Chuckles and Chortles

Happy Monday, everyone. Was the weekend good to you? I sure hope so. Yesterday morning I was out and about running some errands and picking up a few things, the first stop being for pet food. Because the cats rule in this house. It was the most amazing day where the temperature is perfect. Not hot. Not cold. Just perfect. I wish every day could be that nice. Perhaps it's a hint of what type of fall season is coming up. I sure hope so.

And now I'm going to share some funny stuff with you because I've got a very busy day ahead and need to get on with it. Enjoy!

Have a good one!

This Week

It’s Saturday again. Where did the week go? Has it been a good one for you? Mine has been pretty quiet. I’ve been keeping busy and staying out of trouble. Not that I’m one to get into trouble but at least I’m keeping that trend going.

Speaking of trouble, I’ve been trying to read/watch as little news as possible this week. Everywhere I turn, there is always some bad/crazy/scary/stupid shit going on. Being bombarded by this type of news becomes exhausting after awhile. Sometimes I need to tune out for my sanity and concentrate on more pleasant things.

Here is one pleasant thing I’ve been enjoying this week:

That’s right, drawing. I’ve decided to give it a try and get beyond stick figures. I picked up an inexpensive sketch pad and some inexpensive drawing pencils and I’ve been practicing a little bit every day since Tuesday. I confess that these amateur drawings are not made up. I subscribed to a few YouTube channels that teach you step-by-step how to draw certain things and that’s how these came to be. Baby steps, but still. They are a step in the right direction. Eventually I hope to be drawing using my own imagination.

I’m still eager to work on some paint by number kits but they didn’t have any at our local Michael’s craft store when I dropped in earlier this week, so I’ll either order some online or check other stores in Vaudreuil or Montreal when I next visit those cities.

My email continues to be bombarded by this type of stupidity:

I could be a millionaire if only I’d answer one of these *cough* generous people. *roll eyes all the way to the back of my head*


You know what else makes me roll my eyes all the way to the back of my head? People losing their shit over stupid things. Like this story, for example, where a man cut a horse’s bangs and some people lost their minds over it. And said some really nasty things. Holy horse manure, people. Pull yourselves together. Yes, he shouldn’t have cut them because (most importantly) it’s not his horse but the world is not going to end because of it. The bangs will grow back and I'm sure the horse's self esteem hasn't been affected. UGH, first world problems.

I just finished a big bowl of oatmeal and my belly is happy. It’s one of my favourite things to have for breakfast. Funny thing is I didn’t discover it until I was in my late twenties. It’s not something I ate growing up. Do you like oatmeal?

While you think about that, I’ll wish you all a wonderful weekend!

Chuckles and Chortles

Happy new week, blogging pals! How is everyone? Did you have a nice weekend? What did you do? Where did you go? Who did you see? Share whatever you'd like in the comments. I'd love to hear all about it.

Saturday afternoon we drove to the West Island in Montreal to watch the most amazing man in the world's very close friend playing on stage with his two bands at the rib fest. A lot of people go there for the food but since I don't eat much meat, I'm not a fan of ribs or heavy sauces, and I steer clear of pork and fried foods, the smell from all those stalls was really overwhelming. I could feel my stomach doing somersaults at the very thought of eating anything from there. I thought the most amazing man in the world would want to try something from the competitors but he wasn't in the mood for any of it. Luckily we found one vendor that was selling veggie type foods with more wholesome ingredients and we got something light to eat. Hey, we all have our eating preferences. Yesterday was a very quiet, slacking-off kind of day because we need some of those, too.

And right now I'm going to share some funny stuff with you, so the day can start off with a smile. Let's get to it.

Have a great day ahead!

This Week

Have you ever made a decision that you thought was smart and it turned out to be the opposite? When that happens, the most amazing man in the world and I say “We had a bad case of the clevers”. That’s what we were inflicted with recently. We ordered a kitchen table and instead of having it delivered, we thought we’d save on substantial shipping costs and go pick it up. Our first mistake was not getting the measurements of the box. Our second mistake was planning to pick it up on the west island of Montreal because “it would be a fun day trip”. We found out that the box didn’t fit in our SUV. Yeah. To make a long story short, we couldn’t pick it up and they wouldn't deliver to Ontario and it would have cost a fortune to rent a van, so the most amazing man in the world had to sheepishly ask a friend with a trailer for help. We’re still joking about this incident and our “bad case of the clevers”.

Last night we watched a 2008 documentary called “The End Of Poverty?” that left us a little anxious and even a little angry. Because humans can be really shitty. Narrated by Martin Sheen, it explains how global poverty didn’t just happen. That it began with military conquest, slavery and colonization that resulted in seizure of land, minerals and forced labour. It goes on to explain that the problem continues today because of unfair debt, trade and tax policies imposed upon poor countries by the wealthy ones. You’ll learn how 20% of the planet’s population uses 80% of its resources and consumes 30% more than earth can regenerate. If you’ve ever asked yourself why poverty still exists when there is so much wealth in the world, consider watching this film. We watched it for free on YouTube. Here’s the link: The End of Poverty?

