Good Morning! Well we made it to the WEEKEND. I think that I would like to change my name to WEEKEND, lol. Too bad the name was already taken by a famous rapper who happens to be a citizen of Canada as per SIRI. She is all wise. Happy Saturday. This is going to be a quiet weekend for us, for me. No plans for serious cleaning or running about. I am just going to be here for Miss Cookie. We went for a walk after work last night and the smallest harness that I have just doesn’t work, hangs down in the middle. She is much smaller than Alvin ever was. My son-in-law popped in for a visit after he walked the “line” He texted that she was very anxious. She is anxious period. A very busy little girl. I was just happy he popped in to check on her. Cookie is not alone for long periods of time so this is hard for her. I remember having to leave Alvin for the day. In the early days it bothered me but everyone left their pups at home for long days while they were at work. Unfortunately there was not much of a choice in the matter. Alvin never had an accident. When I arrived home, he was my first order of business. Can you imagine having to hold your “pee” all day long for like 11 hours or so? I cannot. I would have had a big old accident every single day and likely more than one. I am grateful for COVID, for the Pandemic in that I was here for Alvin everyday for about 2.5 which was in his later years.
This is Miss Cookie. She is very fast. Very inquisitive and likes to explore. She is small and can up to place that I would not even imagine. Alvin was larger and although he was curious, the curiosity was mainly when it involved food. He loved food and to eat. Cookie on the other hand could care less. She did eat a bit of her wet food yesterday morning and then after work she ate some dried food. Cookie likes variety. I am enjoying having her here but she certainly keeps me on my toes, literally. I have to be careful opening the door. So I have ordered groceries and was thinking that I will need to hold her until I get the bags into the house. I can hear her doing that shake downstairs, like she is shaking off something. You know. She also stretches in the morning just like I do, or should do. Alvin used to stretch which is good for them as well as we humans.
She also likes to lie down in the brown chair which is opposite the one that she is looking out the window from. Mainly the brown chair is her sleeping or napping chair and the green one is for checking out the neighbourhood. I also tied up the one blind so that she had a better view of outside. I think she enjoyed that. I love how her one ear stands straight up. She is a busy little doll. I love her.
I also found out yesterday that Alvin’s best friend Teddy just had major surgery and has cancer. We, me and my family are sending them love and good thoughts for a speedy recovery and I hope with my whole heart and soul that he will be with his family for a long time. Kobi needs her big brother. I cannot remember if Teddy just turned 10 or 12. Such a doll and I miss those days when he would sleep over with Alvin. They were so chill. Best buddies.
Okay, I still have a few chores to do, like LAUNDRY. That never seems to go away. I will do little things so that I can spend more time with Cookie. Besides I am exhausted as it was a “very busy difficult” week at work and I hope that things calm down in the upcoming weeks. All of my coworkers are feeling it. I see a lotto win in our future. Hoping that our temperatures warm up a bit, these under 10 degree days are brutal although I am grateful that we did not get the massive amounts of snow that our neighbour to the east Saskatchewan received. For that I am most grateful. I sure hope that it warms up and starts to melt but not too fast that there is flooding.
Have a great Saturday. Enjoy the view. Deep breaths.
Continuing to live this life with kindness respect, patience, compassion, love, laughter, understanding, gratitude, focus, possibilities, coffee and forgiveness.
Always, Carol & Alvin (My Forever Angel) and Miss Cookie.
Good Morning ALL! Well almost noon. What a morning already! I am grateful that I booked today off. Poor Mr. Alvin. We are just back from the vet where once again he is suffering from ear infections. One ear was way worse than the other. I have a difficult time keeping them clean as he does not like me poking around or touching them. So another round of meds which will keep them okay for a month. I spoke to the vet about our options. There are two different surgeries that can be performed. One is where they remove his eardrums and ear canals and he would not be able to hear but he would no longer suffer from these nasty yeast infections. She does not perform this surgery. The other she can do and it would mean leaving the eardrums intact but opening up the ear canals so that the yeast cannot grow and he would still have hearing. I think the second option is the better of the two, for sure. Cannot imagine having my hearing taken away like that but she also thinks that his hearing is compromised now. The idea of another surgery with him turning 14 in January, scares me but I am not sure that we have an option at this point. I just want him to have a good quality of life. Yesterday he was panting and work was driving me over the edge and I was raising my voice to him. I feel incredibly guilty and overwhelmed. My poor boy. I just hope he has forgiven my bad reaction to the situation. It is difficult when you are alone. Anyway for now, he has medicine in both ears and it will get rid of the yeast infection soon. I think his paws are bothering him as well.
