2021

Good Saturday Morning ALL! I hope that this day finds you feeling great and ready for whatever the day may bring to you. We had a rather odd start but I am feeling good and Alvin seems to have recovered from his early morning tummy upset. Thank goodness. Might need a nap later but that is okay. I have gone through my clothes closet and moved “my winter clothing” to the spare room closet. Or at least the rest of the items that I had not already moved. Honestly, there are only a few steps from one closet, to the other so not a long way to go in case, I need something. Bedding changed and ready for the laundry, clothes ready for laundry. I was writing in my head the list of things that I need to get done around the house. For example: painting the fence, fixing the fence (couple of boards that need to be replaced and I have the boards, just need help to switch them out), having the furnace vents, dry vent cleaned and A/C serviced, replace the roof shingles on the house, and a few more items. So lots to get done. I know you know this. All homeowners have those regular maintenance items to look after and that makes sense. Of course, there are the things to do inside the house as well. I would love to have the whole inside painted except for my office which was painted two years ago now, I believe. Before the pandemic. I have many lists. Then the immediate items like vacuuming, dusting, laundry, cleaning etc. Enough to keep us all very busy.

I am excited to finally remove the covering from my front flower bed and allow the flowers to just be, to drink in the sunshine and the warmth of the sun. Thankfully it looks like they have survived. I was surprised and shocked, really, to see that some of the plants that were not blooming are now blooming. They were when I removed the sheets yesterday for the day time. A good sign. My poor babies in the garage will be happy to get out into the sunshine. These are the first things on the list to do once this post is completed and I am dressed for the day. So grateful that from this day forward the overnight temperatures look to be on the plus side. Hopefully Mother Nature had her fun, one last blast of late spring weather and now we can enjoy. I am grateful for the moisture even though I could have done without the snow and howling winds. Our grass is nice and green. Grass in the backyard could use another cut. Life is good.

Well I am going to leave you with this: Always remember to take some time for yourself. I know the list is long of things to do when you have only the weekend or a couple of days off to do everything around the house but it will get done. Remember to take a coffee, tea, cold drink, or just a water break even on the weekends. Most especially on the weekends. Time to just BE. Close your eyes and just shut out the noise, the words, the thoughts (if you can). This usually takes some practice but it can be done. Really important. We all need to take time for ourselves. I know that you have heard this only a billion times but if we do not look after ourselves how can we possibly look after others or do anything for others or even ourselves. You are important to the world, to your family, to your friends, to your community. You are!

Continuing to live this life with kindness, respect, compassion, love, patience and GRATITUDE. Always with gratitude.

Always, Love Carol & Al.

2021

Good Morning ALL! How are you doing this Thursday morning, May 6th, 2021? We are well. We enjoyed a couple of walks yesterday and on the second one we were able to have an outside visit with our friend. She was working in her garden and invited us in for a patio visit. I love sitting on her patio in her backyard. I cannot wait until her flowers are all out and blooming. She starts most of her plants and flowers inside the house and then in spring plants them in pots on her patio and some in her flower beds which surround the lawn area. She has one of the most beautiful garden ever. It is our sanctuary away from home, I always feel relaxed and calm in her yard.

As I am plum out of stories and things to say on this morning. I am going to post some photos of mine from previous years. Bad me, I still have not downloaded the photos that I have been taking recently. I will be proud to show you my handiwork on the front flower bed and cannot wait to fill it full of plants and flowers. It is now a blank canvas so I had better get planning it before it is too late. Soon it shall be time to pick up some plants/flowers and get them planted. I cannot wait. My favourite thing is picking out some plants/flowers, then planting and caring for them and watching them grow and flower.

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  My Flowers

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  A gift

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  Impatiens

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  My pansies

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  Perfection

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Wishing you joy and laughter on this Thursday. Continuing to live this life with kindness, respect, compassion and patience.

Always, Love Carol & Alvin

Love flowers ………

P.S. cannot wait to get the fence painted. Looking a bit worn, lol.

Thought for the day …..

Good Morning and Welcome to Monday the 6th day of May, 2019.

