Last Half 2022 – November

Good Morning ALL! I hope that this finds you doing very well. Both Alvin and I are doing great. I happy over the moon excited for this weekend. I will be writing up Christmas cards and letters. Laundry as always. Must remember to pop Mr. Alvin’s sweater into the laundry. Maybe he needs another one! Christmas present idea, lol. The sun is shining but there are a few clouds. No wind. I think it might be worth going for a walk this morning. The sidewalks out front look dry. I need to go and remove the snow that I tossed onto my sidewalk from the grass back onto the grass. There was a need a few days ago to have a safe place to walk for both me and Mr. Alvin. Now that time has passed so remove the snow so it will dry off. I placed a Mary Kay order last night as I had a few people wanting a few items for themselves and for Christmas gifts. I have other things on my list. The main focus is the Christmas cards as I would really like to get all the ones that need to be mailed outside of Canada and outside my realm of hand delivery posted right away. I have the cards and stamps so I just need to address them and write some notes/letters. My favourite part is writing the letters. I love to receive cards and letters although it seems to be going in the direction of the dinosaurs. Too bad! I will continue until I am not physically able to write / print. It is a tradition that I love so much.

I should also post some photos of my redecorated tree. Yes, I will. Hopefully sooner than later.

Last night after work I came home with my carpool as we agreed, my daughter and I that is that perhaps a visit was not in the cards last night. She had things to do and the weather was not looking great but ended up okay. Alvin and I were going to head out for a walk when I saw a text from Cookie’s Dad asking if she could come and spend a few hours with us. Of course, I said “YES.” I am so grateful to them for taking such great care of Mr. Alvin since I have returned to work three days per week. My fingers are crossed that perhaps that will be reduced to two days each week or even one. Our moral at work between the return to work and changes (always changes) is at an all time low. Very sad. Anyway, we had a great time with Cookie who for the most part watched out the living room window from the arm of the big chair. I guess watching for her family. Perhaps she was thinking of last year when she ended up with us for two weeks while her family went to Disneyland. Poor little girl. She did run around the house stopping to give me some love. She is so adorable. She likes to get Alvin going which is not necessarily a bad thing. They do well together. I have decided it may be a good idea for Alvin to spend some time with his sister, brother-in-law, Aspen and Milo when I have the office Christmas party. It may be too much for him. If it were one or two or even three people that is one thing but looks like will be over 10. Plus I will be able to concentrate on the company and having a good time without having to worry and care for him. Win, win. He needs some time with them for sure. They love him so much and as he is getting older, I am not sure how many more road trips he will be able to tolerate. He doesn’t like car rides as it is.

Time to fly. Lots to do. I need COFFEE, too.

Have a awesome Saturday.

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

Always, Carol & Alvin

PS: another item on the list is to wrap gifts. Oh, I cannot wait until I am able to get the new computer. Hopefully soon.

The New YEAR 2022

Good Morning ALL! How are you this Wednesday morning? I, we are doing well. Alvin was up a few times but I think we are so used to it and hitting the snooze that it is our norm. Say that three times fast. I just put on some Mary Kay lip gloss and I love this product. Not tacky or sticky – feels good and looks great. My makeup tip for the day. If you need just a bit of a lift – try some pretty lip gloss. Nothing fancy. Especially for those of us who are blessed to be working from home. I know people that have stayed in their pj’s all day but after two years that must get a bit old. I wear comfy bottoms and then dress up the top half. Sometimes I wear what would be work appropriate pants but most times I wear more dressy “sweats.” I don’t always wear a lot of makeup but always do my eyebrows (as they are getting lighter each year) and lips. Usually once or twice a week or if I have to go to the office, then I put on eye makeup and blush. So whatever makes you feel good. I do know that on the days when I have a shower, I am more likely to do the extra makeup like eyes and cheeks. That is just me.

It was cold last night. We had a bit of snow sometime between 4:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. Not that we need more snow! Mother Nature, Mother Nature! Gotta love her. Once again there is a light blanket covering the bare spots on the deck, on the rooftops, the sidewalks and the streets. I cannot wait until spring and the ice melts and we can once again resume our twice daily walks. Both Alvin and I are missing our outdoor time. We go outside here and there – mainly on the back deck but it is not really the same. Patience, I keep telling him and myself.

Oh, last night I made another batch of the chocolate pudding. I doubled the batch so had to use one can of evaporated milk and one of coconut milk. It did not get super thick (but thick enough) as night before so perhaps I could have added a tad more corn starch. I am experimenting. It was very tasty. I will write down my changes and the recipes and post them. I love chocolate pudding. I suppose the recipe could be modified to be carmel, butterscotch and other flavours. Will get back to you on that.

Oh, the chili was really good. I have about 100 or so different varieties of chili that I make. I suppose that I should write those down as well. I cook so in the moment that I do not think of the future. Likely not a great idea for passing on ideas and recipes. I love to experiment and to use whatever items that I have at my disposal. Sometimes I may only have one item for a recipe so I really have to use my imagination but isn’t that what life is all about. Trying new things. I must confess that I seldom have everything in a recipe unless I am planning in advance. But I enjoy trying new things and seeing what I can create.

Looking outside it looks cold and dark. No light spots in the sky. Everything looks white from top to bottom. ARGH. Oh well it is February 16, 2022. Winter in Western Canada.

