Tag Archives: family

movies…

15 Saturday Feb 2020

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what a fun day… my son-in-law called fairy early, dropped off the younger boys and headed to the gym…

my grandsons helped me make Thai Curry Shrimp Soup and we put some games on the tablet… once my son-in-law returned we had lunch at Applebee’s, wandered around the mall where I picked up some new tea and got an excellent deal on a pair of leggings… and went to the movies at Landmark…

when we got home my son-in-law fixed my thermostat so that it won’t keep going down to 18 degrees Celsius in an effort to save energy… but freeze me, lol… he also fixed the toilet paper holder so the roll doesn’t fall right off…

they left and I put on the tv and warmed up some of the soup…

pretty excellent day…

cookies…

13 Thursday Feb 2020

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a few days ago I dug out my sugar cookie recipe…

I’d had a conversation with a friend about how great my sugar cookies tasted… I’ve made thousands of them over the years, mainly when the girls were in school… I would produce cookies for their classrooms for each and every holiday that occurred…

she suggested I might like to make some for Valentine‘s Day;-)… and also volunteered to lend me a heart-shaped cookie cutter…

I thought I had one so didn’t take her up on the offer…

on Sunday I decided to make them and discovered that I did not have the appropriate cutter…

I went online, found a few different sized heart templates and made a cardboard heart-shaped template…

then I made the recipe and laughed throughout the whole process because it didn’t seem familiar at all…

it took a while as I used a knife to outline each one, but they came out pretty good…

I’d given away all the food colouring and sprinkles a while ago, thinking I wouldn’t need them…

the cookies look rather plain… but taste delicious…

then I had some fun packaging them up for a few gifts…

and enjoyed some with my kids and BS buddies;-)…

bonbons…

08 Saturday Feb 2020

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a few days ago I received my second Advent All Year parcel from my daughter… (here’s the story of the first one)…

in it were a beautiful handmade card; my favourite Raspberry Chocolate bar (including one for my grandson, who also loves it); and a box of bonbons she chose from a recent visit to Soma chocolatemaker… the box had the coolest extra packing paper as she mentioned she would be mailing it…

one thing I’ve learned from her is that great bonbons need to be eaten quickly before they expire… particularly when they are made with only fresh ingredients…

so, every morning I’ve been choosing one and eating it before I have my breakfast…

such a delicious way to start the day when my taste buds aren’t muddied with other flavours…

I am blessed;-)…

plans…

06 Thursday Feb 2020

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had some plans to head out to get some things done this morning…

but, it was really cold and none of them had to happen, so I decided to stay home…

got dressed, first time in a few days… did some work on the computer and read some of my current book…

also wound the clock which hasn’t been going for a few days…

nice to hear the ringing… reminds me of my mom and dad… this clock came from their apartment…

keychain…

26 Sunday Jan 2020

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Friday I received a parcel in the mail…

in it was the cutest handmade keychain…

a gift from my daughter… she is planning to send me something regularly throughout the year — instead of an Advent calendar that just comes in December;-)…

how lovely is that…

I love all the pieces it is made of, but the little bird is a reminder of the wonderful morning we spent at Mer Bleue feeding the chickadees…

my goal for the Spring is to train my chickadees to eat from my hand… this is a wonderful reminder…

I am very excited to get working on this…

composting…

23 Thursday Jan 2020

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I’ve been trying to be a little more caring of the planet…

while in Ottawa I was reminded of their recycling programs…

garbage is only put out every second week and cardboard and other recyclables are collected on the other… composting happens every week…

my daughter has been green for many years and she is an example for me to follow…

she has been composting and using cloth (not paper) towels for years… hers snap together and roll up like regular paper towels…

I am going to stop using paper towels… I’ve watched a few programs recommending ways to accomplish this… going to give it a try…

I’ve gathered some face clothes and dish towels that weren’t being used much… I have the clean ones on top of the microwave, ones I am still using on the counter, and a bin for the ones ready to be laundered…

already I can see that I am reusing them more even before putting them into the bin…

signing…

18 Saturday Jan 2020

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recently I spent an hour with my finance guy signing what felt like a million papers… felt sorry for all the trees we destroyed…

complicated business to start collecting locked in RSP money… of course I didn’t remember to take a pic of the very large pile of papers that were taken away, lol…

these are just a few of the ones that were left for me…

good thing he understands this stuff and can explain it so well…

I will be thanking my beloved every day as the reason I am able to retire is due to his pension which came directly to me on his death…

insta…

12 Sunday Jan 2020

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I’ve seen lots of ads for the Instant Pot, but felt that I didn’t need another appliance in the kitchen…

and now that I’m retired I have all day to prepare food…

but… my daughter showed me hers and told me all the things it can do which made me think about it more seriously…

apparently, it could replace my egg cooker (which is currently not working), be a rice cooker (which I’ve wanted), act as a crockpot (which I have, in purple), act as a steamer, sauté things, keep things warm, and even be a sterilizer…

we made salmon (from frozen) and smashed potatoes with spinach in about half an hour… and it was delicious…

we also made white and wild rice with chicken thighs (again from frozen) in about 45 minutes from start of prep to eating…

and mushroom soup, and risotto…

think I just might have to buy one now that I am home…

reflecting…

11 Saturday Jan 2020

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had a lovely time while I was still at my daughter’s sorting and taking photos of my Christmas gifts…

I absolutely love my soft purple blanket, and was happy to examine all of the other wonderful treats I received…

a few purple items, lol – socks, facecloths, gloves, tins, toothbrush, reusable sponge, phone holder… and quite a variety of chocolate – pistachio, Lindt, turtles, raspberry (my favourite), chocolate covered sponge… a tea and chocolate pairing that was flavoured with orchids, reusable bags, a Chihuly 2020 calendar, colouring books and pencils, a magazine on gratitude, a hand printed towel… plus a few more I can’t even remember…

yikes, so many gifts… I certainly am blessed…

the sun was shining into the room as I was gathering them for the photo… it was very meditative and I was able to reflect on each gift and the person who gave it to me… and the fun we had as we opened and shared our delight over each parcel…

a wonderful way to extend the joy of Christmas morning…

now that I’m home, I’ve found a spot for each one…

as I use each item I will be sure to spend a moment to remember the giver with gratitude in my heart…

hosts…

10 Friday Jan 2020

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recently I flew home from Ottawa… I spent the majority of the trip with my eyes glued to the window… it was like the entire sky was filled with a sunset for the entire flight… what a gift…

I had the most wonderful visit with my daughter and son-in-law… also had a fun time meeting and getting to know his mom…

it was quite a different Christmas for me… flew out on Christmas Day and celebrated New Year’s there as well… his mom was with us for a week and then I spent another six days with the kids…

had so much fun… the kids are wonderful hosts* and offer up all kinds of interesting things to do… I stayed in their AirBnB room which was very cozy…

while I was there we ate great home cooked meals, fed birds out of our hands, went to see butterflies, had afternoon tea, went to the Market and restaurants, spent a day at the spa, had a photo shoot, and two chocolate tastings…

and enjoyed great conversations…

now I am home and able to begin retirement living…

*AirBnB Cozy Blue Room Ottawa