Almost one day into the month of May and the third morning in a row that we woke up to NO SNOW so that is progress.

Forecast showing rain for Wednesday which is another good thing.

We can use the moisture.

The sun is slowly rising in the eastern sky.

As I look out of the window I can see just above my sight line patches of that pure blue sky.

There is also a bit that is hard to explain but appears to be a opening of blue sky with darker blue clouds and a wisp of white clouds semi covering with a shout out to the SUN.

So beautiful but really difficult to explain and of course, no camera to be seen at this moment.

I am not certain that my camera would capture this very delicate but beautiful sight.

I could look at the sky all day long from sun up to sun down and onward.

Nothing like SKY.

 

Well here we are almost time to leave for work once again.

Seems like it was just Friday night.

We have been and continue to be on watering duty and I am proud to say that the plants appear to be doing great.

My green thumb is not quite as deep a green as my friend’s but I do okay.

 

Mr. Alvin is resting on the double thick blankets on the floor beside me.

He is always at my side except when I am at work.

Definitely my boy.

I would not have it any other way.

 

We had a quiet weekend and the only human contact we had was a brief conversation with our neighbour.

Isn’t it funny how one can go that many hours with out actually seeing anyone – well actually speaking to anyone.

We did see people out and about.

Productive weekend and I even did some extra writing which I am very happy about …..

 

Well time to get this show on the road.

Perhaps Mr. Alvin needs to go outside once again before I leave the house.

Wishing you all a most wonderful Monday ….

May your week be filled with perfect health and much joy…..

Oh and laughter ….. gotta have some laughs along the way.

 

Special Hello to: my family ….. I don’t call nearly enough ….. I know that …… thinking of you all….

Always, Carol & Alvin

 

 

Thought for the day ….

Good Morning and Welcome to Thursday the 31st day of May, 2018.

Wow, May is coming to a close.

Hard to believe it is the last day of this month.

Tomorrow is June.

How on earth did that happen?

Still overcast but has stopped raining.

It is cool outside.

Far cry from a few days ago.

Alvin and I are enjoying our walks.

The past couple of days we have walked before he even ate supper.

Guess he likes to eat a bit later.

 

Paw Patrol (pet sitting) is going well.

Humphrey is quite the Cat.

He makes me giggle.

We are having fun together.

Last night he was in the cuddling mood, so that we did.

 

We always try to do better, right?

Stop to thinking before speaking.

Listening to your inner voice and not letting it escape before it should.

Perhaps a bit of editing.

I am not saying that we should watch with delicate care as to every word that we say but far too often our inner voice in the heat of the moment is far too emotional to escape to the outside world.

Most times saying exactly what you think does not make you feel any better, certainly does not make the situation any better, so editing helps.

No need to fuel the situation.

Every day WORDS are spoken in the trillions and more …. far too many to actually count.

So why not make them as positive as possible.

Yes, sometimes criticism is necessary but not all of the time.

There are times that I want to scream but I take a deep breath and just say something to myself.

Because it is not actually necessary to speak to every conversation.

Sometimes SAYING NOTHING is far more powerful than speaking out.

Just some thoughts this morning.

 

Well almost time to leave for work here.

I hope that you have an awesome Thursday.

Wishing you to be surrounded by positiveness.

 

Special Hello to: my friends all over the world.

Always, Carol & Alvin

 

Thought for the day ….

Good Morning and Welcome to Friday the 5th day of May, 2017.

A glorious morning here in Edmonton.

The sun is smiling as it rises in the East filling the sky with it’s magical beams.

So happy for the weekend.

I am grateful that I have the weekend off so to speak.

Anyone who works outside the home knows – we all have work to do when we get home.

 

On a more somber note and reminder to us all.

It is the time of year when forest and wild fires break out.

Be careful as the cost to lost lives whether animal or human is too high.

They may never be replaced.

Homes and businesses may be replaced.

Memory from one year ago today.

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Good Morning and Welcome to Thursday the 5th day of May, 2016.

It is overcast here in Edmonton this morning.

The air is cool and there is a breeze.

Such a difference from the past couple of days.

