05 Tuesday Jul 2022
Posted in business, garden, life, moments, nature, retirement, technology, Uncategorized
Tags
big girl pants, blessed, display, garden, moments, Technology, widow, wireless
happily, I figured out how to add the new wireless camera to the app on my phone…
and how to connect it to Google Home…
I even managed to get it to come up on one of the Displays;-)…
good day for technology, lol…
04 Monday Jul 2022
Posted in business, garden, life, loss, moments, nature, retirement, technology, Uncategorized
Tags
big girl pants, blessed, camera, dissuade, fish, garden, moments, motion, nature, plants, pond, Technology, water lilies, widow
last Thursday night I think a raccoon (or more than one) came into the garden and attacked the pond…
they got at least two fish and tossed around the water lilies… they don’t care for fish scales, so end up leaving them on the ground… I found two piles on the stepping stones alongside the pond…
the fish were clearly traumatized and have barely come out from under the bridge…
after doing some research, I put down epsom salt all around the pond and hoped that would dissuade them from finding their supper in my garden…
I also put on the motion sensor at the back door and the one on the garage…
since then, they have come back a few times, although I am starting to wonder if it might be the coyote that has been wandering in this area… the plants have been disturbed, but I haven’t found any fish bits…
this Thursday I put up a new wireless camera to see if I can spot whatever has been coming by…
so far, nothing has been spotted…
01 Friday Jul 2022
Posted in family, food, life, loss, moments, technology, Uncategorized
Tags
beloved, big girl pants, blessed, Canada, family, fireworks, gather, learning, memories, moments, munched, Park, popcorn, reading, remembering, Technology, trees, widow
in recent years Canada day has been a much quieter event for me…
for many years my beloved and I would have a gathering with family, friends and neighbours, and end the day with huge bowls of popcorn which we would consume as the fireworks went off at the Park…
chairs for everyone would be placed out on the street and there was lots of oohing and aahing at the fireworks as we munched on the popcorn…
this afternoon, I made a bowl of popcorn and munched on it thinking of the past and dreaming of a more inclusive future…
after forty plus years, the trees have grown so much that we could no longer see most of the display and over the last few years the Park hasn’t set off fireworks due to construction happening where the staging area used to be…
last year it felt like celebrating would be an insult to our First Nations peoples and so I spent time learning more of our sad history…
today I hung an orange heart on the front door and wore an orange shirt with red leggings… I continue to learn and support in ways that I am able…
I love this country and hope that we can do better… I am finding these to be very complicated feelings and continue to struggle with them…
30 Thursday Jun 2022
Posted in family, garden, life, moments, nature, retirement, technology, Uncategorized, weather
Tags
big girl pants, blessed, garden, moments, nature, peace, pond, purple, Technology, tranquil, waterfall, weather, widow
the weather was a bit odd on Saturday… I put out a few cushions, and then brought them in when it started to spit, then put them out, and brought them back in… and so on… kind of a game…
when I was out, I had a blanket on as it was cool and a touch windy…
my grandson had put the old waterfall up on a for sale board and a couple were coming by to pick it up… I rinsed it off before they arrived and was happy that the garage camera got a shot of it because I didn’t think to, lol…
their plan is to add it to their current pond in Beausejour…when they arrived, it was sunny and we had a little tour of the garden… it was wonderful to hear others’ thoughts on how tranquil the space really is…
another reminder of how blessed I am;-)…
28 Tuesday Jun 2022
Posted in family, garden, health, life, loss, moments, nature, retirement, technology, Uncategorized
Tags
beloved, big girl pants, blessed, family, flowers, garden, hospital, memories, moments, morning glories, nature, photos, purple, special, Technology, treat, widow
as I wander around the garden every day and spot the morning glories, I am reminded of our fortieth wedding anniversary…
I spent six weeks in St. Boniface Hospital with pancreatitis and then gall bladder surgery ~ instead of a trip to BC ~ and each day when my beloved came to spend time with me, he brought photos of whichever morning glories were in bloom…
using the camera on his phone was not something he did regularly, so it was special when he brought these to me…
it also meant that he took the time to check out the garden as he knew how I loved these flowers… and they had just started to bloom after I ended up in the hospital…
