Thought for the day ….

Good Morning and Welcome to Tuesday the 14th day of August, 2018.

Well today is a very special day – today is the 13th birthday of my special great nephew “A.”

He has been my buddy since he was in his Momma’s tummy.

We have played together, cried together, laughed together, gone on adventures together.

Happy Birthday “A,” WISHING you a great day.

Sure is hard to believe.

 

Well the sky is an odd white blue colour.

Does not smell like smoke although my sense of smell is slightly off these days.

One ear was plugged but unplugged in the shower, thank goodness.

My carpool is not in today as her building is still not accessible (after the water main break back before my vacation started).

So I am catching the bus.

Running a little late now how did that happen.

 

We had a great day yesterday; me and Alvin.

Walked to the Vet in the morning to pick up more food for him and such.

Then I walked to our neighbourhood little mall, mailed a parcel to my friend back in Regina.

Her birthday is on Thursday.

Picked up some groceries and then home.

When I arrived at the Post Office which is located in Shoppers Drugmart the clerk informed me that their system had crashed and she had rebooted it.

Guess we are not the only ones.

She thought it would take about 15 minutes.

I walked around the store and saw one of the staff that I know so we had a chat while she unpacked some crates of product.

Then it was home and did some laundry, cleaning and later mowed the grass and went for a walk with Alvin.

We saw our friend “P” who has one of the most beautiful gardens, we stopped for a visit.

A good last day of vacation.

 

Well time to get this show on the road.

I hope that you have an awesome day.

My first day back to work after 1.5 weeks – seems strange.

My body just wanted to go back to bed.

Ah, poor body.

Spoiled.

 

Special Hello to: the birthday boy.

Always, Carol & Alvin

Thought for the day …..

Good Morning and Welcome to Sunday the 26th day of February, 2017.

Another bright sunny morning here in Edmonton.

So far our weekend has been great.

Yesterday morning we started our TO DO LIST with Alvin’s routine visit to the Vet’s Office in our neighbourhood.

One of the part-time helpers was there to help Dr. Karen.

We had not seen her in a long while and it was great to catch up.

She was so happy to see Alvin ….. she calls him “baby Alvin” …. her pet name for him.

We had a good visit and had Alvin’s appointment completed before heading out.

When we got back home I took a coffee break before heading out once again to do my errands.

All on foot …. good exercise.

First stop was the Optometrist to adjust one of my new pairs of glasses.

Once done I crossed the street to go to Shoppers Drug Mart to pick up a bus pass for March.

It crossed my mind as I was approaching the store “Wonder when there next Gala is?” and “Guess what”?

It was then …..

So I purchased a ticket as $5.00 of the $15.00 goes to help Women and the remaining $10.00 is deducted from your purchase so win/win.

Also they have free gifts, goodies to eat and drink and the possibility to win baskets of all sorts of items.

In the past my daughter and I have won on several occasions and that was nice.

I have not heard as yet so perhaps not but that is okay.

I also saw two staff that I have got to know over the years so it was nice to catch up with them.

After winning 1,000. free optimum points and having a visit, some treats and making my purchases including the bus pass, I was on my way.

Next stop the grocery store.

Just had a few items to pick up as long gone are the days when I can carry twenty bags of groceries home (I am not kidding).

When I got home …. Mr. Alvin was happy to see me and me, him.

He had to go outside …. me, too (not outside, though) ….. perhaps too much information.

Here is where you are smiling and perhaps even snickering a bit.

After I had a bit of a break and safely stored away all of the purchases, I grabbed my canvassing materials, of course coat, boots etc. and was on my way.

It was disappointing as I did not receive any donations this year except for my daughter and I will make one.

Some people on my first round said that they would make a donation on-line so that would be nice.

After home I started the laundry and some cleaning.

One item that I had wanted to do for a couple of weeks was to call my internet, cable and telephone provider to change up my cable packages/check about unlimited data plan.

First of all I spoke to a young woman and after being on hold in between her checking she transferred me to another person.

On hold again …. finally this young man came on and introduced himself as “Brandon.”

He said “repeating my name Ms. Louis” …… I politely corrected him and said Lewis and asked him where he was located.

He replied “Guatemala.”

So my Canadian internet, cable and telephone provider uses a Central American Country to serve as Customer Service, interesting.

I guess I had found that out the last time I called.

He was really nice and we had a couple of chuckles.

I asked what the weather was like there and he said “HOT.”

I told him about our minus 30 and snow weather of a short time ago and he almost lost his breathe.

There is no way he could even fathom what that meant as he said of course, they do not get snow, there.

He was very helpful and I even got an extra good deal and am so grateful to that very lovely young man from Guatemala.

I will say this, he was shocked that I knew where his country was …..

After the phone call …. continued with laundry and stuff.

After supper I started watching the Star Trek Voyager series from the first show (on Netflix) …. memories.

Also I was so lucky that it just started to snow as I finished up canvassing for the Heart & Stroke ….. pretty lucky.

There is some shovelling to do this day but not much.

Luckily it is light and not heavy/wet stuff.