I do have a beautiful story to share. Earlier this morning I noticed a little girl waiting on the sidewalk across the street from our house. Clearly she was waiting for the school bus which never came. It was cold out there earlier. My neighbor (whom I borrowed her car to take Alvin to vet) had popped in to grab a cup of coffee as she had run out. Sonja said that the girl was waiting for the bus which is always late. I decided to check on her so I opened the door and called out to her to check on her, I think that I scared her. She then started walking away from where she was standing which appeared to be toward home, when an older child came out. I should have asked what school she went to and then called them but I did not think of that. I watched them from my window when a dark blue Toyota Rav4 pulled up and a woman got out. Poor kid was scared not because the woman was trying to hurt her but because of the attention and she was cold. The woman talked to her for a few minutes and the older child came back out. The woman walked back to her car and grabbed her cell phone and then after speaking to the older child, she made a call. Likely the school. Nice to see good samaritans. This woman stood outside chatting with the kids for over 30 minutes closer to 45 minutes. At one point she grabbed a kleenex out of her car for the little girl. After awhile, the little girl got into the car while she waited outside with the older child (early teens, I think). The girl must have been frozen. She had a good warm coat on but her face and hands would have been cold and she was carrying a heavy backpack. Near the end, just a few minutes before a school bus showed up, the woman and the older child, a boy got into the car. They must have been cold. My neighbor told me earlier that the bus is always late. So this bus driver for whatever reason makes these children late for school everyday and nothing has been done. This is deplorable. Hopefully now, they will do something about the driver. This kindly woman who was just driving by put my faith back in humanity. She took almost one hour out of her day to help strangers, two children. She had a smile on her face and appeared to be trying to keep the children in good spirits. I am grateful to her for helping. Doing something that I should have done. Not that I did not want to help but I thought that the bus would have showed up sooner than it did.
Well, I made another pot of coffee as I just need one. It has been quite the week. I am beat. We will just relax on the sofa for awhile and then go for a walk. I hope that you are having a good day.
The sun is shining now which is great so it is warming up now.
Thank you Universe for good people in my neighbourhood.
Continuing to live this life with kindness, respect, compassion, patience, love, laughter, understanding, gratitude, focus, possibilities and more COFFEE.
Always, Carol & Alvin
PS: wow, how could I have forgotten this. Yesterday Alvin and I received a package from our friend Val in Regina. So many treats. We are truly spoiled. Alvin was so excited when I went to the mailbox and came back with a box. There were homemade treats for him which he opened. There were three kinds of buns/scones, mini loaves, biscottis and so many other sweet treats. I also had a package of some items that I had ordered from RICKIS. Just needed some clothes. I was happy to see that they all fit. I guess time to do some laundry, too. Coffee first. I think that Alvin just wants to have a nap. Poor boy.
Good Morning! Welcome to Thursday, February 3, 2022. How are you this morning? I hope that you are doing great. Both Alvin and I are doing great. The morning temperature feels so much warmer even though I think it is still double digits below zero. We received a small blanket of the white stuff overnight. I believe there is more on the way. This has certainly been a snowy winter thus far. By the weekend we will have single digit plus temperatures. What a turnaround! It always amazes me how quickly the weather can change.
Well our story from yesterday. I originally took the morning off from work due to the deadbolt incident, then I took the afternoon off as well as one of my friends was going to go to Lowe’s and pick up the lock and change it for me. All well laid plans go to the wind sometimes. This one did as well. There was an incident at Lowe’s – everyone is okay but my friend did not even get inside the store but promised to go back later in the afternoon. By this time it was already afternoon. I suppose because I am working from home I could have worked but decided I was just tired and need to just relax. I cannot share the incident because it is not my story to tell. Later in the afternoon my friend true to her word, went back to Lowe’s for a second time and picked up the lock and came to change it. We struggled with it for what seemed like forever but was about one hour give or take and could not get it to install. She realized that it was likely because we went with another brand name. It looked like the same one and there was no name on the inside so I just had goggled the appearance, silly me. I should have looked on the outside. Anyway we put it back together and I have two five pound hand weights keeping the door snug so that no more than usual cold air can come into the house. After this last utility bill – we are going to do whatever extra we can to ensure that does not happen again. I did look at it this way, I am helping to pay some folks salaries. So that makes me feel better. My friend is going back to Lowe’s today and will pick up the same name brand of deadbolt and this time we will have success. It is funny and was to my friend that she has successfully changed her deadbolt two of three times. Said it only takes a couple of minutes. Not for me. Not sure why everything has to be difficult. Things always or near always work out for me but sometimes the road to victory is a long one. ARGH.
