Tag Archives: hot tub

holy moments…

13 Monday Jan 2014

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ordered a spicy perogy pizza and Caesar salad from Boston Pizza for my group tonight, as I was on for food… when I called the young woman was very helpful and didn’t try to get me to order more than we really needed… she was spot on and everyone enjoyed the pizza…

we then checked-in and read a wonderful book titled: Three Wise Women by Mary Hoffman, with pictures by Lynne Russell…

Three Wise Women...

Three Wise Women…

 

we talked about the holy moments in our lives and how we are constantly searching for them…

made me think of how I am trying to live my life these days… being in each moment and taking the time to feel/see what is actually taking place…

we talked about those special conversations that accidentally happen, that you might not even consider as something important… but if you spend a moment you realize that you are in the midst of the holy…

for me it is often nature that helps me find those moments… yesterday morning in the quiet of the hot tub, as the birds flew past chirping like it was spring… the bunny spotted in the garden… the heaps and heaps of beautiful snow, lol…

what amazing women these are and how special the time that we spend together… talk about holy moments…

hot tub…

12 Sunday Jan 2014

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this morning I headed out for a hot tub… didn’t check the temperature but it was beautiful… it was around -5 with the windchill I discovered later…

felt like a spring morning… once I got out, I put in some chemicals and moved some snow away from the tub… reminded me of a lovely time that Cyndi and I had in the tub while she was here over Christmas… Ron came out and took a few pics…

 

hot tub with Cyndi...

hot tub with Cyndi…

 

I have enjoyed my hot tub for the nearly five years that I have had it…

when the girls were very small George spent some time in Baker Lake and while he was gone I had pool people come out for an estimate… because we had lots of overhead wires and a small yard they could only put in a small pool, which didn’t seem worth it… for about 10 years we would rent a hot tub for our anniversary weekend and we all loved it.. at the time our oldest grandson was a toddler and he adored it… as did all the girls’ friends who were sure to come by that weekend, lol…

got this tub in March of 2009, but we had our first hot tub on Mother’s Day… and since then I have gone in it nearly every day, although for the last few months it has been much more sporadic with the extreme cold… I don’t mind when it is -30 but I don’t really like it when the windchill is below -35…

kids having a hot tub...

kids having a hot tub…

the boys still love it, although someone wants to be carried in and out if it is cold, lol…

although George always said he didn’t like it, he would usually join me and we would have wonderful conversations… always amazing how the darkness and enclosed spaces opens up the most interesting subjects…

thinking of some of those special moments tonight as I come in from another lovely tub… got to enjoy the beautiful weather… particularly after hot water was added this afternoon:-}…

shadows…

04 Saturday Jan 2014

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a few years ago I took a photography course with a colleague… we had great fun as we would often go out for dinner before the class… she is an artist and it was wonderful to see what she would do with the homework projects…

shadow thrown from the gate which George made to look like the sun and its rays...

shadow thrown from the gate which George built to look like the sun and its rays…

one of the homework projects involved taking pictures of shadows… it was quite difficult as there wasn’t much sunshine that week… I remember arriving home on the only sunny day we had and rushing out to get a few shots… George and I went to the grocery store and I was taking some pictures of the beautiful fruit when a store representative came up and asked why I was taking pictures, yikes…

we also had fun driving around the Park to get some photos…

bunny tracks through the garden...

bunny tracks through the garden…

this afternoon I got a few great shots of some lovely shadows in the back yard…

shadows in the snow and you can see how high the snow is on the pergola by the garage...

you can see how high the snow is on the pergola by the garage…

there is still a lot of snow out there… it is quite beautiful but I am looking forward to my kids coming over tomorrow and getting some of it cleared away… can’t even get out to the hot tub, lol…

sleepover…

27 Friday Dec 2013

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got up early and had a hot tub… then we went to the “A” for breakfast… after that we headed downtown to the Jets Gear store where we spent over an hour choosing just the right pieces for Cyndi and Ron… they are attending a Jets/Senators game once they get home and were wanting just the right outfits, lol…

by the waterfall in the Hydro Building with a bag of goodies...

