years. There are also people that I do not personally know that I admire from afar. Also some folks that I worked with in Regina for many years GM, RH, RB, LE, and KS. So many more …… I admire them all for different reasons but mainly for being in my life and teaching me so much about the world and myself.

Who were my childhood heroes? I would say my grandparents topped the list for sure. They were the ones that were always there. My mother and father but for different reasons and people that know me will understand this. My best friend’s Mom who happened to teach me in grade 5/6. I would say Walt Disney from a distance for his vision and for creating the Walt Disney Show. Also I had some wonderful Aunts and Uncles and I treasure their presence in my life for all time.

Are you continuing to learn from these people? Absolutely. Life lessons all round. I have learned something from every single person that has entered my life and that includes my four legged friends.

Did you learn life lessons? I guess that I answered that above, yes, very definitely.

Did they make an impression on your life? on your future? on your personality? on what you chose as a career? Absolutely. I believe, well actually I know that every single life force that has entered my life has made an impression, some positive and some negative. But that is how you grow. The information, the knowledge, the incredible impressions, so much brought me to this place. On my personality, for sure. How can every person that you meet not help to form who you are, who you will be and what you will do in your life. It takes a village, right! I have found that certainly to be true.

There are so many folks that have help formed who I am today. I am grateful for each and everyone of you. If you read this post and were not mentioned it is not because I did not value you in my life it is because there simply is not enough room to write everyone’s name. I value everyone and for a multitude of reasons.

Well time to head downstairs and get this day going. I can almost smell the coffee perking (I have to turn it on, of course). Today we are celebrating our new company name, yes there was a name change. Shorter and that is good. Sometimes change is good. This is good.

Continuing to life my life with kindness, respect, compassion and patience.

Always, Love Carol & Alvin

It is a rainbow kind of day …… bright …… positive …. time to celebrate!

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Thought for the day …..

Good Morning and Welcome to Saturday the 7th day of May, 2016.

The sun is shining and the sky is blue.

You can smell smoke in the air which keeps us in constant thought of our neighbours to the north.

This is my story.

 

THE CAKE

This past Thursday night as Alvin and I were out on our nightly walk we happened to see our friend “P” outside in her backyard.

Alvin loves her and begged to come into the yard.

We immediately began to chat about the fires burning up north in Fort McMurray.

She told me that she had family living up there and how they had been evacuated and how her niece rescued neighbours beloved pets and others along the way.

My heart soared as she told me their story.

My friend also said that they are on their way to stay with them while things get sorted out.

As she was speaking my mind raced to “what can I do” mode.

I knew that the foodstuffs and extra bits of things in my pantry were at an all time low so I did not readily volunteer to cook something.

With no money until payday to start refilling the shelves.

There had to be something else.

Now I am not saying that I do not have anything to eat …. I am okay.

But to make something worthy of these folks it had to be special and that,I could not do at this time.

So I did volunteer my spare bedroom and my air mattress but my friend said they should be okay (they have a HUGE house).

On our way out of the yard we chatted about her flowers which by the way are amazing.

She is English, and truly has an English garden, no matter the time of year, so beautiful.

P offered me a fern as she has many ….. I accepted but we decided to dig it out on the weekend.

She gave me some bulbs last fall and I am proud to say that they are growing.

On our way home I was thinking that I did have a cake mix, yes a store bought one in my cupboard.

Usually I make from scratch but always good to have one on hand.

I knew that I had plenty of eggs and just enough vegetable oil and of course, lots of water.

So I knew that I could bake a cake and take it over on the weekend.

The only fly in my ointment was the “icing.”

I had only a small amount of icing sugar (clearly not enough to cover a 9×13 cake).

No vanilla, lots of butter, no canned milk and some condensed milk.

What to do?

I needed to borrow some type of milk.

So I went to one of my neighbours and borrowed a can of coconut milk.

That was all she had.

It would work I thought …. would not be quite the same, but okay.

So I baked the cake which turned out proper.

Then I went to work on the icing …..

Earlier I had taken the butter out of the fridge so it could soften before I made the icing.

I placed the icing sugar into my mixer bowl, followed by some cocoa, and butter which was not clearly soft enough but in my need to get this done, I went ahead.

I added some condensed milk and some of the coconut milk.

Started to blend.

The butter was not mixing so I turn off the mixer and went about some other business.

Returning a while later …. mixed some more.

Still not perfect.

Returned a while later.

This went on for over three hours …… that butter just did not want to break down.

Finally I mixed and squashed the butter by hand.

The consistency is not the same as usual as there was not enough icing sugar, no vanilla and no canned milk.

But it tastes good …. so just after 11:30 last night I put the icing on the cake.

It spread well as it was not thick.

I covered it with some sprinkles of coconut as I thought with the coconut milk it might add to it.

Also threw on some of our Steeped Tea raspberry sugar …..

The point of this story is not really about the cake but to my need to immediately help out.

I have learned that it is better to wait for some time than to rush in and not be prepared.

The cake is baked and I had my neighbour check out the icing and she said thumbs up.

So I am relieved.

Later today I will take over the cake for the heroes visiting our city.

It is not much but it is from my heart and that is what truly counts.

I have heard of so many stories of how people have given so much when they have little themselves.

It is “our way” ….. to reach out and help those in need.

We have an office up north that my place of employment is affiliated with that was destroyed in the fires.

Some of the employees at that office have lost their homes as well.

I volunteered to go up if they need a hand knowing that Alvin can easily go and stay with my daughter and son-in-law.

We continue to hear stories of bravery and heroism and they will continue for a long time to come.

We all want to help.

No matter what you give as long as you give it from your heart – it is enough.

Time to go and give Mr. Alvin a much needed hair cut.

I am thinking that I could foster a doggie if needed.

Special Hello to: all those people from Fort McMurray you are in our thoughts and prayers.

Always, Carol and Alvin