The Next Chapter

Good Morning. Another brisk winter’s morning. I hope that spring comes soon. Nice to have it light outside at 7:00 a.m. though. I feel like I need to see my boy’s face so if you would please indulge me as I share some previous shown photos of my buddy, my handsome, my beloved Alvin. Such cuteness. I miss this guy more than words can say. I feel his loss everywhere in our home.

A proper Gentleman

Just chilling

Alvin

What a cute boy

Walking with Mom

On the deck

Top of stairs, body?

Alvin at home…..

Enjoying a sunny winter’s day!

Alvin ……

Ah, Mama’s boy…….isn’t he cute!!!

Alvin in the snow…..

Posting this just because “ALVIN” is so cute here….

I know that I am cute.

Alvin, one of my babies

More please

Alvin

Loving Broccoli

Alvin & a chewy

New sweater

Alvin

He was such a good boy and I will miss him always. I just love seeing his face and going through photos to transfer to the external hard drive has brought back even more memories. When I get this technology all figured out, I will share some new photos that for now are in between the external hard drive and the old computer.

I am grateful to be working from home today. I can be closer to him.

I hope that you have a good day, be safe and take care.

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)

The New YEAR 2022

Good Morning ALL! How are you this morning? We are doing okay. Not sure about Mr. Alvin. He seems to be freaking out more than usual. I don’t think he is in any pain but will have to keep a close eye on him. This morning it is pouring rain here. Last night my daughter came after work for a sleepover. So nice to have her in the house, we always enjoy her company. I made her favourite dish: chicken and vegetables stir fry and we had an angel cake with strawberries, blueberries and the whipped cream in the can. I had never used that until just a few years ago when I had a Christmas party here. I think it was December 2019. After supper Amanda helped me break down some boxes that I had in the garage and I have several bags of recycling as a result this morning for them to pick up. Also of course, in some of the boxes there was styrofoam and it is too difficult to break down so I basically filled my big black garbage bin with bags of plastic and styrofoam. I don’t like those things. The garage is getting more bare. My daughter is now on her way to work and it is just me and Alvin once again. I have been carrying him upstairs and down this morning and we are out of our normal routine. I also took the umbrella out with us so that he wouldn’t get too wet. I try to keep his ears dry and him, too. Of course, I dried him off when we got back into the house.

Yesterday at my lunch break we walked to our friend Pauline’s house to wish her a Happy Birthday. She was not outside and I was going to leave her a little package. I could hear Georgie bark in the house and I called out a couple of times and then out they came. We had a nice little visit before we headed back home for me to go back to work.

The sky is very grey, I think that those clouds are definitely planning to “hang” around for some time. I need coffee. It has been ready for a bit as I made it so that Amanda could take some with her to work.

I don’t have a clock in here so I had better get going. Not sure what happened to the date and time on my computer?

I hope that you have a good day.

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

Always, Carol & Alvin

PS: only 56 days till my 65th Birthday.

The New YEAR 2022

Good Morning ALL! The sky is filled with what appears to be rain clouds. There is a slight breeze. The temperature when we were outside earlier is actually quite nice. Not exactly sure the number as I did not google it yet this morning. Mr. Alvin did not have a great sleep last night. He was up and down. We ended up on the sofa at 12:32 AM, I am so grateful that the sofa is comfortable and that we have the red warm blanket to cuddle under. I checked his paws and I do not see any places where there is an open wound from the removal of the hair matts. Which still freaks me out and writing and sharing it with all of you. Well, I feel like a bad “Momma.” My poor Alvin.

He spent a bit of time outside with me yesterday while I was repotting my geraniums. They are looking a bit “not pleased” with the new situation. I remember two years ago when I repotted them and it took awhile for them to acclimatize to their new home. Perhaps I should have brought them in and out more than just two days. Well it has been done. Only time will tell, if I made the right call or not. My pansies and violas and tomatoes are doing well. The oregano seems to be growing as well. I planted the begonias in flower pots and placed them on the front porch. The colours are amazing. There are four of them. Begonias that is. The impatiens I planted some in a pot and put the remaining five in the front flower bed along with the borage seeds. I am excited to see if those plants grow from seeds. The ferns are coming up so I left them. Planting done for now. I would still like to get some petunias. The backyard does not have much colour at the moment. The violas and pansies are the holding up that end and are so pretty with purples, white and yellow mix.

