Second Half of the NEW YEAR – final quarter

Good Morning, so glad that we did not blow away last night or even this morning. The wind blew down some of my Halloween decorations that I had put up yesterday afternoon. Blew over my garbage can and bye-bye couple of items that were in it. Basically it was other folk’s garbage that had blown onto my lawn. Just like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz ….. gone, gone, gone. The air is cool but not cold this morning. My two pots of petunias are still amazingly blooming. I am so glad that I put away all of my little knick knacks from the deck yesterday afternoon as they may have taken flight overnight. The sky is blue as the sun is in the early stages of coming up there remains some of the orange colour on the horizon.

Well I accomplished all and then some of the items on my TO DO LIST from yesterday which makes today and tomorrow easier days. Although I can always find things that I want or need to do around the house. With Christmas just around the corner, I need to get working on my craft projects. Started and have ideas but need to put some actual labour into. I have noticed that I do sometimes procrastinate when I do not have a clear vision of the end result and then again sometimes I am not feeling “artistic” and that pushes the timeline. Oh well there is time so no need to panic just yet. Besides Christmas is not about the gifts as we all well know. It is about being together. All of our “holidays” are about being together with family and friends and celebrating those relationships or at least that is my thought.

So Thanksgiving weekend – some folks celebrated yesterday, some today and others tomorrow. This one is different for most folks. I know some of my friends had family over yesterday. Others today with part of the family and the other members of their family got together with them actually last weekend. Tomorrow is the actual day of Thanksgiving. At the end of it all, we should celebrate each other yesterday, today and tomorrow, everyday. Family and friends are so vital to our well being. Relationships need to be worked on in order to thrive. We are a social creature and need the love and support of others in order to survive. Okay how did I get to this point. Oh, well …. Sunday Morning brain. I hope that whenever or with whomever you have the opportunity to celebrate this Thanksgiving with, I hope that it is awesome. Enjoy the food but most of all enjoy the fact that you have family and friends with you. Now there may be folks that due to circumstances are not able to be surrounded by any family or friends and my heart and best wishes go out to you. I hope that you can play music, watch a video or a movie so that you have at least the noise of humans around you. Maybe your family and friends will facetime with you. Technology is a great these days. Even if you are alone you are not alone.

Alvin and I are hosting Thanksgiving at our home this year. We do most times and as I love entertaining. We are having a non-traditional Thanksgiving meal but good food is all you need. Only a couple of times or so a year do I make anything deep fried and today will be one of them. Chicken with a honey mustard sauce (homemade), potato salad (homemade), peas, corn, cheating and having stove top stuffing as have to have stuffing and for dessert “fruit pizza.” Fruit pizza is a favourite in our family. We will have my daughter and son-in-law and my grandpups Aspen and Milo.

Well Mr. Alvin is laying on his blue blanket / towel bed not far away from me. Resting.

On this Thanksgiving I am grateful for:

I am grateful that I have family that love me and that I love so much words cannot express.

I am grateful that I have dear friends all over this planet of ours. Some down the street and others halfway around the globe.

I am grateful that my daughter and son-in-law thought it was a good idea for me to adopt a puppy. Alvin is my companion, my friend and partner in crime. Okay perhaps not so much the “partner in crime” but you get the idea.

I am grateful that I was able to get my own home late in life but better late than never.

I am grateful to be employed especially during this economic crisis and grateful to be working from home.

I am grateful to be safe.

I am grateful for technology and that I have access to it.

I am grateful to be alive, to have more than what I need and some of the things I want but most of all I am grateful to see, to hear, to smell, to taste, to touch and to be in good health so that I may enjoy all of the above.

On this day and always no matter if I have a day or moments that I am feeling a bit less than positive or wonderful, I know that I am strong and that I will be okay.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family. May you be in good health and be surrounded with family and friends who support and love you. Happy Thanksgiving.

• 

  Me and my Alvin

• 

  Fall Wreath

Continuing to live in kindness and with respect.

I/We shall remain,

As Always, Carol & Alvin

Second Half of the NEW YEAR

Good Morning All,

Well there is a breeze blowing out there.

The sky is clear with hues of oranges as the sun rises.

Looks amazing.

Love sunrises and sunsets.

 

So how are you doing today?

I am doing well.

House is quiet of course without my partner in crime, Mr. Alvin.

He is doing well at his sister’s house.