Time to go and have some of that coffee that I have poured into my to go mug to keep hot. I truly love the aroma of freshly brewed coffee. LOVE, love, love.

I hope that you have a wonderful day. Perhaps you will try something new. Changing things up is a good thing.

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

Always, Carol & Alvin

P.S. I feel like something fantastic is going to happen to us today. Just a feeling!

2021

Good Morning ALL. How are you today? I hope very well. Alvin and I are doing great. We had a decent sleep with an early up and then back to sofa (nothing different than norm). I cannot believe that I missed the first day of SPRING on Saturday. I knew it was about this time but totally missed mindfully celebrating the spring equinox. Happy Spring everyone!! I have been watching for the bunnies but have not seen any lately which is odd for this area. We usually have them on our front lawn all of the time especially since my neighbour feeds them. But strangely enough even with good I have not seen any rabbits for I would say about one month or so. I always gage the arrival of spring by the turning of their fur from white to brown. I hope that they are okay. Never know, I guess. We walked on the weekend. I almost put Alvin’s sweater on yesterday and realized that it had warmed up somewhat from earlier in the morning.

Have you had a morning or I guess anytime during the course of a day where you just looked at something in your home and decided to change it up, around or clean? Unplanned! Yesterday I had been in my upstairs office and at this point I do not even remember what I was doing but I happen to look at my bulletin board which takes up near the whole wall behind my computer. There are two massive bulletin boards that my daughter made for me a few years back. Anyway, it just seemed “messy” ….. just with no plan ….. unorganized. So I set out to spruce it up if you will. At one point I could not reach the top so had to run downstairs and grab a stool. I love my massive bulletin board filled with cards of thanks and of birthdays and from Mother’s Days, photos of family and friends, my monthly birthday calendar, and odds and ends. I decided to hang up my birthday calendar as it was on a bulletin board on a wall that is partially hidden so sometimes I forget to look at it. I have missed birthdays. So now it is right in front of me. No more missed Birthdays. There are notes from Bath & BodyWorks days when I had the highest sales per hours in the entire company (and that was worldwide). Can you imagine that? It definitely is something that I am proud to have achieved without realizing at the time. I have an email from the Arts & Culture Reporter of the Wall Street Journal from end of 2013 when she had left a comment on my blog. How cool is that? Also I hung up our “family photos” of me and Alvin that my daughter takes every fall. It is a reminder of our journey and my hair cuts, argh. Thankfully more the journey and surprisingly Alvin has not changed much over the years. I can tell when he did not have a hair cut before the photo shoot, me too for that matter. There are reminders of the young boy turned man that I sponsored from Malawi many years ago. It is a good wall and I love looking at every item and remembering.

Well back to work today as it is once again Monday morning. This will be the third week that I have been training with a coworker as she returns to work after being away for some time. The training is going well and remains lots to go through and over. Alvin has an appointment on Wednesday, his regular one, thank goodness. Nail trim etc. Also on Wednesday one of my neighbours and friends is hosting a Mary Kay Mask party. Should be fun.

Time to get the coffee plugged in …… turn on the tunes ….. place Alvin’s bed in the kitchen and get this week going.

I wish you a great Monday.

As we continue to live this life with kindness, respect, compassion and patience.

Always, Carol & Alvin

Thought for the day…..

Good Morning and Welcome to Saturday the 15th day of July, 2017.

Another hot one on the way…..it is late morning and already you can feel the heat and humidity.

I wished that I would have stayed up at 7:00 during one of the times that Alvin had my out of bed / sofa.

But alas I did not so we went on a walk at just before 10:00 a.m. – we were only a short way into the park when Alvin decided he was ready to go home.

The breeze was cool to me but not to Mr. Alvin.

I always carry water with us but it was not enough.

I listen to the boss so we went home.

At home I watered all of my outdoor plants and flowers and moved the flower pots into the shade.  Most of them anyway.

Supposed to be 31 degrees celsius today and then much cooler tomorrow.

We really could use some more rain.

 

I wish for rain for our neighbouring province to the west, British Columbia.

I cannot get them out of my head ….. the farmers … the animals ….. domestic and wild …… the ranchers …. trees …. the people.

Please pray for rain ……

Thinking of you my neighbours …….

 

Well today is going to be low key.

As with no functioning air conditioning movement in the house makes you hot.

I have a fan thankfully and the furnace fan is helping.

I only am concerned about me Alvin but for now he is okay.

If need be we will sit on the sofa by the fan drinking coffee and eating BON BONS …… likely not the sweets but could be coffee.

Lots of water nearby for both of us.

 

Last night I held a Mary Kay party at my house.

My dear friend “G” came over and we played with makeup all evening long.

It was great.

I felt so pretty after it all …… even got my eyebrows looking good!

I shared with the Consultant and my Friend a pitcher of Steeped Tea’s Winter Sangria with ginger ale.

So yummy…. the only thing missing was some ice.

Note to self:  make some ice cubes….

 

Have an awesome day.

Keep cool and hydrated.

Stay in the shade.

Keep your pets in the shade and hydrated as well.

Remember they have fur coats on and even though you might love the heat – they do not.

 

Special Hello to: my sister ….. very soon …..

Always, Carol & Alvin