It is a NEW YEAR.

Yes, here we are at the 22nd day of the New Year on this Wednesday.

I just realized this morning that living with Alvin is the longest time that I have lived with a guy, a male.

We just celebrated our 10th Anniversary together.

I have found no matter whether you are canine or human; all relationships require work, consideration and patience.

Respect and love fall into every relationship.

Happy 10th Anniversary Mr. Alvin ….. I love you buddy.

 

We so enjoyed our second regular walk last night.

We also stopped by to see Abi’s Mom.

Abi passed one week ago today.

We will miss that little beagle … she was so beautiful and kind.

 

Last night on a newscast from the United States it was reported that China is banning ALL single use plastics by the end of 2020.

They also are refusing to take the recycled materials that the United States currently ships to them.

I am thinking if one of the highest populated countries on the planet can make this statement and do this; why can’t we?

We need to work quickly on this issue.

Plastics are filling our oceans and soon will fill us as they are marine life.

Then it is only a matter of time.

Life cannot survive filled with pieces of plastics and microplastics.

 

This morning at 3:00 …. the air was warm.

At 5:00 a.m. the air was warm and it was snowing.

Now we have quite the snow accumulation.

 

Well I am running late.

How did that happen?

I just had to have that extra of 30 minutes on the sofa snuggling with Alvin.

Oh, well I would not change a thing.

 

Wishing you a great day.

Be safe and warm.

Treating yourself and all others with KINDNESS and RESPECT.

 

Happy Wednesday.

 

Always, Carol & Alvin

 

 

It is a NEW YEAR.

Good Morning,

Oh my heavens it is COLD out there.

I thought that Mr. Alvin wanted to go out for like the third time this morning so I donned my coat and mitts and shoes but he stayed back.

No barking.

He did not need any kind of coaxing for the times that he was outside this morning.

Back into the house in a big hurry.

I do not blame him.

Please ensure that if you must go outside today at any time that you are bundling up in many warm layers.

Natural fibers like wool are always good to be wearing when it is bitterly cold outside.

I know that some folks are out walking their larger pups but please ensure they have boots and coats on.

Most of these dogs do not have long fur coats plus the pads on the bottom of their paws freeze very easily.

Be mindful.

 

Well today is Wednesday.

I have been posting my tips for the reduction of plastics and just all round tips for reducing waste and being mindful.

Mindful of what you are using and doing with all of this plastic stuff.

Really do you need to purchase five cases of water ….. most municipalities in Canada have drinkable water.

Do not forget that some of the microplastic from these disposable water bottles come loose and float around in the water.

We are drinking microplastics.

Not only plastics but all sorts of garbage are finding their way into the oceans.

Most marine life can be found with garbage in them.

Eventually they will die.

Wildlife are falling prey to our wasteful manners.

I do not wish to preach but sometimes we all need to step back and think about what we are doing to ourselves, to others, to the animal, bird, insect, and marine life on this planet.

To the trees and to the flowers and to the grasses.

Do you really need the latest fashion?

If you already have five black sweaters or more.

Take a trip to Goodwill or to a Consignment store.

People are setting up shops online selling gently used clothing items and more.

 

Well time to leave for work.

Finish getting ready.

 

Oh big news.

My son-in-law’s brother went home yesterday.

He had a heart transplant at the end of November 2019.

So happy he is doing well.

 

I hope that you are safe and warm.

Have an awesome Wednesday.

 

Always, Carol & Alvin

 

It is a NEW YEAR.

Yay, Saturday morning.

Alvin and I were up at 4:05, then again at 6:00 and then a few minutes ago.

I was tired.

Perhaps it is in part the extreme cold temperatures that causes that sleepy feeling.

Who does not want to curl up under a cozy blanket and just sleep.

Oh well, we are up now and have a full day ahead of us.

That lazy feeling removed my desire to take down the Christmas tree last night.

So today and tomorrow.

Down comes everything.

The temperature is way too cold to go outside unless it is a necessity.

No walking for sure.

 

Last night after watching a segment on one of the shows that I record about LIVING CLEAN; I decided to do this.

I went on social media and challenged family and friends to reduce their household and life usage of plastic.

Every day I will post a tip, something that I have learned to be more GREEN or to LIVE MORE CLEAN.

I also enlisted them to post anything ideas that they had as well.

Within a few minutes several friends had posted a tip to share.

 

Perhaps in 2020 we all need to be LIVING CLEAN AND BE GREEN.

We just have so much stuff that we do not use or need.

