10 Tuesday Jul 2018
Posted in family, food, health, life, loss, nature, Photography, technology, Uncategorized
Tags
big girl pants, boost, computer, cyclamen, flower power, flowers, garden, moments, offset, orchids, pond, violets, widow
such a boost today… flowers everywhere I was…
quick peek at the pond and as I backed out of the driveway the sky cleared and the flowers in the front garden all smiled at me…
at the office, there were violets, two different orchids and cyclamen…
all that flower power certainly helped offset the occasional computer difficulty that I came across throughout the day…
29 Friday Jun 2018
Posted in family, food, health, life, loss, nature, Photography, technology, Uncategorized
Tags
blessed, ducklings, English Garden, family, flowers, garden, grandsons, groceries, mallard, nap, pond, tacos, vacation, WWTB day 1
week with the boys…
my daughter, son-in-law and oldest grandson have taken off on a two week trip to the East Coast to celebrate his graduation… so my younger grandsons are spending a week with me and then a week with an uncle and aunt…
this morning we drove to the Park, where we met a friend, for breakfast and a walk around the Gardens…
we checked out our stones when we arrived… just to be sure they were still there, lol…
we had a great time in the Gardens and spent ages at the tropical lily pond watching a momma mallard and her four babies…
we also found a few critters…
we went and picked up groceries for the week and when we got home spotted a goldfinch at the feeder… when I called them to come quick, not saying why, one said to the other I wonder what kind of bird it is, lol… they do know their grandma…
the x-box came to visit too, and got well used during the hottest part of the day, while I may have napped…
a trip to the Dollar Store, Safeway and then we returned home…
fun with the football we picked up, taco supper, and now some time in the garden…
we did FaceTime with mommy and watched daddy work on a campfire…
they are off to play some badminton… then, maybe a movie, or early to bed, lol…
at least one of us is tired…
26 Tuesday Jun 2018
Posted in family, food, health, life, loss, nature, Photography, technology, Uncategorized
Tags
big girl pants, blessed, datura, flowers, garden, milk, moments, plants, pond, sound, watered, waterfall, widow
this morning I watered the baskets in the front flower bed by hand…
I could have used the hose but decided to use a jug and walk back and forth from the kitchen sink…
purpose was twofold… be sure each planter got enough water… and get some steps in…
then I watered a few plants on the deck, adding some leftover milk, which, according to the internet, provides additional nutrients and means I don’t have to toss out the sour milk…
once that was done, I spent about fifteen minutes in the garden enjoying the peace and soaking up the sound of the waterfall…
the datura looked lovely as I sat in the lounger… a special moment…
10 Sunday Jun 2018
Posted in family, food, health, life, loss, nature, Photography, technology, Uncategorized
Tags
big girl pants, bushes, butterfly bush, flowers, garden, hot tub, planting, pond, reading, resting, sunrise, weeding, widow
spent the day in the garden… was up early with a quiet hot tub as the sun rose…
did quite a bit of weeding in amongst watering, reading and resting… took a number of photos along the way… always nice at the end of the day to remember what it looked like at the beginning;-)…
planted some butterfly bushes although they don’t really look very lively and potted up the last of the plants I’d bought recently… I was very happy when I came across the bushes because they are difficult to find as they are annuals here, not perennials, which is what the packaging always says…
had all three meals in the garden with a short nap in the house…
enjoyed the time out there, even the weeding…
06 Wednesday Jun 2018
Posted in family, food, health, life, loss, nature, Photography, technology, Uncategorized
so happy this morning as I was able to top up the pond easily…
over the winter the connection at the wall had broken so that only one hose could be hooked up instead of the two I need…
this meant that every time the pond needed water I had to drag out the hose to fill it and then drag it back to put it away… which usually ended up with my hands black from the hose and smelling like rubber…
looked for quite a while to find a replacement and eventually found one last week… on Sunday my grandson was over and hooked it up for me…
excited when I arrived home tonight and found the fish out and about in the pond…
happy they are finally more comfortable and connecting to the space…
30 Wednesday May 2018
Posted in family, food, health, life, loss, nature, Photography, technology, Uncategorized
Tags
bag, big girl pants, electricity, GFI, pond, rain, storm, widow
late yesterday afternoon it poured in St. James… apparently not necessarily in other parts of the city…
it was coming down so hard when I arrived home that I put a large IKEA bag that I found in the garage, over my head…
I took a video of the downpour but it wouldn’t upload…
the pond filled to overflowing and then the pumps stopped… there was so much rain that it tripped the GFI… once the weather improved I went out and pulled the plug out, reset the button and plugged the cord back in… happily the pump started and the waterfall began running… and I wasn’t electrocuted… I texted my son-in-law to say I was still alive and he laughed… hmmmmm…
same thing when I got home tonight… poured like crazy for an hour or so in the late afternoon… we need the rain, but I would like it to rain during the night…
was going to wait till the morning to get it turned back on, but just ran out and got it going again..
