30 Monday Dec 2024
Posted in family, health, life, moments, retirement, Uncategorized, weather
Tags
big girl pants, blessed, Christmas, decorations, dismantling, moments, ornaments, tree, widow
started the dismantling on Sunday…
so far the ornaments on the mandevilla were removed…
the ornaments came off the tree and it went downstairs…
next the chair returned to its spot by the window…
that was it for the day, lol…
28 Saturday Dec 2024
Posted in business, life, moments, retirement, Uncategorized, weather
when I was feeding the fish… around 10:30 am, their usual time, lol… I discovered that one of the pumps was running, but the water wasn’t…
I turned it off, removed it, and put the pieces into the sink… after cleaning everything, it still didn’t work…
I placed the filter on the front of the tank so I could fiddle with the little impeller and was thrilled when it started working…
we can’t get to the fish store until next week to replace this pump… the fish will be fine until then, even though the tank looks odd and it is hard to see them, lol…
27 Friday Dec 2024
Posted in business, health, life, moments, retirement, Uncategorized, weather
seems like we were busy today…
took a trip to Canadian Tire to find a new hookup for the hose… we weren’t sure if it was the actual hose or the valve… happily it was the valve, which was much more economical than a new hose, lol…
the new one turns much easier so the old pliers can make it back into the toolbox…
then, the hot tub was topped up… it was rather low… and the cold tub was dumped and refilled…
finally, the new saucepan and small frying pan got added to the kitchen wall;-)…
26 Thursday Dec 2024
Posted in life, moments, retirement, Uncategorized, weather
Tags
big girl pants, blessed, Christmas, Christmas tree, coming and going, moments, movement, parcels, presents, tree, widow
been thinking of the movement under the Christmas tree, lol…
from being empty, to a few parcels, to more parcels, to parcels leaving, to more added, more leaving, and finally, mostly opened presents with a few waiting for their final destinations;-)…
a fun and busy transition…
24 Tuesday Dec 2024
Posted in business, health, life, moments, nature, retirement, technology, Uncategorized, weather
Tags
big girl pants, blessed, Christmas, display, family, lights, moments, nature, plants, poinsettias, Technology, The Leaf, widow, wreaths
made it to the most recent display at The Leaf…
we went around 7 so it was fairly dark in the Tropical Biome… a great time to go as there weren’t many visitors…
there were a few lit up flamingo topiaries and throughout the space there were lit signs about various birds…
there was also a cute Christmas tree made from individual plants…
the display in the Mediterranean Biome had lots of trees, lights, and poinsettias…
I also spotted a few amaryllis… some just starting to open, others in full bloom…
the trees were filled with ornamental birds and some birdhouses…
only spotted one of the seven succulent wreaths…
my plan is to go again in the daytime to see how it looks in the light;-)…
always a treat…
22 Sunday Dec 2024
Posted in business, life, moments, nature, Photography, retirement, Uncategorized, weather
Tags
Assiniboine Park, big girl pants, blessed, bridge, cacao, cacao pods, cacao trees, favourite, happy, koi, moments, nature, plants, The Leaf, tropical biome, two, widow
I have two favourite spots in the Tropical Biome…
I always stop and visit with the cacao trees to see how they are doing, particularly as my daughter loves to visit them when she’s in town, lol…
and then there are the koi… standing on the bridge watching them swim around is such a joyful time for me…
they move much slower at night as many of them as sleeping, but I got a nice picture of this one… it is usually difficult to get good photos because of the light reflecting in the water so I was pleased with this one…
we are truly blessed to have this wonderful spot to visit all year round;-)…
15 Sunday Dec 2024
Posted in business, food, life, moments, retirement, Uncategorized, weather
Tags
big girl pants, blessed, checkout, efficiently, friends, lines, moments, people, rows, shopping, widow
my goodness, we went to Costco on Friday morning…
the parking seemed fairly full but we got a spot after only a few minutes…
when we got into the store it seemed busy, but just a little more than usual…
then we went down the first few rows and had a bit of trouble getting around the middle section as carts were lined up, but that is fairly usual that close to the checkout lines…
but then we discovered that the line to the checkout area went all the way to the very back of the store, and there were two lines!
it became easier to return to where we had begun in each row rather than attempt to make it through and around the line, lol…
what was most amazing was that not a single person – staff or shopper, grumbled or made negative comments…
once we were in the line, it moved along quickly and efficiently… we were out of the store in a short time…
and I did manage to get the two items which my housemate had requested, lol…
12 Thursday Dec 2024
Posted in health, life, moments, nature, retirement, technology, Uncategorized, weather
11 Wednesday Dec 2024
Posted in business, food, life, moments, nature, retirement, Uncategorized, weather
Tags
big girl pants, blessed, Chapters, Christmas, cold, D. A. Niels, friends, Lee Valley, moments, restrained, shopping, shovelling, Sleepy Owl Bread, snow, treat, weather, widow
fun morning… picked up by a friend after shovelling the sidewalk… my fingers were very cold in my gloves when I put the shovel away, and I discovered that it felt like -40°… no wonder I thought it was cold, lol…
we visited a number of spots and I got some goodies;-)…
a nice loaf of rustic sourdough which made a lovely grilled cheese, with onion and pistachios for my lunch…
we visited Chapters where I found a few fun books for some little friends and got the cutest cloth bags to put them in…
then a wander around Lee Valley where I picked up a couple of things, including this 2 tablespoon silicone freezer tray… leftover pesto and tomato sauce went into it after my lunch…
finally we had a great time at D. A. Niels where I saw many things I would like, but restrained from purchasing anything today, lol…
what a fun way to spend the morning;-)…
10 Tuesday Dec 2024
Posted in business, family, life, moments, nature, retirement, Uncategorized, weather
Tags
big girl pants, blessed, Christmas, family, hopeful, housemate, Japanese Maple, moments, nature, plants, solar lights, Technology, weather, widow, wrapping
I came up with the idea of wrapping my Japanese Maple with some solar lights…
so, my housemate lifted the plant onto the living room table and then I spent an hour walking in circles with the string of lights…
had to stop occasionally when I got a bit dizzy, lol…
it came out nicely, although I had to wait a day so that the power in the solar panel had a chance to charge…
I am hopeful that I can leave the lights on, even in the summer when the Maple moves outside;-)…
herbiggirlpants 