Tag Archives: family

breakfast…

23 Sunday Apr 2017

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lovely walk to the “A” and back this morning…

my grandson was with me on the way there… we caught a few Pokémon and saw the mallard couple in the creek… it was a bit chilly because of the wind, but the sun was shining…

I had been up and made tea for the daddy who arrived after his overnight shift at work… he had a nap for an hour or so before we went for breakfast… on Sunday the “A” doesn’t open until 8… he and I have learned this the hard way…

he and the youngest drove over… was so hungry I forgot to take a picture of my meal, lol…

after breakfast they headed to their house and I walked back home…

warmer with the wind at my back… had to stop and take a few pictures of the buds starting on the big tree, maybe some kind of willow, just before I reached the house…

had a short nap and read in the sunshine in the living room for the remainder of the day… 

my daughter and the younger boys came for dinner and a visit and I went back to reading when they left…

listening to the ducks flying over on their way back to the creek… love the sound of ducks and geese as they travel…

bunnies…

16 Sunday Apr 2017

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this afternoon I watched a bunny run across the neighbour’s yard… it looked tired, lol…

when the kids arrived my son-in-law fixed the floppy siding – which makes so much noise when it comes loose… which happens every now and then… and the garage door which had shifted and wouldn’t stay closed… for the last week I’ve had a stool up against it on the inside of the garage and had to come and go from the front of the house using the rolling door… been a bit of a pain… but, now it is fixed… yay…

the youngest brought me a picture he’d made for grandparents’ day at his school… he shared that he had traced the flower pot which was used as a template by the rest of his classmates;-)…

had picked up chocolate bunnies, gift cards for some of their favourite places, and fancy cookies… 

and the Easter bunny had dropped off some mini eggs in the living and dining rooms…

had a lovely dinner… everyone lent a hand to get the last minute jobs done… my daughter is the meat/poultry carver… my oldest grandson now does the potato mashing, the two younger ones carry things out to the table… after dinner my son-in-law leads the clean-up brigade… by the time they leave the kitchen looks great and there is nothing left for me to do…

here’s how the table looked tonight…

and here’s how it looked last year…

always try to have lots of flowers, and bunnies…

my beloved has been gone five years but this is the sixth Easter without him… and for whatever reason I was missing him especially today…

spent some time thinking of the fun we had over the years as we celebrated Easter together and with the kids…

moments…

camaraderie…

15 Saturday Apr 2017

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been thinking of my dad a lot over the last few days…

he was ill my entire life and his last four years were really a gift… 

he died on Good Friday nearly thirty years ago… I don’t remember the date but it was in March that year… I had been called to the hospital and realized he really was dying… I left for a short while to pull myself together and after talking with a friend went back and sat with him as he moved from this world to the next… a privilege to share those moments with him…

always amazes me how something brings back the sadness and grief, even after all this time…

he was a special man and taught me so much about being a kind and gentle person and always seeing the good in people…

I remember the times he would sit on the deck and enjoy visiting with family and friends…

today I put the screen into the upstairs hall window, which looks out on that deck… over the winter I take it out so that I can take better pictures, lol…

feels like it is Spring now that the screen is in and the window is open… had the screen door open and enjoyed the gorgeous weather while I was cooking and doing prep work for tomorrow’s Easter dinner…

dad always had candy in his pocket… you could almost hear the wrappers rubbing against one another when he walked, lol…

and as I prepared the space and table I was missing my beloved… he was so good at helping me get ready for special meals… he would have picked up the flowers and anything else needed and looked after a good portion of the cleaning as I worked in the kitchen…

I miss that camaraderie… 

I have been, and continue to be, blessed with the men in my life…

weekend…

09 Sunday Apr 2017

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I should be completely worn out because it’s been such a busy weekend… but I’m not…

up and out for an early morning hot tub and took a picture of the garden before I came in…

it needs the spring cleanup…

was picked up and met the rest of the family for dimsum… this is one of our traditions when my sister-in-law comes to town… and we all love it… well most of the time… sometimes the younger ones don’t want to have anything, but another time they eat everything in sight… 

that black blob on the bottom right is the youngest not participating, lol… but he did eat…

my oldest grandson came home with me and did some cleanup in the garden, although it was rather cold… he raked and swept and moved furniture and took dead plants to the composting barrels… then we sat down at his suggestion, and made a list of projects for the garden this summer…

we didn’t get everything we wanted done today, but it looks much more ready to be in…

I am so blessed to have this young man help me with the garden maintenance… and of course my son-in-law does lots of the work with the ponds;-)…

looking forward to warm days and hours spent by the pond…

play…

08 Saturday Apr 2017

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another fun, full day…

quiet relaxing morning and then off for lunch with my play-buddy before we headed to the last one of the season…

lunch was at Clementine’s in the Exchange District… had a very tasty Braised Bacon Benedict (Maple Sabayon, Dill, Poached Eggs, Cheddar Biscuit) and we shared a Braman’s Greens, Sweet Cayenne Walnuts, Smoked Dates, Apples, Mimolette Cheese, House Dressing salad…

the biscuit brought a light feel to the dish and the maple sabayon was delicious… the salad was like dessert to end the meal… yummy…

then we moved on to PTE for our final play of the season… it was very funny… while we were there we signed up for next year;-)…

