Tag Archives: Ottawa

2017 Ottawa day 4…

03 Sunday Sep 2017

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started our day with tea and a snack… I had almonds and leftover strawberries from yesterday’s Farmers Market… very tasty…

then it was off to the Memorial Farmers Market... fun to get to both of the markets here… we found carrots, peppers, salad greens, baby bok choy, Brie bread, apple cinnamon rolls, eggplant, crackers, dip, kombucha, and eeny pears (which look like green crabapples)… and a maple bacon butter tart…

it was rainy this morning so we had on rain gear and brought umbrellas…

then the free ferry to Wolfe Island which was great fun, even in the rain… also had a little chocolate snack on the way over…

we were excited to go to The Wolfe Island Grill for brunch… sadly we don’t recommend it… I was imagining a brunch with choices… no… food was mediocre at best, little choice, only type of eggs were poached, small amounts of everything and not really hot… disappointing…

lucky for us, we went across the street to the Wolfe Island Bakery… got some truffles and the most delicious pain de chocolat… made up for the less than stellar brunch;-)…

we sat in the car, in the rain, for over an hour, in the lineup for the return ferry…

home, watched a movie and then back to the docks for a 3 hour dinner cruise… it was lovely and I think I got enough boat time today, lol…

home now and ready for bed… although we didn’t get much walking in, the day has been full…

2017 Ottawa day 2…

01 Friday Sep 2017

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another busy day…

slept in, and my daughter made tasty omelettes for our breakfast after I harvested zucchini and cucumbers from her garden… then we ate chocolate cake…

we went and picked up her new stand up paddle board… ended up being quite the process which involved going back to the Auto Racks store to be sure it was fastened correctly to the roof rack…

then we headed off to find two chocolate stores… Jojo Coco and hummingbird chocolate maker where we may have purchased a few bars, lol…

then it was off to Kingston…

you can’t spend any time with my daughter and not have some chocolate so on our drive here we had raspberry chocolate from one of the chocolate shops we visited today…

a short rest and we went downtown to Chez Piggy where we had a delicious dinner…

a walk around the harbour to get in a few steps and take a picture with the Kingston sign, a bit of Pokémon hunting and home to bed…

chocolate…

24 Thursday Aug 2017

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beginning preparations for my visit to Ottawa soon…

gathering items to take with me and on the list is chocolate… my daughter is becoming an expert on the subject…

she has a few favourites from various chocolate shops around town…

today I picked up a few things from Morden’s…

arrived two minutes before they closed as traffic was bad because of all the construction… they were so gracious and provided excellent customer service, even at those last few minutes before closing…

picked up a few bars and the darkest chocolate they had… also got some of their cashews…

George loved cashews and they made me think of him as I was snacking on a handful tonight…

on a roll with chocolate today… last night on our way home we stopped at a new bakery in the neighbourhood and I picked up this chocolate ganache tart…

took it to the office, cut it into eight tiny pieces and shared it with my colleagues… this works very well for me because I get a taste of something but then don’t have tons of it… and it’s fun to share…

still have a bit of time to get to her other favourites so I have the necessary items when I arrive there, lol…

looking forward to the shopping and the trip…

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…

late…

18 Thursday Aug 2016

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last night I planned to get up around two and take some shots of the full moon for a friend who always knows when the moon is full... took this one on my phone before I headed to bed…

sadly when I woke up around one, it was too late… was overcast and stayed that way all night…

even in the morning the sky was dull and there was no moon visible…

headed out earlier than usual as I had a dentist appointment to have a filling shaved down a bit…

even though I dislike being at the dentist, I don’t like to be late… got there before they had even unlocked the door, lol… should have gone back right after I discovered the filling wasn’t quite right… would have if I’d believed how simple and pain-free the process of smoothing it off was…

on my way home tonight I saw one of the bendy busses along Portage Avenue… I love to see them because they make me smile… always driving when I see them, so never get a picture…

Winnipeg bendy bus photo from the internet…

looking forward to riding on some when I head to Ottawa next month for a short visit with my daughter…

don’t ride the bus here but it is kind of fun there with someone who knows the system…

just last week I bought my grandson one of the peggo cards which are similar to what they use in Ottawa so people don’t need to carry bus tickets or cash…

photo by the proud recipient of the peggo card…


they’re kind of cute too…

companions…

23 Wednesday Dec 2015

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it was so beautiful outside this morning…

  
even though it was overcast the snow covering everything made it a wonderland…

love to get shots of the pergola which my beloved built along the neighbour’s garage many years ago… there are often beautiful sculptures there…

  
so pretty…

today both kids left for Ottawa, one flying commercial and the other via a military Christmas flight… we had a wonderful five days together but I am always sad to see them go…

  
heading off to Ottawa…

my BS companions came by tonight for our Christmas celebration… there were snacks, baking and gifts galore… a wonderful evening that certainly helped perk me up after the kids had gone…

