Tag Archives: pond

soccer…

04 Saturday Jun 2016

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spent some time in the garden this morning pulling a few weeds… 

trying to decide if this is really purple coneflower or a very big weed…

was picked up just after eleven and proceeded to watch four soccer games… 3 in Headingley and 1 in North Kildonan…

got to see all three boys play which was great fun…

started at Blumberg with the oldest… saw about half of his first game before having to leave for the next game… it was overcast and a bit windy… also fitted in some baby snuggles at this game with a young friend’s little one…


then the youngest, his daddy and I drove across town to his second game of the day at Anderson Park in North Kildonan… it rained for about ten minutes as his game began, but then cleared up…

got this great shot when he scored a goal… he is number 8…


the rest of the family turned up when the other game was finished… 

then the two older boys, their mom and I had a pit stop at their house, checked out their new vegetable gardens, and headed back across town to the second game for the oldest, at Blumberg again…

when that game was over, we moved down a few fields and watched the middle one play his game… he is number 20…


they are all good players and it was a great opportunity for me to see them all play… 

the sun came out and it was rather warm for these last two games…

when the games were all over we went out for Chinese food to celebrate…


the little boys even tried the consume and liked it…

arrived home about 9:15… the boys had a hot tub and my daughter mowed the front yard…

played with the pond a bit, maybe saw one of the tadpole/frogs, and they headed for home…

after a very busy day I am going to bed…

water…

25 Wednesday May 2016

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it has been raining since around four this afternoon so I decided to write about a more positive view of water for me, lol…

I love water… rain, not so much… don’t like to get my face wet…

early yesterday I spent a few minutes in the garden…

enjoyed the reflection of the solar lights in the pond…


the waterfall looks so lovely and watching and listening to it makes me happy…


last evening I went to aquasize with my friend… 

at one point water splashed up onto my face and into my ear… yuck… 

I have come a long way because at one time I would have got out of the pool, dried my face, and not gone back in… 

with those darn big girl pants, I just wiped my face with my hands and carried on… although I did complain about it;-)…

helpers…

21 Saturday May 2016

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spent a good portion of the day in the garden…

finished the plant shopping with my daughter and youngest grandson…

everyone spotted at least a few tadpoles… they move through the water quickly but when sitting still they look like seed husks…

while we were shopping, the oldest helped his younger brother mow the backyard… a bit difficult due to the terrain and the great quantity of furniture in the space, lol…

when they left, the oldest grandson stayed to help me with gardening… 

lots got done… he moved a lot of rocks so they weren’t blocking the path and deck…


it was very hot and he worked hard… he added more stones in the pond as well as making sure that the two plant additions won’t move from their new spots… 

he evened out the gravel in the floating basket so it stays level and made sure all of the water hyacinth were right side up…  


dug out dandelions and planted two empty pots so that we can change the plants going into them…


still lots to do but he made a big dent in the list…

I filled pots and baskets and watered everything… still have planting to do tomorrow but for now am enjoying the tidy space… all those disorganized rocks and stones were making me a bit crazy…


really appreciated all of their help…

choices…

20 Friday May 2016

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what a glorious day… up and out early for tests, and then to the Park for a walk around the Gardens, both of which were open… 


the newly paved walkways are much easier to maneuver…

breakfast at the Park Cafe, followed by another short walk where I spotted some goslings…


was pleasantly surprised with how relaxed I was as I ate on my own… those big girl pants get easier to wear nearly every day…

home, set out the cushions in the garden and had a lovely cup of tea…

my daughter picked me up and we had some plant therapy… 


a lot of it actually… we made a few trips to drop stuff off, lol…

while waiting for her to arrive I took this shot of the front yard, covered in dandelions…


before she left she mowed it… yay, looks way better now…

sat out and read for a while, then filled the planters that circle the deck with alyssum and campanula… slight departure from the usual choices, but looks good…


the last few years the trailing lobelia has not done well in this location, so we will see…

had leftover sushi for my dinner and cleaned up from the planting…

it has cooled off a bit, but I am cozy under a light blanket enjoying a book… 

earlier I spotted tadpoles in the pond and got this shot of one a few minutes ago…


wonder how many frogs there are going to be!!!

evaporation…

17 Tuesday May 2016

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tonight I found some tadpoles in the pond after I finished filling it up…


very exciting because we were worried that they had just vanished… guess the fish will be staying in the condo a bit longer as we wait for frogs to be big enough not to be eaten by them, lol…

took nearly an hour to fill the pond up, which shows how low it was…


I’m starting to think that maybe it really is evaporation and the wide waterfall that is leading to the water loss…

tonight as I was working around the garden I was missing my beloved a great deal…


maybe it is Spring, not sure really… continue to feel lonely these days…

walked a few blocks on my way home and came across these lilacs which are just starting to open… brought back memories of our oldest daughter’s wedding… she loves lilacs…


looking forward to the delicious smell in the next week or so, as there are a number of lilac bushes close by…

a beautiful day with a few opportunities to spend time outside… hoping that the warmer weather stays around…

it has been so cold that I turned the heat back on in the bathroom floor…


not going to turn it off for a while…

dumplings…

08 Sunday May 2016

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up early and had a hot tub… a red squirrel came to the feeder as well as this cute little sparrow…

