Category Archives: travel

bevels…

26 Wednesday Feb 2020

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recently I was checking out the rainbows on the kitchen floor… there has been lots of sun;-)…

thought they were coming through the patio door, but then I figured out they were coming from the back door window which has a number of bevels on it…

brought back memories of our time in Maui where there were rainbows all the time…

one day there were seven different rainbows within about an hour… it was amazing…

I do love rainbows…

reflecting…

11 Saturday Jan 2020

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had a lovely time while I was still at my daughter’s sorting and taking photos of my Christmas gifts…

I absolutely love my soft purple blanket, and was happy to examine all of the other wonderful treats I received…

a few purple items, lol – socks, facecloths, gloves, tins, toothbrush, reusable sponge, phone holder… and quite a variety of chocolate – pistachio, Lindt, turtles, raspberry (my favourite), chocolate covered sponge… a tea and chocolate pairing that was flavoured with orchids, reusable bags, a Chihuly 2020 calendar, colouring books and pencils, a magazine on gratitude, a hand printed towel… plus a few more I can’t even remember…

yikes, so many gifts… I certainly am blessed…

the sun was shining into the room as I was gathering them for the photo… it was very meditative and I was able to reflect on each gift and the person who gave it to me… and the fun we had as we opened and shared our delight over each parcel…

a wonderful way to extend the joy of Christmas morning…

now that I’m home, I’ve found a spot for each one…

as I use each item I will be sure to spend a moment to remember the giver with gratitude in my heart…

hosts…

10 Friday Jan 2020

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recently I flew home from Ottawa… I spent the majority of the trip with my eyes glued to the window… it was like the entire sky was filled with a sunset for the entire flight… what a gift…

I had the most wonderful visit with my daughter and son-in-law… also had a fun time meeting and getting to know his mom…

it was quite a different Christmas for me… flew out on Christmas Day and celebrated New Year’s there as well… his mom was with us for a week and then I spent another six days with the kids…

had so much fun… the kids are wonderful hosts* and offer up all kinds of interesting things to do… I stayed in their AirBnB room which was very cozy…

while I was there we ate great home cooked meals, fed birds out of our hands, went to see butterflies, had afternoon tea, went to the Market and restaurants, spent a day at the spa, had a photo shoot, and two chocolate tastings…

and enjoyed great conversations…

now I am home and able to begin retirement living…

*AirBnB Cozy Blue Room Ottawa

spa…

09 Thursday Jan 2020

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for my last full day in Ottawa, we went to Nordik Spa in Chelsea… it is the parent of Thermea, where I was, just days ago…

but it is so much bigger… there are whole sections for quiet activities, as well as silent ones… every time I go they have added something new… this time it was Quonset hut saunas… the light reflecting on the ceiling was gorgeous…

we started in one of the warm glass beds and moved to warm pools, saunas, hot pools, had scrubs, and sat around fires in huts…

we drank tons of water and had a delicious lunch… we chatted with strangers, just ourselves, and we spent time in silence…

they don’t allow photos on site so these are a few I took: leaving home as the snow fell, the view as we stood in line to get our bracelets, and a picture my daughter took as we were leaving…

it was a wonderful relaxing and rejuvenating day, and a great way to end my visit…

we drove home in the dark, after watching the moon rise from various pools, and had a simple supper before all three of us watched a movie…

we didn’t want to go to bed because she had to work the next day and I would be packing and flying home;-(…

market…

08 Wednesday Jan 2020

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on Sunday we had breakfast out at Stan’s Diner, which seems to be similar to the “A”…

then a trip to pick up mushrooms, maple syrup, bread, a raspberry scone, and squash…

we also tasted truffle butter and truffle ice cream;-)…

then home for a relaxing day…

Atelier…

07 Tuesday Jan 2020

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what a wonderful treat it was to go to Atelier for dinner…

my daughter took me to celebrate my retirement… her hubby acted as chauffeur for the evening;-)…

it is a twelve course tasting menu and every course is more impressive than the last…

we also shared a wine pairing… this worked well as I only wanted a sip of each offering…

our appetizer was on a plate which rotated while we were enjoying the three different bites… it was very cool…

one of my favourite courses was the sable fish… it was very tasty…

every course came on a different plate… apparently the chef collects dishes from all over… many of the ones we had this time were different from the last time I was there… because the restaurant is intimate they don’t need tons of each dish…

at the end of our meal, we had the opportunity to meet with Marc Lepine, chef/owner of Atelier…

next time I’m in Ottawa I will be sure to check out his new offering – Thru… it is only open on Tuesdays and has seating for six with a menu of 50 items… it uses QR code’s to order… sounds very fun…

what a special gift… it was a magical evening;-)…

keep…

06 Monday Jan 2020

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so far, we’ve had two chocolate tastings, and a pairing…

I’ve had a number of tastings over the years and always enjoy them… this last one was all about chocolate with coconut flavours… and I love coconut;-)…

our pairing was chocolate and an orchid tea… lots of fun preparing and doing the tasting…

I’ve also earned my keep by helping with data entry for the list of all the bars that are located in her office, or maybe chocolate room would be a better description, lol…

Tulip…

05 Sunday Jan 2020

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I always try to work in some public transportation while I am visiting my kids, lol… I love bendy buses and for the longest time we didn’t have any in Winnipeg… they also have double decker buses here… and recently the train has been added…

so, took a bus and the train to get downtown where we had lunch at Tulip, in the Hilton Garden Inn…

the modern decor is amazing… tons of purple and beautifully done… delightful space to be in…

we had two appetizers… polenta and tuna, both were delicious…

our mains were not as exciting, or a tasty, and unfortunately they didn’t have the dessert we had been looking forward to, but we had a wonderful time together and fun with buses, trains and even a bit of walking to finally get home;-)…

digs…

04 Saturday Jan 2020

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for the first week in Ottawa I slept on the pull-out couch in the living room as my son-in-law’s mom had the bedroom…

these were my digs, lol…

my suitcase was in my daughter’s office, where I would change… with all the chocolate, lol… at night we’d pull out the bed and I had the window ledge for my stuff… the whole system worked fine…

once my son-in-law’s mom left on New Year’s Day, I moved into new digs;-)…

there was a lovely message on their Airbnb board just for us;-)…

I added my new very soft purple blanket to the bottom of the bed…

and then, they added flowers and I added a new laptop;-)…

village…

02 Thursday Jan 2020

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last night we went to Upper Canada Village to see the lights…

the weather was balmy, with a bit of wind blowing now and again…

we wandered around and admired the hundreds of thousands of lights that lit up buildings and trees, had two horse and wagon rides, ate cookies with hot chocolate, sang Christmas carols in the church and had a wonderful train ride around the property…

unfortunately we couldn’t ride the carousel because you had to weigh less than 100 pounds;-(…

an excellent way to get in some walking…