souper…

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been running up and down the stairs as I work on my soup for Souper Thursday tomorrow at work…

I made the broth on Monday and tonight I’ve been adding vegetables and barley and turkey…

it smells divineand all that running up and down is adding to my step count, lol…

I always enjoy making my offering because the entire time I am prepping I am thinking of my colleagues and how much they will enjoy the soup…

we all look forward to Souper Thursday as it means someone else has organized our lunch… nearly everyone brings items to go along with the soup so there is always something tasty for lunch…

as I was going up and down I spotted this sky… nearly missed it… so beautiful

working really hard these days to spot and savour those special moments

dark…

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yesterday was in a conversation with someone about how dark it is getting in the evening…

they mentioned that by 8 pm the light was fading… sadly tonight as we were coming home from aquasize at 7:25 it was already dark…

was also thinking about how my beloved would make fish and chips for when I’d get home from swimming… I miss that…

this was the light at 7:48 this morning… just getting light out…

squirrels…

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wonderful relaxing day…

ate, read and napped…

watched some squirrels in the front yard… 

it seems like they are everywhere these days… whenever I go for a walk I see lots of them… 

and they are running around in the garden all the time… 

caught one the other day eating a green pepper…

they can really jump when they want to get somewhere, lol…

but they are fun to watch… 

be thankful…

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wanted to write a thanksgiving message for Facebook and it took up a good portion of the morning to get it just the way I wanted…

put the turkey in the oven and then ran out for a few final groceries… relaxed and read as a few items cooked ahead of time…

kids arrived and we had dinner a bit early as my son-in-law had to leave for work around six…

the boys all helped with clean-up before we had pumpkin and coconut cream pies….

so great to have everything done by the time everyone leaves…

one went off to work and the rest of us headed over to the Park to collect poke balls

just before we left, middle guy and I took a selfie…

he dressed up with a white shirt and tie for dinner…

at the Park we walked through the Leo Mol Garden gathering poke balls and took this pic of “our bench“…

then a few of us walked around the Formal Gardens while others drove/parked and waited…

beautiful sky… 

great way to end a lovely thanksgiving

visit…

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the orchids are happy, and of course, that makes me happy…

had a great time with my grandson who came over to do some yard work for me… 

he mowed the grass, cleaned eavestroughs, put away outdoor furniture, treated weeds in the front flower bed, emptied and put away flower pots… such a relief to have his help…

while he was doing all that I got the potatoes, cauliflower, turnip and stuffing ready for tomorrow… we had lunch and a good visit…

after he left I worked on the Halloween goodies

rocket lolly pops that look like ghosts;-)… have done about 120… haven’t quite decided whether to add black dots for eyes…

lately the ladybugs have been everywhere… the other day my youngest grandson counted 20 at the front door…

tonight one came to visit me… nice to have company throughout the day and evening, lol…

thankful…

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more lovely blossoms in the living room this morning…

headed out, met my daughter at Starbucks and then we went and found fresh turkeys for our dinners… they are coming here on Sunday and they are having a dinner for my son-in-law’s family on Monday at their house…

made zucchini-cheese soup, pretty tasty…

later we went to see Cirque du Soleil’s TORUK… it was wonderful…

this one had a narrator which helped everyone understand the story… the last one we saw was a bit confusing, lol…

came home and made the second meal from my #ChefsPlate box…

delicious…but I am certainly using more pots and bowls…

missing my beloved a lot over the last few days… guess it is the whole thanksgiving thing…

I am so thankful for the years we had together…

flowering…

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beauty…

I love flowers and during the winter months I try to keep some around me because they keep me happy…

been enjoying some lovely blooms on the plants that came in from the garden…

the hyacinth is still flowering although its leaves are falling off… this is often the pattern when they come in from outside…

the gardenias are starting to open and perfume the air… it might just be happier inside the house…

this morning as I was leaving the house I got this picture of the begonias in the planter…

cool to see how some plants just keep on blooming while leaves are falling off everything else around them…

last few bits of summer… such a treat…

plate…

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so excited to arrive home and find my ChefsPlate box on the front step…

in it were three 2-person meals…

brought it in, unpacked it and made Hazelnut Crusted Cod with mini potatoes, beets and kale salad for my supper…

the directions were clear and it didn’t take long to make… everything was included except the olive oil, salt and pepper…

very tasty and I have enough for another meal, which will likely be my lunch tomorrow…

looking forward to the next two meals…

this week’s box was just $33… it was half price… the next one will be $66… but I will get 6 meals from it which works out to $11 each… and I am trying things than I wouldn’t usually make… I can also skip weeks or cancel at any time…

the one sad thing is that the ingredients are prepared, packed and distributed from Toronto… had hoped it was being prepared here…

including…

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on Sunday the boys brought in the fish from the pond…

a bit surprised to find the collection only included four large ones and four small ones… there were thirteen when they went out to the pond in the summer…

it is always great fun to make the transfer to the winter condo… everyone takes part… also think that a few pairs of shoes might have got a tiny bit wet…

to our wonderful surprise we discovered many teeny fish…

we brought them in and put them in a separate bowl because the big fish might think they are food, lol… will see how many survive…

on Saturday I changed out the drawers in the living room table… have chosen a fall theme and put in leaves and some lovely quilting but did leave the rocks, lol…

privileged…

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been reminded a few times recently of how privileged I am…

today I was able to take an extra half hour and have lunch with a great friend… we try to get together every month or so and check out different downtown restaurants, mostly within walking distance of my office… today we went to the Velvet Glove

had a good visit and a fine meal… 

not only am I able to take a little extra time for lunch but get to spend time with friends…

did laugh at the end of the day when I realized how much of what I ate was green… even the soup had green pumpkin seeds in it, lol…

yesterday I walked to and around the English and Leo Mol Gardens with my cameraanother privilege that many people don’t have…

the fact that I have the time, am fit and healthy and able to take on such an activity is great too…still lots of flowers around… and the leaves are turning colour at an alarming rate… for some of my walk it felt like it was raining leaves…

the final reminder of my privilege was in the bathroom after I got home… 

the toilet paper is folded all fancy because the cleaners were in today… 

talk about privilege