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Author Archives: sulis303

Garbage…

21 Thursday Feb 2013

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big girl pants, call 311, garbage collection outsourced, garbage day, new system misses me nearly every week, not so funny, previously picked up with no problems

our garbage day is Friday… so every Thursday after work I put on my big girl pants and  gather up the garbage and recycling and put the bins outside the gate in the lane…

when the system was being tested, they used our neighbourhood and our garbage was picked up every week without any problems…  well, they did destroy the back of one of my trees when they collected in the winter, but I have gotten over that…

we’ve had the new system for a while now… besides collecting garbage in the big bins, they also collect the recycling the same way…

so, since the program was outsourced, t my garbage has rarely been picked up on the proper day…  did I mention that my three neighbours have theirs picked up every week… I have called every few weeks to let the city know that it hasn’t been picked up and they have arranged a special pick up every time I call… I haven’t called every week because I don’t produce that much garbage all by myself… I have also asked for instructions if I need to do something differently, but have not received a response to that request either…

my grandson usually brings in the two bins when he’s here on Sunday and, of course, this Sunday the garbage was still there…  I didn’t call until last night when Skippy, the nice man I spoke with, advised that the garbage collection people put on my file that there were no bins out last Friday behind my house…  I advised that the bins had been placed out there on Thursday but Skippy had to take their word for it and put another note on my file advising that I said it hadn’t been picked up…

its not so funny anymore…  so, tonight I had a brilliant idea…  I typed up a note on the computer and taped it to the front of the bin, along with a pencil, asking why they weren’t picking up my garbage…  I duct taped it to the garbage can and took some pictures…

see…

note on garbage can put out Thursday, Feb 21, 2013 while it was still light out...

note on garbage can put out Thursday, Feb 21, 2013 while it was still light out…

so, you are all my witnesses… if they say the garbage can wasn’t out there tomorrow, I have proof…

next step may be to contact a TV station or the newspaper…  I wonder how many other people are experiencing similar problems…

garbage and recycling bins out while still light Thursday, February 21, 2013...

garbage and recycling bins out while still light Thursday, February 21, 2013…

we shall watch for results and I will keep you posted, lol…

 

 

The Garden…

20 Wednesday Feb 2013

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10 week recovery, big girl pants, goldfinches, healing place, hot tub, miss him, poppies, sanctuary, snow covered garden, so much snow, visitors

it was a long day today… I woke up with a headache and felt out of sorts all day long…

have just come in from a restorative hot tub and as I was getting into the tub I realized that the headache is finally gone, thank goodness…

as I was sitting there looking out at the snow covered garden I thought back to the 10 weeks I spent there this summer as I was recovering from my surgery… it gave me time to think about all that had happened since George’s death…

the garden is a sanctuary where birds, animals and people come to rest and recuperate from life’s events…  this year we had our largest crop of spring poppies ever… Crystal thought her dad had something to do with it, lol…

poppies

poppies

I had been hoping to have the pond redone, but that didn’t end up happening…  the weather was quite lovely for most of my recovery time and as soon as I was able I was out on the deck and once I could manage the steps I moved to my favourite spot at the back of the garden beside the biggest pond…  we were visited by a leopard frog again this year, although we hadn’t seen any over the last few years…

of course there were lots of birds… actually an amazing array…  we had purple finches, goldfinches, nuthatches, chickadees and a variety of sparrows… one day I looked out and found at least 5 male goldfinches at the feeder…

goldfinch at the feeder...

goldfinch at the feeder…

the garden has always been a healing place for me and I found that spending time there helped with the grieving process, not just for me, but for many of those who visited me over those many weeks…

right now, I can’t even see the pond from the hot tub because there is so much snow…  we haven’t had this much in many years…  after work tonight I went out and shoveled to the hot tub so that I would be able to walk out in my slippers later on…

had those big girl pants on and was thinking of all the times George would be sure to shovel the area to and around the hot tub so that I would have an easy walk to get there in the evening…

I sure do miss him…

Generosity…

19 Tuesday Feb 2013

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able to hear and appreciate, accepting without deflecting, artistic abilities, eye for design, generosity, living in the moment, take the time

today I received three very generous comments regarding my artistic abilities…

one was from someone who wants to have some of my flower pictures blown up to use as art on their wall…

another was a comment on some videos that I recently took…

the final one was someone reminding me about my excellent eye for design…

luckily for me, I was in the right space to hear and appreciate each of the comments, and I find that doesn’t always happen…

often when we see something that is well done we don’t take the time to compliment the appropriate person or persons because we are in a hurry or busy or whatever…

I think this is an example of living in the moment and I’m rather proud of myself for accepting all of the compliments without deflecting them…

carnation from Valentine bouquet...

carnation from Valentine bouquet…

Quiet day…

18 Monday Feb 2013

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doing chores, missing George, quiet day, remembering, shoveling

had a lovely quiet day today…  it was quite miserable outside for a good part of the day… it wasn’t till around 4 or so that the wind died down and you could hear shoveling and snow blowing happening…

yesterday when we were walking around the zoo, Tavin and I were remembering that last year about this time we all visited the zoo and he made Grandpa read him every one of the signs, because Tavin couldn’t read then… I found this shot of them…

reading each and every sign at the zoo February 2012...

