Tag Archives: big girl pants

thankful…

13 Sunday Oct 2013

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spent a good portion of the morning preparing for tomorrow’s Thanksgiving dinner… made the stuffing, peeled potatoes and turnips… FaceTimed with the kids in Ottawa as they were preparing the stuffing and turkey for their dinner…

this afternoon the kids and I went to the Zoo… this was one of the last few days to be able to walk in an enclosure with the kangaroos… can’t believe this has been open since the spring or early summer and we just made it on the second to last day, yikes…

peacocks were everywhere, most of them having molted and having very few tail feathers...

peacocks were everywhere, most of them having molted and having very few tail feathers…

had a lovely time and we saw EVERYTHING… the little boys got to choose where to go and what to see and they wanted it all… it was cool when we started but warmed up quite nicely by the time we were done… the kangaroos were sleeping when we arrived so we stopped by again on our way out and they were awake and we got to see all three babies… it was a bit funny to read the sign as you went in which advised you were not to hop into any of their pouches…

beautiful fall colours as the family moves on the see the kangaroos...

beautiful fall colours as the family moves on the see the kangaroos…

came home and made cranberry sauce for tomorrow’s dinner… this time I used orange juice instead of water for the liquid… tastes pretty good…

am so thankful for my life… the beauty all around me, a wonderful active family, great friends, good work, a cozy home and a delicious dinner to look forward to…

wishing you a few moments to realize all the things you have to be thankful for…

the sky…

12 Saturday Oct 2013

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got up fairly early and headed to Safeway around 8… hardly anyone there at that hour so the shopping was lovely… there were people to answer my questions and help me out… got a nice turkey and turnip and a few other bits and pieces for Monday’s Thanksgiving dinner with Crystal and all the boys… we are planning to do a bit of yard work as well…

spoke with both of my girls, put everything away, did a few chores and then watched tv and napped…

it has been windy here for two or three days and today was drizzly off and on… had to put my morning glory pot back on the deck because the wind had blown it over this morning… yikes… that pot is very heavy…

beautiful pink sky and autumn leaves...

beautiful pink sky and autumn leaves…

tonight I looked out the upstairs window to see a magnificent pink sky above all the beautiful fall coloured trees… got a nice pic…

then I looked the other way and got a nice pic of the moon peaking through the completely bare tree next door…

moon through the bare branches of the tree next door...

moon through the bare branches of the tree next door…

what a beautiful place I live in…

 

colour…

11 Friday Oct 2013

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this afternoon I got to leave work a little early and decided to stop at Dairy Queen for an ice cream cone… George and I would stop occasionally on our way home if he picked me up… I don’t think I’ve been to this particular store since he died… they have done a complete overhaul and besides looking very nice inside, they now have a drive-thru – for ice cream, I can’t believe it…

ice cream cone from Dairy Queen...

ice cream cone from Dairy Queen…

we would sit in the car in the parking lot and talk about our day and the kids… I sat there for a few minutes in my new car thinking about how much fun we got to have together… no tears, just happy memories…

trees from the living room couch...

trees from the living room couch…

when I got home I sat in the living room and talked with Crystal on the phone for a few minutes while looking out the window… it was overcast and the wind was picking up, but the leaves across the creek were very lovely with many shades of green and yellow…

evergreen next door...

evergreen next door…

got closer to the window and got a shot of my neighbour’s tree and some beautiful leaves on a little waif close to their house…

elm to the left...

stunning elm to the left…

went onto the deck and got a few lovely shots of the elm in the other neighbour’s yard… what leaves are on it are a gorgeous shade of yellow and as I took the pictures, leaves were flying through the sky like rain…

not long after that the rain started and apparently will continue through most of tomorrow…

 

bunny…

10 Thursday Oct 2013

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last night I got dropped off at the end of the street and walked the rest of the way… it was gorgeous and I was happy to spend a few minutes in the fresh air…

was thinking about the bunnies that I have been seeing lately and looked up to see one sitting in the road, right in front of the house…

bunny from a few months ago,,,

bunny from a few months ago,,,

I think they are very cute and enjoy having them on the street and in the garden… apparently I don’t plant anything that they think is yummy so I haven’t felt any desire to get rid of them…

I do have friends though who have a big problem with bunnies eating their vegetables and flowers…

but, for now, I just think they are cute…

as the light left the sky I stood still and watched the little fellow as it watched me… finally a car came down the street and away went the bunny…

friends…

09 Wednesday Oct 2013

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had a busy day today…

got dropped off at work and dealt with a couple of technology issues that staff members were facing…

kids delivered my car to me just after noon with the right tires on (much prettier that the ugly winter rims, lol)… showed it off to a couple of people… that was fun…

our BS dinner reservation didn’t work out so emails flew through the airwaves as we tried to sort out an actual location, time and method of arriving at the chosen spot… many, many emails went back and forth, lol, but eventually a spot was chosen, time was decided on and rides were arranged for all…

prepared name tags (which went better than expected) for an event tomorrow morning and headed home in time to be picked up for the BS birthday dinner…

had just enough time to put things in the glove compartment and various other spots in the car so that it feels organized…

appetizer tonight at The Captain's Table...

