Chuckles and Chortles

Happy new week, everyone! What are you up to these days? I hope you are all keeping well. And if you're struggling, I wish for things to get better for you. We're doing okay. It's been a quiet and laid-back period, which suits me just fine.

Yesterday I went for a very long walk with a friend. We met up at 7:30 AM and covered 10 kilometers (6.2 miles), which added up to about 17,000 steps! It was a gorgeous morning and the time just flew right by. We aim to meet up every Sunday morning, weather and availability permitting.

The highlight of the week was on Wednesday. I drove to my hometown to meet up with my oldest and dearest friend. I parked my car outside of her home and she drove us to the most incredible spa. We spent the next few hours there where we enjoyed their numerous baths, saunas, meditation rooms, and so on. You pay $50 for fours hours and you have access to every room indoors and the entire outdoor area. The property is on the shores of a river and the most stunningly gorgeous place I've ever seen. Here's a link to the spa for those who are curious or for anyone living close enough to it and looking to visit such a place: Spa & Hotel Le Finlandais

After the spa, we went for a late lunch/early dinner. She then drove us back to her house where I picked up my car and headed home. It was one of the best days I've had all summer. The only downside of the whole spa experience is that someone swiped the bathrobe that I had brought along with me. Someone thought it was nice enough to steal and decided to make it their own. That they were entitled to it. Ah well, that's people for you. I wasn't going to let that ruin an otherwise perfect day.

I don't have many garden photos to share with you but here's one of a daisy; my favourite type of flower:

And here's a photo of our cat, Chupa, who posed so nicely for it:

Now let's get to the funny stuff! Enjoy and have a wonderful week ahead!

Chuckles and Chortles

Happy new week! How are you doing? What's going on? What have you been up to? Share in the comments! It's been another socially busy week for us. We joined up with a few friends last week for dinner and that was a lot of fun. Yesterday morning, I met up with a friend at 7 AM and we went for a long walk. And yesterday evening, we drove to our hometown to meet up with my bestie and her husband who had invited us over for dinner at their place. What an amazing time that was! My friend and I have known each other since we were four, so you can just imagine how many memories we've created.

The garden continues to bloom. I love the time I spend there. Some plants are done flowering while others are just getting started. Below are just a few images.


I planted a morning glory from seed and it is now preparing to put on a show.

Look at this colour!

Doesn't this endlessly-blooming perennial go perfectly with my little gnome house? I certainly think so.

I also want to share a photo of my adorable cat, Kazee, snuggling up with me. She lies across my lap and sleeps peacefully between me and my computer desk. She does this just about every day. Sometimes several times a day. Look at the way those paws are curled up!

And, of course, I place a blanket on my lap for her to sleep on because her comfort is a priority!

Now, shall we finally get to the funnies? Yes, let's do that. Enjoy and have a terrific week ahead!

Chuckles and Chortles

Happy August, everyone! A new month begins and I hope it's a good one for all of you. Whenever August kicks in, it stirs up nostalgic feelings. I think about the school season approaching when my kids were little and of my own when I was a youngster. And then I am once again stunned by how quickly the time has gone by.

So...what's going on with you? Share in the comments! Last week was socially active and it looks like this one will be, as well. Thursday we were invited to a small house party with a few friends. It was such a beautiful evening that we sat outdoors for the entire time. Saturday we met up with another couple for dinner in the small city of Vaudreuil, which is about 40 minutes from here. And yesterday morning I met up with my walking buddy at 7:00 AM. This introvert is exhausted!

The garden continues to thrive. The spray I used to get rid of the Japanese beetles has worked like a charm. Eva, our variegated maple, is free of them. Now she can focus on looking beautiful. And our hydrangea tree, Odin, is developing blooms We are going to enjoy a phenomenal autumn display! I'll make sure to take pictures. Our two giant sunflowers have grown in leaps and bounds. They are about 4 feet tall now. Can't wait to see the huge flowers! I didn't take many photos this week but below are a few for your viewing pleasure.


