Last Half 2022 – November

Good Morning ALL! How are you this morning? I hope that you are well. Both Alvin and I are doing great. Another day at the office. We did not get out for a walk after work. The sidewalks on our side of the street are icy and although I have ice picks on my boots, Alvin slips and slides about and I cannot take the chance that he may slip and hurt himself. So we just spent extra time outside on the deck. Not the same but at least some fresh air. We had a quiet evening. We just had supper, cleaned up and then watched some television.

I do like those evenings that are uneventful and quiet. Just snuggling on the sofa with Alvin.

Today is Thursday, November 24, 2022. One month till Christmas Eve. WOW.

Happy Thanksgiving to neighbours to the south. Thanksgiving is bigger than Christmas in the United States. Lots of people travelling over the past few days. I hope that everyone has a great day and is safe.

Someone is giving me that look, so perhaps he has to go poop. I guess this will be really short. Have yourself a wonderful Thursday. When the boss gives you that look – you have to move.

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

Always, Carol & Alvin

The New YEAR 2022

Good Morning ALL! Another Tuesday in the NEW YEAR. What a week this has been! Weatherwise, we went from mild plus temperatures to minus to rain to snow with howling winds and then overnight to minus 20 degrees celsius. I hope that everyone driving to and from work and school and appointments on this day reaches their destinations safe and sound. I am so grateful that I can work from home. I do worry about those who do not have this luxury. Please arrive safe in every direction you travel on this winter’s day and every day. This weather seems to be everywhere. Eastern Coast of United States, Eastern Canada, and Western Canada.

I can hear Mr. Alvin snoring from the hallway. What a guy! Tomorrow is his 13th Birthday. We are keeping it low key this year. I explained to him about “low key.” I will figure out a little celebration of sorts of him with just me. That will be just fine.

I am going to make this short this morning. I can smell the coffee brewing and sometimes my thought process gets stuck when it comes to this. No point in babbling about nothing much which perhaps some days I do at that.

One thing to mention, I made this yummy lentil stew/soup last night. Definitely something to consider if you have not as yet used lentils. So good.

I wish you a good day and be safe out there. Whether you are walking or driving, slow down and take your time. Not worth rushing. Leave early if you are driving in this weather. Make sure that you have an emergency kit in the car with a warm blanket, flashlight, chocolate, water and flares. Also have your phone charged.

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

Always, Carol & her Alvin

P.S. slow down …….

2021

Good Morning ALL! How are you doing this Wednesday morning, May 5th, 2021? We are okay here at my house. Mr. Alvin for some unknown reason has been up and down since 3:00 a.m. There are so signs of distress other than him whining from time to time but that is not unusual for him. He ate his breakfast in quick time as per usual and did his business outside. I will have to keep an eye on him. Perhaps it is arthritis in his paws/legs. Poor guy. He does not look sickly and his eyes are clear. They sometimes seem to tell me when something is off. Bored, perhaps. I do not know. Older age, possibility! So I am a bit on the sleep deprived side. So it is Wednesday, mid week. The sunrise was gorgeous, yes I watched the sky turn from my vantage point on my sofa. My windows in the living room face north but I can see how beautiful the sky is as it goes from night to sunrise to morning. There is a bit of a breeze this morning and I believe today is to be a good day weatherwise.

It is true that we never know what any day is going to bring us. Yesterday for example. At noon we only walked to the park and then turned around and headed for home as it had started to rain. Although I don’t mind walking in the rain, I really don’t like Alvin to get his ears wet. He can get ear problems faster than anyone I know. Does not matter that I careful dry them. So a short walk at lunch time. I made sure that I finished work right on time as I had our Annual General Meeting for our Union Chapter on Zoom. I wanted to feed both of us before the meeting and I managed to do so but it did take me 15 minutes to get into the meeting and I was ten minutes late joining. But I did it. After the meeting I cleaned things up and decided that as it was 13 degrees out at 7:00 p.m. that we should go for our regular walk. We did just that. There were a lot of folks out walking and walking with their dogs. We were just inside the park when I noticed a man coming down the path with two really large dogs. I walked onto the grass and almost to the fence of the houses that line the park giving them a wide berth. He saw us and walked around a tree and when I came back down to the sidewalk and he got the sidewalk he turned his head and started talking loud enough for me to hear that “something about COVID, he worked as a biologist/chemist something or other for a company and that they had come up with a quick test before something else.” He also mentioned about the numbers put out by the government were crap. I mentioned about the 30 million people in India that have COVID and he said that how come only 16 US states are reporting no COVID?, Mexico? and other places he mentioned have no COVID … he went on and on … stating that his family were all University trained (what the heck did that mean). He said so much and spouted off numbers and such and said the f word a couple of times or so. Clearly he did not believe that COVID was real as he said it is just influenza. I will say this kind of scared me. No wonder we are where we are ….. I did not hang around very long. But he managed to say a lot of something in just a couple of minutes.

