Category Archives: Photography

camping, day 1…

21 Thursday Jul 2016

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woo hoo…

sitting around the campfire after dinner…


took a while because we had to prepare the cooking utensils…


first, we had to find the correct sticks… and then we had to sharpen them… and get the fire nice and high…

while that was going on, other people were testing out the hammock…


nothing like a smokie cooked on a stick over an open fire… delicious…

then we took an evening walk… the water was like glass at the beach…


dishes done, mosquitoes have won and we are in our tents ready for bed…

the wind is gently moving the leaves on the trees…

feels like we’ve been here for ages… great way to start our family vacation…

storm…

20 Wednesday Jul 2016

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wow, that was quite the storm…

it was excessively hot today and when we had lunch I only stayed out for a while because of the heat…

went shopping with my daughter after work to pick up the groceries for our camping trip…


the most I’ve spent on groceries in a very long time, maybe ever… my, that girl certainly has her daddy’s skill in packing as she loaded up the cart and then filled the boxes perfectly… George was an amazing packer…

then we raced home, trying to beat the black sky that was following us…


just as she finished repacking a box the thunder, lightning and raindrops started…


everything went dark and then the wind blew like crazy, and the rain poured down… about that time the power went off… crashes of thunder and lightning were wild…


now it is quiet except for the sound of fire trucks and the odd leftover bit of thunder…

always amazing how quiet the house/neighbourhood is when the power is off…

hope everyone is safe…

look…

19 Tuesday Jul 2016

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last night I spent some time staring at the beautiful moon…

for a few moments I considered going to get my camera and taking some pictures, but instead chose to just admire it…

this morning I looked out the living room window and spotted this cutie…

even sat still long enough for me to get a few pictures…

last picture of the morning was of the gorgeous dahlia through the window…

really blooming beautifully…

repair…

18 Monday Jul 2016

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four years ago today I went into surgery for a hysterectomy due to cancer, and a hernia repair… I had two different surgeons involved to get everything done, basically at the same time…

just four months after George died I had been to accountants, financial experts and lawyers to put my affairs in order… I wasn’t sure I would wake up…

I remember that morning, as I lay on the stretcher, my heart pounding, wondering if I had done everything needed so that my girls wouldn’t have too much trouble dealing with my stuff if I didn’t make it… I didn’t want them to struggle the way I had when my beloved died…

I was so thrilled to wake up and learn that the surgery had gone well and the prognosis was excellent…

my body has always reacted poorly to any drugs and the pain meds they gave me kept me from sleeping and made me slightly crazy… eventually (within 8 hours) I was able to convince the doctors and nurses to stop all medication… I have always felt it easier to deal with the pain than the side effects of medication…

so, it was painful for a while, but my head was clear and I knew the pain would subside as my body repaired itself… 

and I was so happy to be alive, that helped too…

every step of my recovery was supported by family and friends… people sent me flowers, brought me food, sat with me, walked with me, ate with me, called me every day, stayed with me, and did chores around the house and yard that I couldn’t manage – for the first six weeks I couldn’t lift anything over a pound… what an amazing group… 

fast forward to today… I am healthy, able to lift and carry, have lost around 40 pounds, walk regularly and eat carefully… I am managing my diabetes with diet and exercise and feel pretty darn good…

still have the most amazing group of people in my life… 


I just realized a few days ago that there are no morning glories in the garden this year… made me a bit sad… we’ve had them in the garden for many years… I just love their beauty, the surprise in the morning when they open, and the inner glow they seem to have… when I was in hospital in 2010 for a six week stint, I remember George taking pictures each morning before he came so he could show the blooms to me…

I miss my beloved each and every day but know I truly am blessed as I continue down this new path…


life is fleeting…   enjoy every moment…

critters…

17 Sunday Jul 2016

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saw many critters today…

checked out the pelicans as I crossed the bridge to the Park… got some great shots, particularly this one…


later, when I was sitting in the garden at home, I watched them soaring high above the house…

found critters on and in flowers and lily pads…

bug, not sure what kind…

purple lily and frog…

butterfly and bush, lol…

water lily with ant, maybe…

very happy to get a shot of this shy turtle… I have seen it over the last month but it vanishes into the water when people are even walking on the path… stood and watched it for about fifteen minutes today…


it was clear and sunny as I went for my walk this morning… when I got home I sat out in the garden as some lovely white clouds floated across the sky… as I was making my lunch thunder rolled, and all of a sudden there was a huge downpour …


a bit later, it was sunny again… 

kids were here for supper, and as they left my daughter spotted this critter sitting in the front yard… 


was there for easily twenty minutes…

fun times…

sounds…

16 Saturday Jul 2016

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spent a very quiet day… well, I was quiet but not so much the air around me, lol…

the birds took turns in the garden… 

three crows were on the roof of the house for a long time this morning while chickadees flitted back and forth between the feeders and cedars… both of these groups were vying to be the loudest, couldn’t decide who won…

