26 Monday Dec 2022
Posted in life, moments, nature, Photography, retirement, Uncategorized, weather
Tags
beautiful, big girl pants, blessed, cold, door, garden, just, light, moments, nature, snow, stuck, weather, widow
it looks beautiful outside…
I decided to take a few photos of the deck and opened the sliding door… well, tried to open it…
it slid open about six inches and then wouldn’t move…
was able to stick the phone out just enough to get a few pictures…
it really is lovely to look at, but at some point, I will need to go out and clear the deck off so I can fill the feeder, lol…
20 Tuesday Dec 2022
Posted in food, health, life, moments, retirement, Uncategorized, weather
Tags
big girl pants, blessed, Chihuly, food, friends, garage, garden, gathering, group, happy, home, longtime, meeting, moments, pandemic, treats, weather, widow
Monday afternoons our longtime group meets…
we used to meet in the evening when we all worked, lol… since we are all retired now, we’ve moved to the afternoon… for some of the pandemic we met online and since the spring we’ve been meeting in the garden… then we moved into the garage for a while…
we moved into the house in the fall… for a number of weeks, I left the front and back doors slightly open and we wore our masks until everyone was sitting down…
now, the doors are closed and we no longer wear masks, but I still bring the coffee into the living room, where we gather;-)…
everyone drinks decaf, except me and my tea…
we often have pistachios and sometimes folks bring other treats… a great time of conversation and sharing…
what a gift these women have been for me…
17 Saturday Dec 2022
Posted in food, garden, life, moments, retirement, Uncategorized
Tags
big girl pants, blessed, Christmas, delicious, friends, fun, garden, good times, goodies, moments, neighbour, purple, trays, treats, widow
had a lovely visit with my neighbour…
she brought over a cute purple tray filled with delightful homemade goodies…
she makes a number of cookie trays for family and usually puts them on red trays, but had to go out and find a purple one for me😊… what a sweetie…
we usually meet for a little glass of something in the garden, lol, so it was good to get together in the house…
we snacked, chatted and had lots of laughs… and there are still some of the goodies left for me to eat and share🤭…
16 Friday Dec 2022
Posted in business, food, health, life, moments, retirement, technology, Uncategorized
Tags
big girl pants, blessed, dessert, dinner, family, food, garden, gather, grandson, lounge, meal, moments, nature, photos, pork tenderloin, restaurant, risotto, tasty, Technology, The Leaf, treat, widow
once we left The Leaf biomes, we checked out the gift shop and then were able to get a table in the lounge portion of Gather Craft Kitchen and Bar…
the space looks fresh and has some very cool lights…
we were happy to get in because online it appeared there weren’t any spots available until January 😳…
the food was good as was the service… I had pork tenderloin and my grandson had the risotto…
they were both tasty, although I found the pickled carrot purée a bit spicy, lol… the risotto was very tasty…
we ended the meal with two desserts which we shared, lol… I chose the flour-less chocolate fudge cake and my grandson the chocolate mille-feuille…
in the end we liked what the other person ordered best😂…
had a great time and enjoyed the entire evening… can’t wait to go back again…
15 Thursday Dec 2022
Posted in business, garden, life, moments, nature, Photography, retirement, Uncategorized, weather
Tags
big girl pants, biome, blessed, Conservatory, flowers, garden, grandson, koi, moments, nature, photos, plants, poinsettias, pond, Technology, The Leaf, treat, tropical, waterfall, widow
last night we went to The Leaf at Assiniboine Park…
I’ve been waiting ages for it to be finished… the Conservatory closed in April 2018, which feels like a long time ago… this was our view as we stepped into the space… possibly the waterfall is splashing a bit more than expected as there are a few areas that are wet, lol…
it didn’t disappoint;-)… the tropical biome is lovely and I expect it will look even more beautiful as times goes on…
the technology always interests me and they have done a great job of hiding the fire extinguishers but making them easily available…
the space is big and bold with the tall waterfall and large pond…
we spent a lot of time watching the koi… they were beautiful colours and huge… I was struggling with a bit of fish-envy…
I am looking forward to visiting next in the daytime…
the Mediterranean biome was reminiscent of the CMHR building with lots of stone… and it was possible to touch most of the plants;-)…