Well it is almost time for me to get signed on for work.
Last night I went to check on Bogart and Humphrey as their Mom was out for a little bit and she was concerned about Bogart. He had surgery and is healing. So she wanted to ensure he still had the cone on in the correct position and that there was no blood or anything. She is such a good Mom as she ordered a special soft cloth cone for him. It is a pretty pink. Good thing that he does not care about the colour, lol. Anyway the cats were doing just fine. I spent about thirty minutes with them. Gave them a night time treat and played a bit and was on my way back home to the Alvin.
Mr. Alvin was happy to see me. You would think that I had been gone for days, lol.
Oh I have quite the life!
Continuing to live this life with kindness, respect, compassion, patience, love, laughter, understanding, gratitude, focus and possibilities.
Good Morning ALL! How are you this Thursday morning? I almost typed Friday. Guess I am rushing the weekend just a wee bit. Oh well! It has been one of those weeks. I lost my patience a couple of times but tried to remain composed which is so much better when you are working from home. Some days even though I am very grateful for my job – it drives me around the bend. I guess most people say that. There are many aspects that I enjoy about my job and others not so much. Okay enough of venting first thing in the morning. Not the way that I want to start to my day.
I do want to share something with you. We were up about 3:00 a.m. and outside. The sky was so crystal clear that even though we are in the city, we could see so many stars in the sky. In fact, the sky was so full of stars that I was in awe. First time in the city that I have been able to see so many stars. It reminded me of our trip to see the kids for Thanksgiving and how clear the night sky was and how many billions of stars I could see. I was also reminded of being a child and looking up to the sky and making wishes on the first star and then seeing so many others. I have always throughout my entire life being drawn to the sky. I most especially love the stars. Maybe that is why some of my fav television shows and movies are situated in space. Although they cannot see the stars, one could imagine they were surrounded by them. As I have not been to space, I do not know what you can see or not. The stars took my mind off of being outside at 3:00 a.m., I will tell you.
We enjoyed two walks yesterday. The after work walk was most especially special as we bumped into a neighbor who lives just off the park, she was out walking the puppy. We have spoke before but never had such a conversation and I enjoyed it so much. The puppy for which I have now forgotten her name is so adorable. Not tiny and full of energy. She reminded me of a poodle. We chatted for several minutes admiring each other’s pups. She loved Alvin, too. Rosie was the Mom’s name. We were walking with them back toward their home and to ours when Alvin started to pull big time. I could not see anyone or anything around so wondering why he was pulling forward. So we said goodbye. I thought maybe because he was hungry. As we walked we came across people with a dog and I could see our friend Kelly and her pup Jack and then I knew. He definitely could smell their scent even though they were partially hidden by the trees at the entrance. How cool is that? So we raced over to them. I have not seen Alvin move that fast since before his surgery and not even in recent times. He chased after Jack as though he wanted to play. Running fast. It was funny too watch and also made me a little anxious. But I could not stop him and I wanted him to do something that obviously he really wanted to do. We visited with our friends and then Alvin wanted to go. I think he was getting hungry for supper. By the time we got home it was well after 5:00 p.m. Also on the way, a car pulled up and I could see our friends Ali and Bailey. Bailey spotted us and was yelping and so excited. We quickly said hello and were on our way. Our evening was much more quiet, I will say but we had a great walk. I am so happy that I know so many people in our neighbourhood and that I can get to know some of them even more. It was a great end to a somewhat frustrating day.
I hope that you have an awesome Thursday. Get out and walk. You never know who you will bump into or meet. Even though there still is a pandemic – we can still chat outside and keep apart and safe.
Continuing to live this life with kindness, respect, compassion, patience, understanding, love, laughter and gratitude.
Today I choose to laugh more and have more patience.
Good Morning All! How are you this Friday morning? I am upstairs just having finished having a refreshing shower and getting ready for the day. Even popped on some sparkly earrings. I guess by the positiveness of this post in the first few words you can tell that I actually some sleep, we actually had some sleep. Nothing near perfection when when you are running on near empty, some is better than none. I am so grateful for the sleep and grateful that today is Friday, last day of work for the week. We did not get frost at my house but I cannot speak for the rest of the City of Edmonton. Last night after work I put my Callas Lily into the garage to protect her, just in case of frost. They were forecasting the possibility of such. Mr. Alvin is quiet at the moment. I think when I leave the upstairs hall light on, he barks as once I turned it off he has remained quiet. I decided to write my post from my computer this morning. Such a difference actually typing with both hands on a keyboard as opposed to a small screen and with one finger. I am looking at my poor little plants in my upstairs office and they will need a drink of water before I head back downstairs.
