Tag Archives: hot tub

stargazing…

06 Sunday Aug 2017

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been planning to spend a night sleeping under the stars for a while and tonight is the night…

it was a lovely day and I spent a good part of it in the garden watching a red squirrel stash peanuts from the neighbour’s feeder…

there’s been a hole beside the back deck for a while and today this little guy spent time going into and out of it, lol…


now we know for sure who lives there…

my bed is nearly ready for tonight… just have to bring out the pillows…


the plan is to be in bed for the 9:36 fly past of the Space Station and then maybe a late night hot tub… looking forward to some great stargazing in the night;-)…

process…

02 Wednesday Aug 2017

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spent the day doing things around the house…

longest job involved the hot tub... ran some chemicals through, and then had to wait for an hour and run the pump again… 

eventually was able to drain it…


remembered to take a picture as it began draining… takes a couple of hours to empty completely…

then I had to find the shop vac, which I have never used, and vacuum out all the last bits of crud and water from the bottom… that was a process… you’d think it would dump out water in a simple manner, like maybe push a reverse button, but no, you have to take off the top and then dump it… got a wet sandal in the process… didn’t take any pictures…

now to the filling portion… remembered the pic again, lol…


takes over an hour to fill and while I was doing that I got out Barbie and cooked a steak and some zuchinni…

this little guy was having a snack at the same time…


new to the neighbourhood, we haven’t had chipmunks around for years… goes right past my feet but didn’t want me to get too close to take a pic… apparently shy, lol…

steak was delicious, not sure how I felt about the zuchinni, but I did eat it… finished supper with salad and a few tiny new potatoes with dill…

all of the above jobs used to be taken care of by my beloved… some are easier than others and I continue to learn things… 

those big girl pants…

snacking…

19 Monday Jun 2017

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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…

fish…

14 Sunday May 2017

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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…

emerging…

05 Friday May 2017

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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…

woohoo…

30 Sunday Apr 2017

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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;-)…

tub…

29 Saturday Apr 2017

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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…

colouring…

22 Saturday Apr 2017

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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…

brainstorming…

12 Wednesday Apr 2017

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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…

weekend…

09 Sunday Apr 2017

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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…