Good Morning ALL! How are you on this Wednesday, September 22, 2021. Happy Birthday to Ashley. I hope that you have a great day. Today is also the first day of FALL or AUTUMN. My favourite season of all. Although I do love them all. I am so grateful that here in Alberta, Canada we still enjoy four different seasons with winter being the longest of them.
Quick update about the ongoing saga and me and Mr. Alvin. Well I won’t say that he is loving sleeping upstairs because I am not convinced at this point that he is. I do think that he actually likes sleeping on the main floor more. Not a big fan of being carried up and down the stairs. I guess things in our bedroom look different from before with the addition of some pieces of furniture from my daughter and son-in-law and the “sofa spot” that I made up of cushions/his dog bed in case he jumps from the corner of the bed. We went to bed at 9:30 ish, he was up about 12:30 so I took him outside and then back upstairs. He was up again at 3:00 and we came downstairs and settled on the sofa until almost 6:00 a.m. So the in between times seem to be getting longer. If he would just say settled/sleeping from the time that we went to bed until even 3:00, I would be a happy Momma. As I was reiterating to a friend yesterday he never used to sleep through the night anyway so for him to sleep from bedtime until 3-4 would feel like a good night sleep. Not sure what to do tonight. Last night when he was up, he was panting and when he is panting he is super anxious (as he was not hot) so I do not like him to be in that state so of course, we were up and outside. The only thing is he is heavy at 30 pounds to lug up and down the stairs at anytime but most especially in the middle of the night. Oh well, every night is a new opportunity, a chance for things to be better. I just have to keep positive thoughts and see a better outcome.
Yesterday was a good day. I accomplished lots at my job (working from home). We have been going for walks at my lunch break from work and after I am finished work. Last night after work, we got ready and were outside when our neighbour in the other half of the duplex arrived home. We hadn’t seen each other for a bit so we stopped for her to give Alvin some love & attention and to catch up. Then we were on our way to the park. When we got to the park, Alvin was so happy sniffing that I thought let’s go and see our friend Pauline. The extra walk would be good for both of us. It is not that much further beyond the entrance to the park to her house which backs onto the park. We love her and they have the best backyard. I realized as we were walking that it has been months since we have walked in the park. We missed the whole summer. Alvin happily sniffed each and every blade of grass along the way. I took in each and every leaf on the trees which are slowly beginning to change colour and any bird chirping and everything in the park along the way. I, we were in our happy place. Definitely this was something that we both needed badly. An escape from the routine and back to some semblance of our old life which seems like years ago now. When we got to her house, we did not find her in the backyard but I noticed the kitchen window open so I called up with hopes she would hear me and not loud enough to disturb any neighbours. A couple of minutes later, I heard a little voice say “Oh’s it’s Carol” and then come down the stairs to the backyard calling us to come in ….. We were both so excited to see her as we have not been to her back yard since June, 2021. I missed seeing all of her beautiful flowers. Thankfully over the summer we have seen each other when she has come to our house. This was the best medicine for us. I desperately needed that for my mental well being. A piece of what we had not that long ago. Pauline checked the gate at the top of the yard to ensure it was closed so that Alvin could come off his leash and run around the yard. His favourite thing to do. She invited us to stay for a visit. We were all so happy for this time together. We chatted and chatted. Looked at flowers. Her husband popped in to say hello and then said better let you girls visit. He is a wonderful guy. I am so blessed to have such wonderful friends. Oh, almost forgot to mention that Georgie, Pauline’s grandpup, a wee little dog was there visiting so he joined us as well. He spent a great deal of time on my lap. No photos of this time as I did not have my phone with me but perhaps that is a good thing as I have my memories locked in to remind me that life is good.
On our way home we bumped into another neighbor and her pup. We hadn’t seen them for a bit so we stopped and chatted making a plan to get together soon.
When we got home it was 6:30 – two hours past the time we left for our walk. A long time past Alvin’s suppertime so I fed him right away and as I got his food out of the fridge, he then realized he was hungry. What a guy.
Well time to go and put on the coffee. I love using my computer instead of the phone. Much easier.
I hope that you have a great first day of FALL. Enjoy the colours and the changes in temperatures and smells. Our tree is a lovely mix of gold and green now.
Thank you for continuing to read my blog, I so appreciate your time.
Continuing to live this life with kindness, respect, patience, compassion, understanding, gratitude, love and laughter.
Always, Carol & Al
My New Life @ 51 