I am surprised at how many leaves remain green and by the amount of yellow leaves on the ground from my tree. It is that time of year and things can change quickly. We have increased our noon walks and after work to include the entrance to the park. Sometimes we sit down on the benches, well I sit on the bench and Alvin stays on the ground. Yesterday when we went for our walks, I found his sweater so he sported a sweater on our walk. The wind was brutally cold considering it is only September. I decided to stop the early morning walks as it does not get light until later and I do not like walking in the dark. Soon it will be dark later but with working from home we can get a walk in at lunchtime and if we go right after work, we should get at least a partial walk in. When I was in my bedroom getting ready, I was dreaming of sleeping in my bed. I cannot wait until that time. Alvin’s neck appears to be healing. He cries a lot less and allows me to pick him up and put him down from the sofa and going off the deck and the front steps for our walk without fussing.
Well the time is quickly passing and it is almost time for me to head downstairs. I have to put on the coffee to perk before I start work. I am so grateful that I am able to work from home. No commute has been amazing. To be able to walk at noon and after work and some days before work. Our days are a bit longer together because of this and I am so grateful. As we age, time together is so important. Which reminds me – I need to see some of my friends. Once Alvin is able to be left alone, I will sneak out for a coffee with my girls for a couple of hours. We all need our friends. Texting is not enough. I wished that I could see my sister and my friends from back home in Regina but between Alvin’s surgeries, that financial twist, and the Pandemic, I will have to wait yet another year.
I hope that you have an awesome Friday. Looks like the sun is going to shine. That is a good thing.
Continuing to live this life with kindness, respect, compassion, patience, understanding, love, gratitude and laughter and so much more.
Always, Carol & Alvin
Nice to be able to properly categorize my posts and use tags properly. Someone I have not figured that part out using my iPhone, guess not too smart that phone is or maybe the user. LOL.
Good Morning All! How are you this Friday? We are doing well. I cannot believe Alvin this morning. We were first up at 5:23. He did not ask, beg or whine about food or water instead we went outside where he did his business. Then back into the house where we snuggled on the sofa until just after 7:00. I talked to him for a bit before going upstairs to have a shower and get dressed. He only barked once while I was upstairs which is odd. I am grateful that he does not seem to be anxious. If he is, he is doing a great job of covering it.
My daughter will be here for 9:00 and we will take him to the vet for 9:30 per instructions.
Both Alvin and I have had nothing to eat or drink since 10:00 last night. Those were the instructions for him and I do not wish to drink especially in front of him, so I will have coffee after he is at the vet. We are going to run errands, ie: grocery run and then back home to do whaler can to prepare before he comes home this afternoon. My daughter is spending the night so am happy for that.
I’m going to see if I can add photos of the boy from this morning and last night. We will go and sit on the deck until my daughter arrives so he can enjoy the lovely morning.
Today
The flower photo did not want to be deleted so flowers and the boy.
Keep the wee boy in your thoughts and send him positive energy. Thank you.
Remembering more than ever to live with kindness, respect, compassion, patience, understanding, love and gratitude.
Good Morning All! Trust you are well on this Wednesday morning. We have a good sleep. The first time we were outside it was lightly raining, almost like a heavy mist. I didn’t feel it on my face but when we got back into the house, I found my jacket to be wet. The pavement is wet so that is a good sign. Still raining now which we so desperately need. I hope this rain, this moisture has gone to wherever there are fires.
The timeline is fast approaching for Alvin’s surgery and I won’t tell you that I am a bit nervous, okay a lot. He is older, 12.5 years. He recovered quickly from his last surgery in February snd I sure hope it is the same this time. I also know that as before I must think and say he will be fine and recover as he should. I need to get into the positive self talk position once again. It is easy to regress. He has always been a strong guy and I’m certain that he will continue to prove me right.
Sure happy to have the rain for my flowers, the trees, grass and gardens. The trees even seem more green this morning as goes the grass.
The world or in my world is coming alive as the morning progresses. Cars going by, people out walking with their pups and the hum of the nearby highway.
I hope that you have a great day.
I continue to live each day with kindness, respect, compassion, patience, understanding, love and gratitude.
Good Morning All! I hope this finds you well. We are doing good although I could have stayed curled up under the blanket this morning which was evident by how many times I hit “snooze.”
