last year I had a great advent calendar and when it was finished I saved the wooden box it came in…
Canadian Chocoholic made inserts for it and mine came last week… it took me a good portion of an afternoon to construct the paper drawers… lots of folding and bending, lol…
my grandson took the calendar to Decadence Chocolates and Helen filled it with her bonbons…
got it back yesterday and had my first bonbon… yum…
well, today I put running shoes on instead of my sandals…
always a sad day for me as I would be happy to wear sandals all year long, but once it gets cold and I am going to be walking for a while, the shoes come out…
I walked in a different area today and came across maple leaves all over the sidewalk… they are very cute;-)…
in our neighbourhood we don’t see them so it was a treat…
I’ve been thinking about generosity quite a bit lately…
recently a friend treated me to dinner and another one to lunch… such a gift;-)…
when I think of generosity, I think of generosity of spirit, kindness, and sharing the wealth as much as possible…
I think of my dad, who taught me to be kind and treat people nicely… he would have given anyone the shirt off his back…
I remember whenever he or my mom were sick and in hospital, it would be my job to fetch nuts and chocolates from Morden’s to share with the staff… that was something we did to thank individuals and groups for their help…
many years ago a colleague suggested that I did nice things for others to get attention and compliments… they were not able to understand that this generosity habit was part of who I am…
thanking those around me just seems to be ingrained in me…
for many years I would treat colleagues to flowers, chocolate and/or nuts, or something else I made, to celebrate special events… often my anniversaries or birthday… it was always great to see their enjoyment of whatever the treat happened to be…
it also brings much happiness and always reminds me of my dad…
nowadays, I am working toward sharing with others in as many ways as I can…
well, I must say I am tired… but what a delightful day it has been…
got up early and set about preparing for the day… moved 14 bags of mulch, a wheelbarrow and compost can, used the leaf blower to clean the garage floor, set up a table with a tablecloth in case it was too windy to sit outside, put out cushions and rearranged lawn furniture, prepped some fruit and whipped cream… cleaned leaves out of the pond, set out dishes, made coffee and sun tea, wrapped a gift and wrote two cards…
sat and read in the garden for half an hour and then welcomed four of the most wonderful women into the space…
visited, ate some delicious food from Feast Bistro, enjoyed the nature around us, laughed, shared stories and celebrated one another with some delicious options…
nearly lost one umbrella to the gusts of wind, but the weather was quite amazing for early October…
when they left, I finished tidying up and got ready for dinner with another wonderful woman…
when she arrived we had fish and chips (which I love), more stories and laughter… what a great visit…
it is dark now and I just finished a bowl of strawberry shortcake with whipped cream as I sit on the deck (quite comfortable in shorts and a sleeveless shirt) and reminisce about all the great parts of the day…
came across this photo yesterday… it is one of my all time favourites…
it was taken twenty years ago (so it isn’t quite as crisp as I would like) in a rented hot tub in our yard…
for a few years we would rent a hot tub for our anniversary weekend… it was such fun and a wonderful treat… so lucky to now have my own hot tub to use whenever I want;-)…
the lifesaver is so cute and his little face is adorable;-)…
our grandson just loved it then, and he still enjoys using hot tubs…
last night I made coffee, set out cushions on the deck, and watched some Olympics while I waited for my BS friends…
everyone is now two weeks since being double vaxed and we met outdoors… one was away, but everyone else turned up inperson…
it was the first time we’ve been physically together for our Monday evening gatherings in more than eighteen months…
I was pleased that the coffee turned out as it had been a very long time since I’d made any, but apparently the muscle memory was there, lol… and they told me it was good;-)…
we’ve been meeting via Skype each Monday, but it just hasn’t been the same…we’ve also found that we could only meet in that manner for about an hour as it is so much more tiring…
what a treat to be together… we had snacks, laughs and lots of chat…
after everyone left, I took a wander around the garden as the solar lights came on…
herbiggirlpants 