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Author Archives: sulis303

memory stone…

04 Thursday Jul 2013

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amazing friends, blessed, donation, Duck Pond, ducks, Memory Stone, stone laid, touched, word puzzle

I have the most amazing friends…

at Christmas I made a donation in their honour and had a memory stone produced…  last year Cyndi and Ron had two made and it was just such a lovely gesture…

a colleague at work, who is exceptionally good with words, helped me to get the wording just right… there are only a certain number of lines and a certain number of letters on each line… bit of a puzzle really…

then I sent off the money and wording and waited… I didn’t mention anything to the two groups of women because I wanted it to be a visible surprise for them…

just recently I was thinking that I hadn’t heard anything about when the stone was being laid and the very next day I received an email confirming that it had been installed at the Park by the Duck Pond…

email re stone placement...

email re stone placement…

went over and found it very easily… the last ones were quite difficult to find, lol… had a bit of a giggle because of all the stones in the area, it was the only one that had been blessed by the ducks/geese…

view of the Pond right next to the stones...

view of the Pond right next to the stones…

took some pictures and sent a note to my friends to let them know where they could see it and letting them know how important they are to me…

for my friends...

for my amazing friends…

don’t know if anyone has seen it in person yet, but many have been quite touched… as was I to be able to do this for them…

 

the pond…

03 Wednesday Jul 2013

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big girl pants, calla lilies, chose plants, clematis, construction, disaster area, George, ground cover, hydrangeas, Jensens, lilac, muddy mess, pergola, pivotal stage, the pond, water hyacinth, waterfall

been thinking about those tv shows were they don’t let the family see what is going on with the construction…

we are at a pivotal stage in the construction I think… the yard is a muddy, wet, rock dusty mess… the waterfall looks too short… the pond doesn’t look like it is going to hold enough water… every part of the area is filthy… even my plants, deck and back door are covered…

sand and dust...

sand and dust…

it looks like a disaster area… I’m starting to think I just shouldn’t look back there until it is done…

trench for edging...

trench for edging…

tonight, I met with a couple of the staff at a landscape garden to choose plants to go around the pond… apparently we are getting close to the end…

waterfall rock at the back...

waterfall rock at the back…

I got completely lost and had to drive up and down McGillivray a couple of times before I eventually found the place…  once I finally got there, it was great to wander around and choose shrubs and other items to fill up the space…

there will be white hydrangeas, purple clematis, a white lilac, a wavy grass, some purple spiky things whose name escapes me right now and some white ground cover…

full view with the deck back in place...

full view with the deck back in place…

I already have water hyacinth, some other edge plants which were in the pond pre-construction and a couple of callas I bought last week…  a few baskets are also ready to be hung from the pergola that George built…

must go looking for a couple of water lilies to finish off the collection…

hmmm…

02 Tuesday Jul 2013

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big girl pants, colleague, electrical, hmmm, kitchen sink, landscape, mow the lawn, plumbing, purple finch

first thing this morning I spotted a purple finch at the front bird feeder… from there the day went downhill a bit…

Purple Finch...

Purple Finch…

the kitchen sink appeared to be blocked, even though I thought I had unblocked it on Sunday, what with the big girl pants and all…  my son-in-law came over to check it out and discovered it was actually broken and leaking when the tap was running… he found George’s plumbing supplies and picked up a few things and thought he had it fixed, but not so… so he contacted a plumber friend of his to stop by and see if he can sort it out… now the plumber needs to come back in the next few days to fix it, sigh…

Jeff couldn’t even mow the grass while he waited, because the pond guys were busily working and had blocked the entrance to the shed where the lawnmower lives…

trying to sort out the landscaping for the new pond area seems to be a bit difficult as well… not sure exactly what plantings are included so look forward to getting this sorted out…

and their electrical guy is very busy so I am trying to connect with my guy to see if we can get this piece done in the next few days…

feels like the money is flying out the doors and windows, lol…

good news is that my colleague is back from a few days away and another colleague who has been off for a few months has also returned…

Canada Day…

01 Monday Jul 2013

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Canada Day, dinner with the kids, fireworks, goldfinches, lovely day, planted, purple finch

lovely day spent in the garden…

last night I slept on the deck under the stars… Sadly there were lots of mosquitoes…

goldfinch boy...

goldfinch boy…

this morning I planted and repotted and rearranged… and sat in my chair in the shade…

goldfinch girl...

goldfinch girl…

had beautiful visitors… the goldfinch couple and a lovely purple finch and a mostly black butterfly… the neighbours’ cat stopped by a few times for a drink and to wander through the garage…

purple finch...

purple finch…

had a nap, watched some tv and got dinner ready for the kids who came in from a day of boating in Gimli…

kids having a hot tub...

kids having a hot tub…

great dinner, then we walked to Sargent Sundae’s for ice cream, and got home just in time for the fireworks…

everyone is gone and I am heading to bed…

the Park…

30 Sunday Jun 2013

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Assiniboine Park, breakfast out, Bruce Park, ducks in a row, George, Memory Stone, peace and serenity, the "A", the Park, time together, waiting for Canada Day celebrations

this morning I got up and headed over to the Park to see if I could find the Memory Stone that I had commissioned at Christmas time…

it was a beautiful day and I enjoyed the walk over… there weren’t many people about and it was easy to soak up the peace and serenity…

waiting for Canada Day crowds...

waiting for tomorrow’s Canada Day crowds…

found the stone without too much trouble… happy they had done a good job… it did make me laugh a little though, because obviously a duck or goose had left a little memento, right on my stone, so I had to clean it off with my shoe before taking any pictures…

while I was there I got a few cute shots of some ducks sitting all in a row…

ducks lined up all in a row...

