Category Archives: health

hop on, hop off…

29 Tuesday Sep 2026

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we decided to take the hop on, hop off bus and to do the whole loop to see what we might want to do the next time we took it…

the tour started at the Empress, so while we waited to board we visited the gardens there… we stepped inside the lobby to admire the beautiful arrangements and then wandered the lawns and gardens…

we found lovely flower beds and a few giant old trees…

we decided that the next day we would visit Chinatown and Beacon Hill Park…

after we’d been around once we walked to the Parkside Hotel where we saw the koi and had a snack beside the pond…

we went back to one of the stops and hopped on, and hopped off, just a few blocks from our hotel… very handy…

the next day, after I’d put on just about all the clothes I’d brought because I’d been cold the day before, lol, we caught the bus by our hotel and hopped off at Beacon Hill Park… it is very large…

we hopped on and hopped off again at the Empress and walked up a street to check out the shops… after lunch we walked to see Trounce Alley and Fan Tan Alley, which is only 3 feet wide!!! after buying a few treats, we caught the bus and hopped off at the stop which was close to our hotel;-)…

the hop on, hop off bus was worth every penny as we used it from around 1 pm the first day until around 5 pm on the second day…

Parkside…

28 Monday Sep 2026

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we went to the Parkside Hotel to visit the koi pond, which I had seen on an Instagram post… I was not disappointed…

as you walked up to the hotel there were a number of outdoor ponds with goldfish and water lilies in them…

inside you walked across the koi pond on the way to the front desk… part of the hotel was a cafe, that opened onto the street so that the neighbourhood could stop by for goodies…

I had hummus and some lovely bread to enjoy as I sat beside the pond…

every day at a certain time, they divide the food for the fish into containers, which the hotel guests can take and feed them…

a quiet and serene place for a break from all the busyness of the city😊…

partially…

27 Sunday Sep 2026

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what a delightful day…

I spent a good part of it in the garden, moving from one area to another…

at first it was because I was trying to stay partially in the sun… then out of the sunshine as it was very bright and a bit warm…

then, later it was to get into the sunshine to keep warm again, lol…

and I had some fun taking photos of various flowers…

what a lovely treat, particularly as the weather has been dull, overcast, and rainy for the last few days…

I am blessed…

High Tea – Butchart Gardens…

24 Thursday Sep 2026

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when we first arrived at the Butchart Gardens we went to book our High Tea at the restaurant… unfortunately they weren’t open yet, but my daughter convinced them to add us to the reservation list…

when we arrived at the designated time, we were seated outdoors, overlooking the large green open area…

they had blankets at each table, which was great as it was a little cool…

because of allergies we ended up with a tower each…

one of the little cakes on my tower had jelly on the top… it became the favourite for a wasp that really enjoyed the jelly…

everything was delicious… I needed my fork to hold up many of the sandwiches, lol…

but I didn’t eat the jelly part, lol… and it was sweet that they included a happy birthday chocolate on my cupcake 😊…

the staff were excellent and we had such a fun time… first High Tea of the trip…

then, it was back to the gardens…

tulips…

21 Monday Sep 2026

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my daughter brought tulips for our trip, as it was all about gardens and flowers…

we had them on the train…

at the AirBnb…

and in our hotel… as well as some fresh ones…

currently they are residing in the bathroom where I can see them every day and be reminded of the spectacular time we had together 😊…

train…

20 Sunday Sep 2026

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we booked a train trip from Winnipeg to Vancouver on VIA rail… these trips are so popular, you have to book (and pay for the entire trip) nine months ahead…

the start of the trip was a bit stressful as we were expecting to leave at 9:30 pm and ended up leaving the city at 5:11 am…

it was amazing to see how every inch of space was used… during the day we had two chairs to look out the window and at night the space turned into an upper and lower berth… I got the bottom one, lol…

we found guests from all over and loved hearing laughter and voices speaking numerous languages throughout the days…

we’ve discovered that train travel is completely different here than across Europe, for example… and not necessarily to the good🤪…

the food was delicious and we enjoyed meeting new friends at mealtimes…

we spent a lot of time in the observation car and the morning the mountains came into view, I took two pictures and then just sat and soaked up the beauty😊…

and then we were there😳…

it has been a fun learning opportunity for me, and I see my beloved more and more every day in my daughter, who makes friends wherever she sits, or stands, or, just is🤗… what a delight…

pick…

19 Saturday Sep 2026

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spent a quiet day resting up from the busyness of the last few weeks…

the main thing I did was pick beans and a couple of cucumbers from the arches…

then I sat outside and topped, tailed, and cut them up…

there were a lot and I will have some tonight and enough for another meal in the next few days…

a lovely treat😊…

Pravana…

15 Tuesday Sep 2026

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I haven’t had purple in my hair for over six years… basically since covid when I stopped going to my colour person…

when the place I’d been going to for haircuts recently closed down, I found a hairdresser within walking distance…

she did a great job cutting my hair and we discussed the Elumen that I’d been using, and which she carried in her salon…

we booked a date and I was so happy to get there…

in the end she used two products… the Elumen which I’ve had before and really lasts a long time, and a little bit of the Pravana Everlasting … which will be a bit darker… she wants to compare the two of them to see which lasts longer and doesn’t come off on pillowcases or other things…

it came out very nice, once I got used to it again, lol… subtle 😊…

travel…

14 Monday Sep 2026

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one of my favourite songs is by Willie Nelson – On the Road Again…

for years and years we would play it when we finally got into the car (after getting everything and everyone packed) for a trip…

before we left the driveway, my beloved would turn this song on…

I still play it when we are headed out on a road trip🙂…

it just means travel, snacks, and good times to me…