19 Monday Jun 2017
Posted in family, food, health, life, loss, nature, Photography, technology, Uncategorized
once again I spent a few minutes taking pictures of the clematis this morning…
so pretty…
got home and decided on an early hot tub as I’ve been feeling a bit under the weather…
just a I was planning to get out, the rain started… this picture shows where I was standing, lol… and if you look closely you might see the squirrel snacking at the feeder…
14 Sunday May 2017
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Tags
big girl pants, condo, conversation, family, fish, hot tub, kids, Mother's Day, Ottawa, Park, relaxing, retail therapy, walk, widow, Winnipeg
been a full, but good Mother’s Day…
up fairly early, had breakfast and headed over to the Park to check out the daffodils and tulips…
there were lots of tulips blooming and I’m glad I went today because by next weekend they may be finished…
had a few minutes on our bench while I chatted with my Ottawa girl…
early morning is the best time to wander through the Gardens on the weekend because it is still quiet…
home and then out to pick up groceries and flowers – tulips, then back for lunch and a nap…
sat out in the garden until the kids came… they mowed and whipper snipped and moved the fish from their condo to their summer residence…
always an exciting process..
excellent dinner cooked on Barbie the BBQ, lol…
then some online retail therapy with my Winnipeg daughter… ordered a purple metal bracelet for my Fitbit…
planning a hot tub a bit later, but now spending a few minutes by the pond before heading in…
05 Friday May 2017
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Tags
big girl pants, breakfast, daffodils, emerging, garden, hot tub, nap, Park, walk, widow, wonderful
had the most wonderful day off…
got up early, had a cup of tea, and went for a walk to the Park… it was a beautiful morning…
I’ve never seen debris up against the bridge before…
had breakfast on my own and watched geese and ducks while I enjoyed my meal…
then I wandered through the English and Leo Mol Gardens with my camera in hand…
plants are springing up and the daffodils were blooming… haven’t been for a while and happy to spend time in the Gardens and see the life emerging…
got home, had a nap and lunch… then I went out for a hot tub and enjoyed watching the waterfall…
air dried on a lounger in the sun and spent some time reviewing my photos from the morning…
watched a bit of tv… had another nap and made one of my ChefsPlate meals…
finished the day with chocolate and chips…
couldn’t have been better…
30 Sunday Apr 2017
Posted in family, food, health, life, loss, nature, Photography, technology, Uncategorized
great excitement today…
ran out and did a number of errands and when I got home came outside and sat by the pond… first time I’ve been out on the back deck this year… only brought out cushions for one chair but it was delightful to sit out and read a book in the sunshine…
had my lunch there and eventually it got so hot that I changed into a tank top and shorts…
kids came over and my son-in-law cleaned the leaves out of the pond, with a little help from the younger boys… they found a frog, woohoo, which always makes me happy… maybe it has been making the odd noise I’ve been hearing when I’ve been in the hot tub over the last week or so…
and he got the pumps in and working…
there is still lots of work to do in the pond, as dead plants need to be removed, ones that are starting need to be cleaned up, and new ones purchased and popped in, although not before all chances of frost are gone… have lost a few when I was over eager, lol…
we had barbecued steak for supper and now they are gone and I am sitting listening to the water running with the sun shining in my face and a blanket on to keep me cozy…
will be sure to have a hot tub to enjoy the sound of the water before bed…
summer really is coming;-)…
29 Saturday Apr 2017
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Tags
big girl pants, home, hot tub, reminder, special, team, Technology, tub, widow, work
nine years ago today the hot tub arrived and sat in the garage…
took another few weeks before it made it to its home on a new deck beside the house…
actually got to sit in it on Mother’s Day that year…
it is a special reminder of the previous ten years of work… they were quite amazing…
started the job on a contract to get the space set up as the organization had moved from Toronto… there were boxes everywhere… the whole place needed to be set up… from there I worked up to the office administrator and consulted with the students regarding finances and bursaries… the team grew and was quite wonderful…
was always happy to welcome people to our space and enjoyed working with the governing body from across the country… remembering all the things I learned about conference calling and how over those years the systems improved… I have always loved working with technology and certainly had lots of opportunities to do that…
grew as a person during those years as well… we had 360 degree performance reviews which involved input from all of the people I interacted with… from my colleagues, to the students, to the council and committee members, to the suppliers and people who rented space in the building…
the staff team also met in pairs to encourage and challenge one another… sometimes it was very hard to hear where I needed to improve, but, in the end, very beneficial…
