Chuckles and Chortles

Happy Monday, friends. How was your last weekend of August? Did you do anything interesting? Fun? Unusual? Crazy? Saturday was a little quiet around here but yesterday we were outdoors the entire day enjoying the beautiful weather.

We spent most of the time by the water; our favourite place to be:

And some of the time goofing around:

Because a goofy relationship is a happy relationship.

Speaking of which, let's wrap up August with some goofy stuff!

Have a great last day of the month!

What I’ve Learned In My Life So Far

I’ve learned that YouTube is like a black hole. You go on it expecting to watch that one thing you planned to watch and before you know it you’ve trapped there.

It’s that hypnotic ‘related videos’ side bar, I tell you, where you get sucked into clicking on video after video until you’re completely hooked. You go from listening to a favourite song to giggling and chortling and snorting and chuckling while watching silly cat video after silly cat video (in my case, anyway). Like this one:



Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

A To Z Of Gratitude: J

J is for Jeans

Sounds like a silly thing to be grateful for, right? But not for me. ‘Cause I’m a denim-loving girl. The majority of the time I wear jeans. Jeans have been my main choice for pants since my early teens and I don’t see that changing any time soon. In addition, you’d be hard pressed to find me in a dress or skirt. I grew up as a tomboy and there’s never been much of a girly girl in me.

That being said, it’s getting harder and harder to find a pair of jeans that I like as I get older. With my body changing and all. The jeans are too high. Too low. Too tight. Too loose. Too dull. Too weird. Nothing looks right. Nothing fits right. So when I do run across something appealing, I think to myself “If I fits, I gits”. And I usually pick up more than one pair. Because there’s no telling when I’ll stumble across another great-fitting pair of jeans!

Do you like wearing jeans?

The Joy Of Decluttering

One of the things I’m enjoying most about our upcoming move is getting rid of a lot of crap things. Every time I clean out a space, I feel lighter and happier, and my mind feels clearer. Just this week we donated, recycled and trashed a whole bunch of unnecessary - and unwanted - items.

And because we’re downsizing to a much smaller space, we’ve only begun to scratch the surface of decluttering. By the time we’re ready to move, about half of what’s in this house will be gone. Maybe more. Hopefully more. As a minimalist, this feels like a party! And it’s quite liberating. Because too much stuff around makes me feel like I’m suffocating.

Moving is not my favourite thing in the world and it can be quite a hassle, but it’s definitely a great way to get rid of things we don’t want, need or ever use.

Do you enjoy decluttering?

Almost There...

Yesterday I encouraged you all to take a guess as to where we were wandering the halls in the photo below. I even offered cool prizes, although some of you scoffed at them. Who doesn't like winning stuff? Sheesh...

The most important hint in the image is my daughter who as you all know will be heading to university in another city.

So what did we do on Saturday? Well, we drove to Ottawa in the morning to attend the summer orientation for new students; well worth the trip. We were provided with important information and advice about first-year university studies and an overview of the various services available. We even got a fantastic tour of the grounds. They also gave tours of the residences but because my daughter's is off campus, we drove to it on our own.

Specifically, this residence:

We didn't think we'd be allowed to see her place or any place for that matter but when we asked at the reception we were told we most certainly could. And the icing on the cake was that hers was available to view, albeit not thoroughly cleaned yet (they rent these residences as hotel rooms off season), which we didn't mind, so my daughter picked up the key and up we went to investigate.

It's a two-bedroom suite that my daughter, Alex, will be sharing with three other students (let's hope they get along) and we were pleasantly surprised at how lovely it is! Alex loves how spacious and attractive it is and where it's located (in the downtown area).

So...

Those of you who guessed that we were wandering the halls of a university student residence are correct! But we weren't helping her move in. Not yet. We'll be doing that next week and I will share more photos very soon. And the *sniff* emotions that will accompany her leaving home. So stay tuned.

Have a wonderful day, everyone!

Chuckles and Chortles

Happy Monday, friends. I hope you all had a really nice weekend. Yesterday we spent some time downtown enjoying the wonderful weather and then headed over to one of our favourite parks to watch the sun go down.

But Saturday...ah, Saturday...we did something completely different. And exciting! I'll write more about that later this week but I'll give you a hint with this photo:

Can anyone guess where we were wandering around the halls like this? Those who get it right will win a box of navel lint, an empty bottle of Tabasco sauce and two old toothbrushes. Not just one toothbrush, but two. Because generosity is important here at Plowing Through Life. So go ahead and take a guess.

And to get everyone in a good mood, I'll even throw in some humour...

Have a wonderful day!

Goofing Around

Take one goofball:

Throw in a couple of these:

Add another goofball:

And end up with this:

We take goofball selfies. What's your superpower?

This past Sunday it was such a beautiful evening that we decided to enjoy some outdoor dining in our beautiful city's historic downtown core. Because sometimes you need to get away from it all, kick back and relax.

And I hope you all get a chance to do just that this weekend. Including some goofing around.

Have a wonderful one, everyone!

A To Z Of Gratitude: I

I is for Ice Cream

Vanilla
Butter pecan
Chocolate chip
Chocolate
Cookies and cream
Cookie dough
Macadamia nut
...

Yes, ice cream is definitely something to be grateful for!

