Category Archives: retirement

together…

27 Tuesday Jul 2021

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together at last;-)…

last night I made coffee, set out cushions on the deck, and watched some Olympics while I waited for my BS friends…

everyone is now two weeks since being double vaxed and we met outdoors… one was away, but everyone else turned up in person…

it was the first time we’ve been physically together for our Monday evening gatherings in more than eighteen months…

I was pleased that the coffee turned out as it had been a very long time since I’d made any, but apparently the muscle memory was there, lol… and they told me it was good;-)…

we’ve been meeting via Skype each Monday, but it just hasn’t been the same…we’ve also found that we could only meet in that manner for about an hour as it is so much more tiring…

what a treat to be together… we had snacks, laughs and lots of chat…

after everyone left, I took a wander around the garden as the solar lights came on…

a delightful evening…

overkill…

26 Monday Jul 2021

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I love the Olympics and have watched them for years… I remember a trip we took once and how we had to have access to TVs at the end of each day so that I could keep up with what was happening, lol…

I like to watch in real time so that means reorganizing my sleep schedule to get the best results…

for these ones I couldn’t decide how I felt about them going ahead this year… but now they are happening, I am in… I usually get a Canada Day t-shirt and had purchased one a while ago, but on July 1st I decided not to wear it… as the games began, I put it on;-)…

on Friday I was up at 5:30 am to watch the opening ceremony and ordered McDonald’s for breakfast so I didn’t have to stop watching to make something…

at one point during the first day I was switching between tv channels and streaming on my phone at the same time and I considered turning on the laptop as well… in the end I decided the laptop would be overkill…

I have slowed down slightly… apparently I need a bit more sleep these days…

the great thing about streaming is that I can watch some of the sports that I enjoy most but which don’t always get shown on tv…

the surfing, gymnastics and dressage have been lovely to watch, even if not exactly as they happened…

I’ve even taken the laptop out into the garden so that I can enjoy the weather and not miss anything, lol…

so happy to be able to watch whenever and wherever… retirement is a lovely thing;-)…

link…

25 Sunday Jul 2021

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been wishing that I didn’t have to climb behind the planter every time I need to turn the waterfall on and off…

I decided to look online to see if there was something I could use outside to control the plug…

I was so excited to find a KASA TP-Link outdoor plug… KASA is part of my Google Home system, and the plug was reasonably priced…

my grandson picked it up for me and it was easy to add to my Google Home… well, he added it, lol… I can even add another item to the plug as it has two outlets…

this is going to make dealing with the waterfall so much easier, and I’ve been having fun turning it on and off;-)…

spitting…

23 Friday Jul 2021

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a few days ago, I spent the day in the house, other than a few short walks around the garden when it wasn’t raining…

I was happy to find one of the tomatoes starting to turn colour… there are a lot, so it is going to be fun to snack on them as they ripen…

the water lily opened again, even in the rain… I took this picture from upstairs…

and I brought in the Mick’s pepper dahlia bloom to enjoy inside…

seemed odd to not be outside much… but, every time I stepped out the door it was spitting…

activity…

22 Thursday Jul 2021

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hot and partly overcast today, but not nearly as smokey…

and lots of activity in the garden…

must have counted six squirrels at one time and took a few pictures of different ones eating… none of the gray squirrels wanted to have their photos taken, lol…

there was also a great deal of bird action… dozens of house sparrows, numerous finches and chickadees, as well as at least one nuthatch…

such a wonderful way to spend the day;-)…

the water lily bloom continues to open with the light and close as the evening arrives…

lilies…

21 Wednesday Jul 2021

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was very surprised to see a water lily flower in the pond a few days ago…

I’d been watching for buds, but hadn’t spotted any… these two lilies had overwintered in the aquarium so I wasn’t sure how they would do, which made it even more thrilling…

I took many, many pictures trying to get just the right one… it is difficult to take one that shows the yellow in the centre of the flower correctly…

eventually, I put down a cushion and laid on it taking pictures and then watching the fish…

the waterfall has been off for a few days and they seem to come out from under the bridge more often…

I must have laid there for half an hour watching to see if I could spot the babies…

so far, I’ve seen two shubunkins (the multi-coloured ones) and at least two goldfish… the goldfish (yellow) are hard to spot as they look black… I tried to get pictures but they hide really well and are also very quick…

but what a fun time watching…

pool-net…

20 Tuesday Jul 2021

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my net for cleaning out the pond is a bit short so I ordered a pool-net from Krevco and had my grandson pick it up…

it is 8 feet long and can extend to 16 feet… perfect for a pool, but a tad longer than I need…

I have put tape on the one piece as I try to figure out the best length for me…

as my son-in-law pointed out, once we cut it we can’t add any length back on…

vegetable…

19 Monday Jul 2021

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I’ve been watering my neighbour’s vegetable garden when they are away, since it has been so hot…

it makes my few tomatoes, cucumbers and basil look like a joke, lol…

there are raised beds filled with beans, dill, cucumbers, peas, beets, carrots, lettuce, potatoes and tomatoes of all kinds…

it has been fun to watch the growth when I am giving them a drink…

and look what I received;-)… a bag filled with beans, ready to cook… they will be tomorrow’s supper along with some new potatoes and chicken… yum…

they have shared cucumbers and tomatoes over the years, but it was a lovely treat to get the three types of beans…

bated…

17 Saturday Jul 2021

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I’ve been watching the monarchs fly around the garden for the last while…

I sit with bated breath, hoping they will find the rather puny milkweed supply… and occasionally they do find it…

I’ve moved the planter, with the milkweed, and a very fast growing morning glory in it, so I can watch from my favourite spot by the pond…

now there are a few eggs on it to watch;-)…

they have even found the butterfly bush…

I have had so many opportunities to remember how blessed I am as I sit and enjoy the nature around me…

closer…

17 Saturday Jul 2021

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another great day in the garden…

it always looks particularly nice after Hilda the Gardener has been;-)… she spent a few hours in the morning weeding and trimming…

she also helped me move one of the bird feeders to a new spot closer to the pond where, just possibly, the squirrels won’t be able to get to it…

I am hoping that it isn’t so close that sunflower shells find their way into the water…

once she left, I watched sparrows having a garden party, testing out the feeders and enjoying drinks from the pond…

after a short nap, through the hottest part of the afternoon, I finished my book on the deck…