ready…

11 Sunday Aug 2013

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well I’m as ready as I’m going to be for tomorrow’s company for dinner and the evening…

it has taken quite a while to get everything cleaned up from the party… but it was fun as I remembered different things that took place while we prepared or during the party…

deck tidy and ready should we decide to eat out there...

deck tidy and ready should we decide to eat out there…

the dining room is ready, the kitchen is tidy and the deck and garden look lovely…

mirrors and bubbles hanging as a reminder of the party...

mirrors and bubbles hanging as a reminder of the party…

I spent a bit of time out there watering and reattaching some of the mirrors that had come down…

sadly I noticed one of the glass balls broken in the bottom of the pond…

pond beautiful for its debut with this group...

pond beautiful for its debut with this group…

got laundry done as well as napping and TV watching… lots of resting amongst the getting ready, lol…

the travellers have all arrived, some to a hotel in Ottawa and the others back home from camping…

tomorrow the cleaner comes so not only will it be tidy, it will be clean…

missing my beloved today… he would have helped me make sure everything was perfect for tomorrow and we would have talked about how great the party was as we put things away…

 

easy day…

10 Saturday Aug 2013

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took it very easy today…

got up and then watched TV for quite a while, in between naps… then I cleaned up the kitchen from the party, family dinner and kids being here… just a bit at a time… playing some tunes as I went about the clean-up…

moved on to the dining room and dealt with quite a few things… put away bowls and dishes and tidied up sparklers and glow-in-the-dark sticks… and various other things…

cleaning up dining room...

cleaning up dining room…

spent quite some time trying to take apart the chocolate fountain… I think George was always the one who dismantled it… eventually I figured it out and got it apart and clean… will put it away in its box in the morning…

watered some plants outside and put chemicals in the hot tub…

had a glass of champagne and a few chocolates when I took a break this afternoon…

one set of kids have made it to their next destination on their trip to Ontario and sent me a picture of Lake Superior, and the others sent me a picture of a gorgeous sunset…

a lovely and rest-filled day which reminds me of how blessed I am…

quiet…

09 Friday Aug 2013

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well I was right… it is very quiet and maybe a bit lonely here…

got home, slept for a couple if hours… had some leftovers from last night and then slept for another couple of hours…

going to have a little snack and then go to bed, lol…

Cyndi and Ron have arrived at their next destination and Crystal and all the boys have set up their spot at the lake…

I have a beautifully clean car thanks to Cyndi and Ron, which is lovely… usually it is tidy but after I had that little plant purchase and filled it up completely it has really needed a good vacuum and I haven’t had the chance to get it done…

looking forward to a quiet weekend of putting the house back together so it will look great on Monday when a group of friends will be over for the evening… and enjoying the Gerbers that had been in Cyndi and Ron’s room…

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packing up…

08 Thursday Aug 2013

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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…

08 Thursday Aug 2013

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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…

06 Tuesday Aug 2013

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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…

05 Monday Aug 2013

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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…

04 Sunday Aug 2013

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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…

03 Saturday Aug 2013

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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…

02 Friday Aug 2013

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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…