Scattered Pictures…

25 Monday Feb 2013

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on Saturday I took some time at the computer to gather pictures of flowers as I have been asked for some by a friend who wants to decorate her new space with a number of framed photos…

water lily and wasp at the park in 2011...

water lily and wasp at the park in 2011…

it was a lovely hour or so that I spent going through all the pictures taken in 2012 and 2013 and copying the flower shots into a folder…  apparently, I really like morning glories, poppies and orchids…  on Sunday we went through the 600 pictures that I had moved and she chose a hundred that will need to be sifted through…

after she left on Sunday I spent another hour or so doing the same thing with 2011 pictures…  found another 500 or so…  she has those now to sort through as well…

one of the things that I have found about writing posts for my blog is that I have taken the time to find pictures that have come to my mind as I write…  some of them have been easy to find, and others have taken a bit of digging, and along the way I have discovered many pictures that I had completely forgotten about…

I have come across a number of my BS group… often when we go out for a special event we will have a picture taken of all of us…  it is fun to remember where we were and what we were doing when the photos were taken…  it has made me think I need to do some cross-filing by group as well as date…

birthday celebration November 2011...

birthday celebration November 2011…

tonight we had a good visit although it felt a bit poignant to me as we only have one more gathering before one of us leaves to work in another city… she will be returning home every other weekend but we won’t all be together on Monday nights for quite some time… we have done this before when one of us moved to the States for a few years but being on the phone isn’t the same as being in the same room…

so, now another half hour has gone by as I searched for just the right pictures to add into this post, lol…

the words to The Way We Were by Marvin Hamlisch have been running around in my head since last night’s Oscar performance by Barbra Streisand…

what a wonderful life I lead…

Memories…

24 Sunday Feb 2013

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has been a full weekend… this morning I walked over to Assiniboine Park for breakfast with a friend… I left early because I wanted to get some shots of the gorgeous hoarfrost on the trees…

hoarfrost along the walking path...

hoarfrost along the walking path…

whenever I go there, I remember what fun George and I had when we went for breakfast most Sundays from the time the Park Cafe opened… usually I would walk over and he would drive and we would meet up for a date together and talk about the week and the kids… we enjoyed watching the ducks, or the “zamboni” cleaning the ice for the skaters… we liked to read the memory stones as we walked along the path and often, when the weather was nice, we would walk through the English Garden… the host knew us and often found us a specially good table where we would have a lovely view… then we would drive home together, and often I would take pictures while George would spot something that I should capture…

as we left the restaurant this morning, we walked along the path where two memory stones refer to our family…

stone from Cyndi and Ron to remember George...

stone from Cyndi and Ron to remember George…

boys with their stone from Auntiy Cyndi and Uncle Ron...

boys with their stone from Aunty Cyndi and Uncle Ron…

later in the day I made french fries for the first time since George died… he always made the best french fries and we would often have pickerel and french fries on Tuesday night when I would get home from swimming… I have not had the heart to make them, until today… those big girl pants…

lovely memories…

Preparations and the Party…

23 Saturday Feb 2013

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my young chef friend was over last night to make sure I had the right pans, and that the oven was big enough for her needs…  this is very exciting as we prepare for the dinner party… there will be 9 of us for the first time, but I am so looking forward to the event…

we have had lots of variety in these annual dinners but this is the first time we’ve been treated to a professional chef in one of our homes… my treat was to have everyone picked up and taken home in a limo…

everyone arrived in the limo...

everyone arrived in the limo…

I woke up in the middle of the night from a dream about the event – although in the dream George was still alive, but the limo was involved… I was freaking out because everyone was on their way in the lovely vehicle and I realized that I hadn’t purchased any food for the dinner, lol…

tidying and setting the table took a good portion of my day, and then the house was ready:  a BSer had dropped off tulips to add to the festivities,  the chef and sous chef (my daughter) arrived and the house smelled divine…  I even had time for a glass of wine…

table ready for dinner...

table ready for dinner…

then the group arrived, and we began our evening with a Pimm’s Cup cocktail which another BSer brought… we moved to the dining room and enjoyed a five course meal which was delicious…  what a treat it was for all of us to be waited on by these young women…

menu for the dinner...

menu for the dinner…

these are very special people in my life and it was good to be together… I had moved the table up to the window so that no one sat in George’s place, but I felt his presence throughout the evening…

lots of conversation...

lots of conversation…

he would have been the consummate host, making sure everyone was comfortable and had enough to eat and drink… he would have talked with every person who was here and provided laughter throughout…  

beautiful tulips which were at the head of the table...

beautiful tulips which were at the head of the table…

what a lovely evening…

 

Further to yesterday…

23 Saturday Feb 2013

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exciting news…  they did pick up the garbage but did not leave a response to my note… yay…

it was quite the day…  while I was at work this morning, my son-in-law came to shovel out the driveway and let me know that the garbage people really did pick-up…

my daughter and I went to the service for our neighbour’s son which filled a banquet hall and where the minister read from a great book titled The Next Place which brought tears to my eyes…  this is the second funeral I’ve attended since George’s death and both have brought flashes of the days following his death to mind…

