Chuckles and Chortles

Happy second-to-last-day in May, blogging pals! How are you all doing? What's going on in your part of the world? What's keeping you occupied lately? Are you reading anything interesting? I'm still trying to get through "The Stand" by Stephen King. I am almost done. Are you getting out? Do you have hobbies that you enjoy? Share in the comments and let me know what's up.

It's the garden for me. The garden is keeping me busy. I am determined to get as smuch done as possible this year. Up until now, we've focused mostly on other areas of our home but this year it's all about the landscape; stones for edging and plants, plants and more plants! I've visited the garden center a few times in May and come home with lots of new babies. In the past week, I've planted about 16 new additions; the majority of them perennials. We should be seeing a lot of colour in our flower beds very soon. I will make sure to take photos and share them with you.
Yesterday was garden day but Saturday was socializing day. I got together with three friends that I've known for a very, very long time. One of them was in my kindergarten class; the other two I met in my early teens. We met for breakfast in the small city of Vaudreuil, which is about 40 minutes from here. And then we went to another place for coffee. When we parted ways, I met up with my older daughter for lunch. We then did some window shopping and stopped for coffee before heading home. What an amazing day! And long. I left at nine in the morning and didn't get home until 6 PM. I was tired but so happy!

And that's all I have for now. Tell me all about your goings-on. Enjoy the funny stuff and have an amazing week ahead!

Chuckles and Chortles

Happy Monday, my friends! How is everyone? What's been going on with you? How did your week and weekend go? I hope all is fine and that life is treating you well. And if not, I hope things get better and you find peace.

In news...

We were without water for three days! We finally got it back last night. A water main broke in our area late last week and our entire neighbourhood was affected. After a couple of days, the city sent a water truck (not sure what they're called) over that offered to fill up containers with water for the residents. People filled up whatever they could. And immediately after that, the fire department showed up with multi-packs of bottled water for each household. Of course, my face was pressed up against the window because...you know...firemen. Anyhow, I'm pleased that our water is back. I tell you, you don't know how easy you have it until an important utility such as this is not available. It's a somber reminder that we take things for granted.

 
In shitty news...

As many of you know, I've been dealing with the finalization of my mother's estate since September 2021. It all started off stressful and I even wrote on this post "I have this sinking feeling that this story is even worse than I originally thought." Well, my spidey senses were correct. As we venture along, there is crap being unearthed. Last week I discovered that in addition to my brother and his wife getting my parents' home at a song and dance a few months before my mother died, essentially squeezing me out of any inheritance from it (I wrote about it here), they also "negotiated" tens of thousands more dollars out of her. This sense of entitlement, this level of greed, is beyond my comprehension. At this point, I don't know what's worse: that he did these shitty things or that he thinks it's okay that he did these shitty things. I'm up to my eyeballs these days with all this estate crap and my stress levels skyrocketed for a while. My saving grace is that because my husband is one of three co-liquidators, he's taken the lead and become a necessary buffer for me. He handles the correspondences, answers the messages from my brother and make requests for information. I just need to acknowledge receipt and stay up to date. This support from him has kept me sane!

Well, that wraps it up. Today I have a ton of things I need to tackle and I best get to them. Enjoy the funny images and have yourselves an amazing week ahead!

Chuckles and Chortles

And here we are again with another new week ahead of us! Happy Monday, my friends. What is up with all of you? What is going on? Share in the comments below and tell me all about it.

I finished weeding (what a job!) and I started planting (yippee!). Last week we visited some garden centers and picked up a few plants (perennials and annuals) along with soil and mulch. Talk about being thrilled! I got all my new babies into the ground and when there's sufficient growth, and when I see flowers blooming, I'll share some photos with you. And speaking of photos, I'll try to remember to snap one of the bee and butterfly house we put up. No tenants yet but we've had some interest. Below that housing, we're going to lay out some tiles and place planters full of flowering plants on them. Not only will these little critters have a place to live, there will be lots of food below available. We intend to be really great landlords.

So... It used to be blissfully quiet here. Then our neighbours got a dog. I'm not sure what kind it is but it's one of the small ones. Cute as a button. But annoyingly loud. On and off throughout the day, it barks incessantly. Sometimes it's on the back balcony early in the morning and it barks and barks and barks at everything and everyone. Sometimes it's outside in front of the house and it barks and barks and barks at everything and everyone. When I was working in the front flower bed last week, it was outside barking and barking and barking at me. I completely ignored it in hopes that it would quiet down but it wouldn't. It didn't stop until I finished my work and left.

