Starbucks…

19 Wednesday Apr 2017

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got an email from Starbucks the other day to advise that for my birthday they would give me a free drink or something to eat…

then I had some trouble getting my app to work… had to go in and change my password, lol… not sure if my age is making me forget passwords or what the deal is…

the reward is only good for a few days, so today a colleague and I walked down to a Starbucks which was close by to redeem my treat… for whatever reason the network wouldn’t connect so after a number of attempts, just paid for my Evolution drink, which is one of the only things I can have there;-(…

was kind of sad because I’d been excited about the treat… tonight I tried the app again and it connected just fine and this came up…

but I think I had to redeem it by end of today, lol…

the whole thing is a bit funny because I didn’t need the drink so should have just walked away without it…

then, to top it off, I left it at work when I came home…

maybe I will walk down there again tomorrow and see what happens…

tulips are nearly done…

birthday…

18 Tuesday Apr 2017

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today is my birthday;-)…

I love birthdays, mine and everyone else’s… I like presents too… they don’t need to be big or expensive… 

I enjoy the birthday song being sung over the phone, or in person, or nowadays by text… when my kids were little I’d sing it to them the number of years they were turning… eventually you can’t sing it enough times in the day, lol.. 

last night my BS friends brought birthday cherry pie and presents… so this morning I enjoyed the last piece of the pie with my breakfast…

I’ve never been a cake lover…

busy at work but there was time to spend with visitors, who also brought treats – chips and a lovely purple water bottle… and answer some of the birthday calls and texts that came throughout the day…

purple tipped flowers from my colleagues with a fun balloon and card… one of our traditions is to circulate a card that everyone adds comments to for the celebrant… always a gift to read the kind notes included…

was going to order from SkipTheDishes but made leftover turkey dinner instead, one of my favourite meals…

then had a treat, lol…

had some loose tea in my new left-handed the wall tea cup… works really well and the tea I’d picked up recently at one of the Farmers Markets is delicious – it is similar to one of our all time favourites that was discontinued a number of years ago… and chips with two types of chocolate bars – my favourite Aschenti Cacao 79% with Sea Salt, and one of the bars we picked up in Mazatlan – a Ritter bar that had rum, nuts and fruit in it…

I mean, I’d been good all day, and it is my birthday, lol…

thinking back to a delicious piece of chocolate cake we found and shared by the Flatiron building in New York last year on my birthday…

really was one of the best pieces of cake I’ve ever eaten…

a great day to be alive…

accidents…

17 Monday Apr 2017

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had a couple of accidents recently…

a few weeks ago this happened…

I was opening a cupboard and this tiny vase fell out and broke… it was made for a single bloom and I really enjoyed it… sadly I can’t even remember where it came from so won’t be able to replace it…

the second oopsie is due mainly to laziness I think… I didn’t empty the rain barrel before the weather changed and the water inside froze and now it is trashed…

pretty sure we aren’t going to be able to fix this, sigh… and it had taken so long to find one that I liked… 

because it is all one piece don’t even think I can use it for anything else…

will need to be careful in the Fall with whatever I replace it with…

but I am excited that the weather is warming up and before long we’ll be sitting out in the garden…

bunnies…

16 Sunday Apr 2017

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this afternoon I watched a bunny run across the neighbour’s yard… it looked tired, lol…

when the kids arrived my son-in-law fixed the floppy siding – which makes so much noise when it comes loose… which happens every now and then… and the garage door which had shifted and wouldn’t stay closed… for the last week I’ve had a stool up against it on the inside of the garage and had to come and go from the front of the house using the rolling door… been a bit of a pain… but, now it is fixed… yay…

the youngest brought me a picture he’d made for grandparents’ day at his school… he shared that he had traced the flower pot which was used as a template by the rest of his classmates;-)…

had picked up chocolate bunnies, gift cards for some of their favourite places, and fancy cookies… 

and the Easter bunny had dropped off some mini eggs in the living and dining rooms…

had a lovely dinner… everyone lent a hand to get the last minute jobs done… my daughter is the meat/poultry carver… my oldest grandson now does the potato mashing, the two younger ones carry things out to the table… after dinner my son-in-law leads the clean-up brigade… by the time they leave the kitchen looks great and there is nothing left for me to do…

here’s how the table looked tonight…

and here’s how it looked last year…

always try to have lots of flowers, and bunnies…

my beloved has been gone five years but this is the sixth Easter without him… and for whatever reason I was missing him especially today…

spent some time thinking of the fun we had over the years as we celebrated Easter together and with the kids…

moments…

camaraderie…

15 Saturday Apr 2017

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been thinking of my dad a lot over the last few days…

he was ill my entire life and his last four years were really a gift… 

he died on Good Friday nearly thirty years ago… I don’t remember the date but it was in March that year… I had been called to the hospital and realized he really was dying… I left for a short while to pull myself together and after talking with a friend went back and sat with him as he moved from this world to the next… a privilege to share those moments with him…

always amazes me how something brings back the sadness and grief, even after all this time…

he was a special man and taught me so much about being a kind and gentle person and always seeing the good in people…