by the waterfall in the Hydro Building with a bag of goodies…

next to SuperValu for a few groceries and gift certificates… apparently Sobeys are few and far between in Ottawa…

home for a rest and then the kids arrived for their sleepover… we had a supper of various leftovers from the last few days and they all went out bowling and to Sugar Mountain while I watched some TV…

cheers with apple cider...

cheers with apple cider…

when they got home they made a little nest in the basement, watched a movie and ate popcorn and then had a hot tub…

hot tub fun in the snow...

hot tub fun in the snow…

now they are cuddled up in front of the TV getting ready for a few hours (hopefully) of sleep…

sleepover party...

sleepover party…

glad that I am two floors up, lol…

headache…

14 Saturday Dec 2013

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woke up with a bad headache… my arm was very sore, as were my feet and back…

went out for a hot tub, wearing my water shoes and that worked very well, particularly as it was snowing like crazy and my slippers would have filled up with snow… wore a toque and a baseball hat to keep warm and not have snow in my eyes…

then went back into the house and slept for another few hours… still had the headache, but it had eased somewhat…

basically have done nothing all day, and my head is finally feeling better… feet are okay and my arm has improved as well…

going back to bed and looking forward to a good day tomorrow…

as I went upstairs just before dark the moon was gazing down at me so I went and got the camera and tripod and took a few pictures…

moon over the trees...

moon over the trees…

disasters…

09 Monday Dec 2013

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yesterday my daughter was having some serious plumbing problems… of course, her husband wasn’t home and she had to source solutions on her own…

reminded me of the many years we would have Christmas Eve disasters… one year the water was shut off on the street and we went for 24 hours without water… another year the water tank stopped working and we had to get someone in to replace it on Christmas Eve… another time the furnace broke down and it was in the -30s and the kids were quite small… then there was the sewer back-up…

it got so that we were prepared for whatever the Christmas Eve disaster was going to be…

it sure wasn’t funny at the time but eventually we were able to laugh about them…

did make me think I should have Roto-Rooter in to clean out the sewer lines as they haven’t been done for a few years and the roots from the neighbourhood trees are probably happily filling up the lines…

reminded me of the flood in the basement which happened just before I left for the cruise… and what good timing it was…

water still running to the drain...

hot water tank that burst…

tonight, after work I was able to open the frozen-shut hot tub cover and put in the needed chemicals… it had been frozen on Saturday when I went to do the weekly maintenance and on Sunday I didn’t even bother to try to open it… now the chemicals have been distributed and maybe tomorrow night I will head out there for a lovely tub… not tonight… heading to bed…

sunshine…

07 Saturday Dec 2013

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today the sun came out and shone for the entire day… it was glorious… haven’t had much sun in the last few weeks…

beautiful shadow effect on the trellis by the garage.. also shows how much snow has fallen…

it was also brutally cold.. on my way out I took a few minutes to shovel off the two lower decks so that I could have a hot tub later… by the time I got into the car my fingers were numb, felt like I didn’t even have any gloves on…

after I got home I went out to put chemicals into the hot tub and couldn’t open it… the cover is frozen closed… hope to try again tomorrow with warmer clothes on…

drift across the garden..

drift across the garden..

there is a lot of snow in the backyard… and there is a very interesting drift across the yard… it’s a new one, must have something to do with the pond reconstruction…

if you look close you can see where the rabbit hopped onto the deck…

bunny prints on the deck..

bunny prints on the deck..

made me think of how George always took care of me.. making sure that the decks were cleared and the lid was open when I headed out for a hot tub…

sweet memories…

snow…

17 Sunday Nov 2013

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well, I was wrong… that little dusting of snow turned into a lot of snow… although, as a number of people have mentioned, it did look beautiful…

here’s what I saw when I got up this morning… and isn’t that cactus just blooming away..

