The New YEAR 2022

Good Morning ALL! Looks like another beautiful day on the way. It was actually not bad out earlier this morning when we were out in the backyard. Warmer than Saturday morning as there was frost then. No frost this morning. Alvin is hanging in there and me, too. Couple more days wearing socks when he goes outside and we should be okay. I have tried to examine the bottom of his pads but it is difficult by myself. Anyway, we are doing well. I am so grateful for the second day in a row for the sun to be shining so brightly. Thank you for the blue skies. There is a breeze but I think that is going to be part of the norm now.

Yesterday I cleaned out the office closet, went through all of my jewelry (which was huge), went through the spare bedroom, laundry and mowed the backyard. Not a huge amount of things but things done. Today I want to wash down the deck, sort through some of the things in the garage. Then basement left to do. I want to have everything ready for the garage sale. I have a pile of things in the spare bedroom to go downstairs and to the garage for the sale. But will leave them for now. Also do some vacuuming as well. I also moved the desk (table) that was storing my jewelry from the spare room to my room. My room is a bit more full than I normally would like but it is a nice change. I can put it back at some point.

It will be done in chunks as Alvin has to stay in the house unless I can keep an eye on him. Those dratted socks will not stay up all of the time. They slip from time to time. I am proud of them for at least allowing me to put them on his feet each and every time we go outside.

Yesterday there were two little blue/black/white birds flying about the birdhouse that I have in the backyard. It sits up on a pole that sits on the upper deck. The only thing is one of the birds kept flying too close to one of the glass windows on the garage. I was worried that it was going to knock itself out but gratefully it did not.

The neighbours are outside raking their lawn and doing outdoors things.

This is the time of year that most people if not camping for the first time this season that are out raking, going through their garages, getting things ready to haul to the Eco Station (not sure if it is open on the long weekend or not), and all things outdoors.

Tomorrow I am planting my flowers. I checked the weather station and looks like we should be okay for overnight temperatures. YAY. Cannot wait.

Have an awesome Sunday.

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

Always, Carol & Alvin

2021

Good Morning ALL! How are you doing this fantastic bright and sunny, blue-sky Friday morning? Both Alvin and I are doing great and so happy for this day. The trees are swaying back and forth in the breeze. Looks like we have sunshine ahead for the weekend so that is great. We are grateful for the moisture. Very grateful. The grass has grown what seems like a foot in our backyard. The front has grown but for some reason the back seems to grown faster and taller. I mowed the grass last weekend and did not have another opportunity to mow again as it has been raining for most of the week and it has been wet. We enjoyed two walks in between rain showers yesterday which was fantastic. Hoping for a repeat today. I decided this morning to put on a full face of makeup and dress up just a bit more than usual. Yesterday I dressed up as well. Have to start wearing my dress up clothes. When it is overcast and raining much like when it is cold and snowing all one ones to do is to wear sweater and sweatpants, something comfy and warm. I also must confess that I turned the heat back on a few days ago but yesterday turned it back off. Looks like warmer weather in the days ahead.

What are your plans for the weekend? I will be mowing the grass, pulling weeds and doing laundry and likely some cleaning. Walking will be top of the list as well. I will likely need to hit the grocery store for a couple of items. Relaxing will be near the top as well.

Oh, yes and researching about getting a great roofing company to do the shingles. I have made some notes but want to put everything in order. Questions and what things are a must like licensing, insurance and WCB for starters. I want to be informed and make sure that I/we get the best company and the best price. I, very much would like to get the shingles done soon.

Just thought of something else, now that I have my photos deleted on my phone, I should be able to upload the new ones to the computer with no problems. Then I can begin to post some. I will need to take some current ones of my flowers as they have grown a foot (almost).

Time to head on downstairs and get that coffee brewing.

Wishing you a bright, fun, lovely Friday.

Continuing to live each day with kindness, respect, compassion, patience, love and gratitude.

Always, Carol & Alvin

2021

Good Morning ALL! How are you doing this “bright and sunny” Thursday morning? I am so grateful that the skies are pretty clear and that the sun is shining after a few days of clouds, rain and snow. It did freeze hard over night as I noticed the water that I have out for the bees froze over and there is frost on the cars. Most of the snow has melted now and the grass and trees appear to be renewed, is that possible? Of course, they gratefully soaked up the moisture in both forms. My lawn has not looked this good in years. Between the fertilizer that our neighbours threw on a few days ago and the extra moisture ….. well it looks like a lawn again. I was thinking that we may have to replant which I suppose throwing on some extra seed would not have hurt. If I would have had some grass seed in my garage I would have done so, at the beginning of the rain. Food for thought. I am going to pick up some seed to have on hand. Even our back patch of grass is coming back. Yesterday and earlier this morning there were a bunch of little birds flying about our backyard near the bird house. There was also a Magpie that was swooping in and about every once in awhile. They are pretty but not good for the little birds. Anyway, I am certain that by noon, or perhaps before I can remove the cover that is protecting the flowers in the front flower bed. Did I forget to mention? Yes, I did, that I pulled the cover back and checked some of the flowers and they are okay. If they survived last night, we all should be good. I also shook and dipped with a measuring cup all of the excess water off of the handmade tarp so that it would not crush them and not freeze. Fingers crossed.

