Words Of Wisdom

Inspired by the nonsense being spewed by politicians running in the upcoming elections...

Question Of The Day

What three questions do you wish you knew the answers to?


- Will there ever be peace on earth?

- Is there life on other planets?

- Will time travel ever be possible?


Your turn!

Chuckles and Chortles

Happy Monday, blogging pals. How is everyone on this (rainy on our end) Monday morning? And how was your weekend? Our Saturday was extremely busy but yesterday was a bit slower. It was a gorgeous day and we headed downtown in the afternoon to take a walk. It was nice to get away from the home for awhile and get back in touch with our lives! I feel like we've been totally disconnected from the world. Oh well, we're close to the finish line, so this too will end.

Now, shall we get to some humour? Yeah, let's do that...

Have a great day ahead!

WAH...I don't Want To Clean Windows!

And so I cleaned some windows yesterday. I did it but I didn't like it. Not. One. Bit. Because I cannot stand cleaning windows. It's right up there with ironing and vacuuming carpets, especially carpets on stairs. Three chores that make me nuts.

Today I do a little more painting, which I don't mind at all. Oh sure, I'm not a fan of the preparation and cleanup, but the rest is easy. And rather enjoyable. Almost meditative.

The third week of renovations is coming to an end and the house is looking mighty fine, if I do say so myself. We have cuts and bruises and scrapes and just about every part of our body aches, but the most amazing man in the world and I have done good work. And we're still standing.

It won't be long now before we hammer in a "For Sale" sign on our front lawn. With great joy. Because we can't wait to get the heck out of here!

Have a great weekend, everyone!

A To Z Of Gratitude: N

“Nature is not a place to visit. It is home.”

- Gary Snyder -

N is for Nature


The sights. The sounds. The smells.

There's nothing quite like being outdoors surrounded by all that nature has to offer.

Simple but sensational pleasures.

We tend to forget how insanely beautiful and amazing and humbling this planet we live on is.

I am grateful for all of this.

Have a lovely day, everyone.

You’re Probably Around My Age If...

...you had one, knew someone who had one or rode in one of these:

Ah yes, the once popular station wagon that is now endangered, pushed aside by vans and sport utility vehicles.

My parents never had one when I was growing up (in fact, they never had a car) but a good friend of theirs did, and on a couple of occasions, my brothers and I got a ride in it.

This car, which was name 'Woodie' for it's extensive wood paneling, is like a time machine. Every time I get a glimpse of it, I'm transported back to my early childhood.

Do you have any personal experience with this automobile?

One Of Those Days

Earlier I posted about having to go to the dentist only to find out after I got to the clinic that my appointment isn't until next month. How I even made that mistake is beyond me. But that's just the way it goes sometimes.

I removed that post and had to come up with another one. And drew a big fat blank. So here's something fun to try. 'Cause I've got nothing else. Nothing.

Yes, I read the whole thing...

Chuckles and Chortles

And a brand new week begins! How are you all doing? I hope the weekend was good to you. We worked very hard on Saturday but yesterday...ah yesterday...we took the day off and ran away from home. All the way to Ottawa to visit our university gal.

This young lady is really enjoying university.

Alex is doing great. Her classes are going very well, she's made a lot of new friends and she is loving life in Ottawa.

It was a beautiful day, so we went for a walk in the downtown area near her residence. When the hunger pains hit, we stopped off for dinner at a restaurant where the food was good and the dessert was even better.

We shared this piece of oh-so-amazingly-delicious cheesecake.

We had a really lovely time and returned home happy and rejuvenated. It was a much-needed break.

Today we get back to renovations but before we do, here's something to tickle your funny bone.

Have a great day, friends!

Today

Me...

The most amazing man in the world...

It's been that kind of week. And there's still another 10 days to go. Now excuse me while I peel myself off the floor to get some work done.

What kind of week have you had?

Have a wonderful day everyone! And a great weekend.

A To Z Of Gratitude: M

"Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life."

- Berthold Auerbach -

M is for Music

The language of the soul. The most powerful, beneficial and greatest treasure in this world.

Here's a tune from one of the most talented musicians to ever grace this planet. His music lives on long after his death and influences people all around the globe.



Thank goodness for music.

Have a great day, everyone.

My Daughter's Room

One of my projects, as I mentioned earlier, was to declutter, reorganize, clean and paint my daughter's room. No easy task. My daughter is far from being a minimalist. And being neat and orderly is not exactly her thing. But with persistence, and battle scars to prove it, I got the job done and here are the results...

This is what you see as soon as you walk into the room.

Her room is in the basement, something she has really enjoyed. It's very quiet and very private down here.

We bought her this furniture when we moved to Kingston in 2009, and although it's a little beat up, it's holding up far better than I expected.

