2021

Good Morning ALL! We hope that you are doing great on this Tuesday, June 15, 2021. Mid June. I am not sure if the weather has been playing havoc with Mr. Alvin but he did not sleep well last night and therefore Momma did not either. I am hoping that today will be quiet. The air is cool this morning which is refreshing from the hot muggy air of yesterday. The house is still hot but with the windows open it is cooling down. We slept with fans going all night. The lightning flashed and the thunder roared. At points in time when we were outside, I could see the stars. So there were clear times. Tis the season for summer rain storms. Yesterday near the end of my lunch break I hauled EVERY single one of my flowers pots into the garage. It took me a few minutes, actually over 10 minutes to put them in the safety of the garage. I always panic with respect to my flowers and plants when the forecast says “storm watch” with possible high winds and hail. So now I will have to bring them all out. It is windy and there are clouds but it has cooled down so they/we should be okay if they come out. I just think if I take all the time and money to plant them, I should look after them. Some of those pots are very heavy. The three larger black pots that were on the top deck closest to the garage door, I was able to slide them and then lift them over the door frame and into the garage. But the rest I had to lift so had to be careful. Perhaps getting some cool air will be good for us.

Yesterday it was too hot at noon for a walk so after work it had cooled down somewhat when there were clouds over head so we headed out for a walk. We did not get too far but did manage to get in a bit of a walk. Alvin drank his whole bottle of water on the walk which was about 1/2 of our regular one or close to it.

I am sorry but I am experiencing a bit of writer’s block due to being up and down all night. So I am going to sign off for today. We hope that you have a fantastic day. Hopefully you were able to sleep.

Continuing this journey called life with kindness, respect, compassion, passion, love and gratitude.

Always, Carol & Alvin

Thought I would add this ……. “hope”

• 

Second Half of the NEW YEAR.

Good Morning and that it is ….

The sun is shining and there is a nice cool breeze.

We survived a HUGE storm last night …

It has been awhile since I have heard thunder booming like a massive drum held up to your ear.

The light show was nothing to sneeze at either.

Lighting up the entire room when it flashed.

I looked out of the bedroom window at one point when the lightning flashed and it lit up the whole street in my view.

I must have fallen asleep shortly after I put my book down because the storm woke me up before 10:30 p.m.

Poor Alvin was a little stressed by it all but likely didn’t help when I was startled by the start of it all.

I heard that extra cracking and thud of hail as it hit the house and ground.

So happy that I had moved my precious flower pots out of harm’s way.

We were lucky as I surveyed the damage this morning.

Oh and the wind …. it was scary.

There were moments when I thought the roof was going to blow off.

My mind wandered briefly to the thought of a “tornado” but again we were lucky.

Just a huge wind.

It was the whole package …. one of those out of this world summer storms.

The rain was coming down so hard at one point that I could not see the other side of the street.

I have not got to the basement to check things but our drain system seems to function well.

I can hear the slight mews or it sounds like a cat but then as it got closer it was a crow.

Well as you can imagine after last night it was most difficult getting out of bed this morning.

Alvin did not want to lay down.

We were up and down a few times before finally settling on the sofa.

That seems to be his safe place.

 

Well as I am running extra late this morning …..

Will have to cut this short, I am sorry.

We are doing well.

Had two awesome walks in yesterday.

Which we so badly needed.

 

Supposed to be hot tomorrow so likely another storm tomorrow night.

Take care.

Be safe.

Live your life with kindness and respect.

Time for that first cup of coffee.

I/We shall remain,

As Always, Carol & Alvin

It is a NEW YEAR.

Good Morning and Sorry for the lateness of this post.

Today is one of the couple of late shifts that I am required to work for my job.

Since we started to work from home, the higher ups thought it would be nice for us to have our after hours phone line answered by staff for a few hours instead of the security company

that we have hired.

So couple of time or so each month we take turns working from 11:00 a.m.  until 7:00 p.m.

It is okay but I much prefer my 8:00 am. until 4:00 p.m.

After all it is not like I do not speak to my clients all day long.

Our “lunch break” ends up being at 3:00 p.m. in the afternoon.

 

Today is to be another warm one for us here in Edmonton.

There is a breeze thank goodness as I want to take Alvin for a walk after I finish this post.

I should have got my back side out of bed earlier, oh what, yes I was up earlier, several times in fact.

Went to bed later and then up early with Alvin and the story goes.

Anyway, no complaints.