I am always impressed with the sets and how they convey so much more than is actually there…

got home and my sister-in-law and nephew picked me up and we went to his place for supper… got to meet the team… fifteen sled dogs… these are just a few of  them…

and here is Aiko, the leader…

we had a wonderful dinner of BBQ steak, baby potatoes and onions, mushrooms asparagus, and a caprese salad… what a treat to just sit back and enjoy as others did the work…

left just as the sky burst into this…

plan…

07 Friday Apr 2017

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what a wonderful day off… not exactly as planned…

started with a walk around the pond at the Birchwood Automotive Group to see the geese… at first there were two and then three others arrived… little bit of  discussion amongst them before they became friends…

from there I headed off to lunch with a great friend who is having a birthday tomorrow… excellent meal and fun to be together…

always have lots to talk about, lol…

came home to find my sister-in-law had arrived from Calgary… it is always special when we have time together… before she moved to Calgary, besides spending family time, we also worked with one another… 

we ran out and did a bit of grocery shopping… she found this cute tray for me…

back home we had a snack and waited for my nephew to pick her up… once they left I had a nap and made dinner…

picked up a beautiful purple calla lily…

frustration…

26 Sunday Mar 2017

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fun and frustration today…

spent some time cleaning off the deck and then sitting out reading and listening to music… warm enough to just have on a long shirt and culotte jeans… 

heard and spotted geese flying overhead and managed to catch them on my phone…

my daughter was working but all the boys came over and we headed out to do some shopping… except that my car wouldn’t start… the boys pushed it out of the garage and into the street where my son-in-law boosted it…

we went to the first grocery store and when we came out the car wouldn’t start again… found a fellow leaving his car and got a boost… went to two more stores and we ran in and left my son-in-law in the car to drive around while we shopped… by the third store we all went in and rushed through to be sure the car would work… 

on our way home we went to Canadian Tire and picked up a battery charger…

while supper was cooking, we charged the battery so it should be fine tomorrow…

when we were out I picked up a purple hyacinth and some purple flowers…

the funny thing was that when we arrived home from our vacation the kids’ vehicle wouldn’t start… then, this morning my son-in-law’s car wouldn’t start;-(… but this was the third, so we should be good, lol…

Mazatlan Day 7…

23 Thursday Mar 2017

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our final full day here… some of us went shopping while some went to the pool… had a chance to go into the Sea Shell Museum… well, the main floor which was a giant store where you could purchase many, many types of shells… 

I was so overwhelmed that I ended up just taking a picture, lol…

then I found a tablecloth that I really needed and which may end up as a light blanket for my bed… also picked up some chocolate with mango liquor in it:-)…

when we got back to the hotel we joined the others at the pool where we read and played in the water for ages… had our lunch on the patio overlooking the ocean in two shifts…

more pool time and then a last chance to get our toes wet in the ocean… 

the middle grandson and I went for a last wander down the beach and I came upstairs to pack my bag…

supper with our favourite wait person – Jhonaten and it was seafood night…

I have had shrimp at every opportunity as it is what this area of Mexico is known for… 

a final sunset and we are all ready to head to the airport and home early in the morning…

great times and wonderful memories of family fun;-)…

my roomie and I…

Mazatlan Day 3

19 Sunday Mar 2017

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as I write this I have walked 14,830 steps… 

we started out the day with breakfast at the hotel… I asked for poached eggs which may not have been the wisest move because it took about twenty minutes for them to be made, lol… but they were cooked perfectly when I did get them… 

then we gathered up our stuff and took two Pulmonias to the start of the Malecon… 

we walked about 7 miles, in the sun, with lots of cold drinks and a break for lunch… we found various treasures for the boys to bring home and I was very happy to find some shells to add to my collection… 

the sweet man found all kinds of small shells for me once he knew I had been collecting them since I was a kid… we had moved on to the next stall where a woman was making bracelets for the boys when he came over with two more small treasures…

after the incredibly long walk in the heat we took an Aurigas back to the hotel…

open truck riding… the boys loved it…

some of us headed to the ocean to play in the waves and the others went to the pool… 

my daughter caught these wonderful moments…tons of fun… then we went upstairs for a rest, had dinner and took a late night walk down the beach…

another wonderful day filled with great memories…

Mazatlan Day 1…

17 Friday Mar 2017

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left the house at 3:30 am in two cabs to get us to the airport in time for our departure…

the flight was uneventful and the four hours went by quickly… a few of us slept and others read, watched movies and snacked…

it was fun to watch the sun rise on one side of the plane while it was still dark on the other…

saw some cool mountains as we flew over… no idea where they were…

and, eventually we saw the sun rising on our side of the plane…

arrived at the airport and went through customs without a problem… the palm trees are such a welcome sight once exiting the building…

the system at the hotel left a little to be desired… had to stand in line on three separate occasions before eventually getting to our rooms…

but while we were waiting we found a cafe with free wifi and a fishing connection…

we had a shrimp party there… apparently, Mazatlan is known for its shrimp…

my favourite was the coconut crusted ones which were delicious… 

and then spent the afternoon at the pool… this was the view as we headed in to eat dinner…

we are going to pay for a week of wifi so I can post this and the next six blogs without searching for free spots all the time, lol…

now to bed, been a long day and we have an early start tomorrow… which also happens to be my girl’s birthday;-)…