The Next Chapter

Good Morning! So happy that we had some rain earlier this morning. There are rain clouds slowly clearing around us to show a bright blue sky. We can always use some moisture. Here we are on the second last day of May 2023. Where has the time gone? As it does every month, it comes and goes. Yesterday was warm but we did have some rain throughout the day. A few minutes after I arrived home from work, I changed shoes and left for a nearby school where I voted in the provincial election. Not sure how I feel about the “results.” I am grateful that when we went for our walk last night that the temperature was bit cooler and the breeze helped keep us comfortable. I am amazed at how Bruno has energy and wants to walk despite his health. I snapped more photos and videos. When Jeanette and the boys arrived last night (few minutes early), I did not have my shoes on and at that time another friend with his pup Bailey happened to be walking by. So we had a puppy party. I quickly got my shoes on and grabbed the water and treats and headed out. The pups joined me on my lawn under the tree and I got some awesome photos during and after I handed out the treats. Bruno loves treats. Eddie well he likes them but is always looking to play and for the reflections, the lights. They are both special and unique beings. Bailey is such a good girl. She loves the boys. She even gave me a kiss. Jeanette asked Bailey to give her a high five and she did. Her Dad was shocked as she had not done that before …… Eddie gave me an unexpected high five and almost knocked me over. Love these guys. We had a much shorter walk but sat in the park and snuggled with Bruno and played with Eddie (he loves to play catch with the ball). Such a perfect evening. On our way home we came across two families of geese. Did you note that I said families? Yes, we were fortunate to see a gaggle of geese. So many babies. Little goslings. Cuteness. I did not get too close as I know that stresses out the parents. Photos, yes.

Photos: May 29, 2023. Bailey with Bruno and Eddie on front lawn. Photos of chilling in the park. Two Families of Geese. The perfect evening.

Time to head downstairs and make some coffee and have some breakfast. I hope that you have a wonderful day and are able to share some time with family and friends. Happy Tuesday to you.

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

Always, Carol & Alvin, my Forever Angel.

The Next Chapter

Good Morning! I am a little late writing this morning as I ran over to look after the boys, Humphrey & Bogart and then on my way home I realized that I should water the grass/fertilizer seed that I planted yesterday out front and in the back. So I water everything. Then I thought I should put the houseplants outside and then I made coffee (have not drank yet) and then decided to haul up the clothes that were drying in the basement and then change the bedding and now I am here. Whew. Still no coffee but I will have some soon. What a gorgeous morning! Perfect time to be outside. I definitely will be drinking my coffee on the deck once I am finished with this post and after I have popped the sheets into the laundry. I have more Eddie, Bruno, Humphrey & Bogart photos to share. Who does not like to see photos of cuteness quadrupled? Despite the cancer and the pain that he must be in, Bruno loves his walk. Bruno leads the way – wherever he leads us that is the way that we go. Last night he wanted to go his old path and so we followed. I love these pups so much. I am so grateful to have had the absolute pleasure to have them all in my life.

For Alvin

For Alvin

For Alvin

For Alvin

Blinds & baseboards washed

Some rearranging

In Memory of Alvin

Eddie

Eddie

Eddie

The boys

Eddie & Bruno

The boys

Eddie looking for lights

Eddie

Bruno

Bruno

My Guys

Bruno & Eddie

Bruno

Bruno

Humphrey

Bogart

Humphrey

Yesterday I washed the blinds on the main floor, washed baseboards, looked after Humphrey & Bogart, did some cleaning. laundry, walked with Jeanette and the boys Eddie & Bruno and miscellaneous things. It was a full day from beginning to end. I would not change a thing. My kitchen looked so bare in the photos as I had taken the plants all except for the aloe plant outside. I brought them in last night just to ensure their well being. If the sun decides to shine all day with no clouds, I will bring them in when it gets too hot. Too much of a good thing is not a good thing. The boys are doing well next door and their parents will be home in a few hours. I framed Alvin’s nose print and paw print yesterday and also put his memory card with the photo side up in a frame. I have him with me in every room of this house. Looking out of the office window at this moment, the sky appears to be a bit on the hazy side. Smoke? Everyday I pray for rain to extinguish all of the fires burning at this time. I do know that Mother Nature creates fires naturally to burn. Nature is so much more intelligent than we will ever be.

