The NEW Year 2022

Good Morning ALL! Welcome to a Rainy Thursday here in Edmonton,Alberta, Canada. The sky is filled with puffy dark gray rain clouds and it is windy. Wind is beginning to be typical of daily life here in Edmonton. At least it sure seems to be. When it is calm, we surely appreciate it.

How are you this morning? Alvin was up a few times during the night but that is okay, I am okay. He has an appointment with his Doctor this afternoon. Fingers crossed that the sky clears for us to walk over so that I do not have to bother a friend to drive us there. Thankfully Alvin’s Doctor is less than a 10 minute walk. Sometimes if he is sniffing a lot it can take 15 or so minutes, lol. I walked over after work yesterday and picked up some pain pills and his food and toothpaste for him. Now we are stocked and will not run out. We were not close to running out but I like to ensure that he has more than enough food just in case. Looking ahead, I suppose.

One more day and it is the long weekend. Three days off in a row, how lovely. I have decided that I am going to plant my flower pots as I do not wish my plants to become root bound. I heard that the weather is supposed to be better and warming up on the weekend. Most of the trees are at least partially full of buds and leaves. So pretty. So there is lots of green. I could cut the grass in the back but it looks so nice and green. But anyway no cuts for the next couple of days anyway as it has to dry out.

It is one month till the garage sale that I am hosting. Have to start getting the garage in order. I have some large items to post on the social media so that they do not take up room in the garage. Boxes to break down and some items that belong to my neighbour that I have to chat to her about. I am quite certain that this next month will fly by and I want to have the garage almost empty. I also have to secure a way to the ECO Station as I have lots of things or a fair amount to take there. Will be so nice to have the garage where it should be …. stuff wise. Isn’t it funny how we end up collecting stuff even in the garage.

Alvin and I enjoyed a wonderful walk at noon yesterday. It was a bit cool but most enjoyable. Just as we were on the homestretch there were a few drops of rain so we did not get wet. I have yet to see any goslings and have been keeping an eye out for them. The only ones I saw were going down the street with their parents a few days ago. They are so cute.

Well time to head downstairs. I am only working for the morning so have lots of things to get done. I hope that you have an awesome day. Keep warm and dry and stay safe.

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

Always, Carol & Alvin

P.S. I am nervous to listen to the weather channel as they were forecasting snow for most of the country east of us and even including the city of Calgary which is just south of us.

The New YEAR 2022

Good Morning ALL! How are you this Sunday morning the 1st day of May 2022? Wow, May already. Alvin and I are doing great. We slept better than most nights and I was to stay up at 7:30 but awake since we were up at 6:30. It was nice to just lay on the sofa and think about life. Last night upon the suggestion from the girls yesterday at our coffee date, I posted the wood from the pergola and fence on one of our neighbourhood groups on social media. They all agreed that if I posted it for free, someone would be there right away to pick it up. It was absolutely amazing, I was contacted within the first hour or so, I think and they came to pick it up at 8:00 p.m. The couple were oh so nice and lived less than 10 minutes away. We had a great chat while they loaded the wood onto the truck. Definitely people I could be friends with. I was so relieved that I did not have to find a truck and take the wood somewhere or to hire someone with a truck to take it away. I never thought to post it for free. Best idea ever. Feeling like a huge weight was lifted from my shoulders. Also I was thinking about all the things in my house that I am keeping for sentimental reasons or because it may or may not be used once in a blue moon. The biggest break through that I had while laying awake on the sofa before I got up was this: I can keep one of two special items of clothing and blankets and even toys from when she was a child and the rest can be given away or sold or donated. My daughter is not really interested in anything and this way, I would have a few things and if she changed her mine or perhaps I could make something out of them. Also I am going to sell or give away my 7.5 foot Christmas tree and the 4 foot outside tree which is in its’ own pot. It is time to get a new tree. Today, I am going to clean out and reorganize the basement. It might take more than one partial day to do this but I am going to get started. I have decided to be very strategic in what I keep. Also am going to reorganize my second pantry and have this office closet to go through. There are lots of things to think about with respect to their future. Now is the time. My mind is all a flutter with ideas. This is a good time to sell, give for free or donate. I am hosting a garage sale in June with some of my neighbours. It is basically for two hours on a Friday night and then from 9-5 on the Saturday. So in the meantime, I am going to post the bigger items and perhaps some of the smaller things. Only the items that I believe will be bought at the garage sale will I keep and pack away for that otherwise post on social media or call to have some organization re donation. So exciting. There are so many people in need of things and I certainly do not need everything in his house. The most important things to keep are me and Alvin. I suppose some dishes and Alvin’s stuff might be a good idea.

