Good Morning! There is a cool breeze wafting in through the open windows. When the alarm went off I got up and opened the office window and went downstairs and opened the living room and kitchen windows. The house is filling up with the coolness of the morning air. Today is supposed to be +29 but I think it may surpass that number. The sky is a brilliant blue and the sun is up and shining upon everything it reaches. I am grateful that I can work from home most of this week. YAY.
Yesterday morning I was up in good time but not as earlier as Saturday. I had a real lazy Mother’s Day Sunday. There was even a nap in the afternoon and that is likely the reason that I could not fall to sleep last night. It was a long night. After supper I walked with Alejandro, Eddie & Bruno. Bruno seems a bit better than he was a few days ago. His Mom comes home on Wednesday night, late. Both the pups will be happy to see their Momma.
I tried my air fryer out last night making french fries. Lesson learned better to do one potato at a time. They did crisp up or at least most of them did but some did not. It was easy to do. Will have to try something else. I will have to make some of that yummy rice pudding with my handy dandy Tupperware pressure cooker. I have two small appliances that I can use in this heat. Not a good time to be turning on the oven.
This will be short as I did not set up my workspace last night and am feeling that I need some COFFEE this morning. I also need to take some of my plants outside. Will try and find a place that will not be in the burning sun. Likely will end up moving them about throughout the course of the day. My deck faces south and there is no cover from the heat of the day. My daughter is going to bring me an umbrella which will help with some shade.
I hope that you keep cool on this Monday. Be safe.
Wishing and praying that moisture extinguishes the wildfires. Keep the animals and humans all safe.
Continuing to live this life with kindness, respect, compassion, patience, love, laughter, understanding, gratitude, focus, possibilities, coffee and forgiveness.
Good Morning. There is such refreshing cool air pouring in through the office window as I key these words on my computer. The sun is shining brightly and the sky is the perfection of blue. There is a breeze which is helping to bring in the cool air. I opened all of the windows earlier. I woke up a bit later than I usually do during the week. There is a dog barking in the distance. Hopefully its’ owners have not left him/her outside. Now that the temperatures are getting warmer and very hot on some days, it is so important to carry water with you when you are walking with your dog(s). They are wearing a fur coat and you have on shorts, a teeshirt and flip flops. Think about it. Also skin is not fur. They need to be hydrated. Also please do not take them when it is hot. Not only is the temperature hard on them but the pavement and sidewalks can burn the bottom of their paws, their pads. I have seen this close up on a poor doggie that we found wondering on our back lane. Please people be responsible. The night before last when I was walking with my friends Alejandro, Eddie & Bruno (they are those handsome yellow labs), we saw this man on a skateboard of sorts, more current and I do not know what it is called. Shorter than the old ones and he had a baby strapped on the front of his baby, a cell phone in one hand and holding the leash for a medium-large dog in the other. I almost lost my breath. How irresponsible. What is wrong with people. Every day we see people out riding bicycles with a poor dog on a leash trying to keep up. Sometimes I have seen this person on a bike with two dogs. You have no control and should not be riding a bike and walking your dogs. Get off the damn bike and do a walk/run with your pet if they like to run a bit. Dogs do not love to run full out with you on your bike. THEY DO NOT! Can you imagine being on a leash trying to keep up with someone on a bike. Also they do not have water with them.
Last night Alejandro had two pet water bottles with him and I took Alvin’s bottle with me. Well it was funny as Eddie saw the reflection from the bottle and starting trying to paw at the light. Finally I figured that my pocked on my pants (cargo pants) would hold the water bottle so that he would not be trying to get at the reflection. Smart guy that Eddie. Poor Bruno. He is doing better than last night but still having a hard time. He has/had cancer. He is on prednisone to stop and hopefully kill the cancerous tumour. Last night his poop was starting to firm up. No where near what regular poop should be but definitely better than the previous night. He has put on weight from the steroid for sure. You know that a pup is in pain or not himself when their tail hangs low. Another reason is when they are hot and thirsty. We walked for one and half hours last night. I love being with Eddie and Bruno and their humans of course. The boys make me happy and I remember when I used to be walking Alvin and would see them.
Today is going to be a busy day so I have to get my poop in a group and get going. I want to go and wash the deck (have to hook up the garden hose first), do some cleaning and have a shower before noon. I am expecting a grocery delivery sometime between noon and 2:00 p.m. (hopefully closer to noon). The kids are dropping off Aspen and Milo and heading over to Costco. One of their friends is dropping off their dog Breeze here as they are watching him/her for a few days. We are ordering in supper for Mother’s Day. Lots going on.
