A New YEAR 2023

Good Morning ALL! Well another pretty good sleep, I would say. Alvin is waiting downstairs for me while I got dressed and writing this post. Today and tomorrow, I happily work from home and then I am on VACATION for two weeks. I do not think that I have ever taken vacation in February or in the wintertime or at least not this many days. I am looking forward to the time off. We are going to have some fun and I have some “work” to do.

When I was setting up my workstation at home last night, I had such a feeling of calm and getting up knowing that I do not have to leave my house for work today was awesome. I have appreciated working from home the past almost three years. Being with Alvin mostly everyday has been awesome and I am so grateful that I had that time with him. I am not sure what I would have done when he had his surgeries and had some illness, what I would have done. I did take some vacation days immediately after the surgery because that would have been too much but I was home and that was great. I enjoyed our walks at noon and after work and some early morning ones on those days when it was very hot. Despite there, being a global pandemic going on – our life was pretty good. It had to be said as I am very grateful for this time at home. There were times especially during the first two years where I was working many extra hours and seven days per week to keep on top off all the changes that the government made but I was home and that was so good.

The air is warm this morning and I think it is going to be plus temperatures today and tomorrow as well. Hopefully the weather will be nice for the next two weeks as well. There will be times when we have to leave the house (walks and appointments and such). Mr. Alvin needs his nails trimmed. They sure grow fast when he is not out walking every day. We went for a walk last night after work but again did not get too far, this time I was happy to go home as the sidewalks were a mess (due to large snowfall night before) with snow and ice and salt. Another friend was out walking, that was Ali and Bailey. We saw them just as we were coming home, they came inside for a visit. Always nice to visit with our friends. Bailey is getting so big. Alvin and Bailey were happy to see each other.

After supper, I had a lovely hour or so chat with my friend Pauline. Feeling blessed. Had a chat with my sister and a friend all within a few days. I need to call other friends. Nothing like hearing a friendly familiar voice to bring joy to your days.

Time to head downstairs and plug in the coffee pot. Mr. Alvin has been quiet thus far. He probably wonders what is going on.

I am also very grateful that he is doing so much better. His poop gets better with each passing day. I do think it is going to be interesting weaning him off the chicken. He loves the chicken, lol.

Have an awesome Thursday. Be safe and take some time for you. Remember no one else can!

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

Always, Carol & Alvin

P.S. GRATITUDE is the word.

2021

Good Morning ALL! How are you doing today? I/We are well. I cannot even mention sleeping patterns. Certainly there are a great many folks out there who can attest to being woke up in the wees hours of the morning either by themselves or by their children or by their puppies. So as this seems to be our norm. End of story. The sky appears to be overcast this morning. Yesterday it started out with the odd snowflake which turned into rain. Our lunchtime walk was shortened as it was raining and I did not wish us to get too wet. We both had jackets on of course but still not a great idea when it was only +4 degrees celsius outside. The walk even though short was still most enjoyable. I was off work early to take Mr. Alvin to the vet for his regular 5 week or so appointment. It was raining out so I put on his sweater which I had rinsed out and dried as it was dirty and wet from our lunchtime walk and also put on his rain jacket. He actually did not fuss too much which was strange for him making me happy. He walked slowly and did not run ahead at noon and on the way to the vet. Not his usual self. He did not seem to be upset, suffering, in pain or anything. Just a slow day. That was okay. We arrived at the vet with a few minutes to spare and had to wait for a brief time outside while the last patient was looked after and then the door has to be wiped down. Inside I removed his jackets and then put his harness only back on as they now take all of our beloved pets to the back area instead of looking after them in one of the two patient rooms. I could hear another pup crying the blues and of course that did not help Mr.Alvin who at times made it known to all without a few miles that he was not having any of this nail trim business. Poor baby. He has never liked this and likely never will. Not that this is anything new for him as we go on a regular basis, like every 5 weeks. Oh well. Soon he was done and back to me to get dressed for our walk home. I also picked up his two bags of treats that were waiting there for us. He was happy to get home and have some of them. I do want to mention something. Is your neighbourhood filled with trash this spring? I could not believe the amount of coffee paper cups that were in the bushes lining the path along one of the walkways that we take to the vet. It was downright sickening. There must have been 50 or more. Trash was everywhere. What is wrong with people. As soon as it dries up a bit more so that trash is not wet and heavy to carry, I will be out cleaning up my beloved neighbourhood. Makes me mad, sad and disappointed that people do not care enough to keep their neighbourhood clean. I suppose some of the trash may be from people passing through, I really do not know. Just made me want to cry. I certainly did not want to walk there but had no choice.

