on Friday we emptied, moved and cleaned the hot tub, put it back and refilled it… this time I used a larger hose that I have and it emptied the tub in fifteen minutes… usually it can take hours, so this was a great improvement…
I am always happy when the jets start up after the refill, because sometimes it takes a few tries to get them working… happily, they started right away…
unfortunately we could not replace the arms as the screw for one of them would not come out…
we also left the seal for them to look at, and hopefully repair or replace…
so I have a call in to Krevco to see about having a technician come out and see what they can do…
this anniversary of my beloved’s death has been harder than usual…
not sure if it is having someone else in the house, going through so many boxes and letting go of things… maybe it’s been seeing his writing on papers as I’ve sorted through files… maybe it is realizing I’ve been without him for a quarter of the time we were together…
you’d think after eleven years it would be less difficult…
was on my way downstairs to go out to the hot tub on Friday and heard a loud noise… looked out the window to see one of the two hardcovers laying on the ground… not attached to either side of the tub…
it had slipped out of my grandson’s hands and, in the very cold weather, broke both arms that hold it on…
luckily, after we soaked for a while the two of us were able to set it back where it belonged… no single person hot tubs until it gets repaired, lol, as it will take two of us to open and close the cover…
happily Krevco had some arms available…
we will wait for a warm day to empty the tub, move it to install the arm closest to the house, put it back, connect the second arm, and refill the tub…
MTS came around noon and spent two hours outside (in the very cold weather)… going back and forth many times between a ladder up to wires in the back lane, through the snow, and up the side of the house… eventually, they made a connection which should double the speed of my internet….
then they spent over an hour in the house changing the router and the boxes for the TVs…
none of it seemed to go smoothly, lol…
after they left, we spent another hour updating all of the Google Home devices and we still have a few that are not cooperating…
brought back a number of memories as his birth changed the trajectory of my life…
because I refused to miss his birth, I ended up leaving a job I had been at for ten years, as the boss wasn’t pleased that I had taken away time from my position… a lot of trauma occurred over the next while and eventually I was walked out of the office…
one good thing that came out of that was the hot tub, as I was awarded a year’s salary due to my wrongful dismissal and purchased it with some of those funds…
there was huge stress and tension and the hot tub has helped with that for many years now;-)…
after a number of months I found the perfect position where I flourished for nearly ten years before my retirement…
lots of things to sift through…
this photo was taken in 2020, when I was still keeping my distance from everyone, but it does show him and the hot tub together, lol…
I wasn’t expecting to get up early, but apparently my body remembers previous Christmas mornings, lol… although it was 6:47 am when I woke up, for many years it was often around 4… and I would eventually start banging pots in the kitchen to encourage all of the sleepers to wake up…
around 7:30 I got up, made breakfast and then read for a while in the living room enjoying the tree lights…
there were matching pyjamas, calls, texts, visits and naps throughout the day… the naps may have had something to do with the 6:47 wake-up, lol…
spaced amongst all of that were relaxing dinner preparations… beautiful mashed potatoes, delicious stuffing and tasty gravy went perfectly with chicken, turnip, ham, and previously homemade cranberry sauce…
I was absolutely spoiled with a myriad of wonderful gifts…
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😊…
my grandson picked me up and once we were in the store we asked for help finding the water shoes I was looking for… the young man we dealt with didn’t seem to be having a good day… he appeared a bit unfriendly, but eventually did produce the shoes…
then, in another section of the store, the woman helping us was very knowledgeable and friendly and found what I needed quickly;-)…
and the cashier was pleasant, so all in all a good experience… and the store wasn’t crazy busy…
at the sandwich store, the young woman we dealt with was very helpful even though we caused her some confusion with our order, but she figured it out…
we enjoyed our subs when we got home…
a couple of jobs around the house and off he went;-)… then I had a nap😂…
herbiggirlpants 