Chuckles and Chortles

I hope you all had a nice weekend no matter how you chose to spend it. The weather here has been glorious this past week, and I hope it continues this way for awhile. Our weekend was very busy. My husband performed on both days with the two bands he plays with. Saturday he played at a private party that I tagged along to. I typically shy away from intimate social gatherings where there are a lot of strangers and oodles of small talk (dreaded by introverts), but there were a handful of people I know attending, so I braved it. It turned out to be fun with them there.

And Sunday, he played with the other band at the city-sponsored event called ‘Cycle Sunday’; one of a few bands performing. His gang was scheduled to play from eleven to noon, so after he was done there, we hit the country roads to explore and take photographs. All in all, it was a fabulous weekend in every which way, although we are both exhausted and in need of some quiet time to recharge our introverted batteries.

Can you believe it’s the end of the month? No way, right? Well, as we contemplate the mindboggling speed of time, let’s laugh a little...

 

 

Make it a great day, everyone!

Look Around You At This Beautiful World

“Drink in the richness of the whole, beautiful world that exists beyond the obvious.

Marvel each and every day at the magnificence of life.”

- Unknown -

I’ll be the first to admit that most days I am very cynical about the human race. I think that we are the greediest, cruelest and most destructive species on earth.

War, violence, slavery, prejudice, terrorism, oppression, pollution, religious strife, social unrest, and on and on... Why do we behave so badly?

Do we not realize what a magnificent world we live in? How precious life is?

Do we not notice the endless wonders that surround us? The miracles? The breathtaking, awe-inspiring sights, sounds and smells?

How could all this splendour go by unnoticed? How could it not create inner and outer peace?

Step outside. Look around. Be amazed.

Wishing you all an awesome weekend!

Autumn Is A Season Of Reflection

"If winter is slumber and spring is birth, and summer is life, then autumn rounds out to be reflection.

It's a time of year when the leaves are down and the harvest is in and the perennials are gone.

Mother Earth just closed up the drapes on another year and it's time to reflect on what's come before."

- Mitchell Burgess -

Every year as autumn arrives, I get emotional and philosophical. I analyze the world. My reason for being. Myself. I ponder life. Existence. Social causes. War. Conflict. I think about where I’m at, what I’m doing and where I hope to be. My brain works overtime as I wonder about these things and try to make sense of them all. Most of which just continue to confound me.

I think about the people I care about; the ones that are in this world, and the ones that have moved on. The memories that each one of them has planted in my mind, some happy, some sad, and the footsteps they’ve left in my heart. I reminisce about days gone by and my childhood, and feel the loss of my father and brother who are no longer here.

This yearly wistful and meditative journey is perfectly normal, of course. We are emotional creatures, after all, and many of us get thrown by autumn; a bittersweet season. A season that showers us with a magnificent rainbow of colours...and profound loss. The leaves are indeed beautiful...but they are dying.

Unlike summer where my energy and focus are directed outward, autumn is the season when I turn inwards. To wonder. To reflect. And to remember.

How do you feel when autumn arrives?

*photos above were taken last autumn*

A Single Photograph

"It is not easy to walk alone in the country without musing upon something."

- Charles Dickens -

 

Photo Dump

“Explore. Dream. Discover.”
- Mark Twain -

There is a beautiful world around us waiting to be discovered; all we have to do is step outside and look around. Sometimes we need a little encouragement. A reason. Motivation. Photography does all that for me. It inspires me to get outside, explore my surroundings and discover new things.

Below are things I’ve seen while out exploring with camera in hand...



Music is the universal language of mankind.

Tied together to keep from drifting away.

King Kong is alive and well in Niagara Falls, Ontario. In case you were wondering.

The Old Stone Mill, located in Delta,Ontario, was built in 1810. It is fully restored and functional.

"Hey...where's my bellybutton?"

"Do these feathers make my butt look big?"

Very still water.

Why not just get into your food...literally?

One of the performers at this year's Buskers Festival. I'll write more about this in the future.

It's time to start wrapping up the garden.

Wishing you all a great day!

Chuckles and Chortles

And so it begins:

Autumn has arrived. Saturday was rainy and miserable all day, so we stayed put. But Sunday was much better, so we headed out to the country area to check on fall foliage. Some of the leaves have started changing colours, but not enough for that full blown autumn splendour. We'll keep checking regularly 'cause I don't want to miss those gorgeous fall photos!

I hope you all had a lovely weekend, and since we're all here, let's have a good laugh together...