appetizer tonight at The Captain’s Table…

had a lovely dinner with these very wonderful women to celebrate one of us turning 65… great time with great friends…

 

so long…

08 Tuesday Oct 2013

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when I got up this morning I decided to take a few photos of the car before leaving… took one in the garage, the driveway and part way down the street… there were a few tears in my eyes as I drove to work for the last time in the car that George and I had chosen together, and which was also the last place where he was alive…

last time in the driveway...

last time in the driveway…

Crystal and Kyler met me at the office after work and we headed to Woodhaven to get my new car…

the process always takes a long time… we met with Courtney, who went through the reams of paperwork… m fingers were cramping by the time I wrote the last signature… then we walked over to Ranger Insurance to get the new registration and fill out more paperwork… did get to keep the old plates so still have a remembrance of George on the car…

back to Woodhaven where we waited a while for Courtney, and then Nelson came along and we went through the tips and tricks of the new car…

unfortunately, they had put on the winter tires, which I had decided not to do for another month or so, and they didn’t have anyone there who could change them back to the pretty all purpose ones… made me rather sad as they are a big feature of the sporty look…

new car with my plates on it...

new car with my plates on it…

drove home again with a few tears welling up, picked up Chinese food for supper and met up with Jeff, the little boys and our friend Jackie… had a nice celebratory dinner and Crystal is sleeping over so she can take me to work and take the car in to have the tires changed first thing in the morning…

I feel exhausted… been a long, and stress-filled day…

groups…

07 Monday Oct 2013

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after work I headed over to a friend’s for our group that meets more or less monthly… we’ve been meeting since 1998 on a fairly regular basis… we take turns hosting the gathering, providing the food and preparing the program… usually we meet from about five to nine or ten… we had a lovely home-made dinner with chicken and tomatoes, with rice and crescent rolls, followed by a delectable carrot cake made with a healthy flour that tastes just like white flour… sadly I like white flour…

tonight I only stayed for dinner and the check-in portion… our Monday night BS group was going to have everyone in physical attendance so I decided to come home to be part of that group…

we meet at my house at eight for a couple of hours… our friend who is currently living and working out of Saskatchewan was planning to be in town…

in the end she called and we had a short conversation over the phone as things are a bit crazy in her life just now…

it is always wonderful to gather with all of these women… there is deep wisdom and love in both groups, and as we have known each other for so many years, there is always safety which allows us to say whatever needs to be said…

begonia in the kitchen this morning...

begonia rooting in the kitchen this morning…

not many places you can find that sense of trust… I always feel blessed after spending time with these unique women…

vroom, vroom…

05 Saturday Oct 2013

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so, today I really had on those big girl pants… was up and out fairly early, headed to Woodhaven Toyota to speak to Nelson about a new car, depending on whether they could give me a good enough deal.

Crystal and I had gone six or eight months ago and not had a positive experience, so left without a new car and I was prepared for that to happen again today…

had a good meeting with Nelson Gaspar and then we took out a Corolla S for a test drive… I have never been the one to drive out of the lot, that was always George’s job… I might have driven for a little bit when we found a parking lot, but my job was also to check out the passenger spots, front and back, while he did the major driving portion of the test…

was very nervous, but Nelson did a great job and before I knew it I was breezing down the highway and through the beautiful fall trees… George would have loved this car – you can use paddle shifters on the steering wheel like a race car driver and drive in Sport mode for faster turning… AND it has heated seats, lol…

me and my new car

 

after much finagling, the car was mine… looking forward to picking it up on Tuesday… leaving behind our current car will be difficult as we had it together…

later in the day Crystal, the little boys and I went out to celebrate with dinner at The Keg…

first really big purchase on my own…

technology…

04 Friday Oct 2013

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spent some great time this morning working with Styles in Word 2013… learned some tips and tricks on Wednesday when we had training, and I got the time to play with it a bit this morning with another colleague…

so much fun to work on creating a template that is going to save huge amounts of time in the future… I’ve worked with styles before but never really understood them, but I think I’ve seen the light and finally get it… woo hoo…

on top of that, I’ve been using a new app that I found on App of the Day… It is called Saver… helps keep track of expenses in a simple, easy to use format… you add in items as you purchase them and can take a photo of a receipt or type in a note… shows you how much you’ve spent in a number of categories…

I use my credit card to pay for everything and then pay it off at the end of each month… found this a helpful way to be mindful of where I am in my spending…

really like this one…

20131004-204944.jpg

feathered friends…

03 Thursday Oct 2013

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spent some time watching a family of purple finches as they stocked up on food before their flight to warmer climes… they are not nearly as bright as in the spring and early summer…

purple finches at the front feeder...

purple finches at the front feeder…

that same day I took some pictures of the leaves as the colours change… every day as I drive to and from work I see less leaves on the trees and more on the ground…

trees n their fall colours...

trees in their fall outfits…

also got a shot of a yard down the street that was filled with leaves…

leaves on the ground...

leaves on the ground…

the elm trees haven’t shed yet, but soon when the boys come over they can do some raking and playing… it will remind them of doing that very thing with Grandpa I am sure…