Tag Archives: special

end…

08 Saturday Dec 2018

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since 1993 I’ve been meeting with a group of women regularly (nearly monthly) to discuss all kinds of things from religion, to spirituality, to politics, to healthcare, to family life… we’d have supper, check-in with one another, and then spend some time focussed on a topic of interest…

the size and membership of the group has changed over the years but there are a few who were there from the very beginning…

today we met to possibly end our gatherings… we had a wonderful lunch of chicken souvlaki, lemon potatoes, Greek salad and fresh buns… one of the meals we have enjoyed many times over the years…

we’ve met in one another’s homes, made food from scratch, brought food in from fancy shops, and ordered meals… it has always been about being together, more than what we were eating, lol… although we do love to eat;-)…

it was lovely to have the conversation about how important the group has been to everyone…

we’ve decided to continue to meet on a less regular basis, either around the equinox/solstice or a few times a year…

happy to know we will still gather as these are very special people to me… you don’t find women like this just anywhere…

parcel…

24 Saturday Nov 2018

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a parcel arrived for me at the office on Wednesday…

my daughter had advised that she had ordered a Chocolate Lab Advent calendar for me but I wasn’t sure when it would arrive…

opened it up and discovered inside the lovely box filled with beautiful chocolate bonbons…

because I was planning to stop for a haircut on my way home that night, I decided not to take it home with me, as I didn’t want the chocolates to freeze…

one thing I’ve learned from my daughter is that you have to be careful of chocolate, not let it get too hot or too cold so that it’s at its best… left it on my desk all day Thursday but brought it home that night… put it on top of the fish tank where it looks quite lovely…

looking forward to opening it on December 1 and checking out the first drawer to taste the delicious bonbon inside… I sure am lucky…

hopefulness…

15 Friday Jun 2018

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always amazes me how some of the best photos happen…

I’ve been trying to get a great shot of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights for ages… when I am near it, I am either driving, in a car and going too quickly, or else something just isn’t right when I am walking in the area…

I have taken many photos of the building but nothing particularly good…

last night I was the passenger in a car as we went past and took a number of shots… cars and people kept interrupting a good shot, but when I checked my photos I found this great one…

I think the threatening sky had something to do with it…

the lighting in the Museum helped too…

earlier I had taken a very quick shot of an orchid that I walked past…

it came out nicely as well…

I often see a dove in close ups of orchids and they always remind me of hopefulness and my beloved…

kind of fun to have good shots of CMHR and an orchid taken so close together… both of which are such signs of hope…

a memorable photo day;-)…

purple…

23 Saturday Sep 2017

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purple was top of mind all day yesterday…

spotted a number of purple things during my walk in the Gardens… as well as my little buddy, who had a lovely purple top and socks, lol…

after lunch with my friend and her sweetie I headed out to get my hair purpled… I noticed there is a lot of purple in my hairdresser’s studio as I took a last shot of the before, lol…

it hasn’t had any purple in it since before I went away, and a number of people have pointed it out, so I am very happy to have it done…

then it was off to watch some volleyball… apparently last year at the same time I was at the same tournament… the school has lots of purple in the halls, which is fun…

the boys played well and my grandson did a particularly great job with his serves… he is graduating this year, so likely we won’t be attending this tournament again… and I finally figured out how to get there, lol…

happy to be able to participate in special times, whether with friends or family…

seeing…

25 Friday Aug 2017

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started my day with flowers in the garden…

very few purple morning glories today… for whatever reason the flowers are much more pastel these days…

I ended the day with this shot of my bouquet in the bedroom…

the sun was coming through the window and highlighting some of the daisies and the hydrangeas from the garden…

so happy when I get to spend a few moments seeing the beauty around me…

hope your day had a special moment or two…

lunch…

11 Tuesday Jul 2017

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took a drive outside the city for lunch today…

landed at the Summit Cafe in Stony Mountain…

cute little place with a penny covered floor…

we were the first to arrive and they had set up a table for 12… gave us a bit of extra time with the menu…

