Living … One day at a time.

Hello, it is Wednesday half way through my first whole week of vacation.

The sun is shining and there is a breeze.

We were pooped this morning and even though we were up at 5:00, we laid back down on the sofa until 7:00 – Alvin had his breakfast and then back down until

9:00 a.m.

Now the guilt has arrived as it always does when one sleeps in …. should have been up doing things as I have a list a mile a long.

Oh, no I don’t because I did not write the list as yet.

My Sister arrives on Saturday and we are taking a couple of trips next weeks so there are tasks and chores that need to get done.

Not sure why sometimes I procrastinate but sometimes I do.

For some reason I do better when the deadline is close by.

But this time I am going to do better.

I will.

**************************

Yesterday was a fantastic day.

Weather was perfect.

My friend picked me up and we drove to the University of Alberta Botanic Garden.

This was my birthday gift and what a gift it was.

The garden in a forest.

240 acres with 80 acres of cultivated gardens, indoor showhouses, and 160 acres of natural areas including wetlands, woods, fens and meadows.

This is the gardens 60th Anniversary having been established in 1959.

The newest area is the Aga Khan Garden (2018).

Made possible through a $25 million gift from the Aga Khan back in 2009.

This garden is the only one of its kind on this continent.

When you arrive at the gardens the green takes your breath away and you feel a peace hover over your body.

The sky was overcast and when we first arrived it was cool but not cold.

Perfect for taking photos.

It was until we were eating a later lunch that the sun came out.

By that time we were at the Japanese Gardens and that was one area that I had already seen.

The whole area is absolutely breathtaking.

The AGA KHAN gardens were amazing.

I took almost 500 photos yesterday and ran the phone battery down to 1%.

That was a first for me.

There will be no way that I can show you every photo that I took but I will show you some for sure.

If you google AGA KHAN you can read all about this fascinating man.

Very interesting.

Edmonton is so lucky.

This pool “the woodland bagh” reflects the forest canopy and sky in its still waters and is the first introduction to water in the AKGA.

The Amphitheatre built in an existing woodland bowl, taking advantage of the natural acoustics.

You can see the Talar – the upper terrace with the bright orange canopies which were selected to contrast the surrounding dark greenery.

The Chowk – lower terrace with fountain wall

The fountain at the centre of the Talar acts as the heart of the AKGA

This is the top of the fountain.

Pathway – stepping stones across the fountain.

Well it has taken me over 1.5 hours to get this far ….

So perhaps some photos will share another day.

It was an extra special day …. just walking and spending time with my friend.

The flowers were so beautiful and I have likely about 300 photos of flowers from the day.

Lunch was enjoyable and at the end after we checked out the butterfly enclosure we had an ice cream cone.

Great day.

Happy to get home to Alvin but happy to have had this day.

 

Kindness and Respect are all around us ….

 

Always, Carol & Alvin

 

Need coffee ……. tomorrow morning …. not sleeping in …… argh.

 

 

Living… One day at a time.

Hello,

Well it is just before 8:00 a.m. on this slightly overcast Saturday morning.

Pups have had breakfast.

Teddy, Alvin and I have been out for a walk.

Popped the first of three unexpected loads of laundry into the washing machine.

Put coffee on to brew and also ground some coffee for tomorrow or maybe later today.

Made my bed.

Working on this post.

 

Yesterday was a great day when I left the office I felt as though I had accomplished what I wanted/needed to do.

Only two work days next week before I am on vacation for a few weeks.

So looking forward to the time off but at the same time I do want to leave “my desk” in good order.

I even completed a task that is not typically done until the middle of the month.

Check.

YAY.

On Fridays in the summer months we are allowed to leave at 3:00 p.m. and I was lucky to catch a ride with a co-worker who lives not too far away.

Once home it was clearly too warm for us to walk.

So I decided to get some work done.

Some laundry, tidying up.

I was just speaking to my sister when a call came in on the cell phone, I wasn’t sure how to switch over so I let it go and continued to speak to my sister.

All of a sudden my house phone rang and I figured it was the person who was calling me on the cell.

So grabbed the phone from the kitchen and saw it was my neighbour, so kindly asked my sister to hold on for a moment so that I could take the call.

My neighbor wanted to see if Mr. Humphrey could spend the evening with us and of course, I said Yes.

I was explaining to her about Teddy coming and she said she knew as they had just arrived.

She saw them before I did.

So we had Humphrey and Teddy and Mums all arriving at the house at the same time.

There was some running and excitement.

We chatted for a bit.

Humphrey’s Mom was going out so she left and Teddy’s Mom stayed for a few minutes longer.

Then it was me and the boys.

I had finished the laundry before all the company arrived.

We spent some time outside.

Humphrey loves being on the deck.

It was warm but he loved being outside.

The other two were back and forth as I had the fans going inside.

We had some weather.

Tornado watch for most of the evening.

At one point I heard thunder and saw lightning in the distance so I scooped up the babies and brought them into the house.

