Good Morning ALL! How are you this morning, doing well I hope. Alvin and I had a good morning thus far. I was up and stayed up at 6:20 a.m. – going to make a point of trying to get up at least by 6:00 a.m. each morning so that I can enjoy the early morning sunrises. I can feel the sun on my heart and soul. Erasing the anxiety of days gone by. The sky is blue and the wind is blowing and life is good.
We had a wonderful weekend. Sunday was basically a repeat of Saturday. My friend Gillian came for coffee in the morning and we chatted up a storm. So much good conversation. Friends are the best. I love her, she keeps me thinking and young. Gillian is also going to pop by and check in on Mr. Alvin while I am away at the office tomorrow. So grateful to have such dear friends. Very grateful. The other pea in our pod has a cold and decided to keep her “germs” at home. We missed her. I shared some of the delectable baking that my friend Val had sent to me from Regina. So good. Love(d) the cinnamon buns and my favourite the “biscotti.” I love that word. Sounds beautiful, so Italian. I would love to travel there some day. But for now I go there in my dreams.
The earlier plan had been for my daughter to come for a visit in the afternoon but then she decided to come today and then spend the night. She will come later this afternoon. Makes sense as she is going to drive me to work in the morning. Then we have the evening to get caught up on all things the trip to VEGAS! I am making her favorite supper – chicken stir fry.
With the change in plans yesterday, I decided to go for a walk a bit earlier. Another sweater day. When we got around the park to our friend Lucy’s house, who did I see hanging from a ladder trimming one of her trees, but LUCY! OMG, all alone and doing that. We caught her eye and she happily accepted me to stay while she finished the tree. We had some great conversation while Mr. Alvin sat patiently. She was up and down the ladder. I handed her her trimming shears and the long handled ones. I was wishing that I had those sizes as well. I only have the one on the pole. She likes things to be clear and simple. So all the extra branches some of which had died, she wanted gone. Most people wouldn’t be bothered but not Miss Lucy. Up that ladder and leaning on the trunk of the tree, took my breath away. She kept saying how much she appreciated us being there but we could go as she did not want to interrupt our walk. I plainly said “No, we are not leaving until you are done pruning the tree.” We stayed. There was no way I was leaving her alone. Once she was finished we were on our way. By the time we got home it was close to two hours of walking/fresh air/visiting. I was in my happy place. Alvin was in his and pooped. I think he figured it was suppertime but no too early for that but I did give him a snack. Likely better as he gets older to cut back on the breakfast and supper and give him snacks (his food) late morning and mid afternoon. Keeps his belly full and happy.
I also cleaned out my pantry and discarded and recontained all of my spices. Thank you Val for the new tupperware spice containers.
I made a really delicious pasta with tomato sauce. Was disappointed when I went to put it away and noticed that I had forgot to use the pepperoncini and roasted tomatoes that I had purchased for this meal. Oh well, I can also add them to the leftovers. LOL. The fresh PARM from the Italian store was so darn good.
Well we had a nice evening. Oh and before supper I brought out some of our patio furniture. Now it looks like spring/summer. I am happy.
Time to go and plug in the coffee and soon to start work.
Looking forward to seeing my girl later today.
Have an awesome Monday.
Continuing to live this life with respect, kindness, compassion, patience, love, laughter, understanding, gratitude, focus and possibilities.
Good Morning ALL! How are you this Saturday morning? Alvin and I are well. We had a good night sleep and were up several times starting at 3:00 a.m. but that is my/our life. The sun is shining as it rises in the sky. From my office window which faces south I can see beyond my garage this most beautiful tree swaying in the breeze with the most glorious golden leaves. They almost appear to be magical from this distance. Absolutely beautiful. Mother Nature in all her glory. I love the colours of fall and I guess if you have been reading my posts – that is not new.
I had a great Halloween at work in my house, in my kitchen followed by a Zoom Halloween Party from 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. We got a chance to see our fellow co-workers Halloween costumes and play some games. It was really a lot of fun.
