Chuckles and Chortles

Happy Monday, blogging friends. How are you all doing? What have you been up to? I've been busy around the house. Last week we dropped off our last load of donations to the Salvation Army and I cleaned the place from top to bottom. Then we put up our Christmas decorations! Perhaps a little early, but after all the hard work we've done on this home since we came here in February, and all the exhaustion that came with it, the festive décor was a much-needed happiness boost. I also found the time to do some baking. I made brownies, chocolate chip cookies with a marshmallow center and maple glazed donuts. But the best part of the week was having my older daughter and her boyfriend over for dinner Saturday night. Family gatherings, especially where my daughters are involved, are what I love most.

How about you? What's going on? Share in the comments below.

And let's start the week with some laughter...

Have a beautiful day!

Chuckles and Chortles

Happy Monday, everyone. How is everyone doing? How was your weekend? Yesterday I woke up to snow. Now, I'm not a big fan of winter but I do love the first snowfall. It is very special and very exciting and takes me all the way back to my childhood; back when I enjoyed building snow forts and having snowball fights and making snow angels. So each year when I open up my blinds and see that first snowfall, I feel that familiar squeeze in my heart brought on by nostalgia. How is your weather?

And how about some humour? Here we go...

Have a wonderful day!

This Week

Heeeelllllooooo...

Ah, there you are! Remember me? It’s been a while since I did one of these posts. Did you miss my blah, blah, blah?

As I mentioned earlier this week, we’ve been insanely busy. Our place is really coming together. All our boxes are unpacked and almost everything is where it should be. There are a few odds and ends to tackle but it looks like a home now.

Saturday we dropped off a big load of donations at the Salvation Army and then went back on Monday and dropped off an even bigger load. As a minimalist, I can’t tell you how liberating it is to get rid of stuff and have an airy feel in the home. I’d like to ditch more items but I’ll get to that later on. Right now I’d like to concentrate on wrapping up the settling of our place so I can focus on the holidays. There are cookies that need to be baked, people!

You know what else we did on Monday? We took a trip to IKEA. !!! As most of you know, I love this store. Yeah yeah, I know...not everyone is a fan. But I am and I make no apologies. Anyhow, we took a drive to the Montreal location to pick up a few things we needed, one being dining chairs, which we didn’t have since we got rid of our old kitchen table and chairs before we left Kingston. It was a fun day.

Incidentally, the most amazing man in the world has assembled so much IKEA stuff over the years that he’s a pro at it. He does it with ease and doesn’t break out in a sweat like many of us, or lose his cool and storm off in frustration. I told him he should be working an IKEA hotline for assembly assistance.

We removed all the wall to wall carpet in the house and replaced it with flooring. So now whenever one of our fur babies yacks it’ll be easy to clean up. Or so you’d think. A couple of weeks ago my tabby, Mocha, threw up and instead of doing it on any one of the floors around the house she decided to walk over to a tiny rug in front of the patio door and unload there. I swear these little furballs of ours do this on purpose and chuckle and snort and giggle as we struggle to clean up the mess.

My baking, cooking, photography and art have all suffered because of how busy I’ve been. But I’ve tried to squeeze in some time for things I enjoy whenever possible. Below are three drawings I did before the craziness began.

Now here's a tiny rant. About the preachy types. Don't they make you crazy? Here’s something to ponder for those who are so self righteous on social media (or anywhere else) it makes me roll my eyes all the way to the back of my head.

Yeah. !!!!!

I have more to say but I’ve run out of time. I’ve got a lot to do today and need to get started. And with that, I wish you all a wonderful weekend!

Chuckles and Chortles

Happy Monday, blogging pals. How are you all doing? What have you been up to? How was your weekend? As you may (or may not) have noticed, I didn't blog on Friday. I've had an insanely busy week...unpacking. !!!!! Yuppers, you heard that right. We finished washing and painting the entire house from ceiling to floor and now we are getting it in order. Fi-na-lly. And just in time for the holidays.

🎵 doing the happy dance 🎵

I started by unpacking all our books, and then moved on to all our home décor and lamps and decorative pillows and throws and picture frames and photo albums and whatnots. It took days to open up all the boxes, sort through them and put things where they belong. And you know what else? I got rid of a huge chunk of our stuff: 20% of the books and about 80% of the rest. All of it donated to the Salvation Army. We have been there several times since we moved here and I'm guessing they will see us again and again. Our goal when we moved here was to downsize, get rid of the excess and simplify our lives. So far, so good.

And that's what's been keeping me busy. There is still some work to do but the worst of it is over.

Now, let's get to the funny stuff.

Have a good one!

Chuckles and Chortles

And here we are again. Happy Monday, everyone. How was your weekend? Ours was pretty quiet. I had the place to myself on Saturday and kept myself busy with some painting, cooking, baking and drawing. The most amazing man in the world spent the day visiting a friend in Quebec. They hung out and played some music together. On his way back he said he drove through a bit of a snowstorm on one of the smaller roads and had to slow down because he could barely see anything ahead or around him. Thankfully it was a short-lived experience and the rest of the way home was smooth sailing. There are no signs of snow here yet but it's just a matter of time.

