08 Wednesday Jan 2020
Tags
big girl pants, blessed, breakfast, family, Farmers Market, market, memories, moments, Ottawa, scones, vacation, widow
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…
07 Tuesday Jan 2020
Posted in family, food, life, moments, technology, travel, Uncategorized
Tags
amazing service, Atelier, big girl pants, blessed, delicious, family, food, Marc Levine, memories, moments, Thru, treat, widow
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;-)…
05 Sunday Jan 2020
Tags
big girl pants, blessed, bus, family, memories, modern decor, purple, train, transportation, treat, tulip, widow
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;-)…
30 Monday Dec 2019
Tags
afternoon, big girl pants, blessed, Fairmont Chateau Laurier, family, great service, memories, moments, royalty, service, Tea, treat, treats, widow, Zoe’s
yesterday we had a delightful afternoon tea at Zoe’s in the Fairmont Chateau Laurier…
we dressed up a bit… nothing like when we went for tea at the Empress a few years back… at that time we even wore white gloves;-)…
the host took great care to seat us at a window with a lovely view of Rideau and McKenzie Street… we saw lots of bendy buses drive past;-)…
the settings were reminiscent of days gone by with lovely old cups and cute tea strainers… tea was delicious… between us we tried three different varieties and they were all tasty…
we shared two towers of treats and were very full by the time we were finished… we even brought home some of the dainties… our server, Dave, was extremely attentive to all of our needs and even recommended a few other places we might go…
my favourite item was the scones with clotted cream and freshly made strawberry jam…
we are having a delightful time and being treated like royalty by the kids;-)…
28 Saturday Dec 2019
Tags
big girl pants, blessed, Christmas, cooked, dinner, family, happy, meeting, moments, mother, special times, widow
had a great time making Christmas dinner a few days ago…
made the stuffing, cooked a very small turnip and simmered the neck and liver for hours to make a great stock for the gravy…
after the turkey was stuffed and in the oven we enjoyed the smell as we set the table…
potatoes were mashed, gravy was made, turkey was carved, sides turned up on the counter, and dinner was served…
it has been lovely to get to spend time with Ron’s mom… in all the time they’ve been married we’ve never met… we ended the evening with some selfie fun…
27 Friday Dec 2019
Tags
beloved, big girl pants, breakfast, celebrations, Christmas, crepes, memories, moments, presents, widow
yesterday we celebrated Christmas… I arrived here the evening before, so we put Christmas off by a day, lol…
when we got up in the morning – not until 7 am;-)… we opened the very full stockings and then all the gifts under the tree were distributed… our family tradition is that the youngest passes out the presents and they are opened one-by-one around the circle so that we can see what everyone got…
the same process is followed for stockings (which come from Santa) and that happens first… it was a wonderful time and the gifts were all carefully chosen…
then we prepped for our Christmas breakfast… crepes, made the night before, in the crepe pan that my beloved gave the kids a number of years ago… to fill them there were scrambled eggs, cooked onions and peppers, turkey bacon, grated cheese, strawberries with whipped cream, apples and cinnamon…
delicious meal after all the fun of sharing gifts…
26 Thursday Dec 2019
Posted in family, food, life, moments, retirement, Uncategorized
Tags
big girl pants, blessed, bubbly, chocolate, Christmas, dinner, family, moments, retirement, widow
yesterday I travelled from Winnipeg to Ottawa to spend Christmas with my daughter, son-in-law and his mother… the flight was jam packed and I had the sweetest little person sitting beside me… if she asked why once, she asked a hundred times, lol…
when I arrived, we had a lovely dinner of appetizers… there were fancy cheeses, chocolate salami, coconut shrimp, chicken wings, many types of fancy crackers, fruit, veggies and hummus as well as a variety of home-baked cookies…
we had bubbly to celebrate my retirement…
stockings were hung on the mantle and the tree looked ever so festive with lots of gifts under it…
a wonderful start to my visit;-)…
23 Monday Dec 2019
Posted in food, life, moments, Uncategorized
up way too early to get ready for my BS buddies who were coming over for brunch and sharing of Christmas gifts…
everyone brought something for the meal… there were avocados, breads, cheeses, jam and eggs… delicious…
lots of great conversation and some wonderful gifts were shared…
home baking, jam, eco wrap, chocolate, handmade aprons and donations… love throughout…
these women have been an integral part of my life for over 30 years… through all the good and bad times…
what a wonderful time we have together;-)…
22 Sunday Dec 2019
Tags
beloved, big girl pants, blessed, Christmas, dinner, family, memories, moments, non-traditional, remembering, widow
had Christmas dinner with the kids tonight… we’d decided to have a non-traditional meal, except there would be stuffing, lol…
we had presents, decorated gingerbread house pieces, opened Christmas crackers, enjoyed a delicious steak and lobster dinner with stuffing muffins, twice-stuffed potatoes, mushrooms, and salad… finished up with gingerbread pieces that had a lot of icing and candies on them, lol…
on Christmas Day I will fly to Ottawa to spend time with my daughter, son-in-law and his mom… looking forward to meeting her for the first time;-)…
as I remember many wonderful Christmas traditions, from the years while my beloved was with us to the years since he’s been gone, I look forward to new traditions we may start this year…
memories and moments;-)…
08 Sunday Dec 2019
Tags
big girl pants, Christmas movies, family, food, gingerbread, groceries, health, meals, moments, packed, shopping, widow
had the most wonderful quiet day today… I am particularly happy about this as I anticipate that the next four days are going to be packed…
wrote a few cards to pop into the mail, made chili and spaghetti with meat sauce, and put away the last few groceries from yesterday’s shopping trip…
the chili came out great… I added some hamburger and onion to the basics… delicious…
missed having the boys for dinner, but they were busy… we are planning to make a gingerbread house next time they are over…
packaged up some meals to share and for the coming week…
had a number of phone calls and enjoyed a few Christmas movies as well…
nice;-)…
herbiggirlpants 