I am looking forward to a walk with Mr. Alvin at noon. He needs to get out as I think he has a bit of cabin fever or at least he has been more anxious that usual. He barked short piercing barks the whole time I was in the shower. I kept calling out to him and hoping to calm him down but it did not work. I even tried singing my “put one paw in front of the other” song but to no avail. Luckily, he is okay now. What a guy. I tried to explain about how lucky that he is as I have noticed this poor little orange cat running on the front sidewalk and across the street. Poor cat looked like he or she had not had a good meal in a long time. So many cats on the loose in our area. Very dangerous as we have had coyotes in the nearby parks. Plus there are hawks and other birds of prey that can swoop down and take away little cats. I hope that he finds a home, soon.

Well time to head on downstairs and put on the coffee, need to smell that delectable aroma and drink some of that pure joy liquid before I start work. I am grateful that all my flowers survived this late spring snowfall and the wind. Thank goodness for a garage. I don’t have a car but man on man, that building has come in handy for storing and housing the vehicles of company.

I hope that you have a wonderful Thursday. May you laugh and smile and be surrounded with kindness and joy.

Continuing to live this life with kindness, respect, compassion and patience. Always working on patience I am patient. I am patient. I am patient.

ALLways, Love Carol & Alvin

2021

Good Morning ALL! How are you this morning? I/We are doing well, had a fairly good sleep. That is so important. So many of us do not get enough sleep. It is reflected in everything we do. Shows up in our patience, bigtime. I hope that you had enough sleep so that you can function the way that you are meant to and that you are in your happy place this morning. Little smile on my face. Well Mother Nature gave us a good rain shower yesterday later on in the day and then overnight. Even the lawn that I share with my neighbour is beginning to come alive. I wished that I had some fertilizer to toss on as would likely give it a boost. I keep seeing one of the neighbours across the street tossing on what I imagine to be fertilizer and their grass is a beautiful lucious green. The colour that I dream of and one of my favourite shades of green, actually my top favourite green. Lawn green or Kelly green. This morning the sky is overcast so no beautiful sunrise but we do desperately need the moisture and I am grateful for the rain. Does not appear to be windy which is a good thing.

I was thinking of my dear friend Les N. who came into my mind last night as I was going to sleep. He was giving me support,as always. Les passed away a few years ago and I think of my dear friend often. He was a good friend, husband, father, son, uncle and human being. I miss him all of the time.

Often times we do not realize what we have, until it is gone.

I am most happy that Alvin and I had two walks yesterday, one at lunchtime and the other after work. Walking sure brings down my stress level after a long day of work. The benefits of walking are so important in our everyday life.

I see red flashing lights through the leaves of the tree directly behind my garage across the lane, must be the garbage truck.

Well today is Tuesday. Another day of work. I hope that you are doing well and that this day brings us all great joy, much laughter and love and abundance. This could be the day. Perhaps there will be a knock at the door and you won the Publishers Clearing House Lottery or something like that. Maybe someone left you a thoughtful package at the door. A phone call from family or a dear friend. A special coffee and lunch delivered to you from a thoughtful friend. This is going to be that day …… are you excited, I am!

Continuing to live this day with respect, kindness, compassion and patience.

Time for coffee.