Almost forgot that last night I attended a FB live Mary Kay “Masking party.” It was fun and I will say this if you have never tried their Charcoal Mask, you really should. My skin felt clean, soft, pores much smaller, and just so good.

Time to go and get the coffee brewing and soon get to work.

I wish you a wonderful Thursday.

Continuing to live this life with kindness, respect, compassion and patience.

Always, Carol & Alvin

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

2021

Good Morning ALL. Welcome to Tuesday, February 16, 2021. Last week I was writing the month of May in my phone log and this morning I almost wrote January. Oh well. Could be worse, I could be actually thinking it is January or May. Would that really be worse. Guess it is not doing any harm. Funny, actually. Sometimes our brains go in strange directions. Or at least mine seems to from time to time. Did you have a good weekend? I thoroughly enjoyed my long weekend. Teddy, Kobi and their Mom dropped a piece of “key lime pie” off just before my supper last night. Always nice to see the pups. They bring instant joy to the house. Supper was the last of the Chef’s Plate meals for this go around. Not sure that I will be ordering from them again or not. I think that I will just cook on my own for awhile. Last night’s meal was a roasted chickpea and red pepper dish with a tabbouleh salad and baked feta. It was quite good. I most especially loved the warm soft feta. Never have had that before and I really enjoyed the feta baked. I eat a lot of chickpeas and peppers roasted/baked in the oven so that part was not new to me. The tabbouleh salad I have made over the years a handful of times but I will be making the feta with a similar dish again. After supper, I had part of the key lime pie for dessert. It was different than I have had before …. but good. I watched a couple of my recorded shows and then it was off to bed. We had a good night sleep and of course, we were up a couple of times before the final get up and go for the day but that is okay. Life is what you make it. If I choose to be cranky and miserable and think that I am tired because of our odd sleep schedule then I have no one to blame but me. As we age and the same applies to animals ….. they have aches and pains and need to go to the bathroom at all times of the day and night. Alvin and I are on the same schedule in life so it makes it so much easier. I wouldn’t change a thing. I am grateful that I am working for home as I end up with a couple of extra hours of sleep. So grateful. I really hope that our employer decides to let us continue to work from home. We go to the office once every month of two and that suits me fine. It is great for Alvin ….. most especially as he is getting older. It would be an incredibly long day for him by himself and not being able to get outside when he needs to as he does now. Well looks like the sun is beginning to rise as it gets closer and closer to springtime in Western Canada.

Well it is time to head on downstairs. I put on the coffee when I had to take a quick break from this a few minutes ago to let Mr. Alvin outside. This afternoon at 3:00 p.m. – Alvin has his regular appointment and his two/three year vaccinations. His nails are getting a bit long as this appointment is a week longer I think than his last one and then two weeks earlier to have his shots. Kind of in between. Today is to be much warmer so we will be able to walk to Alvin’s appointment.

Take care on this Tuesday. Remember to live with kindness, respect, compassion and patience for all other living creatures.

Always, Carol & Alvin

Second Half of the NEW YEAR.

Good Morning All,

Well today is my late shift and as always we were up extra early to start (@ 3:54 a.m.).

So of course, after Mr. Alvin had breakfast and made a trip outside with me, of course, we went back to bed.

Usually we hit the sofa for more zzz’s but today as he forgot a chew treat upstairs, we just went back up to “bed.”

We were up again and then to the sofa but I just wanted to sleep.

So finally at 8:30 a.m. – time to rise and shine.

The sun is shining and there is quite a strong breeze.

The trees out of my office window to the south have turned started to turn this beautiful yellow and are twinkling as the sunshine touches them.

So beautiful.

Alvin is laying on his little homemade bed of blankets and towels.

A reminder that it must go into the laundry this weekend.

Always keep clean.

 

So my late shift has me starting work at 11:00 a.m. and working until 7:00 p.m.

Today we have a team meeting at the actual physical office.

