A New YEAR 2023

Well it has been a long last day since I wrote my last post.

My poor Alvin threw up at 10:30 yesterday morning. I went to the Vet Clinic around noon to pick up the food supplement and had wanted to speak to his Doctor but she was out for lunch so I asked the staff to have her call me and explained why. At home I patiently waited for her to call. I had been counting down the time since Alvin threw up last so that I could try to give him some food. Well that time didn’t arrive as he threw up at 4:30 pm and not once but twice. After I cleaned things up and got him settled onto the sofa, I called but his Doctor was already gone for day. Instead of counting dix hours without vomiting, we ended up going to sleep on the sofa. He woke up at 3:00 am and outside he peed and pooped and then back to sofa.

The next time he woke up was 5:30 am and jumped off the sofa and proceeded to the kitchen where he wretched a yellow bile and then whitish foam onto the floor. My heart crashed to the floor. I held him up as he was slightly wobbly. After cleaning things up and getting the boy comfortable again, we were back to the sofa.

I waited for some time before calling the vet. Luckily I was able to speak to her and because I did not have a way to bring Alvin to her, she stopped by to give him an injection to stop him from vomiting. We had a good conversation and both hope the results from the poop sample show something wrong that is treatable. She also said the injection would last gor 24 hours and that I could try and give him a small amount of chicken and rice. So after the time had elapsed I brought him the food, he wasn’t interested. He did eat a couple of tiny amounts from my hand. That was it. He is resting now. I will keep trying. At least he has not thrown up.

I am so grateful that I am on vacation as I cannot imagine him being alone.

Almost time to see if he will eat. I am trying to remain positive throughout this…..

I hope that you are having a good day and please keep Alvin in your thoughts and prayers.

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

Always, Carol&Alvin

A New YEAR 2023

A New YEAR 2023

Good Morning ALL! How are you this morning? We are doing great. So happy that the sun is shining and that the temperatures are on the mild side. I am also very grateful to be on vacation now for TWO WEEKS. There is lots to do but today will be scaled back as it is the first day. We were up a couple of times during the night so we slept in and got up when our bodies told us that we were ready to begin the day. I have changing my bedding and some banking and now writing this post which will be followed by a quick shower. After that I will put on some coffee and start the laundry. This afternoon I plan to work on the photos. I kind of fell down on the promise to do some every day this past week. They need to get done as soon as possible. Hopefully it goes quickly.

I have been going through my head, my mind about all of the things that I want to do over my vacation time and when I retire. Oddly enough, the list is similar except with retirement there are not as many hard fast deadlines. I cannot wait to retirement.

Alvin is patiently waiting for me. Last night at supper he decided to pick up out the chicken pieces from his supper leaving some of his wet food and rice and pumpkin. I decided to order pizza to celebrate vacation. You know that you order pizza much too often when the delivery guy comes to the door and calls your dog by his first name and says “How are you doing Alvin?” Makes me feel good. He is such a nice young man. I asked how he was doing. He is taking schooling to work for Immigration Canada. Also he has a new “tire” business and he delivers pizza. Very enterprising you man. I must remember next time to ask his first name. Seems only right as he knows my name and Alvin’s. When I went to eat my supper, I brought to the sofa the rest of Alvin’s supper and very quietly he ate it with no fuss. That was a relief. This morning he did the same thing so I put the rest of his breakfast into the fridge and will bring it out when I have my breakfast. Fingers cross that it will work once again.

Well keeping this short. I need coffee and am excited to get this day going. YAY, clear blue skies and bright yellow sun shining. There is a breeze. The snow is melting.

Have an awesome Saturday.

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

Always, Carol & Alvin

A New YEAR 2023

Good Morning ALL! How are you this Wednesday morning? I hope that you are doing great! We are doing very well. Alvin seems to have turned the corner, his poop is looking better and there has been no blood for two days now. Fingers crossed and I will keep the positive flow of thoughts for his continued progress to good health. We were up a couple of times but in between had about three hours of sleep and I can function on that amount so we are all good.

