Category Archives: family

signing…

18 Saturday Jan 2020

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recently I spent an hour with my finance guy signing what felt like a million papers… felt sorry for all the trees we destroyed…

complicated business to start collecting locked in RSP money… of course I didn’t remember to take a pic of the very large pile of papers that were taken away, lol…

these are just a few of the ones that were left for me…

good thing he understands this stuff and can explain it so well…

I will be thanking my beloved every day as the reason I am able to retire is due to his pension which came directly to me on his death…

sauté…

14 Tuesday Jan 2020

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a few days ago, after doing a lot of research, including a conversation with my Ottawa kids, I went out and picked up a wifi Instant Pot…

I decided to cook a whole frozen chicken… it didn’t go quite as well as hoped, but eventually the chicken was cooked… I boiled some potatoes to go along with it as they had gotten a bit soft and were growing eyes while I was away, lol…

yesterday the wifi connected rather easily… now I can turn it on, off, or give it directions from my phone, lol…

my grandson and I plan to have dinner together on Monday evenings as he will be using my car on Tuesdays for the next while… we’ve decided to try Instant Pot recipes every week…

last night we made chicken thighs with baby potatoes… next time I’d use a bit less liquid, but it was tasty and moist… and we had fun using the sauté option on the Pot;-)…

today I picked up a recipe book as it didn’t come with one… eventually we should be able to find recipes online but this Instant Pot Bible is going to be helpful as we learn more…

looking forward to some fun dinners…

insta…

12 Sunday Jan 2020

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I’ve seen lots of ads for the Instant Pot, but felt that I didn’t need another appliance in the kitchen…

and now that I’m retired I have all day to prepare food…

but… my daughter showed me hers and told me all the things it can do which made me think about it more seriously…

apparently, it could replace my egg cooker (which is currently not working), be a rice cooker (which I’ve wanted), act as a crockpot (which I have, in purple), act as a steamer, sauté things, keep things warm, and even be a sterilizer…

we made salmon (from frozen) and smashed potatoes with spinach in about half an hour… and it was delicious…

we also made white and wild rice with chicken thighs (again from frozen) in about 45 minutes from start of prep to eating…

and mushroom soup, and risotto…

think I just might have to buy one now that I am home…

reflecting…

11 Saturday Jan 2020

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had a lovely time while I was still at my daughter’s sorting and taking photos of my Christmas gifts…

I absolutely love my soft purple blanket, and was happy to examine all of the other wonderful treats I received…

a few purple items, lol – socks, facecloths, gloves, tins, toothbrush, reusable sponge, phone holder… and quite a variety of chocolate – pistachio, Lindt, turtles, raspberry (my favourite), chocolate covered sponge… a tea and chocolate pairing that was flavoured with orchids, reusable bags, a Chihuly 2020 calendar, colouring books and pencils, a magazine on gratitude, a hand printed towel… plus a few more I can’t even remember…

yikes, so many gifts… I certainly am blessed…

the sun was shining into the room as I was gathering them for the photo… it was very meditative and I was able to reflect on each gift and the person who gave it to me… and the fun we had as we opened and shared our delight over each parcel…

a wonderful way to extend the joy of Christmas morning…

now that I’m home, I’ve found a spot for each one…

as I use each item I will be sure to spend a moment to remember the giver with gratitude in my heart…

hosts…

10 Friday Jan 2020

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recently I flew home from Ottawa… I spent the majority of the trip with my eyes glued to the window… it was like the entire sky was filled with a sunset for the entire flight… what a gift…

I had the most wonderful visit with my daughter and son-in-law… also had a fun time meeting and getting to know his mom…

it was quite a different Christmas for me… flew out on Christmas Day and celebrated New Year’s there as well… his mom was with us for a week and then I spent another six days with the kids…

had so much fun… the kids are wonderful hosts* and offer up all kinds of interesting things to do… I stayed in their AirBnB room which was very cozy…

while I was there we ate great home cooked meals, fed birds out of our hands, went to see butterflies, had afternoon tea, went to the Market and restaurants, spent a day at the spa, had a photo shoot, and two chocolate tastings…

and enjoyed great conversations…

now I am home and able to begin retirement living…

*AirBnB Cozy Blue Room Ottawa

spa…

09 Thursday Jan 2020

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for my last full day in Ottawa, we went to Nordik Spa in Chelsea… it is the parent of Thermea, where I was, just days ago…

but it is so much bigger… there are whole sections for quiet activities, as well as silent ones… every time I go they have added something new… this time it was Quonset hut saunas… the light reflecting on the ceiling was gorgeous…

we started in one of the warm glass beds and moved to warm pools, saunas, hot pools, had scrubs, and sat around fires in huts…

we drank tons of water and had a delicious lunch… we chatted with strangers, just ourselves, and we spent time in silence…

they don’t allow photos on site so these are a few I took: leaving home as the snow fell, the view as we stood in line to get our bracelets, and a picture my daughter took as we were leaving…

it was a wonderful relaxing and rejuvenating day, and a great way to end my visit…

we drove home in the dark, after watching the moon rise from various pools, and had a simple supper before all three of us watched a movie…

we didn’t want to go to bed because she had to work the next day and I would be packing and flying home;-(…

market…

08 Wednesday Jan 2020

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on Sunday we had breakfast out at Stan’s Diner, which seems to be similar to the “A”…

then a trip to pick up mushrooms, maple syrup, bread, a raspberry scone, and squash…

we also tasted truffle butter and truffle ice cream;-)…

then home for a relaxing day…

Atelier…

07 Tuesday Jan 2020

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what a wonderful treat it was to go to Atelier for dinner…

my daughter took me to celebrate my retirement… her hubby acted as chauffeur for the evening;-)…

it is a twelve course tasting menu and every course is more impressive than the last…

we also shared a wine pairing… this worked well as I only wanted a sip of each offering…

our appetizer was on a plate which rotated while we were enjoying the three different bites… it was very cool…

one of my favourite courses was the sable fish… it was very tasty…

every course came on a different plate… apparently the chef collects dishes from all over… many of the ones we had this time were different from the last time I was there… because the restaurant is intimate they don’t need tons of each dish…

at the end of our meal, we had the opportunity to meet with Marc Lepine, chef/owner of Atelier…

next time I’m in Ottawa I will be sure to check out his new offering – Thru… it is only open on Tuesdays and has seating for six with a menu of 50 items… it uses QR code’s to order… sounds very fun…

what a special gift… it was a magical evening;-)…

keep…

06 Monday Jan 2020

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so far, we’ve had two chocolate tastings, and a pairing…

I’ve had a number of tastings over the years and always enjoy them… this last one was all about chocolate with coconut flavours… and I love coconut;-)…

our pairing was chocolate and an orchid tea… lots of fun preparing and doing the tasting…

I’ve also earned my keep by helping with data entry for the list of all the bars that are located in her office, or maybe chocolate room would be a better description, lol…

Tulip…

05 Sunday Jan 2020

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I always try to work in some public transportation while I am visiting my kids, lol… I love bendy buses and for the longest time we didn’t have any in Winnipeg… they also have double decker buses here… and recently the train has been added…

so, took a bus and the train to get downtown where we had lunch at Tulip, in the Hilton Garden Inn…

the modern decor is amazing… tons of purple and beautifully done… delightful space to be in…

we had two appetizers… polenta and tuna, both were delicious…

our mains were not as exciting, or a tasty, and unfortunately they didn’t have the dessert we had been looking forward to, but we had a wonderful time together and fun with buses, trains and even a bit of walking to finally get home;-)…