09 Sunday Aug 2020
Posted in life, moments, nature, travel, Uncategorized
Tags
big girl pants, blessed, friends, fun, kayak, learn new things, memories, moments, water, widow
had a great time learning to kayak this week…
for some reason I imagined that my legs would be uncomfortable, but that wasn’t the case at all…
I had a great instructor which made the whole process fairly smooth… of course the getting in and out was a process, but I had helpers;-)…
I really had fun and would like to do a bit more of it…
06 Thursday Aug 2020
Posted in health, life, moments, nature, Uncategorized
Tags
Assiniboine Park, big girl pants, bridge, English Garden, friends, garden, happy, memories, moments, nature, pond, walk, widow
had a wonderful walk to and around a portion of Assiniboine Park…
it was a bit nerve wracking as I crossed the bridge, but no one else was crossing at the same time… I think if both people stay right at the edge there are six feet between them…
I made it to the English Garden only to discover that it doesn’t open until 9 am due to COVID-19…
instead I walked around the Riley Duck Pond, although there weren’t many ducks and geese around, lol…
did come across someone I know and we had a nice chat before going on our way…
nice to get that first trip done and hoping to do it again…
sadly I won’t be visiting the English Garden or Leo Mol Garden for a while, as I am walking very early so I don’t run into lots of individuals…
17 Friday Jul 2020
Posted in garden, life, moments, nature, Uncategorized
Tags
big girl pants, blessed, datura, flowers, friends, garden, moments, nature, purple, thinned, widow
I found some datura seeds that had been sitting around in the house and planted them in a couple of pots in the front flower bed a while ago…
they have produced some beautiful mauve flowers… I should have thinned them out but just couldn’t do it, lol… so the flowers are small… they open in the morning and only last for the day…
a friend brought me some of the ones she had planted and thinned out… I planted a single one in four different pots… they are now blooming… these ones bloom in the evening and are a bright white…
really enjoying the view out the window each day;-)…
07 Tuesday Jul 2020
Tags
big girl pants, blessed, caterpillars, family, fish, flowers, friends, garden, grandsons, memories, moments, nature, pond, purple, stronger, sunshine, widow
another busy day…
up early, put out all the cushions and had my breakfast in the garden… lots of visits from the house finch couple and the chickadees…
went into the pond to clean the pump and filled half a pail with string algae… waterfall is looking better now and the flow is much stronger…
then a good friend came over for a garden visit and we had a lovely time… the garden is looking nice and there are still five or six caterpillars to search out on the milkweed…
she had just left when the lawn mowing service (the middle grandson) arrived… we had a visit before he started and just as he was done the chauffeur (oldest grandson) arrived with a new umbrella which will provide shade in the afternoon sun… we couldn’t put it up as we are waiting for the base to arrive…
then, before I knew it, they were all gone and I was back in the peace and quiet;-)…
lots of reading and nature watching for the rest of the day…
29 Monday Jun 2020
Posted in garden, life, moments, nature, retirement
Tags
babies, big girl pants, birds, blessed, flowers, friends, garden, house finches, irises, learning, moments, nature, pond, purple, sparrows, sunshine, time, treat, widow
a few days ago a great friend came by for a garden visit…
she brought me some gorgeous dark purple Japanese irises and a branch of lovely mock orange blossoms…
we had a nice time as we checked out everything growing in the garden and then watched the birds for ages… she knows lots about birds so I even learned a little, lol…
the house finch couple came by to visit and the house sparrows had a feeding frenzy as the parents and babies flew around and parents fed some babies and encouraged others to find their own seeds…
it was such fun to watch the way the youngsters fluttered their wings… and tried to land in various places… a few times I thought they were going to land right on us…
the sound was amazing as everyone was chatting and calling their family members, clearly wanting to be recognized, lol…
great fun to spend time with someone else who can happily listen to the water and bird watch for hours at a time;-)…
24 Wednesday Jun 2020
Posted in garden, life, nature, retirement, Uncategorized, weather
Tags
big girl pants, cushions, flowers, friends, garden, lazy, memories, moments, nature, pond, weather, widow