This plant just keeps on blooming! I can't get enough of it. Daisy-style flowers are my favourites.

The image does not do justice to this plant. The flowers are much more impressive in person.

This is an annual but it adds a beautiful touch to the garden, don't you think?

And finally, I can't resist sharing yet another video I took of our favourite garden visitor.



That's it for today, friends. Enjoy the funnies and have a wonderful week ahead! Wishing you all an amazing August, too!

Chuckles and Chortles

Happy new week, blogging friends! How is everyone? What are you up to? How are things going? What are you reading, watching, doing, eating, discussing...? Share in the comments and tell me all about it.

So last week we did head up to Ottawa. We spent the afternoon doing our own thing and in the evening we stopped by my daughter's house to visit with her and her boyfriend. We ordered pizza, talked, had dessert and talked some more. It was a lovely day. And I'm continuing to go walking on Sunday mornings with a friend that lives nearby. Yesterday we hooked up at 7:30 AM. We're both early risers, so mornings walks work well for us.

Eva, our variegated maple that was infested by Japanese beetles, is doing great! The spray we used to rid her of those pests works like magic. We will spray her once a week until those nasty bugs are done for the season. Here's a link to the product we used: ORTHO® BEETLE B GON MAX™ BEETLE KILLER

My sanctuary is still my garden, which is thriving. Below are some images with the first two being the plants that have been flowering non-stop!

This beautiful plant is just beginning to bloom:

My hosta, which is also getting ready to bloom, has turned into a monster. This image doesn't demonstrate just how huge it is:

What I'm really looking forward to is the full growth of this plant, which is a sunflower that will reach the height of 10 to 12 feet! I planted it from seed and it's on its way.

And finally, I wanted to share this funny video of my favourite garden visitor. How many peanuts can a chipmunk fit into its mouth? Watch and find out.

Okay, let's get to the funny stuff. I hope you enjoy the images and I wish you all a wonderful week ahead.

Chuckles and Chortles

Happy Monday, blogging friends! I hope you all had a great weekend and I hope you are all doing well. Please share your news in the comments. Before I go on, I want to talk about commenting. I know many of us have had issues with that on other blogs, maybe even our own. Not sure what Blogger has done to cause that problem or how to solve it. But I do know that some of your comments end up in my spam folder, so if you don't see your comment appear right away, rest assured that eventually I'll fish it out of spam and approve it. Also, my comments are not showing up on some of your blogs (Janie, my dear, yours is one of them!), so please check your own spam folders and rescue me!

Okay, moving along...

It's been a quiet week. We pretty much kept to ourselves. I did go for a very long walk (about two hours worth) with a friend yesterday morning. We could have kept going for even longer but it started getting really hot. My younger daughter contacted me over the weekend to let me know that she finally tested negative for COVID after having been infected. She and her boyfriend are over it. I'm very pleased about that and we'll be making plans soon to meet up for dinner in Ottawa.

Bugs...UGH! I've been eaten alive this year by mosquitoes. I'm not always a favourite treat but this summer it's been awful. I have so many bites, I get the urge to make myself a scratching post for my cats. And speaking of vile insects, the Japanese beetles have found our garden. Primarily our beautiful variegated maple, Eva. I went out to water one morning and she was filled with them and many of her leaves were skeletal. EEEEK... So I headed to the garden center to pick up a product that I discovered after watching a video on YouTube. It's specifically targeted to Japanese beetles. We sprayed Eva and all our other trees (just in case) later that day and hoped for the best. The next day I checked up on Eva and there wasn't a single beetle on there! We'll spray weekly until all these nasties are gone.

The garden is doing very well and we have a flurry of activity in it, too, with all the bird feeders. It has become my place of peace. Here is an image of the tiny flower bed in front of our home. Mostly annuals right now until I find the right perennials. It's a work in progress but coming along nicely.

And some flower and plant images to add some colour to your day: