This Week

The weekend returns and here we are again! Happy Friday, everyone. What have you been up to this week? I can’t say it’s been a super busy week for me because it really hasn’t. But I don’t apologize for that. However, it will be a busy day starting with this morning in the kitchen where I’ll be making mini apple pies. Not only will we enjoy a delicious treat, the house will smell wonderful, too.

So...being that today is a busy one, I’ll rush through this post and share whatever comes to mind, starting with this:

This is our 8-year-old cat, Mocha, sitting on the table where I do photography. Every time I turn on the lamps, she slips right in. I think she’s there for the heat, which never really happens since the light bulbs are fluorescents. But she tries anyway because she’s...um...very optimistic. I’ll leave it at that.


Here are a couple of shots of our recently painted deck. Taken from indoors. Because I wasn’t going to go out early in the cold morning just to take pictures of this. I love you all but not that much. Plus, the only reason I really want to share pictures is to brag about our hard work because it was brutal and almost killed us. And I want some sympathy. And a pat on the back for a “job well done”. *snort*

I will also share some old artwork for those who enjoy art:

And finally, here is something quirky in our home:

This skeleton sits on our furniture year round. We named him Mr. Bones and he’s been with us since Halloween 2004 or 2005. Isn't he a handsome devil? For years I bought clothing in thrift shops and dressed him up in different outfits. Now he’s decided he wants to live ‘au naturel’, a.k.a ‘nekkid’. Hey, don’t judge. We all have our own weird habits. Like at Jenn’s place. Just click here to read all about it. At least we're not like those people. *snort*


And I think that's more than enough for today. Have a wonderful weekend, blogging pals!

Question Of The Day

Figure skating! Oh my flippin' gosh how I love the idea of being a pro at this. I'd be dancing on ice and having a great time with it. Gymnastics is a close second.

Your turn!

Chuckles and Chortles

Monday rolls in and here we are gathering together for another round of chuckling and chortling. But before I share some funny stuff with you, I have one question: how was your weekend? I hope it was a good one. Our Saturday involved painting our deck, which was neglected for years. Like the rest of the house. We've been chipping away at a long list of work that needs to be done since we moved here last year and so far the deck has been the most brutal. What a job! It took us all afternoon and left us with aching muscles in places we didn't even know muscles existed. I worked on the top and the most amazing man in the world worked on the bottom. I didn't take photos this weekend but here's an old one of what we worked on. Our deck is now the same colour as our neighbour's to the left: a beautiful and bold red. Eventually I'll share before and after photos of all our work. I keep saying that but I will get to it!

Yesterday included a lot of muscle aches and pains and strains, and so we did absolutely nothing!

And now, let's get to the funny stuff.

Have a good one!

This Week

Happy Friday, everyone! How are you all doing? What’s new in your part of the world? What have you been up to? What’s going on? Go ahead and tell me all about it in the comments below.

This week it’s been all about cleaning for me. I’ve dusted and scrubbed and vacuumed until the place shines. Today I will finish cleaning up our home and it’ll be perfect until the cats fill it up with tumbleweeds made of fur. And love. I give it about 3 or 4 days.

I’ve also started putting together items for donation. My quest to streamline our home and live as much of a minimalist life as possible continues. And I find that the less there is around me, the happier I am. Plus, cleaning up is so much easier when there’s less to clean around.

Drawing. Yes, I continue to do that, as well. Not as much as I’d like to but that may change now that the colder months are coming up. I find that I put more effort into it when I’m a hostage in my home on those brutally cold days. I haven’t photographed my most recent drawings but here are some older ones.

I’m going to end this post by sharing this image:

Some of you will recognize this young man, some won’t. His name is Matthew Shepard and today marks 20 years since his tragic death. On October 6, 1998, Matthew, a university student, was lured by two men from a bar in Wyoming and driven to a remote location where he was brutally beaten, tortured, tied to a fence and left for dead simply because he was gay. He clung to life for 18 hours in freezing conditions until he was discovered by a passing cyclist. He died in the hospital on October 12.

I remember this heartrending incident very well. I was a young mom at the time with a six-year-old first grader and a one-year-old baby, and the very thought of what this young man’s mother must be going through made my heart ache. Fast forward to the 20th anniversary of his passing and my younger daughter is now 21, the same age that this young man was when he was robbed of his future. Matthew just wanted to find his way in the world and make it a better place - just like my own children - and it was ruthlessly stolen from him by two men filled with hate.

I was discussing this horrific killing with my husband last night while we were out for coffee and telling him that most people don’t realize how much violence and discrimination the LGBTQ community has suffered, continues to suffer and will continue to suffer until we replace hate with understanding, tolerance, compassion and love.



Rest in peace, Matthew.

Have a good weekend!

Question Of The Day

Phoenix, Griffin, Pegasus, Medusa, sphinxes, fairies, vampires, mermaids, werewolves, unicorns...where does one begin? There are so many interesting ones to choose from.

But for me it would have to be dragons. I am very fascinated by them and have been for a very long time. I even have a few ceramic ones scattered around our home that I painted myself. And by far, my favourite is the one in the image below, which has been around since 2003. It has moved three times with us, twice to different cities, and has never – thankfully! – suffered any damage in the process. It is my largest piece and stands at about 31 inches tall.

Definitely dragons for me. Now how about you?