06 Tuesday Jan 2026
Posted in business, health, life, moments, retirement, Uncategorized, weather
got a ride to Ultracuts for a haircut… apparently the last time I was there was early October which explains why my hair seemed to have grown like crazy…
had to have the top trimmed a second time as it was still a bit long;-)…
what a difference a trim makes…
I feel much more tidy;-)…
04 Sunday Jan 2026
Posted in family, health, life, moments, nature, retirement, Uncategorized, weather
Tags
big girl pants, blessed, blowing, family, leaf blower, moments, nature, shovelled, snow, weather, widow
Saturday morning I wandered around the house going to each window to look out and take photos of the beauty outside…
it snowed a lot overnight, but the lovely light kind of snow… the trees were gorgeous…
sometime later my housemate was outside blowing the steps and sidewalks…
he doesn’t like to be photographed, lol…
on his return home later he made sure the driveway was shovelled…
I truly am blessed;-)…
01 Thursday Jan 2026
Posted in health, life, moments, retirement, Uncategorized, weather
Tags
big girl pants, blessed, first-foot, hot tub, moments, picky, weather, widow
prepped my first-footer bag with a few additional items… besides the usual coal, an orange, and a little bottle of Bailey’s; added in some cookies, a toonie, salt, and chocolate…
then, just after midnight, I put on my coat and boots, walked around the house from the backdoor and first-footed myself;-)…
I used to be very picky and insisted on a dark-haired male, but have come to the realization that a dark-haired woman is equally as good;-)…
after that I changed and went out for my first hot tub of the new year…
the temperature was -32° C with the windchill, but once I got in, it was quite lovely… it was overcast, so no stars, and I could hear fireworks going off in various areas, lol…
what a lovely way to begin the year;-)…
30 Tuesday Dec 2025
Posted in garden, health, moments, retirement, Uncategorized
today, I finished my hundredth book of 2025…
I am very happy… I would have done better except for one book which I didn’t like, so kept on putting reading off, lol… but I did finish it…
so many of the books were enjoyed in the garden over the spring, summer, and fall;-)…
I need to work on putting a book aside, without finishing it, if I don’t like it, lol…
28 Sunday Dec 2025
Posted in family, food, health, life, moments, retirement, Uncategorized
Tags
appetizers, big girl pants, blessed, busy, Christmas, family, food, grandson, mid-day, moments, shrimp, weather, widow
my grandson usually arrives here on Christmas day around noon…
our current tradition is to have appetizers for our mid-day meal as he may have already had breakfast and will be heading out for dinner a bit later in the day…
we had wandered the aisles at the grocery store picking up things that looked fun…
we had shrimp dumplings, fancy cheese fries, tempura shrimp, wontons, veggies and dip, sausage rolls, and a shrimp ring… lots of shrimp on that list, lol…
this year we did stockings for each other, which was great… it has been many years since I had a stocking…
it was filled with a great many treats…
then the second round of presents were opened, and I was royally spoiled;-)…
although he only had a few gifts he was very pleased with them…
we sat around and visited before he had to leave for his next engagement, lol…
I truly am blessed to have this thoughtful young man in my life;-)…
26 Friday Dec 2025
Posted in food, health, life, moments, retirement, Uncategorized, weather
Tags
big girl pants, blessed, Christmas morning, dripped, moments, strawberries, waffles, whipping cream, widow
on Wednesday I made waffles to have on Christmas morning…
of course a few were too filled and the batter dripped out around the edges, lol…
most went into the freezer, but two stayed out for the morning…
fresh strawberries were sliced into a jar and a teaspoon of sugar went in as well…
in the morning, the cream was whipped with the immersion blender and one waffle went onto a baking tray to warm in the oven…
then, everything was combined for a delicious breakfast;-)…
25 Thursday Dec 2025
Posted in family, health, life, loss, moments, retirement, technology, Uncategorized
Tags
big girl pants, blessed, Christmas, Christmas Eve, face-to-face, family, memories, moments, Technology, treat, video, widow
all the jobs were done and the living room set up for our morning video call when I went to bed at 11 pm on Christmas Eve…
put my head down thinking I might nap for an hour and then have a Christmas hot tub around midnight…
woke up at 5:15, yikes… apparently no hot tub for me…
laid back down, didn’t really sleep, and got up at 6:30, lol…
made tea and texted a video of me banging pots and slamming doors, (possibly like I used to do when the families would be here overnight, so they would get up), to the kids in Ottawa…
we met and had a lovely time opening gifts and enjoying all of the loot…
what a gift to be able to meet with them face-to-face…
such a lovely Christmas morning;-)…
24 Wednesday Dec 2025
Posted in food, health, life, moments, retirement, technology, Uncategorized
Tags
baton, big girl pants, blessed, cookbook, family, famous, moments, spinach dip, Technology, widow
had a bit of a giggle this morning when I went to make my ‘famous’ spinach dip…
I haven’t made it in ages and decided to check the recipe to be sure I remembered it correctly… took me ages to find where that particularly recipe was located… NOT in the recipe book I’d prepared a few years ago…
eventually I remembered that it was in the Baton cookbook that I’d help prepare when the girls were maybe ten and twelve🤪…
hadn’t forgotten anything and it turned out great 😊…
looking at that cookbook now reminds me how much things have changed in thirty years… at the time it was very well done… now I think it looks rather dreadful… although the recipes are excellent, lol…
21 Sunday Dec 2025
Posted in business, health, life, moments, retirement, technology, Uncategorized, weather
Tags
big girl pants, Emergency, furnace, Gas, Hydro, leaking, moments, Technology, water heater, whiff, widow
for the last few days we’ve caught a whiff of gas smell in the basement by the gas water heater and gas furnace…
today I called and was advised they would send someone out within a few hours…
the person didn’t arrive for four hours, but between only three people on shift, and dealing with a real emergency, it took a while to get here…
they always ask if it was gas that I smelled, and I always assure them that it was… I have quite an ability to smell things that others can’t… my grandson says I have the nose of a bloodhound, lol…
when they arrived, they checked the outside gas meter and the pipes for the furnace… both of which were fine…
once inside, they began checking all of the spots where there might be a problem… they came upstairs to say I did have a good nose because something in the furnace had come loose and was leaking gas…
after getting some tools and the furnace getting turned off, they fixed it and then pointed out that on this type of furnace, a piece is held together by magnets and may not close exactly as it should… so if there are future leaks, this piece may need to be replaced 🤪…
but they did say calling the emergency line was the correct thing to do…
19 Friday Dec 2025
Posted in business, garden, health, life, nature, retirement, technology, Uncategorized, weather
Tags
big girl pants, blessed, Fleurs de Villes, fourth, gift, moments, nature, Technology, The Leaf at Assiniboine Park, weather, widow
a few days ago I booked my fourth visit to Fleurs de Villes at The Leaf in January;-)…
it is always wonderful to see and I have given a number of friends tickets to go (with me of course)…
seems like a perfect Christmas gift for anyone who appreciates art, flowers, nature, and creativity… especially after looking out the window and seeing this, lol…
herbiggirlpants 