Okay, enough blah, blah, blah. Let's get some humour going.

Have a good one!

The Best Brownies Ever

One of you - and I won't name names or point fingers - commented on Friday's post that if I didn't post the recipe for the most amazing brownies I've ever had then it never happened. Well now...

So here I am with the recipe. Thanks to that person. But I won't name names or point fingers.

As you'll see in the comments below by Chef Linda, there are many ways to make these brownies, so adjust to your liking and to the ingredients you have on hand. Enjoy!

(And for those of you who have a Facebook account, you can find the post for the recipe here, along with a photo of the brownies, which I forgot to take before we devoured them.)


Esther’s Pumpkin Brownies

Cuisine: Esther Approved Dessert, Baked Good, Gluten-free and Nut-free options
Prep Time: 10 minutes Bake Time: 25 minutes Cool Time: 15 minutes
Yields: 12 (3”x3”) brownies
By: Chef Linda | Esther’s Kitchen

(For these brownies, choose the ingredients that work for you. This recipe has been baked at least 11 times and tested using the following choices: almond butter, peanut butter, sunflower butter, agave nectar, brown rice syrup, maple syrup, dairy-free butter, coconut oil, almond flour, all purpose flour and gluten-free baking flour blend. Each one tasted great and had unique flavors. All of the ingredients resulted in a moist brownie that held together well. The brown rice syrup had the least amount of sweetness.)

Ingredients

1 cup pureed pumpkin from a 15 oz can or homemade and excess water drained
1/2 cup creamy almond, peanut or seed butter
2 Tablespoons softened coconut oil
1/2 cup agave nectar, maple syrup or brown rice syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup unsweetened cacao/cocoa powder
3/4 cup flour of choice: almond, gluten free baking blend or all purpose
1-1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

2. Line an 8“ x 8“ baking dish with parchment paper. Press the paper along the bottom edge and all 4 corners; set aside.

3. Combine all of the ingredients in a mixing bowl or food processor. Use an electric hand mixer or process in the food process until the batter is smooth.

4. Pour all of the batter in the center of the parchment lined baking dish. Scrape out remaining batter from the bowl or food processor. Spread the batter into the corners until you have a level surface.

5. Bake the brownies for 25 minutes. Cool the brownies on a metal rack for 15 minutes.

6. Pull up two sides of paper and lift the brownie out of the pan. Place the paper and brownie on a cutting board. Slice the brownie into 9 pieces or as desired.

This Week

Is it Friday? You bet your last brownie it is. And speaking of brownies, I recently made the best ones ever. Ever. I ran across a recipe that had ingredients in it that I like and had on hand, so I decided to give it a try. And they turned out awesome. We practically inhaled them. Super moist. Super delicious. And totally vegan. This makes me very happy because my younger daughter is a vegan. I’m trying some recipes with her in mind, so when she comes over, I can prepare things she can eat. The recipe is on Facebook and I tried linking to it, but for those of you that don’t have an account, you won’t be able to see it. I’ve decided to make a separate post for it another time. Stay tuned...

Did you hear it yesterday? That enormous sigh of relief that shook the planet? That came from our house. Because you know what? Yesterday we finished painting the last room in the house. OHMYFLIPPINGGOSH...what a thrill. I can’t tell you how happy we are. And tired. But mostly happy. It was the most challenging room with its 12-foot ceiling and a whole bunch of other difficulties, but - holy crap on a cracker - it’s done. We do have to paint the baseboards and quarter rounds but that’s a piece of cake. I’ll take one morning this weekend and finish that up. And next week we’ll finally place all the furniture where it belongs and start opening up boxes that have been piled up in the basement since February. It’s been an interesting, exhausting and sometimes frustrating journey. But we’re both still standing. I’ll post before and after shots of our home at some point in the future.

Next up, art.

Sometimes it’s difficult to find the time to sit down and draw but it’s extremely enjoyable, therefore I make an effort. Here are a few simple sketches:

I like learning things that are totally useless but extremely interesting. Well, they can be useful if you enjoy trivia games. Having said that, here are 5 useless but interesting facts for you:

- LEGO has a temperature-controlled underground vault in Denmark with nearly every set they've ever made.

- Some cats are allergic to humans.

- Space has a distinct smell: a bouquet of diesel fumes, gunpowder, and barbecue. The aroma is mostly produced by dying stars.

- Scientists have found evidence of take-out restaurants in the remains of Pompeii.

- It's illegal for supermarkets in France to waste food. Supermarkets must either compost or donate unsold or nearly expired goods to charity.

- Barcelona is home to hundreds of playgrounds for seniors. The spaces are meant to promote fitness and combat loneliness in elderly citizens.


And with that, I end this post and wish you all a wonderful weekend!