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the estate of the late…

13 Monday May 2013

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received a cheque last week from the CRA… it was a refund for 2012 taxes for George… next year I won’t need to have a tax form done for him…

cheque...

cheque…

after work tonight I stopped in at the Credit Union to deposit the cheque into the Estate Account as I don’t have a debit card for that account…

a few weeks ago I received a couple of cheques from Sun Life made out to the Estate as well… they are providing medical/dental coverage for me for a two year period through Rona where George worked… whenever they send anything it is always to the Estate… most people only have an Estate account for a year but I will need to keep this one for the next couple…

I am still in a state of flux because my employer’s insurance company will not take me on, as I refused the insurance when I started working there, as George’s insurance was quite good… we had gone through a period where we both had insurance and it caused nothing but hassles, so I gave that insurance up and only used his, which worked very well…

now I have to get this sorted out before next March… another job for those big girl pants… no doubt it will involve many phone calls with a variety of people… not looking forward to the process…

been missing George a fair bit lately… I talk about him a lot, which can sometimes freak people out, but I don’t want to just leave him out of my life… he is still an important piece of it… I lived longer with him, than without him…

but I did get some American money for the cruise…

Mother’s Day…

12 Sunday May 2013

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as one of my young friends wrote on Facebook today “celebrate your mother every day, not just one day”… and my kids do that…

made myself a lovely breakfast and sat out on the deck in the sun to enjoy it… spent some time with a new Peterson Bird app and figured out the songs I’ve been hearing lately… black capped chickadees and chipping sparrows have been serenading me…

my kids called to wish me a happy Mother’s day and make plans for the day… Crystal and all the boys came and picked me up and we went to the Zoo to see the penguins who have come for a summer visit… everyone in the city wanted to see them on this lovely day and we spent about 45 minutes in line waiting… but it went very well as the boys went off here and there while Crystal and I stood in the line… they had a picnic, visited Hudson, met a purple frog in the Discovery Centre, as well as visiting all the animals in the Barn…

finally we got to see the penguins… the three of them were in a small tank located in the old gift shop… they were all wearing cool jewellery… after a brief look we walked through the penguin gift shop and headed home…

hanging around...

hanging around…

great swimmer...

great swimmer…

after we got home, the girls had a nap, well maybe we should call it quiet time, while the boys entertained themselves… then we had steak, baked potatoes, mushrooms, asparagus, salad and lobster for dinner… yum, yum…

we all made funny faces...

we all made funny faces for the camera after dinner…

Jeff showed me a simple way to start the barbecue so I might just give that a try one night this week, wearing those big girl pants…

early birthday present from Auntie...

early birthday present from Auntie…

everyone left, I worked on a program for a group I belong to, printed some pictures, wrote my blog and am going to have a real nap… then a hot tub and to bed…

 

not so quiet day…

11 Saturday May 2013

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well, was planning on staying home and not doing much today, but that didn’t happen…

did a few chores around the house between TV shows and had a nap in the morning…

callas...

callas…

then got a call from my sister-in-law, who was in town for the weekend from Calgary, and we visited Shelmerdine, Canadian Tire, Costco, Safeway and then to my nephew’s house for barbecued steak dinner… it was wonderful to wander through Shelmerdine and see, smell and touch all the gorgeous plants…

steak, roasted potatoes with truffle oil and seaweed salad...

steak, roasted potatoes with truffle oil and seaweed salad…

not gonna lie, the seaweed salad wouldn’t be my top choice… we did finish dinner off with homemade banana bread covered with caramel sauce… yum…

homemade caramel sauce...

the end of the homemade caramel sauce…

I just got home and finally called my son-in-law in BC to wish him a happy anniversary… I spoke with Cyndi fairly early this morning, but with all the running around didn’t get to speak with him until now… looking forward to seeing both of them very soon…

heading to bed, not even sure I will have a hot tub tonight…

hopefully tomorrow will be a bit quieter, and warmer, although if there hadn’t been any wind today it would have been quite warm…

 

choices…

10 Friday May 2013

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a day filled with choices…  first thing I chose to rush to get ready for work and then sat for 15 minutes, camera in hand, waiting for the purple finch who had stopped at the feeder as I walked through the living room… little beggar never came back while I was there, lol…

put my contacts in for the first time since coming home from Mexico as my infection finally seems to be gone…

was very happy to go to yoga at noon as my side/back is so much better… it was lovely to be in the class again…

headed to the fabric store when I got off work to check out the outdoor fabric options… now I just have to find the picture that I took off my phone about 3 days ago that shows how much I need…

last stop was Safeway to get a few groceries for Sunday dinner… now I won’t have to go out at all tomorrow…

first course of dinner...

first course of dinner…

made dinner when I got home and then had a nap and watched TV… just woke up and went out for a hot tub to discover that it had rained quite a bit while I was napping but although everything was wet, there were no raindrops coming down…

all in all, a wonderful day…

nesting…

09 Thursday May 2013

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one of the first things I saw this morning out the front window was a robin filling it’s beak with old alyssum bits…  it gathered up a huge amount and then flew off… obviously in the process of building a lovely nest…

robin gathering nesting materials...

robin gathering nesting materials…

made me think a bit about my nest and how it feels rather empty…

later, when I was driving to physio, I was feeling a little sorry for myself… wishing that George was with me, to look after me…

was thinking how he would have enjoyed making sure that I did the exercises prescribed by Tori… today’s included a tennis ball to roll around on my hip…

realizing there are fourteen days to my Alaska cruise and I still haven’t read all the information that arrived in yesterday’s mail… and I need to start checking the weather along the coast to see what it is like as the days get closer…

beautiful night, with the new moon and lots of stars when I was just out in the hot tub… will see what tomorrow brings…

