10 Friday Mar 2017
Posted in family, food, health, life, loss, nature, Photography, technology, Uncategorized
been feeling up and down lately… made me remember the importance of feeling well…
reminded me of five years ago today at George’s memorial service when I had a serious health crisis…
from that event the doctors were able to discover the cancer in my uterus… once again, my beloved saved me…
many friends are dealing with health problems – colds, flu, chronic issues – to name a few…
wishing all of them health and wellness…
sunshine streaming into the garden…
23 Thursday Feb 2017
Posted in family, food, health, life, loss, nature, Photography, technology, Uncategorized
Tags
big girl pants, blessed, chocolate, City Place, flowers, garden, health, money, solar lights, widow
enjoying my flowers…
been thinking about how blessed I am…
have enough money to be able to go and pick up a few things at the Farmers’ Market if I want…
and so I did today… got some Stak Company soup mix, some micro greens for today’s lunch and a couple of chocolate bars just for me…
my health is good and I am able to get out and about whenever I want… did all that walking downtown on Tuesday with the kids…
was very excited to see the solar lights shining through the snow in the garden…
usually a sign that the sun is getting stronger and it is getting warmer;-)…
I am ready for Spring…
11 Saturday Feb 2017
Posted in family, food, health, life, loss, nature, Photography, technology, Uncategorized
Tags
big girl pants, blessed, cancer, CancerCare, circles, friends, health, surgery, widow
as I’ve been struggling with this cold or almost flu it has reminded me of how great I usually feel…
when I think back to the few times I’ve been seriously ill and gone through tough surgeries… and the slow process to recover and how I would feel a little better each day… and then would eventually get to the place where I was well…
sometimes we forget how much we take good health for granted…
next week I have a CancerCare checkup… I think it is my second to last appointment as July will be five years since my cancer surgery…
amazing how the time has gone by so quickly…
good reminder that although I’ve felt rough over the last week it is nothing like what I’ve been through before… and I am very blessed on the whole…
thinking of all those in my circles who are struggling with health issues, either their own or their loved ones…
11 Wednesday Jan 2017
Posted in family, food, health, life, loss, nature, Photography, technology, Uncategorized
been thinking of a number of people in my circles who are going through difficult times…
as I drove to work this morning I was behind a Cube car, which brought back lots of memories of a former colleague and friend…
so many friends are dealing with their own or their family members’ health problems… busyness has kept me from giving them the attention I would like to…
a number of folk I know are trying to figure out their working conditions…
and still others are contemplating their living situations…
so much to be thinking about…
01 Thursday Dec 2016
Posted in family, health, life, loss, nature, Photography, technology, Uncategorized
Tags
big girl pants, blessed, bypass, health, healthcare, moments, stress, struggles, surgery, system, widow
had a conversation with someone a few days back about health, or lack thereof…
they were waiting on appointments and test results and the stress was nearly unbearable…
made me think back to some of our difficult times…
November/December 2008, when George had bypass surgery… the stress leading up to the actual surgery was huge… the struggles with the healthcare system were daunting…
advocating for yourself or your loved one takes courage, patience and persistence… and you can’t give up…
once we got to the actual surgery he responded beautifully…
August 2010, when I had a procedure for a blocked bile duct which led to a very bad bout of pancreatitis and ended with gall bladder surgery… for six weeks he came to see me every morning before work and looked after everything on the home front…
now I have memories of those times and although some of them are difficult they also remind me of what a special life we have been blessed with… reminded me of this blog I wrote in February of 2013…
one step at a time…
blooming hibiscus…
03 Monday Oct 2016
Posted in family, health, life, loss, nature, Photography, technology, Uncategorized
Tags
big girl pants, camera, cleaners, flowers, health, leaves, lunch, money, priviledged, walk, widow, work
been reminded a few times recently of how privileged I am…
today I was able to take an extra half hour and have lunch with a great friend… we try to get together every month or so and check out different downtown restaurants, mostly within walking distance of my office… today we went to the Velvet Glove…
had a good visit and a fine meal…
not only am I able to take a little extra time for lunch but get to spend time with friends…
did laugh at the end of the day when I realized how much of what I ate was green… even the soup had green pumpkin seeds in it, lol…
yesterday I walked to and around the English and Leo Mol Gardens with my camera… another privilege that many people don’t have…