We continued on our walk as I tried to make sense of anything that he said. Now he said so much and I could hear him but not hear word for word.

I arrived at home just in time to see that a call was coming in from messenger. I did not catch it in time. So I opened messenger to find a message from someone from my hometown, the place where I was born. I had not spoke to him in decades. He had sent me a message and as I was reading it I accidentally called him so we chatted and he apologized for contacting me with bad news. A guy that I went to elementary school with passed away. How incredibly sad. We chatted for a long time catching up on our families. I was grateful for his call.

What a strange evening. You never know where things will go or what will happen.

Well time to head downstairs, I am truly running late and that coffee is going to hit the spot this morning.

Continuing to live this live with kindness, respect, compassion and patience for all.

Always, Love Carol & Alvin

2021

Good Morning ALL! How are you this Friday, March 26, 2021. It is the weekend, yay. I love the weekends. A chance to do some of the things that you did not have time for during the week. Even though I am working from home, I do the laundry for example of Saturdays and sometimes finishing on Sundays as I have always done. That goes for everything that I have traditionally done on the weekends still is completed on the weekend.

One thing away from the joy of weekends and that I was thinking about earlier this morning is the recent loss of life in the U.S. from shootings in a public place. I will never understand why the Americans keep clinging to the The Second Amendment of their Constitution that reads: “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” Why is that a fundamental right of the people? Why has not been amended in 2021. This was ratified on December 15, 1791. I am never quite sure why any country clings to outdated laws. This does not make sense to me in 2021. I know that this is very important to the Americans. We share a border with the U.S. and are similar in so many ways. In fact in the early days many people populated Canada from the U.S. – coming in from other countries. So why did we not have a similar Constitution? I wonder. We do not have a “right to bear arms.” People in Canada can apply for a license to own a gun for hunting and such. But there seems to be a lot more control over guns and a lot less mass shootings. Not to say that we have not had them. When will there be a breaking point where the people just say “enough is enough” or will they ever say this? I wonder? Incredibly sad for unnecessary loss of life. Most especially sad during a pandemic. I have always wondered these questions and perhaps because this is not something I usually write about in a public forum, today seems like the day. I believe that there are always going to be people that are able to obtain guns in some manner or other but why make it so easy for them. Also some of these guns that can spray what seems like a million bullets …. why are people able to purchase them? I wonder how many people are afraid to send their children to school, afraid to go to the mall or go pick up groceries?

Time to head on downstairs and get to work. Excited for my morning coffee. The sun is beginning to rise for a new day.

Always good to think about things that do not make sense to still be an active law, if you will.

Living my life in kindness, respect, compassion and patience.