Now today she has to go into the office so time will tell.

My son-in-law is at home so it will be interesting to see if he “sticks like glue” to him.

My daughter has been telling me that he goes wherever she goes.

If she is working …. he is under her desk or on the dog bed beside her.

If she is in the kitchen …. he is in the kitchen.

In the bathroom …. he’s there, too.

Pretty much the same as with me.

Although occasionally he will sit on the chair while I go into the basement or upstairs.

But most times he is with me.

I am sure that he will have many stories to tell me when he arrives home on Sunday.

Last night they received their first robot vacuum cleaner.

My daughter says with all of the dog hair ….. they had to try something.

She sent me the cutest video.

All three dogs engaging …. watching ….. wondering the vac as it maneuvered around the floor.

Alvin watched intently and kind of followed BoBi, that’s her name.

Aspen walked up to it and then backed away.

She did not want to turn her back to the machine.

Milo had been on the stairs, he came down walked up to it and then away.

Cutest video ever.

They all reacted differently much the way humans do when we encounter something new.

Interesting and funny to watch.

The machine is quite loud.

BoBi is quite loud.

Anyway it was nice to see the pups in a video.

 

Last night two of my girl friends were over for a Diamond Painting evening.

We all are working on projects and felt that it would be fun to get together and work on them.

So great to have a week day get together.

I love my girls.

I am working on my FALL one that yes, I started in July on our other Painting Night with the girls.

Yup, I am falling short on completion date.

Fall is here and I am not done.

Hopefully Fall last for awhile.

Fingers crossed.

 

Did anyone watch the U.S. Presidential Debate?

I will only say this …. I expected nothing less from Trump and was a bit concerned for Joe Biden.

These are interesting times in the world that is for sure.

 

Well it is time to grab that mug of coffee and start work.

 

Have an awesome Wednesday as I was starting to type Tuesday.

Yikes, the week is going quickly.

Take Care and Be safe in all that you do.

I am going to go for a walk at noon.

Not walked since Saturday.

Exercise would be good for me.

Continue to live your life with kindness and respect,

As will I,

I/We shall remain,

As Always, Carol & Alvin

 

Second Half of the NEW YEAR

Good Morning and Welcome to Wednesday, September 2, 2020.

Raining through the night and earlier this morning but has stopped now.

Funny how that happens.

I missed watering my flowers on Monday night and then gave them a good drink last night.

Well they are well watered now.

Some of my flowers and plants are beginning to fade.

The nights are beginning to cool now.

I suppose it won’t be too long before I need to prepare for the next season.

Will check the long range forecast for frost.

I will leave everything as long as possible.

As long as the flowers are blooming I like to leave them and sometimes near the end they are beginning to look a bit less than perfection.

 

W for Wind.

Man oh man, have we been experiencing a lot of wind these days.

Seems like every year Edmonton gets more and more wind.

A nice breeze is fine but gale force is not.

Alvin and I have almost blown away on some of our walks and then sometimes we just stay home.

 

This is one of those mornings where for some reason I do not have a lot to say.

Fancy that.

Usually I start and don’t have time to write everything that I am thinking.

I almost never plan what I am going to write ahead of time.

Just sit down and start typing the things that come to my mind.

Sometimes they are silly and sometimes very serious.

 

I want to extend our sympathies to our neighbours on the passing of their beloved fur baby “Capone.”

He was a big guy and so sweet.

I remember when he was a puppy.

My how time flies.

We have lost so many of our fur baby friends and family this year.

Abi (Alvin’s girlfriend), Casey (long time family friend), and now Capone and our Mabel who was my brother and family’s girl.

Rest in Peace my darlings.

We shall miss you forever and keep you forever in our hearts and minds.

 

With kindness and respect for all,

I/We shall remain,

As Always, Carol & Alvin

 

 

 

It is a NEW YEAR.

Good Saturday Morning,

Wow, this year so far has been filled with incredible highs and incredible lows.

This past week I would say has had some incredible lows.

Three nights this week of virtually no sleep countered with last night with first time up at 3:30 a.m. has made for a very long week.

One great thing to happen is my daughter is coming to visit today and I shall whip up some pancakes.

I don’t have my usual ingredients but that has never stopped me from making something.

I have found in life you have to be able to use what you have and go from there.

 

Just like this fence adventure and I shall call it that ….. I finally got things sorted out and just have to chat with my neighbours about the final tally.

