24 Saturday Dec 2022
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my dad insisted on turnip water to make the gravy… felt it added just the right flavour… so I cook turnips for every holiday meal, lol… and I’ve also passed along the need for this important ingredient to others;-)…
of course when I ordered the turnip I got two good sized ones, lol…
happily I was able to give one to a friend…
I peeled and cut up the other one and after boiling it, saved the water for gravy, and mashed it up…
had a bowlful and put some away to go with Sunday’s dinner;-)…
23 Friday Dec 2022
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aquasize, big girl pants, blessed, Captain's Table, Christmas music, cold, fabulous, Falafel Place, food, friends, gifts, lunch out, moments, nature, special people, time, treat, visit, weather, widow
had a busy day yesterday… makes me laugh, because usually my days are quietly spent at home reading and watching tv…
started with our aquasize class in the morning… even though it was very cold outside… lots of fun as the session was filled with holiday music that many sang along to…
from there we were off for lunch at the Falafel Place… perfect timing as most people were nearly done as we arrived… had falafel with hummus and salad… it was yummy…
home to spend time listening to Christmas music and reading…
then, a dear friend came by with fish and chips for our dinner… and brought Christmas presents;-)…
I was so excited to spend time with them that I completely forgot to take a photo of my meal, lol…
after we finished our dinner we had cookies and a wonderful visit…
I am so blessed with fabulous friends 🥹…
22 Thursday Dec 2022
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big girl pants, blessed, BS, celebration, Christmas, exchange, family, food, friends, gathering, gift, group, meal, moments, pictures, sharing, Technology, treat, widow
Christmas came on Monday…
my BS group gathered for lunch, a visit, and gift exchange…
we had a great time;-)…
everyone chose what they wanted for lunch and a few of the group picked up the order… we gathered around the dining room table and visited as we enjoyed our meal…
back in the living room we had cookies and coffee, and then shared our goodies;-)…
I am always amazed at the wonderful items that we each find or make for one other… none of us really need anything so it is fun to produce little things to share…
and usually there are donations to favourite charities… mine, this year was to Made with Love, which is helping feed the hungry here in the city…
we usually end with a group photo… technology tried to beat me, but in the end we got a few great pictures;-)…
🤗…
21 Wednesday Dec 2022
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big girl pants, blessed, Canada Post, mail, moments, online, shopping, stamps, Technology, waiting, widow
I’ve been waiting and waiting for stamps to arrive from Canada Post…
was able to drop some items in the mail a few days ago, but still need two stamps…
usually they arrive quickly, so I’ve been wondering what the problem was…
for whatever reason, I wasn’t sleeping, so went online around 2 am and noticed there were things in my Canada Post cart😳…
apparently, I didn’t finish the purchase all those days ago😂…
now they’ve been ordered and should really arrive soon…
20 Tuesday Dec 2022
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big girl pants, blessed, Chihuly, food, friends, garage, garden, gathering, group, happy, home, longtime, meeting, moments, pandemic, treats, weather, widow
Monday afternoons our longtime group meets…
we used to meet in the evening when we all worked, lol… since we are all retired now, we’ve moved to the afternoon… for some of the pandemic we met online and since the spring we’ve been meeting in the garden… then we moved into the garage for a while…
we moved into the house in the fall… for a number of weeks, I left the front and back doors slightly open and we wore our masks until everyone was sitting down…
now, the doors are closed and we no longer wear masks, but I still bring the coffee into the living room, where we gather;-)…
everyone drinks decaf, except me and my tea…
we often have pistachios and sometimes folks bring other treats… a great time of conversation and sharing…
what a gift these women have been for me…
19 Monday Dec 2022
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big girl pants, blessed, exercise, hard work, memories, moments, nature, path, shovelling, snow, weather, widow, yards
hadn’t shovelled for a few days so went out on Saturday morning to do the sidewalk so people knew I was alive, lol…
wow… a lot of snow had come down…
besides doing the front sidewalk and a space towards each of the neighbours’ yards for the mail carrier, I also shovel a single path along the driveway to get to the vents for the furnace…
I want to be sure they aren’t plugged with snow, which stops the furnace… not a good look😳…