Be safe, make good choices and remember to laugh.
I found out that the $60 million lotto jackpot was won by someone in Alberta. A man from Red Deer. So there is definitely hope for our group or me to win. I know there is a lot of money coming my way.
Happy Mother’s Day early to all you Moms out there. Oh, I better put together a little something for my daughter, she is a Mom. All Moms count. Whether to children, to pups or cats or fish. Oh, I am on pet sitting duties this weekend as well for Humphrey & Bogart. Time is flying by, I have to go.
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)
P.S. I am able to work from home this next week for Monday through Thursday as our office is undergoing the finishing touches on some earlier renovations. We will be going onto two sites for Wednesday morning but otherwise I am at home. So grateful.
Good Morning ALL! I hope that you are doing well. Another beautiful morning out there which will be great for our walk in a few minutes. As the day progresses it is forecasted to be 32 degrees celsius with a humidex factor of 35. That will not be fun and I am hoping that because the house is relatively cool at this moment that it will remain that way for several hours. After this week it looks like the high temperatures will have dissipated. It is not that I want to see summer disappear but not many people do well in those temperatures especially when we see them so seldom during the course of a year. I do however, look forward to fall or autumn and hopefully it will last until December. A girl can dream.
I do love fall. The crisp early mornings and the easy warm days and the cool evenings. The leaves on the trees turn to the most glorious colours. The bunnies start in time to turn white for winter. The air, the sights and the sounds and the fragrances of fall are so enticing. Pumpkin and spices.
Last night one of my friend’s came over for a visit. We had more of a “venting” session but that is okay as we both clearly needed to get some things off of our chests. Sometimes you just need to get it out. Nothing serious – just the little things – those things that eat at your mind – causing more damage in the long run. So happy that we spoke our truths and said what we needed to say. We also talked about her sons returning to school tomorrow. Christmas. The weather. So there were definitely some positive thoughts going about the conversation. Not all negative. I would like to think that venting or getting things off of your chest is not a negative action but rather a positive way to dump the negative energy without anyone getting harmed in any way.
On this sunny Tuesday, Alvin and I are going to enjoy our walk. I filled his water bottle and have his pooping bags just in case. More often than not, I use one of them to pick up trash. Today is garbage day in our neighborhood so hopefully it will not be windy and blow about the recycling. There is always someone who just lays things loosely in a cardboard box or a blue bin. Always someone!
Well I am going to grab the fan and take it downstairs, instruct Mr. Alvin to come downstairs and then get ready for our walk.
I wish you a glorious day. Remember always good to remove the negative energy / thoughts from your mind. If you can release those thoughts by “venting” them with a good friend – then you are definitely going to feel better.
Continuing to live this life with kindness, respect, compassion, patience, love, laughter, understanding, gratitude, focus, possibilities and coffee.
As the sun fills the morning sky I bid you adieu!
Always, Carol & Alvin
PS: so grateful for such great people that surround me.
Good Morning ALL! We had a good sleep last night. Up at 4:30 with a pee break for a little four legged someone. Followed by up at 6:00 for his breakfast and then up to stay up at 8:00. We were out of the house for a quick walk by 8:14 and much to my surprise we got three doors down and he stopped. He was walking very slowly as it was sniffing and such. I said do you want to go home and he turned around and headed back home. Now that was the quickest walk in history. I am very hot as I am writing this upstairs in my office with no fan as it is downstairs. After the “no go walk” we watered the flowers and then I have Mr. Alvin a haircut and bath followed by a shower for me.
I am afraid this will be very short but I wanted to share the results of Alvin’s bloodwork from yesterday’s appointment to the vet. We had our appointment at 10:00, we waited until after 10:30 before we could see her. Alvin had his nails trimmed as I found one of his dew claws was long considering they were just trimmed not even two weeks ago. Then the bloodwork. We were home by just after 11:00. It wasn’t until after 4:30 that the vet called with the news. Alvin has kidney and liver disease, high cholesterol and high blood pressure. Not we are not counting him out of the game just yet. The bloodwork was not conclusive with the stage and I am going to think it is the beginning and would be considered low grade. So with diet and supplements he would/could live several more happy comfortable years. I am keeping those thoughts in my heart and in my mind.
