04 Friday Apr 2025
Posted in life, loss, retirement, Uncategorized, weather
Tags
big girl pants, house, moments, move, neighbours, renting, sad, truck, widow
it was a bit of a sad day today, even though the sun was shining;-)…
a moving truck arrived and took all morning to empty out the house next door…
I am going to miss my little buddy and his baby sister (oh yes, and their parents, lol), but they aren’t moving too far away and will be around as they are renting the house…
21 Saturday Sep 2024
Posted in garden, health, life, moments, retirement, Uncategorized, weather
Tags
big girl pants, blessed, family, flapping, house, ladder, moments, neighbours, siding, weather, widow
this afternoon the doorbell rang and it was my neighbour…
he and his helper had come to see if they could fix the two pieces of siding which have been flapping on the side of the house for ages…
he had already moved the plunge tub and wheelbarrow to get to the ladder which hangs on the outside of the garage and then he got right to work…
it took awhile to get both pieces back in place and he had a tool in his hand that I couldn’t quite make out, but after moving the ladder a number of times in both places, he got it done…
I am so happy because now I won’t have to listen to the flapping anymore when it is windy…
what a treat…
07 Tuesday May 2024
Posted in family, garden, life, moments, retirement, Uncategorized, weather
Tags
big girl pants, blessed, concrete, dirt, family, garden, landfill, moments, neighbours, rocks, shovels, truck, weather, widow
this morning there was lots of activity in the lane…
many tools were used… the sledgehammer, two types of shovels, a broom and pails…
a lot of broken concrete, rocks, stones, and soil were gathered, piled into the back of a truck and then taken to the landfill…
but, it is much tidier and with a bit more work done to it, will be much more useful for placing yard waste;-)…
all that activity brought out a few neighbours as well, lol…
23 Monday Oct 2023
Posted in life, moments, nature, retirement, Uncategorized, weather
Tags
acclimatized, big girl pants, blessed, condo, family, fish, goldfish, house, leaves, moments, nature, neighbours, pond, tank, test, tree, water, weather, widow
when we were in the garden on Sunday, we removed a ton of leaves from the pond… always makes me think of the lovely neighbours we have had over the years, being as how the tree that sheds those leaves is located in their yard, lol…
there were still numerous ones left, but we were able to dig down past them and catch three fish to bring into the house…
I wanted to do a bit of a test in the biggest tank to be sure that the water was safe for them…
after they acclimatized to the house temperature they made it into their condo…
so far they seem happy and healthy;-)…
20 Thursday Jul 2023
Posted in garden, life, moments, retirement, Uncategorized
Tags
barking, big girl pants, dogs, garden, learn, moments, nature, neighbours, widow, words
we have new neighbours…
they seem like a lovely couple, but they have two dogs…
the dogs bark whenever they see or hear me in the garden… or if there is any activity in the area… if another dog barks, they bark, if someone goes down the lane they bark… if someone gets too close to the front of their house, they bark…
the former residents had a dog, but it was taught not to bark, and I knew the words they used, so I was able to reinforce their training… so it didn’t bark at me after a very short while…
I asked if there were any specific words to use to stop the barking, but apparently they don’t have any…
I am hoping that these dogs will eventually accept that I am not a threat and will stop with the barking whenever I move around the garden…
I have been trying to sit very still as I read or watch the nature around me…
wish me luck…
14 Wednesday Jun 2023
Posted in garden, life, moments, nature, retirement, Uncategorized, weather
Tags
back lane, big girl pants, blessed, building, family, fence, garden, gates, goldfish, happy, interest, moments, neighbours, pond, tour, waterfall, widow
it has been fun watching neighbours check out the construction of the new back fence…
from stepping into the lane to see what was happening, to offering advice and tools to aid in the process, to checking out the ponds when they were easy to see without any obstacles in the way, to sweeping up some of the final debris…
I met a few that I hadn’t known before and enjoyed a tour of one of their gardens… wow, it certainly puts mine to shame, lol… flowers everywhere and dear little wooden items they build to add to the beauty of the garden…
it is quite amazing what can be found behind garden gates;-)…
16 Tuesday May 2023
Posted in business, family, food, garden, health, life, moments, nature, retirement, technology, Uncategorized, weather
Tags
beautiful, big girl pants, blessed, connections, cushions, deck, family, fence, fish, food, friends, garden, meals, Merlin App, moments, most, nature, neighbours, pond, sound, sparrows, Technology, time, weather, widow
Sunday, spent the entire day in the garden… it was warm and sunny…
set out all the chair cushions and even brought out the decorative ones…
then, most of the fish came outside… a few just wouldn’t be caught, lol… apparently a project for another day…
tea, reading, and bird watching took up a good part of the day… I am loving the sound portion of my Merlin App… it has come in especially helpful for me to identify the many sparrows that come and go…
White-Crowned, White-Throated, Harris’s, Song, and Chipping Sparrows have all been around for the last week or so…
checked out the fence with the little person and his daddy on one side, as I contemplate the style of the new fence that is in the works, and had tea and snacks with the ones on the other side… they enjoy sitting by the pond and the sound of the running water…
ate all my meals on the deck, breakfast and lunch on the back, and supper on the upper…
phone calls, emails, in-person visits, and text messages came throughout the day…
truly, I am blessed;-)…
02 Tuesday Aug 2022
Posted in food, garden, health, life, moments, retirement, Uncategorized
Tags
beans, big girl pants, blessed, bowlful, delicious, garden, moments, neighbours, widow
my neighbour brought me a few handfuls of beans… mainly green, but a few yellow and one purple…
I made a delicious bowlful for lunch…
so fresh and delicious… a wonderful treat…
12 Sunday Jun 2022
Posted in garden, life, moments, nature, Photography, retirement, Uncategorized, weather
Tags
big girl pants, blessed, flowers, garden, happy, lilacs, moments, nature, neighbours, purple, treat, widow
Friday I went shopping for lilacs… at my neighbour’s… with permission, lol…
they were heading away for the weekend and she texted me to offer them up… she knows how I love lilacs… and I think theirs are so pretty with the white around the edges…
I had just come home from an appointment and noticed that the bushes on the next street over were blooming and I was contemplating asking if I might cut some…
I got a pailful and filled two vases… one has been outside with me and the other has perfumed the main floor;-)…
happy days;-)…
24 Tuesday May 2022
Posted in garden, life, moments, retirement, Uncategorized
Tags
Baby, big girl pants, birdhouse, blessed, family, fence, garden, moments, neighbours, pond, snuggles, treat, widow, wood
this afternoon my neighbour on the south side came by with the cutest birdhouse for me…
last year he took down and rebuilt a new fence between us… and then he made some bird houses with the leftover wood…
it is very cute… I’ve never had one so now I will have to figure out where to put it…
tonight, he and his partner brought over their four month old baby to meet me… he is adorable and I look forward to playing with him over the summer…
first baby snuggles I’ve had in over two years…
herbiggirlpants 