The air is grey but doesn’t smell overly smoke filled but I may be somewhat desensitized now. The air is cool, sweater weather. Amazing we can be +38 degrees Celsius one week, then 30+ and now 17 degrees Celsius. So definitely cooler. What a difference in the house – almost 20 degrees.
I have not heard if the fires have reduced in British Columbia or not. I hope do.
From my vantage point on the sofa the view is green that is as long as I hold my eyes up as the grass across the street is turning brown from the heat and no water. There is one advantage to facing North we don’t get the heat of the day so it has saved our grass.
There is a breeze this morning and I decided to have the windows open and it definitely is cooler inside.
I am grateful that our temperatures are cooler and looks like it will be cooler when Alvin has his surgery on Friday, which will help.
just thought that I had better do laundry on Thursday so I am good for clean clothes. I am excited and nervous not about the surgery but the recovery and really the days that follow. I know he is strong and will once again bounce back and in time will be back to our new norm. That is ever changing. I guess for most people these days.
Well time to get yo work. I wish you a wonderful Tuesday.
Continuing to live this life with kindness, respect, compassion, patience, understanding, love and gratitude.
Good Morning ALL! How are you doing this Tuesday morning? Today i work the late shift so I start at 11:00 am. We had a good sleep although to bed quite a bit later than usual.
Last night just before sunset we were out on the deck. Me watering the front and back flower beds and the flower pots on the deck with Alvin keeping an eagle eye on my every move. Once done I thought we would just sit on the love seat which happens to be the boy’s favourite spot. I gently lifted him onto the sofa and then sat next to him. He got comfortable and then started to look about. If he heard a bird his head snapped in the direction of the chirping. Me on the other hand focused on the flowers on the upper deck which are a mass of bright colours. They just seemed to blend into each other. So beautiful. No bugs to disturb our peace. We must have sat there enjoying the most perfect evening for a good hour or so. The air was cool enough for Alvin in his fur coat and I even had on a light sweater/jacket. As the sun dipped in the evening sky, I thought how very lucky am I, are we, to have this little piece of heaven to call our own.
This morning first check was on my lilies. Yes, we have lift off- they are blooming.
The Lilies
Thank you from Bailey & Mom
I am so grateful for all the beautiful flowers.
well time to head upstairs and have a shower.
we may even be able to enjoy time on the deck before gets too warm. Tomorrow they are coming to service the air conditioning do we will be cool with resorting to fans all over the main floor.
I am so grateful for our life. There may be a wrench thrown in once in awhile to make us remember just how blessed we truly are although I’m not sure that Alvin would agree with that assessment. Poor little guy, I did not mean that he needs to have surgery for us to be grateful. Not at all.
Wishing you a great Tuesday.
Continuing to live with kindness, respect, compassion, patience, love, understanding and gratitude for all.
Good Morning All! Well another change to our everyday life. Yesterday I took Alvin for his regular nail trim etc. And to check reason for the limp. My friend Iris drove us as Alvin could not walk that far. We basically got in right away for our appointment and with a cancellation our Vet was not rushed between patients, thank goodness. I was waiting in one of the two previously used for patient exam but since COVID now are waiting rooms for the parent/parents only for a few moments when Dr. Karen came in, I could tell by her eyes that something was wrong even with a mask on. She explained in simpler terms that Alvin has a torn ligament between the joints in his knee on his hind right leg. Serious business with best course of treatment- surgery. I almost started to cry. She showed me pictures to explain the two types of surgery that can be done to fix the problem. My heart hurt as I knew this was not going to be easy for Alvin or me. He is on some pain medication while we wait for the surgery to be performed in almost three weeks time. Once the surgery is performed it will be 6-8 weeks recovery with the first few weeks the toughest as he cannot put weight on his leg at all.
We slept on the sofa last night and that will be our new bed until basically the end of September. There was some frustration for us both trying to get comfortable. Poor little guy.
Hopefully the surgery goes well and he recovers as quickly as his surgery in February. Poor little guy.
Our life will be different for some time but different isn’t always bad or easy.
I am grateful to my friend Iris who waited for 1.5 hours while we were at the vet. She also brought me some pumpkin as the vet suggested it as the pain meds cause constipation.
Upon reflection last night and early this morning I realized that I am grateful that this happened now and not in the winter time, that I am working from home and that we are surrounded by loving supportive family and friends.
I hope that you are well. Should you wish to send some positive energy or a little prayer our way, we would be eternally grateful.
Continuing to live this life with kindness, respect, compassion, patience, understanding, love and gratitude.
My New Life @ 51 