Well today is cleaning and later watching the “OSCARS.”

My how time flies.

I hope that you all had a great weekend.

Looks like a clear sailing and a great week will follow.

Well time to get this show on the road.

Shovelling, laundry to finish and some cleaning.

Oh, time with Alvin and a walk.

Special Hello to: my daughter and her family.

Always, Carol and Alvin

 

Thought for the day ….

Good Morning and Welcome to Sunday the 8th day of November, 2015.

Oh my goodness such a wonderful Saturday had by this Momma and Mr. Alvin.

We started out having coffee and tea with our friends …

The room was filled with love and laughter.

So much laughter.

My friends are such great story tellers …..

After they left my daughter arrived ….

We put ourselves ready and were off to the Shoppers Drugmart Gala.

They had such good treats including the most delightful chocolate cake with pink buttercream icing ….. yummy ….. melt in your mouth.

The cake was made at the bakery in the nearby Save-On Grocery.

We played spin the wheel and received free items (makeup) and after making our purchases we received more free items.

Then we went to the grocery store and then home.

First thing after putting groceries away was to go with Mr. Alvin for a nice walk.

The weather was absolutely amazing for November 7th …… it was in the double digits.

I think about 13 or so degrees celsius.

We are making some new items to add to our Dear Stella Jewellery Collection and worked on them over the course of the evening.

Something totally different and new.

Very exciting.

We started the process last night …..

I made stir fry for supper which is my daughter’s favourite.

Also preparing for an upcoming craft sale.

This morning after we have pancakes for breakfast we will be working out how our table will look for the sale.

We are sharing the table with my neighbour.

Four feet …. that is what we will have for space.

Well I had better get this show on the road.

What an awesome weekend.

The sky is overcast but perhaps the sun will shine at some point.

I hope that you all had a great weekend.

Happy Happy Sunday everyone…..

Time for coffee and to make pancakes and then back to the jewellery preparation.

Special Hello to: my friends all over the world.

Always, Carol and Alvin

 

Thought for the day…..

Good Morning and Welcome to Sunday the 21st day of June, 2015.

How glorious has this weekend been?  ….. VERY.

Started out with a vacation day on Friday.

Spent the day fixing and making the outside look beautiful for Saturday as well as the inside of the house.

I also did some more baking.

Saturday, I held my very first “Steeped Tea Party” and it was a huge success.

Mr. Alvin was very excited about all of the company, the ladies, to say the very least.

He even had my friend’s puppy “Sadie” over to play …..

He definitely likes to be the centre of attention that is for sure.

At one point I saw this long red thing hanging out of his mouth followed by the roar of the ladies, only to find he had been smelling about, and found this piece of liquorice in a purse.

I will admit he looked so cute and so guilty with this liquorice hanging out of his mouth.

He managed to eat a small piece before I got it away from him.

His first and last liquorice.

Needless to say his Momma apologized to our guest.

We learned lots and had a great time.

I give my thanks and gratitude to all those ladies for their orders and attendance, it was off the charts.

I love this tea …… so much to learn about steeping tea and have learned that it is truly an art.

So looking forward to learning more ……

I knew some about the wellness properties of green tea but there is so much more.

After the tea party was over and the last of the guests departed my daughter and I headed out for the Shopper’s Gala.

That was fun, too.

More treats, free things and some shopping.

Quick trip to the grocery store and then home.

Once home it was clean up from the party followed by a walk with Alvin.

Good thing because it rained for awhile.

We had such a great day and I am so tired …. slept very late today.

Not tired ….. really.

Well I guess I better get this day going ……

It is going to be a quiet one and deciding what to get for free stuff from my party.

I love free stuff.

YAY …….

I encourage everyone to try tea so good for us.

There are even some blends that will help with having dessert after supper.

I have always been a dessert person ….. I have a serious sweet tooth.

So this will help.

I hope that you all have an awesome Sunday.

Filled with love and laughter.

I will have that memory of Mr. Alvin looking guilty and pleased all at the same time … with that long piece of liquorice hanging out of his mouth …… the laughter, too.  Great moment frozen in time.

Oh my boy ….. he should be in the movies ….. he is quite the star.

Happy Sunday.

Special Hello to: all those folks who drink and enjoy tea …..

Always, Carol and Alvin

Thought for the day …….

Good Morning and Welcome to Saturday the 20th day of June, 2015.

It is a bright sunny gorgeous morning here in Edmonton and I am so excited.

The deck has been washed, flowers watered, grass trimmed, raked, tree had a manicure – check.

I even took the branches from the tree and placed them in a big container I had on the deck that had some dirt in it along with some solar lights and watered it well.

This morning the branches continue to look amazing and are a welcome addition to my deck.  Love them.

The floors inside have been washed, bathrooms done – check.

Baking and more baking done – check.

Dusting and whatever else I could think of has been done – check.

Just writing my blog and then time to get this Momma all cleaned up – check.

With time for COFFEE, of course …..

It has been a long time since I have really entertained.

I love having different kinds of parties.

