vegetables…

25 Monday Apr 2016

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yesterday I bought a Veggetti… it spiral cuts veggies so they come out like pasta…

  

my daughter had recommended it as a good piece of equipment for this purpose… there are many price points out there to choose from and this one is reasonable and effective…

tonight I made some cucumber spirals with it and put in a bit of vinegar with them as a side dish for my supper… I continue to be sure there are lots of vegetables at every meal which I think has helped with the weight loss…

  

tried to make some spiral bits with a small carrot, but that did not work at all, lol… apparently, need to use large carrots, not little ones…

the great news is that I didn’t cut or slice any part of my body…

looking forward to trying some different vegetables and seeing how the machine works with them… 

then I will have to figure out how to cook them as well…

water…

24 Sunday Apr 2016

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enjoyed a lovely walk in two parks this afternoon…

haven’t walked through Truro Park for ages…  


looking up the creek as I started my walk…

 
this is the spot where we scattered George’s ashes… 

  

spent some time taking pictures of the water along my walk… this was my favourite… took it in Bruce Park… 

just love the sound of running water… makes me happy…

haven’t been this way in a while… last time I walked here regularly was when I was recovering from my surgery and talking daily short walks…

the final treat was spotting these two ducks on my way back…

  

a gorgeous wood duck and his partner…

will have to walk through that area on a regular basis so I might get to see some babies…

looking forward to getting the pond working soon so that I can hear the running water right here…

  
  

helper…

23 Saturday Apr 2016

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woke up to a cool looking sky out the window … the clouds made an interesting design…

  

had a good time with my grandson… he came over around lunchtime to help me in the garden… 

made his favourite red curry lentils for lunch and then we got to work…

  
raked up all the leaves and pulled up lots of dead grass… filled three yard waste bags…

while he finished up, I put the furniture into its usual arrangement and cleaned the tables…

then we moved the rocks that came out of the pond in the Fall…  we are going to reset them to have a better look… will probably be getting rounded rocks because the flat ones just don’t look right around the edge of the pond…

looks good back there now… hopefully the temperature will perk up and I’ll be able to sit out in the next few days…

  
he got the front yard cleaned up as well… next time we are going to tackle the front flower beds…

enjoy getting to spend time with him…

working outside reminded me of my walk through the woods yesterday…

  
similar type weather… made me think of one of the lovely cards I received for my birthday… it is a copy of a friend’s painting…

  

bit more sunshine in that picture, lol… 

  

earth…

22 Friday Apr 2016

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had a nice walk to the Park just before lunch and met up with a friend… after lunch we wandered through the English and Leo Mol Gardens…

she very kindly took a picture of me with the lady reading inside the gate to the English Garden…   
was sad to discover that there are no words in the book, lol… 
  
the Gardens are starting to show signs of Spring… a few plants were starting to pop through the earth and we also came across a few flowers blooming…

  
saw ducks, geese, bunnies, squirrels, juncos and sparrows…

  
beautiful day for a walk…

a lovely earth day…

thinking…

21 Thursday Apr 2016

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today would have been my friend’s forty-eighth birthday…

she would have loved my new Fitbit bracelet…

sure do miss her…

a week ago I was finishing packing for our trip to New York…

 

Central Park, New York…photo J Noordman

 
brought to mind all of the people who have gone from my life – parents, in-laws, friends… my beloved…

been thinking about how each of them have influenced and shaped me into who I am…

how blessed I’ve been to have such special people in my life…

Japanese Maple ready to go into the garden…

home…

20 Wednesday Apr 2016

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nice to get back to work and see all my colleagues…

brought them a taste of chocolate from New York… they were in a cute little wooden box and no one wanted to open it…  

  
eventually I broke the seal, removed the ribbon and took a few pictures…

  
finally some pieces were eaten, lol…

caught up with all the news and shared some travel stories…

nice to be home… 

birthday…

19 Tuesday Apr 2016

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yesterday I turned 65… 

was very special to be in New York with my girls…

went for a walk after midnight… because we were in NYC and you can… wandered by the 9/11 memorial and found the Charging Bull… went to bed around two… 

we headed down to the cold-pressed juice bar in the hotel once we woke up and before starting out on our last day in the Big Apple… was able to have an all vegetable juice which was a great way to start the day… I’d been eyeing the bar since we’d arrived… later came across a creperie and had a portobello, Gruyere, thyme and truffle oil one for the second part of my breakfast… yum… at lunch had freshly made motzarella, prosciutto, radishes, a fried asparagus with cheese pizza and half of a pear Bellini… snacked on a piece of coconut chocolate cake… and our final meal of the day was steak with mashed potatoes, and a tasty salad topped off with pecan pie…  

