BOOKS

My granddaughter is taking this book in grade 7 English. I saw a copy at a gs and bought it for fifty cents I thought it would give her and myself a nice chance to discuss it. . It was an easy read and I found it quite interesting. So much so that I requested more of this author's books from the library.  Although the book is fiction the author has based his books on various things in his eventful life.

 
These are my library books right now:  The Quilt is by the author of Hatchet. I had about an hour today to start it and I'm halfway through. It's a thin book but a good one.  I've read all Maeve Binchy's books so reading this what appears to be short essays should be good. 
I was looking for the book A Year of Biblical Living by A.J. Jacobs but it wasn't available ( I'll have to request it and wait) but meanwhile I took this one out. Mennonite Girl......well, I was one, wasn't I.

These next 2 photos are of books I acquired over the weekend and have added to my stack of "to be read".  

Another Splash of Gin and Tonic is a humorous gardening book  "confessions of a compulsive gardener".   Mama's going to buy.....   I bought this book strictly because I have read and enjoyed Jean Little so I'm hoping I'll enjoy this one too.  The books I've read by her have been for older children. Once again...easy reads.

 
Finally, two of the books that I'm reading these days  .( I am often reading 3 or more books at a time. I do eventually get through them all). The Gladys Taber is a reread and the Mennonite Foods.... is the kind of book you can  pick up and read random bits. Some history, recipes, that kind of thing. Both my parents were born in Russia so some of the places in the book are names familiar to me.

This has turned out to be a lengthy post. If you've stuck it out you deserve a prize. I made scones again today so come on over for tea. We can sit on the porch because the afternoons are just warm enough to be comfortable.  Will it be Earl Grey? or maybe a nice herbal tea?

            Granny Marigold

Random Things

This morning we went to an estate sale that we didn't get to yesterday. The daughters were clearing out the things their mom had accumulated throughout her long life. At 93 she was finally going into assisted living.  There was an awful lot still to go and they were going to donate the rest at the end of today. Everything was half price and I had to buy this adorable little set of Royal Albert dishes           ( $5.00). The pattern is Devonshire Lace. There are 4  8"plates, one 7", and two tea cups and saucers.
We came home with a large basket of free garden stuff ( fertilizer, sprays, etc..) 2 jigsaw puzzles and a large  bag of assorted lace ( I think there's some tatting in there as well as crocheted lace). .

Years ago I used to make pickled beans and also carrots. I meant to again this summer but then it slipped my mind until it was too late to get fresh dill. Then this week I noticed I had a number of volunteer dill plants amid the flowers so today I made 3 quarts. It takes a LOT of carrots to fill 3 quarts. I had sure forgotten that. I hope they turn out because I got rid of my canner years ago so couldn't process them the way the recipe said. 

Now this is a dish I probably won't bother making again. Stuffed Acorn Squash. Good thing neither DH nor I was very hungry because we ate the filling and some of the squash but found the latter to be quite tasteless.

        I'll end with this photo of my Rudbeckias which are still blooming.

Now I'm off to see if I can watch the lunar eclipse. Last time I checked the moon wasn't visible to us yet. Too many trees etc..  Did you take the time to see it?


     Granny M.

Flowers and "finds"

           My Dahlias are still blooming. This giant yellow one is my favourite.

The Sweet Autumn Clematis is doing its usual thing.... covering the long pergola. It has literally thousands of tiny flowers, most aren't even open yet. The scent is heavenly. 

          Under the clump of blooms in the left corner is a Rose, completely engulfed.

My finds are few this week.  Just three and each one was exactly one dollar. The decorative plate is by Marjolein Bastin

and two more orphan cups. The one on the left has the words " Del Mar  Japan   Hand painted 24 k gold"  on the bottom.  The one on the right  has "Aynsley  England bone china" underneath.
I love the colour of these two tea cups.

My Saturday was quite uneventful. We had rain then sunshine. Got some outside chores done ( with help from my sons). A bit of baking, some housework, somehow the day gets filled up and you wonder where it went.  Have a peaceful, restful Sunday.

         Granny Marigold

Birds

Today as I sat in the sunroom I watched the traffic at the bird feeder. I think there were half a dozen Chickadees making repeated visits to daintily choose a sunflower seed and fly off to eat it. They kept up coming and going so maybe there were more. Couldn't keep up with them.. Then a Junco came and just sat on the feeder tray chasing any other bird away. I got fed up with him, slipped on some shoes and went out to shoo him away.
There were other birds including a Towhee and an unidentified Sparrow. Like most people I have trouble identifying the Sparrows.