I guess most of us older folk are such sentimental creatures. We cannot let go of things that belonged to our children when they were small or things from our childhood. I do understand and realize that my obsession with keeping my daughter’s childhood things stems from the fact that I have just a couple of small items. But you know they are so special. I have a seashell brooch that my grandparents brought me back from their one and only big trip which was a cruise to Hawaii and also the pendant with my birthstone and an emerald that my grandmother gave me when I was a teenager. The brooch I have carried with me on every move from the time I was 10 or 11 and I am going to be 65. That is through countless moves between three provinces and towns and cities. It is amazing that I managed to keep it this long. One of the pearls came loose but I managed to find it. The brooch is in a special glass jewelry box that my best friend in grade 12 gave me for Christmas when we were grown adults. The pendant is on a different chain and I still wear it to this day. I also have a Valentine card that I gave my grandparents when I was eight years old. My grandmother kept it and it fell into my hands when she passed. That is pretty much it. Not much but priceless treasures all the same.

Maybe it is best for us older ones to just keep a couple of items that were our children’s and make sure that they are extra special. They will become extra special.

I have a massive job in front of me and not too likely that I will get through everything today but even just making the decision and starting is huge for me.

I also do not wish to leave this job for my daughter to do when I pass. Oh and I am not planning on going anywhere soon. In fact, I am planning to live until I am 100 but then my daughter will be older than I am now, so definitely want to leave things easy for her.

Well time to head to the shower, then have breakfast and get going on this day.

I will post the Christmas trees and better than putting them in a garage sale and taking up so much space in the garage.

Have an awesome Sunday.

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

P.S. I have decided that the most years that I am going to continue to work will be 5, not past my 70th birthday. Okay another decision made. YAY. I have made some decisions about the mortgage and think that I have figured out a way to have it paid off before retirement. Feeling lighter all the time. It all starts with making one decision and then snowballs into more.

Coffee yesterday with the girls was awesome. One of my friends gave me four tops and a towel for the stove. I visited with another neighbour when out for a walk with Alvin. I trimmed my front tree although it needs some more but at least a start and raked the front lawn and did laundry. Things are moving forward. Having the pile of wood gone and to people who were truly excited to have it was amazing.

2021

Good Morning ALL! How are you doing on this bright and beautiful Saturday morning? Alvin and I are really good. He slept through until 4:30 this morning and then we hit the sofa and were up and down. He heard the neighbor cat who was sitting on our deck railing and I heard Bogart’s Mom, so we went out and had an early morning “visit” while coaxing Bogart to go back home. That was about 6:00 a.m., I believe. Anyway, I think it could be said that Mr. Alvin is an earlier riser and even though most of my life I have “had” to get up and going early, I am not an earlier riser. Not saying that I could or would sleep till late morning but not a 4:30, 5:00 kind of gal. I think the most perfect time to rise is 6:45 or 7:00 a.m. but on the weekends it usually is 7:30-8:00 a.m.. Some mornings you just want to remain curled up under the blanket even if you are not “sleeping” or even tired. Just a relaxing thing to do. Perhaps planning the day or just letting your mind dreamily wander from topic to topic. Anyway we are up and at it now. After this post, it will be a quick early breakfast and coffee before I give Mr. Alvin another hair cut and bath. I think it will be warmer today than has been forecast as it was nice earlier and I was outside on the deck in my pj’s with no shoes only socks and no jacket. The sky is a brilliant blue and I noticed that there are BUDS on the trees. That is a wonderful sign that in a few weeks or sooner we will wake up one morning and there will be LEAVES on the trees. Because that seems to be how it works. With a snap of one’s fingers! We enjoyed our walk at lunchtime yesterday.