I really have been blessed in my work life…
was talking with someone a few days ago and mentioned how I didn’t go back to work until my girls were in high school and so I anticipate being on the job for a few more years as I had all that time at home when they were young… what a gift that was…
the hot tub reminds me of special times with special people…
22 Saturday Apr 2017
Posted in family, food, health, life, loss, nature, Photography, technology, Uncategorized
Tags
big girl pants, colouring, fun, hot tub, pictures, shopping, sleepover buddies, snow, surprise, widow
fun day…
took numerous pictures of the snow outside this morning… pretty, if somewhat surprising…
then my daughter came by and we went shopping… picked up some seeds and a container to plant them in… then we checked out a few stores and I found a few plates and a lovely tray… have already used it twice… for supper and for an evening snack…
home for a nap and then my sleepover buddies arrived…
colouring (in adult colouring books, because he is way beyond kid books), electronic games, tv, hot tubbing and chocolate milkshakes before bed…
hope they go to sleep soon…
all that fun has made for a long day and I am tired, lol…
12 Wednesday Apr 2017
Posted in family, food, health, life, loss, nature, Photography, technology, Uncategorized
Tags
big girl pants, brainstorming, friend, hot tub, imperial cheese, meeting, spoiled, Technology, treats, widow
excellent day at work… fabulous brainstorming session followed by fun with technology in preparation for the evening’s training session…
when I arrived home I found this treat in the mailbox…
one of my favourite cookies… imperial cheese cookies made with Rice Krispies… just like a breakfast cookie…
friend came over for a visit, glass of wine and hot tub… couldn’t get much better;-)…
I have the best friends…
09 Sunday Apr 2017
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Tags
big girl pants, blessed, cleanup, dimsum, family, garden, grandson, hot tub, pond, projects, tradition, weekend, widow
I should be completely worn out because it’s been such a busy weekend… but I’m not…
up and out for an early morning hot tub and took a picture of the garden before I came in…
it needs the spring cleanup…
was picked up and met the rest of the family for dimsum… this is one of our traditions when my sister-in-law comes to town… and we all love it… well most of the time… sometimes the younger ones don’t want to have anything, but another time they eat everything in sight…
that black blob on the bottom right is the youngest not participating, lol… but he did eat…
my oldest grandson came home with me and did some cleanup in the garden, although it was rather cold… he raked and swept and moved furniture and took dead plants to the composting barrels… then we sat down at his suggestion, and made a list of projects for the garden this summer…
we didn’t get everything we wanted done today, but it looks much more ready to be in…
I am so blessed to have this young man help me with the garden maintenance… and of course my son-in-law does lots of the work with the ponds;-)…
looking forward to warm days and hours spent by the pond…
02 Sunday Apr 2017
Posted in family, food, health, life, loss, nature, Photography, technology, travel, Uncategorized
Tags
Assiniboine Park, big girl pants, branta, bridge, geese, honking, hot tub, outside, walk, widow
so, today it was all about the geese… and a few ducks… found the Latin name for them – branta – as I was doing some research…
wrote about my mom’s drawing of a goose a while back…
early this morning I was out in the hot tub and watched hundreds of them flying overhead…
took my first walk since the fall to Assiniboine Park and wandered around the English and Leo Mol Gardens…
lovely day although a bit windy, and I was very happy to be outside walking… the sidewalks were all clear and dry…
as I was crossing the walking bridge by the Park I caught these geese along the riverbank…
as I looked from the Boy with the Boot to the flag on the Pavilion, a few more were walking on the ice at the Riley Family Duck Pond…
there was open water as well as ice, lol…
on the tour of the Gardens I could hear the geese honking as they flew over and talking to one another in the river…
before crossing the bridge to come home took this picture of a pair… one was guarding while the other was eating…
they are so majestic and beautiful… and their honking still makes me stop and look up, wherever I am…
too bad about all the fertilizer they leave behind…
24 Friday Feb 2017
Posted in family, food, health, life, loss, nature, Photography, technology, Uncategorized
hot tub has been doing some weird stuff… when I went out a few nights ago it was 100 degrees rather than the normal 103… made for a short hot tub, lol…
as I got home last night it was down to 93 degrees… called the spa people, but of course they were closed… on my way out this morning I checked the temp again and it was back up to 102…
spoke with them this morning and they don’t know what the problem was… bit worrisome, but I will keep my eye on it and if it misbehaves will have to call them to come out and have a look…
tonight it was back to 103… yay…
topped off what seemed like a very long week, although it was only four working days, with a few squares of dark chocolate from Aschenti Cocoa…
