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~ the new reality of a "70 something"

herbiggirlpants

Tag Archives: family

smile…

19 Sunday Oct 2014

Posted by sulis303 in life, nature, Uncategorized

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big girl pants, family, frost, hot tub, pictures, smile, waterfall

early this morning I went out for a hot tub… the sun was brilliant… made me smile…

IMG_8913-0.JPGhard to tell, but there is a bit of frost in this picture so I wore sandals…

IMG_8914-2.JPGlater I headed over to the kids’ place… we were spending some time having family pictures done… we went to a number of places and walked a long way, and there were many smiles…

IMG_8917.JPGlooking forward to seeing the finished pics…

here’s one of Crystal and I on a warehouse ledge…

IMG_8915.JPGJeff may have broken something getting me up and then down from the spot…

watched a soccer practice for one of the boys and then headed home… drove over the Disraeli both ways… a big girl pants moment for me as I really dislike that bridge…

IMG_8918-1.JPGvery excited when I walked into the yard and saw the water falling beautifully… this is strange because usually within a few hours of my pond guy being here the water starts to get clumpy, with algae obstructing the flow…maybe it is too cold for algae, lol…

ahhhhh…

23 Saturday Aug 2014

Posted by sulis303 in life, nature, Uncategorized

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ahhhh, big girl pants, breakfast, dimsum, family, morning glory, packing

lovely first day of vacation…

up early and walked over to “the A” to have breakfast with my daughter…

IMG_7414.JPGof course I had to check the morning glories… still can’t believe it was the purple ones that seeded themselves…

IMG_7416.JPGit was misty when I stepped outside and Bruce Park looked cool…

IMG_7417.JPGdelicious breakfast and good to spend time with my girl…

IMG_7418.JPGthen we shopped at a few places… met the rest of the family and my nephew for dimsum and headed home…

had a nap, watched tv and ate leftover roti for my dinner…

got out my suitcase and started packing…

scattered…

14 Saturday Jun 2014

Posted by sulis303 in life, Uncategorized

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ashes, beloved, big girl pants, breakfast, dinner, family, memories, scattered, the "A"

this morning we laid my beloved to rest for the final time…

lovely place by the creek to rest...

lovely place by the creek to rest…

with family we walked down to a spot by the creek just across from our home of over forty years, and deposited his ashes to move out to the two rivers it joins, and then Lake Winnipeg…

I was amazed at how difficult this was… we have been working toward this event since last August when we had the discussion that Dad needed to have a place…

a few of his ashes had been placed into necklaces… a date was chosen, flights were booked… a brick from around the pond was engraved… the spot for the scattering was decided… the house and yard were cleaned and tidied for the event…

the plan had been to have a bonfire in the garden last night, and over wieners, baked potatoes and s’mores, share some of our memories of dad/grandpa… unfortunately the weather was uncooperative and we ended up crowded around in the living room looking through old photo albums… the boys were quite surprised at the photos and how different grandpa looked as a younger man, lol…

all the kids slept over and we got up early, met with the rest of the group and walked to the chosen spot… my grandson and I had decided not to have any readings, just send grandpa on his way… I shared how we had made our decisions about what we would do… told the story about how we were going to make a paper box for his remains and then discovered yesterday it wouldn’t dissolve, the last minute conversations with various professionals to decide on plan B…

scattering complete, now on to breakfast...

scattering complete, now on to breakfast…

George loved the creek, and had spent many hours there with our girls and then the grandkids, finding frogs and checking out critters, so it was a fitting place for him…

once his ashes were scattered in the creek, everyone dropped a daisy or two into the stream to travel with him… then we walked over to the “A” for breakfast, which used to be one of our weekend activities, particularly over the last three or four years… nearly everyone had the special – George’s favourite – and we had a great visit with one another…

we all had breakfast, sort of together...

we all had breakfast, sort of together…

home for a last few minutes and then folks moved on to the rest of their day… although we did have a few dad memories before they all left…

gathered tonight for a celebratory dinner…

celebratory dinner, steak and lobster with a "dad" salad...

celebratory dinner, steak and lobster with a “Dad” salad…

feeling a bit scattered myself… many memories came flooding back about the day of his memorial service, at which I was going through some serious health issues and had blocked out much of the events that took place…

the final step has been taken… my beloved…

the first poppies of the year, today...

the first poppies of the year, today…

 

peace…

13 Friday Jun 2014

Posted by sulis303 in life, Uncategorized

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family, hamam, Memory Stone, peace

started the day with breakfast from Tim Horton’s, tea and a peaceful visit in the garden…

