26 Sunday Apr 2026
Posted in garden, health, life, moments, nature, retirement, Uncategorized, weather
Tags
big girl pants, blessed, blew, deck, feet, garden, moments, nature, slippers, sunshine, weather, widow, wind
sat out on the deck on Thursday morning…
it was fairly warm, but windy…
I took my slippers off to get some sun on my feet and had one foot on a slipper, but crossed my leg with the other…
all of a sudden the second slipper blew right off the deck, lol…
I hopped on down, brought it back up onto the deck, and slid both of them under my foot;-)…
03 Friday Apr 2026
Posted in business, health, life, moments, retirement, Uncategorized
20 Friday Jun 2025
Posted in business, health, life, moments, nature, retirement, Uncategorized, weather
Tags
Ambassador, APC, Assiniboine Park Conservancy, big girl pants, blessed, Conservatory, feet, heavy horses, learning, mentors, moments, nature, The Leaf, volunteer part 2, volunteers, weather, widow, zoo
once orientation was completed, I signed up for my first of three (3 hour) different sessions…
the first session consisted of a tour of the zoo with a more senior volunteer and two other newbies… everyone we met was so helpful and provided us with lots of information…
I hadn’t been to the zoo for a while so it was a lovely refresher… the zoo is a very busy place…
and I left with my volunteer t-shirt;-)…
the next session was with a mentor, usually one-on-one, but it ended up with two newbies with our mentor… they know so much about all the goings on at the zoo, and were happy to share with us…
part of our training included time at the McFeeter’s Heavy Horse Centre… we got to watch the new Shire horses, Willow and Willy, move from the barn to the paddock…
I must say, by the end of our three hour shift, my feet were a tad sore, lol…
my last and final session was at The Leaf… the first half was touring the space and learning a few new things… one exciting thing was getting to walk out on the second floor balcony that overlooks the Tropical Biome…
it is reserved for those who rent the various spaces on that floor… and, that the floor on that level is sprinkled with the glass from the old Conservatory;-)…
then we practised in three different areas…
I learned that there are a few places between the zoo and The Leaf that have to have someone in attendance at all times…
so, if no volunteers are available, a staff member has to take over… it is clear that volunteers save time so staff members can focus on their important work…
I have now finished my first two shifts as a bonafide Volunteer Ambassador…
say hi if you spot me… most likely at The Leaf for now…
20 Sunday Apr 2025
Posted in business, health, life, moments, retirement, Uncategorized, weather
Tags
big girl pants, birthday, blessed, feet, flip flops, gentle, happy, holding, moments, pedicure, purple, tanned, treat, wax, widow
had a lovely pedicure on Thursday as one of the celebrations for my birthday…
a day early but, like many places, they were closed for Good Friday;-)…
Joy was gentle and did a wonderful job of holding my feet securely as she worked so I didn’t kick her at all… those sensitive feet, lol…
as a special treat, I had the paraffin treatment, which is always delightful…
and because I wore my flip flops, she put them on first and then put on the polish… very clever…
had lots of time to sit and let the polish dry before heading home…
and am very happy with the fresh toes on my already slightly tanned feed;-)…
08 Saturday Mar 2025
Posted in garden, health, life, moments, nature, retirement, Uncategorized, weather
Tags
big girl pants, blessed, book, cold, deck, feet, fingers, garden, lunch, moments, nature, reading, sunshine, weather, widow
yesterday I had lunch on the deck… in my winter coat and bare feet, lol… I must say, my fingers were cold by the time I was done, lol…
today, I was out without a coat, although I did have a blanket over my legs and slippers on…
I spent hours out there in the sunshine and didn’t come in until the chair was in the shade at which point it was too chilly to stay out…
reading, a lovely lunch, and warm fingers;-)…
28 Wednesday Jun 2023
Posted in family, health, life, moments, nature, retirement, travel, Uncategorized, weather
Tags
beach, big girl pants, blessed, family, feet, happy, moments, nature, rocks, rocky, stroll, water, weather, widow
finally got my feet in the water…
we went down to watch the sunset on Friday and I took a little stroll along the rocky beach…
the water was calm and I found a spot with a bit of sand, so I took off my shoes and stepped into the clear and fairly warm water…
ahhh…
06 Thursday Apr 2023
Posted in life, moments, nature, retirement, Uncategorized, weather
Tags
aquasize, big girl pants, blessed, boots, feet, moments, nature, sandals, shovelling, snow, Spring, weather, widow, wore
this week we went to aquasize on Tuesday…
this is what I wore on my feet…
first time this year;-)… when I worked I wore sandals year round, but now they come out in the Spring and are around until the first snow…
on Wednesday, I stepped outside into this…
but it was back to my boots as I shovelled the sidewalk…
10 Monday Aug 2020
Posted in health, life, moments, nature, retirement, travel, Uncategorized, weather
Tags
beach time, dangerous, feet, floating, friends, fun, great conversations, her big girl pants, mussels, sharp, vacation, water, widow, zebra, zebra mussels
we had wonderful times at the beach and in the water… the area is quiet so that means the beach is too the majority of the time…
I did watch kids from a few cottages over as they kneeboarded and that was fun…
we went in the water often and it was refreshing… we floated on pool noodles and had deep conversations and lots of laughter…
we also found tons of zebra mussels… only a couple the first few days, but after a really windy evening that blew into shore there were many clusters under our feet… one day we spent at least an hour or so feeling them with our toes and then having someone lift them up with their feet so we could collect them and bring them to shore to be disposed of… it was great exercise…
they are very sharp and all three of my companions ended up with cuts on their feet that had to be taken care of to be sure that no infections occurred… I nearly always wore my water shoes so happily was able to feel the clumps or sticks or rocks with them on and not get injured…
it was rather concerning to see so many…
05 Friday Jun 2020
Posted in garden, life, moments, Uncategorized
Tags
barefoot, big girl pants, blessed, feet, garden, home, memories, moments, remembering, slippers, widow
recently social media declared it was barefoot day…
once I heard that, I stepped out of my flip flops and haven’t put anything back on my feet since;-)…
for many years I didn’t wear anything on my feet as often as possible… inside or outside…
and then, even in the house I was wearing slippers… interesting how things change over time…
blessed to be home and have the option…
28 Monday Oct 2019
Posted in health, life, moments, Uncategorized
Tags
big girl pants, blessed, feet, friend, moments, pedicure, purple, sensitive, treat, visit, widow
went for a pedicure with a great friend who I hadn’t seen in quite a while…
it was lovely to spend time together and catch up on one another’s goings on…
when I first started getting pedicures they were very difficult as my feet are sensitive and it was hard to sit through all the cutting, filing, and pushing that is part of the process…
recently that hasn’t been a problem, but this time one foot was just so sensitive that I could barely stand the process…
my esthetician rewarded me with an extra long massage when it was all done;-)…
and I have pretty toes again…
herbiggirlpants 