Last Half 2022 – September

Good Morning ALL! How are you this morning? We are doing well. I am going to the office today but my neighbor and friend Sonja will come and check in on Mr. Alvin during the day. I am eternally grateful to have such great friends and neighbors.

I want to share a poem with you that I wrote as I started Grade 12 in the fall of 1974. Wow, that seems like an eternity ago. It was 48 years ago. YIKES. I am getting on in years, lol.

One FALL

To Windthorst I came late in the fall,

With great expectations – or so I recall.

I looked forward to seeing new faces in class,

And taking the subjects I knew I should pass.

……

My impressions are fixed now, it currently seems,

That totally false was each of these dreams.

With all the boys, I’d thought it’d be heaven,

But it hasn’t work out: so back to Glenavon.

……

The girls are prettier than I’d thought they would be;

Though none but a fool would prefer them to me!

(My vanity comes from the pressures of rhyme –

You know that I’m modest all of the time)!

…..

My rhyme is near finished, my brain power low,

My thoughts have diminished, and so I shall go.

Life, bring excitement! Life, bring romance!

Life, bring me something! Windthorst last chance!

….

Written as I entered Grade Twelve in Windthorst, Saskatchewan. Grandma sold the farm in the summer/fall of 1974 and we moved to the village of Windthorst.

Carol Mills in the year of 1974

********************

I found something else that I wrote for the school paper that same year.

Looks at our mascot!

He is depressed.

‘Cause we’ve just had exams and

Are not at our best.

……….

Life bring excitement

Life brings change

Life brings cold and arthritic pain.

******************

Well I can see that I was not in the most positive of states and that I was into boys.

Things have changed over the years, I am more positive and boys well men, I can take them or leave them. So much to do. Relationships!

Have a wonderful Friday.

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

Always, Carol & Alvin

PS: to add some of my dearest girl friends are those I met in High School and my best friend of all time, I have know since we were toddler days. That is a long time. Shout out to Deanna and Carolyn.

2021

Good Morning ALL. How are you on this absolutely gorgeous bright and sunny Sunday morning? The rain has stopped and the clouds have parted. I/We went to bed about 10:30 ish and were up at 3:45 and then at 6:15 a.m., I felt rested and we stayed up. First Sunday morning that I have felt so rested and stayed up so early (for me). What a great way to begin the day! Feeling on top of the world! I cannot wait to see my kids and grandpups this afternoon.

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY to all the women and girls in our lives and everywhere who continue to give us through good times and bad, all the love and support that we need each and every day. thank you from Carol & Alvin

I want to share some of the writings of my past Mother Day’s Cards:

MOM, to the world you are a Mother, but to your family you are the world.

For the love you give

from your heart every day

and the millions of little things

you do with so much care

thank you

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With love to you, mom ….. for all your patience, wisdom, guidance, and love.

********************

These are the words written by my kids:

We’re so grateful to have you in our lives and are so proud of all you’ve accomplished. This year brings lots of change we’ll all get through it together. Love you so much.

***************

Thank you for always being there for us, your kindness, thoughtfulness, and unconditional love mean the world to all of us! I know if the babies (pups) could speak, they would say the same!

***************

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I wish each and every woman and girl on the planet Earth a Happy Mother’s Day.

You are a Mother to us ALL.

Be safe and be well.

I hope that have a wonderful day.

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

Be well everyone.

Look after each other.

That is the only way we can do this thing called Life …..

Always, Love Carol & Alvin

P.S. I made the brownies last night for today and they taste yummy. My first time from scratch. Also made the black bean burgers and they taste so good. Looks like tonight’s supper is going to be GOOD.

COUNTDOWN: 60 Days to 60.

Today is Monday June 26, 2017 and it is the 45 day until my 60th Birthday.

Okay now what after the 60 favourite things list.

I was thinking about a BUCKET LIST.

What is with all of these lists anyway?

Well truthfully, this would not be a surprise to people who know me as I am famous for writing lists, TO DO LISTS and such.

I like to write things down.

I have often thought a BUCKET LIST would be nice but perhaps today I will do it in reverse.

Not the things that I want to do in the future but some of the things that I have done over the years.

Okay so this is going to be another 60 things list ….. but things that I have done not necessarily favourite things but things that I have done/accomplished, okay.

Because going backwards can be tricky with the counting process I am just going to start at number 1.

 

Here are the next 12 items:

25.  Attended all different schools from Grades 9 to Grade 12 in three different Canadian provinces.

26.  Sold through direct sales:  AMWAY, Fashion Two-Twenty make-up, Tupperware twice in two different provinces and Steeped Tea.