So many items are purchased out of convenience or just plain desire.

Even me with my love of Christmas.

I like the tree and all of the decorations.

But is it necessary, no.

Absolutely NOT.

 

Over the years I have mostly ditched the plastic grocery bags and use recycled bags and boxes.

I seldom purchase plastic storage bags and mainly use glass and “tupperware” containers for storage.

But I am still using some plastics.

So many things that we use on a daily basis come in plastic containers.

Shampoo, conditioner, dish soap, laundry soap, cleaners and the lost goes on and on.

Attempting to purchase less grocery items that come in plastic wrap.

I must confess that I have purchased the net bags for my produce, and have not used them.

I WILL be using them for ALL future produce shopping.

 

This year I am going to use up what I have and go as green as possible.

Making my own household cleaners, finding items to replace personal hygiene products that are not harmful to me or to the environment.

Away with the chemicals.

It is not easy and good things seldom are … but I am going to do the best that I can.

I care deeply about the environment.

I care about what we are doing to marine life and wildlife.

It has to end.

Not necessary.

Cut out the conveniences and companies need to step back from the greed that envelopes them and make changes.

 

Okay, time to get this day going.

Please post any ideas that you have for my quest.

Let’s do this together.

Together we can change the world.

Together we can save the world.

 

Have an awesome Saturday.

Remember this is the moment to make changes that will give future generations a chance to live on this beautiful planet.

I believe that is not too late.

 

Always, Carol & Alvin

 

 

Thought for the day ….

Good Morning and Welcome to Monday the 15th day of April, 2019.

Well it seems to be calm outside this morning.

The exact opposite of yesterday.

The sky is clearing as the sun rises in the east.

Alvin is on his blue blanket as he rests while I write this post for my blog.

We had a busy but wonderful weekend.

We socialized, had some exercise, ate well, did some work around the house and yard, and even did some volunteer work.

Humphrey was with us on Saturday for most of the day.

My young girl friends came for coffee after Al’s Doctor/Vet visit on Saturday morning.

I raked, did laundry, made a big pot of chilli and tidied up around the house.

We had some wonderful walks including one with our friend S and Luna, the young labrador (lab).

Yesterday my daughter came for a visit and pancake breakfast.

We had a great time catching up with all of our news.

After the big breakfast and visit – I geared up to pick up trash in the neighbourhood.

I made sure to have extra disposable gloves, two big garbage bags, mini gloves and a coat with a hood and a scarf.

Once outside I decided to tie my hood up with the scarf which worked for a few minutes before the wind blew around my hood and took it down.

The wind was cold and so strong that most of the time I had to pick up trash a few times before getting it into the bag.

There were moments when I thought that I might be air borne.

Sometimes picking it up with my hand that was covered with the disposable glove.

I was almost home when I turned to see this whirlwind of dirt heading right for me.

Luckily I was able to turn and miss the face-on brunt of the impact.

Over the course of this walk one man even crossed the street to say “You are my hero for picking up trash.”

That was nice.

When almost at home I hear my name from one of my friends who was visiting at another friend’s house.

She said she did not realize it was me at first.

The wind had my hair all blown wild and crazy.

Between the scarf and my hair, I was unrecognizable.

I chatted for a moment before carrying one.

One thing to mention ….. my friend’s dog Jazmine was there and she took one look at me and turned away.

I even called out her name but she would have nothing to do with me.

Ah, I must have looked scary.

One more story.

Sometimes people drive me crazy.

I was coming around the bend toward home and this young couple crossed the street ahead of me heading to their vehicle, a truck.

When the girl got into the truck some fast food wrappers blew out.

I was right there and picked them up.

She saw this and said nothing.

How rude.

Anyway my hood is clean now except for the leaves and whatever trash blew in from elsewhere.

It was a productive weekend and Sunday.

YAY, me.

 

Well almost time to leave for work as my ride is coming early today.

I hope that you all have an awesome Monday.

Please remember that your trash is not for someone else to pick up.

Your trash is not to fill the oceans and kill the marine life.

Your trash is not meant to fill the yard of your neighbour.

Your trash is not meant to blow around parks and forests for the wildlife to eat and then slowly die.

You need to look around and be mindful.

Stop buying all those items with the multiple layers of plastic.

If we stop buying and start complaining then manufacturers will make changes.

We only have one planet.

Time to change.

This is the change that needs to happen.

Not just a change in government a change in how we live our lives.

I challenge you one and all.

What will you do?

 

Special Hello to: my friend V who was a busy girl this weekend and always (time to rest?).