Our evening was quiet. I figured out something with Alvin. We were chilled on the sofa and he was cuddled at my left side. I was kind of watching television and was doing one thing or another on my smartphone when he put his paw on me. I put the phone down and gave him a massage. After a bit I realized that he just wanted me to put the phone down and that it had nothing to do with attention or a massage. Once I put the phone out of reach – he laid down and that was it. When we are on the sofa ….. no phone. I now realized how much I am on that rectangular piece of technology. If I am on it alot what about others with pets OR with small children. It is likely that we all are guilty of spending way too much time on it. After all, at the end of the day, it is a phone that can access the internet. How much time do we have to be on the internet and on social media. Do we really care about everyone’s business? Do we really need to know that you baked a cake, got your COVID vaccine or bought a new pair of shoes? Do we really need to post some that happens in our life immediately as it happens? No, I do not think that we do. I am going to put my phone down and away. After all it is a phone. I let my other phone go to voicemail because that is why I paid for that option. A convenience so that I did not miss important calls. One thing that I don’t do and that is carry the phone with me when I am out for a walk. Our walks are for me and Alvin and a phone is not a part of that time. I do notice folks most especially younger ones out walking with others or with their pet and they are walking looking at the screen, not paying attention to what is around them and definitely not any never mind to their pet. Pay attention folks, pay attention. I am also going to limit my time on social media. I have been keeping posts to a minimum. Social media and smartphones seem to bring out the addictive nature in us all.

Funny how one can go from a beautiful morning to cell phone talk. Anyway, I am pretty sure that everyone can relate to what I am saying. We have to take a step back and put the phone down. If my Alvin is noticing and giving me the nudge to put away the phone …. then clearly I have a problem. Keep the phone out of instant reach.

One more thing. Life slips away quickly ….. put the phone down. No one is going to care at the end of it all that you liked every post or posted that photo! Call someone instead. Go for that walk without your phone.

Well those are my thoughts for this Saturday morning. I had better get the coffee perking and have my breakfast so that I can get Mr. Alvin’s haircut in good time and then move onto housework.

I hope that you have an awesome day.

Remembering to live with kindness, compassion, respect and patience.

Always, Love Carol & Alvin

It is a NEW YEAR.

Good Sunday morning.

Well shortly after I wrote my post yesterday the sun shone brightly.

It was a lovely day.

Lucky me, I went to shovel the driveway and there was no snow.

It had melted.

That was a first.

YAY.

Alvin and I enjoyed a beautiful walk in the afternoon after several loads of laundry.

Ended the day watching the newest STAR WARS movie “The Rise of Skywalker.”

Thoroughly enjoyed it.

 

This morning it has been lightly snowing since we were first up at 5:00 a.m.

No worries we did not stay up but I can tell by the amount of snow that it did not stop.

Actually it appears to be coming down with more intensity at this time.

Oh, last night we had a good show with the rabbits.

Alvin watched them intently gathering and having a snack out front.

At one point there were four of them.

Happy to report they are getting pretty brown.

We have so much snow which is not great for the wildlife.

 

I was thinking as I walked to the computer this morning.

List of things that change when staying at home / working from work during a PANDEMIC