Well of course, Teddy and Alvin walked but I did scoop up Humphrey as he did not want to go into the house.

We had a quiet evening.

Just putzing and relaxing.

Humphrey’s Mom came home about 9  p.m. and then it was just three.

I decided that I was tired by then and we started to get ready for bed.

We went outside for the pups to go for a pee and or poo.

That ended up being an extra long process.

You will find out in a moment.

So I call the pups upstairs.

Moved the pillows off the bed.

Went into the bathroom to brush my teeth.

Teddy went downstairs and Alvin just sat outside the bathroom door (was in the main bathroom as I have my dental station set up in there).

Once done, I went and picked up Teddy to bring him upstairs.

I was wondering for a second why he went downstairs.

Back in our bedroom, I closed the door.

Teddy was playing in the blanket on the bed, hiding while Alvin just hung around me.

Once I had washed and changed and was ready to lay down and read my book.

I moved the blanket and in the semi dark something looked out of place.

I turned on the light to see someone had peed on the bed.

That someone was the little someone who had been playing in the blanket as Alvin was not even in that spot.

So I lifted up the bedspread wet, top sheet wet, bottom sheet wet, pillowtop wet, all wet down to the mattress cover.

I am so glad that I purchased that and left it on the bed.

So I grabbed my pet stain removed and one my one cleaned the wet spots on each of the coverings.

Then placed them in the laundry basket and into the bathtub until laundry this morning.

That was my unexpected laundry.

So then I only placed sheets on the bed – not taking a chance and having to wash another bedspread.

I always wash bedding on the weekend so that was okay.

But it was 30 minutes that I was not planning and then my reading time was cut down considerably.

Teddy slept good but then Alvin was up and down all night long.

So at about 2 a.m. – decided might as well come downstairs to sleep.

Downstairs we went.

Our actual getting up to stay up was much earlier than normal about 6:30 a.m.

Early for a weekend.

Oh well, the laundry is on and the stains should come out.

What a night and early morning.

In just over one hour my grand pups will arrive.

Time to have breakfast.

I took some shots of the pups last night, the storm and stuff.

Will share of them.

One never knows what is going to happen and has to be prepared for “anything.”

 

The Oriental Lilies that I received as a gift, so many blooms.

On the way to the bus stop on Friday morning – the water fountain – such a beautiful place

The next shots while we were on the deck last night.

Above shots taken during the storm last night

The shots below were just as we were going to bed before the accident.

You can actually see the wet in the last photo.

Hadn’t realized that until just now.

Anyway we are off to a great start this morning.

I am hungry so time to have breakfast and coffee before the grand pups arrive in about one hour or perhaps sooner.

 

All in the life ….

I will admit to be a bit upset about the “pee” last night but then I remembered that he had gone downstairs … he was telling me something.

I just chose not to listen.

Oh well, it is all good.

 

Happy Saturday.

Kindness and Respect to all, no matter how many legs you may have ….

Life is good …. sometimes there is the odd hiccup along the way …. but it is not the end of the world.

Only a small pothole in the road.

 

Have an awesome day.

My tummy is a rumbling.

 

Always, Carol, Alvin and Teddy

 

 

Living … One day at a time.

Hello,

Beautiful Sunday morning.

Alvin and I were up early and just came back from a walk.

As we walked around the ponds in the park, I for a moment closed my eyes.

I could feel the cool breeze lightly dancing on my face.

I could hear the boom of the water from the fountain as it rushed up and then down.

I could hear the chirping of birds as they enjoyed the early morning.

I could smell the roses ….. the fragrance from heaven.

What a glorious walk.

Made me dream of walks like this everyday.

 

It wasn’t until we were away from the water that I noticed in the field (houses back onto) in the park …. a bunch of birds were flying about.

As I looked more closely I saw this big bag of garbage in the field.

A small flock of sea gulls, crows and magpies were ripping through the bag scattering garbage all over the field.

What a nice sight for those folks to awake to.

As we walked around on the sidewalk I noticed some garbage outside of that area …. a smaller bag …. so I grabbed a poop bag and squeezed it in..

ARGH.

From beauty to not.

All within a few moments.

As we keeping motoring on …. water bottle, garbage and Alvin, in tow.

I noticed as we came out of the park – another garbage bag ripped open littering the street.

Not sure why folks would put their trash out several days before the garbagemen arrive.

OH well.

I did pick up what I could …..

I did my small part.

 

On a lighter note.

These photos tell the story.

Alvin had his supper before these photos up insisted upon having some veg.

So I gave him this big head of broccoli.

He was sitting at the back door looking at me with the broccoli in his mouth.

By the time I could grab my phone/camera ….. these were the best shots I could get.

I only wished that you could have seen him at first …. looked like a green soother in his mouth.

That is my boy …..  silly.

 

My grand pups did not spend the afternoon/evening with us after all.

Their parents thought less stress for Miss Aspen to stay at home.

She needs to have GRAVOL to travel.

Poor girl.

Alvin does not love car rides either.