Always, Caro & Alvin

 

 

Thought for the day ….

Good Morning and Welcome to Sunday the 15th day of April, 2018.

Overcast this morning but not cold outside.

I have a pool of water taking up most of the green space in the back yard.

It is waiting for the ground to thaw and for warmer temperatures to carry it out to the storm drain.

Gotta love spring.

At the other end of the water is a snowbank.

Poor Alvin …. no where to go.

Thankfully there remains some snow on the deck for those early morning bathroom breaks and at night.

Slowly the snow is melting.

When I look down our street it still looks like winter.

On the side that faces north there remains about two or so feet of snow on the front yards and on the side that faces south, NONE.

 

I was listening to a program on television reporting about the melting permafrost in the Northern part of Canada.

Slowly land is disappearing and falling away.

Anything buried in the permafrost over time since perhaps the beginning of time is thawing.

Scary thought.

Bacteria, dust and mold.

All once frozen is thawing.

Anthrax from a once frozen animal has made a child deathly ill.

 

I am not quite certain how I went from spring to the melting permafrost in our North.

Point being our climate – our environment is changing.

We see it in many ways all around the world.

If you think that picking up that piece of styrofoam laying on the front lawn Or that flicking your cigarette butt into the storm drain DOES NOT MATTER,

You are sadly mistaken.

Our oceans are filled with garbage.

Microscopic plastic fibres are finding their way into the drinking water.

Marine life are eating what they think is food.

We are eating that marine life.

 

Something to think about.

It is not something we can ignore any longer.

 

Special Hello to:   all residents of the planet Earth.

Always, Carol & Alvin

 

 

 

 

 

Thought for the day …..

Good Morning and Welcome to Saturday the 7th day of April, 2018.

The house is quiet once again except for the furnace running to heat the house during our coldest spring in thirty years.

The snow does seem to be slowly disappearing but not due to hot sunny days, that is for sure.

Most likely due in part to the wind.

The winds have been brutally cold.

Yesterday it was almost minus 20 degrees celsius with the windchill when I left work.

Thankfully I am a smart adult and was wearing my winter coat.

So many young and older folks were wearing spring jackets.

Likely just getting tired of wearing their winter ones.

I am starting to lose my patience with Mother Nature.

It is time for warmer weather, please.

 

Well onto something else, whining is not something that I like to do for long periods of time.

My daughter is bringing Mr. Alvin home this morning.

I promised my daughter a “pancake breakfast” when she arrives.

After writing my blog, I will slip into the shower before starting to cook the pancakes.

My dear old electric fry pan of over thirty years is starting to show signs of its’ age.

Part of the element is not heating up so of course, things do not cook evenly.

This morning I will use a smaller pan on top of the snow.

Hopefully that works better.

I am sad that my dear old electric fry pan is not working properly.

These days electric appliances and anything for that matter do not last any length of time.

I figure that I got at least six lifetimes from her than the ones made in recent times.

Unfortunately when appliances and such stop working over shorter periods of time not only do they cost to keep replacing BUT we are destroying our environment.

Just last night on the weather channel they were speaking about finding small microscopic bits of plastic in our drinking water.

They are already finding all sorts of plastic and garbage in all sorts of marine, bird and animal life.

They said within thirty years there will be more plastic in the oceans than marine life.

Is that not a scary thought.

That should drive people to smarten up.

I sure hope so.

 

Well that is food for thought.

We need to realize that we DO NOT NEED every gadget and gismo.

Less of this and that.

More about healthy relationships.

 

I hope that you all have a wonderful Saturday.

Special Hello to: my sister who makes me laugh and my brother who is working on our family history.  Thank you guys.

Always, Carol & Alvin

 

COUNTDOWN: 60 Days to 60

Today is Thursday June 15, 2017 and it is the 56 day until my 60th Birthday.

Been thinking again ……

 

“Time is the most valuable commodity on Earth for every living creature, for all plant and marine life, for every particle of dust.”

It truly is ……

We may think it is water or money or food.

But “time” is by far the most valuable.

 

Enjoy your time.

Each and every second.

Every moment is important.

If you have a blow-up or blow-out or moment of despair ….. just let it go.

Get over it and regain your right self and get on with living your life.

That is what I constantly work on ….. even when I have a moment or three at work ….. I get over it.

Because nothing is as important as living and enjoying your moments on this Earth.

 

Once you get older you will realize this about time ….. I am almost sixty and I know this to be for sure.

 

Always, Carol