 

was pleased with the options and able to eat small portions of each so felt treated and good at the same time, lol…here is a collection of our fun day…

  
our feet, hand and bags as we were cramming our stuff into as little space as possible, ready to go through customs with all of our goodies… including treasures from Carlo’s Bakery… a wall covered in purple purses in Brookfield Place… dinner at Prime in La Guardia… cheers at Eataly… and more cheer with our dinner…

received this great phone case from the 100,000 step girls… we’d seen this as we were riding the Big Bus Hop-on Hop-off… they searched everywhere to find one with the subway map on it but when they weren’t successful they found this one…

  
had texts and phone calls from my boys… also received this handmade card…

  
all in all a pretty wonderful way to celebrate;-)…

NYC day 4…

19 Tuesday Apr 2016

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another busy day, but tons of fun…

we had cold pressed juice for breakfast at the hotel and then broke into two groups… two went with their main goal shopping for gifts for those at home… we went out with a plan to see Eatalia and take a walk on the High Line…

we started out and stopped by the 9/11 memorial where we took a few pictures… was very interested in the story of the survivor tree which was found buried in the rubble, moved to a nursery, damaged in a storm and replanted on the grounds and is thriving…

  
the sun shining on this rose with the huge sculptural dove in the background came out beautifully… 

we stopped at a rather high end mall and found a Tory Burch bracelet for my Fitbit… I am so excited about this because I have only seen them online and wasn’t sure of the sizing so hadn’t wanted to order one… the young woman who helped us provided great service and was able to find a single silver one in the store which fit perfectly… 

  
so it was my present to me… when she heard it was my birthday she gave me a great deal…

my plan for the day included taking as many flower pictures as possible, so I was happy to come across this flower shop…

  
there was a tulip festival taking place and some beautiful purple and orange ones jumped out at me…

  
a nice picture of the Flat Iron Building with my daughter and a blooming cherry tree in Madison Park… just before we headed into Eatalia…

  
what fun we had there wandering through all of the sections and having a spectacular lunch… 

didn’t see Mario though, lol…

from there we found our fifth chocolate shop of the trip… and picked up a few items to bring home… and while we were there we shared a piece of coconut chocolate birthday cake which was delicious… this from a person who isn’t fond of cake, lol…

  
on to the High Line which we walked for about half an hour… hot and sunny the whole way…

  
met up with the other two girls, had a snack and headed to the airport… shared a delicious birthday supper at Prime and made it onto the plane for the first leg of our flight…

  

our second flight got us home just after midnight…

most everyone we met was welcoming, informative and provided excellent service…

we walked, rode the subway, took taxis and flew, all in one day…

so many memories of four days in the Big Apple and the many little bites we took…

NYC day 3…

17 Sunday Apr 2016

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started the day with a carousel ride in some cool fish at Seaglass… followed by a cruise on one of the rivers, a view of the Statue of Liberty, a visit with Monet’s water lilies, a wander through St. John the Divine, and an evening ride on the water…

  
the cool fish in the carousel… 

 
selfie with the Brooklyn Bridge… the other girls were taking lots of pictures with the Statue of Liberty…

  
me and the water lilies… 

  
purple flowers, water and a giant rose… what more could a person ask for… ate lunch in the Cafe in MoMA before meeting the other girls and we headed off to the cathedral…

 
beautiful rose windows… reminded me of the lovely one in Bryce Hall…

seemed like it was a water themed day… 

busy, busy…

NYC day 2…

16 Saturday Apr 2016

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up fairly early considering what time we went to bed, lol…

walked and walked and walked… saw flowers blooming everywhere… 

  

rode the subway again… took a rickshaw tour of Central Park… what fun… great way to see most of it and learn fun facts… a beautiful place…

  
caught a Canada Goose resting on a rock with a turtle… 

  
saw the city vistas from Top of the Rock… 

 

Central Park from Top of the Rock

  
 
bought and ate a tiny bit of chocolate… went on an open double decker bus tour, walked partway across the Brooklyn Bridge… strolled along the riverside at Battery Park… had a delicious supper at Beaubourg… and ended the day with a glass of Baileys…

 
sunshine and warm weather make the day very enjoyable…