18 Sunday Dec 2022
Posted in family, life, moments, Photography, retirement, technology, Uncategorized
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big girl pants, blessed, chocolate, Christmas, decorations, family, gifts, Happy Mail for Chocolate Lovers, moments, paintbox, painting, plow, purple, shovelling, Technology, widow
had some fun this morning… after going out and shovelling the droppings from the city snow plows…
been planning to colour the letters for these chocolate ornaments that I received from Happy Mail for Chocolate Lovers…
finally got around to it… sadly there was no purple in the paintbox🤪…
I am pleased with how they came out… I used some of my gifts from last year in a slightly different way and enjoyed the time…
now they are on the tree…
17 Saturday Dec 2022
Posted in food, garden, life, moments, retirement, Uncategorized
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big girl pants, blessed, Christmas, delicious, friends, fun, garden, good times, goodies, moments, neighbour, purple, trays, treats, widow
had a lovely visit with my neighbour…
she brought over a cute purple tray filled with delightful homemade goodies…
she makes a number of cookie trays for family and usually puts them on red trays, but had to go out and find a purple one for me😊… what a sweetie…
we usually meet for a little glass of something in the garden, lol, so it was good to get together in the house…
we snacked, chatted and had lots of laughs… and there are still some of the goodies left for me to eat and share🤭…
16 Friday Dec 2022
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big girl pants, blessed, dessert, dinner, family, food, garden, gather, grandson, lounge, meal, moments, nature, photos, pork tenderloin, restaurant, risotto, tasty, Technology, The Leaf, treat, widow
once we left The Leaf biomes, we checked out the gift shop and then were able to get a table in the lounge portion of Gather Craft Kitchen and Bar…
the space looks fresh and has some very cool lights…
we were happy to get in because online it appeared there weren’t any spots available until January 😳…
the food was good as was the service… I had pork tenderloin and my grandson had the risotto…
they were both tasty, although I found the pickled carrot purée a bit spicy, lol… the risotto was very tasty…
we ended the meal with two desserts which we shared, lol… I chose the flour-less chocolate fudge cake and my grandson the chocolate mille-feuille…
in the end we liked what the other person ordered best😂…
had a great time and enjoyed the entire evening… can’t wait to go back again…
15 Thursday Dec 2022
Posted in business, garden, life, moments, nature, Photography, retirement, Uncategorized, weather
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big girl pants, biome, blessed, Conservatory, flowers, garden, grandson, koi, moments, nature, photos, plants, poinsettias, pond, Technology, The Leaf, treat, tropical, waterfall, widow
last night we went to The Leaf at Assiniboine Park…
I’ve been waiting ages for it to be finished… the Conservatory closed in April 2018, which feels like a long time ago… this was our view as we stepped into the space… possibly the waterfall is splashing a bit more than expected as there are a few areas that are wet, lol…
it didn’t disappoint;-)… the tropical biome is lovely and I expect it will look even more beautiful as times goes on…
the technology always interests me and they have done a great job of hiding the fire extinguishers but making them easily available…
the space is big and bold with the tall waterfall and large pond…
we spent a lot of time watching the koi… they were beautiful colours and huge… I was struggling with a bit of fish-envy…
I am looking forward to visiting next in the daytime…
the Mediterranean biome was reminiscent of the CMHR building with lots of stone… and it was possible to touch most of the plants;-)…
the display area was cute with many poinsettias, seasonal decorations and places for group photos…
the poinsettias were a sweet reminder of the old Conservatory at Christmas time…
the view looking down from the catwalk was wonderful although I felt a bit nervous with the height, so my grandson took all the pictures, lol…
the Shirley Richardson Butterfly Garden at the top of the building was nice…
it was late and dim so we only spotted a couple of butterflies that were resting… I definitely need to visit it in the daytime as well…
it wasn’t too full of visitors, and there were a number of staff (likely many were volunteers) to get you in and around the site…
there was a place to leave your coat (unattended) before entering the biomes, which was great as the space is warm;-)… there is ample parking and you can purchase tickets online or as you enter… you need your membership card, with ID, just like at the zoo…
a wonderful treat and I can hardly wait to visit again😊…
herbiggirlpants 