I researched and spoke to people and then negotiated.

Negotiation is not something that I find easy to do ….. selling is more my thing.

That being said I guess negotiating is part of selling.

Now working for someone else and selling is one thing …. like retail.

I love that …. and I am good, no very good at selling things.

Anyway, I am more than happy with the final result in this case.

 

Perhaps after having a shower will perk me up and that is next on my list to do.

Last night I did some laundry so that reduced the number of loads for today.

I will say that with not having to go to the office, my laundry is considerably less.

Now basically one outfit for the day not two or even three.

I think that perhaps Alvin may need to go outside before I slip into the shower.

Will check with him first for sure.

 

The rain has stopped and it is very windy.

Clouds still fill most of the sky although it does appear to be brighter in the distances.

Tomorrow is supposed to be sunny and 20 degrees celsius.

Now that would be nice.

Something to note that yesterday afternoon it was snowing, yup it was.

Mostly it was wet snow and melted as it touched the ground.

The point is on May 22, 2020 it was snowing.

 

At this moment both of us long to go walking but until he is back to normal, not taking any chances.

Not a pretty sight to have diarrhea on a walk, the clean up is a nightmare.

 

Well my daughter will be here in approximately two hours and I have things to do in preparation of her arrival.

I hope that you are having an incredibly “high” kind of day filled with all good things.

 

This life of ours now is unique for our time for most of us.

I hope that we are able to figure out a “new norm” and that it is one that is good for everyone including animals and all creatures including the environment.

We need to be more kind and respectful in all areas.

Take our new norm, go forth and spread that kindness and respect into your daily life.

This is a good thing for sure.

 

Well I better get this boat on the water …..

Wishing you a wonderful day filled with all sorts of goodness.

You deserve this most definitely as do we all.

Take care and be of good health.

 

With kindness and respect,

I/We shall remain,

Always, Carol & Alvin

 

Sometimes we just need some photos of cuteness and the beauty of nature.

My grand pups Milo and Aspen

My beautiful geranium waiting to be transplanted outside.

My little cuteness,  my boy, Alvin

It is a NEW YEAR.

Well HELLO FRIDAY, April 24th, 2020.

 

I have long since forgot how many days exactly that I have been working from home.

To be honest 95% of the time it is wonderful.

I love the “short” well actually no commute to my work.

I love sharing more of my time with Alvin.

I love being able to walk for 1/2 hour at lunch and then right away after work.

I love arising a bit later (truth be told even Mr. Alvin is starting to wake up a bit later).

I love being able to stay up a bit later to enjoy the evening light.

100%, I absolutely adore having more time at home.

Who doesn’t like working in their sweats and a tee-shirt and no makeup.

Bad hair days …. who cares.

It does not matter …. whatever you are comfortable in.

Some days it is office attire with makeup and others it is not.

More time for walking.

More time to get housework, yard work and exercise done.

It is nice being able to have more free time on the weekends.

I am off work at 4:00 p.m. (not granted some days I leave 10-15 minutes later but that is okay).

I can have supper and dishes done well before 6:00 p.m.

When working at the office by 6:00 p.m. – Alvin would have his supper etc, we would have walked and I may have started supper.

Usually it would be 7:00 by the time supper and dishes were done and sometimes later.

So even though there are moments throughout my day that I could honestly pull my hair out by the roots, I do love being at home.

I know that there is no separation between home and work.

But I have come to terms with that fact.

Life is meant to live.

If we continue to wrap ourselves in the negative before too long it is over.

What a waste.

 

I am off today at 3:00 p.m. (took one hour off).

The plan is to go for a walk right away, then come home and start the laundry and then rake the front lawn.

I have been raking the back out of necessity for Alvin.

Luckily the mucky mess is drying up (in the back).

The front needs some TLC.

Tonight will be the second of the three meals from HELLO FRESH.

Excited for that.

Tomorrow Mr. Alvin needs a haircut and bath (yup again).

My daughter is dropping some items by and for a visit (miss her).

Whether Saturday or Sunday – we hope to visit with our friends in their backyard.

Tomorrow is supposed to be really nice so I want to take advantage of the warmer temperatures.

 

Well almost time to grab that cup of java and start work.

Technically I do not start until 8:00 a.m. but I like to get things started and I have a contest to enter (matching pets through work).

Have to submit my entry.