Always, Love Carol & Alvin

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2021

Good Morning ALL! How are you doing this Thursday morning? Well our weather can certainly change from one day to the next. Yesterday people were out in short-sleeves and capris and today we need long pants and a warm jacket, perhaps even a lighter winter coat. ARGH. Just so that you have some context weather wise. Our temperatures yesterday in Edmonton were +18 degrees celsius which is close to 65 degrees fahrenheit. Today at the warmest will be +3 celsius, which you can see is clearly much different. Right now our temperatures are in the minus single digits. But this is April and really anything can happen. We could have +25 temperatures or minus temperatures. I do not recall having double digit minus temperatures in April but could have happened in the past. Anyway it is Thursday. Just going back to Wednesday for a bit. Alvin and I had a wonderful walk at noon and even had a quick chat with our friend Pauline who mentioned that perhaps we could walk together later. After I was finished work which was about 4:15 p.m., Alvin and I headed out. Oh, I almost forgot to mention about Micah’s birthday lawn decorations. His parents had rented lawn birthday decorations for his 11th birthday. It was pretty cool for sure. There was a Happy Birthday Micah spelled out. A birthday cake blow up with candles and what appeared to be a cell phone? Not sure and I forgot to ask. We saw all three boys including the birthday boy and his Mom outside when we were starting our walk at noon. It was nice to have a visit with them. The boys are always so excited to see Mr.Alvin and him, them. Back to after work. We swung by and picked up Pauline. We cut across the lawn leading up from the public sidewalk in the park to their yard (Alvin always leads the way). He was so excited. We stood at their back gate for a few moments before I called out to Pauline. There was no response. So I thought we would just wait for a few minutes before carrying when Mr. Alvin started to bark and I swear that he was calling out Pauline, Pauline where are you? Wanna walk? A couple of minutes later, she came out on their balcony and said can you wait a minute as she was talking with one of her children. Of course, we waited. I opened the gate and we waited in the backyard. Alvin of course, kept going up to the back door and looking for our friend. We had a wonderful walk chatting and each taking a turn “venting.” Always good to get things off one’s chest. I had mentioned before I was feeling a bit out of sorts about a recent situation but decided to put a positive spin on things and now things are better. So much better. Really if something is eating at you, just make the decision to look at it differently, in a positive way. Life is way too short to be upset or wasting valuable time sweating over non-life threatening situations, really it is. After I changed my mindset, I have been feeling really happy with no anxiety. It is all about the choices we make. How we react to something can make or break you, honestly.

Also yesterday, someone near and dear to my heart is Queen Elizabeth. No, I have never met her and no, I am not related but I wanted to wish her a Happy 95th Birthday yesterday in my post and I clear forgot. Lots of birthdays lately. I am sending belated Birthday Wishes to her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on her 95th Birthday. She has always been a beacon of grace and leadership to a great many people. I admire her for her quiet and elegant way. I cannot imagine how she must be feeling with the recent loss of her beloved husband and best friend of over 73 years. I imagine that she will continue as she always has ….. Happy Birthday Queen Elizabeth. Wishing you a great many more healthy years ahead. I hope that you have some days of laughter, soon. Take Care.

Wishing you all a wonderful Thursday.

Continuing to live this life in kindness, respect, compassion and patience.

Always, Love Carol & Alvin

It is a NEW YEAR.

Good Thursday Morning ALL.

What a gloriously beautiful morning it is here in Edmonton.

There is a slight breeze this morning not gale force like yesterday.

For the next 14 days according to the weather channel it will be mid to late teens temperature wise.

Not really what I thought June was going to be like but as long as we have a nice mix of sunshine and rain drops, I am a happy camper.

Big news we went for our full walk last night with no “foot/toe” issues for me.

Yay, next week we will return to our walking at lunch and after work.

 

I just have to share these photos that I snapped from our back deck last night just before 9:00 p.m.

The sky was so gorgeous and the CLOUDS.

I love clouds.

In fact, I could lay down on the deck (have done so) and just watch the clouds floating around above me.

Some of these photos look the same but there are sutle differences between them.

That one cloud was amazing.

Then I noticed the neighbours a few doors down … they planted these trees many moons ago and look how tall they have grown.

I could not help but to take a photo of my Alvin and my flowers in the backyard.

Please do not notice the long weedy grass in the backyard.

It is awaiting for some TLC.

I am going to mow it now after breakfast and before I begin my late work shift (11 am – 7 pm).

Twice per month we man/woman the after hours phones for our company.

Tomorrow night I am going to don some shoes with covered toes (hopefully that goes well) and use my BRAND NEW grass trimmer and fix up the backyard.

Tonight my daughter is stopping by.

I have something for her and she has some new old clothes for me.

I love hand me downs.

A friend gave her a bag of clothes to go through.

Isn’t life great.

 

 

Well Mr. Alvin is patiently, okay very impatiently waiting for me to leave upstairs, perhaps he has to pee, which is likely.

I hope that you enjoy the clouds wherever you are on this Thursday.

Always take up to look up (make sure that you are safe when doing so).

 

Happy Thursday.

 

Living my life with kindness and respect.

I/We shall remain,

As Always, Carol & Alvin

 

It is a NEW YEAR.

Good Morning All,

Welcome to a bright, blue sky, breezy morning here in Edmonton.

We seem to having a lot more wind here than we did when I moved here over ten years ago.

The garbage truck just went by ….. stopping and starting as they do along their route.

