Canada Day and some thrifty finds

Happy Canada Day to all Canadian bloggers!!  We'll be celebrating with our annual family BBQ. The weather doesn't look too promising but we'll enjoy ourselves anyway.

           This is Raspberry time and so far DH has picked 2 pails of yummy berries for us.

I had some Mangoes  that I bought with hopes that they would be tasty but was disappointed. Not wanting to waste them I chopped them up and added them to the raspberry jam I was making. I did boil the raspberries for a while first,  them put some of it through a sieve to remove over half  of those pesky seeds.  Then I added the Mangoes.

We only went to one garage sale this morning. I found 2 lovely hand crocheted table runners and 3 pretty bowls. Under the bowls are the words      Elizabeth Rose, Ambassador Ware,Simpson, England.
The bowls and runners together cost me only 5 dollars.

I hope that June has been a good month for you and that July will be even better.!!


Thanks for stopping by,

           Granny Marigold

More This and That

I don't know where the past week has gone but I see it has been 6 days since I last posted. And I was doing so well for a while. I will blame it on the weather because we had some cooler days and I wanted to get more done in my garden. I can't work as long as I'd like ( still babying my back) but slowly it will all get done.
My Lilies are looking good. I don't think I've posted the pics of them that I took ( to remind myself next year which colours grew where).

Volunteer Nasturtiums are growing under the blue Delphiniums. I like the effect but I think in a week I'll have to cut the Delphiniums down because they're beginning to look ratty.

I found this pot holder at the thrift store. I'm amazed at how whoever made it was able to fold and sew it so perfectly. It's almost too nice to use! I'll save it to put under hot dishes on the table.

I've been rearranging the shelves on my new cupboard. I thought my white jugs would look nice on the top shelf.

I had this bright and cheery patterned tea set put away. Now I can see it and enjoy it every day.

Last of all I will show you what I'm doing this afternoon. Putting my breadmaker to work making a sweet dough for Cinnamon buns. (See that funny lumpy one in the back?  I always end up with one end of the rolled out dough looking strange. It will taste just fine in spite of its looks! )
Some have asked if I share my baking with family.Yes, I do!

I hope I didn't bore you with my rambling.   I hope you'll leave a comment so I know you visited today!!

                Granny Marigold

This and That

I hope you all enjoyed this first day of Summer.  Our series of very hot days has come to a welcome end and the air is definitely cooler.  DH brought in these lovely Roses from our very old Queen Elizabeth Rose that grows back in the Wild area. She gets Black Spot and loses her leaves every year (that's why she is stuck back there)  but that doesn't keep her from blooming!

                          The very first cucumber from the garden 

     Bought these three books at the thrift store today when we went to drop off some boxes.
 

I thought I'd give our old oil lamp a good cleaning and set it on the table for something different.
Until I was almost seven we used just such lamps as this. I'm glad I can remember those days but I'm thankful for all that we enjoy now.
 

That's my little post for today.  Thanks for coming by.

                 Granny Marigold  

Project Finished

My DH took this awful looking bookshelf (?) and spent hours making it into a lovely piece of furniture...

...that looks like this!  The only cost was for the sheet of beadboard for the back. We already had half a gallon of turquoise paint left after he painted the inside of my garden shed ( it was cheap because it was a 'mistint'). We did mix in some other paint  that we had to make very sure we wouldn't run out half way through. As it turned out we still have some left over.  I think the colour in this picture is more accurate than the next pic. Don't know why one is more green than the other.

It didn't take me long to get the tea cups out of the various boxes I had packed them into. Now I can see and enjoy them when I sit out on the porch. There are still a few empty pots for me to fill *smile*.
 

I hope you enjoyed seeing this transformation.  Thanks for visiting today.

A Little Surprise Gift

When I go on my morning walk through the park and by the lake I often stop at the little lending library near the parking lot. The books inside are often in a jumble and I take a few minutes to make some sort of order. Imagine my surprise when I opened the little door to see this  inside.

                      The cards below were inside the little package...

                 ....along with this adorable little felted lamb..

Isn't that a great idea?  Whoever Jeanne is she must be a delightful and generous person .
I LOVE little surprises and this was a lovely way for my day to begin.
By the way, do any of you know how to felt?  It looks very complicated but I like the finished products.