I am actually cold this morning.

I only hope that it has cooled off up north where the wildfires are burning out of control.

They need a break.

RAIN and no lightning would be great.

Sounds like everyone was evacuated safely and that is great news.

My heart goes out to all of the animals in the forest surrounding Fort McMurray, Alberta.

I hope that all of the dogs and cats were rescued from the City.

We are so grateful to all those brave men and women whose job is to go into the inferno to fight the fires.

Whether paid or volunteers we thank you.

I hope they are all safe.

To all of the individuals out there who came together to offer up a place to sleep or to gather necessities for the evacuees, we thank you.

Well here it is time to leave for work once again.

The time always passes quickly in the morning.

So on this Thursday be safe.

Special Hello to: all the residents of Fort McMurray, Alberta and surrounding areas, we are grateful that you are safe and secure.

Always, Carol and Alvin

Thought for the day ….

Good Morning and Welcome to Wednesday the 18th day of May, 2016.

Yes, it is the 18th of May – your eyes are not deceiving you.

I could barely believe it this morning when I saw it on the calendar.

Another month zipping along.

 

We finally had some rain yesterday.

It rained on the way to work and luckily not too heavy until I made it to the bus shelter at my stop.

 

Well I am in the process of preparing for yet another garage sale.

This one is happening this coming up weekend.

My friend “G” was over to help me organize everything.

Still lots to do but a good start.

She made me an iced coffee and brought it over as a treat while we worked.

Good strategy on her part.

It was so yummy.

Not something I normally drink but so good.

I am also hosting a “tea tasting” on Monday so this is going to be a busy weekend.

Isn’t “tea tasting” what you do on the celebration of Queen Victoria’s Birthday?

I thought so.

Garage sale Friday and Saturday and ending the weekend with a Tea Tasting.

I like that.

 

We are excited because Elton is coming to spend the day with Alvin.

I mean he is excited as I will be at work.

First time Elton has been here since his surgery.

I am so excited to see him.

I had a chat with Alvin this morning and explained to him that he had to be careful, treat him gently.

No horsing around ….. no rough housing that sort of thing.

So they will likely just lay around and quietly visit and catch up.

 

Well almost time to leave for work.

The kids will be here shortly.

A few things to do before I leave.

 

I hope that you have a great day.

I hope that you are surrounded by loving and caring creatures whether two or four-legged.

I hope that at least one of your dreams comes true this very day.

I hope that you never stop dreaming.

 

Special Hello to: my friends, you rock.  I could not have made it this far without you (yes, sister that includes you).

Always, Carol and Alvin

Thought for the day …..

Good Morning and Welcome to Sunday the 1st day of May, 2016.

Well here we are – May 1st, 2016.

The morning is almost over; the air is fresh and the sun is shining.

Once again I felt the need with this “cold” to sleep away the morning.

But I guess that is the way of the body healing itself.

I am sipping on a delectable cup of coffee as I write these words.

Alvin is laying on guard outside the office door, as he always does.

This has been an odd weekend for me.

But a restful one for the most part.

Had two wonderful long distance chats with actually two guys this weekend.

One friend and the other my nephew.

Always good to connect with people.

Today I am going to clean up the trash on the walkway to 62nd Avenue.

This will be the fourth time this spring but always good for it to be clean.

I can finally hear some voices coming in through the open window.

Someone is awake out there.

Children.

Out and about.

Certainly is the weather for it.

This coming weekend is forecasted to be in the 20’s all week.

Quite warm for the first week in May.

Well I had better get this day going as tomorrow is back to work.

Where does the time go?

 

I hope that life is treating you great.

It is okay to run that tub with nice warm water and take a relaxing bath.

You deserve it.

Go ahead …..

 

Special Hello to: all my friends and family who keep me sane.

Always, Carol and Alvin

 

Thought for the day……

Good Morning and Welcome to Saturday the 30th day of May, 2015.

It was sunny earlier this morning but now as they have forecasted the skies are beginning to fill with dark blue clouds.

I have a couple of chores in the yard to do but if it rains before I get out there then they will wait for another day.