 

The surgery for my family member went went and he is doing great.

I have the office window open and can hear everyone’s dogs barking.

I am not sure if people leave their pups out for hours on end or not.

But I am inclined to investigate.

Cause some of the barking is not from large dogs.

 

Last night at 10:22 p.m. it was still light outside here in Edmonton.

I snapped some shots of the sky it was so beautiful.

Oh, I baked several dozen chocolate chip cookies last night, as well.

I love that the moon looks so far away in this shot.

By the time I came out later after dark it was up close and personal.

So beautiful.

My Irises starting to bloom in the front.

The first ones to bloom and were damaged in the hail on Tuesday afternoon.

Some shots from our deck as it was hailing.

 

Well Mr. Alvin is patiently waiting for me.

I guess it is time to go for a walk.

Then home and have breakfast and COFFEE.

 

Wishing you all the most perfect day.

Filled with sunshine and perhaps even roses.

I forgot to tell you about the roses near our park.

They are blooming and the fragrance is so divine.

Seems like heaven.

With this breeze it will carry and be enjoyed by all.

Especially by me, I love those roses.

Reminds me of my Grandma, who always had the most exquisite roses in her garden.

All different colours.

 

Happy Thursday.

With kindness and respect,

I/We shall remain,

As Always, Carol & Alvin

It is a NEW YEAR.

Good Morning,

We had some rain overnight.

We also had hail yesterday afternoon.

Thankfully I did not have Mr. Alvin out for a walk.

After watching my poor flowers being pummeled with petals and leaves flying; I decided to go and rescue what I could.

I grabbed the pots that were closest and the ones that I could easily carry and brought them close to the house.

My poor Snapdragon, with new flowers, looks perfect.

It is amazing the strength of some plants and then the Irises in the front not so much.

They are long with a thin stem and the wind / hail bent them in half.

I love my garden and hope that the flowers come back.

 

Alvin went to the Vet yesterday at noon.

He has an yeast infection in his right ear.

Over $200.00 later we were home and she had given him medicine.

This new stuff lasts for a month in the ear.

So do not have to go back for another dose in a week so that is nice.

Of the $200.00 I did spend about $60 on food and treats.

Alvin, is happy that his Momma is rich.

I just snickered.

To myself.

 

The birds are chirping away this morning as they survey the damage.

The wind, well there is not any wind this morning.

Something different for us.

 

I want to send good energy out to a family member who is having surgery today.

Kisses and hugs and prayers.

 

Well here it is once again time to go to work.

I know the commute is brutal.

It truly is and I don’t know how I am managing.

Oh well, what can you do.

Another cup of coffee?

 

Well I know …. get to work.

I am excited to have a few extra days off next week.

Looking forward to that time.

 

With kindness and respect,

Living my life.

I/We, shall remain,

As Always, Carol & Alvin

 

Living … One day at a time.

Hello,

Welcome to the weekend.

So excited.

We had a huge rainstorm with booming thunder and lots of light up the sky lightning.

Woke us up.

Alvin wanted to go outside.

So just as it started to hail …. Ma in her summer nightie and coat ran out in the hail to move her flowers.

I only have four pots this year in the backyard and I did not want them to get flatten.

Ended up that the hail was quite small … about pea sized and appears that did not do much damage.

The puddles are still visible this morning as I look out the window of my office.

One of the neighbours does not have an actual paved driveway so obviously the dirt will puddle.

After work my daughter and I went to COSTCO.

I don’t mind checking things out.

She is happy that now her Ma has a cell …. she cannot lose me.

Sometimes we use to lose each other and then it could take a long time to locate the other.

After arriving at home, we split some items and my daughter left for home.

I put the groceries away and then made a beautiful salad for supper.

One of our friends called to invite us for for a visit in their backyard.

They live down the street and have the nicest backyard.

First photos Alvin was patiently waiting for my friend’s husband to come out to the backyard.

He loves him so much.

I will say that most of the time Alvin was either laying on the swing between us girls or rolling around in the grass.

I tried to play frisbee with him although once or twice he tried to pick it up ….. he did not quite get it.

I guess you cannot always teach old dogs new tricks.

He did run around like a crazy pup when I pretended to be a monster (like we do on the deck at home).

He ran back and forth and had a blast.

The grass is so lush and beautiful.

 

Well I guess we need to end this post as Teddy will be here shortly.

I still have to put in the first load of laundry.

I had planned to do laundry last night but then received the invite.

