last evening the orchid started to open…

this afternoon it was nearly all the way open…

what a treat… haven’t had one blooming for a few months…
17 Friday Dec 2021
Posted in health, life, moments, nature, retirement, Uncategorized
10 Monday May 2021
Posted in business, food, health, life, moments, nature, retirement, Uncategorized, weather
Tags
actual, big girl pants, blessed, chocolate, friends, Hummingbird Chocolate, moments, orchid, plants, sunshine, weather, widow
two friends dropped by at different times a few days ago…
one brought me a sad orchid she had which I am going to try and perk up… we both had masks on and she left the plant on the bottom step while I stood on the top… she moved close to the road and we spoke for a few minutes before she headed home…
about half an hour later anther friend brought me some chocolate which she had added to an online order and which had arrived… it is always fun to see what mask we each are wearing… we visited for a few minutes… she sat in a chair on the lawn while I sat on the steps…

I was happy to see actual people;-)…
06 Thursday May 2021
Posted in garden, health, life, moments, nature, retirement, Uncategorized
24 Wednesday Feb 2021
Posted in garden, health, life, moments, nature, Photography, retirement, Uncategorized, weather
Tags
big girl pants, fever, garden, happy, moments, nature, orchid, plants, purple, reorganize, widow
I seem to be in the midst of Spring fever…
spent time rearranging plants around the main floor trying to change it up a bit…
moved one of the orchids from the dining room garden to the living room window and placed it into a vase I received when I retired… I think I like it…

I clustered the African violets together and moved a fern from one spot to another…

it will be interesting to see if they all like their new locations…
I am also watching the mandevilla, which I think, has a bud starting… very exciting…

26 Tuesday Jan 2021
Tags
bean to bar, big girl pants, blessed, CanadianChocoholic, chocolate, family, flowers, friends, moments, orchid, pouch, purple, Tea, treat, widow
yesterday we had an online chocolate tasting in the afternoon… it was the gift I gave my four buddies for Christmas…
before it started I spent time preparing my space for the call… moved most of my orchids into the pass through and put fabric behind it so the light wouldn’t cause a problem… looked great;-)…

everyone received a package in the mail with a beautiful handmade pouch holding four chocolate bars… three were the same for everyone, and one was different for each of us…

besides information on how to taste, choose and buy chocolate, forms to use to describe tasting information on each bar, there were little treats included as well… a chocolate flavoured tea, hot chocolate, a cocoa bean and cocoa nibs…

we had a lovely time, learned a huge amount about cacao, its origins and how it is made into the chocolate that we enjoy… we were able to ask questions throughout and shared what we thought of each bar…

thanks to Cyndi (@CanadianChocoholic) for the wonderful experience…
one of us couldn’t get their camera to work, but was able to see us, even if we couldn’t see them… there was a lot of laughter and delicious chocolate eating, uh, tasting, happening…

what a great treat… as much a gift for me as my buddies…
14 Thursday Jan 2021
Posted in garden, health, life, moments, nature, Photography, Uncategorized, weather
Tags
big girl pants, blessed, facing, flowers, garden, moments, nature, orchid, photos, purple, Shadow, sunshine, weather, widow
yesterday the quote I reviewed was about facing the light and thus putting the shadow behind…
made me think of the juxtaposition of light and shadow which had me wandering around my plants and taking photos being sure that my shadow didn’t affect the pictures…

it was was relaxing and I appreciated the time…
08 Friday Jan 2021
Posted in garden, health, life, moments, nature, retirement, Uncategorized
Tags
big girl pants, blessed, dining, flowers, garden, moments, music, orchid, photos, plants, pleasant, purple, trimmed, widow
spent a lovely hour in the dining room garden recently…
trimmed up, and cut back, the mandevilla and fuchsia… they have both lost most of their leaves but are still alive…
I am hopeful that they will both perk up… the mandevilla looks lovely now…

listened to music and felt such happiness… before you know it, spring will be here…

today I took some photos of the garden, including the blooming orchid…
31 Thursday Dec 2020
Posted in garden, health, life, loss, moments, nature, Photography, Uncategorized
Tags
big girl pants, birds, blessed, camera, daughter, flowers, garden, home, Instagram, joy, memories, moments, morning glories, nature, orchid, photos, plants, pond, purple, remembering, walk, widow
last evening I spent time on Instagram… people tend to put up their nine most liked photos of the year, but I decided to put up my nine favourite ones…
I was thinking they would be flowers, with maybe a bird or piece of chocolate included…
once I finished, there were seven with flowers, one bird and a monarch butterfly…

looking through the pictures reminded me of some wonderful times over this past year…
my orchids, which provide such joy for me all year long…
planting, growing and enjoying morning glories, datura and dahlias…
time spent, with and without cameras, viewing the birds in the garden…
a rose along the sidewalk on one of the walks I took this year, with my daughter in my ear;-)…
the amazing time I spent over the summer with eggs, caterpillars and butterflies… and the day my grandson and I watched the butterflies appear…
time with hearts and flower bouquets…
the water lily flowers that erupted in the pond… had the most blooms ever this summer… and I hope to overwinter them in the aquarium…
lovely reminders of a crazy, but wonderfully special year…
21 Saturday Nov 2020
Posted in family, life, loss, moments, nature, retirement, Uncategorized
Tags
big girl pants, garage, gift, grandson, Indi, lockdown, moments, orchid, path, sell, shovelling, sidewalk, snow, touching, treat, widow
yesterday I woke up to a world covered in snow… so beautiful, particularly as I didn’t have to go anywhere or should leave the house…
my grandson arrived in the morning to collect Indi’s winter tires and get them put on, and he brought me a beautiful orchid… he works for a store that, as of yesterday morning and the lockdown, couldn’t sell many of their items, so they gave the orchids to staff… such a lovely treat…

just before he left, he shovelled the sidewalk for me… I like to keep it clear for our mail carrier…

I went outside early, cleared the path to the garage, and moved a few chairs and other items, so he would be able to get to the tires without touching anything else… it was nice to see him, even if we didn’t get within 10 feet of each other…

later in the afternoon, I shovelled the deck so that I can get to the feeders I have set up… although, not sure I will be able to obtain sunflower seeds for them now that everything is locked down…
happily for me, the snow was light…
10 Tuesday Mar 2020
Posted in garden, life, moments, nature, Uncategorized
Tags
big girl pants, blessed, flowers, forward, growth, moments, nature, orchid, plants, purple, Spring, sunshine, weather, widow
had a lovely wander around the living room and dining room to check on the plants…


a few of the orchids are starting some new buds and the other plants are doing nicely…
it was a nice treat to wander around and see the growth…
we just sprang forward on the weekend and I think Spring is really coming…