I am feeling so hot and feels like I did not even have a shower. So I must go. Alvin will be feeling even more hot. Thankfully he is still wet from his bath as I did not completely dry him. In a little bit after I clean up downstairs, I will head out to the grocery store for a few things and then I am done for the day.
The last two weeks or so have been a series of ups and downs. I appreciate the support of our family and friends. This is life.
Have a wonderful day. I will be here tomorrow.
Hopefully earlier or with a fan. I already took it downstairs so the fans were all going when he had his haircut.
Coffee time.
Continuing to live this life with kindness, respect, compassion, patience, love, laughter, understanding, gratitude, focus, possibilities and COFFEE.
Always, Carol & Alvin
PS: 10 sleeps until 65. Oh, I forgot he has to go for more testing. Next step is a urine test. So we know where there is going. Yup, I have to score a pee sample from a dog. Now that should be interesting. The sample has to be to the vet within one hour. No problem, lol. Then likely an abdominal ultrasound.
Good Morning ALL! Well it is gearing up to be another hot one here in Edmonton. I know that according to the weather channel we are by no means the hot spots in Canada or even in Alberta. I am so grateful that it is only as hot as it is. This morning it was 80 in the house, by opening the main floor windows (as did not wish to leave them open all night) and turning on the fans, the temperature is now 77. That is three whole degrees lower, which is a godsend at this point. I am doing okay but I worry about Mr. Alvin but I think between the fans and the cool wet towels he is okay. It is beautiful outside right now and he sure wanted to stay out in the backyard sniffing away. But I needed to get dressed and write this post. I told him we are going as soon as I am done with my blog. He thought that was okay. Yes, he did.
Last night I broke down and ordered pizza. Just did not know what to make and it was so hot. So pizza and some carrots and celery (raw) was the menu for supper. Not many dishes and no work in this heat. I could have make something else, I am sure but let me tell you when you are cooking for one, sometimes it is difficult. What to make? Sometimes you just do not want to cook. Pizza got ordered. I was able to get the call in before they could not hear me due to the dead zones in my house. I guess I will be contacting TELUS via computer this weekend as cannot call on the phone or they won’t hear me or maybe I should. I hope that there calls are at a minimum, maybe summer is a better time to contact them. Time will tell. Also this weekend I want to give Mr. Alvin haircut and bath. He will feel so much better.
I am sure all the wildlife is enjoying the coolness of the morning air. Forecast said 21 degrees celsius by 9 a.m., that is warm for that time of time. We have many days where the daytime high is only that, lol.
Well I had better run. I am sorry to make this so short. Oh, good news for Alvin and for me. Teddy’s Mom called last night they are in town and wanted to set up a visit. Tonight’s the night. Alvin is going to be so happy to be see his BFF and his little sister Kobi. I am excited, too. We miss them.
Have a wonderful Thursday.
Continuing to live this life with kindness, respect, compassion, patience, love, laughter, understanding, gratitude, focus, possibilities and coffee.
Good Morning ALL! It is a great morning. We were up earlier than usual and I have already had a shower. The plan is to write this post and then go for a walk. The sky is overcast at this moment and there is a slight breeze so it will be perfect for walking. The temperature is supposed to be +30 degrees celsius today. I thought we had better get out as we missed yesterday. Should have/would have gone in the morning had I realized that the temperature was going to be much warmer than the forecast. So I have made a promise to Mr. Alvin that we will get up earlier and go for a walk in the morning while it is still cool – that way we both get some exercise and fresh air.
This month has been chalked full of birthdays. Family and friends. August is another big month for my family and friends. So exciting. Birthdays are a good thing. A reminder that we made it through another year with the promise of another one ahead.
Yesterday I received a text from my friend Val, who said “There is a parcel in your mailbox.” I was so excited. I was in the middle of work so wanted to wait until my lunch break. At my break I walked quickly to the mailbox to retrieve the parcel. A large box awaited. When I brought it into the house, Alvin started to bark. He knew what was inside – something for him. As I opened the box, I saw a sign that said “SURPRISE! You’re 65 (almost). Underneath a card and a box filled with goodies.
Mr. Alvin enjoying opening his treats from Val. She baked some sweet potato bones and some mini banana peanut butter muffins, I believe.
I am sorry that I had to leave this morning due to technical difficulties and impatience. Back now. Getting it done. Hopefully I will be able to share some photos. We always love seeing pictures.
