Good Morning. So glad today is Friday. The sky is blue and the sun is shining. We had some well needed rain yesterday so the grass and trees all had a nice boost. I hope that the areas affected by wildfires were blessed to have this moisture as well. I hope.
Yesterday was a good day. I walked with Eddie and Jeanette after supper. So different without Bruno but he is no longer in pain or suffering even though he was a master of not displaying the appearances that something was wrong otherwise than the physical changes. What a dear guy he was. Handsome and regal and well behaved. He would even say “thank you” for the treats in his way. I shall miss him always. We had a good walk bumping into friends along the way including our friends Jaime & Sadie. They were walking with two other sets of friends. So many pups so lovely. Eddie enjoyed playing fetch with the ball. He even “laid down.” Something he did not do very much before that moment. During our walk Jeanette had to take a long distance conference call between her Father’s Doctor and her brothers. When I say long distance it truly was: Venezuela, U.S. and Canada. How is that for distance? During this time we walked and I looked after Eddie. We played fetch and enjoyed our time together. We were playing fetch by my friend Pauline’s house and I noticed that her windows were open so I texted her in the off chance she was home and not busy. Her husband Al noticed me and waved and a few minutes later Pauline was outside and we were in the backyard. It felt so strange being back there without Mr. Alvin. Eddie walked around and smelled everything and looked around which reminded me of Alvin. Pauline and I quickly caught up with all of our news. They are going on a small fishing trip in June to B.C., how lovely. Our friend Lucy turns 65 in a few days and is leaving for a three month visit to family and friends in China at the end of June. Pauline turns 70 in June as well. Lots going on. We are planning a little party for her and I volunteered to bring the cake and I was thinking to myself that we can celebrate Pauline’s 70th with Lucy’s 65. We will invite another neighbour and friend of theirs (and mine).
Photo time once again. I seem to have a lot of photos to share and that is nice. My dry eye is bothering me once again, the burning and then I am obviously allergic to something as my nose is running. Will have to get my eyedrops, they help right away. I have included some photos of Pauline’s yard and my plants from Costco. Yesterday morning before work I went to the garage and brought them all inside to sit upon the kitchen table hoping they would get some sunshine but we did not have much of that yesterday but today is another story. I will plant them tonight or tomorrow morning before Gillian’s birthday party. A busy weekend ahead. I still need to wrap the birthday gift and write up a card for Gillian. Where did the week go? LOL. I gave a few plants to Jeanette as I know how much she loves them and now she has something to plant right away and enjoy. Just in case they are not able to get to a nursery.
Flowers to plantEddieEddie & JeanetteEddieVisiting with PaulineEddie checking for lightFlowersBeautiful yardMy Flowers From Pauline
Well time to hustle downstairs and put on the coffee. My eye is better now without the relief of eyedrops, yay. I hope that your Friday is awesome. Whatever happens today I feel good things are in the air. Our office group won $10.00 from Wednesday’s lottery draw so just adding a few more zero’s and we will be there. We are excited. Retirement is closer than we think.
Feeling so very blessed and fortunate this Friday morning. To be surrounded by such loving friends and neighbours is so wonderful.
Continuing to live this life with kindness, respect, compassion, patience, love, laughter, understanding, gratitude, focus, possibilities, coffee and forgiveness.
Always, Carol & Alvin, My Forever Angel
Thank you Bruno for being my friend ……… I hope that you are out for a stroll with my Alvin!
Good Morning. The early morning sunshine has been replaced by clouds. It would appear that we had some rain through the earlier hours of this morning. The wind is blowing the trees that I can see through my office window.
Last night after supper, I took my last walk with Eddie & Bruno. My heart is breaking once again or perhaps just breaking more. Life is not fair. These beings that touch our hearts and make us better, are lost way too early. Goodbye is never easy. Our last walk started with finishing off the liver treats on the front lawn. The clouds rolled in and Jeanette had not worn a jacket so I grabbed her one from my front entry closet and then we were on our way. Oh how Bruno loved those treats. He loved to eat. So reminded me of a little someone! Shortly after we left the rain started and continued for most of our walk. Not a downpour as this was the one time that the boys did not have on their raincoats. I think it was nice for Bruno to experience the rain gently falling onto him. He went to places in the park that we had not walked to over the last few weeks. Personally I think he was sniffing and taking in every place that he could. He drank two bottles of water within the first minutes of the walk and then with a burst of energy just kept walking. We did not take many breaks. He just wanted to walk. Eddie was quite attentive to this Father and not as playful as usual. They know. I miss him already. Oh our dear Bruno.