See you next time!!      GM

Bakewell Tart Muffins

It was another cool and rainy day today until the later afternoon when the sun peeked out. The weather is forecast to change to warmer temperatures so I thought I'd take advantage of the coolness and bake. I decided on these Bakewell tart muffins that I saw last year on a blog called The English Kitchen.
The blogger is a delightful ex-Canadian lady who moved to England in 2000. Check out her blog if you're interested. For some reason I cannot leave a comment on her blog and I even tried to contact her but failed.  Just so you know this is her recipe and you can find it by searching for it by name on her blog.
This recipe was posted by her on June 25, 2017.

I think the only thing I did differently when doubling the recipe was to use 2 eggs ( she says to use one large egg instead of the medium called for in the smaller recipe)..
My results don't look nearly as perfect as hers but they are sooo good!

I made some using baking papers and from now on that's what I'll use because I spent too much time getting the muffin pans clean on the ones with no papers.

If you try this recipe let me know how it turned out and whether you liked it.

Thanks for visiting,

           

Strawberries and a giant Hosta

On his way home from his volunteer 'job'  DH stopped and bought strawberries.This box was 10 pounds. We froze some, I made  3 jars of jam ( plus a bit that will end up on tomorrow's toast).
I made waffles for supper with... you guessed it.. .strawberries! They were very tasty.
When my back feels better we'll go and pick our own which will save money but also, since we try to remove the hull as we pick there's a lot less work to do once we get them home. I know some say it's important to leave that part on but I've never noticed that it makes a difference.

My Mock Orange is past its prime now and petals are falling every day.  It grows in the back of the garden in what I call the wild area. Here I let the Welsh Poppies and other invasive flowers grow and flourish battling for space. One plant that doesn't have to battle at all is my very big old Hosta. No slug or snail has ever managed to chew on those thick leaves.

Have a wonderful Wednesday!!

         Thanks for coming by

A New Project

If you follow my blog you know I collect tea cups and have a great many. I like them all and I don't want to get rid of any. I also don't want to quit looking for more. I thought about it but decided I enjoy the hunt for pretty ones. But what to do for room!!!
A trip to the thrift store to look at what was available and there was this fairly awful looking set of shelves. Half price ( no wonder) so we paid ten dollars.  DH has already begun the transformation.
I can hardly wait until he's done and I can show you what it will look like.

At my son's complex someone left a nice mirror when they moved out. Now it's in my  back garden.
DH made a shelf over it to keep some rain off but for now it will be just fine reflecting the many different succulents that love the sunny South side.
 

We had a hard rain yesterday in the late afternoon. I thought for sure my tall Delphiniums and Foxgloves would be fallen over but they are still standing tall.  I, however, am not standing very tall because I got carried away weeding the day before and also yesterday morning. Totally forgot how crippled up I was last year when I overdid things. So once again I learned a hard lesson and  for now I am forced to take it easy.

Thanks for visiting today,

GM

Thrifty treasures...and more

I don't think I've shared these few things that I bought at a garage sale a little while ago. The cute cushion was .50 so I couldn't resist. The tea cups were $3 for the two...both are  Royal Albert,  the  one on the right has the words Dainty Dina Series underneath. The other has no special pattern name on it.   The little vase/ jug was all of ten cents.

 My trip to the thrift store yesterday netted me this pretty apron...I love the lace and the rick rack.

I'm so happy I found this old Pyrex baking dish. I am using it today to make a coconut square.

This very large cup and saucer is actually a flower pot ( the cup has a drainage hole in the bottom).
It has the word Lavender written on it as well as pictures of it so I might try to start a lavender plant in it.

And on the topic of Lavender, mine is making me very happy this year. It has formed almost a hedge of beauty in the front garden. It has only begun to open and already the bees are going crazy!!

Do you tend to wear the same style of clothes most of the time?  I recently bought this top for .50 at the thrift store and it's a style and colour I have never been known to wear. But it's comfy and although DH isn't too sure about it I like it.  The black chair right behind me is where I'm sitting right now ( my body is hiding my computer in the pic.) 

Besides that Coconut square I'm also baking bread today, it's rising in the pans right now. It's cool enouhg so I feel good about using the oven.

Thanks for coming by,

         Granny Marigold

Monday...Laundry Day

Yes, happy Monday, my friends. I was just wondering if you  have a housework routine and if it includes doing laundry on Monday?

Also, I wondered how many of you ever used a wringer washer. I remember my mother had a gas powered wringer washer and for the first 4 or 5 years of marriage it was what I used too. ( By then it was an electric one, not gas powered any longer).

Obviously I didn't have much to post about today having had a quiet and mostly uneventful weekend.
We did have a lovely much-needed rain today for which we are very thankful.

Thanks for coming by today. I always like to read your comments so don't hesitate to leave one.

Granny M.