We were happy to be invited out so we grabbed the opportunity.

Then breakfast and coffee.

Always need that cup of coffee.

 

Have an awesome Saturday.

This afternoon my grand pups arrive.

They will stay with us while their parents attend a wedding in the City.

 

So happy to be spending the day with the pups.

I will take Alvin and Teddy for a walk before the others arrive.

Not able to take all four.

 

Remember Kindness and Respect will bring you the world.

Always, Carol & Alvin & soon Teddy …..

Thought for the day …..

Good Morning and Welcome to Sunday the 10th day of June, 2018.

The sky is filled with rain clouds, the trees are swaying in the wind and the sun is desperately trying to peer through the darkness.

It has been raining for a few hours and the pavement is wet, the grass is happily smiling a rich green, the trees are singing for the rain as they are moving about in the wind.

I can hear the rain drops coming down to the ground.

We needed the rain, the moisture, that balance.

 

Last night as the dark clouds filled the sky and the odd rain drop began to fall; I decided to move my flower pots into the protection of the house.

I could not have every pot in total cover and not that I wanted to as they need that glorious nectar that falls from the sky.

So they still receive the moisture but are protected in the event of hail and strong winds.

I noticed that some of the flower petals had fallen off and were covering the soil inside the pots.

What can you do?

 

We are going to visit a friend later this morning rain or shine.

So hopefully it is not pouring although I can carry my large umbrella and Alvin can walk close beside me.

He really needs a summer rain jacket.

He has one but it does not really fit him anymore.

At least it is not cold outside and we can always dry off later.

 

What are you doing today?

Is it raining where you are?

What do you do on a raining day?

Stay inside?

Go for a walk?

Read a book?

Write a book?

Watch a movie?

Eat popcorn?

Go shopping?

Do housework?

Hobby/craft time?

Go through closets?

 

I hope that wherever you are that you are enjoying this day.

Perhaps it is a work day for you or perhaps a day of leisure.

No matter what … enjoy.

Take in the sights and sounds around you.

Hold them close.

Appreciate them for what they are ….

Happy Sunday.

 

Special Hello to: my sister …. who is one of the best joke tellers I know.

Always, Carol & Alvin

Thought for the day ….

Good Morning and Welcome to Friday, the 21st day of July, 2017.

This is what happened last night.

The skies got so dark just after 8:00 p.m. and luckily we had made it from our walk with a few minutes to spare.

I knew something was coming.

Well when I was thinking about watching one of my Christmas movies this weekend, perhaps I was not far off the mark.

Part of the deck looked like it had snowed as the hail stones huddled together creating quite the sight.

Like diamonds …. in the sky or on my deck, actually.

I am by no means a photographer and I only have a small Canon PowerShot so some of the photos are out of focus due to the flash and lightning and what not.

But I think they turned out quite cool.

It was hailing on the deck which is on the south side of the house and when I ran to the front which faces north there was no hail and the water was flowing like it was a small river.

I am so grateful for the drainage in my yard as it quickly runs down the middle of the front lawn between my house and the neighbours out to the street and down the storm drain.

It truly looked like a small river running to the street.

There was quite the lightning show and a bit of thunder but not too much.

My poor lilies out front took the brunt of the wind and heavy rain while the flowers in the backyard were pelted by hail stones.

I hope that they survive as I want to show them off to my company in August.

Well Happy Friday.

We are so lucky at my office as we are having a pancake breakfast at 7:30 – 9:00 and then we get to go to the parade for K-Days (Exhibition-Fair) or go home.

I am helping serve the breakfast so will be leaving home extra early to be there before or by 7:30 p.m.

I love pancakes …… which reminds me that would be a good thing to make my company for breakfast a day or two while they are visiting.

Special Hello to: my Sister and my Brother who are coming to visit us, soon.

Always, Carol & Alvin

Thought for the day ….

Good Morning and Welcome to Tuesday the 2nd day of May, 2017.

Did you say day #2 of May?

When it that happen?

I guess today.

This week is going to be FANTASTIC weather wise and otherwise, too.

The sky is overcast but does not look like rain clouds.

Strange.

I guess we shall see if the forecast is correct.

 

Just have photos to share with you.

Two of my favourite things and the other well just something to share.

 

Photo #1: Alvin last week with long hair and snow.

Photo #2: Alvin last night before bed sporting his new hair cut and no snow.

I swear he is 5 pounds lighter with the new hair cut.

Definitely cute puppy dog alert ….. oh, how I love me Alvin.