1. Transportation to work, no bus tickets or payment for carpool.
2. No need to carry a purse, cause I do not use anything in my purse
3. More snacks
4. Changing up exercise routine
5. More television
6. Baking more
7. More snacks, did I say that already (very important)
8. More time spending with loved ones and in my case, my dog Alvin
9. No commute time to work (ten steps from bed to laptop in office in my case)
10. More time to clean the house
11. Less time actually spending cleaning the house
12. Less energy the longer at home
13. Overthinking everything
14. Trying new recipes
15. Waistline expanding
16. Need to start wearing button up pants instead of the stretchy ones
17. No gatherings
18. Quietness
19. Having television on during work hours for background noise
20. Routine, trying to keep work and home separate
21. Time spent looking out of the window
22. Did I say changing up exercise routine, gotta start that ….
23. Walking more (when weather allows)
24. Hoping for sunshine
25. Happy when receive texts from family and friends
26. Learning new things
27. No coworkers
28. If you have school age children at home, then you have now become a teacher
29. Trying to remember what day of the week it is
30. Resting, maybe too much (depends on who is in the house with you)
31. Excited to see the rabbits gathering out front to have a snack (no social distancing for them)
32. Happy to be alive and well
33. Wondering how long this will last
34. Nervous about going back to work
35. Staying away from news and social media for a time to be less stressed
36. SNACKS, so important for one or more in a household
37. Food has become so important
38. Realizing that one’s leaking tap is going to be this way for some time before can get fixed
39. Supposed to be spring now, why more snow?
40. Anyone at home that has folks bringing by groceries and supplies, we are grateful, realizing this will end someday and I will be shopping again
41. No going to the mall (I did not go much, anyway)
42. Thinking of how much the world has changed over the past month or so
43. Thinking of how much things will change going forward
44. Realizing that this would be retirement minus the working Monday to Friday
45. Getting stairs in several times per day (if you live in a multiple storey home)
46. Getting close to 50 (points to make)
47. Making a list that never gets completed
48. Day 3 cleaned the junk drawers
49. Day 6 cleaned the front closet
50. Day 18 cleaning the junk drawers again, and the rotation begins.

NOTE:  two things enjoying being with Alvin all day everyday and having my own perked coffee in the mornings.

 

Well time to hit the shower before having breakfast and enjoying some perked coffee.

 

Happy Sunday everyone.

I hope that you are smiling …..

 

Remembering we are living in kindness and with respect.

 

I/We, remain

Always, Carol & Alvin

 

P.S.  trying to decide if I should just cut my own hair.

That could have been point 51.

My hair is much longer than this photo.

Am thinking I could put the long clipper attachment on Alvin’s hair cutting machine and cut my hair.

What do you think?

If in household with children ….. cut their hair.

If in household with a dog that needs a haircut ….. already done.

It is a NEW YEAR.

Good Morning All,

Well it is a bright, sunny morning here in Edmonton, Alberta.

Alvin actually slept until a reasonable hour this morning and then of course we hit the sofa for a few more hours of sleep.

Sometimes it is even nice to just lay in the quiet and just be.

No voices or sounds but our breathing.

 

Yesterday we had a good day.

My decision to stay away from SOCIAL MEDIA and leaving my cell upstairs in the office was a great decision.

Before I went “dark”, I sent quick texts to my daughter, sister and a few friends that I usually have daily contact with so that they would not worry if they did not reach me.

Also did not wish for my house phone to ring off the wall either.

It was a good decision.

I think it was cutting off the demon before my body and mind could not stand the constant barrage of opinions, news and such.

I no longer feel as though I am going to implode.

I felt wonderful yesterday.

The majority of the massive feeling of anxiety was bringing my job home with me.

I have always felt as though my house was my safe place away from the madness, the stress, that is sometimes my job.

Not really in a bad way as I am grateful to be employed in a time where folks do not have work and I am grateful to be working from home.

But at the same time, now work has invaded my space, my sanctuary, and my phone.

We have our phone system set up with an APP on our mobile phones, so we can call out without giving out our personal phone numbers and people can call in.

So now my cell phone is not just for personal use, I have to use it for work.

It was less than a year ago that I did not have a cell phone, who would have known.

Anyway, we shall see how tomorrow goes.

I guess I will have to adapt and ensure that I step away when I or if I am feeling anxious.

Thankfully I have Alvin here with me.

 

Yesterday the good day that I started to tell you about.

Well I even cleaned out the “junk drawers” in the kitchen.

Those spaces where every little thing goes to hide.

It always amazes me at how fast they fill up and with the most interesting items.

Checked that off the list and it was not even on the list.

 

I did some laundry.