27.  Wrote Eulogies for four different family members and gave three of them.

28.  Started to write poetry at age eight years.

29.  Jobs have done over the years: Babysitting, Berry picker,  Executive Assistant (summer job), Keypunch operator, Bank Teller,  Claims Dispatch Clerk, Mapping Clerk, Reinsurance Underwriter, small town Ladies Clothing Shop, Customer Service Clerk at Retail store with largest sales at West Edmonton Mall, House Cleaning, File Clerk and Housing Clerk.

30.  Wrote Groom’s speech for my friend to give at her brother’s wedding.

31.  Broke handle off new shovel while digging out dead cedar tree from my back garden area two years ago.  Still do not believe that one.

32.  Grateful to have attended concerts for two of my favourite entertainers:  Celine Dion and Sir Elton John.

33.  Good at making meals from virtually nothing.  I love challenging myself to using everything in my pantry and fridge.

34.  Love making up new recipes.

36.   Grew up on the farm and helped with everything from stacking bales when haying, to housework, to looking after siblings, to cooking, gardening and other chores all before age 14.

37.   After moving from the farm in Saskatchewan to British Columbia …. my Mom, Sister and I spent that first summer picking berries.  Hard work but definitely had payoff.

 

Sure is a test of the memory banks.

Always, Carol

Thought for the day …..

Good Morning and Welcome to Monday the 4th day of April, 2016.

WOW, we had a crazy beautiful weekend here in Edmonton.

Downside it is so dry.

We are hoping for some spring rain showers.

I have started to get back into my poetry and would like to share another one from the past.

Thank you for reading it has inspired me to write more.

I love poems because they are a condensed story.

To the point.

It is always so important to do something you love and I do love to write poetry.

I wrote my first poem in grade one and never stopped.

Along the way some were lost but I treasure the ones that I managed to keep.

I do have one that I wrote for my grandparents back at age 8, I believe and I still have it.

 

My grandmother kept this small treasure of my childhood, and I am so grateful.

Well can you believe it almost time to leave for work.

I am quite certain that I was just there ….. oh well, gotta work.

 

FROM DREAM TO REALITY

I had a dream late last night,

Of sparkling white sandy beaches,

Palm trees swaying in a sweet scented breeze,

Of clear blue skies and water, clear blue,

Of monkeys, elephants and parrots, too.

When I awoke and looked all around,

It was a dream, so I had found.

The picture is somewhat sadly different.

My sandy beaches are cluttered with garbage.

The palm trees have been removed, replaced with malls.

The breeze smells bitter — terribly so,

The monkeys, elephants where did they go?

We have come too far, too fast,

The signs have been there,

But we did not see, due to our hungry greed

From horse drawn sleighs to gas powered cars,

From tin and glass to styrofoam and plastic jars,

From all that technology we still didn’t learn

That we’re literally burning our planet — our Earth.

The time has come to join together,

Mothers, Fathers, Sons and Daughters,

If we learn to reduce, recycle and reuse

We can save our planet —

The gem in our universe.  Our Earth!

Written for my daughter’s school play at W.H. Ford School.

She was just ten years old back then.

By Carol Lewis on November 28th, 1990

This is so bizarre that I wrote this twenty- six years ago for my daughter’s school play.  It is even more prevalent today.

 

Special Hello to: my sister who is travelling to Hawaii today …… Aloha ……

Always, Carol and Alvin

Thought for the day …..

Good Morning and Welcome to Wednesday the 30th day of March, 2016.

Second last day of this month …..

WOW.

I think that every month I am surprised when it is the last few days.

No surprise ……

I am grateful this morning to have wonderful family and friends.

I am grateful that our Elton is enjoying life with his Mom & Dad.

Oh and guess what on March 29th here in Edmonton it was 15 degrees celsius.

So beautiful.

 

The past few days perhaps even weeks my mind has turned to poetry.

I have written poems my whole life.

I am inspired by my family, people that I meet, and life.

I was thinking of some poetry that I wrote in High School and will have to find my book to reread them again.

Perhaps I will share some of them.

Here is another one ….. wow almost 26 years ago.

My how time flies.

 

LOVE

My heart is all aglow

With a feeling I don’t know.

Is it love?  Perhaps!

Who will know.

 

Tell me how it feels,

Tell me so I know,

Tell me is it love?

For surely I  don’t know.

 

Written by Carol Lewis – May 10, 1990.

 

Have a wonderful day.

Special Hello to: my family and friends …… love to you all.

Always, Carol and Alvin

 

 

Thought for the day……

Good Morning and Welcome to Saturday the 9th day of August, 2014 and my “57th” BIRTHDAY.

The sun is shining and there is a cool breeze coming in through the office/bedroom window.

Just back from driving my neighbour to the airport as she is going to Saskatchewan to attend a family wedding.

WOW, I AM FIFTY-SEVEN.

CRAZY ….. three years from being sixty.

Now that is crazy.

 

I wanted to impart some words of wisdom or maybe some fun facts about the year I was born.

But instead I shall just say what comes to my mind, as always.

