packing up…

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rushed home from work to get a chicken stuffed and in the oven for a family dinner… last night that Cyndi and Ron are here so we wanted to all be together…

they had taken the boys out for the afternoon while Crystal and Jeff got some shopping done…

last night I made the stuffing and a very nice gazpacho for our Souper Club at work so didn’t have to do too much tonight… made a Caprese salad, organized mashed potatoes and then Crystal cut up the chicken while Jeff mashed the potatoes…

all the family together for dinner...

all the family together for dinner…

some hot tubbed, some relaxed outside and some relaxed inside… dinner was very nice out on the deck and we toasted with some champagne…

hot tub fun...

hot tub fun…

great way to end the “too short” visit, although they have stayed here longer than anywhere else on their journey, lol…  we three girls spent some time discussing what to do with George’s ashes… it was interesting to see where each of us was for this discussion… one felt the ashes in a box just wasn’t right, another felt that putting some here and some there

as I write this Cyndi is moving around gathering things to be packed up so that they can leave first thing in the morning to reach Thunder Bay tomorrow night…

Ron has uploaded new programming for my computer and is also beginning the packing portion of the evening…

gonna be lonely tomorrow, Cyndi and Ron leave for Ottawa and Crystal, Jeff and the boys head out for a birthday camping trip…

the day after…

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pretty tired today… worried that I was going to fall asleep on the way home from work, but I didn’t, lol…

got home, said hi to the kid who was here and had a good nap… got up and had a hot tub and then Cyndi arrived home from her visit with a friend…

we had a lovely rehash of last night’s Champagne Bubble Party… it was a success and we enjoyed every moment… as always, we learned a few things and would do a couple of things differently next time…

we had a photo booth and had talked about putting someone in charge which we didn’t end up doing… that was a mistake… we think if someone was looking after it they may have encouraged more people to have their pictures taken…

we made six by six inch bubble wrap bits which weren’t in quite the right spot so they didn’t get played with too much…

the garden was decorated beautifully with balloons in champagne colours, round mirrors of different sizes, clear glass ball ornaments, disco balls and lots of flowers…

I was busy and didn’t take many pictures… luckily Cyndi got a couple of shots that actually showed some of the bubbles floating up from the machines…

fun blowing bubbles and jumping in the boat ball pit...

fun blowing bubbles and jumping in the boat ball pit…

the children had great fun blowing bubbles, jumping into a boat filled with coloured balls… and running around the yard, up and over the decks… they were enthralled with the various bubble machines and kept going over to them to see what the bubbles were doing…

Champagne bucket and fixings...

Champagne bucket and fixings…

the adults enjoyed visiting and trying the champagne with various fruits and juices in it… everyone brought a bottle and we now have quite a lovely collection of bottles which we didn’t drink…

yummy food to eat...

yummy food to eat…

food was great and everyone enjoyed the beef sliders, meatballs and Caprese salad and the chicken balls (which we ordered from a local Chinese Restaurant)… a fruit ball and chocolate fountain, along with mini champagne cupcakes and cheesecakes filled out the menu…

bubble gum, gum balls, cheese balls and M&Ms rounded out the snacks…

a great event… now, when can we do it again…

pahty…

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well, my feet are rather tired as I sit here thinking about the great pahty…

we spent the whole day prepping… Cyndi and Ron worked like trojans this morning and I got home right after noon and we worked away getting ready… always a lot of fun to prepare for a great event…

lots of eating and drinking...

lots of eating and drinking…

lots of people were able to make it… and everyone had a good time… people enjoyed the food, the fun and the company…

yummy food...

yummy food…

still thinking about the wonderful desserts that Crystal made for the event… yum…

how lucky I am to have such wonderful children…

me and my girls...

me and my girls…

Rushing River the finale…

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woke up to sunshine and had a wonderful day…

who are those Volcom people...

who are those Volcom people…

we went boating twice… in the morning we saw some loons and got some nice pictures…

the loon couple... not bothered by us at all...

the loon couple… not bothered by us at all…

I swam fairly close to them which was cool…

the loons and I...

the loons and I…

we saw a baby eagle and its rather protective parents… and more loons later in the day…

Tavin and Jeff got up on the kneeboard and Tavin even got up on the wakeboard (which is a full size board with adult boots…

kneeboarding...

kneeboarding…

we had lunch outside and then went out on the boat again for a lovely trip around the lake…

great day…

 

Rushing River…

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got up very early and then worked like a fiend to get everything tidy and the last bits and pieces bought from the five or six stores I went to around noon…

then Jeff picked me up and we drove out to Rushing River… well actually Dogtooth Resort… and we brought the boat… so after we arrived we had a little ride around the lake and then had a very late supper of steak, lobster, mushrooms and asparagus…

we are now getting beds organized in Kim’s trailer and heading to bed…

been raining off and on since we arrived so we are hoping for a sunny day tomorrow…

no nap today so I am so ready for bed…

we just discovered a leak in the roof so our sleeping arrangements have changed once again…

fun, fun, fun…

gardening…

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lots of work in the garden today…

planted alyssum around the pond…

adding alyssum to the landscape...

adding alyssum to the landscape…

spent a bit of time watching the fish flit around after I added water to the pond…

fish foraging for snacks...

