Chuckles and Chortles

Happy new week, blogging pals. I am broadcasting live from our new home! Okay, I'm being silly. I'm writing up this post in our new city.

We made it. And we're all still standing. Some of us are a little lopsided but not one has toppled over yet. The cats are very happy now but the move was extremely difficult and stressful for them, especially for our black cat, Nacho. I'll write a little about that sometime this week. I'm not sure when and I imagine my blogging will be somewhat sporadic for a little while, but I'll post when I can. Popping into your blogs will probably happen more regularly as I like to start my morning with a coffee and a few blog visits.

Today we close on the sale of our house and we'll be driving to Kingston to allow the new owners a final walk through before the home becomes officially theirs. It will be our last drive there for a long time to come. We'll be spending more time in Montreal and Ottawa from now on where the girls, family and friends reside.

Well, that's it for now. A busy day awaits and I have to get started. Here is some funny stuff for you.

Have a good one!

This Week

What a week it’s been! We spent a good portion of it in our new place but yesterday we stayed put and packed up the rest of the house. All. Day. Long. It’s all those loose ends that you try to gather and group together that are annoying. And it’s all the glasses and cups and dishes and everything that you have to carefully pack because they are in danger of breaking and chipping that push you over the edge. Then there’s the medicine cabinet and the toiletries and the clothing and the food...on and on it goes. UGH! Stick a fork in me, I’m done.

Today we move! We are going to go for breakfast, pick up the rented truck, throw our crap stuff in it, hit the highway and take it to our new home. The most amazing man in the world will be driving the rental and I’ll be right behind him (or in front) with our two cats. They’ve never been anywhere else (aside from the vet’s) and they’ve certainly never been on a long drive. This is going to be quite an adventure for them. When we get to our new place, we’re going to put them and all their things in one room to keep them contained and safe while we unload the truck.

Truth be told, I’m not going to miss our home in Kingston because it’s just way too big for us. It has 2600 square feet of living space (this includes the finished basement) that I am sick and tired of taking care of. We use about half the house and the other half just collects dust. Our new place is 1400 square feet; almost half the size. I had hoped for no more than 1100 square feet but that’s okay. It’s a young home (built in 2005) and although it needs some work, all of it is cosmetic. We’ll work on the house little by little and make it shine. I’ll share that journey as we move along.

So I’m not going to miss our old place. But my heart is still heavy because there are so many memories within those walls. And in the beautiful city of Kingston. Oh how I’m going to miss that amazing city. We moved there in 2009 and loved every minute. We explored the entire area and enjoyed many adventures.

Farewell, Kingston. It's been phenomenal! And you’ll always hold a special place in my heart.

And that’s it, everyone. When you read this, I might be loading up our stuff. Or on the road. Or in our new house. But wherever I am, I’m wishing you all a beautiful weekend!

And So It Begins

Yesterday around noon we got a call from our lawyer's office that our new home was officially ours, so we drove over to our new city a couple of hours away, stopped in at the lawyer's office (the lawyer of the old owner), picked up the keys and spent the day at our new place. While there, the most amazing man in the world dedicated his time to setting up the alarm system and I spent my time here:

In our new kitchen. Washing and scrubbing. Scrubbing and washing. And then scrubbing and washing some more. Don't let the photo fool you, there are layers of dirt and grease on the cabinetry. It was so hard to clean that at one point I just wanted to stand in the middle of the room and start crying. Not the silent, little sniffles type of crying. But the loud, blubbering, howling type. Because. I. Was. So. Frustrated. And I didn't think I could handle anymore. But I took a break and managed to pull myself together.

By the time we wrapped up to head back home to Kingston,  I was beyond tired. And even more frustrated. Because with all those aches and pains that I was left with, I had only managed to finish about one third of the kitchen (and if that).

And you know what? Today we get to do it all over again. I want to lie down on the floor and not move. For several weeks.

Ah, well...onward and upward.

So that's going to be my day. What are you up to?