Here are some photos of my costume:
I am sorry, I heard my neighbour calling out for her cat “Bogart” who is now sporting a GPS gadget as he likes to play escape artist. I opened the window when I heard her and she asked if he was in my backyard (which he likes to come into) but I could not see him nor could I see the entire backyard from my vantage point. Sonja said that she would come through the garage ….. she wasn’t coming so I called out to her and she said the keypad to the garage is dead (battery operated). So downstairs and outside me and Alvin ran. Alvin ran and jumped as he left the house as though he were two again. I forgot to take my keys to unlock the garage so back into the house. Oh, he was not in our yard. I left Alvin in the backyard while I quickly scoured the area close to our homes. The GPS said he was 22 metres away so he was not far. Alvin barked the few minutes that I was gone so I came back and put him in the house and he kept barking. He certainly does not like it when I am out of his sight. Sonja finally found him under the deck of her neighbour on the other side of her house. What a boy! I don’t think that Bogart will be getting any treats in the near future. She threatened to put a leash on him when he is in the backyard. We will see what happens. She is a good Mom and is always taking such good care of them. Giving him a chance to live his best life with a bit of “freedom.”
Photos now: My throw together WITCH COSTUME.
Love my Witch’s Hat
The spider is on the net from the hat
Love this witchy looking ring
Love these antique rings – not great photo
I was thinking that perhaps next year as it will be my 65th year that I will go all out and prepare in advance a great costume. Just have to decide on what.
Well I think that I have had enough excitement for this morning, time to get going on this day. I did water and look after my plants on the main floor at 6:00 a.m. when I was up with Alvin (breakfast). I changed our bedding and gathered the towels from the upstairs bathrooms and have written this post and searched for a missing “cat named Bogart” which is not too bad for 9:30 in the morning.
Have a great day and I am on my way to start the laundry and have some coffee. It is darn cold outside this morning. I had to come back into the house at one point and grab my winter coat. A fleece pullover was not warm enough.
Continuing to live this life with kindness, respect, compassion, patience, understanding, love, laughter and gratitude.
Always, Carol & Alvin
Baked Chicken Pasta with Brussel Sprouts and
Mushrooms, Corn and Pumpkin
This is a large full of goodness topped with a mixed shredded Italian Cheese. So yummy and it is what I will eating for supper for the next few days. So good.
Good Morning ALL! I hope that this finds you well. Both Alvin and I had a great sleep. He woke up at first about 3:45 and then back to the sofa until 6:40 a.m., how wonderful. We then got up and he had his breakfast. I wasn’t quite ready to get up so we laid back down for a few minutes as I pondered my day. I forgot that yesterday was May 1st, how crazy is that. Guess what, I was having my coffee yesterday morning when the “phone rang” and I saw that it was the Pharmacist from Pharmasave. He was calling to see if I could go in at 11:30 a.m. to receive the vaccine. I said yes, of course and thanked him. The call came in at 10:22 a.m. After that I quickly drank some coffee and went to prepare to leave the house. I had a winning lotto ticket to cash in so I wanted to leave the house a bit early and go to the convenience store in the same strip mall. I am so grateful to Alvin’s Vet Dr. Karen for hooking me up with the Pharmacist Dr. W., and to think everything is all in the same mall. A quick walk. The convenience store was renovating and looking good thus far. It sure was windy yesterday and we ended up with some rain later in the day, actually evening. I was at the Pharmasave a bit early and decided to pick up a few items that I needed and plus it helps him out. Showing my gratitude to him for scheduling me so quickly for the vaccine. I had asked him about the vaccines as I had heard him say that he was only taking names now for the next batch that is coming in. Apparently he receives 100 at a time. He gave all those vaccines out in a three day period. Busy man. I asked him if he gets paid to give out the vaccines and he said yes which is great as I know his business has been suffering throughout the pandemic much the same as others. This is a small pharmacy not like a Shoppers Drug Mart. I had to complete a two page form going over a multitude of things from name and health number and date of birth to if you had any symptoms to allergies and more. Once I filled out the form which was basically giving a quick history and releasing him from any further liability, I waited for a few minutes. The whole time that I was there people were in and out. It was a real assembly line. Everyone was masked of course and physically distanced. When it was my turn, he called me into this little room. He excused himself as the phone rang and in a few minutes he was back and advising me of the possible side effects and so on. I listened and then he asked which arm. I had decided on my right arm as it is not my writing arm (not sure if that mattered or not). My jacket was off and I pushed off my sleeve and was ready. Next thing I know he was readying the shot and into my arm. Painless, really. He was so gentle despite the fact that they basically throw the needle at your arm. I remember him beforehand telling me to relax my arm and to hold it a certain way which I am thinking now really helped the process. Once done he grabbed a bandaid and I checked to ensure it was latex free as I am allergic. He said yes, it was as he had read that I mentioned about being allergic to latex/elastoplast. He then advised that I could go and wait until 11:50 which was 15 minutes later. Both the chairs that he had set up against a partial wall were full so he asked me to go around so I made sure that I did not go close to the two women in the chairs. Dr. W. then called the one that had just filled out her paperwork in for her vaccine and I took her chair. A few minutes later he gave me a card that said that I had received the Moderna vaccine on May 1st, 2021 and that the next one was scheduled for August 21, 2021. Fifteen minutes later I was on my way. Thanking this kind man as I left the pharmacy. Today he has extended his hours so that he can give out the remaining vaccines. I received the Moderna vaccine in case you were wondering.