You can probably tell that I am feeling happy and part of it is due to Alvin feeling better and the other is because after Friday I am on vacation for two weeks. YAY. When one of my coworkers asked me if I was going away or doing something special while I was on vacation, I replied that I am going to recreate a tropical vacation by having a warm bath in lavender epsom salts, perhaps burn a candle and have a large glass of Baileys on ice (I even have a drink umbrella around here somewhere) and play some of my favourite music. Realistically because I am a shower person, this may or may not happen but it should because I have lots of epsom salts to use and I do enjoy them. I have lots to do over the next couple of weeks. Alvin needs to have his nails trimmed etc, I need to make a couple of medical appointments for the near future (time has just flown by and I need my teeth cleaned and checked). The photos need to be moved to the external hard drive, and honestly there is a list a mile long. I am hoping for good weather so we can go for some walks and the big thing is getting up when we get up and not by the sound of the alarm. I would also like to have coffee and or tea with friends. There is always “cleaning” to do. One day at a time.

Last night when we got up at 1:00 a.m. it had already started to snow and there was quite the accumulation by the next time we went outside which was 4:00 a.m. I did some shovelling on the deck so that Alvin would not have to wade through six inches of snow.

Just checked my watch and time to head downstairs. Have a wonderful day.

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

Always, Carol & Alvin

Last Half 2022 – August

Good Morning ALL! What a beautiful morning it is! The sun is shining, the sky is blue and there is a slight breeze. We will be hitting the trail shortly for our morning walk before the heat of the day sets in. Today is also my first day back to work after six days of vacation. Although I wished that I had a few more days of vacation – it has felt like I had time off.

I was thinking what shall I write about this morning and I was thinking “what’s it like to be sixty-five years old.”

Well to be honest – not much different than 64 or 63.

I am excited to have a much cheaper eye exam fee come December.

I am happy that I can apply for Senior’s Benefits.

I am happy that I am in good health.

I think that 65 has given me more confidence.

I feel more free.

I think 65 is the beginning of the next chapters of my life.

I think 65 shows you the way.

I know that as we age we need to exercise our minds and our bodies more.

Wow, I still cannot believe that I am 65 years old.

Photo by Polina Tankilevitch on Pexels.com

Photo by Secret Garden on Pexels.com

To my friend Val who celebrates her birthday today, Happy Birthday my friend.

To my great nephew Azlin, I apologize for missing your birthday on the 14th.

To all those folks who celebrate a birthday this week.

Happy Birthday.

Time to hit the dusty trail.

Have an awesome day.

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

To the next 65 years!!

Always, Carol & Alvin

Last Half 2022 – August

Good Morning ALL! How are you on this bright sunny Wednesday morning? Both Alvin and I are well and excited to be spending a few days with Amanda, Steven and the pups at their lake side home. I am so excited to just be away for a few days in the countryside. Breathing in that wonderful lake air. The stars at night are incredible and I cannot wait to see them. I have looked after Humphrey, Bogart and Cynder and will give one last check before I leave. Their Grandpa will be taking over from me. There is a bit of a breeze and that was nice when we went for a short walk this morning. We were a bit late getting out this morning. I have watered all my plants inside and out including Humphrey’s shrubs. I still have to pack and put together things in a cooler so that part has to be last minute but will have to make sure that I do not forget anything.

Birthday. Well it was fantastic. Aunt J brought Teddy and Kobi and a Mexican feast for we, humans. It was so yummy Unfortunately in all of the excitement, I forgot to take photos as I had planned. We had a chicken mixture in crispy tortillas done in a semi dry skillet. OMG, so good. Quesadillas. We had a wide variety of condiments and dishes: quinoa salad, refried beans, avocado, hot sauce, a creamy sauce for which I do not remember the name, fresh limes, my friend Val’s Jalapeno Raspberry jelly which was so delicious, pico de gallo, corn chips and more. Supper was off the charts great. We ended it off with a small piece of my Birthday Cake from Sunday. Perfection. WE have leftovers and I am packing them in the cooler with the “6-5” cake that Val made for me and Alvin’s wet food and pumpkin. So lots to take.

Oh, I need a hat for my boat ride. Better not forget the hat!

Turning back the clock a bit before the food …… Aunt J, our friend Iris and Walter and the pups Teddy and Kobi gave me the biggest bouquet of flowers, so beautiful and a very thoughtful card. My fireplace mantel is covered in birthday cards. I love cards.

This year’s birthday seems to be continuing as there will be more celebrations with my daughter and her family. Also we saw a friend this morning and she has something for me but will see us when we get back. Also another friend popped by last night after Aunt J and the pups left with a gift and card. I am truly spoiled.