There is always enough work to do when you own a house.

And so it goes.

I hope that you are doing great on this fine Saturday morning.

I am so grateful that I am able to now have the evenings and weekends at home.

So nice to actually have the time to do things.

There is a long list.

Do you sometimes feel overwhelmed with the TO DO LIST?

I hear you …..

Sometimes it is better to have a MASTER List, and then each weekend or evening, take a couple of items from the list and do it that way.

It seems to me that I keep adding things to the list and not taking any away.

So having a few things to accomplish each day makes it more manageable and much less stressful.

We all have to remember to take time for our ourselves, our families, and friends.

Well as I sip on my delicious cup of coffee I am thinking it is time to get this show on the road.

I always have to run out to do a couple of errands.

It sure feels cold today compared to the beginning of the week.

Ah, spring.

So happy second last day of May …..

Have a blast.

Take time for you.

Do one thing at a time.

Don’t fret ….

Sing out loud ……

Dance like you know you want to …..

Happy Saturday everyone.

Special Hello to: FAMILY, FRIENDS and STRANGERS.

Always, Carol and Alvin

Thought for the day…..

Good Morning and Welcome to Friday the 29th day of May, 2015.

Wow, what just happened?

Where did May go?

It would seem that time is running away.

I do feel as though I have had almost thirty days but the date always seems to be a surprise.

It is a perfect morning here in Edmonton.

Sun is shining …..

Even though I opted to take some extra zzz’s on the sofa with me Alvin …. I have managed to do everything that I normally do in the morning but in much less time.

Mr. Alvin helped out by waking up at 4:22 a.m.  ….. yes.

I am such a push over that I got up ……

Oh well.

Yesterday was an amazing day.

Surprised by a ride to work and then while leaving the grocery store another neighbour came in and gave me a ride home.

What a lucky gal I am.

Well it is getting close to time to leave.

I just wanted to wish you a great Friday … start to the weekend.

Hoping that you are still excited by the small things in life.

Like an unexpected ride to work or home from the store.

I am truly blessed.

Take care and I will be back tomorrow morning.

Special Hello to: all those folks who read my blog ….. your time is invaluable and I appreciate you taking the time to spend with me.

Always, Carol and Alvin

Thought for the day……

Good Morning and Welcome Everyone to Wednesday, the 29th of May 2013 …..

Third last day of May ….

Looks like the sky is clouding over ….. we had a wonderful rain yesterday.

The grass is so nice and green.

 

This morning I have been thinking that me and Alvin should be going for a walk in the morning before going to work.

It sounded like such a grand idea before I went to bed last night.

But somehow in the morning ….. when the realization hit …… walk or sofa …..

Well you can guess which one won over.

I set the alarm for 5:00 a.m. and usually Alvin wakes up between 4:30 and 5:00.

If I am lucky I can coax him to stay in bed closer to five, but that is not too often.

So we go downstairs and he has his breakfast and then outside to do his morning “constitutional” ….. sounds better than going outside to poop and pea..

Okay I said it….. yikes.

Anyway … then it is about 5:00 so I set the timer on the microwave for another 20-30 minutes and we hit the sofa.

Likely if my sofa wasn’t so darn comfortable maybe I could convince my body that it wasn’t a great idea.

But I am going to challenge myself ….. really I am.

Once we get up….. actually I get up …. he stays on the sofa.

Then I write in my gratitude journal, eat breakfast, shower/bath – makeup and get dressed.

Once I am ready I go onto the computer and write on my blog.

Sometimes there are a few other chores I squeeze in like emptying the dishwasher.

Anyway ….

Then after the blog it is downstairs to grab lunch, one last time outside for Alvin and have my stuff ready by the door so that I can make a quick getaway when my ride arrives.

It is almost time to fly here …..

There comes the SUN…… YAY.

So you see my dilemma …… walk or sofa.

I do love to walk but that early …… it would be good for both of us.

Well I have to find a way ….. perhaps do the walk first before I get ready.

Have a great day.

Special Hello to: all those folks who get up and walk early in the morning.

 

Always, Carol and Alvin