Tag Archives: family

listening…

23 Monday May 2016

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woke up just after midnight wondering what I was hearing…

took me a minute to realize it was rain pounding against the open window… once what I was listening to sank into my brain, I jumped up and closed the windows and patio door… then I went downstairs to see if it was coming in the corner of the basement, but it was dry…

when I got up in the morning it was fresh and green outside and the rain had stopped… after grocery shopping I took this picture out the front window…


always interesting how the rain can green everything up so nicely, much better than watering can…

sat out in the garden for a good portion of the day enjoying the beauty and finishing a novel…

kids came for dinner and we had our first meal of the season on the deck…


lovely, because often by dinner time it is already cooling off and we end up in the dining room…

afterwards there was some hot tubbing and visiting and I took this shot of the sky with some beautiful  clouds floating by…


the family stayed later than usual which was nice, and I am enjoying a last few minutes of quiet in the garden before heading in…

will be going to bed early tonight after a busy, but productive, long weekend…

I truly am blessed, having my family around me and the health to be able to enjoy working and spending time in the garden…

family…

15 Sunday May 2016

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up early and enjoyed time in the hot tub… missing my beloved today… not always sure why it is more pronounced some days, but have learned to just feel my way through it…

happily was able to meet the kids for brunch… really miss them when we can’t get together on the weekend…

before I left the house I took some pictures of various blooms…


these are the last two flowers on the orchid which came from IKEA in October… was so thrilled to see a new stem starting with tiny buds on it…

then I moved the mandevilla and mini roses to the dining room table, where the light shone on them nicely…


decided to start walking to the restaurant and meet the kids on the way… lots of yellow flowers happily growing everywhere I looked, lol…


also saw quite a few blooming bleeding hearts on my walk…


once we got home took a few shots of the boys…

while we were visiting, my daughter spotted these feathered friends at the feeder…


very exciting… maybe the weather is going to warm up and we will see more of them…

ended the day with a phone call from my Ottawa daughter…

family is so special… happy to have opportunities to spend time with them…

dumplings…

08 Sunday May 2016

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up early and had a hot tub… a red squirrel came to the feeder as well as this cute little sparrow…

 

went to Rona and got $56 back from when I bought the power washer, as it had gone on sale… woo hoo…

so then I picked up a gardenia standard and three mini roses, lol…


think all of these will go into the planter at the front door… once the risk of frost is over…

saw this Canada goose as I was leaving Rona…


headed downtown to meet the kids, my sister-in-law, and two nephews for dimsum… great meal and visit…

once home, put out the cushions, had a nap and sat out in the garden… looking forward to finishing the pond remodel now that we have all of the needed rocks…


sunny and warm, with very little wind…

had a few phones calls with my Ottawa kids and made chicken and dumplings for dinner… got the dumpling recipe right this time but not sure how I feel about the whole wheat flour… may go back to white flour and just not have as many… no point making them if they don’t taste good… using almond milk instead of 2% but that doesn’t seem to affect the taste…

was a bit odd not to have supper with the kids but soccer has put Sunday dinner on hold for the next while…

growth…

06 Friday May 2016

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took out the recycling and garbage this morning and had to come back in and get my camera to take some close ups of the stunning apricot tree…

   
 
beautiful…

was back at the dentist for a filling, sigh… am certainty getting better but still find the whole thing stressful… the dentist was worried about my gag reflex (which is quite special, lol) due to the position of the cavity, but it went well… 

as I walked back to the car I took some shots of the hedges as the leaves are bursting forth with new growth…

  

mid-morning the downtown streets were fairly quiet, so no one looked at me oddly as I stopped to take these pictures…

  

noticed these flowers at the side of the house and thought of all the times my girls brought me bouquets of them…  

my grandsons have also brought me similar bouquets, lol…

as part of my Fridays off I have been trying to meet friends for a meal… today I met up with a very special young woman and her daughter… we rarely have a chance to get together, so it was a great treat…

had those big girl pants on as I went to the restaurant half an hour early and sat enjoying a cup of tea while I waited for them…

  

lots of personal growth taking place… was comfortable being there on my own, which is a huge step…

met my daughter and showed her a fire table that might work in the garden…

  
been looking for just the right one for a long time… this might be it…

had a great call with my sister-in-law and am excited to see her over the weekend as she comes to town for Mother’s Day…

interesting how growth happens… all of a sudden it seems the leaves burst open and at other times it seems like nothing is changing at all… 

look forward to the changes in me as I move forward in this new reality… even after four years it still feels fresh…

rocks…

29 Friday Apr 2016

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what a wonderful day…

met up with my son-in-law and we went in search of rocks for the pond…

we found some river stone for the bottom of the pond and eventually some nice sized fieldstone for around the perimeter as I haven’t felt the flat slate edge worked well…  
 

we also picked up a power washer…

   

came home and someone played with it for quite a while…

 

had lunch on the deck, put together the hammock, enjoyed looking at my new hibiscus, and headed out for more fun…
  

found a rain barrel on sale, some dahlias and three air plants…

  

very happy with the barrel as the garbage can I’d been using sprang a leak at the end of last year… this one is very fancy and can hold plants in the top…

picked up the boys from school and on our way back here, stopped for soft ice cream and found purple gazing balls – 3 different sizes which I think will float in the pond… and the kids bought them for me for Mother’s Day;-)… 

