Category Archives: loss

colouring…

22 Saturday Apr 2017

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fun day…

took numerous pictures of the snow outside this morning… pretty, if somewhat surprising…

then my daughter came by and we went shopping… picked up some seeds and a container to plant them in… then we checked out a few stores and I found a few plates and a lovely tray… have already used it twice… for supper and for an evening snack…

home for a nap and then my sleepover buddies arrived…

colouring (in adult colouring books, because he is way beyond kid books), electronic games, tv, hot tubbing and chocolate milkshakes before bed…

hope they go to sleep soon… 

all that fun has made for a long day and I am tired, lol…

chores…

21 Friday Apr 2017

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the ordinary chores of life are becoming easier…

putting out the garbage and recycling, and even the yard waste, is now just another item on the list of things to do on Thursday evening… or sometimes on Thursday morning when I’m really organized…

I’m already making plans with my grandson for work we need to do in the garden… he has been a great help with the maintenance of the yard…

even making all the meals is getting easier as I am much more organized with shopping for groceries and being sure to have what I need in the fridge and pantry…

still there are days that I don’t want to wear those big girl pants… 

miss my beloved…

pho…

20 Thursday Apr 2017

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tonight, after aquasize we went out for pho…

our favourite place, Pho Hoang, is just a few blocks from the Cindy Klassen Recreation Centre where we swim… we try to get there a few times over the winter but this was our first visit this season…

started with sweet potato and shrimp crepes… 

the crepe is a lettuce leaf… it was delicious and I will certainly order it again…

this restaurant is on my SkipTheDishes list so I’m quite excited to have another item to order from them… I love sweet potatoes and pairing them with shrimp and deep frying them is very clever… and that lettuce makes them a healthier choice for me to eat…

we also shared prawn tempura with a tasty sweet chili dip…

they were delicious as well…

the main course was #16 – rare steak and flank pho… my go-to;-)…

the mint and bean sprouts finish it nicely… can’t see the rice noodles in the bottom of the bowl, but they were yummy…

I don’t think I’ve ever finished the whole bowl and tonight was no exception… but I did eat more than half, lol… 

then they packed up the leftovers for me to take home…

lunch tomorrow…

what a wonderful treat and great time together… special moments…

Starbucks…

19 Wednesday Apr 2017

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got an email from Starbucks the other day to advise that for my birthday they would give me a free drink or something to eat…

then I had some trouble getting my app to work… had to go in and change my password, lol… not sure if my age is making me forget passwords or what the deal is…

the reward is only good for a few days, so today a colleague and I walked down to a Starbucks which was close by to redeem my treat… for whatever reason the network wouldn’t connect so after a number of attempts, just paid for my Evolution drink, which is one of the only things I can have there;-(…

was kind of sad because I’d been excited about the treat… tonight I tried the app again and it connected just fine and this came up…

but I think I had to redeem it by end of today, lol…

the whole thing is a bit funny because I didn’t need the drink so should have just walked away without it…

then, to top it off, I left it at work when I came home…

maybe I will walk down there again tomorrow and see what happens…

tulips are nearly done…

birthday…

18 Tuesday Apr 2017

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today is my birthday;-)…

I love birthdays, mine and everyone else’s… I like presents too… they don’t need to be big or expensive… 

I enjoy the birthday song being sung over the phone, or in person, or nowadays by text… when my kids were little I’d sing it to them the number of years they were turning… eventually you can’t sing it enough times in the day, lol.. 

last night my BS friends brought birthday cherry pie and presents… so this morning I enjoyed the last piece of the pie with my breakfast…

I’ve never been a cake lover…

busy at work but there was time to spend with visitors, who also brought treats – chips and a lovely purple water bottle… and answer some of the birthday calls and texts that came throughout the day…

purple tipped flowers from my colleagues with a fun balloon and card… one of our traditions is to circulate a card that everyone adds comments to for the celebrant… always a gift to read the kind notes included…

was going to order from SkipTheDishes but made leftover turkey dinner instead, one of my favourite meals…

then had a treat, lol…

had some loose tea in my new left-handed the wall tea cup… works really well and the tea I’d picked up recently at one of the Farmers Markets is delicious – it is similar to one of our all time favourites that was discontinued a number of years ago… and chips with two types of chocolate bars – my favourite Aschenti Cacao 79% with Sea Salt, and one of the bars we picked up in Mazatlan – a Ritter bar that had rum, nuts and fruit in it…

