And the Award goes to...

     Hi everyone. I've been really pressed for time lately. I thought winter, especially here in the great white North, was supposed to be a time of rest and rejuvenation. Hibernation, people. The days are just flying by. I'm two weeks behind on comments, the house is a mess. I need a hair cut.....

     This week I managed to install two new plugs in the house. Anyone who's ever bought a fixer upper knows how important that is. Quite proud, I wired into the breaker box and everything. Two less extension cords running along the floor, fewer tripping hazards. Both good things.

     More pics of my newest cousin. He's so tiny. Pretty adorable too.

 

     This week we were supposed to talk about 10 dumbest purchases. Truly, I've got nothing for this one. I'm pretty good at curbing my spending impulses. Silly things I buy, like the glow in the dark colour changing dragon flies were 99 cents a piece. I have two. I'm also a researcher. I check around and compare online when I'm going to make a purchase. Another thing that keeps impulse buying at bay. Not having  a lot of extra cash, I'm pretty good at not spending it. If we were doing this after the trip in September, all bets are off. But I do have a list and it relates.

     It isn't just the Oscars tonight. Kerry gave me a Liebster award. I'm honoured to accept but I already have one from over a year ago.( shows how fast my readership is growing LOL) So two lists, 11 random facts about me then answering her 11 questions. I'm not going to follow all the rules because I don't think you are supposed to do this twice but what the hell.

Random facts

1 I'm very shy, almost painfully so. Until I get to know you.
2 Love crossword puzzles
3Favourite beverages, coffee, beer, tequila and bourbon. (not all at once or in that order)
4 Favourite meal- tuna noodle casserole, I'm a cheap date
5 I would like to colour my hair but don't want people to think I'm just trying to cover the grey even though I'm not really thrilled with the grey.
6 Pretty much an all or nothing kind of guy.
7 Hate being late but I usually am.
8 Very, very clumsy, the bull in the china shop. There is almost always an unidentified bump, bruise or scratch some where on my person.
9 Love people's expression when you smile at them and say Thank you or Have a good day. A little politeness goes a long way.
10 Hate talking on the phone but will talk for hours in person. Really just tell me to shut up.
11 Small things should be attached to my body with idiot strings. I've lost countless toques, gloves, sunglasses, cel phones, my wallet, keys.... The list is endless. That should have been my list, dumb purchases because I had to replace them. Likelihood of losing them is directly proportional to how expensive they were.

Kerry's questions

1. Most unique place you’ve visited
2. Favorite vacation spot
3. An adventure or relaxation day
4. Facial or shopping
5. Meat or vegetables
6. Stupid comedy or drama based on real events
7. Favorite music genre
8. Languages other than English?
9. Have you ever been skydiving? If no would you?
10. How about bungee jumping?
11. Lastly….dream job?

1 Snorkeling in the gulf stream reefs off the Bahamas.
2 My parents farm, cheesy I know but they have a pool, horses to ride, tons of relatives to visit, awesome food. What more could a guy ask for?
3 Always up for an adventure.
4 Facial. I hate shopping for the most part but having some one pamper me.....
5 Meat wrapped around vegetables. Bacon wrapped asparagus, need I say more.
6 I like both so it depends on my mood. Love the ridiculous but am a bit of a history buff too so????
7 Impossible to pick
8 French, not so bad, Italian, not so good and a smattering of Tagalog curse words.
9 No but I would love to and hang gliding too.
10 Kind of on the fence with this one. Have a feeling it would end up like the Dukoral commercial but never say never.
11 Too many to list really. Book editor, critic for food, music or film, travel writer, National Geographic photographer, astronaut, writer.... Who knows what I'll be if I ever grow up LOL

     Drop by Stasha's and see what's cluttering up everyone's storage spaces.

Guys are easy

    Rorybore gave us this prompt in honour of February being the month of love and romance.

The Most Romantic Character... Ever?"In a book, a film, a TV show, a song.....who's The One that carries you away?

 

 

     How hard could that be? It's not like there aren't thousands of pages, songs and movies dedicated to it. Poor tragic Heathcliffe, Romeo and Juliet, Tristram and Isolde. Movies like Gone with the Wind, From Here to Eternity, Casablanca, even Boys Don't Cry or Brokeback. Songs, two words, Air Supply.

 

 

     I drew a complete blank. All I could come up with were characters I thought were hawt. So I scoped out what others had to say and it finally hit me. Guys are easy.