I remember the times he would sit on the deck and enjoy visiting with family and friends…

today I put the screen into the upstairs hall window, which looks out on that deck… over the winter I take it out so that I can take better pictures, lol…

feels like it is Spring now that the screen is in and the window is open… had the screen door open and enjoyed the gorgeous weather while I was cooking and doing prep work for tomorrow’s Easter dinner…

dad always had candy in his pocket… you could almost hear the wrappers rubbing against one another when he walked, lol…

and as I prepared the space and table I was missing my beloved… he was so good at helping me get ready for special meals… he would have picked up the flowers and anything else needed and looked after a good portion of the cleaning as I worked in the kitchen…

I miss that camaraderie… 

I have been, and continue to be, blessed with the men in my life…

bruised…

14 Friday Apr 2017

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woke up to the sound of thunder… and listened to it rain for a little while… 

had a wonderful lazy day… spent it in pyjamas watching tv and reading…

had a couple of great phone calls, catching up with folks… and made a few meals…

didn’t even realize how warm it was until a few minutes ago when I checked the temperature to find it was still 20 out, and nearly 8 pm…

guess I should have opened the door at some point… could have sat on the deck to read, lol… 

yesterday I caught my thumb in a door and broke my nail… my nails are very strong and it really pulled the nail from the bed… feels sore and I think it is rather bruised… such a little thing, but it is a reminder of how a little thing can change how you feel in a moment… also makes me remember the cold that is gone now, and the knee that is working perfectly again…

been talking with friends about just that… you can be healthy and well one moment and then something happens and you are not… needing to celebrate these days of good health… so easy to take things for granted…

been sending healing thoughts to so many who are dealing with health issues these days… hoping Spring will provide some respite for them…

the grass is greening, from just that little bit of rain…

moonroof…

13 Thursday Apr 2017

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looking forward to having the next four days off;-)…

it was beautiful out and the first time this spring I’ve driven with the moonroof open…

ended my week with a trip to have my hair purpled… the process takes a bit of time but I had brought my book… it was nice to have a quiet time with nothing to do except read…

when I was leaving a deer walked right through their yard… how cool… what a treat…

on my way home stopped in at Safeway and got all the fixings for Easter dinner… tomorrow will be a rest and read day…

here’s the result of the evening…

popcorn…

12 Wednesday Apr 2017

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was planning to go grocery shopping tonight but was just too tired…

guess I will be going on Saturday morning for the Easter dinner ingredients…

went shopping with my sister-in-law the other day… we picked up a few of her favourite things… one was a mini mozzarella in a herb-based oil… rather tasty…

really enjoy wandering through a grocery store with someone else… you get such great ideas of different things and ways to eat them…

it is especially good when you have fallen into that eating rut… you know, buying and cooking the same things over and over…

think that’s partly why I am enjoying the ChefsPlate meals… it’s an opportunity to consider and try different things… and without having to go to the store…

must find some others to hit the grocery store with…

today I wore a pink shirt for International Day of Pink… happened across the reminder while checking out my social media feed… had to run back upstairs and change, lol…

this was my treat tonight on my new tray which was sitting on the shirt… popcorn and the last two pieces  of the ki’xocolatl bar that we picked up at the Mazatlan airport… yummy…

brainstorming…

12 Wednesday Apr 2017

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excellent day at work… fabulous brainstorming session followed by fun with technology in preparation for the evening’s training session…

when I arrived home I found this treat in the mailbox…

one of my favourite cookies… imperial cheese cookies made with Rice Krispies… just like a breakfast cookie…

friend came over for a visit, glass of wine and hot tub… couldn’t get much better;-)…

I have the best friends…

specialist…

10 Monday Apr 2017

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seemed like a long day today… probably because I had a late afternoon specialist appointment…

I think I’m fine but will wait for the report to arrive to confirm that…

things moved along fairly quickly but there was certainly waiting involved…

waiting to get in to see the doctor… happily my daughter was able to come with me so that really helped pass the time… visiting keeps your mind occupied… and we got in fairly quickly…

then, once in the office, waiting for the doctor to arrive… we spent some of the time looking at Excel and figuring out how to do things on a Mac… so different than a PC…

the final, and longest, wait was for blood work… although there were only four people in front of me, we sat for over half an hour… not exactly sure what was going on there…

took a lot of vials… wonder what they do with all the leftovers, lol…

when I got home I made supper, worked on a social media project, and then rested before my BS buddies arrived…

after the busy weekend and slightly stressful day, I think I am going to sleep well tonight:-)…