I was busy checking out the tomatoes…

the cherry tomato plant is dripping with fruit, although they haven’t started to turn colour just yet…

but the bigger ones are starting to change… woo hoo… soon there will be some yummy eating going on…

can hardly wait… then the chickadees and crows were gone…

a bit later the sparrows came to the garden… they ate at all three feeders, flitted from tree to tree, had drinks in the pond and baths by the waterfall…

the pond looks so great with the rocks and plants in just the right places…

love the purple flowers on this little plant that is floating in an island…

read, watched and listened to the visitors and the waterfall, ate and napped… even got in some time on the treadmill…

later in the afternoon the rain started and the sound of it hitting the windows was rather peaceful…

haven’t spoken a word today, but have done lots of listening;-)…

inside the datura…

company…

15 Friday Jul 2016

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had quite a bit of company today…

early morning meeting with my money guy…

then met my grandson for breakfast and we worked in the garden for a few hours…


he is getting to be a good gardener… finished putting the rocks around and in the pond so now none of the liner is visible…  we also lifted the deck to move the cords out of sight and he cleaned up the flower bed and put rocks down…

looks very nice… made red lentil curry and rice for our lunch which is one of his favourites…


the fushia was looking beautiful today…

after he left, spent some time reading in the garden and then had a nap…

the daddy dropped the little boys off after supper on his way to work…

we had a lovely time… they came with me to water a friend’s plants…


on our way home we stopped for Dairy Queen ice cream and once we arrived at the house, we walked over to the grocery store to pick up fixings for s’mores…

on our way back we stopped at the creek where we scattered grandpa’s ashes and then there was rolling down the hill activity…


got this great shot of the dahlias blooming in the front garden as we arrived home from the store… they look like a painting…


the boys played with balloons for at least an hour, on the deck and then in the hot tub…


everyone played on their electronics for a while and then we had a fire…


they were picked up by mom and I am now enjoying a few quiet minutes before heading to bed, lol…

we never did get to the s’mores but will do that on Sunday when they come for dinner…

it is such a treat to spend some one-on-one time with them…

appreciation…

14 Thursday Jul 2016

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on my way out of the house this morning I dug out my camera to take some pictures of the flowers that were blooming…

one of the hibiscus flowers was just opening…

the raindrops are so pretty on the blossoms… and there have been lots of raindrops recently…

the datura is very happy in its pot… one day the pot might make it to the front yard, lol…

today was Staff Appreciation Day… we came in a bit later than usual and were treated to a lovely breakfast…

then we had a great workshop on DISC, a personal assessment tool…

DiSC® is the leading personal assessment   tool used by over 1 million people every year to improve work productivity, teamwork and communication.

great to get more insight into how we can work more effectively as a team and learn a bit more about one another…

before heading out for lunch everyone got to choose a parcel and this is the one I chose…

the only one with a gift certificate to Thermea, woo hoo… I’ve been thinking about going for the last while, and now I will…

then we went to The MET for lunch on the patio, followed by the afternoon off…

returned home, turned the pump back on in the pond, and came into the house for a lovely nap…

feeling very nicely appreciated…

complete…

13 Wednesday Jul 2016

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recently had a conversation with someone about having that person at home you can tell anything to and they will immediately take your side…

this is one of the things I miss about being on my own… my beloved would listen to my version of whatever it was and be ready to go and do anything needed to sort out the situation… so often I would then have to calm him down, lol, but just knowing that he was always in my corner was so wonderful…

I miss him in different ways on different days… he really did complete me…

in these 1590 days I have continued to learn things and gain strength each step of this new journey… I am braver, stronger, healthier and maybe smarter… maybe…

mandevilla bud…

neverending…

12 Tuesday Jul 2016

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this morning my focus seems to have been on flowers, lol…

had to take a few pictures of the neverending October IKEA orchid… it continues to amaze me with its beauty…

straight on and…

from the side…

then I looked out the window and saw the dahlia blooming…

they are a beautiful shade of purple and look very nice in the planter…

so excited when I stepped outside to see that one of the mandevilla blossoms had opened… even in the rain…

the weather danced between blue sky and rain and overcast all day long…

took this picture when I first got out of bed… since then it has been gray, cloudy, sunny, cloudy, rainy, sunny, rainy, cloudy… on my drive home it looked similar to this shot and now it is gray and the rain has just stopped… 

feels like everyone I know is a bit down or feeling a little off…

the neverending rain is getting a bit trying… looking forward to some sunshine…