BITCHY WIFE 1 - HUSBAND 0

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock the last few weeks, I’m sure you have been experiencing this amazing summer weather. With the majority of my evenings and weekends being spent at the cottage, accomplishing my outdoor/yard type chores at home's suffered. So much so, that when my husband got home from work this eve, he put his hands on his hips and felt the need to announce just how long the grass had grown.

As you can expect, unconsciously, his comments didn't stop. I felt bad for Jukebox, because he obviously felt jammed in the middle. In turn, though it was very amiable dialogue, I sensed he felt the need to apologize that the lawn wasn't cut. As I've said before, and I'll say again: I sit behind a desk all day. I love the exercise/fresh air of working in the yard, and have zero expectation that I receive any help with said chores. I suppose I do have one small caveat to disclose, which is, don't look a great big stinkin' gift horse in the mouth!

Anyway, by the time he'd made it into the house, his steady rant of comments resonated and I started to laugh. When he asked me what was so funny, I told him that I could go to into my home office and send a shout out to Facebook, asking if there was anyone that wanted to come on over and help me mow my lawn. He didn't know what to say....

"Hell, I figure I have at least one buddy that wouldn't hesitate to head over and start-a-mowing," I said. Then continued..."But I fear they may only agree if you'd hang around, have a beer & watch us do it!"

Not another word was said. Cool as a cucumber, I got out of my dress clothes, hooked in my headphones, and opened the garage door. Suffice is to say that my photo illustrates exactly how my lawn officially got mowed this eve. 

Who says a bitchy wife needs to lose their temper to get what they want? Not this cat!

I always knew having two kickass lawn mowers would come in handy!
TAKEN: JULY 25th, 2013

WHO THE HELL KNEW?

In early stages of my electronic journal, I asked a simple question to the Ya Gotta Laugh About It masses (of about 35 readers) which was: do you ever feed an expired parking meter?

It was a quirky post about acquaintances that drift about your life at their leisure, then went on to explain how an acquaintance differs from a friend. Short story long, I ultimately categorized them as parking meters whose egos ultimately need to be fed. 

All of that said, a prior business acquaintance fed my expired meter yesterday. Out of the blue, my phone beeped touting those words that always make me curious... 'howdy stranger!' I smiled because I was perplexed, the number wasn't in my phone, so I immediately googled the area code that appeared on my screen. When the location appeared, I knew it had to be someone I hadn’t spoken to face to face since last summer, nor had a text message from in months. I must admit, not only did it feed my ego, it was a very pleasant surprise.

Pleasant surprise or not, I immediately wondered where the hell they got the cash to feed my meter. When I asked them what was up, they explained I had crossed their mind as they'd traveled to an old supplier we both use to sell for. What ensued next, was a great electronic conversation. Even though I no longer work in the industry, it was like I’d never left. Mission accomplished; my ego had been fed.

At the end of the day he asked about a mutual acquaintance we had. Someone he had met through me in the summer of 2012. It was that very inquiry that made me think of the parking meter post from 2011. I told him where I was at with this acquaintance he all these years later he only had four works in return. “I told you so,” was all I read.

Funny thing is? As acquaintances go, I honestly knew he was right about them in 2012.

Who the hell knew parking meters were so observant... and I,so gullible!

Medford, Wisconsin.. Where I met the industry person that fed my parking meter today.
TAKEN: OCTOBER 2011

HOW DID YOU SPEND CANADA DAY?

Friday started like any other summer long weekend in Muskoka, with the downtown crammed by transient traffic. Great for our local economy, crappy for yours truly. As luck would have it, I didn't have a chance to get everything I needed to land at the cottage and stay until it was time to head back to work Monday morning. So, like all other cottagers do when it rains, I loaded my ass into the car and headed into town to shop.

Fighting the masses seemed worse than I remember. The more it rained, the busier it got. No surprise there, just forgot how many people really flock to town when there's nothing else to do at the cottage. As I said, I wasn't surprised by the weather, more disappointment. I had planned on staying to do the yard work at the house, then take my daughter out for dinner, and tag along with her to the fireworks display. As my lack of luck would have it, by mid afternoon, I hiked it back out to the lake in the rain, climbed into the downstairs bed, and took a nap.

Selfie on the upstairs deck in the pouring rain!

TAKEN: JULY 1st, 2016

I don't know about you, but Canada Day has always been a really big thing for me. So much to be grateful for and an occasion we really do embrace as a country.

As this year would have it, none of the littluns decided to venture out to Orillia Lake but that made no matter to me. As tradition served, I still got my riggin' on, as if they would have come out.

The my other wee smidge of sorrow this year?  Not only did I miss the fireworks with Staccs & the kids decided to stay in town. I discovered that I regretted purchasing the funky flag sunglasses perched at top my melon in my pic. In hindsight, I should have grabbed that neat unbrealla hat made out of a Canadain flag.  That way, my hair and makeup would have been protected from the down pour of celebratory elements.

Either way, overall, I had a really great day.

Happy 149th  Birthd'eh Canada.