the display area was cute with many poinsettias, seasonal decorations and places for group photos…
the poinsettias were a sweet reminder of the old Conservatory at Christmas time…
the view looking down from the catwalk was wonderful although I felt a bit nervous with the height, so my grandson took all the pictures, lol…
the Shirley Richardson Butterfly Garden at the top of the building was nice…
it was late and dim so we only spotted a couple of butterflies that were resting… I definitely need to visit it in the daytime as well…
it wasn’t too full of visitors, and there were a number of staff (likely many were volunteers) to get you in and around the site…
there was a place to leave your coat (unattended) before entering the biomes, which was great as the space is warm;-)… there is ample parking and you can purchase tickets online or as you enter… you need your membership card, with ID, just like at the zoo…
a wonderful treat and I can hardly wait to visit again😊…
11 Sunday Dec 2022
Posted in business, garden, life, moments, nature, retirement, technology, Uncategorized, weather
Tags
big girl pants, blessed, door, extendible, garage, garage door, garden, hose, hot tub, memories, moments, open, Technology, washer, water, weather, widow
it was around zero, so today’s project involved hooking up the extendible hose in the basement and then topping up the hot tub…
in the process of connecting the hose I had to go out to the garage for a washer… at which point I discovered that the garage side door wouldn’t open… I tried the key, as it seemed locked, but that didn’t work…
I went in through the overhead door and tried to open it from that side, but no luck there either…
in previous winters the problem had been that it wouldn’t stay closed, lol…
so, will have to see what happens in the next while, sigh…
26 Saturday Nov 2022
Posted in garden, health, life, moments, nature, retirement, Uncategorized, weather
Tags
big girl pants, blessed, garden, moments, nature, opportunity, shovel, snow, weather, widow, winter
it was above zero today, so I took the opportunity to clear the snow off the deck…
it was beautiful out, warm and still… and I enjoyed my time in the garden, even if it was shovelling…
the weather has been a bit odd, with freezing cold days, then warm ones, and then back to the cold ones, lol…
01 Tuesday Nov 2022
Posted in business, family, garden, life, moments, retirement, technology, Uncategorized, weather
Tags
big girl pants, blessed, family, fire pit, garden, grandkids, happy, moments, propane, repairs, wasps, weather, widow
early in the summer we finally found the coloured glass for the fire pit…
shortly after that it ran out of propane so we had to get the tank filled…
then it was warm, so I didn’t use it…
a while ago, I tried to turn it on and discovered there was a problem with the ignition system…
the kids figured out the problem, consulted with electricians and eventually ordered the required piece…
took some time, but it finally arrived…
we took out the tank and brought the fire pit into the kitchen… pieces came off and then we spotted a wasp nest… thought they were dead, but then they started to move… quickly it got put outside, spray was applied and it was left out there….
tonight, the stars aligned, and after some serious activity on the deck, it is working again…
yay, yay, yay…
30 Sunday Oct 2022
Posted in garden, life, moments, nature, retirement, Uncategorized, weather
Tags
big girl pants, blessed, blower, closing down, compost, garden, grass seed, leaves, moments, nature, plants, weather, widow
nice weather to get a few final jobs done in the garden…
used the leaf blower to clean out the irrigation lines and blow a few more leaves into the beds…
spread some grass seed mixed with compost over areas that were bare…
moved the last of the flower pots into the shed…
and now it is nearly ready… a few umbrellas to be put away and it should be done, lol…
the deck is looking rather bare, lol…
apparently, winter is coming…
29 Saturday Oct 2022
Posted in family, garden, life, moments, nature, retirement, Uncategorized, weather
Tags
big girl pants, blessed, candy, family, faster, garden, grandson, kids, lawn chairs, moments, nature, tarpaulin, time, weather, widow
the kids stopped by and brought me some Halloween candy…
they fixed a problem with the printer and then stacked and covered the outdoor chairs and tables with another large tarpaulin… too bad the tarps aren’t the same colour, lol… the job went very smoothly…
they work so much more quickly than I do, lol…
the top deck is cleaned off and now there is more space in the kitchen where the footstool and cushions for one of the chairs were… the cushions have moved into the garage for the winter…
every step is helpful…
herbiggirlpants 