Tomorrow after work I have to slip over to one of the nearby schools and cast my vote in the provincial election. Should have, would have, could have voted in the advance voting but here we are! Oh well.

Well today is going to be a quiet one. Going to finish up here and put the sheets in the wash and then have a cup of coffee on the deck. Just chilling on this Sunday now that I almost have everything done that needs to be done. Of course, there is always something. Oh, I had better vacuum upstairs and give the bathrooms a quick going over but that won’t take long after the coffee “break.” I clean regularly so nothing gets too dirty. So much easier to keep on top of.

I hope that you have a wonderful day. Time to relax after the work is done. Time with family & friends. Go for a walk. Enjoy!

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

Always, Carol & Alvin, My Forever Angel

Look in the photos above and you will see where I finally hung the whirly gift from Jessica.

Gift from Jessica

Alvin, my heart.

Alvin

The Next Chapter

Good Morning. What a gorgeous morning it is! I have been over to feed, change water, clean letterbox and just visit Humphrey & Bogart, I have moved plants outside, done some cleaning, gathered and started laundry, and now writing this post. I think that the following photos put into words my life at the present time, filled with friends whether two or four or three-legged and the beauty of nature and FLOWERS. So this post will be photos today. I appreciate all the lives in my life. I hope that you are having a great day. The air is a tad cool which is lovely against the slightly hazy sky. I do not smell smoke but alas it is out there somewhere. I pray that all lives are saved from the fires.

Jax, a 17 year old Lab

Jax

Jax & Bruno

Eddie & Bruno & Jeanette

Oh, Bruno

Bruno & Eddie

The Boys

Bruno

Son & Father

Eddie & Bruno

Bruno

Eddie, Sadie & her Dad

Bogart

Humphrey

Bogart

Those Eyes

Checking things out

Brothers just watching life

Some Houseplants outside

Getting some fresh air

Houseplants outside

What can I say! My life is full. I have wonderful family, many amazing friends, so many pups and cats, a beautiful space to call my own and the sun is shining. Coffee has brewed awaiting me to go and have a cup of that delectable gold. I am so happy. Alvin is with me always, he follows me wherever I go inside the house or out. My forever Angel and friend.

Have a wonderful Saturday everyone. I am walking with Jeanette and the boys later. Checking in on the boys every so many hours. Doing some housework and laundry. I need to wash those dusty blinds on the main floor so that will get done this weekend. I am just enjoying life. No major housework to do so might as well just be outside as much as I can. Might be hot this afternoon.

I have two friend birthdays coming up. Gillian’s on May 31st and Pauline’s on June 13th. So much to celebrate. June and July and August are filled with birthdays.

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

Always, Carol & Alvin, My Forever Angel

The Next Chapter

Good Morning. How are you this morning? I am hoping you are very well. I am doing very well and very happy that today is Friday. The sky appears to be a little smoky but the sun is rising and shining bright and hopefully the skies will clear soon. To have the third day in a row where the sky is blue with the sun shining would be awesome.

Last night I looked after my neighbours Humphrey & Bogart and walked with my friend Jeanette and pups Eddie & Bruno. I made sure to take my phone with me to all places so that I could snap some photos and videos which I will share with you shortly. We did not walk the usual distance as Bruno is beginning to noticeably slow down, I guess he has been but more last night. Cute story. I was just chilling waiting till 5:55 p.m. to put on my running shoes and grab the water, my phone and lock up when I heard a sound. It took me a second to realize that someone was at the door and opened to see Bruno and Eddie on the step with Jeanette. Eddie, smarty pants that he is, was actually knocking! He put his paw up on the door to let me know that they had arrived. Bruno was patiently waiting. We had a good giggle over that and I so wished that I had been phone in hand and snapped a photo. It was priceless. No photo. So sorry. We had a good walk and stopped at our friends Jamie, John and Sadie. Again we were at their fence, John opened the gate with Sadie right there and before I could let Eddie off the leash he was pulling so hard, I almost lost my hand. I will learn (obviously the hard way). They had a good visit. Walking and running and playing frisbee, Eddie and Sadie that is. Bruno looked for bones. Looks like I need my eye drops as my eye is burning making it hard to see. I also had picked up a bag of freeze dried liver yesterday at my lunch bag. Quick story, last time I bought the bag it is was $32.99, this time it was $45.99. Talk about your price increase. But I would give the world to have something for Bruno to enjoy during his last days on this earth. I gladly paid the price. Oh, the boys inhaled some of those treats while they were on my porch. Sorry for flipping back and forth. Eye burning and I have to go and look after Humphrey & Bogart. So much for eye makeup. YIKES. Cannot see to type. Anyway, I have some photos to post. Wished that you could see the video of Sadie and Eddie at the garden hose lapping up the water. Sadie loves the water coming out of the end of the hose. It was like a game to her. Photos next.

