24 Monday Jun 2024
Posted in family, health, life, moments, nature, retirement, technology, travel, Uncategorized, weather
Tags
big girl pants, birds, blessed, cottage, family, helpful, Merlin Sound App, moments, nature, Technology, vireos, weather, widow
I used Merlin a great deal at the cottage…
I found that when the Sound ID told me which birds were around it made it easier to help spot them as I knew what they should look like…
the vireos and yellow warblers were with us all the time;-)…
we also spotted pelicans, seagulls, eagles, and hummingbirds…
such fun…
18 Tuesday Jun 2024
Posted in family, garden, life, moments, nature, Photography, retirement, technology, Uncategorized
Tags
big girl pants, blessed, columbine, family, flowers, garden, moments, nature, phone camera, plants, purple, Technology, trick, widow
the other day my daughter taught me a great trick for photographing flowers that haven’t turned up… this was her before photo…
as she was taking the picture she put the camera on reverse and set it below the flower…
what a great idea… here is one I took…
how cool is that…
17 Monday Jun 2024
Posted in family, food, health, life, moments, nature, retirement, travel, Uncategorized, weather
Tags
Airbnb, big girl pants, blessed, cottage, deck, family, groceries, moments, nature, plants, Technology, treat, unpack, water, widow
well, after grocery shopping and packing up what felt like tons of stuff, we set off on our adventure…
we have returned to the superb Airbnb that we spent a week at last year…
it took about two and a half hours from leaving the house to sitting on the deck with tea and a refresher…
didn’t take very long to unpack the groceries and our personal stuff… then we headed to the upper deck to enjoy the scenery and our drinks…
as I sat there I listened to the waves gently lapping the shore, and heard the warblers, vireos, and sparrows singing in the trees nearby… and we’d already watched a couple of ducks working on their afternoon snacks as a pelican fly by…
what a delightful treat this time together is;-)…
01 Saturday Jun 2024
Posted in garden, health, life, moments, nature, retirement, technology, Uncategorized, weather
Tags
app, big girl pants, birds, blessed, garden, Merlin, moments, nature, pine, pine siskin, pond, sound, Technology, widow
I enjoy spending time in the garden watching the birds that come to the feeders, and the pond, for a drink and maybe a bath, lol…
sometimes I will see a new visitor but can’t quite identify them, but the Merlin sound app often gives me something to compare them with…
yesterday I’d seen a cute little bird, about the size of a chipping sparrow, but didn’t have time to look it up… today I was sitting in the garden with the sound app on and discovered it was a pine siskin…
technology is so cool;-)…
26 Sunday May 2024
Posted in business, garden, life, moments, nature, retirement, technology, Uncategorized, weather
Tags
big girl pants, blessed, cold, flowers, fundraiser, garden, moments, nature, newbie, plants, protecting, sheets, shopping, Technology, towels, weather, widow
Wednesday was a plant pickup from a friend’s church fundraiser…
there was alyssum, lobelia, petunias, and silver falls…
transplanted some in two planters that afternoon, hoping that they wouldn’t have a problem with the 4°C temperature that was expected that night…
in the end I covered all the newbie plants with sheets…
they all made it through the night;-)…
25 Saturday May 2024
Posted in business, garden, life, moments, retirement, technology, Uncategorized, weather
Tags
big girl pants, blessed, clean, empty, fill, garden, hot tub, late, moments, quicker, Technology, water, weather, widow
at 5:30 Tuesday night l started to change the water in the hot tub…
a bit late to start the process, but that was how the day had gone, and it really needed to be done…
turned it off, brought up the pump, connected it to the large hose and within twenty minutes it was almost empty… it is so much quicker with the larger hose…
next I had to climb in and scoop out the last of the water and give it a good wipe down… that part always takes time, usually half an hour or so…
finally, after putting in the new filter, the water started to go in…
forty-five minutes later it was full and ready to be turned back on…
plugged back in and by Thursday morning it was ready for chemicals… it takes about five different ones, which go in one every twenty minutes or so, to get it ready for jumping in;-)…
had a nice time in the hot tub that evening, especially after all the work that had gone on over the last week…
tonight I enjoyed another visit to the tub and although it was overcast, it wasn’t raining or windy, lol… yay…
21 Tuesday May 2024
Posted in business, health, life, moments, retirement, technology, Uncategorized
Tags
big girl pants, blessed, Etsy, mailbox, moments, online, phone case, purple, shopping, strap, Technology, wallet, widow
so excited this morning when the new phone case I ordered awhile ago, via Etsy, arrived in the mailbox…
it has a slightly bigger wallet portion so I was hopeful it would let me add a few additional cards to it…
it came in a lovely black felt envelope which I will be able to use for something else;-)… the colour is a pale mauve and it has a strap so it can be worn like a crossbody bag…
it does have more room for cards which makes me very happy as I no longer carry a purse…
it is a touch thicker, so I am getting used to that, but so far I am very pleased…
although I didn’t think I’d use the strap, I have found it quite handy, lol…
06 Monday May 2024
Posted in business, family, health, life, moments, retirement, technology, Uncategorized
Tags
belt, big girl pants, blessed, dryer, family, grandson, Hameed Appliance Repair, moments, oven, pump, repair, Ron, squished, Technology, washer, widow
last August the dryer had issues and Ron from Hameed Appliance Repair came out and was able to repair it, even though it was very old…
in March, the oven needed a new element and Ron came to our rescue again…
Friday the washer quit, sigh, and I contacted them for an appointment… heard back that they would be here Tuesday morning… once again Ron came, figured out the problem, ordered, picked up, and installed a pump and belt… all within an hour… it was a difficult job as the washer was squished into a very small area… a small box of broken bits and a found sock are all that is left of the process…
I have been very happy with the quick response from the business and the excellent work they have provided;-)…
I must say it feels like I’ve been wearing those big girl pants way too much recently…
01 Wednesday May 2024
Posted in business, garden, life, moments, nature, retirement, technology, Uncategorized, weather
Tags
big girl pants, blessed, chairs, cover, deck, garden, moments, nature, protection, rain, Technology, weather, widow
I’ve really been enjoying having both wicker chairs on the deck… hoping I may be able to put the mandevilla beside the one closest to the north steps, but we will have to see if there is enough room…
last week I ordered a chair cover that protects against rain… only ordered the one to be sure it would fit properly…
it arrived and did fit nicely, although it is hard to tell where the front of it is, lol…
so, the second was ordered and arrived yesterday…
it is going to be great to not have to bring the footstools and cushions into the kitchen every night…
29 Monday Apr 2024
Posted in business, life, moments, retirement, technology, Uncategorized
Tags
big girl pants, blessed, fish, fish tank, headache, loud, moments, pump, rotor, Technology, widow
this little rotor caused a big problem…
for whatever reason, it made the large pump sound like an airplane taking off…
probably it gave the fish headaches, lol…
got the new one in and now it is very quiet and easily starts up once turned back on…
herbiggirlpants 