Fingers crossed about Mr. Alvin.

I sold a outdoor glider that I had as I am downsizing things around here.

Well it is time to head downstairs and put on the coffee, I really really need it this morning.

I hope that you had a great long weekend. Ours was a mix but I am grateful that Alvin is on the mend. Positive thoughts.

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

Always, Carol & Alvin

P.S. I am grateful to be alive, to be in good health, to have Mr. Alvin in my life, for sunshine and rainbows, for my own house, for oranges in the fridge and peanut butter, for this post and all of you. Happy Tuesday.

PPS. Perhaps I will be able to get a couple of baskets with petunias.

The New YEAR 2022

Good Morning! Happy Saturday. Welcome to our never ending SAGA. The house of almost no sleep. That is how I feel at this moment. I had planned to get up earlier but when you are up and up from 1:30 onward getting up and staying up at 7:00 does not look much like a plan. Poor Mr. Alvin is not having a good time of it all. We cannot walk until at least Monday. Whenever he is outside in the backyard he has to wear something on his feet. The only thing that I could come up with is, some of my socks. I found some that had good elastic in the top so that they would not slide off right away. Every time he goes outside I have to go with him no matter the time of day or night. Usually the socks slip down and I am walking behind him hiking them up. At first he was unhappy about the socks but now he is okay. We only started this yesterday morning after I call his Doctor. I spoke with one of the staff and was told he needs to wear something on his front paws to keep them clean so that they can heal. Makes sense to me. I had been between the time we came home on Thursday afternoon and until Friday morning washing and drying them off each time he went outside. This is a bit easier. Both Alvin and I are tired. I am grateful though that his paws will heal soon. So no hair cut or bath this long weekend. That will have to wait until next weekend. I will depending on the weather plant my flowers perhaps on Monday.

We were so happy to have our girl stop by on her way home for a visit. I made us coffee and we had a good visit. So much conversation and catching up. Seems like lots happening. I asked her to hold up Alvin so that I could more clearly see where to place the salve but it was difficult with Mr. Squirmy Pants. But I have a better idea. At the Vet they showed me but somehow I needed to see again at home. Everything is different at home, right?

So busy weekend. I want to wash down the deck, pull out all of my flower pots to plan what will go where, pull out the last bit of the two shrubs from the back flower bed, clean out said flower bed, put in a pile all those items to go to the ECO Station, clean out the office closet, go through Christmas stuff in the basement and the big cupboard with craft supplies etc. which is in the family room. We may have one of my daughter and son-in-law’s friends come to stay with us for a little while while she finds a place on this side of the city. So I need to get prepared. Even if she decides not to, I need to go through things and get ready for the June garage sale. Lots to do. Hopefully the weather will hold. There was frost on the ground this morning. I need to trim the grass in the backyard as it is long. Time to charge the battery pack for the grass trimmer. Sometimes I use it instead of my push lawn mower. Easy peasy.

So as per always plans change. But that is okay, my whole life has been a series of changes. I am sure that most people feel this way. I am accustomed to change but that doesn’t mean that I like things changing constantly. But that is life.

I am so grateful for the bright blue sky and the sun shining this morning.

I am so grateful for the visit with my daughter yesterday after work.

I am so grateful that I live, that we live in our own house.

I am grateful that Alvin will heal and be his old self once again.

I am grateful for summer days and summer nights.

I am grateful for each birthday.

I am grateful for each day on this earth.

Thank you for reading my posts. My life is not exactly exciting but there is always something happening.

Usually a work a round whether in my personal or work life.

I will be happy to see my flowers in pots and smiling at me on the deck and in the gardens.

The leaves are green and the lawns are getting there as well.

The bunnies are brown.

Time to go and have a refreshing shower and then put the coffee on before starting the laundry.

I need to make a list of things to sell, things that need to be done and the timelines.

Oddly enough, I do like making lists. So that will be fun.

Happy Saturday.

Continuing to live this life with kindness, respect, compassion, patience, love, laughter, understanding, gratitude, focus and possibilities. There are always possibilities. You just have to keep your eyes open.

Always, Carol & Alvin

P.S. I need to post some photos. You need to see Mr. Alvin sporting socks. Instant smiles.