 

 

    We don't require our loves to woo us, we're a sure thing. Easily convinced. There is no storming the castle, swimming the moat to slay the dragon going on. No showers of rose petals, dim candle light or chocolate necessary.

 

     For many of us, romance = sex. Sadly all that's required is a little bare skin, a side ways glance, a pulse. You've got our attention. Props, food or alcohol, all optional. A nice touch but not essential.

 

 

    That's not to say we don't appreciate the gesture. It's not entirely wasted on us. Some of us even like the idea of romance. The planning, the staging, the shopping, the cleaning, the grooming, the trimming, the thinking..... more thinking, even more thinking. Damn you Hollywood, you've set us up to fail again.

 

     My most romantic character? The one who remembers the opener so I don't crack a filling trying to open the bottle. Swoon.

 

     Drop by Rory's to see what others who have a clue have to say.

 

 

  The above post is written with tongue firmly in cheek    

 



Joy

     Our task this week from Wendy, 10 tiny (or secret) things that bring you joy. The first one is easy, Listicles brings me joy. Last week had me holding my stomach, laughing out loud, joyful. Maybe not tiny, or secret but....

     Valentine's Day ended up as a bit of a bust. What romantic escapades did I get up to? I installed a new toilet. Maybe not splitting the atom, but it brought me joy as well.
2 I did something I had never done and it worked. Basking in the glow of accomplishment.
3 Not shelling out for an enormous water bill means Italy is one step closer.
4 I got to use the line, " A new throne for my queen." I was killing myself laughing, my other half not so much. No sense of humour.

     I went home to my parents this weekend. It's lambing season, 56 as of tonight. Seeing all that new life brought me joy. ( Despite the fact it was -26, that brought me no joy)

     I got to visit with my aunt, family always brings me joy but that's no secret or tiny so #6 would have to be that she let me take three boxes of my great grandmother's personal effects to copy, sort and catalogue. As the family amateur historian, the chance to look through all of those "treasures" pretty much had me hopping up and down like a little kid that has to use the bathroom.

     7 would have to be the surprise I have in store for my aunt when she and my Mom come to visit in March. I'm not good keeping surprises secret so I had to not visit her this time when I was back. I always stop in to see her.

    8 is the surprise I have for both of them. Not blabbing it is killing me. My Mom knows about the secret for my aunt but thinks that's it. I can hardly wait.

    Second to last, hmm. I had an "A ha", moment this week. those always make me happy. Finally being able to scratch that mental itch. I realised why I don't like Lana Del Rey. Although I like her sound something about her always annoys me. It finally dawned on me,  she sounds like she's heavily medicated, there's a weird kind of disconnect listening to her.

     For the finale, a little vocab building.

 

fris·son  /frēˈsôN/

noun A sudden strong feeling of excitement or fear; a thrill: "a frisson of excitement".   What always gives me that little shiver? That first few seconds of crawling into bed. That feeling of the cool sheets gives me goosebumps and  has made me smile for as long as I can remember. Kind of like the feel of silk on my skin.          So what gives you that little shiver? Stop by Stasha's and find out what brings on the joy.

L'amour

     What a week. There was a new arrival

Benjamin Barker

Congratulations to my cousin and her husband on the arrival of their first.

 

     Her sister, (yes that makes her my cousin as well ), the genius behind Tried, Tested and True Mommy, found out she is also expecting a boy. Congrats again.

 

 

     A trip to the periodontist. Love feeling like I've been smashed in the face with a bat. Top it off with heavy antibiotics that mean: A) I can't drown my sorrows and B) I feel sick all the time. Imagine how happy I was dealing with quips like, "He just wants to be special". I'm not a violent man but I really wanted to punch him in the mouth just to show him how special I was feeling.

 

     Moving on.

 

You win Old Man Winter

 

Two hours of digging

I knew there was a vehicle under there.

 

     And we're back to another Listicles with Stasha.

 

     Seeing all the things you all have in your purses reaffirmed it is NO MAN"S LAND. A sacred space much like a man's wallet. I didn't even venture a comment on most. My mother taught me better than that. (I do want to know how a coyote skin was part of Ellen and Erin's Christmas Tea Party though. Being the intrepid explorers they are I imagine a story there)

 

     I'm on my last day of meds, feeling blah, the perfect setting for our prompt this week. "Oh no you didn't", the craptacular side of Valentine's Day gifting.