reading each and every sign at the zoo February 2012…

I spent some time doing a few chores and made some soup… then I napped and watched tv for a fair bit of the day…  it was a great break…

the only hard work was going out and shoveling the sidewalk to the street and from the steps to the driveway…  it was amazing how much snow blew into those couple of spots… I didn’t shovel out to the hot tub, but will try to do that tomorrow evening…

spent a few hours with my BS buddies and ate some wonderful carrot cake, yum…

now that all the Valentine’s Day hype is over, I have settled back to a more normal space, where, although I am missing George, it isn’t making me crazy…

was talking with some friends and they were commenting on how well I have managed since his death…

I only know that I have to keep moving forward, one step at a time, never forgetting George, but not living in the past either…

I enjoyed the day, thanks be…

 

Connecting…

17 Sunday Feb 2013

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bereft, brunch with friends, connecting, good health, Hudson the polar bear, love of my life, memory making, Polar Playground, Tundra Grill, walked to the park

been thinking back to the days after George’s death…  how great it was to be able to send out emails to let people know of his loss… a good way to connect and share information with many who can then share further…

that email subject line was I am bereft… and those words have been ringing in my head a lot lately…

George wasn’t perfect, but he was the love of my life and my best friend… even thought its been nearly a year, I miss him in ways I don’t even understand… he took care of me always…

today I walked over to the Park and had brunch with two friends… we haven’t been able to connect for some time so it was a great opportunity to catch up… then I walked to the new main gate of the Zoo and met up with my kids and a friend…  we walked all around the zoo, twice…  we first went to see Hudson, the polar bear, and then walked all the way around the other way to check out the new Polar Playground and Tundra Grill…

bright from the black light on all the white structures...

bright from the black light on all the white structures…

cool place...

cool place…

the playground was pretty neat, with lots of black lights so everything white kind of shone…  I think Kyler was wearing a brand new pair of white socks, lol…

ready to scare whichever sibling comes out first...

ready to scare whichever sibling comes out first…

down the slide and through the bear's mouth...

down the slide and through the bear’s mouth…

the boys ran around for half an hour or so, and then we had french fries and poutine… we headed back to the entrance and the kids dropped me off by the bridge and I walked home…

must say my feet are still a bit sore… it reminded me again how wonderful it is to be in good health…

got home and had a nap before the kids arrived for dinner… right after dinner, the little guy fell asleep on the couch while we were visiting.. apparently he was tired too…

it was a wonderful day of memory making and connecting…

Missing Grandpa…

16 Saturday Feb 2013

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dark months, dim sum, drawing, frogs in the pond, Grandpa's favourite colour, Indigo, missing Grandpa, new books, orchids, teased me

sitting here looking at the electronic picture frame and the orchid behind it…

got me thinking about how, for a number of years now, we always had orchids over the winter months…  one of George’s workmates, who worked in the garden centre, would always let George know when a new batch of orchids came in so that I could come down and pick two or three to brighten up the house…  George always teased me about buying too many, but he was the one who would tell me they were in, or even bring one or two home…  what a guy…

I do much better during the dark months when I have flowers around me…

last weekend we went to pick up a few orchids… sadly they weren’t at their best but I found three that I liked and brought them home, along with a lovely frilly African violet…  one orchid and the African violet went to work, and the other two orchids are here in the living and dining rooms…

orchids and frame...

orchids and frame…

today I went for dim sum with the kids, including my nephew and his girl friend… Tavin and I sat beside one another and he did a bit of drawing…  he made a couple of great pictures of the fish tank with some goldfish and said he coloured one of the fish blue, cause that was Grandpa’s favourite colour…

fish in the tank...

fish in the tank…

we talked a bit about how much we have both been missing Grandpa… Mommy chimed in that she has been having flashbacks to the day he died…

we ran a few errands together and went to Indigo so the boys could pick up a book each as they had some gift cards from Auntie Cyndi and Uncle Ron…

it is always interesting to watch their thought process as they try to decide which is the best book to get…  I love this because they have received books from us for every birthday, Christmas and other occasions – just as we did for their mother and aunt since they were little girls…  we did pick up a couple of great books for my house too… one is about frogs jumping in the pond, right up my alley, and the other was about farm animals and tabs slide on each page…

I just looked up to see a picture of George and the little boys making salad…  George made the best salad ever, and even when we use exactly the same ingredients, we can’t make it as good as he did, lol…

white with purple...

white with purple…

Still laughing…

16 Saturday Feb 2013

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cast, frost, Headingley United Church Players, hilarious, lovely evening, Red Hat Society, socks were tossed

just got home from Wash Your Troubles Away  by the Headingley United Church Players…  it was hilarious…  they have been presenting dinner theatre for 30 years… this was my first experience…

one of our colleagues was a member of the cast and a group of us from work went tonight… two of us had dinner at a table of Red Hat Society women…  we learned a lot about the organization and had a great time…

Red Hat Society group...