Always, Carol & Alvin

2021

Good Morning ALL. How are you this morning? Today is my late start / shift so we slept in which was lovely. The sun has rose, the sky is a brilliant blue as we begin our day. We went to bed perhaps a bit later than usual and then Mr. Alvin had to go outside at 11:23 p.m. but then he slept until 5:00 a.m. – which was truly a bonus. Yesterday after work we went for a walk just inside the park and then back home. Not very long but that was okay. Our temperatures are warming up. I was grateful that we were able to get outside and breathe in some fresh air. The past two weeks or so have only been trips to the backyard and shovelling when there was snow. So this was great. Good for the body, mind and soul. Clear the cobwebs so to speak. Anyway, I am truly grateful for our walk together. As we both age, even though I do not think of either of us as “really old” – I am always in a state of gratitude for each and every day we have together. Each day that we can enjoy each other’s company and even perhaps get outside for some fresh air and a walk. Time flies when you are having fun and that it is. Can you believe that today is Thursday, February 18, 2021. Hard to believe I know. Next month on March 19th – it will mark one year since our office sent us home to work. I have been truly grateful for that decision and for them continuing to have us working from home. The next check date is June, 2021. I have been wishing and praying and praying and wishing and crossing my fingers, eyes and toes that they give us the choice whether to go to the office and work or work from home. With Alvin getting older, I need / I want to be home with him. I cannot imagine putting him back in that situation where I leave at 6:30 and get home after 5:00 p.m. and that is providing I can carpool as taking the bus would put me home even later. I am going to continue to think about how much I love working from home and how good it is for me, for Alvin and has been for our clients. My thoughts also go to the folks in the U.S. who are in the midst of a huge winter storm with another one coming in before they have even recovered from the first one. Many of them do not have furnaces, pipes are bursting in homes and businesses, there is no electricity and no water. My heart goes out to them. We are actually pretty prepared in Canada for winter storms after all we have them during our winter months. Our winters can sometimes be more than half of the year. Sometimes we joke about all the different outer apparel we each have here in Canada. Most of us have a jacket for early spring, for later spring, for summer, for late summer, for fall, for early winter, for bitter cold days and so on. We have boots for rain and snow. These things that go on the bottom of our boots for when it is icy. There are also hats, mitts and scarves. We all have furnaces and some have air conditioners. We have family living in Houston, Texas. They were without electricity. I hope that no more lives are lost and that everyone is safe and warm with clean water and food.

I am grateful everyday to be safe, to be warm, in good health and have good food to eat. To be surrounded by family and friends even though I do not physically see them often, they are still there. I am grateful that Mr. Alvin found me, all those years ago.

Continuing to live with kindness, respect, compassion and patience for all.

Always, Carol

2021

Good Morning ALL. How are you today? Alvin and I are sleep deprived. Not sure why but he had me up almost every hour since 3:00 a.m., he does not appear to be feeling unwell so will monitor the boy. He had a low key birthday as I was working. He received birthday wishes from his sister and brother-in-law and pups. We ended up short staffed on the after hours phone line so I worked till 7:00 p.m. and as I had started at 8:00 a.m. it was a long day. I was returning phone calls all day long and then on the phones after hours. Tired of speaking on the phone. Unfortunately I have a few calls yet to return and I sure hope that the phones are quiet today. Maybe everyone will be busy watching the United States Presidential Inauguration. I am excited to watch it however the business part of it will happen this morning while I am working but I am recording it to watch later and also the Balls, I enjoying watching them dancing and the entertainment. So a busy day for a lot of people. Sending good wishes for a wonderful celebration for the American people.

I am grateful that we had a nice walk at lunchtime yesterday. It was funny almost as soon as I was finished on the after hours phones last night the rain started, the wind howled and blew so hard I felt that the roof may blow away. As I looked out of the front window which faces north, it was raining and the trees were almost blowing over AND out the back door it was snowing and windy. My shovel blew crossway against the porch out front which has never happened. At the back both garbage cans that are against the fence not too far away from the house were laying on their sides. I left them that way thinking they may blow away next time although as garbage was picked up yesterday and they are near empty. The rain and snow eventually stopped but the wind gusts well into the night and is still blowing this morning. So what a night. Perhaps it was the wind that kept Mr. Alvin up …..

He is whining loud at the doorway so I had better sign off for now.

We are okay despite the lack of sleep or at least I am banking on that.

Please have an awesome day.

We will continue to live our lives with kindness, respect and compassion for all others.

Always, Carol & Alvin

Second Half of the NEW YEAR

Good Morning All,

The morning air seems a bit cooler than yesterday. Most of the leaves on our tree out front are yellow and are now on the ground. Looking like a photo op and a raking job for the weekend. We are into FALL and the weather has been great. The sky is clear and at night the moon is bright and some stars are visible (some might be satellites). I think on this Thursday that some cute photos are on the agenda, what do you think. My daughter helped me with some additional memory so now I should be able to download/upload photos and will also have the storage for my 40,000+ photos on the computer without any worries. I am so grateful for her guidance and support, always. Let me see if I can figure out how to do photos in this new wordpress.

