Baillie House

I wish I could have taken a picture of this cute house from the front but it sits close to the sidewalk and in order to get a decent picture I would have had to stand in the busy street. SO... this is the side of the house but you can see it's a cutie.  Built in 1913 by a man for his mail order bride. Unfortunately she fell for another man on the ship coming out and married him. The man who had planned and built this place for her now lived in it alone although later his business partner and a nephew joined him. After they all died the Baillie family bought it and it was filled with the noise of a large family.

The first room you see is the kitchen and it was my favourite room. So charming.  I love everything about it!!

                                       The Dining Room

There are rumours that the house is haunted. Strange noises have been heard at night , unexplained crashes and footsteps upstairs.

The above room is the front room or parlor and the picture below is of a room adjoining it which also looks to be a sitting room.

 There is a sizeable space at the top of the stairs with room for a desk, a dresser and a comfy chair.
 Oh oh, there's my DH in the mirror. How did I manage that?

There are three bedrooms. There is a bathroom but I didn't bother taking pictures of it.

I hope you've enjoyed this look at a house that was almost demolished to make room for a parking lot. When the citizens of Merritt heard this they rallied and the thick sheaf with all the names of those who wished it to be preserved is still on display in the house itself.

Thanks for popping by,

Granny Marigold

Day Trip

We decided to take a day trip on this penultimate day in August. We drove some 500 km ( 300 miles) and did a giant loop through the mountains, then through grassy, hilly territory, back through more mountains then home again. The weather was perfect and although at times there was too much traffic ( especially those huge semi-trucks) we had a good day. We did tour an old house but this post has enough pictures so I'll save that for tomorrow. Hope you enjoy the pics.

That sign reads: High Mountain Road  Expect sudden weather changes. All we did get was quite a strong side wind.

Stopped for tea by this rushing stream. Too bad previous picnickers had left a lot of garbage. How people can be so stupid is hard to grasp. We didn't let it spoil our day or our tea.

Thanks for visiting today. Love your comments.

Granny Marigold

Tomatoes and Treasures

We waited impatiently for the first ripe tomatoes and once they started ripening we had a hard time keeping up. Last evening I went out and gathered these thinking that was all there was. Seems I missed a few because my DH went out today and filled a small pail.

I am trying very hard not to bring home too many treasures these days so I only have three to share today. The first is a pretty cup and saucer. It has the words "Phoenix bone china, made in England" written on the bottom.

The other two things I bought are on either end of this drop-leaf table in the sunroom. The wooden box on the left has a divider in the middle. I wonder what it was meant for.  The tin thing on the right has that extra piece sewn on with fine wire. I really like it. The cast iron basket in the middle has some nuts and a pine cone that I still had from last year.  I wish I'd have kept the shiny brown Horse Chestnuts but I thought I would gather more this year so why keep them. Seems this is a bad year for Chestnuts because the tree that I looked at had none. Maybe it was too dry??

A few Fallish photos complete my "vignette". That's all the decorating I'm doing just yet.

Our stretch of very hot days seem to have ended and I'm relieved. I'm looking forward to a week of cool temperatures and renewed energy!

Thanks for dropping by,

Granny Marigold

A Special Day

Yesterday was a special day and I'm sure you've guessed what it was.  Cannot believe I am 71. It seems impossible but I am forced to believe it.  Some of my family came to visit on Sunday
 ( youngest son brought a most delicious cake)  and others came yesterday.  Fortunately those 2 days were cool and much more comfortable than the days before and the days that are coming.

After over indulging in sweets over these past days I am motivated to eat more veggies and fruit and less sweets. The question is:  Will I be able to stick to it?
I am also motivated to do some rearranging and tidying. That I know I'll stick with because it's something I enjoy.

Hope your week is going along quite smoothly...

                         Just a few of the lovely cards I received...

Thanks for visiting,



                 Granny Marigold

This and That

A bit of everything in today's post, starting with some jars of Apricot/Peach jam made with marked down produce ( very ripe and needing to be used that day).

         I cannot resist bringing home pretty Autumn leaves that I pick up while on my walk.

                    This little bistro set got a new coat of paint ( thanks to my DH).

I bought this cute clock at a garage sale this morning. Good thing I wanted it for the cuteness of it because I don't think it works.  Looks fine in my garden shed.

Also bought these animals which I think are "primitive" which is not really my thing but they were .25 each and again, suit my garden shed.

These are the porcelain drawer handles that I just happened to have 3 of and finally got to put to use.  I'm sure I've had them for 4 years.

My effort to put this magazine page into a frame resulted in wrinkles but I hung it up anyway, with some dried lavender.

Lastly a pic of my Dahlias, still doing well in spite of the awful heat. Must put in more next year seeing as the weather trend seems to be dry hot summers for us.

Thanks for visiting.  Love to read your comments.


Granny Marigold

Playing in my Garden Shed

It's nice and cool in my garden shed ( or maybe I should call it my play house).  I've been rearranging a bit and also bought a cupboard at a garage sale.

This is my cupboard, nicely distressed.  On seeing it son #3 innocently asked if I was going to refinish it.

I love the little drawer thingy that I got at the same gs and paid two dollars for. I've got string in one drawer, seeds in another, etc..  The white box in the corner holds a bag of potting soil.

I hope you've enjoyed this peek into my shed. Hope your week is going well.

Thanks for visiting,

Granny Marigold

Old Cars

My DH and our youngest son went to a car show today. If you don't care for old cars you'll be forgiven if you leave now.
Most of them I know nothing about so can't comment except for this first one where the owner fixed up the back of an old bread delivery truck. Those big blue things on the doors are speakers And, yes, that is a TV on the side. What imagination... and a lot of work!!

Thanks for visiting,


     Granny Marigold