I have not always been such a positive soul but I always wanted good things for others.

I always dreamed of living a life where I helped others.

I thought at one point that I would be a nurse.

I would have the house with the white picket fence and be surrounded by four children, and later grandchildren, and the husband.

Every summer we would host a big family reunion and everyone would come from far away.

We would celebrate our family and we were happy.

 

I always let my imagination guide and protect me when I was younger and quite possibly that is the reason why today I harbour no ill feelings to parts of my childhood.

I always love to write and create.

I always wrote in a journal and wrote poems and stories.

Somewhere on the shelf I was a writer just waiting for that moment.

My time to be that “New York Times” Best Selling Author.

Even though I am a Canadian.

I always dreamed of travelling to Australia, Europe and Hawaii.

Possibly South America.

 

I guess for the most part I have been pretty comfortable and at times things have been easy.

I have been disappointed in my choices.

Sometimes sad along the way.

But when I look back at my life thus far overall I am pretty content.

Content in choices, content in my own skin and content to try even though I may fail.

Success is nothing without failure.

Failure and Success are both opinions.

Like beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

We are all beautiful …… I think.

 

So on this day …… a day that I was pretty sure would come along but sometimes scared that it would not …. I am grateful, proud and happy to be alive.

I am grateful to be Carol.

I am grateful to be surrounded by much love and laughter.

I am grateful to have my own house …. bought on my own.

I am grateful that I have one most beautiful and amazing daughter.

I am grateful to have a son-in-law and grand-puppies.

I am grateful to have me “ALVIN” ….. a son like no other.

I am grateful to learn everyday.

I am grateful to meet new people every week.

I am grateful that I took a chance.

I am grateful that I have learned and not been afraid.

I am grateful for my past, grateful for today and grateful that tomorrow will come.

I am grateful for each and every moment.

I am grateful that today at 6:20 a.m. – I turned fifty-seven.

I am grateful for every wrinkle …. for having great genes ….. barely any wrinkles ……

I am grateful that I can see the world, smell the world, taste the world and hear all the world.

I would post a photo of me but the most recent one is from last fall.

So that will be for tomorrow …… possibly photos of birthday celebrations.

 

Happy Birthday to my cousin “M” who turns 47 today ….. he was born on my 10th Birthday.

That was a cool birthday.

 

Special Hello to: all those folks with a birthday on mine ….. or mine on yours ….. Happy Birthday also to one of my favourite television personalities “HODA KOTB,” who turns 50 today.

 

Always, Carol and Alvin

 

 

 

Just for fun……

This has been a fun day.  My neighbour Sonja was over for coffee, and a visit earlier in the day.  We always have such great fun chatting up a storm.  Catching up, mostly.  She is one busy young lady.  But I just love her.  She is truly a beautiful human being. Alvin was so excited when he saw her coming up the sidewalk.  I thought that he was going to shake his hind end right off.  LOL.  That is my boy – he gets super excited when company arrives.  I get just as excited but I do not shake my “hind” end.  Now wouldn’t that be a sight.  LOL.

Later this afternoon we are going over to Amanda, Steven, Elton & Penny’s house for supper.  So that will be the perfect way to end this marvellous day.  The sun is shining and it is 15 degrees outside.  How’s that for an Easter weekend?  AWESOME, AMAZING, I would say.  So I thought that I would like to put some more fun stuff on my blog today as yesterday postings were a tad on the serious side.  I just had one of those days …… but that is okay.  I was typing, writing and listening to Neil Diamond (I TUNES).  I listened to all of the songs that I had copied  from a cd that I had purchased.  Now they are on my computer and I can listen to them anytime.  I love so many of his songs:  “Walk on Water” is one of my FAVS.  Soolaimon, Mr Bojangles, Brother Love’s Travelling Salvation Show, Sweet Caroline, Solitary Man ….. and the list goes on.  So I cranked up the volume and went to writing and inputting some poems & possible song lyrics on my BLOG.  Alvin kept wandering from room to room.  I do not think that he appreciated the volume. Or perhaps it could have been the fact that I was “singing” along with Neil.   I had the window open as well to let in the fresh spring air so the neighbours got a free show.  LOL.

Back to today.  I am going to post miscellaneous fun photos and just put a “funny” caption to each one.

For your viewing pleasure.

"Green with Envy"

"1, 2, 3" .... ready or not here I come..

"PLEASE" I promise.......

"You told me red lipstick was in"

Just TOO Cute......

This is how "Justin Bieber" got started.

Little boy to Little Girl "Hm, let me think about that"

"Head in the clouds"

Who says "You have to be a Prince, to get the girl"...

"Are you sure?" .. this is the one?

"Oh, man where did all this white stuff come from?"

OMG, Alvin did you leave those tracks? Alvin "RUFF, must have been aliens".

"Come on in, the water's great"....