The New YEAR 2022

Good Morning ALL! How are you this morning? I well, er slept in and am running late. So this will be a short post. I apologize. I was up in time but the sofa and the warm blanket sang out to me and I kept clicking on the “SNOOZE” button. Shame on me. On the upside, I am up and had a beautiful warm shower and am feeling comfy at the moment. I guess it was too early to turn the heat off. It is in the mid 60’s F in the house this morning. The sun is shining outside which is a good thing. There is a breeze. It is Wednesday. Half way through the work week.

Last night Mr. Alvin was not having much fun. He started to shake his head and lick his paws even more than as of late. I gave him his last pain pill with the hopes that he could settle down and get some rest which would trickle down and give me some as well. He slept okay. So today I need to make him a vet appointment. Double check his ears and get him some pain pills for the arthritis. I hope that I am able to get him in today.

We are supposed to get some moisture today. If it is raining I cannot walk him to the vet. I guess time will tell.

Well I had better get going. Sorry for the rush.

I hope that you have an awesome Wednesday. We will certainly try.

Better get to the affirmations right away. They certainly do help.

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

Always, Carol

2021

Good Morning ALL! How are you doing this Monday morning? I hope that you had an awesome weekend. Both Alvin and I are well. We are a bit sleep deprived or at least I am. Not sure what is up with the boy but we went to bed at our usual time, then up at 2:30, then 4:14, then basically every half hour until I finally stayed up at 6:30 a.m. I hope that he is okay. He does not appear to be in pain. Perhaps he had too much sleep. When I go out in a bit to pick up the poop, that might tell a different story. I should have gone out with him earlier to check. But I was so tired that I just could not. I guess that does not make me a very good pack leader or momma. I will keep an eye on him today and see if anything is out of norm with him. He is giving me that look and perhaps his eyes do not look their usual selves. Oh, how I hope and pray that he is okay. We cannot go through anything major. Now as it was cooler and windy we did not go for a walk so perhaps that is bothering him. I honestly do not know. Will just tryin to keep positive energy going to Mr. Alvin.

Yesterday five people celebrated birthdays that I personally know. Two were relatives and two live nearby. How cool is that?

The sky is clear this morning as the sun rises. The temperature is to be in single plus temperatures for today, I believe unless the forecast changed which is entirely possible. The next two weeks are going to be all over the place with respect to weather with even some snow flurries a possibility. Yikes. Oh well, Mother Nature will get this out of her system before settling into the summer weather. I have noticed that the bunnies are more and more brown with each sighting. We saw a robin on the weekend. That is always a good sign.

Well I have to go downstairs, sorry for another short post. I will leave with you with some beautiful photos.

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  Photo by Dominika Roseclay on Pexels.com

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  Photo by Chevanon Photography on Pexels.com

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  Photo by Poodles 2Doodles on Pexels.com

Continuing to life this life with Kindness, Respect, Compassion and Patience.

Always, Love Carol & Alvin

2021

Good Morning ALL. I hope that this post finds you well and enjoying your Saturday whether you are doing things around the house, in the yard, at your job or maybe even at school. Saturdays are my day to get laundry and housework done. With only having Alvin (my dog) and myself in our home – there really isn’t too much to do. I have always made a point of putting things away after I have used them. Quite often I go through drawers and cupboards and the pantry to see what is what. The pantry is so important to go through on a regular basis. I would say once a month or two. Then you know exactly what you have and do not over buy/purchase. My pantry is like actually a cupboard that was once a piece of office furniture from prior to the renovations at my place of employment. It had shelves and has doors and fit perfectly in the back cubby area by the back door. I also keep small appliances, supplies of garbage bags as we have for kitchen, recycling and black heavy duty ones. I buy them at COSTCO as I have found that to be the most economical for me. I keep my canned goods, a small wooden crate of sorts for onions and sweet potatoes and miscellaneous food/dry goods. I like things in order within the pantry and that is likely why I clean it on a regular basis which is likely due for a clean/rearrange now. Also I decide if between what is in the pantry and freezer of the fridge what can be used for meals and then I stop buying groceries other than fresh produce for as long as I can. Might as well use up what you have before you have so much on hand that you lose track of best before / expiry dates. That has happened to me in the past and I do not like to be frivolous with that kind of thing. Also I vacuum and wash the floors on Saturday. Clean the kitchen and the bathrooms. Sundays are for less labor intensive chores. This Sunday, tomorrow I am going to video chat with my one of my girl friends from the neighbourhood. Our other pal’s husband is coming home from working in another province so she wants to spend time with him. We totally understand. Looks like Mr. Alvin is starting to lose his patience with his Momma. Also tomorrow is continue to work on Income Tax. We were issued our T4’s from our employer so I now have everything to complete my taxes.