a very special man, my beloved…
27 Monday Jun 2022
Posted in family, life, moments, retirement, technology, travel, Uncategorized, weather
Tags
big girl pants, blessed, family, formula 1, grandson, happy, home, moments, Montreal, travel, widow
and look who is home…
for the summer at least;-)…
lots of miles have been put on and a quick trip to Montreal to see the Formula 1 race on the 19th…
had to make room in the garage so she could fit, lol…
25 Saturday Jun 2022
Posted in business, family, food, garden, life, moments, nature, retirement, technology, Uncategorized, weather
Tags
big girl pants, blessed, blue cedar, bonsai, dinner, family, garden, happy, irrigation, moments, nature, plants, Technology, widow
I am beyond happy…
Thursday the kids came over and we spent most of the late afternoon in the garden…
my grandson started work on a bonsai tree and it was great fun to see him trim a blue cedar into something resembling a small tree…
it is going to live in the garden for the summer…
then, we finished the irrigation system… yay… the hose was straightened, holes were punched in various places and tubes with sprinklers were connected… they had no trouble connecting the tubes to the hose, sigh… we ran a test and made sure each little piece was spraying appropriately…
we need a few more pieces of tubing, but most planters, baskets and perennials now will be watered when I turn on the tap… I am sure they will all be happy about this, lol…
so excited to see how well the garden will grow when it is watered regularly…
then we had barbecued steak and asparagus, baked potatoes and a salad on the deck…
what a treat;-)…
24 Friday Jun 2022
Posted in business, garden, life, moments, nature, retirement, technology, Uncategorized
Tags
big girl pants, birds, blessed, garden, ID, learning, moments, nature, Technology, widow
I am really enjoying a newer feature on the Merlin Bird ID app… it lets you record bird sounds and then, nearly instantly, tells you what bird you are hearing… I’ve used this free app regularly to help identify birds that stop by the garden to eat or drink…
this new option is great for times, a lot recently, when the birds aren’t coming to the feeders and you want to ID them…
in the last day, there’s been a house wren here, and this morning the house finch and chipping sparrow seem to be chatting, lol…
fun to know who’s around, even if you can’t spot them…
17 Friday Jun 2022
Posted in business, food, garden, life, moments, nature, retirement, technology, travel, Uncategorized, weather
Tags
big girl pants, blessed, drive, fun times, garden, Lilystone, Lilystone Cafe, Lilystone Gardens, lunch, moments, nature, poppies, retail, treat, widow
what a delightful day… got up, dressed, put out all the cushions and had breakfast on the back deck, admiring the ten or so poppies waving their lovely heads in the flower bed…
Hilda the Gardener arrived and started weeding and tidying everywhere…
a friend picked me up and we drove to Rosenort to eat and do a little shopping…
we had a delicious lunch at Lilystone Cafe, where we both picked up a few treats to bring home for later… I was happy to see them making great use of technology to take orders and prepare the bills… staff were friendly and treated us like family…
then we headed over to Lilystone Gardens, where we engaged in a bit of retail therapy, including a Christmas present… they are just now recovering from flooded fields and roads…
after an enjoyable return drive to the city we stopped at her house to check out some recent work and her very lush garden…
home, a wander around the garden to admire how tidy it is, and a sit down on the deck with a cup of tea and my book…
;-)…
25 Wednesday May 2022
Posted in business, family, life, moments, retirement, technology, Uncategorized, weather
Tags
big girl pants, blessed, duo, family, garden, memories, moments, nature, remembering, Rummy, Technology, test, widow
started my day with a Duo call from the kids in Ottawa… they have been without power since the wild storm on Saturday…
they were at the Canadian Science and Technology Museum testing wifi as she had a video meeting… the Museum is just a short walk from their house, has plugs all around the outside of the building (technology), and the wifi gave an excellent video call, so that was very handy… I was the test for the meeting, lol…
while they waited for the phones to charge she was teaching him how to play Rummy… it was the card game we played for hours as we sat in the hospital with my mom as she was dying… we laughed about him needing to know how to play when they sit at my deathbed… way in the future…
we talk most days, but don’t often video call… it is always lovely to see their beautiful faces… and it was fun to show them the garden…
wonderful way to begin the day…
herbiggirlpants 