The rain did not make for taking many photos. I will post them later. We also saw about six adult geese and a great many goslings near the water’s edge on our walk. I did not get any photos.
I hope that you have a good day.
Continuing to live this life with kindness, respect, compassion, patience, love, laughter, understanding, gratitude, focus, possibilities, coffee and forgiveness.
Good Morning! So happy that we had some rain earlier this morning. There are rain clouds slowly clearing around us to show a bright blue sky. We can always use some moisture. Here we are on the second last day of May 2023. Where has the time gone? As it does every month, it comes and goes. Yesterday was warm but we did have some rain throughout the day. A few minutes after I arrived home from work, I changed shoes and left for a nearby school where I voted in the provincial election. Not sure how I feel about the “results.” I am grateful that when we went for our walk last night that the temperature was bit cooler and the breeze helped keep us comfortable. I am amazed at how Bruno has energy and wants to walk despite his health. I snapped more photos and videos. When Jeanette and the boys arrived last night (few minutes early), I did not have my shoes on and at that time another friend with his pup Bailey happened to be walking by. So we had a puppy party. I quickly got my shoes on and grabbed the water and treats and headed out. The pups joined me on my lawn under the tree and I got some awesome photos during and after I handed out the treats. Bruno loves treats. Eddie well he likes them but is always looking to play and for the reflections, the lights. They are both special and unique beings. Bailey is such a good girl. She loves the boys. She even gave me a kiss. Jeanette asked Bailey to give her a high five and she did. Her Dad was shocked as she had not done that before …… Eddie gave me an unexpected high five and almost knocked me over. Love these guys. We had a much shorter walk but sat in the park and snuggled with Bruno and played with Eddie (he loves to play catch with the ball). Such a perfect evening. On our way home we came across two families of geese. Did you note that I said families? Yes, we were fortunate to see a gaggle of geese. So many babies. Little goslings. Cuteness. I did not get too close as I know that stresses out the parents. Photos, yes.
Photos: May 29, 2023. Bailey with Bruno and Eddie on front lawn. Photos of chilling in the park. Two Families of Geese. The perfect evening.
Time to head downstairs and make some coffee and have some breakfast. I hope that you have a wonderful day and are able to share some time with family and friends. Happy Tuesday to you.
Continuing to live this life with kindness, respect, compassion, patience, love, laughter, understanding, gratitude, focus, possibilities, coffee and forgiveness.
Good Morning! Another beautiful May morning. Hard to believe that there are only two more days left in the month of May. Where does the time go? Feels like sometimes that it is evaporates. There is a coolness wafting into the office this morning. Yes, I opened the window to bring in some cool air. When I go downstairs I will open the windows at each end of the house. One being in the kitchen and the other in the living room. This will bring in some cool air. Gone are the days that I would open them early in the morning so that the main floor would be cool for Mr. Alvin. On the hot days, we would get out for an early morning walk. When Covid struck the planet, we would go in the mornings before work, if it was not too hot at my lunch break we would walk then and then should the temperatures be too hot after work, we would just stay cool by the fans. Sometimes we even went into the basement as it is always a few degrees cooler there. Yesterday morning after I got up and finished my small to do list, I grabbed my mug of coffee and “Alvin” and we sat out under the umbrella. He was in the shade but the umbrella did not quite cover me. There was still a nice cool breeze so I did not mind. We just enjoyed the sunshine with memories flooding my mind. He so loved his walks. His favourite spot on the deck was to lay just under the kitchen window and second was on the love seat next to me. I remember him as a pup and in the more early days how he would lay outside on the nice days soaking up the sunshine. Seems like a lifetime ago. I guess it really was but he will always be here.