Wish me luck.

 

I hope this finds you and your family in excellent health, safe and having lots of giggles.

Happy Friday.

 

With Kindness and Respect,

I/We Remain,

Always, Carol & Alvin

 

It is a NEW YEAR

Good Morning Thursday.

Yesterday Alvin and I enjoyed two walks.

One at lunchtime and the other after work.

Alvin certainly slept better.

I think the extra exercise is playing him out.

But happy that he is sleeping more through the night.

The sky is overcast at this point but I have high hopes that it will be another bright and sunny day.

How are things in your neck of the woods?

Sunshine, Rain or Snow?

I hope that you are having a great morning no matter what the weather.

Alvin is resting on the little bed that I have made for him in the office.

Pretty comfy I think.

 

So excited for the long weekend.

Happy Easter to ALL.

A time to reflection.

A time for thanks for all that we hold in gratitude.

 

I am planning to work on and finish my income taxes.

Having an extra day will give me the time so that I don’t have to spend a whole day or so on them.

I don’t remember how long it took last year.

I have already begun so it should not be too bad.

 

I can smell the coffee as it has finish perking and is ready for me to go and grab a mug.

Nothing better than freshly ground coffee perking in the morning.

Almost anyway….

 

How about some pretty flowers for this last day before Easter.

Photos of flowers anyway.

Will take our minds off of the snowbanks in the front of my house and yours.

Well maybe you have a snowbank out front, just guessing.

I threw in a photo of a fruit pizza that I made at some point in the past.

This weekend was supposed to be supper here with my kids and we were going to have fruit pizza for dessert.

It has been put off until a later date.

I wish you all a great weekend.

Time with those members of your household.

Perhaps a creative way to visit with family and friends and keeping the “social distancing” in mind.

 

Well it is getting close to the time that I have to start work.

I have so far to travel …. lol.

Please be safe.

I hope that the Easter Bunny drops by ….

He made a stop here yesterday and I am so grateful as I was completely out of CHOCOLATE.

How could one go into the Easter Weekend with no CHOCOLATE?

Not easily.

Thank you to the Easter Bunny who is so kind and generous.

 

Have a wonderful Thursday.

 

Keeping in Kindness and Respect

I/We are Always,

Carol & Alvin

It is a NEW YEAR.

Good Morning and we awoke to much warmer temperatures.

I went outside with Alvin and I did not lose my breath.

I am, we are so grateful for this change.

 

Yesterday was both a day of incredible highs and incredible lows.

We woke up to the day being Alvin’s 11th Birthday.

Thank you to all of our Facebook friends for their birthday wishes for Alvin.

A short walk in the afternoon as it was still too cold for a long one.

We relaxed and enjoyed the day.

Later in the afternoon I waited for Teddy and his Mom to arrive.

Teddy to stay with Alvin for a visit on his birthday and me to go with his Mom for groceries.

Just a few minutes before she arrived; there was a knock at the door.

I opened the door to see our friend “A” from down the street and her Mom.

There was something about her demeanor and the fact that Abi (Alvin’s longtime girlfriend) was not with her.

I knew in my heart that something terrible, horrible had happened.

We stepped into the house and they told me that Abi had passed a few days ago.

It was sudden and so unexpected.

She was 11.5 years old.

I, We loved her so much.

She was the cutest beagle on the planet.

Everytime we were out for a walk and she spotted us/me, she would pull on her leash and cry out to come see me/us.

I always received kisses.

Sometimes I would be on my way home from work and she would spot me and come running with her Mom is tow.

Alvin and Abi would roll about on the lawn obviously to those around them.

They hit it off right from the start.

Oh my gosh how we loved her …. hard to say loved …. we love her.

I cannot locate a photo of her at the moment.

These flowers are for her.

 

Fly with the angels, Abi.

Many kisses to you our darling friend.

We miss you today, tomorrow and always.

 

Always, Carol & Alvin

Living … One day at a time.

Good Morning,

Today is even more about gratitude as we await news about a loved one.

Surgery is scary, and we know in our hearts that our loved one will come through and live a long healthy life surrounded by his family and friends.

So I thought that I would share a poem that I wrote several years ago.

Simply titled, THE THANK YOU POEM.