One of the things I love about this room is the large closet. There is a lot of storage space; perfect for a teen girl.

We added this computer desk and chair this week. She's never had that before because she's never been allowed to have a computer in her room until recently. We didn't even have Wi-Fi until this spring. She was not a happy camper about that but parents have to do what they have to do.

Her bookshelf was old and scratched up, so I decided to paint it and freshen it up. I had some leftover paint from another project, which came in handy.

All in all I'm quite pleased with the results. The room could use some pictures on the wall, but since we're planning to move, we've decided to leave the walls bare and not put any holes in this freshly painted space.

Have a great day, everyone!

Question Of The Day

What three sounds do you find annoying?

1) Knife scraping on a plate or glass
2) Loud motorcycles
3) Whining

How about you?

Chuckles and Chortles

Another Monday, another new blogging week. How was your weekend, everyone? Ours was...as you guessed it...busy. But we did have a much slower, much more relaxing day yesterday. You can't just go, go, go all the time. You need a break from that.

In other news, my daughter is enjoying university life in Ottawa. She likes her classes and has made new friends. I'm so excited for her; this is such a wonderful time in her life.

Now, shall we get to the funny stuff? Yes, let's do just that...

Have a great day!

Week One

The first week of renovations is almost over and what a week it’s been! A lot of hours have been put into polishing up our home to get it ready to sell. And a lot of shopping trips have been made. We are renovators by day and hardware store lurkers/shoppers by night.

What the cats have been contributing to the renovations. Nothing but snarky looks.

One of the best things to happen is the removal of the carpet on the stairs leading to the second floor. A carpet that has no doubt been there since the beginning of time. Evil lurked within the fibers of this beast that even the vacuum couldn’t suck out. We rejoiced when it was banished but our black cat didn’t. She was suspicious of the carpet-less stairs and it took her a few hours to risk placing a paw on the bare wood. It was the funniest thing I’ve ever seen.

No more ugly carpet. The stairs will get painted and a runner will be added in the middle.

And yesterday we had a company pass by and pick up a mountain of junk. Best $150 bucks we’ve ever spent. This downsizing and minimalizing journey we are on is an absolute joy. A party. Every time we get rid of some crap we don’t need an angel gets his/her wings (you have to have seen “It’s a wonderful life” to get this).

So all is going well and it looks like we will be ready by the end of the month.

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone.

A To Z Of Gratitude: L

L is for Love

I've been playing music and singing and dancing as I work on renovating our home. And how could I not when I'm doing it together with the most amazing man in the world?

"If I had my life to live over again... I'd find you sooner so I could love you longer."

Those of you who followed the story of how we met know what a long and oftentimes painful journey it was to finally arrive at this happily ever after. And how not a day goes by that I don't wake up grateful for this kind and gentle and generous and patient and loving soul who I am fortunate enough to be sharing this life with. Grateful for our love story.

Have a beautiful day, everyone.

Teenagers

Moody, energetic, imaginative, angry, absent-minded, passionate, willful, engaging, restless, idealistic, impulsive, altruistic...

...and creative.

On. The. Walls. Of. Their. Room.

These bold colours are not quite in disguise.

When you're not looking.

It took three coats of primer to cover up this streak of creativity sparked by my daughter's inner poet a year or two ago.

Thank goodness for primer.

Room For Rent

On Friday, I posted this image on my daughter's Facebook page:

And added the caption:

"Room for rent. Looks like the cat might be interested."

This was what her room looked like the day after we moved her into her university residence. Completely emptied (except for the bed) and scrubbed down. My daughter was stunned at the amount of work I'd done in less than 24 hours. If you could see what it looked like before this you would be stunned, too.

Yesterday I finally got around to applying two coats of primer and today the walls get a fresh coat of paint. Tomorrow morning I'll paint the trim and the doors white and put her room back together again.

Then I'll take a look at the cat's application to rent the space...

Have a lovely day, everyone.

Chuckles and Chortles

Happy Monday, bloggers. How was your weekend? We are up to our eyeballs in renovations over here. The most amazing man in the world took three weeks of vacation starting this past Friday at noon, and since then we’ve been working like mad so we can get our home ready to sell. Today I paint. Tomorrow I paint. And guess what I’m doing on Wednesday? If you guessed paint, you are one smart cookie. We are both exhausted at the end of the day but it’s well worth the effort.

I’m busy, busy, busy and although I do stop by to read your blogs when I wake up in the morning, when I’m done at the end of the day or when I’m taking a break, I might fall behind at some point or not have enough time to comment. Just letting you know, so you don’t feel unloved and neglected. Now, wasn’t that funny? No? Well then, here’s some stuff to get you laughing…

Have a wonderful day, everyone.