Alvin and I went for a walk.

Cleaned the bathroom.

Washed the main floor.

My neighbours in the other half of the duplex and I chipped away at the ice out front on the street and managed to drain the lake that was out front.

We are so proud.

It took us just over an hour despite the interruptions by passing vehicles.

Funny how most people slowed down and some did not.

Would they think that we are out doing this for our health and that we wanted to have dirty water splashed all over us?

I guess they must.

Anyway, it was nice to chat with them while we worked.

Alvin watched out of the window.

We had a quiet night after supper.

 

I watched a movie called “Dark Waters.”

I heard the name but did not know what it was about.

DUPONT ….. I learned some things. C8 and Teflon.

This all happened during my lifetime and even recently but I do not remember.

Makes me want to check my pots and pans.

Anything coated with teflon is not going to remain in my house.

I know that the list is likely long of the items that we use on a daily basis.

They gave out a staggering and very frightened statistics at the end of the snow.

One being that 99% of the world human population have C8 in their bodies.

C8 causes cancers amongst other things.

I urge you all to watch this movie, it was disturbing in places but informative.

 

Well it is Sunday.

Time to go put on some coffee and have some toast.

Then I am going to give Mr. Alvin a haircut and bath before vacuuming the upstairs and washing the floors up here.

 

I hope that you are having a good day.

Be safe and I hope you remain in good health.

Practice the social distancing and stay home when you can.

I would think we will have the cleanest homes and will have all of our odd jobs completed by the time this is over.

Who knows how long that will be.

 

I am grateful to have supportive, generous and amazing family and friends.

Take care.

Remember we must be kind and respect to all our human counterparts and also to all of the animals and life out there.

We need each other now more than ever.

Maybe the reduction of manufacturing will help the environment.

Maybe we will learn to do with less.

We should.

 

 

Have an awesome Sunday.

Alvin is ready to go back downstairs and I need some COFFEE.

 

Take Care.

 

Always, Carol & Alvin

 

 

 

 

It is a NEW YEAR.

Good Morning All.

How are you today?

Alvin and I are well.

For some reason beyond my expertise, Mr. Alvin was up and down every couple of hours.

He does not appear to be ill or in pain.

Perhaps he just senses all the madness that is going on in the world around him.

I have tried to ensure that I do not bring the “worry” home with me.

Looks like I will be working from home starting tomorrow.

That will be different.

 

One of my neighbours braved a trip to COSTCO and was able to pick me up a bag of coffee beans.

The necessity …. cannot go without coffee.

I usually don’t make coffee during the week at home as our office supplies us with free daily coffee (we are so lucky).

So that will spending more on coffee.

 

I am grateful though that we can do most of our jobs at home.

Working on a laptop instead of a computer will be strange.

I am hopeful that it will all work out.

 

Alvin will be happy to have me at home ( I hope ).

Last night we had a nice walk.

We did not bump into many folks out walking.

 

At the end of the day we need to remain as close to normal or to the new norm as possible.

Start a new routine.

Make sure if you are working from home that you set up a comfortable work space.

Work your same hours.

Take your breaks and lunch.

Likely a good idea to be away from any family members.

So that you can concentrate.

Go for a walk after work.

If you have a daily exercise plan – like going to the gym.

There is always some form of exercise show on television.

Follow along.

Eat your meals on time.

Drink lots of water.

They say it is very important to remain hydrated.

If you have a neighbour that lives by themselves, check on them daily.

Being isolated on your own terms is one thing but when family and friends are not able to visit on a regular basis, isolation can be a threat to your well being.

So reach out.

Do not spend much time on SOCIAL MEDIA.

There is so much negativity out there and false reports.

No one needs to worry unnecessarily.

I think we should be concerned but not to let it keep you awake at night.

Wash your hands and stay away from crowds.

Stay home if possible.

All we can do at this time, is be good to each other.

Treat all around us with kindness and respect.

 

I am so grateful for the warming trend over the next week or so.

Perhaps SPRING is close.

Babies ….. buds on the trees …..

I love spring.