Dragonfly

Dragonfly having a drink

Bogart

Humphrey

Dragonfly

Bruno

Park

Bruno

Bruno

Eddie

Bogart

Sunset

Red Sun from bedroom

I forgot to tell you all about the Dragonfly. Quickly. I found a package on the neighbours step and wasn’t sure if they were home so brought it inside but I left a message on their doorbell message thing. Jessica came over a few minutes later and she spotted a dragonfly on my porch. I picked it up as was not sure if it was alive. It was so I gently placed it on the wreath on my door while we chatted for a few minutes. Then when were were finished I went inside the house and then had a thought that maybe it was thirsty so I gently brought it into the house and on a dessert plate poured a bit of water and placed the dragonfly close to the water. Well it actually walked over to the water and was drinking or at least I can imagine it appeared to be doing so. It was alive for quite some time but after that I had to go to see Humphrey & Bogart and have supper. After some time, I placed it on one of my houseplants with flowers. But it passed. Poor thing. But it did have some water. I wished I knew what could have been done. I love dragonflies. Time to go here. Running late.

Have an awesome day. Be well and safe and have some fun. Be a good friend and neighbour.

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

Always, Carol & Alvin, My Forever Angel

The Next Chapter

Good Morning. I am taking a sick day as I am not feeling so great after the dental work yesterday. I had the temporary crowns replaced with permanent ones, four fillings and two extractions. All from upper part of my mouth. I am feeling sick and also tired. The Dentist said to get rest and I see why. This will be short as I am going to go downstairs and lay down on the sofa. I did not think about this but of course during the night some of my saliva went onto my pillow and it was tainted with blood. Something to consider should you have teeth extracted. There is some pain but not too bad. I am looking forward to gently rinsing the extraction site with some warm salty water in a few hours. Following the instructions from the Dentist. It has been many years since I had a tooth pulled and I had two extracted.

I hope that you have a good day.

Skies are smoky once again.

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

Always, Carol & Alvin, My Forever Angel

The Next Chapter

Good Morning Everyone! I hope that you had an excellent Saturday.

My Saturday was very good starting out with a great walk and ending with watching a movie. The in between was pretty great as well. I did some cleaning, transplanted a plant, laundry, walked with one of my girl friends to Save-On and back and odds and ends. A productive day.

I also forgot temporarily in the morning that I had recorded King Charles III’s Coronation. The ceremony was spectacular. I can only imagine being in the congregation.

Charles was the 40th Sovereign to be crowned at Westminster Abbey. The first was William the Conquer in 1066. The Stone of Destiny from Scotland was present. St. Edwards Crown which was made back in 1661 was brought out from the vault and is only worn for coronations. This is a heavy crown and likely part of the reason that it is only worn for a short time. Queen Consort Camilla wore Queen Mary’s crown, her first crown. She had the crown remade so that it was lighter using some of Queen Elizabeth II’s personal jewels in the crown and removing 4 of the 8 arches.