The bright sunny blue morning sky with wisps of white clouds awaits us this day. The temperatures are rising so walking can happen once again for me and Alvin. We went for a walk at my lunch break yesterday but only went half way as it was snowing and raining. Always fun. I don’t like Alvin to get his ears wet as he can end up with an infection which he has had in the past. Looks like there is a breeze out there. The snow will be melting.

Well time to go and start the laundry and put on some coffee. I always look forward to coffee on the weekends.

We wish you a wonderful Saturday.

Continuing to live with kindness, respect, compassion and patience. Both Alvin and I are working on patience.

Always, Carol & Alvin

2021

Good Morning ALL. How are you this morning? Today is my late start / shift so we slept in which was lovely. The sun has rose, the sky is a brilliant blue as we begin our day. We went to bed perhaps a bit later than usual and then Mr. Alvin had to go outside at 11:23 p.m. but then he slept until 5:00 a.m. – which was truly a bonus. Yesterday after work we went for a walk just inside the park and then back home. Not very long but that was okay. Our temperatures are warming up. I was grateful that we were able to get outside and breathe in some fresh air. The past two weeks or so have only been trips to the backyard and shovelling when there was snow. So this was great. Good for the body, mind and soul. Clear the cobwebs so to speak. Anyway, I am truly grateful for our walk together. As we both age, even though I do not think of either of us as “really old” – I am always in a state of gratitude for each and every day we have together. Each day that we can enjoy each other’s company and even perhaps get outside for some fresh air and a walk. Time flies when you are having fun and that it is. Can you believe that today is Thursday, February 18, 2021. Hard to believe I know. Next month on March 19th – it will mark one year since our office sent us home to work. I have been truly grateful for that decision and for them continuing to have us working from home. The next check date is June, 2021. I have been wishing and praying and praying and wishing and crossing my fingers, eyes and toes that they give us the choice whether to go to the office and work or work from home. With Alvin getting older, I need / I want to be home with him. I cannot imagine putting him back in that situation where I leave at 6:30 and get home after 5:00 p.m. and that is providing I can carpool as taking the bus would put me home even later. I am going to continue to think about how much I love working from home and how good it is for me, for Alvin and has been for our clients. My thoughts also go to the folks in the U.S. who are in the midst of a huge winter storm with another one coming in before they have even recovered from the first one. Many of them do not have furnaces, pipes are bursting in homes and businesses, there is no electricity and no water. My heart goes out to them. We are actually pretty prepared in Canada for winter storms after all we have them during our winter months. Our winters can sometimes be more than half of the year. Sometimes we joke about all the different outer apparel we each have here in Canada. Most of us have a jacket for early spring, for later spring, for summer, for late summer, for fall, for early winter, for bitter cold days and so on. We have boots for rain and snow. These things that go on the bottom of our boots for when it is icy. There are also hats, mitts and scarves. We all have furnaces and some have air conditioners. We have family living in Houston, Texas. They were without electricity. I hope that no more lives are lost and that everyone is safe and warm with clean water and food.

I am grateful everyday to be safe, to be warm, in good health and have good food to eat. To be surrounded by family and friends even though I do not physically see them often, they are still there. I am grateful that Mr. Alvin found me, all those years ago.

Continuing to live with kindness, respect, compassion and patience for all.

