this morning I participated in my first Zoom call… it was with an April birthday friend… we usually meet for lunch between our birthdays, but seeing each other’s face was a nice treat…
shortly after that, a box of Callia flowers arrived with a bouquet called Magnificent;-)… they are just beautiful…
I had a call with the giver of the flowers and it was wonderful to catch up…
much as I don’t mind being home, I do miss visiting with such special people…
I finally got a new set of photos on my digital display and chose the ones from our Maui vacation two years ago this month… that really was a once-in-a-lifetime trip which brought me great joy and wonderful memories…
I have spent the last month planning how I would mark this special event, so there were, and will be, a few surprises for others…
I’ve been hearing about birthday weeks, so to start that off, on Monday I ordered Chinese food… it was lovely as I haven’t had any for a long time and I had leftovers for the next two days, which was a wonderful treat…
a number of parcels and envelopes arrived in the mail, which had to be set aside until today… this morning there were sparklers and singing;-)…
had a lovely gift opening time with the kids and received some delightful presents… paintbrushes, paint, a cool pad to make art pictures with, and a gorgeous window bird feeder;-)… my daughter is encouraging me to find a hobby… maybe it will be bird watching and then painting pictures of them… not likely, lol…
looking forward to trying all of the goodies… will need to wait for warmer weather to attach the feeder to the front window…
made poached eggs on potato patties, with bacon and asparagus… and I had it on my confetti plate… ended breakfast with half of a delicious pistachio cupcake which a friend dropped off for me yesterday…. nice start to the day…
texts, posts and phone calls have made the day extra fun… watched a cooking competition marathon…
lunch was cold shrimp with cocktail sauce… as I peeled them I was remembering fun times on the lanai in Florida, many years ago, with a dear friend…
moved orchids and flowers to set up the den for my video call with my BS friends and we had a great time… there was singing, tea, snacks, toasts, and lots of laughter… what a wonderful group of women…
there were more phone calls as the snow began to fall again… decided to order beef bones instead of barbecuing, as it was cold and windy…
that worked very nicely, it was delicious, and there will be enough for tomorrow’s supper…
what a ride these seventy years have been… truly, I am blessed and look forward to a year focussed on gratitude and living in the moment;-)…
went through my fabric stash and filled a laundry basket with pass alongs…
there was about a ten year period where I collected fabric to use to decorate tables, rooms, etc… enjoyed the memories of when the various pieces were used… laughed as I remembered a colleague who used to call them my rags…
this basket had been filled to overflowing and still has quite a few items in it that I couldn’t let go, including a number of scarves… so happy to also find a few items that I didn’t even know were missing, lol…
visited outside with a wonderful young woman who came by to collect the stash and always makes me feel great…
there were two deliveries from the drugstore… they forgot something when they delivered last night and I called this morning to add something else and they sent it separately as the courier was already on the way…
a visit from a sweet friend… we stood outside and chatted for ages;-)…
boys playing hockey on the street… they broke a car window and were looking for the owner… I was very impressed with the fact they didn’t just run, lol…
and finally, my grandson dropping off groceries… he had dinner while we visited…
I knew he was coming, so yesterday I made his favourite red curry lentils… got 6 containers out of the recipe… I had one last night, he had one while he was here, and took home the remaining four…
yesterday we had an online chocolate tasting in the afternoon… it was the gift I gave my four buddies for Christmas…
before it started I spent time preparing my space for the call… moved most of my orchids into the pass through and put fabric behind it so the light wouldn’t cause a problem… looked great;-)…
everyone received a package in the mail with a beautiful handmade pouch holding four chocolate bars… three were the same for everyone, and one was different for each of us…
besides information on how to taste, choose and buy chocolate, forms to use to describe tasting information on each bar, there were little treats included as well… a chocolate flavoured tea, hot chocolate, a cocoa bean and cocoa nibs…
we had a lovely time, learned a huge amount about cacao, its origins and how it is made into the chocolate that we enjoy… we were able to ask questions throughout and shared what we thought of each bar…
one of us couldn’t get their camera to work, but was able to see us, even if we couldn’t see them… there was a lot of laughter and delicious chocolate eating, uh, tasting, happening…
what a great treat… as much a gift for me as my buddies…
today, as I sat in the living room looking out the window I spent a few happy moments remembering the wonderful neighbours we have had over the years…
our next door neighbours became our very good friends… when the girls were first born they would take them home so that we could eat our supper without interruption… the girls would go over to their house to see if “Uncle Buzz could come out to play?” and he did… we fed them on Wednesday nights and they babysat while we went bowling… at one point Ellen produced a cookbook for each of them with all of the recipes she made that we all loved…
the neighbour across the street made Barbie clothes and we shared many meals and coffee on the deck…
the neighbour a few houses down the lane would come and help my beloved with whatever project he was working on and they had such fun together…
the neighbour across the back lane shared their pool…
these days we aren’t quite as close to the neighbours, as all of those have gone, but they are all kind and caring in their own way…
made me think of today’s contemplating card;-)…
maybe, if the world ever returns to some semblance of normal, I will have them all over for a meal and time together;-)…