Red Hat Society group…

just before the show started we joined the rest of our group…  we had lots of fun… comments were made throughout the show, socks were tossed about, and everyone enjoyed themselves…

our star...

our star…

we presented flowers to our colleague at the end of the show and I got a great shot of our managers, lol…

on the way there I got a few great pictures of some frost and we saw a herd of deer on the river…

frost on the window...

frost on the window…

it was a lovely evening…

Sorrow and healing…

14 Thursday Feb 2013

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Baileys, cars, chocolate hearts, cookies, cupid delivery, feeling sorry for myself, lost son, miss him, neighbour, new reality, one step at a time, remembering daddy, roses, sadness, sorrow and healing, The Keg, time passes quickly

my neighbour of over thirty years lost her forty-year old son to cancer a few days ago…  I cannot imagine her pain…

I spent a few minutes with her and we talked about the sadness but also the need to go on, one step at a time…  a friend of hers was there and my neighbour mentioned that my husband had died a few months ago… it is nearly a year but time passes so quickly…  she will be fine, like me, moving forward and doing what needs to be done…

for me there is no choice…  I work at seeing the good in things around me, remembering the best and looking forward with hope…

I ordered roses for my girls and did very well until I was asked what the card should say… then the tears began to flow and I could hardly speak… both of the florists I spoke with were very compassionate, patiently waiting until I could speak again… the cards said – remembering daddy…

no matter what else was going on he always made sure that each of them got a rose for Valentine’s Day to be sure they knew how much he loved them…  what a romantic he was… I miss him so…

had quite the up and down day today…  woke up very early thinking about George and wishing he was here…  at work, I delivered flowers to one of my colleagues and was feeling a bit sorry for myself because I wouldn’t be getting any…

cupids, making their delivery...

cupids, making their delivery…

then I was called out of a meeting to deal with a situation at the front…  it was two cupids singing and playing a cute song as they delivered a heart-shaped cinnamon bun and chocolate heart…

In the heart of winter you may feel like an icicle – but your heart can be warmed with this message by bicycle – let there be no questions or shades of grey – your kids wish you a happy valentine’s day – so ignore the quality of singer or song – just know that with us, you can do no wrong.

treats...

treats…

it was our soup day so I had a lovely lunch with some of my colleagues – Thai Coconut Curry soup and sugar cookies – some very pretty ones that Crystal dropped off, and some rather strange looking ones that I made last night…

after work Crystal and I went to look at cars and consider whether I should upgrade… then we went to The Keg, where we met up with Jeff and had a lovely dinner…  steak and lobster for me, yum…

finally I got dropped off at home and charged into the house on a mission to get the garbage and recycling out for tomorrow’s pick-up…

on the floor I spot…

what the...

what the…

and followed along…

photo1

up the table...

up the table…

photo3

where I discovered a cute card from all the kids…

photo4

 

… your “Lots of Love Club”!

as I sit here writing, and drinking a small glass of Baileys, I can look over and see the chocolate hearts, which I have not yet moved, lol… pretty great kids…

what a day… filled with tears and laughter as I move forward in this new reality…

great evening…

13 Wednesday Feb 2013

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be together, blessed, celebration, healing, hugs, insights, laughter, powerful sense of home, reading, ReImagining, sharing, tears

Monday night I had dinner and spent time with my ReImagining friends…

it is always wonderful when we gather…  we take turns hosting, some more than others, depending on our current situations… someone looks after the dinner and someone else leads our program… there are lots of hugs, deep sharing, lots of laughter, and often tears…

we had a lovely chilli with all kinds of toppings, salad, ice cream with chocolate sauce; checked in around the table; had a short program, and then we finished reading our book…

we lit candles in celebration of Candlemas and Valentine’s Day…

lit candles...

lit candles…

then we looked over a number of offerings for our next read…

we have moved from programs that were on a variety of topics, and took a fair bit of time to prepare, to simpler gatherings…  the important thing is to be together and so recently we have been reading out loud and discussing guided questions…  no one has homework, and we get done what we get done… often a simple question will take us off into a wonderful discussion of life… what insights we share…

these women have been part of my life for at least twenty-five years and provide a powerful sense of home when I am with them… after the last week it was very healing to be with them…

really, how blessed am I…

Kodak Pulse frame is working again…

12 Tuesday Feb 2013

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find a new picture, Kodak Pulse electronic frame, pictures of the trip to Mexico, router, wonderful geek

in December the new PVR system was installed and I continue to learn and enjoy using it…

unfortunately, when they installed it, they also changed the router, which really irritated my electronic picture frame…  so, it hasn’t accepted any emails since that time because it would no longer connect with the internet…

I added a bunch of pictures from the trip and, of course, it wouldn’t accept them…

the other day my nephew, one of the wonderful geeks in my life, was over and he spent quite some time getting the frame to connect and now it works…

waiting for the plane in Cancun...

waiting for the plane in Cancun…

it took a while to download the 200 plus pictures I had put on it, as well as a dozen or so that Cyndi had sent me, some from Calgary and some from our vacation…

now I can look up and see pictures of our wonderful time in Mexico, or maybe a shot of George, or the kids, or one of our visits to Courtenay…

maybe I will even arrive home to a new picture that one of the kids has sent…

 

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