classic…

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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…

critters…

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this morning after a hot tub I walked over to the Park, and then around the Gardens…

found a few critters in my travels…

first was a frog in the lily pond… only one I spotted today… there were many open lilies but no other frogs…

took quite a few photos of this cool flower and found this wasp

the hydrangeas are blooming everywhere and when I took this shot caught a fly in amongst the flowers…

no spiders today;-)…

supplies…

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yesterday I got to spend time with my son-in-law and younger grandsons

we checked out supplies for a project my son-in-law is working on and then went out for lunch…

I had fish and chips which were tasty… shared half the chips and saved one fillet for another meal……

we talked about the lemon on the plate and how Grandpa had laughed when the youngest bit into one for the first time…

didn’t get any photos of the guys but just managed to take this photo of the dessert – gummy worms, Oreo cookie dirt, whipped cream and chocolate pudding – before it was gobbled up…

then, we stopped at a store I rarely shop in, to look for sandals for the youngest…

and, I found some leggings and a t-shirt;-)…

the funny thing is that last week my other son-in-law texted me a picture of the same leggings that he saw on a person walking through a mall which he thought I would like, lol…

where…

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on Thursday I picked up my new contact lenses…

I ordered a year’s worth which is what I thought was what I had done previously, but when I saw the size of the package I realized that I had not, lol…

so now I have to figure out where to store them…

but I am absolutely thrilled with my vision…

shells…

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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;-)…

appetite…

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this morning I was reminded that six years ago today I had surgery to remove my uterus and repair a large hernia… just a few months after losing my beloved

how my life has changed since then…

I did have cancer, but removing the whole thing meant no further treatment needed to happen, other than frequent checkups for the next five years…

for ten weeks I couldn’t lift anything… friends and family came by to do everything that needed to be done…

since then I have been well, although two years later I was diagnosed with diabetes… I’ve lost weight, been more active and changed my diet… thankfully I do not need to take any meds…

tonight, as I ate rice rolls that a colleague brought me, I was reminded of how little I ate during those first weeks… I had no appetite and a friend who came to stay with me worked very hard to find foods that would temp my taste buds, lol…

one of my fondest memories was the day I was able to walk out of the house and into the garden after being stuck inside on the main floor for over a week because I couldn’t manage stairs…

the garden is such a healing place…

cement…

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started my day watering planters on the deck and getting a shot of the second mandevilla flower…

from there it was off to work, where my colleague replaced the seat on my office chair… so happy and comfortable;-)…

at lunch workers were putting down cement on the Millennium Library ramp and I so wanted to put my footprints into it…

but, I didn’t…

ended the day with the most delicious dinner… summer in a bowl… new potatoes from the local grocery store, with small beets and purple beans from my daughter’s garden… what a wonderful treat… that first meal of fresh vegetables is always memorable… no meat required…

yelling…

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just heard one of the squirrels outside yelling at something or someone…

reminded me of a couple of things…

first was the squirrel on the roof this morning as I was taking a picture of the hibiscus flowers…

it was quite upset that I was standing there and I suggested that it could stop the yelling as it was my roof and I wasn’t doing anything to cause a problem…

got the picture of the hibiscus, the cloudy sky and the pond that is losing water at an alarming rate again… could just be the amount of water falling with the wind and heat… we shall see…

was also thinking of the squirrel that used to holler at my beloved every time he would walk out of the house… or when he came out of the garage… just to taunt him, lol… eventually he caught it and we drove out to a forested area and dropped it off…

so, yelling squirrels bring back many memories, lol…

pelicans…

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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…