What I’ve Learned In My Life So Far

I’ve learned that every time I watch this movie...

...I end up crying. Particularly at the end. That’s where I sob like a baby. Every. Time.

Yes. Yes, I do. Like a baby.

The first time I watched this movie, it was at the theater, and I swear there wasn’t a dry eye in there. Lots of sobbing and sniffling was going on, and lots of tissues were being passed around. We were all a mess. And when my husband and I watched this for the umpteenth time not too long ago, I swore I’d keep it together. I didn’t.

I’m such a sap.

Have you seen the movie? Do you get emotional when watching movies?

That’s all for this week, folks. Have a wonderful weekend!

You’re Probably Around My Age If...

...you ever had milk delivered to your house.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, despite living in a big city, we had milk delivered to our home when I was a kid.

I was very young at the time, and this service didn’t last very long, but for a few short years a milkman brought milk right to our door. And eggs and butter if my mom requested. And no matter the time of year or the type of weather, he was always in a good mood.

A very happy memory.

Did you have milk delivered to your house?

Question Of The Day

How do you cut your sandwich?

More often than not I choose method 'B'. Because many people choose 'A'. And I like to be a nonconformist. First world style rebellion. *snort*

How do you cut your sandwich?

Bikes and Sights: Around The Neighbourhood

“Ride as much or as little, or as long or as short as you feel. But ride.”

- Eddy Merckx -

There are so many things you don’t notice around your neighbourhood when you’re in a car. But when you are walking or cycling, a whole new world opens up. And because bikes cover much more ground, that world is even bigger.

Here are a few shots of things we noticed while riding close to home...

Crossing the train tracks. The pole in the image looks like it's going to collapse.

This path runs right through a residential area. There are many of these throughout Kingston.

There were so many beautiful flowers in this area.

It's amazing what Mother Nature has gifted us, isn't it?

After over five years of living here, I still can't get over how much green space is all over the city.

This is far from being Disney World. Can anyone guess what it is?

A lone tree in an open field.

We have so many of these gorgeous green areas near home.

This is one of my favourite views.

As the sun began to set, we rode through Lake Ontario Park; one of our favourite places.

And we made friends along the way. 

The view is always beautiful by Lake Ontario.

Our last stop? An ice cream cone at McDonald's. The best way to end a wonderful day.

Thanks for coming along for the ride. Have a great day, everyone.

Chuckles and Chortles

Happy Monday, everyone! I hope you all had a great weekend. Mine was lazy. I’m reading ‘Gone Girl’ by Gillian Flynn, a new favourite writer, and I’m hooked on it. It’s a whodunit and a how was it done type of mystery. And I know that ‘Gone Girl’ has been made into a movie, but I haven’t seen it yet, so don’t spill the beans on the story if you've seen the film or read the book. So far I have a few theories, which will probably all prove to be wrong. The same way they all proved to be wrong with her other book I read ‘Dark Places’. I was stunned by the ending on that one (never in a million years would I have thought of that as a possibility), and I hope to be just as surprised by this book. So if you enjoy reading, give this writer a try. She is good. Very good.

Shall we get to the funny stuff? Yes, let’s do just that...

Have a beautiful day, everyone!

First World Pet Problem

"Dogs come when they're called; cats take a message and get back to you later. "

- Mary Bly- 

This is our cat, Nacho. We sometimes refer to her as Nacho Cheese, The Cheese, or just Cheese. She responds to all the names.

She’s slightly neurotic. Is terrified of the vacuum. And takes a dump outside the litter box when you've taken too long to clean it out. To demonstrate her disapproval. And show you who's boss.


She spends about 90 percent of her day doing this:

And the rest of the time complaining about this:

She literally nags me to death if there is a hole in the bowl. Because a hole means no food. Which means starvation.

Even our pets have first world problems, don't they?

Below is a funny video to end the week with. It describes my cats completely. For those who haven’t seen it, do so. For those who have, it’s worth another look.

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone! And try not to complain about little things, okay?

Hometown Memories: Flowers On My Ass

Within the first month of my first year in high school, I realized that I had to make some changes thanks to a couple of crass girls that happened to be walking behind me one day on my way home from school. They were loud and obnoxious and making snide remarks about some of the kids walking along with us. Eventually they noticed me and made some nasty comments about the jeans I was wearing.