The Next Place

The Next Place

at supper tonight (payday dinner!) we were talking about how we are each reacting to the upcoming anniversary of his death… my younger daughter is having flashbacks to all of the events starting with the phone call she received from me… she remembers a comment that I made that I didn’t remember at all, until she mentioned it… shows how one’s words can affect others even though those words are completely gone from your own memory… my grandson is also thinking of Grandpa a lot… I am finding these days to be less stressful than the Valentine’s day run-up…

while we were having our supper, across the street our friend and neighbour was having her kids for supper as well… made me wonder about their dinner conversation…

although, after the kids left just before eight, I laid down and woke up around one in the morning, lol…

sun going down tonight...

sun going down tonight…

Garbage…

21 Thursday Feb 2013

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our garbage day is Friday… so every Thursday after work I put on my big girl pants and  gather up the garbage and recycling and put the bins outside the gate in the lane…

when the system was being tested, they used our neighbourhood and our garbage was picked up every week without any problems…  well, they did destroy the back of one of my trees when they collected in the winter, but I have gotten over that…

we’ve had the new system for a while now… besides collecting garbage in the big bins, they also collect the recycling the same way…

so, since the program was outsourced, t my garbage has rarely been picked up on the proper day…  did I mention that my three neighbours have theirs picked up every week… I have called every few weeks to let the city know that it hasn’t been picked up and they have arranged a special pick up every time I call… I haven’t called every week because I don’t produce that much garbage all by myself… I have also asked for instructions if I need to do something differently, but have not received a response to that request either…

my grandson usually brings in the two bins when he’s here on Sunday and, of course, this Sunday the garbage was still there…  I didn’t call until last night when Skippy, the nice man I spoke with, advised that the garbage collection people put on my file that there were no bins out last Friday behind my house…  I advised that the bins had been placed out there on Thursday but Skippy had to take their word for it and put another note on my file advising that I said it hadn’t been picked up…

its not so funny anymore…  so, tonight I had a brilliant idea…  I typed up a note on the computer and taped it to the front of the bin, along with a pencil, asking why they weren’t picking up my garbage…  I duct taped it to the garbage can and took some pictures…

see…

note on garbage can put out Thursday, Feb 21, 2013 while it was still light out...

note on garbage can put out Thursday, Feb 21, 2013 while it was still light out…

so, you are all my witnesses… if they say the garbage can wasn’t out there tomorrow, I have proof…

next step may be to contact a TV station or the newspaper…  I wonder how many other people are experiencing similar problems…

garbage and recycling bins out while still light Thursday, February 21, 2013...

garbage and recycling bins out while still light Thursday, February 21, 2013…

we shall watch for results and I will keep you posted, lol…

 

 

The Garden…

20 Wednesday Feb 2013

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it was a long day today… I woke up with a headache and felt out of sorts all day long…

have just come in from a restorative hot tub and as I was getting into the tub I realized that the headache is finally gone, thank goodness…

as I was sitting there looking out at the snow covered garden I thought back to the 10 weeks I spent there this summer as I was recovering from my surgery… it gave me time to think about all that had happened since George’s death…

the garden is a sanctuary where birds, animals and people come to rest and recuperate from life’s events…  this year we had our largest crop of spring poppies ever… Crystal thought her dad had something to do with it, lol…

poppies

poppies

I had been hoping to have the pond redone, but that didn’t end up happening…  the weather was quite lovely for most of my recovery time and as soon as I was able I was out on the deck and once I could manage the steps I moved to my favourite spot at the back of the garden beside the biggest pond…  we were visited by a leopard frog again this year, although we hadn’t seen any over the last few years…

of course there were lots of birds… actually an amazing array…  we had purple finches, goldfinches, nuthatches, chickadees and a variety of sparrows… one day I looked out and found at least 5 male goldfinches at the feeder…

goldfinch at the feeder...

goldfinch at the feeder…

the garden has always been a healing place for me and I found that spending time there helped with the grieving process, not just for me, but for many of those who visited me over those many weeks…

right now, I can’t even see the pond from the hot tub because there is so much snow…  we haven’t had this much in many years…  after work tonight I went out and shoveled to the hot tub so that I would be able to walk out in my slippers later on…

had those big girl pants on and was thinking of all the times George would be sure to shovel the area to and around the hot tub so that I would have an easy walk to get there in the evening…

I sure do miss him…

Generosity…

19 Tuesday Feb 2013

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today I received three very generous comments regarding my artistic abilities…

one was from someone who wants to have some of my flower pictures blown up to use as art on their wall…

another was a comment on some videos that I recently took…

the final one was someone reminding me about my excellent eye for design…

luckily for me, I was in the right space to hear and appreciate each of the comments, and I find that doesn’t always happen…

often when we see something that is well done we don’t take the time to compliment the appropriate person or persons because we are in a hurry or busy or whatever…