  

this was my first ice cream of the year… woo hoo… ordered Chinese food and while we were waiting for it to arrive, work began on cleaning and re-rocking the pond… 

  
finished filling the pond after they left and got the waterfall going… it sounds wonderful…

great to spend time in the garden… even got to sit out in the chairs for a bit…

Easter…

27 Sunday Mar 2016

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woke up to a phone call from my grandkids wishing me a Happy Easter at 7:30 in the morning, lol… they were very excited to share all about the treats they discovered around their house…

then I went downstairs and on the way spotted the bunny outside…

  

must have just been getting home from all those deliveries…
 
last night I decorated the living room… even put some tulips into the bathroom…
  

flowers make me happy… finished the dining room and set the table for dinner… 

had picked up pencil crayons, colouring books and a few reading books for the boys which I put into the glass drawers in the living room table, along with more of the cute chocolate bunnies from the fundraiser…

  
amazingly, while I was sleeping, the Easter Bunny put mini eggs all over the table and elsewhere on the main floor…

missing my beloved… he had a great connection with the Easter Bunny and the two of them always made sure to find good hiding places for treats…

had a very quiet day as my throat has been sore for a while and I’m trying to rest up and get rid of it… lots of people have been struggling with miserable colds/flu…

kids came, searched and found all of the eggs… we had a lovely lamb roast for our dinner… didn’t realize that daddy wasn’t fond of lamb… oops… maybe that’s why we haven’t had it before… next year we’ll have ham, lol…

  
bit of trouble getting a good photo and some were wondering when they could actually eat… 

after dinner my son-in-law went off to work and the rest of the family headed home…

I am climbing into bed…

health…

03 Thursday Mar 2016

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been thinking a lot about folks who have been dealing with health issues, either sick or injured…

so many people I know have struggled with miserable colds and flu… both of my girls were ill and got sent home on Monday… many friends are just beginning to get over various issues…

the beginning of March is a difficult time for me… can’t help but think back to the loss of my beloved… I’ve been inundated with Facebook memories of things we did in the days just before his death…

have also been working on a project where I’ve been looking through my photographs… am always surprised at how much I have forgotten and the pictures are great reminders of special moments…

  
came across this picture of a Chihuly glass fixture at 295 York… George and I had dinner there a few times when it was still the Lobby on York…

lost my parents when they were both just over 65… George’s dad died around that age and he didn’t make it to 65… for a while I have been wondering if I will make it to 65… looks like I will, lol…

I am feeling healthy and in better shape than I’ve been for years…

although there is sadness, life is good…

handedness…

05 Tuesday Jan 2016

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had an interesting conversation about handedness…

recently someone noticed that I am left-handed, lol…

  

George and I were left-handed although both our girls are right-handed…

I watched my grandsons carefully as they began grabbing things, hoping that one might be left-handed… so wanted to be able to teach someone some of the tricks to getting through life as a leftie…

didn’t happen… and really I don’t want to make any of their lives more difficult…

did a bit of research and came across this Wikipedia definition of handedness…

  

  

some of the information also reminded me of the negative connotations regarding lefties…

we talked about how writing is more difficult as your hand goes over the written words… not so bad now, but when ink took a while to dry, the page might end up completely smudged…

most utensils are designed for right-handed people… have learned to adapt over the years and to use the right-handed items… still don’t find left-handed scissors at all comfortable… 

there are certainly more items made recently to be usable for lefties… you just have to look at each item to see if it works for you…

the one thing I’ve learned over the years is how to adapt… all the time… 

everything I have learned has involved mirroring what was being shown to me… always most difficult with sports, lol…

  

my son-in-law brought me this magnet a while ago, lol…

traditions…

03 Thursday Dec 2015

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drinking a cup of tea and thinking about our family traditions over the years… I like to celebrate everything I can, lol… holidays, birthdays, special events in our lives… usually with a family dinner…

  
one tradition has been around birthdays… on your birthday you get to choose what to have for dinner, and the family gathers to celebrate… on the day and always with gifts of course… 

used to involve making the favourite food – roast chicken, mashed potatoes and stuffing; homemade macaroni and cheese; all the way to steak and lobster…  but over the years we have also brought in favourites, or even gone out for dinner… 

  
tomorrow marks the fourth birthday celebration for George since he died…

the tradition for his birthday now involves burgers from a local joint topped off with milkshakes and apple pie… all of which were his favourite foods… the kids who aren’t here join us by skype or FaceTime and we share memories over dinner…

you’d think after nearly four years that it would be easier, but I have felt myself moving into a sad place over the last few days… I make sure to focus on the good times as much as I can, but I still miss him so much and have moments of deep sadness… I embrace them as well as the good ones…

tonight both of my girls have checked in to see what our plan is and to let me know, in their own way, that they know it is hard for me… and I know it is hard for them…

  

thanksgiving…

12 Monday Oct 2015

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got picked up by the kids on their way home from a family dinner last night…

had a sleepover at their house and this morning my daughter, a friend of hers, and I, went to Thermea…

  
it was windy first thing when I woke up…

 trees swaying in the backyard…  

blowing in the front…

pouring as we drove there, but we went anyway… when we came out of the locker room the rain had stopped and there were few people around… wind was a bit strong but we had a great time and had most of the areas to ourselves… even got to sit around one of the fire pits…

lovely start to our Thanksgiving day…

from there we popped over to Ikea to take back a few surplus items from their kitchen reno… I usually try not to go to stores on holidays but this was the only time we could get there… 

picked up a couple of cushion covers and a lovely orchid…

 

reminded me of my beloved who was always bringing orchids home to me… seemed like a great thanksgiving treat…
ended the day with a wonderful turkey dinner…