I did watch the U.S. Vice-Presidential Debate last night. It was not the major theatrical event that the Presidential Debate was but the Vice-President did run over his time allotment each and every time he spoke. He was a bully but in a more civilized manner. Interesting though.

Well that was not too bad and I actually like the way it now works although likely next time I will have forgotten the steps but after a few tries, I will remember. Mr. Alvin is sneezing wanting my attention, perhaps to go outside so will have to cut this short.

I hope that you enjoy some photos. Some are from this summer and others from Christmas and other times. Of Mr. Alvin, my grandpups Milo and Miss Aspen, Alvin’s BF Teddy and his little sis Kobi, our neighbour and friend Humphrey. Whoops forgot Bogart, he will make the next photo spread. Then some older FALL photos, just because.

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May you have a lovely day. Be surrounded by loved ones and laughter. Be kind and respectful to all you meet. Reach out to a friend or family member that you have been missing during this COVID time. Take care and be safe.

I/We shall remain,

As Always, Carol & Alvin

Second Half of the NEW YEAR

Good Morning All,

Well there is a breeze blowing out there.

The sky is clear with hues of oranges as the sun rises.

Looks amazing.

Love sunrises and sunsets.

 

So how are you doing today?

I am doing well.

House is quiet of course without my partner in crime, Mr. Alvin.

He is doing well at his sister’s house.

Now today she has to go into the office so time will tell.

My son-in-law is at home so it will be interesting to see if he “sticks like glue” to him.

My daughter has been telling me that he goes wherever she goes.

If she is working …. he is under her desk or on the dog bed beside her.

If she is in the kitchen …. he is in the kitchen.

In the bathroom …. he’s there, too.

Pretty much the same as with me.

Although occasionally he will sit on the chair while I go into the basement or upstairs.

But most times he is with me.

I am sure that he will have many stories to tell me when he arrives home on Sunday.

Last night they received their first robot vacuum cleaner.

My daughter says with all of the dog hair ….. they had to try something.

She sent me the cutest video.

All three dogs engaging …. watching ….. wondering the vac as it maneuvered around the floor.

Alvin watched intently and kind of followed BoBi, that’s her name.

Aspen walked up to it and then backed away.

She did not want to turn her back to the machine.

Milo had been on the stairs, he came down walked up to it and then away.

Cutest video ever.

They all reacted differently much the way humans do when we encounter something new.

Interesting and funny to watch.

The machine is quite loud.

BoBi is quite loud.

Anyway it was nice to see the pups in a video.

 

Last night two of my girl friends were over for a Diamond Painting evening.

We all are working on projects and felt that it would be fun to get together and work on them.

So great to have a week day get together.

I love my girls.

I am working on my FALL one that yes, I started in July on our other Painting Night with the girls.

Yup, I am falling short on completion date.

Fall is here and I am not done.

Hopefully Fall last for awhile.

Fingers crossed.

 

Did anyone watch the U.S. Presidential Debate?

I will only say this …. I expected nothing less from Trump and was a bit concerned for Joe Biden.

These are interesting times in the world that is for sure.

 

Well it is time to grab that mug of coffee and start work.

 

Have an awesome Wednesday as I was starting to type Tuesday.

Yikes, the week is going quickly.

Take Care and Be safe in all that you do.

I am going to go for a walk at noon.

Not walked since Saturday.

Exercise would be good for me.

Continue to live your life with kindness and respect,

As will I,

I/We shall remain,

As Always, Carol & Alvin

 

Second Half of the NEW YEAR.

Good Morning,

The sky is overcast.

Some of my flowers closest to the house are still draped with sheets.

I covered them just in case of frost as it was only to be +1 celsius last night.

There was dew on the grass this morning so luckily no frost.

I removed the sheets from the flowers on the upper deck by the garage and also took the tomato pot and other flowers out of the garage.

The sky looks like rain so I will have to pull of the sheets and rearrange them shortly.