I had a LOT of trouble identifying this little guy when I first saw him on the lake a few years ago.  I went home and looked at every duck in the book but none looked like him (her?).  I kept seeing him and searching until one day I happened to be in the Grebe section and there he was!!  A pied-billed Grebe.  I saw him again this morning. Mostly a loner although I have seen two at a time. He swims quite near the edge of the lake and doesn't seem overly concerned that I'm there.

No early morning walk for me tomorrow. I'm off to do my grocery shopping first thing, when the stores are not yet busy. By the time I've walked around the store, brought the groceries home ( with my DH's help, of course)  and put them away I'm more tired than after walking around the lake!
That's the time to put the kettle on and sit with a cup of tea.

Do you do your shopping on a certain day or just make random trips whenever you need something? 

Granny Marigold

This and That

I must have requested this DVD from the library but have no memory of doing so. I got the notification that it was in so we watched it last night and really enjoyed it. Totally wholesome movie. The library bar code is over part of the title but it's Goodnight Mr. Tom.  John Thaw is Mr. Tom and it's weird seeing "Morse" as a totally different personage.

This adorable angel is a thrifty find ( .50) , stands 10" high and holds a wire wrapped heart. She fits perfectly into my Fall display.  I'm so pleased to have found her.

This short length of molding was propped up against the wall in my garden shed. Too short for any of DH's projects but not for mine!!  With a handful of cuphooks I got a great place to hang orphan tea cups.

Looks like I have to do a bit of aligning yet. Also have to be very careful not to knock any tea cups off whenever I use the plug behind them.

Supper today will be baked ham, roasted potatoes, freshly baked cheese buns, and for dessert... cupcakes. I think the grands will be very happy!!

       Granny M.

Mushrooms and more

These are the things I brought back from my morning walk.  The bigger bunch of berries is (are?) Mountain Ash and the smaller one Cotoneaster ( I think). What I wish I knew more about are mushrooms. I tried looking up mushrooms of B.C. but none looked like this one. The closest was the Booted Amanita but as far as I can see that one does not have a smooth top.

Would you like a little fact about mushrooms that I did find?
One of the earliest records of mushroom use was the case of Otzi, the Tyrolean Iceman, who was frozen in ice but not discovered until1991 in the Italian Alps. Otzi lived 5000 years ago and was carrying three different kinds of mushrooms when he died.  The fungi had laxative and antibiotic properties and scientists speculate that he was using them to cure  his stomach parasites.I'll bet you were really wanting to know this.

I trimmed back my exuberant Mint plant and was about to throw the tops in the compost when I changed my mind. I can't resist rubbing the leaves as I walk by.

      I'm still waiting for these pears to ripen.It's hard to know when winter pears are ready to eat.

I hope your week is off to a great start.   Thanks for visiting.       Granny Marigold



             

In My Kitchen

We're still getting tomatoes from our little row of 5 plants. Store bought ones just don't compare, do they?

My SIL gave me a bag of barley and I used some to make this soup. No recipe, just onions, tomatoes,black beans and barley ( I did add some beef bouillon and a bay leaf) . Sprinkled with some grated cheese it was a delicious meal.
In winter I hope to make soup at least once a week.

A small loaf of bread for us and a bigger one for my son and his family. Using the breadmaker makes it such an easy job.  As I often do, I make scones to pop in the oven when the bread comes out.
The house is so cool now that baking warms the kitchen nicely.

Remember my failed attempt at drying apricots? I wasn't about to throw them out so I  froze them and today I used some to make jam. The dried apricots needed to be chopped in the food processor first. What I'd do differently next time I use them is rehydrate them overnight first.

Food isn't the only thing happening in my kitchen. When I went to drop off a big bag of things at the thrift store I noticed they had gotten in a number of pretty cups and saucers. They were $5 each  so I decided I'd choose 2. This first one has an bunch of Spring flowers on it. Very cheery.

           This one is my very favourite. Made in England by Royal Grafton.

The week has gone by so fast. The weather remains cool and cloudy and I've been keeping busy with all the usual things we have to do. Thanks for visiting.

           Granny Marigold

My Morning Walk

A most unusual thing happened to me on my walk this morning. It was raining lightly and I was walking along the path through a wooded area when I heard a very loud cracking sound. I had only seconds to wonder what in the world it was when a large branch landed on me.  My umbrella was squished onto my head but because of it the branch was deflected enough so I was not thrown on the ground. My umbrella is wrecked but I am okay and thankful for that. Just goes to show, you never know what can happen.