20140613-230711-83231287.jpgthen we moved at the speed of sound for the rest of the day… ran numerous errands, bought a myriad of items and finally spent an amazing few hours at Ten Spa having a hammam… weren’t sure what to expect but it was very nice…

came home, had supper and then spent some time with our Winnipeg, Ottawa and Calgary family, looking at photo albums filled with pictures of George and family times…

had hoped for a bonfire and s’mores but rain dampened the plans…

we did get to see the memory stone which we put into the garden… looks good even in the rain…

20140613-231911-83951830.jpg

family history…

24 Friday Jan 2014

Posted by sulis303 in Uncategorized

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family, family history, health information, record information, When Mom Dies folder

was talking about being prepared for the worst today with someone and it brought to mind some of the information that you need to save and share for your family…

recently one of my daughters asked about a condition and whether anyone in our family had it… made me realize that I should have paid more attention to my parents when they talked about health issues…

I knew that there was some arthritis in the family, but not what type and exactly who had it… there is diabetes in the family as well but not sure I can remember who had it…

clearly I should have made actual notes about these things when our parents talked about them… now they are gone and I have no one to consult about who said what about which illness…

this is important information for my children and even their children… I am going to spend some time writing down what I can remember regarding our elders health issues and put it in my When Mom Dies folder so that the kids have this information available as they need it…

if you still have elders, do ask them about these issues so you can share as needed with your health care providers, or the providers for your kids and grandkids…

the obligatory picture...

family…

thankful…

13 Sunday Oct 2013

Posted by sulis303 in Uncategorized

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big girl pants, dinner, FaceTime, family, home-made cranberry sauce, kangaroos, moments to remember, thankful, thanksgiving, zoo

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…

Friday payday Chinese food night…

09 Saturday Feb 2013

Posted by sulis303 in Uncategorized

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Chinese food, family, forget, time goes swiftly, tradition

many years ago, George and I would go to my parents’ house once a month on a Friday after payday and have dinner with them and their neighbour and friend Margaret…  it was before we had the kids, a really long time ago…

we would decide what we wanted and George would call in the order and it became a lovely tradition… it is always more fun to eat Chinese food with others so you can have lots of variety…  we did this for many years and the people at the Chinese food restaurant would recognize George’s voice even many years later…

I decided a while ago that this would be a good family thing to do as I certainly don’t want to order just for myself…  so I’ve tried a couple of times to get this going again, with Crystal and family and my nephew and his girlfriend…

once it worked out and we actually went to the restaurant… this week we had a lovely time with family and a friend chowing down on a lovely dinner…

Chinese food dinner...

Chinese food dinner…

it reminded me of my parents, which was funn,y because today I was going through some files and was looking at some of my mom’s poetry…

time goes by so swiftly and you forget so much of what has taken place…

I hope the picture will help remind me of the special moments in my life…

connecting…

14 Friday Dec 2012

Posted by sulis303 in Uncategorized

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connecting, death, family, grandmother, in an instant, phone

been thinking about the horrible happenings in Connecticut today…  reminded me of how life can change in an instant, and made me think about my own girls…

tonight I have spent considerable time on the phone with Cyndi… we’ve had three of four calls back and forth… we talked about our work day, plans for the weekend, shopping to do, our trip in January, life in general…

It reminded me of the change to our communications since George died…  we would talk every week for sure, often on Sunday when the family would gather here for dinner, but she was busy with her life in BC and we were busy with ours here…

a random conversation this week reminded me of the night George died… I sat beside his body in the emergency room and had to call my two girls to share the devastating news that their dad was gone…

Crystal was first, as she lives here in the city…  thankfully her husband was home with her… after speaking with her and knowing she was on her way, I called Cyndi…

she was home alone, as her husband was away across the country on a training course…  there wasn’t anyone I could call to be with her and I felt awful making the call, knowing she was alone…  we spoke and cried for a while, and then we decided she would come home and she hung up to make the necessary plans…  she tried to reach her husband, but was unable to, and then she tried to book a flight… the weather was terrible and she had to wait for two days to get on a plane…  she arrived from the west and her husband arrived from the east a few days after that…

after she returned home, she began to call me every day, and following my surgery, while I was home recovering, she would call me on her way to work in the morning and on her way home at night… we’d talk about whatever was taking place in our lives at that moment, and remember to say “I love you” during each call…  since I have returned to work she calls daily… if she’s too busy to call I really notice it and miss the connection…

George chatting to one of the girls on his cell phone...

George chatting to one of the girls on his cell phone…

that made me think of my grandmother who was housebound (basically room bound) for many years… my mom would talk with her every day on the phone as well, and I remember thinking that was a “bit much”…  my grandma would also call other “shut-ins” daily to help them keep connected…  I realize now what a life line that would have been and what a gift that she shared with others…

since George’s death I have worked very hard to stay connected and tell those around me how much they mean to me, and remind others to do the same…  life is so fragile and it can change in an instant…

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