I was happy that I had bought the items in his store and I will continue to give him as much business as possible. A few minutes later I was at home warming up a cup of coffee in the microwave as I had unplugged the coffee pot before leaving and it was barely warm by this point. Oh and beforehand I of course let Mr. Alvin out for a pee. He was happy to see me and I him.
Oh, almost forgot when I texted my daughter to tell her that I was getting the vaccine – she told me that her husband, my son-in-law was getting his as well. How strange is that we were both getting ours on the same day and around the same time. Now just my daughter to have hers.
A couple of loads of laundry later, I decided to go for a walk with Alvin. The sky has been clouding over and then clearing for most of the morning and now in the early afternoon. Thinking that we had better get going before it rained. It was quite windy and there were several folks out walking likely having the same idea as me. I am always amazed at how cool Alvin is around the geese. The couple that have been hanging around our park are always together somewhere as we walk through and Alvin usually stops and takes a look and continues on. He does not bark or even go toward them, just gives him a look and we keep going. I love how chill he is around them. I think that stems from his youth when we used to go for walks before I was working and we would literally plunk ourselves down on the sidewalk / grass by the water in one of two parks in our neighbourhood and watch the geese and ducks. I would hold him in my arms and he would just watch them literally for hours. Usually it was me that wanted to get up and go not Alvin. He has always enjoyed watching them. When we approached his best friend Teddy’s house, I could not say no to him so up the driveway and the steps and ringing the doorbell. I could hear the pups and some movement. All of a sudden Kobi was up looking out the porch window. Then I could hear both Teddy and Kobi and next thing I knew it, Walter was opening the door. He said that Iris had just popped out to the store but would be home soon and asked us to go in. In we went. This is the only place outside our house and the vet and the odd retail shop that we go. Always, physically distancing. Now we have all had our first vaccines. Walter and I visited until Iris came home. She invited me for tea and I graciously accepted. I told her about our Friday night and as I had mentioned to Walter about receiving my first vaccine. We had a great visit. Then home to finish the laundry and feed Alvin and to make my special pasta dinner. My daughter had picked me up some lentil pasta and this was the first time I have eaten it and cooked with it. It was awesome. I made a simple sauce to add to the cooked pasta of caramelized onions (because why not) with black pepper in olive oil, once down I poured the onions into a bowl and then added to the pan some halved grape tomatoes, salt and pepper and greek spice and once cooked down I added some minced garlic (several cloves). Once done, I added the onions and let them mingle together. I added some pasta water to the onions/tomatoes and garlic and then added the drained pasta to this pan to mix. Then into a bowl. On top of my seving I threw some shredded parmesan cheese and more black pepper. OMG, it was so good. Simple and did not take much time. That was supper. Leftovers for tonight and likely tomorrow. I will make some roasted broccoli to put on top tonight for more veg.
Last night we had a quiet evening. Watched a couple of movies before going to bed.
I was thinking of how a house/home is like us. The roof is the top of our heads. The windows are our eyes looking out and within. The kitchen is liken to our heart. The bathrooms are our kidneys. The basement is the bottom half of us with the furnace which would be our lungs and the floor would be our feet. Another way to look at our homes.
Well time to hit the shower and get refreshed. It is cloudy outside.
I hope that this finds you well and that you are enjoying your Sunday. I cannot wait for a cup of coffee this morning. Just because.
I love to share photos giving us all an opportunity to go places we may have never been before …… I love the elephant. Elephants and Dragonflies are my favourites (please do not tell Mr. Alvin).
Have an awesome day.
Remembering to always live with kindness, respect, compassion and patience for all.
My New Life @ 51 