Chuckles and Chortles

Happy new week, everyone! How are you all doing? Did you have a nice weekend? What's going on in your little corner of the world? We are enjoying really mild weather. It makes me very excited for spring's arrival, which isn't all that far away now. And we're hoping these wonderful temperatures continue all week to make our move easier.

Speaking of moving, is anyone available to help us this week? Hello? Hello? Anybody there?

Oh well, here's some funny stuff for you...

Have a great day!

This Week

Yesterday I was convinced that it was Saturday. Even when I realized it wasn’t, I just couldn’t shake that feeling. Ever have one of those days? It is one reason this week’s ‘This Week’ post is a day late. Not that it really matters. It’s not like my blogging pals are sitting on the edge of their seats waiting for me to blog. Amiright?

We are in the last week of our moving period and you are right if you guessed that it’s nutso around here. Things are picking up speed and getting faster and faster by the minute. Most of our things are packed up, there’s hardly any food in the house, we have aches and pains, the cats are confused and we’re chomping at the bit. On Tuesday we take possession of our new home and a few days after that this house is no longer ours. And we have paperwork to prove it. Thursday we went to see our lawyer and he had gazillions of documents for us to sign. Okay, I’m exaggerating. But only by a gazillion or two.

It’s amazing how little you can live with. Now that our stuff is boxed up, we’ve discovered that we need very few things to get through the day. And we haven’t missed a thing. When we start unpacking in our new place, there’ll be a lot more crap stuff donated. Living a streamlined life is great. I feel somehow...I dunno...liberated.

Remember when I wrote about going to the dentist last week to get my teeth cleaned? Well, I did go. And it wasn’t a very pleasant visit. My regular dental hygienist is on maternity leave and they scheduled me with a young woman that I’d never dealt with before. I think she stabbed my gums about 6,329 times. I know this because I counted. Some dental hygienists have a gentle touch. This isn’t one of them. When she finished stabbing my gums cleaning my teeth, she told me to rinse with water. I did. And out came a mouth full of blood. I had to rinse four times before the water was clear. Yeah. My gums were sore for days. This is one reason why people start being afraid of going to the dentist.

That’s it for now. Today I’ll be spending the day packing up loose ends. And because this post should have been written and shared yesterday, I’ll be convinced that it’s Friday! First world problems...

Happy weekend, everyone.

Valentine's Day

Today it's all about:

Unconditional. Steadfast. Boundless.

A beautiful day to all!

Chuckles and Chortles

Happy Monday, everyone. How are you all doing? And how was your weekend? We got a big dump of snow yesterday and it really looks like winter out there. No big deal. We've had it pretty easy up until now. It's been pretty mild and mostly dry.

Saturday we went out for dinner to one of our favourite places in the downtown area. Our previous visits have always been during the warmer months and we've always sat outside on their terrace. This is the first time we've eaten indoors and it's a lot bigger than I imagined. Anyhow, we wanted to visit one last time before we leave Kingston. And we went to celebrate my 52nd birthday. I'm another year older and hopefully a little bit wiser.

Anyhow, that's that. Now here's some funny stuff for you.

Have a great week ahead!

This Week

Me at the start of the week:

Me today:

We’re getting down to the last couple of weeks before we move out of this house so being a little tired is to be expected. At least we’re almost done. Then we can move our stuff over to our new house and relax.

Um...not exactly

When we get there we have to clean and paint and settle furniture and open all the boxes we packed and put away all that crap stuff and and and and…

Ah, well. At least today I run away for a little while. To the dentist. Okay, it’s not the most exciting outing but my pearly whites will be squeaky clean after they’re scraped and scrubbed, which is a good thing because I’d like to have some teeth in my old age. No puréed food for me, thank you very much.

And that’s all I have to say. Not much else has been going on and I’m drawing a blank today. Perhaps your week has been a little more interesting. If it has, please share below in the comments. I’d love to hear all about it.

Have a terrific weekend, everyone!