So this leaves me to mention that I will be taking a break for a couple of days from posting/writing. I will have photos and stories, I am sure to write upon my return.

Thankfully I took next Monday off so that I have an extra day.

There is a list about 1/2 mile long of things for me to do before my daughter picks us up. I guess next thing to do is to hop into the shower and get ready followed by packing. I want to ensure that I do not overpack. Always fun.

Question: makeup or no makeup for the trip. I have asked my daughter to take photos of me and Alvin, just in case we do not get back out there before winter. I guess we could have them taken at home but why not in the country. Okay, makeup then.

Have a wonderful next couple of days and I will see you on the other side. We will be home on Friday not sure what time so next post will be Saturday.

I am so grateful for the 153 messages via Facebook, two birthday parties, parcel from my dear friend Val, friends dropping by, two bouquets of flowers, thoughtful gifts, a bunch of cards, phone calls, emails, phone texts and more. I am over the moon grateful. Now I get to go and spend some time with my daughter and son-in-law and grandpups at the lake followed by a boat ride and picnic on Friday with Pauline and her husband Al. I am over the moon grateful.

Time to fly.

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

Always, Carol & Alvin

PS: 65 is the bomb, does that still mean good? I hope so. Anyway, 65 is great!

I tried to download last night’s photos to show you but did not work, other photos loaded but not from last night. Not sure why. I will send them on Saturday.

Last Half 2022 – August

Good Morning ALL! Well it is finally vacation time. I was 26 minutes into my vacation time before I had my out of office voice messages changed (yes, we have to change in two places) and email. 4:26 p.m. started the vacation. I am over the moon that I have some days off now. My neighbours are going away for a few days so I am looking after Humphrey and Bogart. After work, I went over to get any new instructions and of course, went home with a bag full of food as she did not not it to go bad. I never turn down food. So my fridge is packed to the rafters. I have lots of fresh produce to eat over the new few days. Prior to the that, I headed down the street to other friends who were having a garage sale. They were open for business when we walked by on our lunchtime break and I had picked out a few items including the most beautiful hand painted vase (see photos). I said that I would come by after work and pick the items up without Mr. Alvin and take another peek at all the special treasures that they had for sale. I think that it is good to support your friends and neighbours. They showed up for my garage sale. So after work I walked over and picked up my items, took another look round and had a little visit before returning home to a hungry Mr. Alvin. He was happy to see me both times upon my return home. The sun is forecasted to shine all day with a daytime high of 23 degrees celsius which is perfection. I was just eating the last bite of my supper last night when I happen to see out the window our friend Pauline walking down the front sidewalk with a bouquet of flowers. I went to the door just as she was about to knock. We had a lovely little visit and she gave me the most exquisite bouquet of flowers from her garden. This morning at 11:00 a.m. we are going for a walk and to catch up as they had been away for a few days and then they will be gone and I will be gone. I love my friends. I am so blessed to have such kind and thoughtful friends. We also made a plan to go for a day to celebrate my birthday. That day will be August 15th my last day of vacation. Perfect plan. We are going to take their boat and go close to where my kids live and spend some time on the water. I have not been on a boat for over a decade so this will be fantastic. I cannot wait. Just have to find someone to watch over the Alvin.

Well it is time to head downstairs and get some things done before we go for a walk. We are having company tonight (Alvin’s best friend Teddy, his little sister and Aunt J) after supper. I am keeping it a secret from Mr. Alvin. In between I will be checking in on Humphrey and Bogart and Cynder. Oh and there by laundry to do as well.

Busy day.

I hope that you have a great Saturday.

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

My beautiful bouquet from different angles. The vase from the garage sale.

Always, Carol & Alvin

PS: 3 sleeps till I turn into a 65 year old woman. At 6:20 a.m. on August 9th. Wow, I don’t feel that old.

The New YEAR 2022

Good Morning ALL! Welcome to Saturday, June 25, 2022. The sun is shining brightly, the sky is a brilliant blue and the WIND is blowing. So happy and grateful to see the clear blue sky and sun shining. The skies did clear late yesterday afternoon giving us a beautiful evening. Alvin and I enjoyed our noon time walk and even had a short visit with our friend Pauline and her husband Al. Her garden, yard is absolutely brilliant, so beautiful and full of colour. The green on the grass and trees from all of this rain is a true kelly green. Rich and wonderful. I gave the back lawn a quick cut last night. Looks really good.