Geese honking and other birds chirping away.

Our window is open in the office so we are hearing all of the sounds that our neighbourhood is making as it slowly comes to life.

Not many people up and out.

So many of our neighbours are working from home.

I do know some of my neighbours that are slowly beginning to go back to their places of employment.

I love this time of day.

Perfection.

If I had my poop in a group or ducks in a row, I would have been organized earlier and sat out on the deck and drank a cup of coffee all the time enjoying the morning.

But alas did not happen.

Oh well, next best thing, window open, coffee in a travel mug and will enjoy as I start to work.

I have my coffee up here and ready to go.

I have been dragging my keister the past few mornings likely due to my watching how much I stand and such.

But anyway that is okay.

Perhaps on Saturday morning …… read my book on the deck and drink some coffee.

Alvin loves to lie on the deck and enjoy the sun until it gets too hot.

 

Did you plant flowers this year?

What kinds?

Are they doing okay?

Flowering?

 

Thanks to my darling daughter I have impatiens, petunias and marigolds.

Most of my perennials are up and some are even flowering.

I cannot believe that one day my ferns in the front flower bed were barely a spot of green and already they are several inches tall.

Before I know it they will be reaching for the sky …… over two feet tall.

They grow so fast.

The irises and others are up.

Unfortunately I don’t remember all the names of the shrubs and plants I have in the back and front gardens.

Oh and lilies.

Love the lilies.

The recent rain has definitely helped plants and the grass and trees grow, bud and bloom.

The grass is this most beautiful green, I guess kelly green.

So, so pretty.

The dandelions dot most lawns and they were in full glory a week or so ago.

Then they go to seed.

I hope that the bees got to them before they were sprayed or went to seed.

I feel so bad for Mother Nature and then Man happens.

 

Well time for coffee and get signed onto work computer.

 

Wishing you the most grand of Tuesdays.

Filled with some laughter, even on a Tuesday you must have a giggle or three, oh come maybe four giggles.

Our life is way to serious.

We must laugh along the way.

If we all live in kindness and with respect.

Even if we slip or have a moment, we all do.

Climb back up and live again in kindness and with respect.

 

Happy Tuesday.

With kindness and respect.

I/We shall remain,

As Always, Carol & Alvin

Thought for the day …..

Good Morning and Welcome to Sunday the 28th day of April, 2019.

A glorious pale blue sky greets this Sunday morning.

 

We have been watching a magpie out of our bedroom window with much interest.

I understand where the old phrase came from “too fat to fly.”

This little one had such a round tummy that he/she would land on a branch and the branch would break ….

To be honest they were not really branches as we would deem to be moreover twigs.

Down the beautifully coloured black and white with blue/green feathers would fall to the next twig.

Twigs snapping everywhere.

If only he would land on a bigger branch.

Finally after what seemed forever the birdie got out of the entanglement of twigs and landed on a larger branch before flying away.

Only was a few seconds but did seem forever.

Nature is so entertaining.

 

Earlier this morning as I was opening the living room blind before it was light outside; a brown bunny was hopping toward the house.

I guess he heard the blind movement turned around and hopped to the other side of the street.

 

There remains snow on the front lawn which faces to the north and some on the grass in the backyard.

I would think by the end of the day if the temperatures does warm a bit more it will be gone.

 

What a glorious morning we are experiencing.

 

I found a new battery pack and it has been charged so I was able to download some photos.

These are from our Easter package:

This was the first time that Mr. Alvin actually needed helped opening his treats from our friend V.

One of them was a toy and he pretty much had it opened but the other was a tin of wet food and he just could not get his paws and mouth in unison to work it open.

Between the unexpected trip to BON TON Bakery and the goodies from our friend and a piece of apple pie from Teddy’s Mom; I shall say that I have enough comfort food

to last me awhile …… CARB City.

The third photo in of the Easter Bunny was carrot cake with cream cheese icing …. OMG, so good.  The photo does not do it justice.

Perhaps I should have snapped it without the plastic covering.

The above two non-treat photos are from this morning.

I shovelled most of the snow from the deck yesterday and the remaining has all but melted.

The furniture looks so much happier without being covered with snow.

 

Well time to get this show on the road.

We had a very lazy day yesterday.

Just laundry and spending time with the boys.

Ok, I did sweep the floor and empty the dish washer.

But does that really count.

Do not think so.

The wind was so cold we opted to stay indoors and did not go for a walk.

 

Today there remains a few things to do and one being to hit the grocery store.

A woman can not live on CARBS alone.

Or can she?

I likely could but sooner of later my body would say “enough.”

 

Happy Sunday.