The smell of melting snow and our world returning to life.

 

One of the gals that I work with is giving me a ride to and from work today.

It is laptop day …… something new to learn.

Should be interesting.

 

Well time to fly.

Take Alvin downstairs and finish putting things together.

 

Have a wonderful day.

Be safe.

 

Always, Carol & Alvin

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is a NEW YEAR.

Well folks we made it through another week.

This weekend marks the end of February 2020 and the beginning of a new month March 2020.

March is an extra special month for me as it is the birthday of my daughter.

Also is the birthdate of my Dad’s only sister, my Aunt, son-in-law’s brother, friend’s children, sister-in-law, niece in-law and some of my most dearest friends.

A busy month to be sure.

Which reminds me that I forgot to pop a card and letter into the mail for my Aunt.

I will do that this weekend and even though it may be late ….. always better to send than not to.

She is of the generation that cards and letters were important.

The largest way of communication next to the telephone.

Long before the days of email, texts and video chats and social media.

I have a good stock of miscellaneous cards as I still love to send them from time to time.

 

Last night on our walk …. oh, it was so beautiful.

We bumped into the gal that delivers our flyers down the street at the houses near the park.

We stopped for a chat.

The chat carried on for several minutes when all of a sudden I saw out of the corner of my eye and then did a quick spin …

To see by Alvin and me, this chocolate lab pup off leash.

There was a family coming down the sidewalk and I called out to them.

They explained as they got to us that this pup had just joined them.

He/She walked beside them the whole way.

Now as they were on a busy street they were concerned.

No one happened to have an extra leash.

As we were near the house of a friend, I ran up the walk to see if she could help us out with a leash.

She has two small dogs.

But no one was home.

Quick thinking, I thought of tying some poop bags together but that didn’t seem like a great idea, no one had a scarf (I would have given up my scarf, for sure) but I did have

my Bath & Body Works lanyard on my keys.

So I removed the lanyard and it worked perfectly as the pup did have a collar with a ring for hooking leashes.

We hooked up the lanyard and I asked if they were able to take the pup and contact the appropriate authorities and they said of course.

The pup seemed perfectly happy to be with them.

Alvin did okay with the pup considering there was no leash on the pup and hard to hold him/her.

There was a bit of growling on Alvin’s part but the pup was so good natured it did not last.

I hope, pray and wish that they found the pup’s home or the authorities did.

Such a beautiful pup.

There was no one out looking during the time we were out.

I am not certain where exactly the dog joined them.

Best of luck to you little one.

I should have carried my phone but did not have the appropriate place and my hands were full.

 

Well almost time to leave here.

My neighbour is feeling better and will give me a ride to work this morning.

Yesterday funny story.

I left home a few minutes earlier than what I normally would to catch a bus and when walking by my friend’s house, she was backing out.

She saw me and gave me a ride to the bus stop.

That helped greatly … no dodging ice …. yay, me.

I caught the earlier bus and was to work before 7:30 a.m. ( I do not start till 8 but like to be there early).

 

Well time to fly.

I hope that you have an awesome, amazing, wonderful day.

Isn’t the morning sky beautiful?

Getting more light everyday.

Take Care.

 

Always, Carol & Alvin

Treating the world with kindness and respect.

Trying …..

It is a NEW YEAR.

Good Morning and well here we are today is Thursday.

Almost one week in the newly renovated office building.

I actually kind of like my new workspace.

What is taking a bit of getting used to it is so open.

If we use the stand up desk … you can see your neighbour.

It is loud as there is are upper dividers.

Nothing on the walls to absorb some of the sound and echoes.

But all in all, it is okay.

 

Last night Alvin and I shovelled the driveway and deck.

The stripping on the bottom of the garage door came part way off so I called one of my neighbours to the rescue.

Thankfully their older teenage son was home and came to help.

I am most grateful to have such great neighbours.

After that situation was handled; I went to shovel the front.

As I was shovelling the porch I happen to look down and see that the walk and the front of my house had already been shovelled.

My neighbour shovelled.