I get it.

We did have an unexpected visit from the kids after the ceremony.

The ceremony was held close by at the DEVONIAN GARDENS.

Teddy did join us for the day.

We had fun.

We had a walk just after he arrived before the heat of the day set in.

Quiet evening…..

Watched a movie.

 

Well the girls are coming for coffee this morning.

We had better have breakfast here …. I got sidetracked putting away some things in my office.

 

Have an awesome Sunday.

Looks like another hot one on the way.

 

Remember KINDNESS and RESPECT make for better todays and tomorrows.

 

Always, Carol & Alvin

Thought for the day ….

Good Morning and Welcome to Tuesday the 2nd day of October, 2018.

Well here we are October 2018.

My how the time flies.

No snow on the ground this morning which is always a good thing.

On our way home from a walk last night it started to snow.

Luckily they all melted upon touchdown.

 

Yesterday I read something about budgeting.

You know how they say do not spend more than 30% of your income on rent/mortgage.

You know how they say to save 10% of your earnings.

The new thing now was “budget for food.”

One said $200.00 per person per month including the extras like hygiene products and toiletries.

I am pretty sure that I spend over $200.00.

A few years ago when money was a lot tighter than now, I spent $50.00 per week, maximum.

It was not easy to buy fresh fruit and veggies on that budget.

Some items were just out of my league.

Both of those items have increased substantially since that time.

So I have decided as we just started October, that I am going to be super mindful of what I spend.

I am going to keep the $200.00 monthly amount in my head and see if I can do it.

It will be hard as I have to pick up laundry soap soon.

I spent $30.25 last night at the grocery store, so now I am down to $169.75 (did not even use a calculator).

Thankfully the $200.00 does not include Alvin.

I will keep posting on my progress.

Will see how I do.

I quite honestly do not know how large families do it.

If you are budget conscience and have some tips, please let me know.

Also I guess it depends if that report came out of the U.S. or Canada?

 

Well almost time to leave for work.

 

Alvin and I enjoyed our walk with the leaves and the geese.

Love FALL.

So nice to see the water fountain still going.

I love the sound.

 

Special Hello to: all those folks who budget and are successful.

Thought for the day ….

Good Morning and Welcome to Sunday the 29th day of July, 2018.

Happy Birthday to one of my great nephews who turns “7” today.

I will be seeing him in two sleeps along with his Grandma (my sister), his Mom and brothers.

Lots to do before they arrive.

We were up early for a Sunday.

Up at 5:00 and Alvin ate and did his business.

To the sofa until 6:30 and then we went for a walk.

The forecast is for over 30 degrees celsius today.

Makes it HOT doing housework and for walks.

After I finish this post I will settle in and clean the bathrooms and floors upstairs.

Followed by same downstairs on the main floor.

Always better to do jobs like cleaning when it is somewhat cool.

I opened all of the windows at 5:00 a.m. so was able to reduce the interior temperature from 79 to 73.

Will close the windows shortly and keep all of the blinds closed this will keep the house cool for most of the day.

The front lawn has to be mowed this morning before it gets hot but have to wait as it is wet.

Placing Steeped Tea and NORWEX orders today.

Seems like there is a lot on my TO DO LIST.

How did that happen?

I cannot believe that August is only a few days away.

WOW.

 

We certainly enjoyed our early morning walk.

The birds were singing their songs and a few dogs were barking in the distance.

The grass wet with dew.

The fountain was running at our pond/lakes.

So nice to hear the water running in the background.

No one was out and about – just me and Alvin.

 

Well I guess there is no time like the present.

Get busy and get those chores done before it gets hot.

 

Always a good thing to do your chores early.

Then there will time to relax when it is hot.

Perhaps watch a movie this afternoon in front of the fan.

 

Yesterday I gave Mr. Alvin a hair cut and bath.

He seems to fuss more and more.

 

Have a wonderful Sunday.

Enjoy the day.

Back to work tomorrow.

 

Special Hello to: my daughter who is the sunshine of my life.

Always, Carol & Alvin

 

 

Thought for the day …..

Good Morning and Welcome to Thursday the 5th day of October, 2017.

Another beautiful warm day on the way.

We are so happy to have these days at this time of year.

Last night our walk was absolutely delightful.

No breeze just warm air on our faces.

We enjoyed “sniffing” as we walked along our path.

The fountain is still on at our lake and it looks so pretty against the backdrop of yellow, orange, red and green leaves.

I love this time of year.

Perhaps it is the calmness after the summer and before the hectic Christmas season begins.

Not sure but I love this time of year.

 

Well we or rather Mr. Alvin is having company today …. Miss Aspen and Baby Milo will be here shortly.

So I am getting a ride to work today which is awesome.

I guess that I better go and put the finishing touches on the house ……

 

Have an awesome day.

Enjoy this time ….. each moment is precious as it will never come this way again.

Special Hello to:  all those folks out there who are missing a friend or loved one, you are in my heart today and always.

Always, Carol & Alvin