26 Saturday May 2018
Posted in family, food, health, life, loss, nature, Photography, technology, Uncategorized
Tags
arranged, big girl pants, garden, Grandpa, grandson, hot tub, mowed, planted, pond, talk, widow, worked
well, what a busy day… woke up at 4:20 am and went out for a very early morning hot tub… the sky was already getting lighter so I could barely see the last of the stars…
when I woke at 7:25 I went out and set up the cushions on the chairs and loungers, had a smoothie and tea… beautiful morning… arranged for my middle grandson to come and help me in the garden and then spoke with my Ottawa daughter, who was in Kingston…
the kids arrived and we went to the “A” for breakfast… then my grandson and I walked around Bruce Park to catch a few Pokémon and headed home…
we worked in the garden for the rest of the day with sitting and water breaks as well as a quick trip to pick up subs for lunch… we drove, even though it is only a few blocks away, because we were both hot and tired, lol…
often when we are together we share stories about Grandpa… today we remembered how he could be a bit scary when he lost his temper, how he liked to keep busy in the garden, would pull weeds and toss them on the ground and have to go back to pick them up and put them in the yard waste bags… that is the preferred method for my grandson as well, lol… we also talked about how long we have lived in this house and some of the fun times we’ve had… we shared things that make us nervous and traits that we both have…
we spotted a chipping sparrow having a bath and earlier I had seen a small frog hopping in and out of the pond…
the garden is taking shape… we cleaned out one flower bed, filled fourteen planters, mowed the front and back, brought out the hibiscus and put everything we had used away… whew…
by the end we were both hot and exhausted but had a blast together;-)…
he was picked up by my son-in-law who fixed one of the pumps while he was here… once they left I sat and read for a while…
going to have a hot tub soon and maybe head to bed early…
23 Wednesday May 2018
Posted in family, food, health, life, loss, nature, Photography, technology, Uncategorized
been spending a bit of time each morning reading before heading off to work…
this morning, instead of reading I was in the garden, topping up the pond… clearly it has been hot and the water has been evaporating…
it was lovely to spend the early morning outdoors listening to birdsong and running water…
of course, the hope is that I won’t have to do this too often, lol…
22 Tuesday May 2018
Posted in family, food, health, life, loss, nature, Photography, technology, travel, Uncategorized
I was so excited yesterday when the sound of the waterfall filled the garden…
the kids came over and did a number of jobs around the house and garden… I had made a list for each person of what needed to be done and the items were checked off one by one…
my son-in-law dealt with the pond… he did have a bit of help from the younger boys as they helped clean out the leaves…
the pond was up and running before supper… after supper the fish moved from their winter condo to their summer home… they are really big now although for a while they will be hiding as they get reacquainted with the space…
tonight all the windows are open and I can hear the sound of running water…
09 Monday Oct 2017
Posted in family, food, health, life, loss, nature, Photography, technology, travel, Uncategorized
Tags
appreciate, big girl pants, colour, dinner, family, fish, memories, Mexico, pond, pumpkins, thanksgiving, time, vacation, weather, widow
what a lovely day… kids arrived and we decided to head out to get a few pumpkins… on our way we FaceTimed with the kids in Ottawa… good to see them and share Thanksgiving greetings…
we’ve been trying to get to Schwabe Pumpkins for a few weeks… it was chilly and rain came down a few times while we were there, but fun, and we really enjoyed the colours as we drove there and back…
when we got home the boys caught the fish, cleaned and got the aquarium going, and moved the fish into their condo…
the youngest two reorganized the sea shells as we talked about the fun we had in Mexico in March…
dinner was delicious and cleanup was quick with all the help… leftovers for here and there were packed up and they headed home…
I certainly appreciated having their company for the day… now to bed…
herbiggirlpants 