We are to meet at 1:30 p.m. and it is scheduled to run until 2:30 p.m.

I will be shocked if it only goes for one hour.

We have not been altogether since March 19, 2020.

I will miss my first 15 minute break of the day as I will be in the car going to the office.

One of my team lives a short drive from me so she offered to pick me up.

I will say that as our team is down a couple of members, will still 8 in the meeting room.

Which to me is a lot.

Other than shopping …. this is the most humans I have been around since March.

My 45 minute or lunch break will fall at 3:00 p.m. so likely that will be pushed forward.

I want to take Alvin for a walk then.

I suppose we could have gone this morning had the Momma been more on the ball and likely still could.

Sometimes it just feels like a lazy morning ….. write …… shower ….. have breakfast and coffee.

Oh well, such as life.

My top ten list of things that I have love about working remotely:

1.  Being home with Alvin
2. Drinking my own perked coffee
3.  No commute to work
4. Sleep in later
5. Can walk at lunch break with Alvin if we choose
6. What I wear to work
7. Just being at home
8. Less distractions
9. More time in evening
10. More time in morning
11. More time to read (just had to add)

 

Actually I think I could do a list of more but will leave it at ten.

If you are working remotely, are you happy or are you missing work?

Personally I love being at home and if possible would love to continue to work from home.

I do miss my coworkers but with technology we do have the ability to see each other via video.

 

Today is also the 12th birthday of one of my closest friend’s daughter.

I cannot believe you are 12 Miss Madeline.

She was just a toddler when I first met her.

WOW, time flies.

 

Just about forgot to mention Alvin’s visit to the vet yesterday.

I was told beforehand that Dr. Karen would be away and that another Vet would be there.

So I was prepared for a new person.

One of the staff showed us to one of the patient rooms and we waited for a few minutes.

I tried to give Alvin some water but no.

He was a bit anxious but settled down.

When the Vet entered the room – I knew things were going to be different.

He was carrying his tools with him.

He said “Hello Alvin.”

But Alvin first.

He squatted down to Alvin’s level.

Said hello as he gave him a little check over while asking me if he was okay.

I told him the reasons for our visit.

He checked his ears and said other than a bit of wax in the outer part there was no redness and they did not smell of infection.

YAY.

As we chatted, he clipped Alvin’s nails.

He was almost finished the first paw before Alvin even noticed.

I could not believe it.

He did not put him up on the examination table ….. the whole visit was done at Alvin’s level with him staying on the floor beside him.

I can not imagine being able to stay squatted in one spot for that amount of time.

Even when Alvin starting to “make some noise” about the nail trim ….. “Greg” just kept on going.

Yes, I could not remember his last name so I asked his name.

He was gentle and kind.

Actually can I have a crush on the Vet, cause I sure do.

He took it all in stride saying that Alvin is all talk and no follow through.

Which was good as I think follow through meant struggling and perhaps getting vicious.

I did mention that usually Alvin is up on the examination table and his reply was “I like to change things up.”

Whoa, that was great.

He checked his anal glands and said they were empty.

I was duly impressed with Dr. Greg.

I love his regular vet Dr. Karen but Dr. Greg, I must say brought a whole new experience to Alvin’s appointments for both of us.

 

 

Well time to hop into the shower and get this day going.

Starting to feel energized.

 

We wish you a great Thursday.

Take Care and Be safe.

We shall continue to live with kindness and respect.

As Always, Carol & Alvin

 

Second Half of the NEW YEAR.

Good Thursday Morning.

What a beautiful sunrise this morning.

The sky was painted beautiful by Mother Nature as only she can.

The sun was in rising on the horizon.

Various shades of firy pinks and oranges splashed above the sun on the horizon to meet the blue morning sky.

What a beautiful canvas!

What a great way to begin one’s day.

I am feeling so grateful and blessed this morning.

That was the sky out of my bedroom window which faces north and of course that was the view to my right which is to the east.

Now it has been perhaps one hour since I snapped those photos that the sky to the south from my office window is not the same.

The trees are swaying in the breeze and above the sky is beginning to grow dark with deep blue clouds.

What a gorgeous mix of Mother Nature this morning.

Absolutely breathtaking.

I will say it once again, a great way to begin the day.

 

Last night on our second walk of the day we came across two neighbours out for a stroll.

