Retire in Style with Lolita

My plants has been prolific plus my sisters gave me several of their hens and chicks. I potted and repotted starting April and now I have about 15 plants to share with friends.

Some of my sempervivums came from the original plants I started with eight years ago. They are all prolific. Easy to care for. I enjoy using them for plant arrangements both to keep and to give away. Here are the latest in my collection: This is called Gold Nugget. My first yellow sempervivum. However as the weather turns warmer the leaves will change to green, red in the Fall and back to yellow Winter to Spring. This is another beauty called Berry Blues. Barely a month after I transferred to its new home it produced several chicks. This is Berry Bomb. I prefer to call it Berry Pretty Citrus Sunrise is another attractive semp. From yellow orange color in the winter to early spring it will change to deeper pink to red with tinge of yellow. This is called Strawberry Kiwi. Gave several offsets already. This is called Appletini. Looks very happy in her new home. I used to call this sempervivum spider web hens and chicks. Chick Charms call them Cotton Candy

All seven grandkids singing Christmas carols with me... the best Christmas gift ever !

After 35 years, a return visit to Haney Intermediate Care, now called Royal Crescent Gardens. I worked there in 1984-1985 as their first Dietitian.

I play the ukulele because I like it, not because I am good at it ! Free digital slideshow generated with Smilebox

We went on a 12 days Hawaiian Cruise on the Radiance of the Seas. We enjoyed good weather cruising the Hawaiian islands and crossing the Pacific Ocean as we sailed back to Vancouver. We enjoyed good weather and good company. Customize a slideshow design

The tulip is connected to happiness, peace and love. This slideshow design generated with Smilebox

M y sisters and I are booked for a 12 day Hawaiian cruise in May of this year. This will be our third visit to Hawaii ( fourth for one of my sisters. ) Here is a photo album of our first trip to Hawaii.... a cruise in 2007. Digital slideshow generated with Smilebox Our dream of returning to Hawaii was fulfilled when we spent a week in Honolulu in 2015. Here is a photo album of our second trip to Hawaii. Create a free digital slideshow Hawaii we heard you calling.... Aloha !

Lafarge lake at the Coquitlam Town Centre has been my favourite walking destination for the almost 23 years that I lived in the area. It is less than 10 minutes walk from my townhouse. I go for walks around the lake and park to fill up my ten thousand steps goal for the day. I also go there for leisurely walks to enjoy the weather, the scenery and sometimes to walk with friends. Sometimes I wish I could go back in life...not to change anything but to feel a few things twice. It was a cold evening stroll around the lake but memories of my life spent in the area warmed me inside. The past 2 years something magical has been added to the 1.2 km walk around the lake during the Christmas season. To celebrate the first day of the New Year my sisters and I went for a stroll to enjoy the over 100,000 lights display around the lake. Personalize a photo slideshow

Good luck and God's blessings be with you all !

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I am celebrating another birthday soon. I can't stop the aging process. Might as well enjoy it ! I dwell on sweet memories and feel no regret on some painful ones. My mind and my heart continues to be open to new things. Goodbye 2017. Thanks for the memories. This free digital slideshow customized with Smilebox

My gardening affair with succulents started five years ago. I planted them around trees, along borders, all sorts of containers including teacups, teapots, toy trucks and all shapes of containers. My all time "all purpose" ever present succulents are hens and chicks or Sempervivium which means forever/ always alive. They are prolific and so easy to use in planter arrangements. I have them indoors and outdoors I have successess and disasters with succulents. I learned to pay attention to advise from my favourite gardener. Some succulents are not winter hardy. They have to be taken indoors before the first frost starts. My current favourite are the Aeoniums. They are pretty but pricey and not winter hardy. Now I have learned how easy to propagate and care for them.

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Along with hummingbirds and white butterflies, Mary and the angels keep me company in the garden.

I started collecting succulents three years ago. I have planted them outdoors on the ground, in containers and even indoors in teacups and teapots! I am not an expert in succulents. I cannot even remember their names and I don't care. I buy what appeals to me. They are easy to care for. Low maintenance indeed! Currently I have them in containers and it is a joy watching them grow and have chicks and rosettes. In this hot and dry summer my succulents continue to thrive because they need very little water. This year I added several Echeverrias in my collection. My friendly gardener at the greenhouse that I get them from cautioned me to protect them through the winter. Our winters are rainy and we do have some snow and cold spells occasionally. He who plants a garden plants happiness. If you want to be happy for a lifetime, plant a garden. – Chinese Proverb