Nightmare Final Exam Questions

- Pre-Med: You will be provided with a rusty razor blade, a piece of gauze, and a full bottle of Scotch. Remove your appendix. Don't suture until your work has been inspected. You have 15 minutes.

- Civil Engineering: With the boxes of toothpicks and glue present, build a platform that will support your weight when you and your platform are suspended over a vat of nitric acid.

- Music: Write a full piano concerto. Orchestrate and perform it with a clarinet and drum. You will find a piano under your seat.

- Art: Given one eight-count box of crayons and three sheets of notebook paper, recreate the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Skin tones should be true to life.

Make it a great day!

Life Is Too Short For Negativity

“Keep knocking, and the joy inside will eventually open a window and look out to see who's there.”
- Rumi -

I’m typically an upbeat individual; satisfied with my life and rarely unhappy. But that doesn’t mean I’m immune to bad moods. Or frustration. Or pessimism. Or even despair. Yeah, me; the one that shares so much silliness on this blog.

I have dark moments, and I don’t like them. Negativity is energy-depleting, and robs you of time better spent enjoying the magnificence of this life. So I work on lifting my spirits. I rest. Read. Listen to music. Remind myself of things I should be grateful for. Spend time with people I love. Spend time with Mother Nature. And go on photo shoots. Lots and lots of photo shoots.

And slowly but surely, little by little, the dark clouds dissolve, the sun shines through and I return to my old happy - and silly - self.

Life is too short for negativity. I’d rather spend it being a goofball!

*snort*

Photos courtesy of the most amazing man in the world (aka: the other goofball)

Wishing you all a 'goofball-y' weekend!

The Blabbermouths

Oh, those blabbermouths. Don’t they just annoy you? You know who I’m talking about. Those people that use gossip for their own self interest at the expense of others. The ones that betray confidences, spread lies, destroy reputations, pass harsh judgments and bash individuals who aren’t around to defend themselves.

I grew up in a community of blabbermouths. Mostly women. Women who had nothing better to do with their time than supply gossip to the local community. They invented stories, or distorted the truth, and spread it around without a second thought. The worst part of all wasn’t the uncouthness of these women, but the number of followers that they had. A gossiper cannot exist without a listener – and there were many of those.

I grew to detest gossip. And I try to steer clear of these types of people. Not only does it make me uncomfortable listening to derogatory comments about someone not present, but I also figure that if a gossiper blabs about someone else to me, they’ll inevitably blab about me to someone else. I’ve been victim to malicious gossip in the past, but it’s all just a bad memory now. Thankfully, it’s been a very long time since I had to deal with such nastiness.

Have you ever been a victim to gossip?

A Single Photograph

"Maybe you are searching among branches for what only appears in the roots."
- Rumi -

Photo Dump

“You don't stop having fun because you get old; you get old because you stop having fun.”
- Unknown -

There are many soul-soothing, emotion-evoking reasons why I enjoy photography, but the most important and simple one of all is that it’s enjoyable. There are plenty of responsibilities in life to keep us busy, but we should always find time to play and have fun. Photography is my way of doing that.

Below is a collection of photos I've taken while out having fun.

You know the summer is coming to an end when the beautiful robins start heading south.

One of the animals featured at the Kingston Sheep Dog Trials; an annual festival in my city.
I'll write more about this event in the future.

Sometimes you just can't fit it all into your mouth no matter how much you want to.

Always take your camera along. You just never know what - or who - you'll run across.

After sunset in Lake Ontario Park.

What are you so peeved about, Mr. Grackle?

The kitty with the doe eyes never gets the blame.

Pretty in purple.

Lily pad fiesta!

There is beauty to be found in abandoned buildings.

Thanks for stopping by. Have a nice Tuesday, everyone!

Chuckles and Chortles

I hope you all had a nice weekend. They sure go by so fast, don’t they? Can you believe half this month is gone? Yikes! Slow down, time...slow down.

Saturday, we got out and about, but I didn’t come home with too many pictures. I just didn’t ‘see’ very much that interested me. I have days like that. The autumn shades are coming up, so I expect there’ll be plenty to photograph.

For now, let’s get to this week's funny stuff...

 

 

The Minister

A minister parked his car in a no-parking zone in a large city because he was short of time and couldn’t find a space with a meter. Then he put a note under the windshield wiper that read: ‘I have circled the block 10 times. If I don’t park here, I’ll miss my appointment. Forgive us our trespasses.’

When he returned, he found a citation from a police officer along with this note ‘I’ve circled this block for 10 years. If I don’t give you a ticket I’ll lose my job. Lead us not into temptation.’

Wishing each and every one of you a good day and a wonderful week.