 

THE THANK YOU POEM

Thank you for the sunshine

Thank you for the rain

Thank you for the laughter

Thank you for the pain

Thank you for the cool nights

Thank you for the warm days

Thank you for the love

Thank you for the way it fills my heart

Thank you for each buzzing bee

Thank you for all the trees

Thank you for the roses

Thank you for their sweet smell

Thank you for my family

Thank you for the way

Thank you for my dog, Alvin

Thank you for this heaven

Thank you for the abundance

Filling my day – keeping me full

Thank you for the sun, the moon and the stars

Thank you for old ladies, young men

Thank you for music played on guitars

And then !!!

Thank you

Written by Carol Yvonne Lewis

March 2011 in Edmonton, Alberta

 

Please keep your loved ones close, and envelope them in a sea of love.

Near or far reach out and tell them “that you love them.”

Do this every chance that you have.

 

You are important to me and I love you.

Thank you

 

Always, Carol & Alvin

 

 

Living … One day at a time.

Good Morning and it is the first day of time change for Alberta.

We turned the clocks back by one hour this morning.

Nice too have it bright at an earlier hour for sure.

Happy November.

 

Well time to share yesterday.

As I realized Friday evening when my daughter I erected the Christmas tree and turned on the lights that they would have to be replaced.

Last year I had “YouTube” to see what suggestions others had regarding this subject.

There was really nothing that I had not thought of so I grabbed my trusty tin/metal snips in the morning and set to work.

In between was working on the laundry.

I had checked the weather to see what the day would bring and there was rain in the afternoon forecast so I set the timer for one hour and at noon,

we headed out for a walk.

It was actually quite nice.

Upon arriving back at home I checked on the laundry once again before setting back to snipping the lights from the tree.

I worked on the lights for a total of over 7 hours between morning and afternoon.

You never really appreciate how much “lights” there are on a prelit Christmas tree but there are a great many.

It was a painstaking process.

Snipping the little holders and in some cases the electrical cords.

Yes, they were unplugged.

My hands were cut and my arms scratched.

I wore a sweater but then got hot so off and on.

I had to stand on the ladder to do the top and found my ankles and feet sore after a time.

My back was throbbing at the end of it all.

I am most grateful that it is done.

Poor Alvin was whining throughout the time.

He was verbalizing how I felt.

Once done, I stopped to have supper and of course before I ate, Mr. Alvin had his supper.

After supper and cleaning up, I spent a couple of hours putting on a couple of strings of lights and the decorations.

Once sitting back and relaxing having a cup of tea, I realized something was missing from the tree.

My box of ANGELS and berries and such.

I was too pooped to go and find the container.

Located it this morning and will finish that later today.

In about one hour I am going to have coffee with the young ones.

My young friends.

So enjoy catching up with them.

Well that was my weekend.

It was a test of patience which I failed miserably.

As Mr. Alvin can attest to ….

Well failed miserably is likely a tad to strong as I did have time where I just settled into the work listening to Christmas movies.

Life.

I am happy that my tree is up and mostly decorated.

Looks pretty good.

 

Sometimes it is the little things that can test your patience.

Yup, the little things.

Time to get this show on the road.

I have laundry to put away.

Then time to get out of pj’s and go out for coffee.

Am looking forward to the break.

 

Have an awesome Sunday.

Sending you much kindness and respect for your day.

 

Always, Carol & Al

I

Living … One day at a time.

Hello, Good Morning and it is Wednesday.

Mid week.

Another workday for me.

Alvin is resting on his blue blanket and when I was running / am running a tad behind this morning …. he was quick to get me going into the office to write this post.

He knows our routine inside and out.

Also the timing.

He knew that I should not be getting dressed and that I should be in the office writing.

 

Last night we enjoyed another wonderful walk with great weather.

Humphrey joined us as you can see by the photo below.

The sun is a garage sale find and is perfect hanging on my fence.

Our flowers strangely enough … some of them …. the SNAPDRAGONS have decided to bloom.

There are tons of blossoms and they are so pretty.

I love the photo of Humphrey, I was trying to score a photo and had to call him and snapped this one of him peering out from side of the chair.

Now Mr. Alvin well he was being Mr. Alvin.

I think in the last photo he might have thought he was getting a treat and jumped up.

Hard to tell but is in mid air.

Well almost time to go downstairs and finish putting things together for work.

One last time outside for me Alvin.

I hope that you have a great Wednesday.

 

 

Love with Kindness and Respect.

 

 

Always, Carol & Alvin