19 Thursday Dec 2024
Posted in business, food, life, moments, retirement, Uncategorized
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big girl pants, blessed, Christmas, fish and chips, food, friend, gifts, hugs, lunch, moments, time, treat, widow
had a wonderful lunch date on Tuesday…
a dear friend came by with fish and chips and we had a delightful visit…
it has been a while since we’ve been together and it is always a treat to spend time with her…
we traded gifts and she headed off after some warm hugs;-)…
16 Monday Dec 2024
Posted in food, life, moments, retirement, Uncategorized
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big girl pants, blessed, Christmas, cookies, dinner, food, friends, gift, homemade, moments, tarts, treat, widow
out for a lovely dinner a few days ago and came home with a box of delicious frozen treats…
there were five or six types of cookies and a few butter tarts, one of my favourites;-)…
what a delightful surprise…
now to eat some and share some too;-)…
11 Wednesday Dec 2024
Posted in business, food, life, moments, nature, retirement, Uncategorized, weather
Tags
big girl pants, blessed, Chapters, Christmas, cold, D. A. Niels, friends, Lee Valley, moments, restrained, shopping, shovelling, Sleepy Owl Bread, snow, treat, weather, widow
fun morning… picked up by a friend after shovelling the sidewalk… my fingers were very cold in my gloves when I put the shovel away, and I discovered that it felt like -40°… no wonder I thought it was cold, lol…
we visited a number of spots and I got some goodies;-)…
a nice loaf of rustic sourdough which made a lovely grilled cheese, with onion and pistachios for my lunch…
we visited Chapters where I found a few fun books for some little friends and got the cutest cloth bags to put them in…
then a wander around Lee Valley where I picked up a couple of things, including this 2 tablespoon silicone freezer tray… leftover pesto and tomato sauce went into it after my lunch…
finally we had a great time at D. A. Niels where I saw many things I would like, but restrained from purchasing anything today, lol…
what a fun way to spend the morning;-)…
01 Sunday Dec 2024
Posted in business, family, food, life, moments, retirement, Uncategorized, weather
Tags
Advent calendars, big girl pants, blessed, boxes, daughter, family, magnets, moments, purple, treat, various, widow
going through my Facebook memories on December first is a great reminder of the various Advent Calendars I’ve had over the years…
they started a number of years ago, when I received 24 decorated magnets that went on 2 muffin tins… the items to go into them were provided and a colleague filled them;-)…
since then I have received fancy chocolate calendars, a repurposed frame with purple inserts that my daughter made, and individual boxes that have been refilled numerous times…
I’ve also received handmade cards with daily readings…
this year a Walker’s Shortbread calendar was delivered;-)…
I am blessed…
21 Thursday Nov 2024
Posted in business, family, food, life, moments, retirement, technology, Uncategorized, weather
Tags
Advent, big girl pants, blessed, calendar, family, food, friends, moments, shortbread, Technology, treat, Walker’s, widow, yummy
I was surprised when the doorbell rang as I wasn’t expecting anything, but after the recent surprise of my daughter at the door, I hurried to see who or what was there…
it was a parcel with my name on it;-)…
opened it to discover a Walker’s Shortbread Advent Calendar, woohoo…
the kids in Ottawa had sent it and I was very excited to receive it…
I’d never seen an advent calendar by them before and just recently my friends and I had been discussing how much we all liked their shortbread cookies…
I can hardly wait for December 1st when I can open the first flap on the calendar;-)…
what a delightful treat…
I was thinking about what a world we live in where you can see something, buy it online, and have it sent directly to someone in another city;-)…
14 Thursday Nov 2024
Posted in family, life, moments, nature, retirement, technology, Uncategorized
Tags
big girl pants, blessed, cacao trees, daughter, doorbell, family, koi, moments, nature, ring, surprise, Technology, The Leaf, time, treat, widow, Yasuragi
what a wonderful surprise I received this morning;-)…
as I was taking my poached eggs out of the water, I heard the doorbell ring… I was expecting a parcel so wasn’t surprised, but when I opened the door, my daughter was standing in front of me…
she had come to town to attend a concert with one of her friends and had planned to include a day with me;-)…
what a super treat…
we quickly booked a trip to The Leaf so she could see her beloved cacao trees… we had a great time there, checking out the trees, watching the koi, and realizing how much growth has taken place since we were last there together in June…
she was able to get a few nice shots of the koi which she shared with me.
we enjoyed time in the Yasuragi display and read up on all the bonsai, including new ones which hadn’t been there the last time I visited… the stories behind them are very interesting…
spent a few minutes with the butterflies…
it is sad that they are still in the netted enclosure and not flying freely around the space…
one last wander to see the cacao trees and koi, a bit of fun in the gift shop, and then we headed home…
some relaxing time together and then I dropped her off at the airport to head home…
I am blessed;-)…
06 Wednesday Nov 2024
Posted in health, life, moments, nature, Photography, retirement, Uncategorized, weather
Tags
almost-open, big girl pants, blessed, bloom, blossom, flowers, food, hibiscus, mandevilla, moments, nature, plants, surprise, treat, widow
in the process of moving the hibiscus and mandevilla, an almost-open bloom fell off…
the next morning I discovered that it was starting to open, even though it was laying in the dirt…
I grabbed it and put it in water and then spent the day watching as it opened and then began to close…
what a lovely treat…
I also found at least five buds on the plant… can hardly wait to see more flowers…
28 Monday Oct 2024
Posted in business, food, health, life, moments, retirement, Uncategorized, weather
Tags
apple crumble, big girl pants, blessed, crumble, friends, lunch, moments, Park Cafe, Reuben, sandwich, time, treat, widow
met up with friends to celebrate a birthday…
we went to the Park Cafe and my meal was very tasty…
my Reuben sandwich came with a garden salad and I really enjoyed it… it was just the right size, not too hard to eat, which I appreciated… I ate all of the salad and half of the sandwich…
packed up the second half and the pickle for my supper…
and then I had the apple crumble with caramel sauce and ice cream…
it was delicious, and to my credit, I only ate half of it🤪…
always fun to spend time together…
22 Tuesday Oct 2024
Posted in business, food, health, life, moments, retirement, technology, Uncategorized
Tags
Assiniboine Park, big girl pants, blessed, focaccia, food, gather, moments, mussels, ragu, supper, Technology, The Leaf, treat, watch, widow
our most recent visit to Gather Craft Kitchen & Bar at The Leaf was great…
we had a bit of a giggle because we were seated exactly where we were the last time we were there, lol…
it is a nice spot as you can people watch as everyone is entering and leaving The Leaf…
I had mussels, which were tasty… we shared some focaccia bread, and my grandson had the beef short rib ragu…
always a treat ;-)…
20 Sunday Oct 2024
Posted in business, family, health, life, moments, nature, retirement, Uncategorized
Tags
Assiniboine Park, big girl pants, blessed, bonsai, family, garden, grandson, lush, making memories, moments, nature, Technology, The Leaf, thrived, treat, widow
another delightful visit to The Leaf…
we arrived around 4:30 pm Thursday and the biomes were nearly empty of people… which was wonderful for us;-)…
it really is astonishing how the plants have thrived since the opening in December 2022…
the Tropical biome is lush with greenery and it was fun to notice changes since I was last there…
then we moved into the Mediterranean biome… for the first time ever, it was very cool…
the Yasuragi display is lovely… we spent quite a bit of time studying the bonsai and noting how old many of them were…
what an amazing art-form…
can’t wait to go back and enjoy this beautiful space…
herbiggirlpants 