They have always taken a shine to Alvin ever since the beginning, since I first adopted him back in 2010.

At that point in time they had a dog named Rosie.

So last night when they spotted us – I had to show Alvin where they were as we were on different paths.

As soon as he saw them, over he ran.

They both bent over and gave him so many pats with love.

I was blown away by a comment ….

He said “How old again is Alvin.”

I said that he would be 12 years old in January.

Remarking how spry and puppy like he was and that one would never know his real age.

I have to agree.

For the most part Alvin does not show his age.

He does not have any grey and is in good health.

For sure he has had a couple of things or so in the past year.

But bouts of diarrhea is not necessarily age related.

He pulled/strained a muscle in his neck.

Not age related.

So everything could happen at any age.

I am over the moon grateful that he is in good health and hope that he will continue for many years to come.

We have his regular nail trim (spa treatment, haha) and bum thing this morning.

I will also have the vet clean his ears as he makes it difficult for me to do a good job.

I have tried, believe me.

After looking at how furry his paws were – I have been sneaking in trims whenever I can.

Half scissors will travel.

As soon as he falls to sleep on the sofa or wherever, I jump into action.

Well trying not to jump so to speak as he is a light sleeper.

I have managed to get some of the excess fur off his paws so that the vet can more easily trim them.

 

Well I guess it is time to grab that coffee and start looking to get ready to start work.

I have a few minutes, no rush.

Likely one more time to go outside.

The coffee is smelling extra good this morning.

I cannot believe that today is August 27th, 2020.

Where has the time gone?

Time flies when you are having a good time!

Or so they used to say.

 

I wish for you good health, great joy, much love and laughter with all sorts of abundance.

May your Thursday be a happy one.

May you be surrounded with positive energy.

With kindness and respect,

I/We shall remain,

Always, Carol & Alvin

 

P.S.  you know August 27th means?  Fall is right around the corner.  Doing a little happy dancing ……

 

It is a NEW YEAR.

Well it certainly is a great day and a New Year.

Today is my little sister’s Birthday, she turns 61.

I turn 63 in August.

Happy Birthday to my darling sister.

Alvin and I wish her the best of days.

 

The sun is rising and wiping away the night sky.

The reflection of the sun’s rays are settling on a neighbour’s house and it looks so beautiful.

It cooled off a bit over night but still is warm considering it is February.

Yesterday Alvin and I walked to his regular appointment.

He had the bordetella (which I thought was a needle but was a drink), an exam, ears checked (he has an infection in his left ear) and nails trimmed.

The Vet administered medicine for Alvin’s ear.

Get this, only once and it will remain active for up to a month.

How about that?

Other than the one ear and a bit of tartar on his teeth.

Which by the way I do brush and by the way our Vet says are in good condition.

He has most of his teeth.

Which is a good thing for canine or human.

According to the chart at the Vet he is approximately 65 in human years.

Actually older than me.

Go figure.

He still has the heart of a pup, like me.

Also like me, sometimes our bodies are not that of a pup or young girl!

Oh well.

 

Looking out of the office window, the sky is a light powder blue.

So wonderful to have the morning sky brighten so much earlier than say one month ago.

 

Well my daughter, Alvin’s sister is coming for pancakes in a little bit.

So I should get dressed and get some housework done.

 

Wishing you a great day.

Filled with kindness and respect.

 

Always, Carol & Alvin

 

It is a NEW YEAR

Good Morning and Welcome to Saturday.

Just received a text from my daughter who has asked for a pancake breakfast tomorrow.

And of course, I said “YES.”

We love having pancake breakfasts together.

YAY.

 

It was snowing earlier but appears to have stopped now.

We have enough snow, thank you Mother Nature.

Alvin has his regular vet appointment along with a vaccine and exam this morning.

 

Weekends are usually busy for us.

Between laundry and cleaning and projects.

Things have to get done.

Sometimes I procrastinate which is not a good thing.

It is odd but it is a fact and I own up to that fact.

Anyway, lots to do.

 

Perhaps a take away today is “not to procrastinate” as it always comes back to bite you in the butt at the end.

So not today.

I am getting in there and getting things done.

I can smell the coffee brewed and time to get this day going.

Even though we have been up for awhile now.