lots of snow out there...

lots of snow out there…

the snow fell all day and finally quit around 4…

we went for dim sum and because my winter tires weren’t on yet, and I didn’t feel like putting on the big girl pants, Crystal and the boys came and got me… we had a lovely time and the boys even tried a few new things… they didn’t really like them, but did try…

then it was off to find some boots and three pair were discovered and purchased… I got some purple gloves that can work my phone and a yoga top and pants… a few groceries and then home…

while I put stuff away Crystal shovelled the sidewalk and the driveway, with a bit of help from the boys… she ran across and shovelled a neighbour’s sidewalk and had a little visit with her…

winter tires on the car... not as pretty as the all purpose ones...

winter tires on the car… not as pretty as the all purpose ones…

when Jeff got here, he and Crystal put on the winter tires for me… yay…

Jeff and the boys had a hot tub… which now means putting on slippers, taking out a towel for the steps and wearing toques… what a difference a day makes, lol…

Sunday dinner with everyone...

Sunday dinner with everyone…

we enjoyed a very nice supper and all the boys helped clean up before they headed home…

I am very happy about the winter tires as I will be driving to work tomorrow as I have a late meeting…

a lovely day, all in all…

 

tidying…

16 Saturday Nov 2013

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spent most of the day in the bedroom, changing bedding, cleaning and reorganizing… ran a couple of loads of laundry and got it all put away…

put on the blanket on the bed that George loved… will be thinking of him when I climb into bed tonight…

took my time and watched tv and read as well so that I wasn’t worn out…

decluttered by getting rid of some books, clothes and a few bits and pieces…

mementos...

mementos…

moved my rocks/gems/shells to a different container – actually a winnowing basket from an event in 1993, and got my little fountain going… looks very nice… not sure if I’ve mentioned my obsession with rocks/stones… from my visits to Cyndi and Ron’s in BC I have brought back a good portion of Goose Spit, lol…

am always happy when I can get rid of stuff and be happy in the process… hope to continue on a bit tomorrow in the dining room…

added chemicals to the hot tub throughout the afternoon and was headed out there tonight when I discovered that the deck and ground were covered with a dusting of snow… the young man next door is having a party and I don’t usually go out but had decided it would be nice before bed… when I discovered the snow, it just seemed like a sign…

so, am writing my blog and going to bed… looks like the snow might be gone by morning so I will have a tub when I get up, which hopefully won’t be at 6 am like this morning…

Remembrance Day…

11 Monday Nov 2013

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slept poorly last night and did not feel at all well for most of today…

so, I did very little… watched the live ceremony from Ottawa, and think I may have seen my son-in-law marching by… spent some time in the hot tub, remembering…

reminded me of George’s dad, who had served in the military… he had a heart attack on November 11, 32 years ago… he died shortly after that and I remember making fancy sandwiches with my mom and dad for the family gathering following his funeral… it was the first time I rode in a limo and I will always remember that… I think George always thought about his dad especially around Remembrance Day…

I remember how George’s mom was so worried about me as I was pregnant with Crystal and Isabel hovered over me the whole time, worried that something was going to happen to the baby…

I think of my dad’s health… he was a great athlete, but after the war his lungs didn’t work very well, something to do with sleeping in wet foxholes the entire time he was overseas, which moved to emphysema… from the time I was young he struggled with his lungs and his health… of course smoking didn’t help…

I remember the work my mom did to ensure that there was a statue by the Legislature to commemorate all of the women in the Armed Forces who went to war, but were rather invisible… she spent the war in England touching up photos of ships before they went to the media, so that it wasn’t possible to see where they were, or exactly what they looked like… not the kind of work anyone would do today, lol…

so many people, who have gone, to be thankful for…

poppies in the garden...

poppies in the garden…

 

the poppies in our garden always reminded us of these and so many other special people… wondering if there will be any next summer after all the pond construction that took place this June…