Always, Carol

2021

Good Morning ALL. How are you this morning? Is there snow where you are? It be snowing here. Not too much overnight but some that warrants shovelling later on. The fresh blanket of snow gently covers the sidewalks and the rooftops and the roads. When the light shines on fresh snow it reminds me of a field of diamonds, shining ever so brightly. Best of Nature. I love snow and am hopeful that it is only a light blanket that we receive this time. Tuesday morning. Did you have a good sleep? Alvin woke me up at 2:38 a.m. to have his glucosamine chew and to go outside. He pooped and it was snowing. I guess I do not have to tell you that now it is covered by fresh snow. I remember roughly where it was so hopefully in the light of day I can dig it up and dispose of it in the garbage can. ARGH, I should have put on my coat and boots and went outside with him but somehow the idea of going outside at 2:39 a.m. did not have much appeal to me. Not much at all. Oh well, my fault entirely. We then went back to the sofa until almost 4:45 a.m. which was lovely, up and he has his breakfast and then outside again (I know same story and yes more digging will happen when the daylight appears) and then back to the sofa until 6:45 a.m. and then I just had to have 15 more minutes. Some mornings I feel as though I am a robot moving automatically about. In the hours before our first time up – I did have some good sleep. I should have one of those watches or that phone app that can monitor your sleep patterns. I wonder just how much “good” sleep I am having each night?? Likely a great question. Oh well, such as life. If I was not getting up with Alvin …. I am getting up myself to go to the loo. Age?? Likely. Perhaps enough of silliness and the talk of poo and the loo, which by the way takes up a large part of our lives.

Next subject. What is the next subject? I feel a sneeze coming on? I am hopeful that this cold snap will disappear soon and we can go out for walks once again. I noticed some neighbours out walking with their dogs. I just cannot take Alvin out when it is minus 30 or colder with the windchill. The pads on their paws can freeze easily. Don’t they know? Some of our neighbors have booties for their pups and nice coats which makes me happy. They are well looked after. They are big big dogs and need the exercise each and every day. Speaking of doggies, my Mr. Alvin is whining and staring at me from the hallway. What now Mr. Alvin, what now? He is spoiled and that is clear. Too late for us. Oh well.

Almost the end of January, thank goodness.

I had thought of a good topic as I was going to bed and should have written it down as I have forgotten.

Time to head downstairs. I hope that you have a great Tuesday.

Filled with kindness, respect, compassion and patience.

I work on patience every single day as it is not something that comes naturally to me. Personally I think that it does not come naturally to most human beings. LOL.

Always, Carol & Alvin

2021

Good Morning ALL. How are you today? I am well. Everytime I typed “2021” – I feel as though I am living in the far future. But yet here we are and I guess when I was a little girl in the early 1960’s – 2021 would have felt very futuristic. I also cannot believe we are less than four years away from 2025, which is another year that always interested me. Not quite sure why. Anyway. Got slightly sidetracked. This morning I am going into the office. We have quite strict protocols in place when we go to the office. I had to submit an online self assessment which I was finally able to do. At first I get receiving messages that my password or server weren’t something or other. Did not work. After many attempts I was able to complete the self assessment. YAY, me. This not very tech savvy “woman” was able to download the APP if that is the correct terminology and then actually get signed in and do the assessment. Well it is just over thirty minutes before my daughter picked me up. She is in my “bubble” or “pod.” I am not sure which term to use as I have heard both used. Guess it really does not matter. Mr. Alvin is feeling that something is up. It will be a long day for him without his Momma. Thankfully our neighbour Sonja will pop in and check on him. Let him outside and give him a treat or two. Then she will feed him at supper and let him out. He is used to eating around 4:30 p.m. and I won’t make it here by then. So grateful to have such great neighbours. I can smell the coffee perking as I am making some to take to work. I have my snacks or rather my breakfast on the go which consists of almonds and grapes. Usually I have oatmeal with cinnamon and cranberries but I didn’t want to eat this early and I also did not wish to take that to the office where I would have to warm it up in the microwave. Just want to keep my contact down to a minimum.

Well it is Friday and that is a good thing. I am looking forward to the trip to work chatting with my daughter along the way. I am excited to see the handful of staff including my Manager and a gal that is retiring and today is her very last day. I will have an opportunity to personally wish you all the best. We had a virtual Retirement party for her yesterday ….. no food, no card, no gift to hand to her. That part was sad. Some of us including her Management team had lots of nice things to say. She worked for our company for almost 39 years.

Okay time to go and finish getting ready. I am thinking I can get away with only wearing shoes instead of boots. Not much snow. I will be brave.

Have an awesome Friday. Continue to live our lives with kindness, respect and compassion.

Always, Carol & Alvin