Speaking of watching stuff, did my Canadian friends ever watch the TV show ‘The Littlest Hobo”? The series (1963-65, 1979-1985) follows the adventures of an unnamed, extremely intelligent and heroic German Shepherd who wanders from place to place befriending and helping people in need. And when his job is done, he heads off to continue his cross-country drifting and his adventures in ‘saving the day’. I was a huge fan of this iconic Canadian television program and for the longest time I wanted a German Shepherd. Of course that was never going to happen but one can certainly dream. The reason I bring this up is because I ran across the show’s intro recently and decided to watch it for old time’s sake. Well, let me tell you, the theme song, which is quite catchy, has been playing in my head for days. And now I’m going to share it with you. Go ahead, click on it. I dare you.



Incidentally, the song is “Maybe Tomorrow” by Terry Bush and you can find the original and full version here.


Once upon a time I used to enjoy paint-by-number kits and I’m thinking of getting back into it. I figure it’ll be a great way to relax, just like it is with adult colouring books that I have quite an assortment of. I’m not the most gifted person in them but I like to dabble in different types of arts and crafts. They’re not only fun but also a very creative form of meditation. Does anyone do this type of painting? Do you enjoy other forms of arts and crafts? Share your thoughts!

Maybe I should start with an easy one.

Yesterday I finished my 23rd book of the year, which means I surpassed my 2017 reading challenge on Goodreads where I committed to 22 books. I’m 10 books ahead of schedule and I’m curious to see what the count will be at the end of the year. Do you enjoy reading? I’m a shameless bookaholic. Right now I’m enjoying ‘The Girl in the Spider’s Web’, the fourth novel in the Millennium series. The creator of the first three was Stieg Larsson. Tragically, he died of a heart attack in 2004 and the series is being continued by David Lagercrantz.

That’s it for today. I seem to ramble on in these posts and I hope I haven’t put anyone to sleep.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Chuckles and Chortles

Happy Monday, everyone! I hope each and every one of you had a nice weekend. The weather has been pretty nice, albeit it a little humid at times. And have you noticed that we are losing daylight? It's getting darker earlier each day. Hmpf...not something I'm happy about. But what can you do?

Yesterday evening we went for a nice long walk. Do you enjoy walking? If the weather is just right, the most amazing man in the world and I can walk for a very long time. And have some really interesting conversations along the way. Sometimes, by the time we get back home, we've come up with solutions for many of the world's problems. *snort*

Now let's get to the funny stuff!

I am that friend!

Have a good one!

This Week

On Monday I drove to Montreal early in the morning to accompany my mom to the hospital for her blood test. She takes an anticoagulant (blood thinning) medication for her arrhythmia (irregular heartbeat) and has to have her blood tested regularly to make sure the right amount of medication is in her blood stream. This will reduce her risk of having a heart attack or stroke, and also reduce her risk of bruising or bleeding. My mother has been doing this for decades and the regular monitoring has kept her healthy.

There were a lot of people at the hospital but the employees were so organized and efficient that we were out of there in no time. Her results were good and she won’t have to go back until October. We returned to her place around 9 AM and had some coffee. About an hour later, I headed out to run some errands for her, including some banking and groceries, and when I got back around noon, I discovered that she had ordered a pizza (best food ever!) during my absence, so we had lunch. We had a lovely time together and it was a really good day for her; one of the best she’s had since she fell and hit her head in June, which landed her a mild concussion and a long list of problems. She is by no means fully recovered but Monday was a hopeful sign that things will indeed get better. All she really needs - and wants - at this time is patience and kindness.

I headed out around one but instead of hitting the highway, I decided to treat myself to a quick visit to IKEA. It seems that everyone else had the same idea because the place was packed! I had forgotten that it was a civic holiday and many people were off from work. You’d think they’d be outdoors enjoying the day, which was a really nice one, but nope, they were all at IKEA. I took a leisurely stroll through the store, bought nothing (borders on a miracle!) and got on the highway around 2:30. The drive started off amazingly well and I was excited that I’d be back home in record time. Not so fast! Halfway in, it all went to hell. And what should have been a 50 minute drive turned into 2 hours. Three construction zones and one minor accident made sure of that. By the time I got home, I felt like I was going to lose my mind. Well, at least I arrived safe and sound.

Earlier this week I made the most delicious frittata in the history of delicious frittatas that the most amazing man in the world and I devoured! All thanks to Rain who shared the recipe for it. Have you met her yet? Go over here and visit her wonderful blog. And here to her other blog where she shares her cheese making adventures. She is such a lovely person and I’m happy she’s part of my blogging circle. Thanks, Rain!

This week I also discovered that one grocery store and a couple of pharmacies offer almost all of my favourite natural, cruelty-free and healthy products in every category (food, cleaning supplies, bath and body). This is what happens when you thoroughly go through a store instead of rushing through it. You’d think I would have done this by now instead of waiting until we’ve been here for almost six months. Better late than never. Now I can shop locally when sales are on in addition to online shopping.