The Archbishop of Canterbury administered the oath to the King. There were many prayers. The Coronation Chair was surrounded by Anointing Screens featuring embroidered trees representing the Commonwealth. The Anointing with Holy Oil is central act of the religious ceremony. A long golden coat was placed on King Charles III followed by the Coronation Girdle. The long golden coat is named the Supertunic. He was vested in Columbium Sindonis, Supertunic and Girdle while sitting on the Coronation Throne. Then there was the Investiture of King Charles III which involved presenting him with the SPURS – which symbolize Knighthood and Chivalry. The Exchange of the Jewelled Sword by Lord President of Council Penny Mordant who presented the Sword to the King. This was the first time in history that a woman has carried and presented the sword to the King. The Armies (bracelets) were presented to the King by Lord Kamala. Prince William presented the Royal Robe/Stole to his Father, King Charles III. Followed by the Orb – Sovereign’s power which was made in the 17th century, the Ring which signifies Kingly dignity and the Coronation Glove which signifies authority and gentleness and grace. Ending with the Sceptre & Rod which signifies equity and mercy, power and justice. He was then crowned with St. Edwards crown.

The ceremony for the Queen consisted of presentation of the Ring, the Crown and the Sceptre and Rod. A much shorter ceremony but beautiful all the same.

The King exchanged St. Edward’s Crown for the Imperial State Crown before leaving Westminster Abbey.

The Diamond Jubilee Coach is made of wood but covered in gold and weighs 4 tons. Eight horses pulled the coach.

After leaving the Abbey the new King and Queen stepped into the Diamond Jubilee Coach to make their way to Buckingham Palace. They were followed by the next in line to the thrown Prince William, Princess Catherine and three children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis in a separate coach. Prince George was a page to the King, his grandfather.

At Buckingham Palace they took to the balcony where they greeted the people who had come to the palace to see them. The working royals were all in attendance along with the pages to the King and attendants to the Queen.

The music was amazing and the sound in the abbey was heavenly.

They are having a concert to celebrate unfortunately it is not televised by any of the major networks so not so easy to watch. I am sure that someone will post clips on the internet.

This morning continues to be windy and the sky is overcast. I am going to my friend Gillian’s for coffee at 1:00 p.m.

Time to head downstairs and make some coffee.

Have an awesome Sunday.

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

Always, Carol & Alvin (My Forever Angel).

The Next Chapter

Good Morning. Welcome to Wednesday. Well what a week I have had already! Been interesting. I have the windows open all over the house to bring in the cool morning air. Today is to be +28 degrees celsius. The grand pups will be coming over this morning in about 1/2 hour so I want the house to be as cool as it can be for them. Then before I leave for work, I will close the windows and blinds except for Aspen’s living room ones, her happy place to ensure the coolness lasts as long as possible. Pretty warm for the beginning of May.

Yesterday, I ended up spending over 5 hours at the dentist for two appointments (yes, same day). I had my teeth ex-rayed, a checkup and cleaning. Followed by a root canal plus. The dentist had started the impressions or whatever they are called for the two crowns that I will be getting in about two weeks. He ran out of the material that they use so I have to go back tomorrow to complete the process so that they can have the crowns made. I must have seen for one thing or the other all of the staff. The dental assistant that was assisting the dentist on the root canal must have been new. I have never in all my years of dental visits gagged during procedures. When she was preparing me for the root canal and after the freezing just went in, she was trying to take the impressions and kept getting it wrong. So in and out with things in a short amount of time and my gag reflex was working in override. Anyway, she was nice and I knew that she was new as the dental gently corrected her on how to hand him tools and such. So quite the experience. Anyway, I love my dentist even though he did give me heck in a nice way for not coming in for a long time for check up and cleaning and stuff. It is true. Your teeth are important. I missed out on using a lot of coverage. Anyway, the Pandemic, Alvin had two surgeries, Alvin was sick and then passed and work has been over the top. Sometimes life gets in the way and what are you supposed to do. One thing I was happy to see that Wanda was still operating the front desk. She is so nice. All in all, a good experience. Will be nice to get the crowns on. For the next couple of weeks or so only soft, easy foods and have to be careful as I have a temporary crown in my mouth. Sure looks a lot better than the gaping hole (there was enough of a tooth left to salvage and I am grateful for that).

