Category Archives: Humour

Stealing the Show

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…..how toddlers and 90 year olds become the centre of attention

One of my fondest memories of my retirement party will be how my father hugged all the women and held court for much of  the evening and when he wasn’t the centre of attention my granddaughter took over by running throughout the restaurant with my retirement balloons flying behind her.

I’m glad that the evening had a very casual atmosphere. During the speeches my father came up behind some of the presenters and asked me, in his loud booming voice, if they were singing a song for me (they were actually reading from a story book). During one of the more serious moments Winnie made everyone laugh as she flew by with her balloons.

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When Lucy Met Olive

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….it definitely wasn’t love at first “bite”

Puppies and old dogs don’t always mesh. A and J were looking forward to introducing their new dog, Olive to G’s and B’s older dog, Lucy.

The experts say that there’s something about puppies that older dogs recognize as being non-threatening. They instinctively know that these frisky young pups, although somewhat annoying to older dogs, are harmless and in need of nurturing and gentle instruction in the hierarchy of the canine world.

I guess Lucy had not read the chapter on caring for pups. A while back she had been attacked by another dog in the dog park and in her defence she has been wary of all new dogs that she meets. Olive learned very quickly that Lucy was less than pleased to meet her. We ended up keeping both dogs on leashes in the house during dinner time. Food issues between two dogs can be quite unpleasant and since Lucy is about four times bigger than Olive we erred on the side of caution during mealtime. P1020714.JPG

As the day progressed Lucy relaxed a bit, literally, and slept on the couch while Olive pranced around the house and stayed clear of Lucy. Luckily Lucy doesn’t feel the same way about our granddaughter. Winnie can sit on Lucy and dress her up and Lucy reaps the rewards at dinner time when Winnie drops food by her high chair. It’s what I would call a symbiotic relationship.

Winnie is a little unsure of Olive. She’s not used to such an ‘active dog’ but over time I’m sure she will grow to love Olive as the rest of us have. As for Lucy, I think that she will stay out of Olive’s way and be somewhat territorial but time will tell.

The next challenge will come when the girls bring Olive over to our house to meet Frances.img_0556

” Say what??? Who’s coming over for dinner?”

Cee’s Odd Ball Photo Challenge – Jan. 22, 2017

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….now moved to Sundays

Come and join the fun and post some of your odd ball photos. There’s no theme.

These two photos were sent to me by my oldest daughter who recently discovered an App called Meitu that takes your photos and distorts them. We had fun seeing how our photos were going to be manipulated. Not sure how much input my daughter had for the final outcome. We all agreed that my husband’s photo was the best.

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Share Your World 2016 – Week 46

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….thanks Cee for Share Your World

Are you a traveler or a homebody?

After this summer I would say that I’m a traveller. I can’t stay put for too long. Even at the cottage I need to get off the island for a few hours and visit the town or explore the countryside.

What kind of TV commercial would you like to make? Describe it.

I like ‘feel good’ commercials. The one that comes to mind is the Subaru Forester commercial with the puppies where the one puppy is left behind (but not for long). It has wonderful scenery and great music and the message is subtle.

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Describe yourself in a word that starts with the first letter of your name.

I’m creative, curious and conscientious.

List some fun things for a rainy day.

Here are a few things I like to do on a rainy day:

• read a good book

• bake cookies

• paint, draw or do some kind of art

• play board games with family and friends

• play cards

• play with my granddaughter

• do some kind of needlework (knitting, sewing, cross-stitch)

• talk on the phone to my sisters

Bonus question: What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?

Last week I was grateful for a wonderful dinner at Mamma Martino’s with the boys that my husband coached this summer and fall. My daughter and daughter-in-law and the boys’ parents were also there.

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I was also grateful for two wonderful days spent with my granddaughter. It wasn’t planned. On Saturday my daughter asked if we could come over to babysit so that she could get some work done and on Sunday they came to the city because my daughter  had a lunch date with a close friend. At 13 months, Miss Winnie keeps us hopping. She runs everywhere and never seems to tire. I did discover that the best way to read to her is when she is sitting in her high chair. She’s more engaged when she’s strapped into her chair.

This week I’m looking forward to going out to dinner again with friends to celebrate a good friend’s 50th birthday. We’re also expecting a delegation from the Netherlands to come to our school to check the place out and observe some classes this week. The school looks pretty good and I’m curious to know what our visitors think of our education system. On Thursday night and on Friday we have parent interviews. I won’t be seeing too many parents, if any, and I’m hoping to get some work done in the library.

How to Stay Cool in Italy

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….when people tell you it’s hot in Italy in the summer….believe them

We knew going to Italy in July that it would be very warm. Everyone who had been there before us warned us over and over again. One thing that we made sure of was to book accommodations that had air conditioning. Here is my list of how to stay cool in Italy in July.