I hope that you are enjoying the day wherever you are ….

 

Special Hello to: My daughter, you will do great.  We are with you.

Always, Carol & Alvin

 

Thought for the day ….

Good Morning and Welcome to Tuesday the 16th day of April, 2019.

A beautiful morning with the sunrise and the frost glazing the rooftops and cars.

Love, love, love sunrise.

The pale oranges, pinks and blues.

So very delicate in the beginning stages until the SUN comes up.

I would love to paint this scene.

With some trees still barren looking black against the light colours of the sunrise.

So very beautiful.

I would xx out the houses and just have a grove of trees with the sunrise behind.

Oh, this makes me so happy.

What a glorious way to begin the day.

I am so blessed to see this out of my window each and every morning from spring until winter.

YAY.

 

Last night Alvin and I enjoyed a wonderful walk after I got home from work.

It was not warm as such but nice all the same.

Who is going to complain after having snow, ice and minus 25 temperatures?

Not this gal.

That is for sure.

We watched for signs of buds on the trees and did see a few green blades of grass.

The bunnies that we saw yesterday morning from our living room window – were mostly brown.

A very good sign.

We were near the park on the return trip home when we saw this couple and a small dog.

They had encouraged him to move away from another dog.

When we were close enough to exchange words and of course, Mr. Alvin wanted to say hi.

They said that their dog was 16 1/2 years old.

He was grey but looked good.

The man said that he was having a good day and wanted to do a 5 K walk ( I think he was teasing ).

He did also mention that some days he does not want to walk.

I get that.

So nice to see a SENIOR out enjoying the spring air.

Good for him/her.

I did not catch the doggie’s name.

This gave me hope that Alvin could/would have many good years left on this earth.

Okay, not going there.

Not at this time of day …..

 

Well today is Tuesday.

I wanted to remind everyone to please keep the trash picked up around your property.

It only takes a few moments of your precious time.

I get that your time is valuable but we have to think beyond ourselves.

What about the animals and the environment?

How about that small plastic bag that blew onto your lawn?

The birds and animals eat that small plastic ring that you left sitting on the driveway because you really “didn’t notice” it.

They also eat that plastic bag that you figured would just blow away and you did not place it there anyway.

Really.

I did not put any of the trash onto the ground that I have been picking up.

I spent 2 hours on a cold WINDY Sunday picking up after others.

Because people simply do not care.

I would have loved to have been snuggling with me Alvin but I love my home, my neighbourhood, this EARTH.

I am trying to do my part.

Are you?

Only a few moments of your time will save lives and help to heal our earth.

We all have to do our part.

If we do not.

I cannot imagine what this earth will be like years and a generation down the road.

Such a pity.

What a waste.

Something to think about.

Just think if we all did something about the trash/garbage/pollution, what a better place our EARTH would be.

 

Happy Tuesday.

Food for thought, today.

 

Special Hello to: all my fellow bloggers – put the word out – we need to work together to hopefully bring our EARTH back from the brink before it is too late.

Always, Carol & Alvin

 

Thought for the day ….

Good Morning and Welcome to Tuesday the 9th day of April, 2019.

Here we go zipping along in the month of April.

Our weather is very much spring-like.

The birds are beginning to return.

I can imagine it will not be too long before baby birds are chirping in their nests.

The bunnies are still partially white.

Alvin and I had a great long walk last night with our friend P who just returned from Victoria.

They were in Victoria to look after their son’s property.

Bad tenants and all.

The sidewalks by our lakes are almost dry.

So Alvin did not get too wet.

To breathe in that spring air is the best.

We absolutely enjoyed the sunshine as the rays touched our faces.

There was a breeze so it helped with drying out the excess water.

The ice on the lakes has almost melted.

By the end of this week with double digit temperatures the excess and ice should be all but a memory.

Now the ice and snow on our front lawn might take a bit longer.

There is a bit remaining.

 

Well we elected to hit the sofa for some extra time this morning.

Not sure why.

Oh, yes we were up a bit later and then I read for a few minutes.

So hard to go to bed as it stays lighter longer.

 

My friend P was telling me about the voles who are small rodents who have made several tunnels just under the surface of their lawn.

Did you know that they continue to have young ones all year long?

Poor Mommas.

Anyway they have taken over their lawn and one of their neighbours.

They will be difficult to evict.

 

Well it is almost time for me to sign off here.

I hope that you are enjoying spring.

Perhaps just returning from a trip ….

Or a snowbird?

Happy Spring …..

Welcome Home.

Have an awesome Tuesday.

 

Special Hello to: my sister ….. we have to chat…..miss you.

Always, Carol & Alvin