So then I went and shovelled Humphrey’s Mom’s front sidewalk and then to the house.

I am so blessed to know and be surrounded by such good people.

Got some exercise and fresh air.

We did not make it out for a walk which was disappointing as the snow was too deep for Alvin.

Not everyone had shovelled when we would have gone for our walk.

 

I have been posting some tips for reduction of Plastics on Facebook.

Especially single use plastics.

Most people are also posting tips.

Which has been nice.

At the end of the day it is not just plastics; it is everything.

We in North America are just crazy over the top consumers.

I look around my house and see all of the “stuff” that I have accumulated over the years.

Most things I never use.

To be honest.

Some things once a year and they remain in storage during the rest of the year.

I just want to be more aware and want others to be the same.

We will not always agree on everything but we need to try to do with less.

 

Well time for me to sign off for today.

Be Kind and Respectful to yourself, to others, to animals, to the environment and to this Planet.

We only have one.

 

Always, Carol & Alvin

Thought for the day …..

Good Morning and Welcome to Wednesday the 13th day of March, 2019.

Another GORGEOUS day on the way.

Alvin and I are loving this weather.

Each night we are taking in a nice long walk.

We are feeling much better and are no longer “too fat” to fly as I like to say.

Not only do the walks help with the extra winter weight.

Which I think has actually accumulated over the past couple (saying very loosely) of winters.

But walking helps our mind, body and spirit connection.

My mind is always more clear.

Walking is food for my soul.

Walking brings great joy to my body and spirit, my soul.

I always feel as though I could conquer the world, when I walk on a regular basis.

We have that connection to NATURE ….. birds, water, trees, SNOW…..

Yup, even snow.

As we age, and there is no way around it (definitely not the alternative) – walking is so important.

Always it is a source of socializing.

We always meet someone walking around the lake and during our walk.

We need to socialize more.

It is definitely something that is being lost with the advent of the new “smart phones” and “social media.”

They all play a role of course but socializing and meeting people is a HUMAN thing.

Right.

If we were not meant to socialize to some degree …. there would not be any humans on this earth.

By socializing I do not meant “party hearty” ….. but communicate ….. share knowledge via speaking ….. share feelings and thoughts ….. and DREAMS.

I love our walks and will continue to walk until I can no longer walk and that will be the day that I leave this earth.

 

Last night we invited Humphrey to spend the evening with us as his Momma is not feeling well.

He has the best poses ever.

Humphrey just chilling at our house.

 

What a cutie.

 

Wishing you all a wonderful Wednesday.

Remember walking is so good for your body, mind and spirit.

Special Hello to: all our friends two legged and more.

Always, Carol & Alvin

Thought for the day …..

Good Morning and Welcome to Tuesday the 13th day of February, 2018.

Well it is actually warm outside this morning – hovering around the minus 3 degrees celsius.

Forecast for this afternoon plus 3 degrees celsius.

We are having a heat wave – a tropical heat wave.

YAY, we are excited, I am excited.

Can you tell?

Doing a little happy dance while sitting down at the computer.

 

Last night my daughter picked me up from work and we went to COSTCO.

YIKES, that is always an experience.

So many people …. some actually surprised me with manners …. which is always nice.

I love our rides together as we have some of our best conversations travelling together.

 

I have noticed with myself and with others that it seems to be getting more difficult to maintain, retain, be positive and happy.

Between social media and regular news and the interactions with others in general.

Well it is no wonder that people are suffering from increased mental illnesses.

The anguish, the depression.

We are constantly bombarded with a huge amount of negativity.

I understand how people feel the need on social media to state their thoughts and feelings.

But sometimes it is too much.

Actually there have been many times that I strongly consider not going on FB.

I mainly use it to keep in touch with my friends and family and for my Steeped Tea business.

We have to find a way to be more positive and kind.

 

Well it is time for me to finish getting ready to leave for work.

I am excited for our walk tonight.

I am certain that Mr. Alvin is as well but I cannot tell him now.

Have an awesome Tuesday.

 

Special Hello to: all those folks who are trying …..

Always, Carol & Alvin