Yesterday afternoon just after 4:00 p.m., the wind got up. I quickly brought in all of the houseplants and moved the other plants to the cover of the house or by the fence. I had taken the cushions from the table set and put them into the garage but left the cushions on the love seat and chairs on them. Earlier in the afternoon, my friend Gillian joined me on the deck for a cup of coffee, some sunshine, some laughter and good conversation. She is such a good friend. I am so grateful for her friendship. I was in the house and texting between three friends in two provinces when I noticed that one of the cushions had blown off one of the chairs. First time that has happened. I went out and put them away. All of my small items were moved just in case. If a gust moved the cushion then a little ornament from the table or deck could easily blow away. Not worried about anything get ruined but more of something being air borne and hitting someone or breaking a window. Anyway, after some heavy winds and a bit of rain a couple of hours later, I was out walking with Jeanette, Bruno and Eddie. Bruno, I am not sure how he is doing it, where does the energy come from, but he does a walk. Not a short one either. We take plenty of water and it almost all gets drank mainly by Bruno. We take three pet bottles of water and 500 ml (a lot of water). I will share a few photos of the boys from last night. The grass was “soft” after the rain.
EddieBrunoBruno
The time is getting late here and I have a few things to do before leaving the house for the day. Tonight I vote in our provincial election. That will be after work. I hope that you are doing well and have a wonderful Monday.
Continuing to live this life with kindness, respect, patience, compassion, love, laughter, understanding, gratitude, focus, possibilities, coffee and forgiveness.
Good Morning. The sky is overcast this morning and as I have not opened the window to breathe in the air, I do not know whether it is from possible rain clouds or from the smoke of wildfires. Yesterday they lifted the evacuation notices and four Alberta communities went home. Some of these communities remain on alert. The Alberta Fire Lead said that even though they are on alert much work has been done by the army and firefighters to separate the communities from the spread of fire. Fingers crossed. Hopefully more rain is on the way to us and to the areas affected by the wildfires.
Thursday today. The week just zipped by. I have some photos to share from our walk last night. Poor Bruno even though he mustered enough energy to walk with many rest stops even is not doing well and there is not good news on the horizon. Oh, Bruno, I have fallen in love with you! Eddie and Bruno are such wonderful dogs.
Bruno treat timeEddie & BrunoBrunoBrunoBrunoEddieEddie, Me & BrunoEddie & the lightBruno and EddieEddieBrunoBrunoIn the ParkBrunoWalkingBrunoBrunoBruno
I am so happy that I have been able to reconnect and get to know both Eddie & Bruno and their lovely parents in these last weeks. Our time together will be cherished by me forever. Their Poppy was showing me photos on his phone last night during out walk and these boys are so photogenic. I only wished that I was a better photographer. Most days we have no idea where our life is going to take us and I am grateful that I have been able to spend my evenings with these handsome boys and their parents. My life is good. I am so grateful that we had another evening of clear blue and sunny skies.
Time to head downstairs. Have a wonderful day.
Continuing to live this life with kindness, respect, compassion, patience, love, laughter, understanding, gratitude, focus, possibilities, coffee and forgiveness.
Good Morning! Well the sun is shining brightly and there remains smoke in the air. I opened the window and then closed it as the smell of smoke was too much. I certainly do not want the inside of the house to smell like smoke. My heart goes out to all those families affected by the wildfires. I heard that our Prime Minister is visiting Alberta. Likely there are a lot of mixed feelings about his visit. But you know what that is his job to see the people of Canada in good times and in bad. When he visits he can well better make decisions that affect the people who need assistance and help.
There is some wind this morning but no where near the wind of this time yesterday. So that is a good thing.
Last night after supper I walked with my friends. Bruno is having a hard time. His Momma comes home late this evening. His Dad says another trip to the Hospital. Poor boy. I hope that he will be okay. One of his legs seems to be swollen. I am not sure how Eddie will do without Bruno should something happen to him. It was smoky last night but there was enough of a breeze that it was okay. Still not my favourite time to be walking with or without pups.
This morning we are going to the last two of our sites to check things and pick up trash. I am not looking forward to be outside for hours in the smoke but I guess there are others like the firefighters that are out outside in this day in and day out. So I will not complain.
Well I kept hitting the snooze button on my phone this morning so I have to head downstairs so that I can have breakfast and coffee before I leave for work. Luckily my ride is coming a few minutes later than our normal time.
Have a wonderful day. Keep safe.