After work last night my neighbour and her boyfriend helped bring over things they are putting in the garage sale for this morning. Sonja helped set things up. I finished after work. About 6:30 p.m. both Signe, her daughter and Gillian came with the remainder or their items for the sale. Actually Gillian brought her items last night and Signe had brought all of her things on Thursday night except for the table and her daughter’s “nail stand.” We spent the next few hours setting up and are ready to go for noon today. We may open a bit earlier but it would only be traffic from the back lane and people would be in their cars going somewhere so unlikely they would stop. But that is okay one way or the other we will be open for business at noon today. We may run a bit later with hopes that more people will come and I have my fingers crossed that we do well and sell and give away everything. We have lots of free items as well. Always good to do that. A wide variety of things as well. Some items I have never had in a garage sale.

Well I am on my way to dust this old gal off in the shower, lol. I am not old. I am young minded.

So happy that it is the weekend. Next week is a short week but will be busy. That is okay.

I wish you a great no, a grand day. Go for a walk. Sell some items that you no longer need or perhaps give them away to someone in need. Meet a friend for a coffee or tea. Call your family. Reach out this day.

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

Always, Carol & Alvin

PS: Well it is now down to 45 days until my 65th Birthday. This also tells me how many days until my vacation. LOL

The New YEAR 2022

Good Morning and Welcome to Tuesday, June 21st, 2022 – the official first day of SUMMER! Yes, it is finally here. The sun is shining brightly in a blue sky with a slight breeze. The sky just got a bit dark but it will pass. Do you have any plans for the summertime? Are you doing things around the house and yard or are you going camping or away on vacation? I am going to take a few days and go visit my daughter and her family in August but otherwise I will be at home taking care of my house and yard. The flowers need tending as to other plants and the grass. I love being able to go for walks when we chose. If it is going to be an extra warm day we will go early in the morning and then again before bed. There may be those days when we only get one walk in and that is okay. Some days Mr. Alvin gets just inside the park and then wants to go home and that was noon yesterday. It was beautiful and we were not too far into the park and someone stopped and turned around. That is a strong hint that the decision has been made. I have to follow suit. Although there are times when I do try and coax him to keep going. I will tell you that I am not successful much of the time so I simply let him lead the way. After work we did the whole walk going past his BF’s house, Teddy. This time I could not stop him without strong restraint so I just let him go up the driveway and up the front steps to the porch, where he wagged his tail, waiting for his friend to come to the door. Unfortunately, Teddy was not home (he is at the farm with his family, where they spend most of their time these days). They have a doorbell with a camera so I decided to wave and say “that someone wanted to stop and say hello” and then I heard a voice. It was Teddy’s Mum Iris. I explained to her although she knows that some days or most days when we do walk past their house, he has the need to go in or at least try. If you think that it is only people that have feelings and miss their friends, guess again. Alvin truly misses his buddy and his family. It took a lot of coaxing and finally I had to lift him down from the steps to the sidewalk. They are coming home for a few days this week so we shall have a visit and that makes me happy for Mr. Alvin. I guess he had an inkling. ESP! That’s my boy. Very intuitive.

My neighbour gave me some things for the garage sale on this coming up weekend. I am actually excited to see my friends and hoping that we can all sell or give away our items.

Last night I made a “meatless” spaghetti sauce using the Mexican blend of YVES which I love with onions, tomatoes, spices and black beans. I used my hand blender and chopped/blended the tomatoes and beans into a thick sauce. It was delicious.

Well time to head downstairs and have some coffee and start work. Tuesday it is.

Wishing you a great first day of summer. Summer 2022, it has a ring to it! Yes it does.

Happy Day!!

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

Always, Carol & Alvin

PS: only 49 days until my 65th Birthday. YIKES.

The New YEAR 2022

Good Morning ALL! Another bright sunny morning and although I could see my breath at 5:00 a.m., it is nice outside. How are you on this Thursday? We are well. I believe that excluding human food from Alvin’s diet has made all the difference. Now that being said he does still have canned pumpkin to help him poop. But that is it and today is the fourth day for this experiment. Again he slept until 4:00 but was up to eat at 5:00 instead of the 6:00 from yesterday. But this is a huge improvement. Six hours of sleep in a row for me is huge. Alvin has his regular five week vet appointment this afternoon, so I took the afternoon off as vacation. I sometimes think it is a waste of a whole afternoon but then I think yay, I am taking a well deserved break. I do not mean waste for him, waste of having to take vacation time. Anyway, I am grateful to have the time to take off.

