Category Archives: loss

Clementine…

06 Wednesday Jul 2016

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worked the late shift today and was able to meet up with a good friend for lunch before I started, and check out a new restaurant…


the restaurant is located on the lower level and is nicely decorated… small but fresh and bright… they only serve breakfast and lunch, which is a fun change…

we always have a good time together and spend our time checking in with one another… lovely to catch up… they had been to a number of places since we’d last been together… I went on about Atlanta, lol…

I had the Braised Bacon Benedict…

Braised Bacon Benedict Maple Sabayon, Dill, Poached Eggs, Pickled Jalapeños, Cheddar Biscuit


as it would happen, I asked for the jalapeños to be on the side, and they actually didn’t even come…

it was very tasty and the eggs were poached perfectly…

I also had the cucumber salad…

Cucumbers, Romaine Hearts, Tomato Caramel, Tahini Dressing


today they had avocado instead of the tomato caramel…

my friend had the Seared Tuna, Cashew, Peas & Rhubarb which was also delicious…

I had parked at work and then walked to and from lunch… still a few steps short of my daily goal…

such a treat to be able to spend some time with a good friend…

rainbow…

05 Tuesday Jul 2016

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started out the morning with a bit of rain early and as I was leaving for work it stopped, but I got some great shots of the hibiscus…


a colleague mentioned she had taken a picture of a double rainbow last night… I was looking to the west and she was looking to the east about the same time I think… I got shots of cool cloud formations, lol…

tonight I looked out the window to see the brightest rainbow I’ve seen in a long time…


picture doesn’t do it justice… it was so bright…

went to another window a few minutes later and saw the whole rainbow…

had to take two pictures to get it all in…


and then it was gone…

what a treat… makes the frequent rain more bearable…

thunderstorms…

04 Monday Jul 2016

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interesting weather day…

started off at 19 Celsius and sunny… but it did say something about thunderstorms later in the day…

when I got into the car at the end of the day it registered 32 and the sky was starting to get dark, but it didn’t rain on my drive…

once I was home and ate my dinner the rain began…


not that we really need more rain… the hibiscus has many yellow leaves from too much water…

and then the sky opened up and dumped so fast that it was difficult to see out the window and it looked like smoke was coming from the neighbour’s roof as the wind blew the rain across it…


it didn’t hail here, although it certainly made me think it was going to… but it did about 15 streets to the west…

by the time my friends arrived it had stopped raining and while we were visiting the sky started to clear and the sun came out…

when they left the sun was shining from the backside of the clouds so I had to get a picture of the lovely pink highlights…


always think how lovely it is to be able to enjoy these special moments in time… not only the weather but the opportunity to spend time with these wonderful and wise women…

memories…

03 Sunday Jul 2016

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this morning I was thinking about our time in Atlanta just a few weeks ago…

very happy while I was there to pick up a 2017 calendar… also picked up some beautiful notecards and a Chihuly hat…

just a few days ago I turned over my 2016 calendar to this picture…


another beauty… makes checking the date a very pleasant experience… and a reminder of those wonderful visits to the Atlanta Botanical Garden and our amazing visit to Chihuly Garden and Glass in Seattle…

I had picked up a couple of novels before heading to Atlanta and started reading this one…


was blown away by her reference to Chihuly as I read on the flight to Ottawa on the way to Atlanta…

synchronicity…

memories…

friends…

02 Saturday Jul 2016

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yesterday I discovered this plaque that a dear friend had given to me… it had come down from the bedroom wall four years ago when my older daughter arranged for her friends to come and paint the room for me before my surgery… the bedroom had been looking very worn and we knew I would be spending a lot of recovery time in it…


when I discovered it yesterday it went right down into the bathroom where it has a place of prominence…

on my walk in the Gardens at the Park today I was also thinking of friends…

often meet a friend to take this walk but she is away so I was on my own…

beautiful iris…

one of the gardeners was busy with the ongoing work in the gardens but happily answered my questions…

like why so many of the benches were tipped over… apparently some of the concrete needed repair… kind of funny, because they just put them in about two weeks ago after they had redone many of the walkways…

spotted this leopard frog having a look over its domain… that was just after a turtle slipped into the water on the other side of the pond…

my other question was about the string algae which is rather prominent in their pond as well… they are having pump troubles and also dye the water so the sunlight can’t get through and cause more algae… 

dragonflies were everywhere… didn’t even see this one on the lilypad when I took the picture…

