envelopes…

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been to a birthday party this afternoon… for someone who turned nine

lots of people and tons of food…

the sad thing is that instead of boxes and bags there was just a pile of envelopes

seems like it was just yesterday that he played with toys… he is the youngest, so likely we won’t be buying any more things to go in boxes and bags…

the most exciting thing was his cake… made by a family friend, it was a candy cake and drew everyone to the table like a magnet

was fun to watch, lol…

enamoured…

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someone recently asked why I am so enamoured with the Olympics…

I’ve been thinking about that a bit…

at the time I said I loved to watch all sports… then I noted that I am not as fond of the big team sports… hockey doesn’t really excite me… and curling isn’t my favourite…

I really enjoy watching more individual sports… like all types of skiing and skating… short track skating is very exciting and the new snowboarding categories are fun…

my dad was a great sports fan… he had been quite an athlete in his day but developed a chronic illness during his years in the service so he couldn’t participate in anything as he got older…

he instilled a love of sport in me and I remember attending many events with him… he particularly liked athletics and we would watch running and jumping and pole vaulting… he also liked speed skating…

so maybe when I watch the Olympics I am feeling his presence;-)…

he always cheered on everyone, whether they were a favourite or not… his feeling was that if you did well, you deserved accolades… and even if you didn’t have your optimum performance but tried your best, credit was due…

that is something that has stayed with me to this day… a good performance deserves applause…

been up since around four because that’s when the action starts… such fun…

scoffed…

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yesterday I packed up a container of Easy Thai Shrimp Soup as it was my day to provide soup for Souper Thursday…

I had saved the recipe to my Pinterest page ages ago, but made it for the first time the night before… with a few changes as I went along…

as I left the house in the morning, I had to put down my bag and take a picture of the beautiful moon in the sky…

the soup was a hit… everyone loved it…

I brought home the last little bit and scoffed it down for my dinner as I watched the start of some of the Olympics, even before the opening ceremonies…

so excited for these next two weeks of sports…

opener…

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in recent weeks I’ve been entering and exiting the garage via the big rolling door…

over the last couple of years midway through the winter something shifts in the garage and the door I usually use won’t stay closed… so, currently, I have a stool up against the door to keep it from opening … which means that I need to come and go through the big door…

rather than have to open and close the gate into the backyard which has an odd handle, I’ve been using the front door of the house to come and go…

so,!as I walk towards the house and get inside, I have been reciting back door, back door, back door so that I remember to go and shut the door with the opener located there… otherwise I forget and hours later realize that the big door to the garage is still open…

so, tonight, it occurs to me that I could bring in the remote from the car and use it to close (and open) the door from the front of the house and not worry that I might forget to close it, lol…

duh…

I have put the remote in my jacket pocket so I don’t forget it in the morning, lol…

experience…

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yesterday we were treated to a wonderful hot breakfast by the managers…

we gobbled up the meal and had a great time reviewing the event that we’d spent so much time and effort on…

it was a great opportunity to take a few moments and celebrate the excellent work done and consider ways to improve…

leading a round of happy birthday reminded me of a special time when I was part of a chorus that made a CD in Banff and what a once-in-a-lifetime experience that was…

final treat was a necklace – well I got a pin – made specially for us;-)…

wonderful way to start the day…

darker…

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winter is often a down season for me… I really miss the light

George always made sure I had lots of flowers throughout these darker months…

yesterday I was at the grocery store and bought flowers to brighten my space…

they will be in the living room and the bedroom at home and on my desk at work…

also noticing that the days are getting longer…

I already feel happier

party…

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happy that my grandson made it over on Sunday to shovel

he drove his brother to a birthday party and then came to get the job done…

it was really cold out… it was -27 when I wrote this but quite a bit colder while he was here…

a few days ago it snowed for most of the morning, but lightly, so there wasn’t too much to remove… I was very happy because it is always nice to have the sidewalks and driveway clean for everyone…

after he finished, we had lunch, he studied and I read, until he had to go back and pick up the little guy…

pants…

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wearing those big girl pants a lot recently…

met with my finance guy and reviewed my portfolio… we discussed when I might need to begin removing funds from my RRSPs and how long the money will last…

it is complicated as the whole thing is a guessing game about how long I will live and need the money…

thinking how blessed I am that I have these problems as there are so many out there whose struggle with finances is much more difficult…

sure do miss my beloved during these times… feels a lot less stressful when there are two of you dealing with these issues…

buddy…

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had a wonderful afternoon…

picked up by my play buddy and we headed downtown…

excited to make it to Sleepy Owl Bread to purchase some Chocolate Babka

stopped in at Decadence Chocolates and got a few bars and had a visit with Helen… she is in the process of making some amazing chocolate shoes for Valentine’s… usually all the photos are taken by me, but the shoe picture below is one that she put onto Instagram (@decadence_chocolates) this afternoon…

from there we went down the street to the Sherbrook Street Delicatessen for lunch… had a delicious chopped liver sandwich, with kettle chips and coleslaw…

then we were off to PTE to watch Salt-Water Moon… we park underground so don’t have to wear our bulky coats which makes for a much more comfortable time at the theatre…

today we even had time for a drink before the play began…

finally home for a nap and quiet evening…

motion…

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every time my son-in-law is here at Christmas I ask him about putting in the type of switch that they have in their bathroom…

it is a motion sensitive switch which comes on automatically when you walk into the room… it is very cool and I keep thinking how great it would be to have something like that here… he reminds me each time that the switch needs to be inside the bathroom and mine is on the wall outside

I guess I want it enough that I conveniently forget that I can’t have it, lol…

after Christmas he installed my Nest smoke detector which was a gift from the other kids… he also put in a Nest thermostat…

I am slowly getting used to both of them…

the smoke detector has a feature where it lights up in the dark if there is any motion, so it is starting to feel like a friend when I need to get up and go downstairs in the night…

weird…