Tag Archives: remembering

pruning…

19 Sunday Apr 2020

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today I spent hours sitting in the living room reading and watching the neighbour across the street working on the lilac bush… this is how it looked a few weeks back…

here is how it looked a few years ago when it was blooming…

yesterday they had surveyors out measuring the edges of the property, so I am assuming they are going to put up a fence… the surveyors had to dig into the bush to set their mark…

this morning I spotted him chopping down a bunch of the branches and wondered if he was removing the whole thing…

eventually I went outside and shared the story of that particular bush… maybe twenty-five years ago we removed a lilac from the backyard… we gave a tiny piece to our neighbour who lived in that house…

I shared how her teenage son would take out his frustrations with a golf club on the little bush… so was amazed that it grew up, lol…

the new neighbour advised that he is putting in a fence along the side, but was just pruning the bush so he could work with it without needing a ladder…

here’s a final shot of how it looks now…

glad it is remaining and looking forward to watching it grow;-)…

deadhead…

30 Monday Mar 2020

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Monday is now plant watering day… used to be Saturday, but this new schedule is working well…

was talking with someone about their friend who, whenever they visited, would walk around and deadhead all the plants in the house…

as I was wandering around the living and dining room this morning I was reminded of my mom and mother-in-law and how they both did that in my house… they were both gardeners and certainly had green thumbs, actually – hands, lol… the plants always seemed happier after they had been over…

I think of my friends who are also amazing with plants… right now I am working on growing an avocado following one of their directions;-)… hope it works…

I also spent a bit of time enjoying the newest blooms…

flowers sure do make me happy…

started…

27 Friday Mar 2020

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at least two weeks ago I started to clean out the kitchen junk drawer…

started, as in I took a bunch of stuff out of it and left all of it on the kitchen counter…

finally, today I finished the job… yay…

some things went into my toolbox in the basement… some went into a box to go upstairs to the computer room… and some went back – neatly – into the drawer…

I even tidied up the next drawer, which mainly has my collection of technology in it…

the counter looks much better as well;-)…

happy to have that done, although apparently I wrote about it before, lol… not sure what happened;-)…

popping…

20 Friday Mar 2020

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after a conversation yesterday I had an urge for popcorn…

I love theatre popcorn a lot and sometimes eat the entire bag before the movie even starts, lol…

I used to have the bags that were nuked, but now I make it in the microwave in a glass measuring cup with a cover and put a tiny bit of oil on it when it is popped…

last night I decided to make some and poured butter on it as a treat…

you have to pay attention when it is cooking… if the popping slows down too much the popcorn burns…

as I was preparing it, I remembered doing an event with my dad at his work… I was maybe twelve… he had arranged for a popcorn cart and we made the popcorn fresh for the guests… it was fun…

great memories…

empowering…

08 Sunday Mar 2020

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I have been so impressed with the responses to International Women’s Day this year…

businesses and individuals have made concerted efforts to share information about the number of women in their organizations or focussed on amazing women they know or work with… watching women lifting up other women is so empowering… there is much to do, but a positive sign as we continue to raise one another up and work toward an equal world…

this has made me think of the women in my life who have been excellent role models, mentors and friends…

the matriarchs in my family: my great grandmother Josephine, my grandmother Violet, my mother Audrey… the women who have lived through life with me: Janice, Naomi, Marlene and Pat… those who I have spent time and learned from and with over twenty-five years as we studied and reimagined the church, religion and spirituality…

my neighbours: Ellen, Lorraine, BA and Lynn… the wide range of women I have worked with over the years who have demonstrated what it means to be a leader… the young women in my life who have taught me so much…

as I was searching for just the right photo I found these three… the first is hands working together… the second is from the Famous Five statue in Ottawa… the last portrays all of those who circle me with their knowledge, support and love…

Happy International Women’s Day…

poppyseed…

04 Wednesday Mar 2020

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was recently enjoying a Sweet Kale salad… I’d picked up a large bag at Costco and had been eating it over a week or so…

it comes with a poppyseed dressing and reminded me of the first time I had poppyseeds…

my beloved and I had announced our engagement and his best friend’s parents invited us over for a special dinner…

the first course was a poppyseed soup… it was the only item I remember from the entire meal… can’t even remember if it was cold or hot, lol…

my taste buds did not enjoy it at all and I can remember struggling to get it down, because in those days, when someone made you something special you ate it, lol…

I don’t think I’ve eaten anything else with poppyseeds in it until this particular salad, which I’ve been eating for a few years and quite enjoy…

bevels…

26 Wednesday Feb 2020

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recently I was checking out the rainbows on the kitchen floor… there has been lots of sun;-)…

thought they were coming through the patio door, but then I figured out they were coming from the back door window which has a number of bevels on it…

brought back memories of our time in Maui where there were rainbows all the time…

one day there were seven different rainbows within about an hour… it was amazing…

I do love rainbows…

grow…

23 Sunday Feb 2020

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had a wonderful lunch out the other day…

arrived at the restaurant early and was very relaxed as I had a glass of water and looked around as I waited for my friend…

usually when I am waiting for someone at a restaurant I focus on my phone, lol… today I didn’t feel the need to do that…

what a difference eight years makes… before my beloved died, I had never been in a restaurant on my own…

I continue to grow as time goes by…

reflecting…

11 Saturday Jan 2020

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had a lovely time while I was still at my daughter’s sorting and taking photos of my Christmas gifts…

I absolutely love my soft purple blanket, and was happy to examine all of the other wonderful treats I received…

a few purple items, lol – socks, facecloths, gloves, tins, toothbrush, reusable sponge, phone holder… and quite a variety of chocolate – pistachio, Lindt, turtles, raspberry (my favourite), chocolate covered sponge… a tea and chocolate pairing that was flavoured with orchids, reusable bags, a Chihuly 2020 calendar, colouring books and pencils, a magazine on gratitude, a hand printed towel… plus a few more I can’t even remember…

yikes, so many gifts… I certainly am blessed…

the sun was shining into the room as I was gathering them for the photo… it was very meditative and I was able to reflect on each gift and the person who gave it to me… and the fun we had as we opened and shared our delight over each parcel…

a wonderful way to extend the joy of Christmas morning…

now that I’m home, I’ve found a spot for each one…

as I use each item I will be sure to spend a moment to remember the giver with gratitude in my heart…

engine…

25 Wednesday Dec 2019

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for the first time ever, I was alone on Christmas morning…

it was odd and I spent some time thinking back to so many Christmas morning celebrations over the years…

there were no stockings to open as the kids had come over on Sunday and had fun opening them then…

part way through the morning, as I was watching a Christmas movie, I heard an engine running so came downstairs to see what was going on…

it was a fire truck and ambulance parked across the street in front of a neighbour’s house… took a while to figure out which house they were at, and the good news is they took someone out who was using oxygen… they didn’t rush off, so that was also good news… I don’t know this particular neighbour and hope they are going to be okay…

did bring back some memories… some of losing my beloved, but others of some of the crazy things that have happened to us over Christmas Eves in the past, lol… from water heaters needing to be replaced, furnaces not producing heat, to sewers backing up… we went through a number of special times, lol…

but, issues would always be resolved by Christmas morning…

here is a photo of our last Christmas season with my beloved…

as I was looking back through my posts I came across this one that was also titled engine, lol… seemed to fit with the theme…

later today I am heading to Ottawa to spend time with my kids there and meet my son-in-law’s mom for the first time…

my grandson will be house sitting while I am gone;-)…

how blessed I have been and continue to be…