No more flowers on my ass after that incident,
but the cheesy home perms endured for many years!

They weren't bad-looking jeans, but they did have cutesy flowers on the back pockets, literally on my butt. And that’s what those girls poked fun at: the 'stupid' flowers on my ass. I’d never really thought of it that way but there it was. I had flowers on my ass.

I ignored them and they repeated the insults a little louder. Harsher. I still didn't answer. Eventually they got bored and moved onto someone else. I sighed with relief. The school was full of bad seeds and the last thing you wanted was to be the victim of bullies. Thankfully it was my one and only such experience.

I did get rid of those jeans after I got home that day, and never wore anything like that again. No more noticeable or whimsical designs. No more flowers on this ass.

Looking back now I laugh at the absurdity of it all. But it wasn't very funny at the time.

Have you ever had an experience with bullies?

Bikes and Sights: Our Nation’s Capital (Part 1)

“A bicycle ride around the world begins with a single pedal stroke.”

- Scott Stoll -

We hadn't visited Ottawa, our nation’s capital, in several years, and after spending the entire day there, the question we kept asking was: “Why the heck did we take so long to come back?” We had such a great time that we returned a few weeks later. Hundreds of photos were taken, and I’ll share a few today.

The flags of our country.

You can't go to Ottawa and not tour Parliament Hill (The Hill) that serves as home to the Parliament of Canada. The area overlooks the Ottawa River and attracts three million visitors annually.

This is the Centre Block. It contains the Senate and Commons chambers.

The East and West (pictured above) Blocks each contain ministers' and senators' offices,
as well as administrative spaces and meeting rooms.

You will find numerous sculptures of prominent individuals on the grounds of The Hill, and in nearby tourist areas.

Statue of Colonel John By in Major's Hill Park.
Is it just me, or does this look like the Tin Man from The Wizard of Oz?

The Royal Alexandra Interprovincial Bridge was constructed by the Canadian Pacific Railway between 1898 and 1900. It runs across the Ottawa River and connects Ottawa, Ontario and Gatineau, Quebec.

Total length: 563.27 m (1,848 ft). Traffic: 15,000 per day.

The granite arch with the bronze sculptures is the National War Memorial that commemorates Canadians killed in all conflicts. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier lies at its base and is guarded by two sentries.

This area made headline news in October when a gunman shot and fatally wounded a sentry on duty.

The Central Post Office is a historic building that was completed in 1939.

There are beautiful carved lions arranged around its base.

This is spectacular!

Ottawa is an extremely bike-friendly area with wonderfully scenic paths that go on...

...and on.

There are places to shop.

Don't you just love the giant flower pots?

And places to stop and grab a bite.

Enjoying a fully loaded hot dog from a street vendor.

You'll see interesting things along the way.

Inspirational monuments.

The statue of Terry Fox, a national hero, stands across from Parliament Hill.

Homegrown talent.

And fun things to hug. How can you not love people who have a beaver (a resourceful, hardworking, unaggressive and highly-skilled engineer) as a national symbol?

I love you, you buck-toothed, flat-tailed furball.

Despite how terribly hot and humid it was on our first visit to this beautiful city after so many years, we had a spectacular time. You can bet that there will be more visits to Ottawa in the future, and more photos to share.

Have you ever been there?

You’re Probably Around My Age If...

...you remember waiting all day long for a song to play on the radio on this type of machine...

Radio-Cassette Players (image source)

...so you could record it on a cassette like this:

( image source)

And you hoped that your player didn't eat the cassette and make a mess of it, which happened much too often...

Oh, the horror!

If it did, you had to stick a pencil in the tape spool to spin the tape back in place.

Unless the tape was broken. Then you were out of luck. Good times, eh?

As you can see in the photo below, I had a radio-cassette player in my room when I was a teenager.

I also had a cool banana I'd won at a fair, a smurf and big 80s hair! And crappy wallpaper.

And what might I have been waiting to record in my teen years? There are so many songs that come to mind, but this one was definitely a favourite because I was a HUGE Billy Idol fan:

Do you remember the radio-cassette player? What song(s) did you record?