Question Of The Day

Never. Not even close. My brother, on the other hand, once spotted George Clooney at a restaurant he was having lunch at with a business associate. Well, being the extroverted extrovert that my big brother is, he walked over to the table where the Hollywood star was sitting, apologized for disturbing him and his company, told George Clooney that he was a fan and that he enjoyed his movies, shook hands with the man and returned to his company. It was a little surreal, he said, to see someone you see on the big screen in person. He also said that Clooney was very gracious about the encounter and very friendly.

How about you? Have you ever met a famous person?

Chuckles and Chortles

And here we are once again starting a new week. I hope it's going to be a good one for all of you. What are you up to these days? You know that packing up the house and getting ready to move to another one in another city is pretty much what's been taking up our time. But that's alright. The most amazing man in the world and I are looking forward to a new chapter in our lives.

Did any of you watch the Super Bowl? I have to say that I'm far from being a sports fan. If I'm going to watch anything competitive, which is very rare, it'll be along the lines of gymnastics or figure skating or dancing. Or some such thing. I used to play sports regularly when I was a kid but not on any real team; just with neighbourhood friends. I had a great time but it was never really my favourite thing.

Anyhow, that's enough rambling. Here's some funny stuff for you.

Have a good one!

This Week

It’s been a busy one for us with the upcoming move. That’s to be expected. But because we started packing and sorting and organizing and recycling and donating immediately after 2017 rolled in, it has been pretty much smooth sailing in that department. If there’s one thing I’ve learned in all the moves I’ve done throughout my life, it’s this: don’t wait until the last minute!

One good thing about moving is being able to purge the clutter. Before I pack an item I ask myself: "Do I like it? Do I need it? Will I ever use it? Do I feel like packing/moving it?" If the answer to any of these questions is no, out it goes. And because I’m a minimalist, every time something gets removed from our home, I feel an abundance of joy. And I swear I hear a bell ringing, too. Perhaps an angel is getting its wings whenever I get rid of crap stuff. *snort*

So... Facebook. Are any of you on it? I’m a member but not a very active one. I joined to connect with family and friends, many of which live far away. And most of the people I’m connected to or stumble across are quite nice. Even if they have a strong opinion on something, they don’t resort to name calling and nasty comments and asinine behaviour. They share something, write a few words and respond with decency when someone offers a differing point of view. Most of them. Then there are ‘the others’. The ones that think that bullying and ridiculing and name calling and fear mongering is going to get their point across or strengthen their argument. It doesn’t. Substituting reasoning with mockery only shows me what an asshole you can be with other people.

Speaking of assholes derogatory terms, I learned a new one this week: “libtards”. Perhaps it’s been around for a long time. I dunno. But it’s the first I hear of it. I consider myself a liberal and I have a lot of liberal friends and family members. But I also have people in my circle that are conservative. If we all started tossing around insults like that with each other, you can just imagine the drama and fractured relationships. So we don’t. We try very, very, veeeery hard to be respectful of one another. Sometimes we have heated debates but that type of bashing is prohibited. You go down that route and the conversation comes to a screeching halt.

But hey, if it makes people feel better, go ahead and toss the word “libtard” around. Say it to my face if you must. I can take it. In fact, I’ll put on that badge and wear it with pride. Because I am indeed a tree hugging, bleeding heart, hippie, snowflake “libtard”. And I’ve also raised two beautiful tree hugging, bleeding heart, hippie, snowflake “libtards” to carry on this legacy!

Anyhow, try not to insult people. It’s childish. Things work out better when you try to understand and work with people who have differing opinions instead of insulting them.

Have a beautiful weekend!

Question Of The Day

Animal rights activist.

How about you?

(Some of you have expressed concern about the discomfort of being famous; that there can be very negative aspects to it. I should have stated that you'd be known but in a positive way. No personal boundaries crossed. No harassments. No hassles from media or crazy people. That's not realistic or possible, you say? It is here. This is my blog and I can imagine it any way I want :)