I think this is an example of living in the moment and I’m rather proud of myself for accepting all of the compliments without deflecting them…

carnation from Valentine bouquet...

carnation from Valentine bouquet…

Quiet day…

18 Monday Feb 2013

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had a lovely quiet day today…  it was quite miserable outside for a good part of the day… it wasn’t till around 4 or so that the wind died down and you could hear shoveling and snow blowing happening…

yesterday when we were walking around the zoo, Tavin and I were remembering that last year about this time we all visited the zoo and he made Grandpa read him every one of the signs, because Tavin couldn’t read then… I found this shot of them…

reading each and every sign at the zoo February 2012...

reading each and every sign at the zoo February 2012…

I spent some time doing a few chores and made some soup… then I napped and watched tv for a fair bit of the day…  it was a great break…

the only hard work was going out and shoveling the sidewalk to the street and from the steps to the driveway…  it was amazing how much snow blew into those couple of spots… I didn’t shovel out to the hot tub, but will try to do that tomorrow evening…

spent a few hours with my BS buddies and ate some wonderful carrot cake, yum…

now that all the Valentine’s Day hype is over, I have settled back to a more normal space, where, although I am missing George, it isn’t making me crazy…

was talking with some friends and they were commenting on how well I have managed since his death…

I only know that I have to keep moving forward, one step at a time, never forgetting George, but not living in the past either…

I enjoyed the day, thanks be…

 

Connecting…

17 Sunday Feb 2013

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been thinking back to the days after George’s death…  how great it was to be able to send out emails to let people know of his loss… a good way to connect and share information with many who can then share further…

that email subject line was I am bereft… and those words have been ringing in my head a lot lately…

George wasn’t perfect, but he was the love of my life and my best friend… even thought its been nearly a year, I miss him in ways I don’t even understand… he took care of me always…

today I walked over to the Park and had brunch with two friends… we haven’t been able to connect for some time so it was a great opportunity to catch up… then I walked to the new main gate of the Zoo and met up with my kids and a friend…  we walked all around the zoo, twice…  we first went to see Hudson, the polar bear, and then walked all the way around the other way to check out the new Polar Playground and Tundra Grill…

bright from the black light on all the white structures...

bright from the black light on all the white structures…

cool place...

cool place…

the playground was pretty neat, with lots of black lights so everything white kind of shone…  I think Kyler was wearing a brand new pair of white socks, lol…

ready to scare whichever sibling comes out first...

ready to scare whichever sibling comes out first…

down the slide and through the bear's mouth...

down the slide and through the bear’s mouth…

the boys ran around for half an hour or so, and then we had french fries and poutine… we headed back to the entrance and the kids dropped me off by the bridge and I walked home…

must say my feet are still a bit sore… it reminded me again how wonderful it is to be in good health…

got home and had a nap before the kids arrived for dinner… right after dinner, the little guy fell asleep on the couch while we were visiting.. apparently he was tired too…

it was a wonderful day of memory making and connecting…

Missing Grandpa…

16 Saturday Feb 2013

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sitting here looking at the electronic picture frame and the orchid behind it…

got me thinking about how, for a number of years now, we always had orchids over the winter months…  one of George’s workmates, who worked in the garden centre, would always let George know when a new batch of orchids came in so that I could come down and pick two or three to brighten up the house…  George always teased me about buying too many, but he was the one who would tell me they were in, or even bring one or two home…  what a guy…

I do much better during the dark months when I have flowers around me…

last weekend we went to pick up a few orchids… sadly they weren’t at their best but I found three that I liked and brought them home, along with a lovely frilly African violet…  one orchid and the African violet went to work, and the other two orchids are here in the living and dining rooms…

orchids and frame...

orchids and frame…

today I went for dim sum with the kids, including my nephew and his girl friend… Tavin and I sat beside one another and he did a bit of drawing…  he made a couple of great pictures of the fish tank with some goldfish and said he coloured one of the fish blue, cause that was Grandpa’s favourite colour…

fish in the tank...

fish in the tank…

we talked a bit about how much we have both been missing Grandpa… Mommy chimed in that she has been having flashbacks to the day he died…

we ran a few errands together and went to Indigo so the boys could pick up a book each as they had some gift cards from Auntie Cyndi and Uncle Ron…

it is always interesting to watch their thought process as they try to decide which is the best book to get…  I love this because they have received books from us for every birthday, Christmas and other occasions – just as we did for their mother and aunt since they were little girls…  we did pick up a couple of great books for my house too… one is about frogs jumping in the pond, right up my alley, and the other was about farm animals and tabs slide on each page…

I just looked up to see a picture of George and the little boys making salad…  George made the best salad ever, and even when we use exactly the same ingredients, we can’t make it as good as he did, lol…

white with purple...

white with purple…