Feeling refreshed as I had a shower earlier.

 

I wish you all a great Saturday.

In between all of the “madness” – I mean work, take some time for you.

No one else will ……

Look after yourself and you can look after the world.

 

With Kindness and Respect and Love,

 

Always, Carol & Alvin

It is a NEW YEAR.

Hello to Thursday.

I just read something as I was signing on …..

“Love is anything but logical”

Interesting.

Heart over Head.

Head over Heart.

 

Last night after work I looked after Mr. Alvin right away.

Outside and then his supper.

While he was eating I ran to the mailbox to retrieve the parcel that our friend “V” from Regina mailed to us.

Alvin watched me and did not eat while I ran to the mailbox.

Now that is strange ….. he always eats.

Anyway, once back in the house, he did eat while I got changed from work to “play” clothes.

After Alvin was done into his harness and jacket so that they we could run over to the Vet to pick up his food.

As per always we played the run around the table for a few minutes.

I even got down on my knees to gently coax him to come out as he nervously shook.

Finally I was able to coax him to come out and put on his jacket and harness.

Outside he always knows exactly which direction to take.

We were about halfway to the Vet when we saw a woman and her small dog in the near distance.

As we approached the doggie got more excited.

We stopped and chatted and ended up walking together.

Her three year old dog Pippa (yup, named after Katherine’s sister, Pippa) was so cute.

Her Mom said how she had recently lost another of her dogs due to dementia.

That was even a thing with dogs.

I guess so.

She said looking back there were so many signs.

The dog that passed was “11.”

She got mixed up with day and night.

She depended on the other dog when out for walks.

Even more subtle signs before the above two.

They walked with us to the Vet, so nice.

I hope that we meet up with them again.

At the Vet, picked up Alvin’s food and toothpaste.

We made his appointment for his regular stuff and the receptionist mentioned that his Bordella (did I spell correctly??) shot was due.

So this coming up Saturday at 11:00 a.m. – Alvin will have a shot, checkup (as that always happens with the vaccines), nails trimmed and anal glands cleaned.

After we got home, I ran over to pick up Mr. Humphrey who spent the evening with us.

The boys were very happy to see each other.

My daughter mentioned that she may visit this weekend (we are certainly excited about that news).

Yes, back to the package.

Alvin lost his mind once again when I brought out the package which I had tucked into the fridge as I wasn’t sure if something needed to be kept cold.

There was a package of homemade doggie cookies for Mr. Alvin.

I hit the motherload.

There were three kinds of buns including my fav “cheese”, apple pie tarts, two kinds of muffins, mini chocolate bars, a organic milk chocolate bar, coconut almond candy and some sauce/spice

mix from Epicure and a hot dog holder and condiment container from tupperware.

My friend certainly knows how to spoil me, us.

 

The boys just chilling….

 

Well it is time to split.

Get back downstairs.

I hope that you all have an awesome day.

Thursday it be.

Weather it be warming up.

It was so nice after work yesterday.

 

Happy Thursday.

Treating each other and ourselves with kindness and respect always wins the day.

 

Always, Carol & Alvin

Living … One day at a time.

Hello,

Well it is Saturday …. made it to the weekend.

I can hear the hum of the cars and trucks as they make their way along the highway that runs a few blocks away from my house.

The office window is open just a bit to let in some fresh cool Saturday morning air.

I am grateful as always to have the option to open a window and to be able to smell and feel that tinge of coolness as it lights upon my face and body.

There is a bit of a breeze and the sky is dotted with clouds.

Welcome to Saturday morning.

 

Alvin and I were up earlier and hit the sofa for some extra zzz’s as we were up late.

We have his regular Doctor appointment this morning.

His not so favourite thing …. getting his nails trimmed.

He will be surrounded with people who love him.

 

I also found out this morning that a family back home lost their beloved Jersey, who was 16.

Their four-legged baby.

She filled their lives with great joy and hers with theirs.

Jersey lived her life to the fullest until she could not.

The love was honest and genuine and there is not much more one could ask for …..

You will be missed darling Jersey.

 

On this Saturday morning may you be surrounded with love and joy.

May laughter be a constant companion.

Spread kindness and respect everywhere.

 

Happy Saturday Everyone.

The sun is clearing the clouds.

 

Always, Carol & Alvin