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prep…

10 Saturday Oct 2015

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spent time in the garden today…

first thing was emptying the hot tub…

  
takes quite a while to drain…

  
then, while it filled, I emptied pots and baskets… also cut back, and cleaned off the dahlia tubers as I prepped the garden for winter, sigh…

brought in the last of the flowers and blooms from the dahlias… hope they continue to bloom like the canna has…

  
put out a few Thanksgiving decorations, set the table for Monday’s dinner, and watched some tv…

made stuffing… tomorrow I will prepare the vegetables, which makes it much more relaxing on Monday…

I looked out the window at one point and the light looked odd so I ran downstairs and checked the front and back windows…

the sky was spectacular…

   
out the back…

 
through the front… just a few minutes later this is what I saw…

 
have been blessed to have caught so many gorgeous views of the sky in the last while…
so much to be thankful for…

mugs…

07 Wednesday Oct 2015

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a couple of weeks ago I picked up a set of four Rob McIntosh mugs…

  
I had bought these same ones about six months ago for my daughter who lives in Ottawa … had to wait quite a while for someone to take them to her… decided I really liked them, but when I went back they didn’t have any…

when I found them the other day I was very happy… I kept one at the office for me…

  
shared one with a colleague…

  
and brought the other two home for my collection…

was very proud of myself when I managed to reduce my collection by two, to make way for the new ones…

  
very happy that both of these were adopted by friends… one sent me a note saying she was enjoying her morning coffee in it and thinking of me:-)…

  

I have a wide variety of mugs and when people are over I have them choose the mug they would like to use for their coffee, tea or hot chocolate… bit of a tradition here…

quilt…

12 Saturday Sep 2015

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I have a most beautiful quilt on my bed…

  
it began as pieces of fabric which individuals wrote on at the party given for me after I left my last job… from there a small group of amazingly talented women spent time piecing together the fabric and putting a border around it and backing the whole thing…

it is a real work of art and is filled with inspirational thoughts for me to look at and remember…

  
I don’t always have it on the bed, but have been enjoying it for the last few months…

  
has brought to mind so many who I know who are struggling with their work situations… hoping that positive thoughts and check-ins will be of some support during their difficult times…

some are not happy in what they are doing, others are searching for the right job, still others are trying to decide what to do at this particular stage of their life…

  
still remember the struggle when I was out of work and how difficult the process of finding something was… I didn’t just want a job, I was looking for a calling…

had a lot of support thoughout the process and eventually moved into an excellent position which was just the right fit for me, but getting there was a process…

also contains the words of my dear beloved, who never waivered in his support…

  
truly an amazing remembrance of ten years of my life and the great people I was able to spend time with…

tgif…

11 Friday Sep 2015

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although I only worked three days this week I am very happy it is Friday…

also enjoyed stepping into the bathroom this morning…

 
last night I turned on the radiant heating… the floor felt toasty warm… very nice on this chilly morning… still giggle when I think about how we thought that the heat would radiate across the tiles where there weren’t any of the wires… that was so wrong, lol… if you put down this type of flooring make sure you put it everywhere…

checked out the morning glory early today… of course it had a few blooms opening…

  

  
happily the cold night didn’t kill either the morning glory or the mandevilla… 

keeping many individuals I know in my thoughts and prayers as they deal with difficult times in their lives… it is so easy to look at someone and think their life is great, not knowing what struggles they are facing… 

  

followers…

14 Tuesday Jul 2015

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kind of excited to see that I have 223 followers…

in 2015 I have had 2,251 visits but the most interesting thing is that people from ten countries have read one of my blogs…

  
not big numbers if you compare them to others, but big numbers to me, lol…

getting likes and comments and new followers certainly gives me energy…

always fascinating which posts get the most response… I might write something and think it isn’t particularly interesting and then have lots of activity… another time I will feel I’ve written something which everyone will resonate with and it gets no interest at all…

started out as a method to share how I was dealing with the loss of my husband and now it is more general, although everything I do is really about moving forward on my own without my beloved…

this bouquet, in the living room this morning, reminds me of how he always made sure I had fresh flowers…