 

went to Rona and got $56 back from when I bought the power washer, as it had gone on sale… woo hoo…

so then I picked up a gardenia standard and three mini roses, lol…


think all of these will go into the planter at the front door… once the risk of frost is over…

saw this Canada goose as I was leaving Rona…


headed downtown to meet the kids, my sister-in-law, and two nephews for dimsum… great meal and visit…

once home, put out the cushions, had a nap and sat out in the garden… looking forward to finishing the pond remodel now that we have all of the needed rocks…


sunny and warm, with very little wind…

had a few phones calls with my Ottawa kids and made chicken and dumplings for dinner… got the dumpling recipe right this time but not sure how I feel about the whole wheat flour… may go back to white flour and just not have as many… no point making them if they don’t taste good… using almond milk instead of 2% but that doesn’t seem to affect the taste…

was a bit odd not to have supper with the kids but soccer has put Sunday dinner on hold for the next while…

hot…

05 Thursday May 2016

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just spent half an hour sitting on the deck reading… while I was there the delicious scent of the the apricot tree down the lane kept wafting over me… some years it has barely any, but this year it is filled with blooms…

  
the temperature at 8 pm was 30 Celsius…

  
crazy hot day… 

went for a walk around 2 and took this shot of one section of the pond by the Millennium Library …

  
was hoping there might be some ducks, but not so far…

happily my knee is feeling a bit better…

going to be hot for sleeping…

gardens…

01 Sunday May 2016

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always great fun to turn my beautiful Chihuly calendar from one month to the next…

  

these orbs make me very happy… remind me of the lovely purple ones that the kids gave me for Mother’s Day…

  

still have to put a bit of water in them and then silicone the small hole in each one so they will float… also think I might join the three of them together with some fishing line through the silicone…

had a decadent lunch… hard to believe that a chicken sandwich on flax bread with chips and a salad is decadent, lol… 

bread is really one of the most problematic foods for me… makes my sugar levels go up all of the next day so I have to be very careful how much of it I eat…

  
when I was shopping today the bread really jumped out… my favourite technique is to buy bread, have some, and then feed the rest to the kids when they come for dinner or take it to work the next day… that way I can have the treat but not overdo… the last few days have been quiet as I saw the kids and had dinner with them on Friday… bread’s going to work tomorrow, lol…

have been watching the information about the new Chihuly opening at the Atlanta Botanical Garden… today I came across a great article in Houzz showing pictures of a number of the installations… sure looks awesome…

  
my new frog friend is very talkative… there is a lot of noise coming from the pond area… not sure if there are more there, or whether it can throw its voice…

restful time in the garden…

  
loving the beautiful weather…

rocks…

29 Friday Apr 2016

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what a wonderful day…

met up with my son-in-law and we went in search of rocks for the pond…

we found some river stone for the bottom of the pond and eventually some nice sized fieldstone for around the perimeter as I haven’t felt the flat slate edge worked well…  
 

we also picked up a power washer…

   

came home and someone played with it for quite a while…

 

had lunch on the deck, put together the hammock, enjoyed looking at my new hibiscus, and headed out for more fun…
  

found a rain barrel on sale, some dahlias and three air plants…

  

very happy with the barrel as the garbage can I’d been using sprang a leak at the end of last year… this one is very fancy and can hold plants in the top…

picked up the boys from school and on our way back here, stopped for soft ice cream and found purple gazing balls – 3 different sizes which I think will float in the pond… and the kids bought them for me for Mother’s Day;-)… 

  

this was my first ice cream of the year… woo hoo… ordered Chinese food and while we were waiting for it to arrive, work began on cleaning and re-rocking the pond… 

  
finished filling the pond after they left and got the waterfall going… it sounds wonderful…

great to spend time in the garden… even got to sit out in the chairs for a bit…

bills…

28 Thursday Apr 2016

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seems like there have been a lot of bills that need to be paid lately…

one from the accounting folk who did my taxes… a big one for the taxes… thought we had it figured out and had the right amount being withheld to cover the taxes… not so much… maybe next year…

got my credit card statement and was surprised a bit by how much the exchange turned out to be on purchases in New York… 

spoke with the new cleaning people today and the good news is that I shouldn’t have to give them any more money until August… looking forward to seeing how the house will look when they are done…

have also had the other type of bills – money…

still have some American cash… haven’t quite decided what to do with it… maybe I should plan another trip over the border, lol…

always have some money in my purse because I don’t want to be caught without any cash on me if I need it…

received a postcard with Monet water lilies on it which we stood and admired in MoMA… 

  
I love water lilies… looking forward to seeing some in the pond this summer…