  
I find I notice the emptiness after I’ve had company for a while… makes perfect sense, and after a few days it doesn’t feel empty… just normal:-)…

great moments have been made today and will be remembered…

travel…

15 Monday Jun 2015

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was up early, had a hot tub and breakfast…

finished packing my bag…

  
and there seemed to be lots of room left in it… wonder what I forgot!?

taxi to the airport and a short wait before boarding the plane…

  
nice flight…

  
landed in Ottawa, met by my daughter and we took a bendy bus to her house… there are many bendy buses here… at home there are two for the entire city…

  
then we walked to the local strip mall and had a pedicure on our way to pick up groceries for supper…

  
seems like I travelled a lot today using quite a number of modes of transportation, although I didn’t take a boat, lol…

glad to be here safe and sound and have a few days with these kids…

attention…

22 Wednesday Oct 2014

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today’s events in Ottawa are a reminder that we never know what is going to take place…

felt disconnected all day…

need to pay attention to what is going on around me and enjoy each special piece of life that comes along… stop and smell the roses…

got dropped off by the high school and had a good walk home and took the time to enjoy that walk…

IMG_8946.JPGa few leaves are still on some trees and these ones were a lovely colour…

IMG_8948.JPGmany of the trees are dressing as skeletons for Halloween…

IMG_8949.JPGthe sky had been overcast all day and it seemed to mirror my feelings… not long after I got home it started to rain and it has continued for quite a while…

Ottawa Day 7…

31 Sunday Aug 2014

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long night… just after we got into bed at 10:30 pm there was half an hour of fireworks from the Festival and we had a great view from the kids’ apartment… went to sleep to be woken up at 12:30 to a loud and furious storm filled with lightening, rain, and thunder… back to sleep for a couple of hours only to hear “Grandma, my stomach hurts”… after about half an hour went back to sleep… had to be shaken at 4:30 when the alarm went off…

headed over to Gatineau one more time to try and get our balloon ride…

this time they didn’t even have us sign the form because the ceiling was low and rain was expected… so we sat around till it was almost light, and took our picture in front of another balloon trailor…

IMG_7788.JPGtook a taxi to ByWard Market where we had a lovely breakfast and checked out some of the Farmers’ Market, as the boys slept at the apartment…

IMG_7772.JPGonce we got home we decided to take a tour of Ottawa on the Lady Dive, an amphibious bus…

IMG_7775.JPGhome for a nap and did some laundry while the boys played racket ball… they headed off to a movie and we took another taxi to Gatineau…

we waited for about half an hour and once again it was a no go, sigh…

IMG_7786.JPGjust made it into a taxi when the heavens opened and the rain came pouring down…

IMG_7773.JPGwe were treated to a stunning rainbow with very bright colours… even the violet was visible…

tomorrow morning is our last opportunity for a flight as we leave Ottawa in the late afternoon…

we will see…

Ottawa Day 6…

30 Saturday Aug 2014

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well, the day did not turn out as hoped… we took a taxi at 4:45 am to the Festival Montgolfier de Gatineau, across the river… we got lost a few times but eventually arrived at the Hot Air Balloon site where we waited in the dark for a long time in a long line… we filled out forms and sat and waited for our flight… eventually, the sun rose and the sky was beautiful…

IMG_7714.JPGsadly this is as close as we got to the balloons…

IMG_7715.JPGit was too windy… we took a taxi home, slept for a bit and after lunch we all went back to the fair and spent some time on rides and playing games…

IMG_7717.JPG

IMG_7719.JPGwe shared some wonderful potatoes and then we went and waited for the evening balloon ride…

IMG_7720.JPGonce again, this is how close we got to the balloon, still too windy…

IMG_7716.JPGwe took a bus to the Museum of Civilization where we thought we would get another bus across the bridge to Ottawa and home… unfortunately that bus didn’t run in the evening, so we walked across the bridge and I got a nice shot of the Museum…

IMG_7721.JPGso, please send us nice weather vibes so we might get up in a balloon over the next couple of days, although the weather says it is going to rain tomorrow:-(… there are still three chances and then we head for home…