Butchart…

22 Tuesday Sep 2026

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we made it to the Butchart Gardens…

what an amazing place it is… the first day, we spent six and a half hours wandering the many gardens and had a delightful high tea with a wasp guest…

I was absolutely stunned (in a good way) when I stood at the top of the sunken garden… it is so beautiful it brought me to tears, and what a way to start the tour…

we saw giant trees, beautiful beds, topiaries, and rows of stunning dahlias…

we also saw beautiful Japanese Gardens where I took maybe one picture and then just absorbed the quiet beauty around us…

many water features, a carousel, and so many flowers;-)… awed by the wonderful combinations of plants that made every corner more interesting than the last…

day two, we arrived later in the day with plans to see the gardens lit up at night… we visited some of our favourite areas, especially the Japanese Gardens and took an electric boat tour… sadly, I ran out of steam and we headed back to our AirBnb just as dusk was taking over the gardens…

tulips…

21 Monday Sep 2026

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my daughter brought tulips for our trip, as it was all about gardens and flowers…

we had them on the train…

at the AirBnb…

and in our hotel… as well as some fresh ones…

currently they are residing in the bathroom where I can see them every day and be reminded of the spectacular time we had together 😊…

train…

20 Sunday Sep 2026

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we booked a train trip from Winnipeg to Vancouver on VIA rail… these trips are so popular, you have to book (and pay for the entire trip) nine months ahead…

the start of the trip was a bit stressful as we were expecting to leave at 9:30 pm and ended up leaving the city at 5:11 am…

it was amazing to see how every inch of space was used… during the day we had two chairs to look out the window and at night the space turned into an upper and lower berth… I got the bottom one, lol…

we found guests from all over and loved hearing laughter and voices speaking numerous languages throughout the days…

we’ve discovered that train travel is completely different here than across Europe, for example… and not necessarily to the good🤪…

the food was delicious and we enjoyed meeting new friends at mealtimes…

we spent a lot of time in the observation car and the morning the mountains came into view, I took two pictures and then just sat and soaked up the beauty😊…

and then we were there😳…

it has been a fun learning opportunity for me, and I see my beloved more and more every day in my daughter, who makes friends wherever she sits, or stands, or, just is🤗… what a delight…

pick…

19 Saturday Sep 2026

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spent a quiet day resting up from the busyness of the last few weeks…

the main thing I did was pick beans and a couple of cucumbers from the arches…

then I sat outside and topped, tailed, and cut them up…

there were a lot and I will have some tonight and enough for another meal in the next few days…

a lovely treat😊…

help…

18 Friday Sep 2026

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yesterday I listed a bunch of transportation methods…

today we ended with Ubers, planes, and vans… and home😊…

we started out in the dark with a lovely Uber driver who got us to the airport right on time…

we waited a while for our flight and when we arrived for our connecting flight we literally ran from one end of the airport to the other… yikes… not too thrilled with the help I received from WestJet online when I booked it…

happy to make it home…

Finest…

16 Wednesday Sep 2026

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today, after a three day wait, I had haddock and chips from Finest at Sea… my daughter had the salmon tacos…

we couldn’t fit this spot in before this, as we’ve been very busy…

everything was delicious;-)… what a delightful treat…

the weather had been wonderful all day, so we took a lovely stroll, to wear off the calories, lol…

Pravana…

15 Tuesday Sep 2026

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I haven’t had purple in my hair for over six years… basically since covid when I stopped going to my colour person…

when the place I’d been going to for haircuts recently closed down, I found a hairdresser within walking distance…

she did a great job cutting my hair and we discussed the Elumen that I’d been using, and which she carried in her salon…

we booked a date and I was so happy to get there…

in the end she used two products… the Elumen which I’ve had before and really lasts a long time, and a little bit of the Pravana Everlasting … which will be a bit darker… she wants to compare the two of them to see which lasts longer and doesn’t come off on pillowcases or other things…

it came out very nice, once I got used to it again, lol… subtle 😊…

garden parties…

14 Monday Sep 2026

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started the garden parties with a visit to The Leaf…

after a private tour of the Biomes, with me as the tour guide, we had lunch at Gather…

we shared these…

I’d never had burrata before so was eager to taste it… it went nicely with the peaches and pistachios, but unfortunately, the peaches were under ripe… would likely have been delicious otherwise…

we had them put the blueberries on the side as neither of us really like them, lol, and I quite enjoyed this salad, which was different from what I had had on previous visits…

then it was outside to check out the Water Terrace and the Outdoor Gardens… had a lovely stroll and found monarch butterflies and happy bees everywhere…

had some fun picture taking… by this time it was getting rather hot, so we headed home…

next garden will be on Vancouver Island 😁…

travel…

14 Monday Sep 2026

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one of my favourite songs is by Willie Nelson – On the Road Again…

for years and years we would play it when we finally got into the car (after getting everything and everyone packed) for a trip…

before we left the driveway, my beloved would turn this song on…

I still play it when we are headed out on a road trip🙂…

it just means travel, snacks, and good times to me…