 

visitors…

08 Wednesday May 2013

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it’s been interesting to see where the people who read my blog come from…

besides those in Canada there have been folks from Germany, the US, UK, Japan and the Republic of Korea… I have found blogs from the UK, Australia and India that I enjoy, so I guess it makes sense that people could peek at a blog from just about anywhere…

visitors map...

visitors map…

I have been writing for those, like myself, who may have lost a loved one, and are travelling a new road… sometimes I feel very alone and sorry for myself, but most days I am glad to be alive and making new memories…

I know that George wouldn’t want me stuck in a sad and unhappy place and I don’t want to be there either…

just looked up from the computer to see George and I walking in the park, holding hands… some days I am amazed at how normal it seems to be alone…

lovely garden chair…

07 Tuesday May 2013

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when I was at Krevco last night getting the water tested I saw a lovely chair… thank goodness it didn’t come in purple is all I can say…

lovely chair...

lovely chair…

I have been watching for new furniture for the back deck but can’t find what I am looking for… so I am thinking of having new cushions made for the chairs and two footstools…

favourite garden chairs...

favourite garden chairs…

having them recovered is quite expensive but I really love how they recline and are a good size… the ones that have been out the last few years are more like sofas and living room chairs that are stationery…

I have been talking about this for years, but really mean to do something about it now… I have to go to the fabric store, find some weather-proof material that I like, find foam for the inside and then find someone to cut the pieces and see if I have access to someone with a commercial grade sewing machine…  I must get on this so that when the pond is done the chairs will be all comfy and pretty to match…

so much to do… need to make the time…

 

papers…

06 Monday May 2013

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had two important papers to deal with tonight…

first one was from Krevco… it was the water test for the hot tub… when you refill it you need to take the water in to be tested to be sure that everything is balanced… filled the tub on Saturday and it took until this morning to get to 103 degrees, which is my favourite temperature…

as soon as I got home from work I took a sample in and then came home and started adding the chemicals at twenty minute intervals…  looking forward to a hot tub tonight…

results for the hot tub...

results for the hot tub…

then I headed to Ness Physiotherapy, which is quite close to home, and I think was the place that George went to off and on… it was my first time having physio so I was a little tense… Tori advised that the problem areas were the iliopsoas and tensor fascia latae… she pushed and prodded, pulled, did some fancy thing with electrical current and gave me a page with some exercises to do to strengthen the sore bits…

finally got home and had a nap and some dinner… now off to do some exercises – one reminds me of aquasize and the other of yoga, lol… and then a hot tub… which apparently is a very good thing for the above-mentioned problems…

was missing George throughout the whole process, but did put on the big girl pants and got it all done… some days that is easier than others…

went to a garden party…

05 Sunday May 2013

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the words to that song have been flitting about my head for most of the day…

this morning two of my colleagues met here and we headed downtown to attend the Women Build Habitat for Humanity Garden Party Fashion Show at the Delta… another colleague was the chair of the event… it was lovely… we had all stressed about what to wear so as not to embarrass our colleague, one another, or ourselves… of course there was every kind of outfit, from jeans to quite fancy dresses… lots of lovely prizes and a great fashion show…

The Garden Party...

The Garden Party…

once home I got to lay down for about 15 minutes before my family arrived for Sunday dinner… we spent a lovely few hours in the garden, raking, tidying, trimming, washing and getting the big pond running…

pond running...

pond running…

then we ordered pizza because we had all worked very hard, and sat out in the garden to eat it…  I was soooo happy because it really needed the tidy up and it will be lovely to sit and relax out there while contemplating what flowers will be planted this year…

the boys were at the creek and saw lots of frogs and went back with nets and pail to catch some, but were only able to bring home frog eggs, which went right into the pond…

frog eggs from the creek...

frog eggs from the creek…

moving frog eggs to the pond...

moving frog eggs to the pond…

although, my daughter pointed out that I couldn’t really plant anything until I return home from the cruise… maybe I will give them a list and have them do some of that work while I am gone, hmmmmmm….

in the garden…

04 Saturday May 2013

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was reading a blog tonight and saw a beautiful magnolia flower which reminded me of some great shots I got of magnolias when visiting Courtenay, BC a few years back…  they were in Filberg Park and were spectacular…

Magnolia tree smelled beautiful...

Magnolia tree smelled beautiful…

Magnolia blossom...

Magnolia blossom…

spent a good portion of today dealing with the hot tub… had a lovely time in it first thing this morning watching Juncos and Sparrows… then I turned it off and let the water drain…  takes quite a while for that step… during which I took back an ottoman and had lunch out at a lovely little Vietnamese restaurant with my nephew and his girlfriend…

in the garden this morning...

in the garden this morning…

then home to clean and fill the tub… now it is heating up – slowly – and I am hoping that by tomorrow night I will be back in it… I took some pics of the process but my daughter stopped by and borrowed the camera, lol…

while sitting outside I got a bit of sun, but put on lotion and then stayed out of it… easy to forget how strong the sun can be early in the season… heard a variety of birdsong and also the wonderful sound of the Canada Geese flying overhead… someone new has arrived in the neighbourhood but I haven’t figured out the song just yet..

what a wonderful day… I truly am blessed…