09 Thursday Aug 2018
Posted in family, food, health, life, loss, nature, Photography, technology, travel, Uncategorized
been a long day, but we have finally arrived at our campsite… my son-in-law and youngest grandson came early and set the camper and everything up…
what a treat to arrive to all the hard work already done…
it is dark so we haven’t really had a good sense of what the space looks like but tomorrow we will explore…
happy holidays…
07 Tuesday Aug 2018
Posted in family, food, health, life, loss, nature, Photography, technology, Uncategorized
a couple of weeks ago I was scheduled to have lunch with a friend…
this person always arrives early wherever we are going to meet…
usually I email the night before or early the day of, but this time I didn’t…
I made it to the restaurant and my friend wasn’t there… I waited about half an hour, ordered takeout and headed back to the office…
sent an email just wanting to be sure they were okay…
later that evening I received a message that they had just not realized what day it was, lol… something about retirement and not checking calendars… so happy that they were fine…
when I arrived back at the office this morning, after being off for a week, I discovered this lovely package…
it was a sorry I missed lunch gift… so not necessary, but what a lovely treat…
it is often chilly in the office so this pashmina will be a lovely way to stay warm on those cool days…
and, it fits into my office decorating scheme perfectly;-)…
I truly am blessed…
29 Sunday Jul 2018
Posted in family, food, health, life, loss, nature, Photography, technology, travel, Uncategorized
Tags
Assiniboine Park, big girl pants, blessed, breakfast, duck, family, Friday, garden, pond, treat, visit, walk, widow
Friday morning got to spend time with my sister-in-law who was in from Calgary for the weekend…
picked her up at the airport and headed over to the Park Cafe for breakfast and a wander around the Duck Pond and Gardens…
was able to see the new island in the Duck Pond… it will filter the water in the pond and help with algae control… looks really neat… a duck or two came up to us as we were admiring the pond…
had a wonderful visit as we checked out the Gardens… got a fun shot of three wheelbarrows lined up as a crew of gardeners were weeding a bed at the entrance to the Leo Mol Garden…
haven’t seen my sister-in-law for ages so it was a real treat to spend time with her… she was married to my brother and when they divorced we kept her and let him go;-)…
27 Friday Jul 2018
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Tags
big girl pants, feet, gentle, nails, purple, Total Wrapture, treat, vacation, widow
gave myself a lovely treat as I start this ten day vacation…
went for a pedicure at Total Wrapture and was looked after by Shauna who was so gentle as she worked on me…
I have sensitive feet and she was ever so careful as she went through the process of getting them ready for the colour…
I sometimes get ingrown toenails and she put a tiny piece of cotton under the nail which will help keep that from happening again… sure hope it works…
17 Tuesday Jul 2018
Posted in family, food, health, life, loss, nature, Photography, technology, Uncategorized
Tags
big girl pants, cement, family, flowers, garden, happy, mandevilla, moments, pictures, purple, supper, treat, water, widow
started my day watering planters on the deck and getting a shot of the second mandevilla flower…
from there it was off to work, where my colleague replaced the seat on my office chair… so happy and comfortable;-)…
at lunch workers were putting down cement on the Millennium Library ramp and I so wanted to put my footprints into it…
but, I didn’t…
ended the day with the most delicious dinner… summer in a bowl… new potatoes from the local grocery store, with small beets and purple beans from my daughter’s garden… what a wonderful treat… that first meal of fresh vegetables is always memorable… no meat required…
17 Sunday Jun 2018
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Tags
big girl pants, blessed, dad, family, Father's Day, flowers, garden, lessons, memories, moments, treat, welcome, widow
spent some time this morning thinking about my dad…
he really raised us as mother and father as my mom spent so much time in hospital during my early years…
he would have loved the garden and did get to sit on the main deck a few times… his dad was a master gardener, but I don’t remember dad doing much in the garden, but he loved seeing beautiful well tended flower beds…
he always welcomed others into our home and we often had people staying with us as they were going through difficult times…
he was a great cook… I can remember one night when he was draining the spaghetti over a sink full of dishwater and the strainer fell into the water… he picked it up, rinsed the spaghetti off and continued with the meal prep… we couldn’t afford to throw it out… it was served with his famous meatballs and homemade sauce… one of our guests went on and on about it being the best he’d ever had… Dad and I laughed about that for years…