My first “tea-par-TEA.”

Just less than two hours till the consultant arrives and then party guests.

We had rain yesterday late in the day and overnight ….. the grass and trees are so nice and green.

Thank you Mother Nature for giving some extra colour to my yard.

YAY ……

I am so grateful to live in such a beautiful house and have such a gorgeous yard.

Thank you so much.

My first house and I am so proud to be a homeowner.

It has now been over six years and I love it as much as I did on the first day that I unlocked the door with my own key and walked through the door.

Well I am so excited ….. better get going and get showered and dolled up.

What a great day.

Following the tea-parTEA, I am going with my daughter to a GALA that Shoppers DrugMart has been hosting for years.

We used to go for many a year and then missed a few and now we are back…..

This is a great Saturday.

Later on me and Alvin are going for a nice long walk around the big lake north of us.

I hope that you have an amazing Saturday.

Take care …..

Be kind to yourself …. do something nice for YOU.

YOU deserve it.

If you are good to yourself – you will be good to others.

Special Hello to:  all those folks out there who are hosting a tea-parTEA today …. enjoy.

Always, Carol and Alvin

Thought for the day …..

Good Morning and Welcome to Saturday the 13th day of June, 2015.

It is a glorious morning here at my house in Edmonton.

There is a breeze, the sky is almost overcast with the sun peeking through in spots.

Yesterday I took half of a day vacation from the office and came home for the afternoon.

I made a few stops before arriving at the house.

Stopped at Shoppers and then at Save-on.

The one out of the ordinary item that I bought was one of those bags that is on wheels.

My daughter told me that I should get one and it would be easier to carry groceries home.

I really didn’t want to because it kind of made me feel “old.”

Now I know that shouldn’t be as I see all ages pulling those “carts” around filled with things.

It wasn’t the easiest thing to load.

Trying to hold the full grocery bag and load it into the bag …. took a few tries.

I have the recycled bags so perhaps the plastic might have been easier but oh well.

I am trying to do my part for the environment.

After loaded I did find it easy to pull home….. so much easier on my shoulders and arms and hands.

The main reason I took the afternoon off was to paint the front porch.

I will admit that I have kind of procrastinated on doing it but it is done.

There are pictures to prove my hard work.

There was a bit of a wind …. actually it was quite windy …. not gale force.

But from the looks of my hair, clothing and the landing you might think it was a strong strong wind.

Now all white and pristine.

Looks pretty good for a non-professional and it was fun.

There was only one thing … Mr. Alvin.

I put the baby gate up at the door so that he could at least see me.

Didn’t work so much as he just sat there and “cried.”

I did not wish to take it down as I knew he would be running to one of the neighbours or the other.

So I just tried to be reassuring ….. “Your Momma is here.”

Or perhaps he didn’t think I was doing a great job.

Or perhaps he thought I may fall off of the ladder.

Anyway it is done.

In the fall it will be door frame and window frames.

YAY ….

I am so proud of myself….

Now it is your turn …. try something outside your regular comfort zone.

Well time to finish my coffee and get dressed as Mr. Alvin has an appointment for his regular pedicure.

His favourite thing to do …. NOT …..

I have a long to do list and I am going to accomplish every item and be all done by six o’clock tonight.

YAY …..

Have to have the house in ship shape for my Steeped Tea par-TEA next Saturday.

Besides always good to get the rest of my spring “cleaning” done.

Blinds ….. cupboards ….. you know.

Have a awesome Saturday.

Special Hello to: all you folks who are stretching and doing things outside of your regular routine.  Congratulations

Always, Carol and Alvin

Thought for the day…

Good Evening and it has been Saturday the 10th day of January, 2015 all day!

Slept in ….

Good sleep….

Quick breakfast …..

Doggies shared banana …..

Shower….

Dressed …..

Wrote up Birthday card(s) for my youngest brother who turns “50” on the 13th.

Yes, I know …. may not reach him by birthday.

YIKES.

Bad sister.

Grabbed bags of clothing for goodwill.

Out the door …..

To Doctor’s office where my daughter and I waited for over one hour to see Doctor.

Nothing serious.

Now I can hear again out of my left ear….

Oh …. that wax build-up …… “AGE”

Out the door ….

To Shopper’s to mail said Birthday cards and some late Christmas cards.

Mailed cards.

Out door ….

To Safeway ….

picked up few groceries ….

HAD CUP OF COFFEE AT TIM HORTON’s IN Safeway.

OH, how we needed that coffee….

Out the door …..

Dropped off bags at drop off boxes for goodwill….

Back to Shoppers where I picked up a few more things….

Then home …..

Only to find we still needed more things at the grocery store ….

This time to Save-On …

It is closer to home.

Out the door again ….

This time by myself….

“Did you notice all of the name dropping?

In between started laundry.

Home ….

Walked the puppies….

Few things done ….

Now time to start supper at 6:10 p.m.

Time to relax after supper …

Wow …. that day sure flew by.

I hope that you had a HAPPY SATURDAY.

Special Hello to: YOU.

Always, Carol and Alvin