I am happy no frost.

I have been texting my siblings in the mornings to say hi and a quick update on things.

My brother that lives in the countryside about 2 hours from Edmonton says it is -3 celsius there now.

There would be frost.

The next couple of weeks show beautiful weather in the forecast.

One day even +24 which is crazy beautiful for this time of year.

I would take 18-21 until end of November.

That would be delightful.

The chances of that happening …. not sure.

But not likely.

But with Climate Change ….. nothing is impossible.

 

My heart goes out to our neighbours in the south.

The loss of human life, animal life, birds, insect life, plant life, trees, businesses and homes is staggering.

I worry about the animals, those creatures who are not able to escape the fiery infernos.

There is no way to get out and my heart screams in pain for them.

The smoke in Vancouver, Canada which is north of the fires looks like the fires are there.

With the winds the smoke is travelling hundreds of miles.

Causing havoc in its’ wake.

The devastation is off the charts.

I wish, I hope and I pray for the fires to be extinguished immediately.

I thank each and every person who walks out the door in the morning into the fires to extinguish them for others.

 

On this day as I sit on a chair keying these words, I am so grateful for my life.

We are blessed to live where we do.

I am grateful for the rain.

I am grateful to be safe and alive.

I am grateful for my own house.

I am grateful to always have more than enough food for me and my dog Alvin.

I am grateful that we are both in GOOD health.

I am grateful to be surrounded by loving and supportive family and friends.

I am grateful to laugh each and everyday.

I am grateful for this moment and every one to follow on this day.

I am grateful to be employed.

I am grateful that I am able to work from my home.

I am grateful for everything.

 

On this day and everyday we must not fret over small things.

Don’t worry about things you cannot control.

Be grateful and show that gratitude.

Be kind and respectful.

 

Have an awesome day.

Living with kindness and respect.

I/We shall remain,

As Always, Carol & Alvin

 

 

Second Half of the YEAR.

Good Morning,

Happy Birthday to my brother-in-law Todd and to our Mom, who is an Angel watching over us all.

Surrounded with family and friends.

Happy Birthday.

 

We had some serious rain last night and I was happy that we had our walks in the morning before work and at lunchtime.

I had planned for us to go this morning but it is wet with lapses of fog.

Yes, fog.

It rolls in and out.

Sun shines.

Then fog.

So I am glad that we stayed at home.

Forecast looks good for noon and after work.

I would like to get back to two walks each day again.

We had been walking twice a day for several weeks before Alvin had some health issues.

Now that we are back to normal, I want to take advantage of that time.

 

I thought it might be interesting as a Canadian to watch and listen to the United States Democratic and Republican Conventions.

Last week I listened to the Democrats and now this week the Republicans.

It has been interesting, I will say that for sure.

There have been some great speeches and some less than stellar ones, in my opinion.

I have only watched one night thus far of the Republican Convention.

 

I wonder why it is that some people find it better to “bad mouth” their opposition instead of outlining their platforms.

Digging up what they deem to be “dirt” so as to injure the chances of the opposition winning.

So?

What will they do differently?

What will they do to make the next four years better than the last four?

What will they change?

How will they make those changes?

After all isn’t government supposed to lead a country!

Some folks just seem to bask in drama, I get that.

But to lead a country, leaders need to lead.

Right?

 

Keeping their personal opinions on the back shelf and doing what is right for the people in their country.

Keeping those opinions out of the media.

But then again perhaps it is all about character.

The people want the best person for the job.

The person that will lead them into the next four years, the future.

The person that will not alienate their country’s neighbours and divide its’ citizens.

 

Politics, politics.

What can one say?

I wish the United States all the best in this upcoming election.

Remember to VOTE.

Voting is what gets you change.

Good Luck.

 

 

Well the fog has rolled in again.

Alvin is resting on his little bed that I made for him in the upstairs office.

Time once again to go and grab that first cup of coffee and get this work day going.

We have training later this morning and then more training this afternoon.

In between I have calls to return and mail to do.

Never a slow moment.

Especially after returning from vacation.

 

Living our lives with kindness and respect, always.

I/We shall remain,

Always, Carol & Alvin