Not much farther along I came upon an extremely agitated young man ranting and raving as he paced up and down a stretch of the path. He obviously had a problem and before I left the park I saw 3 police vehicles pull up and the officers get out and go looking for the fellow. Not an average morning at all.

Although it rained in the morning by lunchtime the sun came out and it was quite a pleasant fall day. I started pulling out the bedraggled Marigolds.It's kind of sad when it gets to that time of the year when you pull out those annuals you so happily planted  barely 5 months ago. The forecast for the next few days is for showers. I think I'll do a little Fall cleaning.
What do you plan on doing?

    Thanks for coming by.   Granny Marigold

A rather unusual purchase

Last week when I was at the thrift store a framed sketch caught my eye. I looked at it, left, then came back to look at it again. For some reason it appealed to me but I couldn't think why. I told myself that I should just leave it; besides, it cost $7.50 which is more than I pay for something I don't even have a spot for.
All week I kept thinking about that sketch and today when my DH said he had to go to that end of town I went along just to check if it was still there. Well, it was and it was half price now. So of course I bought it.
The words on the lower left of the sketch are:
 Asylum for destitute aged and infirm females.
Founded by the ladies association 1831
The Ladies Association and Soup Dispensary

Then in the right corner it says  The Old Ladies' Home, St. Michael's Row, Bridgetown

On the back of the sketch, on the brown paper backing is the name of the art framing shop that matted and framed the sketch.  Bridgetown, Barbados

The artist is either JM , Jim, or Jill Walker ( I can't make out the first word).

I had thought I'd get a different frame but now that I see how far this has come I think I'll keep it just as it is.  I sure wonder how it found its way to Canada and then to end up in a thrift store.
Oh yes, I hung it in my powder room.

Oh the wonder of Google.  The artist is Jill Walker, born in 1927, and apparently quite well known for her sketches of Barbados subjects.
I'm quite excited to find out more about her.
I wish my picture was clearer so you could see the details.


While I waited for DH to come back from his errand and pick me up I browsed around and came upon the most lovely glass bowl with Roses and birds painted on it. Flowers and birds are some of my favourite things so the bowl was obviously meant to be mine. It looks quite nice in the living room.

That was my surprisingly different Monday. It sets the tone for a great week, I hope.

      Granny Marigold

Flowers, a porch, and a playground

My Autumn Crocus is blooming. So often we get a heavy rain and the poor thing is flattened but this year it looks lovely.

                         The Sedum is colouring up nicely.

                                 Morning Glories still blooming.

While garage saling yesterday one of the places had this attractive porch. Couldn't resist taking a picture or two.

The little man and I went to the nearby school ground so he could play but I had neglected to take my camera. Later we went to the library and this time I did have my camera. He likes this odd piece of equipment that is right close by and had a great time.

That was my Sunday in a nutshell.  How was yours?      Granny Marigold

Thrifty finds

My first ( and favourite) find this week is this Marjolein Bastin tile-topped table. The corner of one tile has been broken and re-glued. Doesn't make me like it any less.  I love her artwork.

                                       Here it is on the porch, beside the white wicker chair.

This garage sale was out of town. A lot of stuff, only the Royal Albert tea pot interested me. No lid and also had a crack so it was mine for a dollar. Right now it's on a table outside the door with Hydrangeas in it.

This box of large cards appealed to me. Have no idea what I'll do with them but I didn't want to leave and once home be sorry I hadn't gotten them.

I know I have way too many notebooks but they were practically free so what could I do. My grandaughter chose 2 and so did I... paid a dollar.

Last of my treasures are two suede covered storage boxes.  I do love organizing and to do that I need boxes. Preferably pretty boxes.

We had a lovely sunny day. Son#2 and my DIL cut down all the ratty looking Hostas ( DH and I started that job yesterday but after one wheelbarrow full we went indoors to take Ibuprofen and have a rest.)   Then today son #3 came and began the job of ripping all the stone off the front of the house   ( well, not all the front.  Just the area around the front door and along the front about 2 feet up The rest is siding. ). I will have photos as the job goes along.) So thankful for my helpful guys.

Did you have a lovely Saturday?   ( I notice that I love the word "lovely" and seem to use it a lot. Also I use brackets a lot!)
                                              Please leave a message so I know you visited.  

 Granny Marigold