ducks lined up all in a row…

there was a group of men on the other side of the pond with their motorized boats and I took a few pictures of them…

the Park was clearly waiting for Canada Day… tents were all over the big field and there were rows on rows of port-a-potties just waiting for the crowds…

port-a-potties waiting...

port-a-potties waiting…

I walked through Bruce Park on my way home and encountered woodpeckers, squirrels and bunnies…

to top things off I stopped at the “A” for breakfast on my own… it was very difficult and I wasn’t sure I could do it, but I sat down, ordered, and ate my breakfast… this was one of the spots that George and I would have breakfast on a Sunday morning and I have only been there once since he died…

on the walk home I held back tears and worked at remembering the fun we had when we went for breakfast there… he would usually drive and I would walk and he would already have the tea ordered by the time I got there… he wasn’t supposed to eat bacon, but that would be the one day that he would get to and we always teased one another about it…

today as I sat listening to couples talking, I hoped they knew how lucky they were to have time together..

weeding…

29 Saturday Jun 2013

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big girl pants, closet, George, hot tub chemicals, missing my beloved, planters, Rona, weeding

spent a good portion of this beautiful day in the side garden…

started weeding just after nine… worked for a bit, had a rest, worked a bit more, and so on and so on…

before weeding...

before weeding…

at one point I stopped to show someone the closet that needs doors… nice to have a little break… set out a chair and cushion on the back deck which has been moved forward about a foot and a half… wasn’t going to sit out there, but decided it would be lovely to sit in the shade…

after weeding for half an hour...

after weeding for half an hour…

filled three pails with weeds… probably have another three to go…

after an hour of weeding...

after an hour of weeding…

George worked really hard in that garden, sigh…

DSCN0519after an hour and a half

I was missing him all day as I was wearing those big girl pants…

ran to Rona and got a few more things to plant… there are two planters on the wall that need something in them and a couple of other things jumped off the shelves into my cart, lol…

then I had the water tested, ran a few errands, came home and added the necessary chemicals to the hot tub…

dinner…

28 Friday Jun 2013

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air conditioner, appies, big girl pants, busy week, dinner, great ending, long weekend, The Keg

started the long weekend off with appies on the patio at The Keg… that was my dinner…

brie and tiny toasts...

brie and tiny toasts…

the sun shone, birds flew by, wind blew, rain came down gently amid the sunshine… all in a couple of hours, lol…

chicken wings...

chicken wings…

a lovely interval…

cute little hot dogs...

cute little hot dogs…

enjoyed the warm Brie and tiny toasts and the salt and pepper chicken wings… cute little hot dogs and the always popular stuffed mushrooms…

stuffed mushrooms...

stuffed mushrooms…

then home for a nap…

put on the big girl pants last night and got the air conditioner going… ran it all night to be sure everything was working… temperature has been around 28C last few nights when I got home… bit too warm…

great ending to a busy week…

pond construction…

27 Thursday Jun 2013

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bridge, choose plants, greenhouse, pond construction, trench, waiting for pump, waterfall

today's view of the pond...

today’s view of the pond…

lost track of which construction day it is… they didn’t come for a few days while they were waiting for the pump and slate to arrive…

cleared away the gravel...

cleared away the gravel…

they were here on Monday and removed some of the rocks and remarked the front edge of the pond… also brought some edging samples for me to look at…

deck has been moved...

deck has been moved…

they were here yesterday or the day before… put in the pump and leveled off a few spots in the pond for plants to sit…

trench for electrical...

trench for electrical…

today they cleaned away all of the small rocks, moved the back deck, finished the trench for the electricity, brought in some big pieces of slate and did a bit more work on the deep part of the pond…

the bridge I'm guessing...

the bridge I’m guessing…

getting a little more exciting every day when I come home…

for the waterfall???

for the waterfall???

today I arranged to meet at the greenhouse Tuesday night to choose plants… getting closer every day…

sporty…

26 Wednesday Jun 2013

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athlete, blessing, children, do your best, grandchildren, grandsons, improvement, life skills, my dad, rainbow, soccer, sporty

been very busy with sports the last few days… last night had dinner with my daughter and oldest grandson and then went to watch his soccer game…

Kyler's team taking a well deserved break...

older one’s team taking a well deserved break, it was very hot…

tonight I went to their house and we had Chinese food for dinner – tomorrow is Jeff’s birthday – and then went to the second grandson’s soccer game…

Tavin on the way to a goal...

on the way to a goal…

both nights the weather was great, although clouds blew by… both boys played very well and I could see the improvement in the oldest, as I had been at one of his games before going to the coast…

reminded me of my dad… he was an athlete in his youth but as an adult he suffered from emphysema so couldn’t participate in sports but he loved to watch and support them… we often went to events at the Arena – for skating and running… Dad taught me that the important thing was to do your best and we always cheered for everyone, not just the front runners…

we followed that same philosophy with our children and now our grandchildren…

what a blessing to be able to see them having fun and learning great life skills…

rainbow on way home...

rainbow on way home…

visit…

25 Tuesday Jun 2013

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choices, George, hosta, in the garden, Rona, sad, visit

had a lovely visit with a young friend who has gone through a lot recently…

it was good to spend some time together…

spent a few minutes in the garden when I got home from work… the team had been in and put in the pump, made spaces for plants and moved everything off the back deck… there are a variety of edging for me to choose from and a sample of mulch to think about…

stopped in at Rona tonight and saw a few of George’s co-workers… made me feel sad…

here’s a picture of a hosta covered in water drops…

20130625-223250.jpg

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beloved big girl pants birds blessed chocolate Christmas cold delicious dinner family fish flowers food friends fun garden George grandson happy health hibiscus hot tub light lunch memories moments morning glories nature orchid photos pictures plants pond purple rain remembering shopping sky snow sun sunshine supper Technology time treat trees walk water weather widow

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