the fact that I have the time, am fit and healthy and able to take on such an activity is great too…
still lots of flowers around… and the leaves are turning colour at an alarming rate… for some of my walk it felt like it was raining leaves…
the final reminder of my privilege was in the bathroom after I got home…
the toilet paper is folded all fancy because the cleaners were in today…
talk about privilege…
23 Monday May 2016
Posted in family, health, life, loss, nature, technology, Uncategorized
Tags
big girl pants, blessed, deck, family, garden, green, health, listening, nature, rain, waterfall, widow
woke up just after midnight wondering what I was hearing…
took me a minute to realize it was rain pounding against the open window… once what I was listening to sank into my brain, I jumped up and closed the windows and patio door… then I went downstairs to see if it was coming in the corner of the basement, but it was dry…
when I got up in the morning it was fresh and green outside and the rain had stopped… after grocery shopping I took this picture out the front window…
always interesting how the rain can green everything up so nicely, much better than watering can…
sat out in the garden for a good portion of the day enjoying the beauty and finishing a novel…
kids came for dinner and we had our first meal of the season on the deck…
lovely, because often by dinner time it is already cooling off and we end up in the dining room…
afterwards there was some hot tubbing and visiting and I took this shot of the sky with some beautiful clouds floating by…
the family stayed later than usual which was nice, and I am enjoying a last few minutes of quiet in the garden before heading in…
will be going to bed early tonight after a busy, but productive, long weekend…
I truly am blessed, having my family around me and the health to be able to enjoy working and spending time in the garden…
02 Monday May 2016
Posted in family, health, life, loss, nature, technology, Uncategorized
been thinking of people I know who are struggling with health issues and loss…
brought back so many memories of when George died and the difficult period following…
makes me quiet and rather sad… not really how I like to be…
even the beautiful morning sky couldn’t bring me out of this little funk…
as I think of my friends I am also going to focus on the beauty around me…
03 Thursday Mar 2016
Posted in family, health, life, loss, nature, technology, Uncategorized
Tags
295 York, 65, beloved, big girl pants, death, family, health, March, moments, photographs, sadness, sickness
been thinking a lot about folks who have been dealing with health issues, either sick or injured…
so many people I know have struggled with miserable colds and flu… both of my girls were ill and got sent home on Monday… many friends are just beginning to get over various issues…
the beginning of March is a difficult time for me… can’t help but think back to the loss of my beloved… I’ve been inundated with Facebook memories of things we did in the days just before his death…
have also been working on a project where I’ve been looking through my photographs… am always surprised at how much I have forgotten and the pictures are great reminders of special moments…
came across this picture of a Chihuly glass fixture at 295 York… George and I had dinner there a few times when it was still the Lobby on York…
lost my parents when they were both just over 65… George’s dad died around that age and he didn’t make it to 65… for a while I have been wondering if I will make it to 65… looks like I will, lol…
I am feeling healthy and in better shape than I’ve been for years…
although there is sadness, life is good…
25 Monday Jan 2016
Posted in family, health, life, loss, technology, Uncategorized
Tags
anniversary, appointment, art, big girl pants, CancerCare, check-up, health, nurses, taxi
was at CancerCare for a bit this afternoon… time for my six month check-up… been nine time for these appointments… will continue twice a year until I hit the fifth anniversary of my surgery… then it will be an annual visit to my own physician…
usually my daughter comes with me but I am getting braver and now can go on my own… usually I take a cab from and to the office so I don’t have to worry about finding a parking spot and getting there on time… seems like those big girl pants are fitting better every day…
only there for an hour today… sometimes it has been two or three hours… I often think about the others in the waiting room…
are they going to hear a cancer diagnosis and be at the beginning of their care… are they getting news that their treatment isn’t working and they have a finite amount of time left… are they, like me, part way through their 5 year term…
hard to feel bad if I have to wait for a while… I am one of the very lucky ones… the surgery basically removed all of the cancer… but they will continue to check on it until I reach the magic five years out mark…
enjoyed this piece of art as I was waiting… produced by nurses who work with cancer patients right here… they are a special group of individuals…
excellent appointment and I will be back in six months…
life is pretty darn good…
herbiggirlpants 