  1. Stay only in air-conditioned hotel rooms or homes with air-conditioning.IMG_9456
  2. Drink lots of water.
  3. Walk in shady areas and underneath porticos if you can find them. They were everywhere in Bologna.IMG_9291
  4. When eating outside make sure you’re under an umbrella and preferably next to water.IMG_8954
  5. Spend time in the mountains (the Dolomites) or high up in the hills of Assisi.

    6. Always wear a hat.IMG_91427. Cool off in the sink, shower or pool.

    8. Sit or stand by a fountain.

    9. Spend time in an air-conditioned museum or find an old dark cathedral to sit in.

    10. Enjoy a gelato.

    11. Cover yourself in yogurt.IMG_9487

    11. Find a shady park and sit or lie down for a spell.

    12. Enjoy an icy glass of  Aperol spritz or Prosecco. IMG_8945

    I hope these suggestions are helpful. Enjoy!

No More Excuses!

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….well I can always find more excuses 

I’ve been looking forward to going to the cottage for months and I’ve been off school since Friday and I still haven’t made it up there. What’s wrong with me? Well nothing actually. I have some good reasons for not being there yet.

On Sunday my very good friend, AB, was having one last party at her house before she moves to her new condo. She’s been in that house for over 30 years and we’ve had many a celebration there. It was great seeing a lot of the old faces from past parties and we also celebrated AB’s birthday.

On Monday we had to wait for the guys from the appliance store to determine if our new washing machine should be replaced. They were there less than 5 minutes but it was at the end of the day. They delivered the new machine today.

Before the appliance guys arrived I did some shopping and I purchased flowers for my containers in the front and back yards. I don’t know why but I always leave my planting till well into June. Of course I couldn’t go to the cottage with that weighing on my conscience. I also renewed my membership for the concert series and mailed the cheque.

Today I filled up the car with gas. Tomorrow is a holiday in Canada so I wasn’t sure if the Costco gas station would be open. The store is closed for sure. I also filled one of our propane tanks to take with me and I purchased two large bottles of water and a few supplies that I will need for my trip.

At home I cleaned the bird cage, cleaned the debris off my lawn (branches and leaves that had fallen during Sunday’s rain storm), pulled a few weeds, and swept the porch, sidewalk and the street in front of our house. Actually I couldn’t believe that I was compelled to sweep the leaves off the street. It seems that I kept finding jobs to do that kept me from getting in the car and driving north.

After the new washing machine arrived today I did a couple of loads of washing. It seems to be working just fine. I went for a long walk with the dog, helped my husband make dinner and then watched the FIFA Women’s World Cup game.

Well I think I’ve run out of excuses to not go to the cottage. Except that my oldest daughter called tonight and thought I was driving her to the airport tomorrow night. She’s okay with me not doing it but I’m feeling a little guilty.

My husband won’t be coming with me tomorrow and I hate opening the cottage by myself. I have to take the board down over the main door, move the fridge and connect it to the propane tank and set up the BBQ. Then there’s checking all the rooms for evidence of rodents and possible water damage from all the rain. I have to clean out the water barrel and fill it up and put away the food, make the beds and sweep the floors.

Once this is all done I can relax, assuming that no problems are lying in wait for me to fix. Of course I could stay home and not go up until my husband is able to join me but that could take another week or more. I think I’ll have to chance it and go up on my own. Wish me luck. By the way, I have no electricity or wifi connection so it may be a few days before I can post another article.

Should Have Gotten on my Hands and Knees Right Away

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….my last resort should have been the first thing I did

I found my glasses! Yay!!!!!

It only took 2 1/2 days. After sorting through mounds of paper, piles of clothes, numerous purses and bags and getting my husband to look under the seats in my car I knew that I had to start looking under furniture. If I didn’t have such a sore knee I would have done it sooner.

Last night I took a flashlight and started upstairs in my bedroom. I looked under the bed, behind the blanket boxes and under and inside the night tables. No luck. This morning I went to the chair that I sit in all the time to write my blog posts. I carefully lowered myself to the floor, being careful not to put too much weight on my right knee. Voila! There it was, between the chair and the bookcase, hidden by the power bar and the cords. Why didn’t I go there first? In hind sight it was the most obvious place.

Oh well, the main thing is that I found my glasses and I no longer have to wear my sunglasses on cloudy and rainy days. In the process of looking I found several other things that needed my attention, like paying for the dog’s license, renewing my subscription to the WMCT concert series and finding things that our dog chewed up and needed to be thrown away.

Maybe someone should invent a tracking device to put on glasses. It seems that losing your glasses is not such an unusual occurrence.

Cheers!