I chose the Spicy Shrimp Grilled Cheese…

oh my, it was delicious… had half of it and brought the remainder home for dinner tomorrow…

got a  great shot of the group…

wonderful day with some really special people…

dad…

11 Sunday Jun 2017

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been thinking of my dad a lot lately…

he died nearly thirty years ago… he lived with emphysema from the time I was a teenager…

he did as much as he could, but spent the weekends recovering from the week and trying to build up the energy to make it through the next week…

when I turned sixteen, he and I bought a new car together and I began driving him to and from work every day… which also meant that I got to drive to school each day;-)…

he loved sports and we often attended athletic events at the arena and watched whatever sport might be on tv… 

he was the person who taught me to appreciate each person or team’s efforts and applaud everyone’s performance, whether they were the one you were rooting for or not…

to this day I do the same…

he started me on my love of office supplies… when I was young I would occasionally spend a weekend morning with him at work and organize his desk, lol… 

he spent a good portion of his working life helping people figure out what type of work they would be best at, and he was very good at it…

when my beloved and I were first married, he would go grocery shopping with me and add a roast or some other treat to my bag… at first I felt bad that he did this, until I realized it was something he could still do for us… by that time he couldn’t manage physical things like home repairs any longer… buying us a treat was his way of supporting us…

he was a very special man… my girls were not yet teenagers when he died, much like my grandsons who were so young when my beloved left us… maybe this is why I try to keep memories of George alive so that the boys remember him…

a very rare professionally taken picture of mom and dad…

gusto…

08 Thursday Jun 2017

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wonderful evening…

supper out with my dear friends… we went to Pizzeria Gusto and had a lovely dinner…


shared lobster risotto and roasted brussel sprouts… and ended with half of a chocolate tart… delicious…

we enjoy one another’s company and always have things to share…


dinner out was to celebrate one of our birthdays… we have a birthday bag that goes from person to person…

we have used this bag for many years and it has been repaired a few times… but the fun when we pull it out for the next person’s birthday is just wonderful…

the birthday woman wanted to eat on a patio and we thought we’d picked a great spot, but then discovered it didn’t have an actual patio where you could eat, lol…

took numerous emails and texts to work out our plan, but we did…

it was warm but not hot on the patio and, as always when we gather, time flew by and we had lots of fun…

dropped off at home and spotted these irises blooming…

nearly missed them… it was serendipitous that I stepped out onto the deck and walked just far enough to see them… 

a final special moment to end a very special evening…

tub…

29 Saturday Apr 2017

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nine years ago today the hot tub arrived and sat in the garage…

took another few weeks before it made it to its home on a new deck beside the house…

actually got to sit in it on Mother’s Day that year…


it is a special reminder of the previous ten years of work… they were quite amazing… 

started the job on a contract to get the space set up as the organization had moved from Toronto… there  were boxes everywhere…  the whole place needed to be set up… from there I worked up to the office administrator and consulted with the students regarding finances and bursaries… the team grew and was quite wonderful… 

was always happy to welcome people to our space and enjoyed working with the governing body from across the country… remembering all the things I learned about conference calling and how over those years the systems improved… I have always loved working with technology and certainly had lots of opportunities to do that…

grew as a person during those years as well… we had 360 degree performance reviews which involved input from all of the people I interacted with… from my colleagues, to the students, to the council and committee members, to the suppliers and people who rented space in the building…

the staff team also met in pairs to encourage and challenge one another… sometimes it was very hard to hear where I needed to improve, but, in the end, very beneficial…

I really have been blessed in my work life… 

was talking with someone a few days ago and mentioned how I didn’t go back to work until my girls were in high school and so I anticipate being on the job for a few more years as I had all that time at home when they were young… what a gift that was…

the hot tub reminds me of special times with special people…

lovely…

18 Wednesday Jan 2017

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just yesterday I was heading to the office after an appointment and was enjoying the absolutely beautiful sky… it was a gorgeous blue and had some lovely clouds which were pink from the morning sunlight…

of course I didn’t get a picture but enjoyed every moment as I drove toward downtown…

did get this shot of my scarf as I was sitting in the waiting room…

love this dragonfly…

later in the day as I was driving home another beautiful sky was visible… for many nights recently I have been going home in the dark so it was quite a moment to see a second lovely sky… and again I enjoyed it even without photos, lol…

I do miss riding with my buddies which gave me ample opportunities to take pictures…

also enjoyed the sweet view of my bedroom as I got ready for bed…

those special moments make the day;-)…