 

     Valentine's Day, the day devoted to l'amour. In my house it should have two R's, armour because as every child of the 80's knows

 

 

     I'm not sure why but V'day is almost always a dust up. The feud starts with planning which restaurant, degenerates into, "Fine, we'll just stay home and do take out", resumes with deciding what to order and usually ends up with us in separate rooms fuming over chocolate and roses.

 

     For the record, I like the idea of a day devoted to Love. The reality, I"d just as soon skip the hype, save the cash and go skiing on Family Day just a couple of days later.

 

     I'm also  not great at gifting. Unless I see something that really says "Buy me for ____, they'll love it", I don't. I hate the idea of giving a gift because you're obligated to rather than because you want to or because you saw something the recipient would really enjoy. I don't see the point. I think this is the perfect segue into, Oh no you didn't.

 

1 Probably the worst gift ever, a blind date or ambush as I like to call it. When I was single this happened a couple of times. Invited over or out to dinner with friends, Oh, by the way..... You really see what your friends think of your taste when they try and set you up. Don't do it. Not on Valentine's Day, not ever.

 

Okay, maybe there are some exceptions to #1

 

 

2 Go big or stay home. Last minute dinner at a cheap restaurant because you forgot or couldn't be bothered to take the time to plan... Brrrr, it's chilly in here all of a sudden. Buy some ingredients and cook or better yet, we'll cook together. There's lots of heat in the kitchen.

 

3-9 Remove the tags. I don't need to see the price you put on love, that it was a 2 for 1 sale, that it came from Dollorama, was used, the floor model, scratched, dented or refurbished. I'm not saying you need to spend a lot of money, you don't, but V'day is maybe not the time to flaunt your frugal spending habits.  A buy one get one free tag doesn't scream you're the one I adore. And I want to feel adored.

 

10 Buy for your target audience. If I'm receiving a gift, I'd like it to be my size, a colour I like or something I'd use. This Christmas, three of my four gifts fit my other half like a glove, me like the skin on a grape. How do I know this? I mentioned they were really small, questioning whether they would even fit him. The response, "They fit me perfectly" and they do. Happy holidays darling.

 

    On that note, off to Stasha's to see other V'day flops.

 

     If you'd like to spread the joy a little further, link up with Jennifer on the big day.

 

 

 

Carry On

     Monday again, time to link up with the star herself, Stasha. Before I go on with the prompt this week, a small confession. The trick rider that was so admired last week was not me but my Mom. In all fairness I never said it was me, but now you see I get it honestly.

     This time our prompt came from Ducky, 10 things in my purse. Being all PC, knapsacks, diaper bags and gym bags are good too. I was going to sit this one out, I travel pretty light. Not old enough for the diaper bag yet. Why would I have Jim's bag, my name isn't Jim? But, I do always have my knapsack over my shoulder. What's hiding in its deep, dark depths?

1 Pen- you never know when you'll have to sign an autograph

2 Tailor's tape - I forgot that was there. I measured a friend at work so she could order a sari online, a year and a half ago.

3 Old Beer Store receipts - I always make sure I have a bag that fits at least a 12.

4 & 5 Cloth grocery bag and a plastic one - Reduce, recycle, reuse

6 & 7 Small adjustable screw driver and C wrench.- mainly for repairs on the fly at work

8 Book - Never leave home without one. I get very antsy if I forget that one essential.

9 Assorted bits of clothing - I've already fessed up to being hard on my clothes so I carry some spares. At the very least a t shirt, at most a full set, shoes included, maybe an extra toque or set of gloves.

10 Trick bag - This has evolved over the years as has its necessity.

     In the 80's and 90's , it was a small traveller's tooth brush and paste, tester of cologne, small comb and hairspray and maybe an eyeliner. (don't judge, everyone wore it in the 80's) The purpose was to be prepared for the walk of shame the morning (or afternoon) after. Originally small, discreetly fit into a jacket pocket. Seriously, it fit into a cigarette case.

     These days it's more of a full on grooming kit. I leave my house at 5:20 in the am. I'm not a morning person unless I'm on the way home from the night before. Inevitably I forget something, shave, brush my teeth, hair whatever. I've even washed my hair at work. Big industrial sinks, goose neck faucets, it works.  I'm the first one there, no one else knows. I've joked about putting a star on the kitchen door and just calling it my dressing room. It's just easier on everyone elses eyes cuz in the morning it just isn't pretty. Ever.

     That was easier than I thought, I didn't think I even had ten things in there. Don't forget to drop by Stasha"s and see what's lurking in everyones elses carry on.