Driving from Halifax to Peggy’s Cove, we passed through several small bayside villages.
We drove into a village named Dover.
Sean said, “Give me some white cliffs!”
I responded with, “And some bluebirds!”
Best conversation so far today.
Made Me Laugh
Carousel.
Yesterday Sean and I returned to Port Dalhousie to see the carousel. It was built in 1903 and was restored painstakingly in the 1980s.
The carousel has over 60 hand carved animals and some benches that look like sleighs. A calliope organ plays songs from the early 1900s that make a ride on the carousel a trip into history.
A ride still costs only 5 cents.
Whaaaaat? In Australia, someone would be charging $5 and blaming it on the price of insurance.
We had a lovely ride that lasted over 5 minutes. It was simply delightful.
Shopping list…
Sean was making a shopping list for groceries. Then this conversation happened:
Me: “You wanted yoghurt. Is that on your list?”
Sean: “Yes.”
Jenn: “Do you have enough granola for your yoghurt?”
Sean: “We have that coming out of our wazoo…”
Me: “Is that what that was?”
Jenn: “Wazoo flavoured granola…”
Me: “What other flavour could you want?”
Not even close.
Yesterday at the zoo, we were watching the hippo swim and push a log around with her nose when this conversation happened.
Jenn: “That’s how I swim.”
Zoey: “What??”
Jenn: “Front feet only…”
Me: “Those are hands, Jenn…”
Jenn: “Same thing!”
Oh, Jenn. You’re awesome.
If you would like to see a video of the hippo in question at Toronto Zoo, you can see it at http://youtu.be/rG_XIkITe6Y
Larry.
I just met a great guy named Larry who runs a store called Clothes Encounters in Farmington, a suburb of Detroit.
I’ve met lots of friendly people here, but Larry is just that bit nicer, funnier, and sweeter than most. We chatted, talked about politics and the state of the world, we joked and laughed, and then I walked out of the store feeling great. I think Larry is the sort of guy who has a gift for making the day better for everyone he meets.
If you’re ever in Detroit, pop down to Clothes Encounters in Farmington and tell Larry I sent you. Maybe we can make his day great, too.
Why one should mind one’s own business in the supermarket.
It had been a long, busy day at work following several days plagued by severe headaches. I headed to the supermarket to get some things for dinner and to stock up on Tim Tams for my family and friends in the U.S. and Canada, as I am heading back over there in a couple of weeks.
I had ten packs of Tim Tams and a stack of other Aussie treats in my basket. A lady nearby looked into my basket and then looked at me, as though she were trying to shame me for my wilful flirtation with Type 2 Diabetes.
I could have called her out on being a nosy cow who makes assumptions about strangers way too quickly but, instead, I looked her right in the eye with feigned innocence as I took the last box of Tee Vee Snacks from right in front of her and said, “What? I’m hungry, okay?”
She couldn’t look away fast enough.
“There!” I said inside my head, “that will teach you to mind your own business.”
When I got to the checkout, the attendant was looking strangely at my stash and at me, but at least she tried to hide it. Once again, I looked at her and said, “Never can stop at just one, you know!”
She tried to hide her reaction with a smile, but it was awkward.
“Not really,” I continued. “I’m going to America and Canada in a couple of weeks and they can’t get Tim Tams there. I’m performing a mission of mercy.”
That time, she really was horrified.
“Those poor people!” she said. “Ten packets isn’t enough!”
“I know, right,” I said, “but I don’t want to be arrested for trafficking a drug of dependence.”
“Can they do that?”
“Yeah, twelve packs and I’d be a goner. They’d confiscate them all at the airport and arrest me. ”
Her eyes were wide and her mouth was open.
Never mind how tired I had been just twenty minutes earlier. I walked out of that store feeling like an absolute legend.
Ear buds in-nuendo.
Today, one of my office buddies said to me, “You know what I wonder about myself? If I’m listening to music with ear buds in, do I breathe louder?”
I had no idea what to say to that, except to comment that the thought had honestly never crossed my mind.
She continued, “There was a kid in class and he had ear buds in, and he was breathing really heavy. But you don’t do it when you’re listening to music. I’ve never heard you doing any heavy breathing at all.”
“That’s probably a good thing!” I said.
And there I was, dying laughing at my own double entendre.
Thankfully, she was laughing, too. That’s probably also a good thing, really.
Lost: one tooth.
Today my 9 year old nephew, Hamish, showed me the space where he just lost a tooth while eating a pie.
I commented that he was lucky that he didn’t swallow it.
“I’ve only ever swallowed one tooth.”
“What did the tooth fairy do then?” I asked him.
“I wrote a note and told her that I swallowed my tooth, but could I have the money anyway? But I never got the money.”
“Did you look near the toilet?” I asked him. “Maybe you just looked in the wrong place!”
When he finally stopped laughing, I said, “Why don’t you tell that story at ‘Show and Tell’ tomorrow? It will make your teacher’s day.”
I do so enjoy being helpful.
Trying a little tenderness.
The man of the house cooked steak with Diane sauce for dinner tonight.
It was delicious.
LMC didn’t like it though. Her face screwed up and she very expressively said, “Ugh!”
She scraped the sauce off her steak with a very serious look on her face: there was no way she was going to leave any of that behind. She then ate the rest of her meal quite happily.
We adults were chatting happily as we ate, and then I realised what she was doing.
As she extracted each pea from the sauce, she said to it gently, “I’ll save you!”
Then she carefully rolled each pea around the plate to get the sauce off before she ate it.
After a while, I said to her, “Any talking to your vegetables should be done in your head.”
Silently, she continued the ritual until all the peas were gone and only the gravy remained.
It really was cute and funny. especially as she’s not usually so sentimental when it comes to her food.
I guess next time we’ll just give her the steak without the sauce.
A Very Random Call That Made My Day
I was sitting at my desk at work today when I received a call from a number I didn’t recognise.
Me: “Hello!”
Caller; “Oh hi, is Anthony there please?”
Me: “There’s no Anthony here.”
Caller: “Oh, I probably dialled the wrong number.”
Thinking that my pastor’s name is Anthony, I asked, “Which Anthony did you want?”
Caller: “The manager at the loading docks…”
Me: “Ah, no. I’m out in the sticks. Sorry.”
Caller: “Well, you sound nice, anyway.”
Me: “Nawwww, shucks.”
Caller: “Thanks, I might call back if I ever need someone to be nice to me.”
Me: “Haha, no problem. Have a good day!”
Caller: “See? You’re just nice. Bye!”
An Aussie Maple Leaf, adrift on the wind... 