2021

Good Morning ALL! We made it to another Friday and another weekend. How wonderful is that? Pretty great, I think. My trusty sidekick is resting on his tummy just outside the office door. He likes laying on the carpet although he has a nice soft bed in my office, he seems to prefer to be there. Yesterday afternoon was great. I was able to drive and pick up Alvin’s food both hard and soft which means a bag and cans and also another container of his glucosamine chews followed by a trip to the post office at the local Shoppers Drug Mart where I mailed my Christmas cards and letters. I will say that I was a little shocked that several cards needed more postage but oh well. Glad to have that done and hope that they arrive on time to their destinations. While in the drugstore I picked up a few things that I needed before leaving for Save-On Foods. The store was not too busy and everything that I needed was there. There were not multiple bare shelves but the prices definitely have increased since the last time that I was shopping which was a bit ago. Some products on sale were sold out so I had to chose something else but that happens all of the time. It was so great to have some time to myself even though I was busy and like Cinderella I had a deadline, she had midnight and I had 3:00 p.m. but I made it back with plenty of time to spare. The residential streets or at least the ones in my neighbourhood were very icy. On my way to the Vet which was my first stop, some human being in their infinite wisdom was tailgating me, I thought to myself, sorry but I am not speeding down these icy streets. Perhaps I was driving a bit more slowly than required but not only was I being cautious, I was not driving my own vehicle and I was not about to get into an accident because was not patient. The roads were glare ice so I think I was doing the right thing. I was driving a reasonable speed for the conditions of the road. I was happy when they did not follow me into the Vet parking lot. I also dropped off the Christmas card for Dr. Karen and her staff along with photos of me and Alvin. They love receiving photos of their clients at Christmas time. I also mentioned that some Christmas Cookies would arrive sometime over the next couple of weeks and that I was baking this weekend. They were excited and said that they loved my baking. How kind. I decided to drive back the way that I came and go through my neighbourhood instead of taking the busier street which at that main intersection seems to have a great many accidents. Not taking unnecessary chances when there are icy roads. So obviously I made it home safe and sound and grateful for it. I had time to unload the car and put most things away before Alvin and I set out for his appointment. The sidewalks were okay as there was still crunchy snow covering them and only the driveways were icy.

Well time to head downstairs. Tonight is the first LIVE of my Fifth Avenue Collection Jewelry party. It is a mega party meaning there are multiple hostesses which is great. Good for the Jeweler.

I wish you a great Friday.

Tomorrow starts Christmas baking weekend.

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

Always, Carol & Alvin

2021

Good Morning ALL! How are you this Monday morning? Hard to believe the weekend is over already. Where does the time go? Alvin is patiently waiting in the hallway for me. He is laying on his tummy. I finished the Christmas cards and letters to be mailed yesterday. So once the photos arrive and are placed in with the cards and are sealed – they will be ready to be mailed. The mail to date is for December 2, 2021. I think that I read somewhere that our postage is increasing in the new year. Isn’t everything? It is pretty scary to think that there may be some shelves at the grocery store empty over the next days, weeks and months ahead. Items that are stuck in transit or just are beyond the reach of the grocers. I see very likely that our diets will change accordingly. With the recent events (flooding) in the Fraser Valley – the farm area – it will definity affect all of us. The farmers will be reeling from the loss and it will then turn to the consumer. Then there are the storage containers stuck in port in both Canada and the U.S. We may be reaching the end of the Pandemic or are we? I have not looked at the number lately but I have hope that people will get vaccinated and slow down the variants. Who would have thought that all this would happen? It sounds like a movie. I just take one day at a time. Keeping all those affected one way or the other in my thoughts and heart. It is surely getting crowded in there but you know I am feeling a lot of gratitude for my life. I have a nice home, Alvin and I are in good health, I am employed and able to work from home, I am able to plan my meals around what is accessible, I have clean drinking water, I have heat in my home, I am surrounded by good neighbours, I have a wonderful family and so much more. So everyday I am grateful. It is gratitude for my life and all those in it that get me through each and every day. No matter what has happened or will happen, I am grateful. Grateful that the sun rises each and every morning. Grateful that when Alvin wakes up – I can get up with him. Grateful that I wake up each and every morning. Grateful when I sit up and swing my legs over to the floor that my legs and feet will carry me whenever I need to go. There may be some moments when I am scared or nervous or stressed but I try very hard to keep those moments to just moments. Changing your thoughts to those of gratitude can certainly make a huge difference in one’s life. Life is seldom 100% silk and satin. There is always roughness along the way. The way we think and feel determines the difference between silk & satin and roughness. Feeling grateful for all that we have smooths away the roughness leaving the softness of silk and satin. I hope that you have more silk & satin in your life than roughness. Remember the mindset …… GRATITUDE. Truly it makes all of the difference.

Well time to go and put on the coffee pot. Work in a little bit. Still dark outside. Sunrise in a bit. Have the strength to have the gratitude for your life.

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

Always, Carol & Alvin

P.S. I baked some yummy cookies as I needed some sweet treats. Chocolate chip with some Halloween treats – smarties, cut up twix bars, and M&M’s. So yummy. That is what I did yesterday afternoon after our walk.

Second Half of the NEW YEAR – last quarter

Good Morning ALL. Well I am hoping that today will be clear blue sunny skies with warmer temperatures so that Mr. and I can head out for a walk. He does have a good winter coat and I know that but it is his little paws that I worry about. He is arthritis and walking on the cold sidewalk cannot feel very good. Most of the sidewalks have a bit of snow on them which is actually good for pups when they are out walking. Gives some insulation against that cold cement. I love to walk and so does Alvin so the winter months can sometimes be hard on us. We are both aging (no surprise there) and no one wants to slip and fall and break a hip or arm or some other body part. So we are careful. I can see the sunrise out of my office window as it faces south. I believe it is going to be clear skies today. So happy, doing a little dance on my chair. A “bum” dance. LOL. So grateful that we successful made it through another week well rather I made it through another week. Work wise. Back to the colours of the sunrise, so beautiful. Mother Nature’s paintbox is breathtaking. She certainly knows what she is doing.

I was also thinking at noon when we go for our walk that we would stop and drop off Christmas cards at our neighbours down the street. They have been ready to go for a week or more now. Just wondering how many people out there do Christmas cards? Do you add a letter or perhaps add photos? Do you mail them or just hand deliver or both? I have been doing Christmas cards since I was about 8 years old. I started out making them for my family and then over the years as I had money to buy them, I started to buy cards. Of course, I have made my fair share of them over the years as well. Crafty girl here. I used to mail and deliver between 100-200 years per years and then once the postage was basically a $1.00 per card I had to pull the reins in a little bit. I still mail about 30 cards. Those cards contain the most recent photo taken by my daughter of me and Alvin and some have a letter or at least a note. The art of letter writing has pretty much fallen by the wayside over the years. But I am old fashioned that way and I love to write letters, well I love to write, so I keep up the tradition. I still believe that most folks love to get a card in the mail or post especially these days when most of the mail is flyers and such. Maybe this is the year that you purchase a box of cards (you can do that online, even) and send those relative and friends that live at a distance a nice card and maybe even a photo and a letter. Trust me it gives one a good feeling to do this.

Well Mr. Alvin is doing the whining thing. Likely has to go outside or perhaps he just wants me off of the computer. I know that he does not like me on the phone. Anyway, such as life.

I hope that you have a wonderful Friday. Tonight I am visiting our friends down the street after supper. Looking forward to that. I will be back here tomorrow. Please drop me a line if you mail Christmas cards and letters.

Continuing to live with kindness and respect for all. Are you? Will you?

Always, Carol & Alvin