Back to work this morning. I have to fly as I have to eat and prepare for the grand pups. I was happy to have had time here with them yesterday. I worked from home for two hours before my first appointment. I was able to leave the living room window open while I was at home. My son-in-law was here when I arrived home from the first appointment. He had opened the window and Aspen was happily resting her head on the window sill taking in the fresh air and watching the bunnies. In fact, there were three bunnies playing on the front lawn and she got so excited she knocked the screen loose. So have to be careful with having the screen open. It was bunny city here yesterday. They were having fun for sure.

Have a great day.

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

Always, Carol & Alvin (My Forever Angel).

P.S. The fees that were not covered by my insurance, the ones that I paid out of pocked. I put in a claim on my health spending account yesterday late in the afternoon and this morning it was deposited into my bank account. How wonderful is that? Very great.

The Next Chapter

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.

The Next Chapter

Good Morning. Yesterday was an odd day. We did not receive the forecasted rain until I arrived home from work and then it has been raining off and on since with mini snowballs from time to time. This morning the sky is the most delicate of blues with streaks of orange and of pink on the horizon as the sun rises for the day. Looks like a beautiful day ahead. I should be walking at lunch break and after work. I did not get out yesterday between weather and office.

Last night I came across an old post and comment from over a decade ago. I had mentioned Alvin in the comment and was excited to read the actual post. I looked and looked but was unable to find it. Will have to spend more time investigating over the next few days. Tonight I will reach out to Cookie’s parents and see what the plan is for Thursday as they leave on their trip to the U.S. around noon on that day. Work is insanely busy so not likely that I will be able to take any time off. When you take time off it is thousands of times worse to come back to. Isn’t that sad! I am excited to have Cookie with me, too bad that I will one at work during the day but at least with this short commute I will be here with here most of the time. We will have time for walks and playing.

I have been thinking of Alvin, oh who am I kidding I am always thinking about Alvin. Better him than many other things. Of course, at work, I mainly think of work but he does slip into my mind from time to time and of course, he is always in my heart. When I go for walks I think of time and let him know what is new and where I am. One year ago, I would not have thought I would have been in this place. But some things you cannot change.

Have a great Tuesday. Take some time for yourself, go for that walk. Does not have to be 10,000 steps all at once, just go out and breathe some fresh air. Take in nature. Will do your heart and soul much good.

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

Always, Carol & Alvin (My Forever Angel)

The Next Chapter

Good Morning. Oh, the moon looks awesome this morning as the sky begins to lighten. Half of the moon is visible and the other half is dark. The darkness of night as the sky lightens is revealing clear skies. Sunshine for today? I sure hope so. There does not appear to be a breeze. Today is Wednesday and only two more days of work left for this week. A very good thing. I am very appreciative and grateful to have a job in this economic climate but honestly somedays I could just scream at the audacity of the way things are going.

Yesterday it was a rain snow mix so no walk at lunch break or after work. My neighbour brought over the new element for the oven but alas it did not work. He took the stove apart (back off and looked for noticeable signs of distress and there were none). Looks like I will be buying a new stove and because we ordered the element from Amazon and actually put it in the oven, there is a good chance that they will not take it back. I think the poor stove is just tired and needs to sleep. All done. So I will need to look for a stove shortly. Cannot go without a stove for long. Already going on three weeks without an oven. I will try to call a repairman tonight (tried last night but could not speak to anyone who could answer my question). Just for the odd chance it might be repairable. But appears to be the control panel. I think that is what it is called.

The sky seemed to lighten so much since the time I typed the last paragraph. WOW. I guess spring is really here. I am hoping for some good things to happen. So far 2023 has been “interesting” and “sad” and a few other things which I cannot say on this platform nor would I want to ……

Most of the snow has melted from the front lawn and all from the deck. I will be able to sweep the remaining dust and leaves that were left behind from the melt. I am not sure why there were so many leaves this year. I raked and raked until I was blue in the face but there were still a million in the snow over the winter and now on the ground. Hopefully the back will thaw quickly.

Time to head downstairs. I hope that you have a great Wednesday.

Trying to keep positive as life just keeps tossing “battles” in my direction. Perhaps battles is too strong a word but anyway.

Oh, my Alvin. Missing my boy …….

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

Always, Carol & Alvin (My Forever Angel)