I mean, I’d been good all day, and it is my birthday, lol…

thinking back to a delicious piece of chocolate cake we found and shared by the Flatiron building in New York last year on my birthday…

really was one of the best pieces of cake I’ve ever eaten…

a great day to be alive…

accidents…

17 Monday Apr 2017

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had a couple of accidents recently…

a few weeks ago this happened…

I was opening a cupboard and this tiny vase fell out and broke… it was made for a single bloom and I really enjoyed it… sadly I can’t even remember where it came from so won’t be able to replace it…

the second oopsie is due mainly to laziness I think… I didn’t empty the rain barrel before the weather changed and the water inside froze and now it is trashed…

pretty sure we aren’t going to be able to fix this, sigh… and it had taken so long to find one that I liked… 

because it is all one piece don’t even think I can use it for anything else…

will need to be careful in the Fall with whatever I replace it with…

but I am excited that the weather is warming up and before long we’ll be sitting out in the garden…

bunnies…

16 Sunday Apr 2017

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this afternoon I watched a bunny run across the neighbour’s yard… it looked tired, lol…

when the kids arrived my son-in-law fixed the floppy siding – which makes so much noise when it comes loose… which happens every now and then… and the garage door which had shifted and wouldn’t stay closed… for the last week I’ve had a stool up against it on the inside of the garage and had to come and go from the front of the house using the rolling door… been a bit of a pain… but, now it is fixed… yay…

the youngest brought me a picture he’d made for grandparents’ day at his school… he shared that he had traced the flower pot which was used as a template by the rest of his classmates;-)…

had picked up chocolate bunnies, gift cards for some of their favourite places, and fancy cookies… 

and the Easter bunny had dropped off some mini eggs in the living and dining rooms…

had a lovely dinner… everyone lent a hand to get the last minute jobs done… my daughter is the meat/poultry carver… my oldest grandson now does the potato mashing, the two younger ones carry things out to the table… after dinner my son-in-law leads the clean-up brigade… by the time they leave the kitchen looks great and there is nothing left for me to do…

here’s how the table looked tonight…

and here’s how it looked last year…

always try to have lots of flowers, and bunnies…

my beloved has been gone five years but this is the sixth Easter without him… and for whatever reason I was missing him especially today…

spent some time thinking of the fun we had over the years as we celebrated Easter together and with the kids…

moments…

camaraderie…

15 Saturday Apr 2017

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been thinking of my dad a lot over the last few days…

he was ill my entire life and his last four years were really a gift… 

he died on Good Friday nearly thirty years ago… I don’t remember the date but it was in March that year… I had been called to the hospital and realized he really was dying… I left for a short while to pull myself together and after talking with a friend went back and sat with him as he moved from this world to the next… a privilege to share those moments with him…

always amazes me how something brings back the sadness and grief, even after all this time…

he was a special man and taught me so much about being a kind and gentle person and always seeing the good in people…

I remember the times he would sit on the deck and enjoy visiting with family and friends…

today I put the screen into the upstairs hall window, which looks out on that deck… over the winter I take it out so that I can take better pictures, lol…

feels like it is Spring now that the screen is in and the window is open… had the screen door open and enjoyed the gorgeous weather while I was cooking and doing prep work for tomorrow’s Easter dinner…

dad always had candy in his pocket… you could almost hear the wrappers rubbing against one another when he walked, lol…

and as I prepared the space and table I was missing my beloved… he was so good at helping me get ready for special meals… he would have picked up the flowers and anything else needed and looked after a good portion of the cleaning as I worked in the kitchen…

I miss that camaraderie… 

I have been, and continue to be, blessed with the men in my life…

bruised…

14 Friday Apr 2017

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woke up to the sound of thunder… and listened to it rain for a little while… 

had a wonderful lazy day… spent it in pyjamas watching tv and reading…

had a couple of great phone calls, catching up with folks… and made a few meals…

didn’t even realize how warm it was until a few minutes ago when I checked the temperature to find it was still 20 out, and nearly 8 pm…

guess I should have opened the door at some point… could have sat on the deck to read, lol… 

yesterday I caught my thumb in a door and broke my nail… my nails are very strong and it really pulled the nail from the bed… feels sore and I think it is rather bruised… such a little thing, but it is a reminder of how a little thing can change how you feel in a moment… also makes me remember the cold that is gone now, and the knee that is working perfectly again…

been talking with friends about just that… you can be healthy and well one moment and then something happens and you are not… needing to celebrate these days of good health… so easy to take things for granted…

been sending healing thoughts to so many who are dealing with health issues these days… hoping Spring will provide some respite for them…

the grass is greening, from just that little bit of rain…

moonroof…

13 Thursday Apr 2017

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looking forward to having the next four days off;-)…

it was beautiful out and the first time this spring I’ve driven with the moonroof open…

ended my week with a trip to have my hair purpled… the process takes a bit of time but I had brought my book… it was nice to have a quiet time with nothing to do except read…

when I was leaving a deer walked right through their yard… how cool… what a treat…

on my way home stopped in at Safeway and got all the fixings for Easter dinner… tomorrow will be a rest and read day…

here’s the result of the evening…