fish foraging for snacks…

worked with Jeff to put the waterfall into the side garden… it went amazingly smoothly and hardly took any time at all… he is very talented with rock placing… I think he must have taken some lessons from George, who was amazing at getting the rocks into just the right spot…

waterfall looks spectacular... much better than the oak barrel did...

waterfall looks spectacular… much better than the oak barrel did…

moved a hosta and did a bit of weeding…

finally we worked on the tub pond, which was very entertaining as Jeff got soaked a couple of times… it is cleaned out and should be up and running on Tuesday…

vacuuming out the pond...

vacuuming out the pond…

got some work done in the house as well which is good as I only have tomorrow to finish up…

ready for bed…

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been quite a busy day… got up around 6:30 to put out the garbage, recycling and yard waste…had my neighbour help me move the new very heavy chair into position…  then worked on the to do today list…

went to Rona, Costco, and Family Foods, as well as having my hair cut… got home in time for a quick bite before Dan the Carpenter came by to put a door on my pantry… rather a fancy name for some shelves  by the back door… I’ve wanted a door for ages so am very happy, although every time I walk past it I think it looks strange but no doubt I will get used to it…

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got a number of things for the big party on Tuesday at Costco and when I got to the cash register couldn’t find the Costco card… lost it somewhere in the store while I was shopping… kind of freaked out wondering what was going to happen, but a staff person sent me off to find another person who provided me with my number and I was able to get my groceries… then I had to go and get a new card… I guess a Costco card is a good one to lose if you have to lose a card… think it was the first one I have ever lost…

have so much stuff in the freezer that I can’t squeeze another thing in there… don’t even think I can make any more of the pretty ice cubes I have been working on…

taking up the old disgusting boards...

taking up the old disgusting boards…

after Dan finished the door he fixed six deck boards which had oil spilled on them and they looked really awful… we’ve tried scrubbing with soap and water, putting on grease remover and nothing made a difference so I just decided to replace them and be done with it… looks great now…

beautiful new deck boards...

beautiful new deck boards…

he left, and just after that, Jeff arrived… he fixed one of the flower bed frames, got a pump going, moved many boxes into the basement closet, got the wii working, put together two tables and moved chairs from the main floor to the basement… then we had a hot tub, planned the next few days and he headed home…

I am ready for bed… there are still a few jobs to be done tomorrow, but it doesn’t feel overwhelming…

anniversary…

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forty-three years ago today I married my beloved… it was an amazing day filled with emotion…

August 1, 1970...

August 1, 1970…

we worked for eight years before having our first child and made the decision that I would stay home with the children as long as we could manage… two years later along came our second child…

we had an idyllic life and I had the amazing privilege of being home with my girls throughout their years of school… George worked the whole time and we managed very well…

the girls left home and we enjoyed our slightly smaller nest… we got to do different things but also had lots of time with the kids… our grand kids came along and we had wonderful times with them…

since the girls left home we have had Sunday dinners together and the places around the table have grown and shrunk and grown depending on who was available on any particular Sunday night…

we got to visit the West Coast a number of times when Cyndi and Ron moved out there, and had lots of amazing time in our garden sanctuary…

we both went through some health issues and life wasn’t perfect, but it was our life…

these are the things I have been thinking about today…

August 1, 2011...

August 1, 2011…

a day doesn’t go by that I don’t remember the love of my life and think how proud he would be of me as I continue the steps along this new journey in my life…

today was filled with emotion as well, most of it happy, with a few tears…

I wonder what the protocol is for celebrating anniversaries once your spouse is no longer alive… do you forget them, ignore them, pretend they don’t happen… do you take off your wedding ring because you aren’t technically married… these are also things I’ve been pondering the last few days…

40 roses to celebrate 40 years...

40 roses to celebrate 40 years…

as I move forward in this new life I will continue to ponder these questions… maybe you have some answers…

roses the kids sent last year to remember...

roses the kids sent last year to remember…

busy night…

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stopped on my way home to pick up Subway for the little boys… Jeff had run out and picked up Clay Oven for the rest of us…

the kids had picked up my new chair and set it up in the garden, and Jeff had whipper snipped and mowed the front and back grass… looked very nice… was getting dark when I took the picture so it is a bit grainy, lol…

new chair for the garden...

new chair for the garden…

after supper Crystal and I went out to do some shopping so she could make some treats for the Champagne Bubble Party on Tuesday… we went to five stores and by the time we got home I was rather tired… got to sit in my new chair for a few minutes but the mosquitoes chased me into the house…

tired but very happy that we got all that done… wasn’t looking forward to doing it on my own and it was nice for the two of us to have some quality time…

digging…

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slept out under the stars and enjoyed watching the moon move through the sky as the night progressed…

bed for the night under the stars...

bed for the night under the stars…

then spent Sunday planting, reading and watching all the visitors who came by…

before I started planting...

before I started planting…

took a few shots of the landscape before making all the changes…

decided I liked where the plants were sitting and started to get them into the ground…

after planting...

after planting…

worked on one or two and then took a break, to read and watch the various flying friends who stopped by…

behind the waterfall...

behind the waterfall…

there were goldfinches and purple finches and lots of sparrows of various sorts… there were bees and wasps and a couple of butterflies and dragonflies…

once the planting was done I tidied up the bench which had been covered with pots during the construction…

then I took it easy… lots of work, but was very happy with the results… looks much better now…