17 Thursday Nov 2022
Posted in business, health, life, moments, retirement, Uncategorized
just finished the calcium pills I had been taking and happily tossed the container into the recycle bin…
they included a bit of vitamin D and were very large, so I was happy to be done with them…
I had asked the pharmacist at the IDA about what to replace them with and he suggested Tums… I was surprised, but happy, because Tums are chewable…
so now I take two Tums and 2 vitamin D pills instead of one huge pill, lol…
21 Tuesday Jun 2022
Posted in food, garden, health, life, moments, nature, retirement, Uncategorized, weather
Tags
big girl pants, blessed, flowers, friends, garage, garden, gathering, health, moments, nature, nervous, sun-tea, time together, treat, weather, widow
my group meets on Mondays… our time might change from the afternoon to the evening, be in person, or online…
this week we met in the late afternoon and planned to be outside…
the weather report was suggesting it would be raining or that a thunderstorm might even happen at the time we would be together…
I am still nervous about having four others in the house, so I set up chairs and tables in the garage… it worked perfectly…
the sky remained overcast with only a few sprinkles during our time together and the breeze kept us from being overly warm;-)…
everyone enjoyed a walk around the garden and particularly liked one of the fuchsias…
it was very hot so I made sun-tea which turned out well, and squares of butter tart and lemon turned up with a chocolate almond snack…
an excellent option from sitting on the upper deck…
20 Friday May 2022
Posted in business, garden, health, life, moments, nature, retirement, Uncategorized, weather
Tags
big girl pants, blessed, flowers, garden, gardener, happy, health, moments, nature, plants, purple, rooting, weather, widow
spent a delightful hour with Hilda the Gardener a few days ago…
we discussed our plans about what will go where in the garden as well as some options for variety this year… even just talking about how the garden might look is energizing…
she brought me shoots from her spider plant which I have now put in water and set on the rooting ledge, lol…
and we set a date to go plant shopping together… not sure if this is a good thing or a very bad thing🤪… her vehicle has lots of room in it…
so much fun…
16 Monday May 2022
Posted in health, life, moments, nature, retirement, Uncategorized, weather
Tags
Assiniboine Park, big girl pants, blessed, flowers, forest, garden, geese, goslings, health, memories, moments, nature, Park, path, self-talk, trail, trees, walk, weather, widow
I walked to the Park today… first time in I don’t know how long… at least a year, and maybe longer than that…
took a bit of self-talk to get out the door… I am certainly feeling braver on the whole with being around other people, but I haven’t walked any distance for a long time…
so happy that I did it… the streets were clear of water… thank goodness… and there were very few people on the sidewalks and paths…
walking through the forest in the Park always brings me joy… and they have new signs with wonderful quotes along the way…
the trail has been renamed Story Trail and is part of the Indigenous Youth Storytelling Program… what a great idea… the trail has obviously been cleaned up and there was even a hut made with fallen branches… I am hoping that it might be covered with leaves as the summer progresses…
going through the English and Leo Mol Gardens was a bit disappointing, although really, considering the weather, what was I expecting, lol… the gardeners were everywhere raking and cleaning up the spaces, but there were very few blooming things… I saw one tree, a few daffodils and maybe a berginia in a few different locations…
the great news was that it was basically empty so I had ample time to stop and look whenever I wanted…
there were many geese and I did spot a few goslings, which was delightful…
I was a bit tired by the time I made it back to the house, so I had a nap…
19 Sunday Dec 2021
Posted in business, family, food, health, life, loss, moments, retirement, Uncategorized, weather
Tags
big girl pants, blessed, Christmas, COVID, dinner, family, food, friends, grandson, health, lockdown, moments, time, widow
yesterday I made the decision to go into my own personal lockdown…
it was a very hard decision at this time of year, but I have been struggling with the worry of getting sick after all these months of taking such care…
so, my Monday/Tuesday group will meet by Skype tomorrow for our Christmas celebration… I’d ordered a charcuterie board and I will divide it up with some veggies… two of my friends will pick up gifts and then drop off the snack packages before our call…
lunch and goodies via Skype… just like we’ve done before, lol…
and I won’t be having my grandson over for lunch on Christmas Day, although possibly he will stop by for a short visit in the garage… or go to my daughter’s for Christmas dinner…
presents will be picked up, phone and video calls made…
I have all the things I need in the freezer (I think) to make a lovely chicken dinner on Saturday…