Yesterday I spent the day cleaning. Our place never gets really dirty because there’s only the two of us now, but it does accumulate a lot of dust bunnies, most of them clumps of cat hair. One of our fur babies sheds so much (the one on the right in the image below) that I wonder how she hasn’t gone bald by now. Her abundant fur is soft and beautiful and all over the house. I always know it’s time to run the vacuum when tumbleweeds scatter across the floor as I walk. But you know what? I wouldn’t have it any other way. These furry girls bring so much joy in our home.

How can you not love these two furry faces?

I think it’s time to wrap this up because I’ve talked your ear off! Have a terrific weekend, everyone. Relax, have fun, be happy.

Chuckles and Chortles

Happy Monday, blogging pals. How are you? And how was your weekend? Ours was a very social one. How social, you ask? Well, on Friday we met for dinner in Vaudreuil (40 minutes away) with the most amazing man in the world's buddy and his girlfriend. Lots of fun. And late Saturday morning my best friend called and asked if we'd like to go out for dinner that night, so we drove back to Vaudreuil that evening and met with her, her husband and her son, and that was a lot of fun. And earlier that day, about an hour or two after I'd made plans with my girlfriend, my older daughter sent me a text asking if we'd like to meet her and her boyfriend for brunch the next day. So yesterday we drove back to Vaudreuil for the third day in a row. That, too, was lots of fun. Three days of being with people. A lot of interaction for us introverts.

And guess what's going on today? The most amazing man in the world will be staying home but I am heading east again. No, I will not be going to Vaudreuil again but I will be driving through it as I head into Montreal. My mom has to go to the hospital for a blood test and I'll be going with her. She needs someone to accompany her and since my brother is on vacation with his wife, I'll be stepping in. After we're done, I'll hang out with her at her home and maybe run some errands she might need doing. More socializing for me. After this, I'm going to hibernate for a bit to recharge my batteries. There's only so much 'people-ing' I can do in such a short period of time.

I'll be heading out the door soon but before I go, I'll leave you with some funny stuff. Enjoy and have a beautiful day! I'll catch up on your blogs later today.

This Week

So I cleaned the grout between the tiles on the bathroom floor. On my hands and knees. And with a lot of elbow grease. It is a job that I have always hated but a job that sometimes needs to get done. All part of being an adult. I couldn’t ignore it anymore because the tiles in our upstairs bathroom are a light beige and the grout is supposed to be light, too. But it was almost black. Very VeRY VERY gross.

Here is a before and after shot. (The image quality is a little poor but whatcha gonna do? The tile colour is more like what you see on the right.)

Much better, no? Isn't the grout on the left pretty gross? Well that's all gone now.

And what’s my go to cleaning method? This:

Squeeze onto grout, wait 15 minutes, scrub, rinse. Repeat if necessary.

Yup, a toilet bowl cleaner. With bleach in it. And whatever small scrubbing tool I have on hand. Like a toothbrush. Works like a charm.


Moving on...

Yesterday I joined Snapchat, an image messaging and multimedia mobile application. I’m sure some of you know all about this app but I’m a total newbie at it. I couldn’t add the app to my smartphone because the operating system on my phone is too old, so I downloaded it to my tablet. I can honestly say that I haven't the foggiest how this thing works. Why do I torment myself with these things that I’m not that interested in to begin with? Because my kids hang around there and share a whole bunch of photos that I’m missing. “Mom, we share a lot of photos on Snapchat. You should join.” So I did. And I’m totally confused. Ah well, I’m sure I’ll figure it out in time. All those years I worked in computers should come in handy, right? We shall see.

Also yesterday, the most amazing man in the world started laying down new flooring in our basement/playroom/TV room area. Can you say ‘bursting with joy’? It won’t be long before we start moving some of our shit stuff in there. And opening up boxes. Yes, we still have things packed in boxes. I've forgotten what's in most of them.

I used my slow cooker twice this week. It’s been a long time since I plugged that in. In fact, I’ve been slacking off quite a bit on home cooking. It’s been pretty sporadic. I’ve been so consumed by this house and all its chores that I have lost sight of that. So this week we’ve been eating well and loving it. I even made a delicious lemon bread that we both enjoy. The recipe can be found here.


Here is something that makes my eyes roll behind my head.

Every now and again I read (for the umpteenth time) about “shark-infested” waters. Or some ocean or beach or lake or river that has been ‘infested’ or “invaded” by specific fish or whales or alligators or turtles, etc. I can’t tell you how ridiculous I find this. These animals live in the water. It is their habitat. If there’s any type of infestation, it’s from humans. That’s who doesn’t belong in the water. Can we be such an arrogant species to think that we rule everywhere? Yes, yes we can.

That’s my two cents on this. Hold on while I put away my podium...

And I think that’s all I have to say for now. How was your week? Share in the comments below. And make sure to have a wonderful weekend!