On Monday morning, a dear friend of whom I affectionately referred to as my second “Mom” passed away back in Saskatchewan. I wanted to wait until her family had the opportunity to contact all members of the family before I posted on this platform. Yesterday the announcement was made on social media and the announcement from the funeral home was posted. I have known Shirley my whole life. Funny story her first name was my Mom’s actual first name, only my Mom went by Jean. Anyway, she was a great loving sweet, funny woman and I shall miss her. When my Grandfather was killed in a combining accident in September of 1973, I moved from where we were living in Alberta back to my Grandparents farm in Saskatchewan to stay/live with my Grandmother. I was going into Grade 11 that fall. Shirley and her family lived only a short distance, actually walking distance from my new home. So we reconnected. She made me and of course the whole family feel like part of their family. Shirley and her husband Charlie (passed 2012) were family. They included me in everything. It certainly helped ease the feelings of missing my sister and brothers and parents back in Alberta. Shirley was simply beautiful inside and out. She enjoyed volunteering for her church and singing in the church choir and of course, looking after her family. Family meant the world to Shirley. She will be greatly missed by her four children and their spouses, grandchildren and great-grandchildren I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to know this dear soul. There were no computers and video calls in those days. I am grateful for the technology so that I can be at her service. Another angel has joined the heavenly choir.

Photo by pattama choomsree on Pexels.com

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

Always, Carol & Alvin

P.S. 61 days till my 65th Birthday……

The New YEAR 2022

Good Morning ALL! Merry Christmas or at least it feels like it. Thankfully the sun is shining brightly this morning. The snow rain mix began to fall yesterday just after Aspen and I started our walk. It was light at first but throughout the day it became more heavy and eventually the temperature dropped and it did not melt as it made touchdown to the ground. When me and the pups were up at 4:15 this morning there was even more than when we had gone to bed. The places on the deck and in the backyard where I had shovelled before going to bed where once again covered by a pile of the white stuff. We would need double digit plus temps before this will melt quickly but not going to happen. Not likely it will stay long but will require shovelling “one more time.” April 20th, 2022 and we have what feels like a foot of snow and I am so grateful that I had the foresight to take Miss Aspen for a walk yesterday before all of the snow. We will likely go later this afternoon. Once the sidewalks are clear and hopefully dry. I am never totally surprised by the weather in Canada or in Western Canada. It changes quickly. We did need the moisture and I do hope that the areas to the south where it is incredibly dry got some of this moisture. I will say that someone was happy to see the snow and has already gone sniffing about some of the piles on the deck. Actually all three of the pups were happy to see the snow this morning – well actually last night. So someone is happy. Perfect for making snow people.

Today is my last day of vacation before work tomorrow. I am so grateful that I am able to work from home. I am grateful that I don’t have to worry about the commute, about leaving Alvin alone or having to find someone who could come and check on him, that I don’t have to worry about the large cost of public transportation or carpooling, about the extra costs for clothing, shoes and food and the costs of being in an office. There was always something going on that required extra money. This way my money is my own. With the increased pricing of just about everything – working from home has made it so that I can afford to pay my utilities and to eat properly. Life.

Well time to head to the shower, then coffee, some laundry, shovelling, walk the pups at some point, find all of the pup’s things tonight as their parents come home tonight, make supper, cleaning and ……

Milo and Alvin did not have a walk yesterday. I decided it would not be pleasant for them to walk in the ever falling wet snow. Alvin is sensitive to yeast infections in his ears from moisture. I was drying him like mad yesterday after each visit to the backyard.

I think he secretly like having all the snow as he could pee on the deck. Who would know and really who cares at this point. Much easier to clean the poop up for sure.

I hope that you are well and having a great day. Hard to believe it is this late, after 10:00 on a Wednesday. Tomorrow at this time I will be just about to take my first coffee break.

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

Always, Carol & Alvin, Aspen and Mi-Mi

P.S. I shall miss my grand pups when they go home. We have had a good week.