another solo Christmas, and although I will miss everyone, I feel I will be safe…
and at this point that seems the most important thing;-)…
19 Thursday Aug 2021
Posted in health, life, loss, moments, retirement, Uncategorized
I’ve been thinking about health a lot lately…
possibly it has to do with updating my Will, but I also think it is about being well…
for the longest time my hip was bothering me when I would go to stand up from a chair… I knew it was going to hurt, so was very tentative as I stood…
I also didn’t want to go see my physio person because of covid, so I just suffered through…
recently I realized that it wasn’t nearly as sore as it had been…
it always amazes me how quick we forget a pain that has been ongoing once it stops…
it seems to take longer to recover from aches and pains these days, but I am so pleased once I realize things are better;-)…
01 Sunday Aug 2021
Tags
anniversary, beloved, big girl pants, blessed, everyday, family, garden, George, hands, happy, health, memories, moments, morning glories, pond, purple, remembering, widow
the Olympics have been a distraction as this day has come closer – what would have been our 51st wedding anniversary…
I’ve spent the day thinking of some moments with my beloved…
the everyday things: changing up the configuration of the ponds; working in the garden as it changed over the years; caring for his lawn, trimming the Virginia creeper, fixing whatever needed attention; making the world’s best French fries, fried egg sandwiches and salads; driving the girls and I everywhere; reading and playing with our grandsons; cleaning the garage, packing the car, barbecuing; the strength of his hands that could wring out a cloth so it was dry, massage a sore neck, scrub a pot perfectly clean, and gently hold my hand when we were out walking…
so many little things…
I’ve been remembering our 40th anniversary… I was in the hospital for an extended period of time and he came every day and brought me pictures he had taken of whatever morning glories had opened on that particular day… I took this photo just yesterday…
he also sent me a basket filled with 40 roses… each night they had to be moved into the hall because their scent was so strong I couldn’t sleep with them in the room, lol…
a friend recently lost his partner and has decided to refer to their anniversary as the first celebration of their 41 years together… what a lovely way to describe it…
today I am also enjoying the sentiment of this beautiful card which I recently received in the mail…
what a blessed life I have lived;-)…
24 Saturday Jul 2021
Posted in Uncategorized
Tags
big girl pants, blessed, Facebook, family, forty-two, health, hospital, memories, moments, octopus, recovery, rowing, surgery, Technology, widow
Facebook brought up some interesting memories on this day from the last number of years…
eleven years ago it was a mention of spending the night at the hospital and having a procedure the following day… it doesn’t say that would be the first of forty–two days that I spent in that same hospital…
ten years ago we were in Courtenay, BC learning how to cook octopus, as we gathered fresh shrimp for our supper…
nine years ago, I was home recovering from a big surgery unable to lift even a couple of pounds, with a friend staying over to look after me;-)…
four years ago, I was watching my grandson participate in his first rowing competition…
quite the variety, lol…
14 Wednesday Jul 2021
Posted in food, health, life, moments, nature, retirement, travel, Uncategorized, weather
Tags
beach, big girl pants, blessed, food, friends, health, memories, moments, nature, remembering, restored, sand, sunrise, time, treats, vacation, water, widow
I spent five glorious days with friends’ at their beach cottage…
the first thing I always do is jump out of the car and run down to be sure the beach and lake are still there, lol…
what a wonderful time it was… delicious food (that I didn’t have to prepare); wonderful conversations, stories, and laughter; listening to birds and the waves; lots of time on the beach and in the water; relaxing, reading and sleeping…
what more could you ask for;-)… I am restored…
such a gift…
10 Thursday Jun 2021
Posted in business, health, life, moments, retirement, technology, Uncategorized
Tags
big girl pants, blood pressure, health, moments, readings, Technology, widow
had an appointment with the doctor on Tuesday as he wasn’t thrilled with the blood pressure readings I was giving him on our last phone call…
he had suggested that I have my meter recalibrated, but when I contacted the company they advised it was so old they didn’t support it any longer…
I bought a new one and took it with me to see him…
my blood pressure was still high on my machine, but was good on the one in the office… I had to adjust where it sat on my arm and will hope I get it right going forward…
all in all, it was a good appointment and the meds don’t need to be changed…
the really good news is I only have to take it a few times a month;-)…
herbiggirlpants 