To say that this non-stop noise is less than pleasant is an understatement. We're not even at peace in our home anymore. We have a semi-detached home (we share a wall with these neighbours), so when it barks in the house at any time (sometimes very early in the morning or very late at night), we can hear it. In addition, our security cameras caught their young daughter sneaking into our front flower bed and cutting tulips. Not the end of the world, really, and I would happily allow the child to cut a flower or two...if she asked. But the way she does it is not right. Anyhow, we're trying to decide how we'll handle all this. I think we should talk with our neighbours and try to resolve things, particularly the noisy dog. Any suggestions?

While you think about all the great advice you're going to give me, here are some funny images to start the week off on the right note. Enjoy...and have a wonderful day!

Chuckles and Chortles

Happy new week, blogging friends! How was your weekend? How are you doing? What are you up to? What are you reading, watching and listening to? What are you eating and drinking? Have you gone anywhere? Done anything? Seen or talked to anyone? Started something new? What's keeping you busy? What's taking up your time? Inquiring minds want to know! Share in the comments.

Friday we spent the day in our hometown of Montreal. We had lunch there and visited Ikea, which we hadn't been to since way before the pandemic. It was fun walking through the store and seeing the showrooms. We only bought some candles and some lightbulbs because I'm not about to re-clutter a de-cluttered house! Now it's going to be more about necessity than wanting something.

And yes, I'm done with the cleaning and de-cluttering! I couldn't be happier. We have a lot of boxes filled with items for donation to be dropped off. The house is more airy and easier to clean. I could probably eliminate more things but it's time to start focusing on the outdoors, so I'll get back to further de-cluttering later in the year when it gets cold again.

Speaking of the outdoors, we visited a garden center last week and my heart skipped a few beats! I WAS SO EXCITED to be there. I wanted to buy dozens of plants but didn't. Until I get rid of the weeds and properly prepare the flower beds, I can't plant anything. Quite an incentive to get out in the garden this week and clean everything up. Then off to the garden centers I go to stock up!

In an earlier post, I mentioned that we were searching for a waterproof camera to take out and about with us, and one that we can take selfies with. Well, we finally did pick one up and we took it for a test run last week on one of our walks by the water. Here's a photo of us trying to figure it out while being blinded by the sun! The quality for the price we paid is quite good. Can't wait to take images on our cycling adventures and day trips! I hope to share some with you.


Well, enough blah, blah, blah... Let's get to the funny images. Enjoy them and have an amazing week!

Chuckles and Chortles

Happy Monday, everyone, and happy May, as well! A new month is upon us and I couldn't be happier. This is the month when the garden centers will be stocked and ready to go. They have perennials, annuals, trees and vegetables...and we've got flower beds and a tree-less lot to fill! The perfect union. Can't wait to start planting. But before the fun stuff begins, the not so fun part of gardening needs to be tackled. There is a lot of weeding that needs to get done and I hope to tackle that some time this week if the weather co-operates.

Yesterday was a glorious spring day and it would have been the ideal time to do that, but yours truly chose to neglect chores and go out and enjoy life instead! I spent the day in Vaudreuil (a small city in Quebec about 40 minutes from here) with a very old friend that I hadn't seen in years; way before the pandemic. We've known each other since we were about three and even our moms were friends. Despite how long it had been since we'd gotten together, it was like we'd just seen each other the day before. That's the beauty of these types of friendships. You pick up right where you left off. We had an amazing time together and it was fun catching up, especially about our kids that are all grown up now. I am so grateful for all these lovely souls in my life.

Are you watching anything captivating or reading anything interesting. Believe it or not, I'm still trying to make it through "The Stand" by Stephen King. I'm more than halfway through but there are still so many pages left to read. Sometimes I feel like calling it quits but I am determined to finish this! As for what we're watching, we're enjoying the final season of Ozark on Netflix. Talk about intensity and being on edge with the final episodes. I'm so curious to see how this will end. It's been a really good series. How about you? What are you up to these days?

That's it for now, blogging pals. I wish you all a great week and an amazing month ahead! And I hope the images below make you chuckle and chortle. Enjoy!