Photo #3: Yesterday’s thunder/hail storm, proof of hail on the deck.

Photo #4: You can see the hail jumping up off the deck.

Photo #5:  My new favourite food to make.  Homemade pizza.  My recipe.

Simple:  Pizza with tomato pizza sauce with garlic and parsley, then sprinkle oregano, followed by wait for it ….

my new favourite thing – caramelized onions and topped with cheddar/mozzarella cheese mix.

I must say that I love caramelized onions and funny thing.

After cooking for over 50 years – I have never caramelized onions before now.

Just been seeing many chefs on HGTV and FOOD NETWORK doing this …..

OMG, so GOOD.  Cannot believe.  I am hooked.

So tasty, seems amazing and is CHEAP to make.

Great for everyone’s budget.

Photo #6:  Note to self, watch parchment paper under the broiler.

 

My mouth just waters – looking at the photos.

 

I hope that you are smiling now and ready for a new day.

Be kind and have fun.

After all what is the use of be alive if you cannot or do not have FUN.

Enjoy the day no matter what it brings.

If you are enjoying the day it will bring good things.

 

Special Hello to: my sister …. did you make that request??

Always, Carol & Alvin

 

 

 

Thought for the day …..

Good Morning and Welcome to Monday the 1st day of May, 2017.

Well April showers hopefully will bring May flowers.

We had a great couple of days to close out April.

Yesterday only a few minutes after I finished raking the front lawn including my neighbours we received HAIL.

YIKES.

Thunder shower with hail that is how we ended April 2017.

 

Alvin and I enjoyed our walk.

We only were a few houses away from home when we bumped into neighbour/friends so we had a short chat to catch up.

We have changed our regular walk as the pathway around the lake has been wet and muddy.

So as we were on our way around the big lake – friends of ours spotted us and of course, we went to join them.

We ended up chatting for quite some time before we decided just to walk together on our way home.

The temperature was perfect …. no wind …… just perfect.

We listened to the frogs in the lake and birds chirping from the trees.

People stopped to say hello with their dogs.

We met even more nice people and their fur-babies.

Absolute perfection.

 

After reaching home I went about finishing the last two loads of laundry, raking the back yard and then decided I may as well rake the front.

Why wait – perhaps it was not as wet as I had previously thought.

I was right.

So rake both mine and the neighbours.

Just in time as the thunder shower with hail happened just a few minutes later ….

 

After I make the fridge oatmeal, lunch and got supper into the oven – we had time to catch up on THE VOICE.

Such a lot of talented singers.

 

I noticed on FB, something that made me beam with pride.

At a recent hockey game in Edmonton when it came time for the guest to sing “The American National Anthem” there was a mic hiccup so he rallied the crowd and they sang.

It was amazing.

So Canadian Hockey FANS singing the American National Anthem and sounded like they knew the words.

Made me proud.

Thank you guys.

 

Well here we are time for me to leave for the bus.

Sun coming up …… promises to be a great day.

 

Happy Monday.

Be well everyone.

 

Special Hello: thank you sister for the lovely chat via SKYPE last night.

Always, Carol & Alvin

Thought for the day ….

Good Morning and Welcome to Thursday the 9th day of June, 2016.

It is overcast this morning and has been since early on.

Last night after work as soon as Alvin had finished eating and having a drink we went for a walk.

We got almost half way round the lakes when it started to rain, big drops.

That was my cue to get us back home.

Sure enough it started coming down harder and harder.

We were only home about three minutes when the heavens opened and it POURED.

Mixed in with the rain were bits of ice – hail, about the size of a nickel, I would say.

I was so happy that we made it inside before the hail.

I do not mind getting wet although we would have been VERY wet, soaked to the skin.

We can use the moisture and it is a good thing.

I hope that the rain went up north.

Well today is a vacation day for me that is the reason for a much later than usual blog.

My grand-puppy Elton is spending today and tomorrow with us.

Yes, I have tomorrow off.

SO excited to just bum around.

I have some work to do on my tea business and perhaps re-organize another garage sale if the weather will be nice this weekend.

Otherwise for today …. the plan is to RELAX.

Just chill with my BOYS, my pack, my peeps.

Looks like the sun might be coming out.

Well I hope that you have a glorious Thursday.

Time to go and enjoy a big mug of COFFEE.

Take care.

Special Hello to: my sister …..

Always, Carol and Alvin

P.S. Elton is doing great and we are so happy.