Well I had to delete some photos from my library and still exceeds limit, so now not sure if computer is full or what! Just a few photos to show some of my treats. The unopened packages are some specially hand baked treats for Mr. Alvin and the other packages are a variety of Epicure products. I need to go to the grocery store for some ingredients so I can make them. So excited. There were also a couple of gift cards to great stores: Winners and one of my favourites “Bath & BodyWorks.” DId I say cinnamon buns and biscotti. Yes, there is!
The house was 78 degrees Fahrenheit about mid morning. I totally understand why Mr. Alvin was panting. I tried covering him with a wet towel but he only liked it for a small amount of time. The clouds roll in every once in awhile breaking up the sunshine. A small reprieve. Although I really do not want to complain about the heat and sunshine. We will manage. All of the blinds are closed, all the fans are on. We can always retreat to the basement after work if need be.
I am thinking this might be a pizza night with leftovers for the next few meals. No cooking required.
Well I should go as I spent a great deal of my lunch break just trying to delete photos so that I could add these few. I had more to share but will have to be another time.
Have a great rest of your Wednesday. I hope that you are cool and safe. Enjoying the summer!
Continuing to live this life with kindness, respect, compassion, patience, love, laughter, understanding, gratitude, focus, possibilities and there was coffee!
Good Morning ALL! How are you today? It is a cool bright sunny morning here in Edmonton with a temperature of 10 degrees celsius. Very refreshing. This will be a brief post as I am upstairs on the computer. I had some banking to do this morning and of course, Mr. Alvin is not happy and has been barking since I came upstairs. Does not help with my ever increasing anxiety. I am thinking at this rate, I will be taking medicine soon, lol. He does not bark every morning but for some reason this morning …. he is and he has the most down to the bones frustrating as I cannot think of a word to describe it at this moment. Anyway, not pleasant to listen to. We did not sleep well. Bed at 10 p.m. and up at 2:50 a.m. and then outside twice and back to bed (on main floor) at 3:30. He woke up at 5:52 a.m. and had his breakfast and back outside. I just needed more sleep so back to sleep although I am pretty sure that he did not sleep. If I could just have some decent sleep it would make things so much more easier to deal with. But alas I feel that it is not in my cards.
I am going to give him his next round of meds right away here and then go for a quick walk before starting work. Coffee is definitely going to be my best friend today.
I am so grateful to my friend Gillian for going and picking up Alvin’s medicine yesterday. If I did not have such great kids and friends, I would be in some serious trouble.
Looks like tomorrow, Saturday and Sunday are going to be in the 30’s. Won’t that be lovely. I am going to give Mr.Alvin a haircut this evening and then just a sponge bath to remove any extra hair. Otherwise it will be brutal giving him a haircut when it is so hot.
Well I must go before he has a coronary – is that even possible with dogs. OR else his Momma may have.
I think that the windows are open downstairs so the neighbours or anyone going by will hear his cries and think he is in trouble. What a guy!
Anyway, I wish you a great day. Things will get better. I sure hope so anyway.
Continuing to live this life with kindness, respect, compassion, PATIENCE, understanding, love and gratitude.
Good Morning All! Welcome to another hot day in Edmonton. I will be over the moon when our a/c is serviced next week and I am willing to bet that Mr. Alvin feels the same. I certainly am not going to complain about these warm days as our summers are relatively short compared to our winter / cold months. So we do our best to keep cool. I would have escaped to the basement with Alvin but packing him up and down the stairs is not easy. He weighs a good 30 pounds give or take and I have to carry him a certain way so as not to hurt his knee any further. So we just spend our evenings in front of the fans. I do hope it cools down later in the evening.
Last night I was fixing the living room blinds so that Alvin could clearly see outside without having to strain looking through them semi open. I noticed there was a little robin standing on the top of the front flower bed. It didn’t seem to be too disturbed by me watching through the open window with only a screen between us. It hopped about and into the dirt amongst the flowers, all the time holding something in its beak. I love robins. Partway through taking photos through the screen I decided to go outside and see if I could snap a photo or two. I was able to get a couple of our little visitor. I was thinking that perhaps the little one may be thirsty so I took a clear glass storage container and filled it with cool water. As I stepped off the last step and edged closer to the little feathered one, it semi flew and hopped onto my neighbour’s front flower bed. Surprisingly enough it didn’t fly away but hopped onto the grass. The water is left for any birdie or perhaps a bee needing a drink.