Continuing to live this life with kindness, respect, compassion, patience, love, laughter, understanding, gratitude, focus, possibilities, coffee and forgiveness.
Good Morning! Wow, sure has been windy the past couple of days. Waking up to another windy day. My daughter let me know that they are not being evacuated due to the wildfires. The fires turned direction so they are safe at home. You know I never thought of them being affected by wildfires until they moved to the country. I guess we all have a false sense of security living in the big city. Now when the wind blows, I feel panicked. They only have one car. The person that is working or is at home does not have a vehicle to get them and the pups to safety. An EXIT plan is a necessity. One never knows what could happen. Even sometimes it could be the smoke, too. Anyway, I let her know if there is every a time where they need to get out – come here. I suppose she already knew this! Also if one has an item or three that are irreplaceable, they should be ready to go at a moment’s notice. I believe in being preparing. Never hurts to have a plan or two in place.
Well, I decided to go to work and see what time that I can get into the dentist as it may not even be until tomorrow. Who knows? Hopefully this afternoon or tomorrow morning. If I can get in after lunch, I can leave work at noon and make my way there. I may even be able to catch a ride with my carpool as she goes home at noon to drive her son to school. He turned six last week and will be in grade one in September. I am grateful that I am pain free with the broken tooth, so I will just go to the office.
Yesterday, I vacuumed and wash all of the floors on the main and upstairs. I cleaned the top of the landing rug as well with my bissell cleaner. Looks good. I had the windows open as well to air the house out. Sure was quiet with Cookie gone home.
Time to go downstairs and put the coffee on. According to the weather channel there are some warm warm days on the way for this week. Pups come tomorrow. I guess time to break out the fans. I will open the windows on those days early to cool off the house for them.
Wishing you a great day!
Fingers crossed that everything goes well at the dentist. I am certain that the tooth will need to be pulled and then what? I think bridge but not sure about the surrounding teeth.
Continuing to live this life with kindness, respect, compassion, patience, love, laughter, understanding, gratitude, focus, possibilities, coffee and forgiveness.
Good Morning! The sky is blue and the sun is shining. I got up early for a day off and had a shower already. Last night after work I struggled to change out the new oven element for the new one. The first parts were easy of course, unplug from the electrical receptacle (of course), remove the oven racks and set side, undo the two screens that hold the element in place, done. BUT then it came to remove the element from the wire connectors. Nope they would not budge. I must have watched 20 videos and some of them twice and in all of them, the moderator easily pulled/disconnected the wires. There were some texts to friends and to my daughter. Not for me an easy task, I did not want to pull too hard on the wire connectors and wreck them. I was able to finally to get in touch with my neighbour who came over right away. Steven said that they were really tight (so I did not feel so helpless ). I then found out that I had the wrong replacement element. The one that my daughter had picked up had different way of connecting the wires. So this morning we are off to Home Depot to hopefully exchange. I have the receipt on my phone. Hopefully they can do a straight exchange and I am glad that I did not throw away the bit of light cardboard that was wrapped around part of the element with the brand name and instructions. No one’s fault, I had no idea it was different. My oven story. So instead of something that took supposedly a few minutes ended up being almost two hours ( I had to stop in between and have supper, lucky for me I had leftovers to be warmed in the microwave). My ride just said morning and I know they are early risers so I wanted to make sure that I was up early – just in case he calls and said “ready to go.” I should have asked the time but in all the shambles of the situation, I simply forgot. Oh well, definitely not the end of the world. I could likely do without the use of the oven for awhile but I like to bake or roast things more than anything. I did realize that my oven needed to be cleaned. Not my favourite job that is for sure. I spent part of the evening cleaning the oven and stove. I had to be careful because the wire connectors are exposed and I did not wish to get them covered in anything (the stove remains unplugged). Certainly a lot easier to clean without the element in place. I am so grateful to have such great neighbours. I wish that I was better at fixing things and technology. Cookie baking I got.
The Easter bags with my coworkers were a hit. Our Manager hid some chocolate eggs for us to find. Mostly around our desks. It was a nice early morning distraction from the coming day. Remember I do love the commute.