  

six months…

28 Thursday May 2015

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six months ago today I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes…

hard to realize it’s been that long… and on the other hand feels like just a few days…

big changes to my life since then… no more sugar or chocolate, stricter diet with more veggies and less meat, more exercise, needle pokes, weight loss, and lots of research…

feeling better on the whole… been thinking of some of the health issues I’ve dealt with over the last number of years… pancreatitis and gall bladder surgery, cancer diagnosis followed by hysterectomy and hernia repair… 

had to learn to deal with some of these things on my own… miss George so much during these difficult times…

he was always there to help get me through illnesses and looked after me all the time…

on my own, I’ve had to figure out when I need to call someone, who the first call will be to, and what I have to do when I am feeling sick… sometimes I want to put off getting help when I’m not feeling well…

I am so blessed to have my daughters and their partners… we talk on a regular basis and I see the kids here at least once a week… most jobs that need to be taken care of are looked after by them…

seems like those big girl pants are fitting better every day… whether I want them to, or not…

  
dandelions on the walk home… thankfully not in my yard…

  
lovely lilacs… really wanted to bring some home, but I restrained myself, lol…

rainbows…

08 Sunday Mar 2015

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what a beautiful day… the ground was covered with a tiny blanket of snow when I woke up… got this shot of the neighbour’s garage roof… the snow was glittering…



apparently somebody’s been running around on it… likely one of the neighbourhood squirrels…

because I did all my running around yesterday got to have a relaxing day…

spent time thinking of all the amazing women I have met and learned about over the years on this International Women’s Day…

the sun shone into the bedroom so beautifully that I had to take a few pictures…



of course I had to tidy before taking the pictures, lol… you can see some of the rainbows from the crystals if you look closely…



I love laying in the sunlight…

had supper all prepped and ready well before the kids arrived… the biggest boys spent some time with the fish and I am hopeful the tank will be clear by tomorrow… 

the sidewalks and driveway were cleared…

the chemicals finally made it into the tub, kitchen is tidy and I have walked for half an hour on the treadmill…

gonna watch tv and have a hot tub soon…



snow…

06 Friday Feb 2015

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woke up to a bit of snow this morning…

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it was fairly dark when I took this picture first thing…

cold out, but not horrible… we were surprised at how fast many drivers were going… apparently driving like a maniac was a Friday morning style…

got to spend time with my grandson when he came to shovel… tonight we had chicken wings and kale and Brussel sprout salad for dinner… I ate nine and he had twenty one, lol…

after dinner he worked on homework while I had a little nap on the couch…

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just before he was picked up he went out and shovelled the sidewalk again because it has snowed while we were having our dinner…

savour…

05 Thursday Feb 2015

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recently someone was talking about how their parent was driving them crazy… made me think of the wonderful last months I spent with my mother as she was dying of esophageal cancer… it was a special time and I was able to savour each of the good, bad and unforgettable moments…

often when I hear people who are struggling with aging parents I think about the days to come when their loved one will be gone and they will be wishing they could hear the complaining or whatever it is that is making them crazy now, lol…

was chatting with someone who was a bit ticked at their partner… I could only think about how I would be so happy to have George here to get ticked at…

I do remember when he would make me a bit grumpy… part of being a couple I think…

it is exactly two years and eleven months today since my life changed forever…

I miss my beloved…

the moon tonight…

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soup…

14 Wednesday Jan 2015

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tomorrow is my soup day…

seemed to have trouble deciding what to make… been thinking about it for at least a week and didn’t make a final decision until today…

had everything at home so didn’t have to run out to the store which was great because we’ve had a bit of snow and my shoveler hasn’t made it over just yet…

had a good time preparing… cooked up carrots, celery, onion and garlic… first time I’ve used this new purple pot, lol…

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put in spices, broth and tomatoes and simmered it for a long time…

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just finished using my purple immersion blender to complete it… once it cools down it will go into the fridge and be ready for tomorrow’s lunch…