this morning I was up and about fairly early so that I could get the garden ready for a visit with a friend…
I’ve been quite lazy lately and have only put out a few chair cushions rather than all of them, but today I brought all of them out, including a few decorative ones that have been living on the couch, lol…
the garden looked great, freshly mowed and whipper snipped…
the veronica is blooming and the bees are all over it… the daisies are mostly open and the dahlias have buds on them… the lobelia is thinking of trailing and alyssum is growing nicely and starting to scent the air…
baskets are doing well and both ponds are flowing beautifully…
on warm days, visits need to happen before noon as there is little shade for the remainder of the afternoon…
the weather was perfect and finches and squirrels dropped by… we had a great time and enjoyed ourselves immensely;-)…
so nice to spend time with friends… going to organize some more of that;-)…
20 Saturday Jun 2020
Posted in family, life, loss, moments, Uncategorized
Tags
beloved, big girl pants, father figure, Father's Day, figure, friends, grief, hard, memories, photos, remembering, support, traits, widow
Father’s Day… remembering my beloved…
I’ve been thinking a lot about all those who are missing that special person… the one who fits as the father figure… whether a father, husband, brother, son…
it is over eight years since I lost my beloved… you’d think that enough time had passed that it wouldn’t be hard, but today is hard… time doesn’t matter…
this picture popped out in my photos the last week… I’ve been going back to it ever since, lol…
he had many of the same traits as my dad… honest, accepting, caring, hard working, supportive, kind, generous…
good traits for everyone;-)…
if you know someone who has lost their special person, check in with them;-)…
16 Tuesday Jun 2020
Posted in garden, life, moments, nature, retirement, Uncategorized, weather
Tags
beforehand, big girl pants, bird feeder, birds, blessed, friends, garden, gift, moments, purple, retirement, weather, widow
this afternoon I had a lovely visit with a friend I hadn’t seen for a long time…
it was very hot in the garden and had rained for a short period beforehand, so I had to put all the cushions away and then bring them back out, lol… thank goodness it stopped as I am still not having guests in the house…
she brought the most adorable purple bird feeder and the sweetest card as a retirement gift;-)…
I have filled it with food for the finches and hung it next to the garage door… will see if it is too close to the house…
what a treat;-)…
15 Monday Jun 2020
Tags
alyssum, big girl pants, blessed, family, flowers, friends, garden, grandson, moments, plants, rogue, shopping, widow
had lots of company yesterday…
a friend found white alyssum and brought it over for me, as well as some other plants from her garden… I have been searching for alyssum for ages…
spent some happy time planting this morning… and still have some left…
while she was still here, my middle grandson was dropped off so he could mow and whipper snip the garden…
he even cut down a rogue elm tree in the back lane, lol… after he got the work done we had a lovely conversation before his brother arrived for a short visit and to pick him up…
I certainly am blessed…
11 Thursday Jun 2020
Tags
big girl pants, birthday, blessed, BS, campfire, car, drive, food, friends, memories, moments, nature, Outing, physical distancing, pictures, treat, weather, widow
just home from a wonderful gathering with my best buddies… we haven’t been together since my birthday in April, when they came and wished me a happy birthday at a distance with signs and a card…
this was the first time that I have left the house, and driven the car, since mid-March…
everyone brought their own dishes, silverware and mugs, and I even brought my chair, which worked out really well as it has a little table attached where I could put my tea and camera…
we sat – physically distancing, of course – around a lovely fire in our host’s backyard, celebrating another birthday and enjoyed a visit while eating lemon cake with fresh raspberries which she had baked for us… (cake photo from the chef)…
we talked about birds, celebrations, family and wind chimes… and we learned that wind chimes can have different sounds attributed to them… the ones we were listening to were the song of a meadowlark…
it was cool, but we all brought warm clothes and were quite comfortable… a bit crazy that gloves were needed…
it was an excellent first outing and I felt good about getting out for the first time since the pandemic began, although I did wash my hands as soon as I got into the house, lol…
my clothes smell like a campfire… what a treat…
herbiggirlpants 