Well I have lots to do this weekend. This morning an unplanned trip to Home Depot. Then finish with the stove and then start washing walls and baseboards and light fixtures etc. I will start with the upstairs. Big job on my list is the office closet. It needs an overhauling. Also time to redo my wall size bulletin boards. Rearrange and put up some new things ….. cards for Alvin ……. Perhaps one of the boards will be for me and one in memory of him, of me “Alvin.” I sure miss him. Feels quiet and lonely in the house by myself. He is looking out of the bedroom window with his favourite Teddy Bear & Gnome by his side wrapped in his blue blanket. Life is always changing.
I look forward to coffee this morning. Wishing you a wonderful Good Friday and Happy Easter Weekend. Be safe, be well and have fun. Remember to laugh, to smile. Sometimes we forget in all of the stuff we call “life.”
Continuing to live this life with kindness, respect, compassion, patience, love, laughter, understanding, gratitude, focus, possibilities, coffee and forgiveness.
Always, Carol & Alvin (My Forever Angel)
P.S. I hope that the Easter Bunny does not forget me this year. Not sure when the cut off is for home delivery, lol.
Good Morning! Tuesday morning. Two more days until Easter long weekend. Two more days till the big spring cleaning begins. How are you this morning? I am okay. Woke up several times during the night. Reminded me of someone. Oh, how I miss my little buddy Alvin.
Yesterday at lunch break I took a stroll taking the route to the bus stop and back to the office. After work I went for another walk. Total walking time 45 minutes. I also grabbed my trash picker tool and the garbage bag from the small trash container on my front porch and cleaned up the trash from the street. I am always struck by how many times people will walk over or around trash and not pick it up. Then it was time to put out the trash for pickup today. We are on the spring/summer pickup. With a few more warm days the remaining trash in our neighbourhood should have dried out and will make it easier to collect. Picking up and dragging around bags filled with wet trash is not much fun. Perhaps more than 10 years ago it wasn’t as much of a deal as it is now. I can still lift it but at 65 do I really want to be lifting bags that are really heavy and struggling with them, no not really! Too bad that some of the younger people in the neighbourhood wouldn’t get out there and pick up trash or how about people just keeping their yards, the public sidewalk and street directly extending past their property clean! That would help the cause for sure. Anyway, I like a clean place to live and includes my home and neighbourhood so I shall continue to pick up trash for as long as I am living here.
Slowly this time of “grey” while the snow melts and life returns outside, I can visualize the trees budding and the grass slowly turning green. This in between time feels dirty so I call it the grey time. Soon we shall be surrounded by amazing colours. I cannot wait.
I can see that it is starting to lighten up outside. The trees to the south and the garage tops are starting to come into view. Morning time.
Coffee will taste so good this morning. I must have been dreaming or something. So need to put my energy cap on for the day.
I hope that you have an awesome day. Tues – day that is. Be well and take care and be safe.
Continuing to live this life with kindness, respect, compassion, patience, love, laughter, understanding, gratitude, focus, possibilities, coffee and forgiveness.
Good Morning! Dark outside and I cannot wait until the sun is rising while I am getting ready for work. How are you this morning? I hope that your week is going well thus far. So excited one more day after today and it is the weekend. Oh, I know, that one should not wish their days away but sometimes, and that sometimes is now, I am.
I long for the summer so that I can go for walks perhaps even in the morning before I leave for work and then after work. Our sidewalks and streets in our neighbourhood and throughout the places that I have been are icy and treacherous. Better to be safe than sorry. I was walking when there was more snow than ice but now it is a mixture of water and ice. Hopefully the temperatures remain above zero so that the ice melts and goes down the drain. Of course, we are still getting double digits below zero overnight so the water freezes and we start all over again. We need a few days of +15 or so to really get it moving. Fingers crossed that will be soon. Soon the birds will return or at least more of them. Always amazes me that the crows, magpies and pigeons can survive the cold of the winter.
We have an off site “all staff” meeting this morning, only for the morning. Usually they were all day affairs. Will be nice to see the girls from our old team. Then we are back to our new office for the afternoon.
My eye is burning so that is a sign that I must go and put drops in.
Have a great Thursday.
Continuing to live this life with kindness, respect, compassion, patience, love, laughter, understanding, gratitude, focus, possibilities, coffee and forgiveness.
My New Life @ 51 