he always had candy in his pockets… maybe that’s why I always have candy on my desk, and chocolate inside it, lol…
he loved athletics and we went to events whenever we could manage… he cheered for everyone and taught me that a good job deserved praise… it didn’t matter if it was your team or the other team…
he looked forward to parades and we sat on the curb at Portage and Strathcona for every single one that went by…
in his later years he would take me grocery shopping for my family and would treat us to a lovely roast or steak… took me a while to accept without protesting… I realized that he was no longer able to do physical things to help us due to his health, but he could treat us to groceries…
he taught me to be kind, treat everyone equally, work hard, and do my best…
thanks Dad…
19 Saturday May 2018
Posted in family, food, health, life, loss, nature, Photography, technology, Uncategorized
Tags
big girl pants, chocolate, coleslaw, elder, mother-in-law, mug, nap, reading, recipe, Tea, treat, wedding, widow
set the alarm for 4 this morning to watch the Royal Wedding…
got some shortbread cookies from the freezer, almonds and Morden’s dark chocolate wafers… made tea and had it in a mug that had a bunch of birds perched on a branch, looking at something… lovely little treat as I watched…
had a nap later in the day and then spent some time reading in the sunshine…
baked some chicken, mashed cauliflower and coleslaw… it was very tasty…
reminded me of my mother-in-law who made delicious coleslaw, and a lovely elder who taught me to make coleslaw for large groups… I still use the recipe that has to be divided by four to make a reasonable amount for a family, lol…
13 Sunday May 2018
Posted in family, food, health, life, loss, nature, Photography, technology, Uncategorized
Tags
big girl pants, breakfast, cushion, datura, daughter, family, fiddle diddle, hot tub, Mother's Day, photos, plants, restaurant, stepped, treat, widow
had a lovely Mother’s Day…
was up early, as usual, lol, and went out to have a hot tub… spent a little while sorting out how to get a shot of me in the tub… it has been nine years since I stepped into this hot tub for the first time, on Mother’s Day in 2009… what fun to figure out how to get the shot…
met up with my daughter and family for breakfast out… usually we would have supper at home, but the younger boys have soccer practice at 6… there was a long line as we waited but the salmon benedict I ordered was delicious… it has a spinach sauce and is served on a scone, yum…
at the end of the meal she and I received a chocolate treat… when I ate it a little while ago it reminded me of a fiddle diddle cookie my friend Lisa makes… delicious…
had a text and call from my older daughter while I was waiting to be picked up after breakfast…
then my son-in-law took us moms to a number of plant stores where we wandered around and picked up a few goodies…
I was particularly happy to find a purple datura and a pretty dahlia… my plan is to leave the plants on the dining room table for a few weeks rather than put them out and bring them in, depending on the weather…
besides the plants, I got a pretty outdoor cushion, a blue-y purple pot, and purple morning glory seeds…
had planned to make roast chicken with stuffing for my dinner, but after all that running around, decided that ordering in would be a nice treat, lol…
and it was;-)…
29 Sunday Apr 2018
Posted in family, food, health, life, loss, nature, Photography, technology, Uncategorized
Tags
big girl pants, BS, concert, Connie Kaldor, friends, fun, hilarious, talent, treat, widow
last night I went to a concert with my BS buddies… can’t even think when I was last at one… it was fun to spend time out with these wonderful women… we also shared a bit of chocolate, lol…
it was amazing to see the variety of talent in this family… besides being a great singer, Connie Kaldor is also hilarious…
and Heather Bishop joined in for the last song…
what a treat…
15 Sunday Apr 2018
Posted in family, food, health, life, loss, nature, Photography, technology, Uncategorized
Tags
big girl pants, bird feeder, dinner, flowers, garden, grandsons, hot tub, knee, moments, slippers, treat, widow
so very happy this morning when I was able to step into my slippers without thinking… for days I’ve had to lean on something and concentrate on my knee as I would slide my foot into the slipper…
while grocery shopping I treated myself to some flowers to celebrate my birthday week;-)…
didn’t arrange them that well, but might take some to the office and ask a friend to make them more beautiful… and tomorrow night I will ask another friend to do something with the ones I leave at home…
to top the day off, my grandsons came for dinner and helped with a few jobs around the house, including filling and hanging the feeder in the garden…
if the hot tub ever gets to temperature I will be able to watch the birds, lol…
and after the busyness of the day, my knee is feeling good… yay…
