14 Monday Sep 2026
Posted in family, health, life, loss, moments, retirement, technology, travel, Uncategorized
Tags
beloved, big girl pants, family, memories, moments, on the road again, road trip, travel, widow
one of my favourite songs is by Willie Nelson – On the Road Again…
for years and years we would play it when we finally got into the car (after getting everything and everyone packed) for a trip…
before we left the driveway, my beloved would turn this song on…
I still play it when we are headed out on a road trip🙂…
it just means travel, snacks, and good times to me…
02 Sunday Aug 2026
Posted in family, life, loss, moments, retirement, Uncategorized
Tags
anniversary, apartment, beloved, big girl pants, blessed, Chevelle, friends, memories, widow
yesterday marked fifty-six years since my beloved and I were married…
unbelievable that I have spent the last fourteen without him…
just last week I discovered that a young friend has moved into the apartment building where I lived with my parents at that time…
I can still remember looking down from the balcony and seeing our brown Chevelle, as the guys dropped it off that morning…
and bursting into tears of excitement;-)…
yesterday, I got this photograph looking down from their apartment balcony to where our car would have been that morning…
I spent some time looking for a photo that I was sure I had, of the decorated car from the balcony of our apartment, but could not find it, lol…
amazing that they are living there now😊…
16 Thursday Jul 2026
Posted in garden, health, life, loss, moments, retirement, Uncategorized
I’ve been enjoying the roses around the house…
they remind me of my dear friend and former neighbour, Ellen…
from the time the girls were born, she and her husband looked after them whenever we needed help…
whatever time we were having dinner she would take them next door so we could actually eat without interruption, lol…
we used to have them over for dinner on Wednesday nights and she would babysit while we went bowling… that was a very long time ago…
now I have one of her rose bushes in the front flowerbed and think of her often…
especially when I bring the beautiful roses into the house😊…
27 Saturday Jun 2026
Posted in health, life, moments, nature, retirement, Uncategorized
was out for a hot tub a few nights ago… I had twisted my knee, woke up around 2, and went out to soak in the heat…
as I was preparing to slowly and carefully step out of the tub, I looked over and watched a chubby skunk toddle about two feet from me, on its way to the back lane…
using this old picture, I was kitty corner from where I am in this photo… the skunk came through the gate and was just a foot away from the bottom step when I saw it👀…
reminded me of an encounter with another skunk in August of 2015:
after supper last night at the campsite, all the boys and dogs went for a walk to the beach to catch frogs…
it was dark and nearly eleven when a skunk came to visit we three women as we sat around the campfire…
one ran into the tent, another climbed on top of the picnic table… I sat in my chair as the skunk came and sniffed my toes before moseying along to the next site…
was going to take a picture but decided not to in case it got nervous and sprayed, lol…
that was quite a memorable experience;-)…
18 Monday May 2026
Posted in health, life, moments, retirement, Uncategorized
Tags
big girl pants, blessed, family, healthy, hospital, mango, memories, moments, sick, wanted, widow
lately I’ve been using frozen mango in my morning yogurt rather than my usual raspberries…
it has reminded me of the six weeks I spent in St. Boniface hospital over fifteen years ago…
for five of those weeks I was unable to eat, or drink anything… feeding tubes and IVs…
finally, towards the very end of my stay I was allowed to drink something…
and, for whatever reason, I wanted mango juice… my family searched high and low, but were unable to find any…
finally, after I returned home, some was produced, lol…
so my yogurt with frozen mango in it has been a reminder of that time in my life…
these reminders make me realize how blessed I am…
10 Sunday May 2026
Posted in garden, health, life, moments, retirement, Uncategorized
Tags
17 years, big girl pants, blessed, conversations, garden, hot tub, memories, moments, Mother's Day, mothers, widow
this morning I went out for a Mother’s Day hot tub…
it has been 17 years since the first day of hot tubbing in the garden which was on Mother’s Day in 2009;-)…
amazing to think of all the laughter, deep conversations, and fun, shared in this little tub of warm water…
always a wonderful reminder on Mother’s Day…
06 Wednesday May 2026
Posted in business, garden, life, moments, nature, retirement, Uncategorized
Tags
allium, big girl pants, growing, kaleidoscope, memories, moments, nature, plants, purple, The Leaf at Assiniboine Park, widow
just after I took this photo of a beautiful allium, a visitor asked me what it was…
then I had a lovely conversation with another visitor who was telling me about the allium that grew in her garden outside of the city… she said they grew six feet tall and took over the garden…
made me laugh as I shared how this was one of my beloved’s favourites and no matter what we did, they would not grow for us…
we ended the conversation noting that, in our experience, some plants will or won’t grow for certain people, lol…
11 Saturday Apr 2026
Posted in family, life, moments, nature, retirement, technology, Uncategorized
cleaning the pumps in the fishtanks is not one of my favourite things to do… my beloved took care of this job… then for a number of years, my son-in-law looked after the task, lol…
now, it is up to me…
once I get started it isn’t that big a deal and doesn’t really take that long…
and to top it off this week, I scrubbed the algae from the glass front…
always happy when all the cleaning is complete…
and I think the fish like it as well;-)…
08 Sunday Mar 2026
Posted in family, life, moments, retirement, technology, Uncategorized
Tags
big girl pants, blessed, colleagues, family, flowers, friends, International Women's Day, making me, memories, moments, strong, support, widow
today, on this International Women’s Day, I’ve spent time thinking of the many women who have influenced my life…
I wrote these words in 2017:
whether they are family, friends, colleagues, acquaintances, or those I’ve seen from afar…
whether they are alive or dead…
whether they know it or not…
they have had a part in making me me…
I am blessed…
now, more than ever, in these difficult days, we need to support others as they move forward;-)…
06 Friday Mar 2026
Posted in business, family, food, life, loss, moments, retirement, technology, Uncategorized
Tags
beloved, big girl pants, blessed, burgers, family, floats, food, fourteen, grandson, memories, moments, Technology, time, widow
last night we celebrated my beloved who departed fourteen years ago…
as always, some days it seems like yesterday, and others so long ago…
hamburgers and floats were eaten here and via the internet…
so thankful to have family around for these celebrations;-)…
herbiggirlpants 