Category Archives: travel

duck…

29 Sunday Jul 2018

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Friday morning got to spend time with my sister-in-law who was in from Calgary for the weekend…

picked her up at the airport and headed over to the Park Cafe for breakfast and a wander around the Duck Pond and Gardens…

was able to see the new island in the Duck Pond… it will filter the water in the pond and help with algae control… looks really neat… a duck or two came up to us as we were admiring the pond…

had a wonderful visit as we checked out the Gardens… got a fun shot of three wheelbarrows lined up as a crew of gardeners were weeding a bed at the entrance to the Leo Mol Garden…

haven’t seen my sister-in-law for ages so it was a real treat to spend time with her… she was married to my brother and when they divorced we kept her and let him go;-)…

classic…

24 Tuesday Jul 2018

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wondering if the reason I’ve been missing my beloved so much lately has to do with the social media reminders of how difficult Julys have been for me…

he was always there to look after me…

eight years ago today I had a procedure which gave me pancreatitis and kept me in hospital for six weeks… my beloved came everyday and often brought photos of the morning glories that were blooming that day… this was by far the most painful health experience of my life and I cannot imagine how I would have managed without him…

six years ago in July I had surgery for cancer and to repair a hernia… he wasn’t there to support me for that one…

but I also remember the wonderful trip we had in July of 2011 when we went to Courtenay to visit the kids… we saw hundreds of classic cars, walked among the huge redwoods, went up the chairlift on Mount Washington and lived to tell the tale… anyone who knows us would know how afraid of heights we both were, and I still am…

a glorious time…

so amongst the dark times there were also some great times…

really, how blessed have I been…

shells…

19 Thursday Jul 2018

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this morning I put all the shells that my kids brought home from their trip to the East coast on the table outside to dry in the sun…

they have been soaking in soapy water for a few days to clean them and get rid of the fishy smell…

when I arrived home they were rather wet from the afternoon rainfall…

I was thinking they would have dried out and been cleansed by the sun…

right now it is pouring out and I am hoping that the shells don’t blow away in the storm…

wish me luck;-)…

pelicans…

15 Sunday Jul 2018

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a few days ago I received a postcard in the mail from my Ottawa daughter… she had sent it from Kingston and it had a beautiful heron on it…

I love herons and we were recently talking about them as they seem much more common in Ontario than here… either that or I am just not in the places here where they reside… she often sends me photos of them when she’s by the river or paddle boarding…

just last week when the boys and I were on a walk, the pelicans were on the river as we crossed the bridge… first time this year that I’d seen them… got a few pics but mostly from far away…

today as I walked over the bridge to the Park they were on the water again… they are another bird that I find very interesting… often they can be seen in Lockport, but I haven’t made it there yet this year…

I do love it when I spy birds when I am out and about… so blessed to have the opportunity for walks in such a beautiful area…

WWTB day 10…

08 Sunday Jul 2018

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the final day of my week with the boys while the rest of the family visit the East Coast…

tidied bedrooms, watched videos, went to a movie, read and mowed the grass…

relaxed for the remainder of the day…

we talked about the best things during our time together… biggest hit was our steak and lobster dinner… best camp happening was touching the snake… best thing for the older one was sleeping in and our visit to The Forks… not a bad list, lol…

suitcases, pillows, groceries, backpack and shoes all ready to go… then there were the happy faces as they got picked up, lol…

bye;-)…

bowls…

28 Thursday Jun 2018

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received these sweet bowls from my daughter when my youngest grandson and I visited Ottawa in March…

she had been using them while waiting for us to arrive, lol, and really liked them… there was some talk about not giving them to me…

when I first brought them home I didn’t use them, but decided one day that the largest one would be great for my evening chip nibble… it is about the same size as one of the cereal bowls I’d been using for ages… and much prettier;-)…

then I discovered that pretzels fit beautifully in the one the next size down… and finally, things like olives or almonds and chocolate wafers fit perfectly in the smallest one…

having appropriate sized snack containers is very helpful for portion control…

now I use them all the time, lol…

a lovely gift…

loyal…

01 Friday Jun 2018

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this afternoon I spent half an hour talking with a few people at the phone company…

we have been customers for forty-eight years and use all of the services that they provide…

the last bill was ridiculous, especially for one person…

when I was travelling in April I had added unlimited calling to my cell phone so I wanted to have that taken off…

while I was talking with Ella she found things we could change that would bring my bill down by around $30 per month…

then she put me on the line with Melanie to see if they could do anything to reward me for being a loyal customer…

she found a few items and my bill will be reduced by over $75 for the next six months…

seems to me they might consider a permanent reduction, but for now I have marked my calendar and will call them again in six months… rather frustrating that I have to be on top of this all the time…

I must say the two women I spoke with were very helpful…

list…

22 Tuesday May 2018

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I was so excited yesterday when the sound of the waterfall filled the garden…

the kids came over and did a number of jobs around the house and garden… I had made a list for each person of what needed to be done and the items were checked off one by one…

my son-in-law dealt with the pond… he did have a bit of help from the younger boys as they helped clean out the leaves…

the pond was up and running before supper… after supper the fish moved from their winter condo to their summer home… they are really big now although for a while they will be hiding as they get reacquainted with the space…

tonight all the windows are open and I can hear the sound of running water…

flipped…

06 Sunday May 2018

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when I flipped my Chihuly calendar to May, I was reminded of our wonderful visit to the Atlanta Botanical Garden a few years ago to see the Chihuly Installations…

the picture is a tower and reminded me of the tall yellow one where we had a picture taken by some people walking by, lol… my daughter had taken a few pictures for them just before that… it was also one that lit up at night…

I dug through old photos and found a few of my favourites from that trip…

the goddess was the reason for the trip and we spent a fair bit of time at that installation…

of all of Chihuly’s pieces, I am always most drawn to the blues… from the very first ones I saw at Chihuly Garden and Glass… here is a blog I wrote about that amazing experience…

lovely memories… wondering what might be next…

car…

30 Monday Apr 2018

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today I got my new car…

Shadow was traded in and I got a 2018 model tonight… this time I bought the car rather than lease it… I am most excited about the heated steering wheel although when my grandson takes it over, down the road, he will likely appreciate the various safety features… the car will keep you inside the lines on the road and match the speed of the car ahead of you on the highway… pretty cool…

was a bit of a process to get the tires into the car to take with me, lol… happily my neighbour was out and about and was able to come over and help me get them loaded…

I haven’t decided on a name for this new vehicle just yet…

took everything out of the various storage places and even remembered to remove the garage door opener, lol…

took a final picture of Shadow as she sat outside the doors of the dealership… it was very cold as I walked to and from the insurance company… wasn’t thinking I’d be outside for so long… eventually got the keys and met the new vehicle in my life… they even put a big bow on her…

she’s a beauty… now I just have to learn all the new stuff…