The second photo behind the screen is of the robin and is the first photo I took and then I went outside.
Little Visitor
Alvin
Keeping an eye out
Flower power
My little piece of heaven
Panoramic shot
Fav thing on hot day
From my vantage point
Well as our life continues to change with our new norm, we just continue to live one moment, one day at a time. Trying to keep some sense of sanity, patience, definitely patience and knowing that things will get better.
I am grateful that our sofa is comfortable but even at that it is not our bed. With the heat we struggle to get comfy and sometimes can make for a long night. But we will get through it, just one day at a time.
Wishing you a wonderful Friday.
Continuing to live each day with kindness , respect, compassion, patience, understanding love an gratitude.
Good Morning ALL! How are you this Saturday. Well I just had a shower in cold water and not be design. So I need to make this short and head to the basement and see what is going on. I googled and there could be a gas leak to the hot water heater or any number of reasons why there is no hot water. We have been busy trying to keep cool the past week and succeeded thus far.
I will keep you posted.
Need to keep safe here …… not quite sure who to call or what to do but I am sure that I will figure it out.
Have a great day and be safe, cool and in good health.
Continuing to live with kindness, respect, compassion, patience, understanding, love and gratitude.
Good Morning ALL! How are you this Wednesday morning? Cool, I hope. Alvin and I were up at 3:30 as both had to “pee.” It was so refreshing outside and even though it was in the 20’s celsius even at that time with a breeze it felt cool and as I was wearing my summer pj’s, I put on a sweater, imagine that! We lingered on the deck for a time enjoying the coolness and for a moment I thought of grabbing Alvin’s beds and bringing them outside and laying down on the deck. For a moment. Then back into the house and laid down until he was up at 4:30 to eat. After Alvin ate, I changed my alarm from 5:00 to 5:30. I checked the weather and before the official sunrise it was 24 degrees celsius with a breeze and only climbing after the sun begins to rise higher in the sky. The sun rose at I think 5:07 so we could see to walk of course and at 5:40 a.m. this morning Alvin and I headed out for a walk. We came across three runners and one couple with a dog walking. I think that the dog was walking the Mrs. They were fully dressed with long pants, tops and jackets. I felt warm looking at them. Anyway we enjoyed the coolness in the air, the smell of the roses, the smell of the morning. It was enchanting. Really it was. I felt like we were in a different place and shortly we will be. I am grateful that we have fans and can keep relatively okay. Last night before bed I gave Alvin a bath of sorts, no shampoo, just got him wet and then partially dried him. I had a shower. Then we went to bed. I also put a wet towel on him. When the towel dried out during the night, he woke up. I realized what the problem was grabbing the towel went into the bathroom and ran some coolish water soaking the towel. Covering him with it once again, he went back to sleep. I think that he knows what the towel represents now. I am grateful to have towels and water. There is still a breeze coming in through the office window and it is actually cool in here. Unlike yesterday morning when it was warm but we are earlier I think. A few minutes ago after returning from our walk, Alvin wanted to go outside. So we went into the backyard and found Bogart atop the fence between his yard and ours. He was meowing at Alvin and Alvin was barking at him. His Mom came out, picked up Bogart from the top of the fence, he was not impressed, we had a short visit as she was vacuuming while it was still cool before realizing that she promised a coworker that she would go to the office and help with a task. So then she was hustling Humphrey and Bogart into the house. That has been our morning thus far. Honestly feels like we have been up for hours and I guess actually we have.
At least the weekend will be 10 or more degrees cooler and 25/26 degrees celsius looks pretty cool to me.
So on this Wednesday the last day of June 2021 and the day before we celebrate Canada Day, I am grateful to live in a country that is not perfect but we are trying to do better for all our citizens. We are hopeful that for the children of the next generations we will always remember what is not acceptable and that we will all live together with respect, compassion and kindness for everyone, for each citizen of this great land. Everyone is important. Everyone!
Happy Wednesday to you. I am off to put on some coffee and perhaps sit outside on the deck for a little while while the deck remains shaded before the sun rises higher in the sky. Enjoy that refreshing cool air a bit longer.
Take care and stay cool and hydrated.
Continuing to live this life with kindness, respect, compassion, patience, understanding, love and gratitude.
My New Life @ 51 