this one posed very nicely for me…

sat on “my” bench – where George and I would often take a break on our walks through the Gardens – and the cutest teeny bunny came out from the undergrowth five or six times… but when I finally spoke to it, it left for good…

not sure why, but I have been missing him terribly for the last month or so…

as I toured around the Duck Pond I caught sight of this mallard mom and her babies having a rest in the sunshine…

while I was walking thought a lot about my friends and how blessed I am to have them…

peaceful…

01 Friday Jul 2016

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been a quiet Canada Day for me… 

spent the day in the garden and did some final planting, a tiny bit of weeding and lots of reading and relaxing…

watched at least three squirrels at the feeders… they were the only wildlife in the garden for a good portion of the day… quite entertaining as they fought over who would be at the feeder… one was literally tossed off by another…


the hibiscus has a ton of buds and this lovely bloom early in the day…


sitting in the shade reading and enjoying the peaceful sound of the waterfall…

then I spotted this little beauty as it came in for a drink…

the next thing I knew the couple were at the feeder…


a bit later a chickadee stopped by for a snack too, and as I was cooking my dinner they were all taking turns, although they weren’t pleased that I kept going into the garage…


decided to barbecue my dinner… went well, other than the fact I over cooked the steak, lol… tasted good anyway…

the burners are rusted through so I may need to watch for a small barbecue on sale to replace this one…

off and on throughout the day the music from the celebrations at the Park have wafted over…

well, back to my book…

market…

30 Thursday Jun 2016

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had a great time at the Downtown Farmers Market today…


picked up some lovely small new potatoes; red and white radishes; tiny beets and greens; peas; asparagus and strawberries… also picked up some Thai coconut soup, gluten-free perogies  and an adorable purple hat… lots of fun…

and I was only away from the office for thirty minutes…

hadn’t taken any meat out for dinner so cooked the beets with greens, half of the potatoes and some of the peas… added a bit of Brie and some fresh dill… 


oh, so yummy… looking forward to more delicious dishes over the weekend…

summer has arrived…

jammies…

29 Wednesday Jun 2016

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slept over at the kids’ and was up for a grade 5 farewell…


very well done celebration and it ended with cake and punch… someone had three pieces, lol… wonder how the rest of his day was… big brother even came along so he could see his former teachers… pretty good school when kids want to come back and visit…


squeezed a picture out of the family before they flew off in different directions…

after a bit of time in their backyard, was dropped at home where I had lunch and a nap… for my dinner I warmed up some risotto that a friend had brought to me a few days ago and made some coleslaw to go with it… 


was yummy…

then headed to a local soccer field to watch the oldest grandson play… looked like it might spit a bit so I took a rain jacket… 


good plan, because it poured for at least half of the game… but those kids just kept playing like troupers…


by the time it ended the sun was out and so were the mosquitoes…


when I got home I discovered that my shorts were very wet, so I changed into my jammies and made a pot of tea…

been a busy few weeks, but lots of fun…

skatepark…

28 Tuesday Jun 2016

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so far this evening I’ve been to a soccer game… after the game there were treats…


partly because he said that grandma must be about 50… seemed like that deserved ice cream, don’t you think…

a skatepark…

where the new scooter was tested out at last… he got it way back yesterday… he also had his BMK for a bit of variety, lol…


the soccer player was doing great on his bike… it was late in the fall when he actually started to ride…

it sure is wonderful to be able to attend their events and get to see them having fun…

ran home at lunch, was picked up, taken back to the office and picked up at the end of the day… then, when we arrived at their house, supper was waiting for us… what a treat… another example of how blessed I am…

I sure miss having my beloved look after making a meal, and arriving home to the lovely odours of food cooking…

treasures…

27 Monday Jun 2016

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started the day with this beautiful orchid…


so lovely and perfect… a friend says it looks artificial…

on my way out to the car, got this great picture of the datura, which is opening up more every day…


this morning at work a colleague brought me this adorable purple African violet… what a wonderful way to start the week…


tonight a couple of my BS friends came over and we spent time in the hot tub… it was delightful…

while we visited, the goldfinch and his partner came and ate at the feeder right where we could watch… when he first arrived, he sang a song to his lady to come over…

a wonderful moment in time to treasure…

ended the evening sitting by the pond as the lights began to come on, writing my blog post…


didn’t make it till the post was finished because the mosquitoes chased me into the house…