It's not easy taking a selfie while you eat ice cream.
(This image was taken in Varadero, Cuba in April where we ate a lot of ice cream. Shamelessly.)

Do you like ice cream? What are some of your favourite flavours?

And Then There Are The Finicky Ones

Speaking of picky eaters, my cats won’t eat the food I bought them recently. It’s a brand that I get them once in awhile, one that they like, and the only thing that changed from the last time I picked it up is the flavour. I chose a different flavour this time, people, and you’d think I committed some major crime.

Every time I feed it to them, they stare at their bowls for a long time, take a quick nibble and then glare at me like I’ve fed them some type of poison. “Are you trying to kill us?”

What bugs me is that they’ve eaten – and loved – this food before. And all of a sudden it’s unacceptable. So my response to them is:

And their response to my response is:

This battle of wits has been going on for the past few days.

Guess who's winning?

*sigh*

Looks like a trip to the grocery store is in order...

Question Of The Day

Are you a picky eater?



When I was a kid, I was slightly picky, although not overly so. My mother cooked a lot of different – and oftentimes interesting, if not eccentric – foods, so my brothers and I experienced some adventurous dining.

In my older years, I enjoy trying new things, especially if the smell or texture is appealing. But I do know where to draw the line. Because even though I’m not a picky eater, I am a cautious one. There are some things that simply gross me out, which I won’t get into right now since I’m just about to have breakfast!

What about you? Are you a picky eater?

Chuckles and Chortles

Happy Monday, bloggers. How is everyone? Was the weekend good to you? Did you do anything special? And has the weather been nice where you live? Questions, questions.

While you think about all that, I'll put together some humour for you. Ready or not, here it is...

Have a great day ahead!

Words Of Wisdom

And here we are at the end of another blogging week (at least for me).
I leave you with some food for thought:

Have a wonderful weekend!

A To Z Of Gratitude: H

H is for Hope

Hope inspires us to keep moving forward, to pick ourselves up when we stumble and to look beyond the murky shadows. Hope opens doors, changes lives, invites good things and brings about change. Hope gives us strength and purpose. It removes the shackles of despair and helps us see the light at the end of the tunnel.

What a wonderful feeling hope is. It is a life preserver in this oftentimes dark world. Hope with all your heart. And then hope some more.

Have a wonderful day, my friends.

Hometown Memories: Mud Pies

I’ve known my best friend, Cathy, since we were four years old. We met through our moms who became acquaintances at the school our brothers attended. We used to wave to each other at the school as we waited by our mom’s side but didn’t see each other socially.

Well, one day after our older siblings had been dropped off for their afternoon kindergarten class, my mother invited her and her mother to stop by the house for awhile. They did. And while the moms were hanging around the kitchen sipping coffee and chit-chatting about oh-so-boring grownup stuff, Cathy and I hung out in my room enjoying fun kid stuff. Like making mud pies that we baked and cooled on the windowsill. That is my earliest memory of her. Little did I know at the time that it was the beginning of a beautiful friendship that is still going strong 46 years later. And counting.

Incidentally, here is the mud pie recipe, in case anyone is interested:

Mix ½ a cup of mud with a ¼ cup of water until smooth and pour into a toy pie plate. Sprinkle with lots of giggles and oodles of childhood imagination, and place in a pretend oven (a windowsill will do) to bake. The pie will be done when laughter subsides and you’re ready to move onto the next imaginary game.

Insomnia

I went to bed last night around 11:30 and then at 1:00 I woke up and spent the next hour tossing and turning and tossing and turning. And tossing and turning. Wide awake and with my brain working overtime. Not that I was thinking about anything really important. Just thinking. About anything and everything. Some of it silly or odd. Ah, the brain of the introvert...

Don't let the cute face and googly eyes fool you.

At 2:00 AM, I realized that sleep was not going to come. Maybe if I read awhile? That usually does it for me. But I didn’t want to turn on a light and disturb the most amazing man in the world who was snoring up a storm. Lucky bugger. So I grabbed the book on my nightstand and headed down to the family room. Our couch is pretty comfy and occasionally I lie down on it to read on a rainy afternoon. And inevitably doze off. I was hoping the same would happen this time. So with a good book in hand and with my needy cat, Mocha, snuggled up against me, I eventually...after an hour or so...finally...oh the relief...I was so exhausted by then...fell asleep.

For only a couple of hours.

Because pesky sweet Mocha decided at 5:00 in the morning that it was time to be fed and she meowed like her life depended on it!

It’s. Going. To. Be. A. Very. Long. Day.

Do you ever have trouble with insomnia?

Chuckles and Chortles

Happy Monday once again, everyone! They always seem to come back don't they? Each week you think you're done with Monday and WHAM here's another one. How was the weekend? And what are your plans for the upcoming week? Ours will include the job-a-day-plan, which I explained here, so we can continue to move forward for the sale of our home. But we are remembering to get out a little bit and enjoy the nice weather because you know what they say..."all work and no play..." Speaking of which, who can tell me which movie (for those who've seen it) that popular proverb appears in?

Here's a big hint:

While you're figuring that out, I'll share some funny images that will hopefully get you chuckling. And maybe even chortling.

A beautiful day to all!