September in the Garden

 

 

The Phlox have done remarkably well considering the hot, dry weather we've had for so many weeks.
Two years ago I introduced a single white and pink plant into my otherwise white Phlox patch. Now you can see how the pink ones are taking over.

The Japanese Anemone "September Charm" is as rampant as always. Again, I didn't  water them at all.
The bees love these flowers. I took some pictures of bees in the blooms but they all turned out blurry.

The Morning Glories did get watered and they have done very well. Some vines left the arbour and attached themselves to the nearby Rudbeckias.

I'm late in showing you my August mug.

Here's another Autumnish cup and saucer

And 2 more tea cups that have no matching saucers. But I keep looking in case I do find them.

I hope your week is going well as we slide toward the weekend. A long weekend here in Canada and then next week school will begin again.  We'll have to watch those school zones that we've been sailing through for the past 2 months. 

Thanks for visiting, GM

Storage

Today is the day I set aside to deal with stacks of 'stuff ' that was cluttering up various spots in the house. Things I didn't quite know where to store. I know some have wondered where I keep things so I thought I'd go around the house and take a few pictures. The first picture is a corner of the livingroom where I have some wicker suitcases tucked behind a table. I keep gift bags, tissue paper, photo frames both ones with pictures that I don't have spots to display them and also empty frames. One suitcase holds some cards from  past years, cards I want to keep (also precious drawings made by grandchildren).

 I have a small collection of hats that hang in the front hall closet. The boxes below store a variety of things.

I haven't found a use yet for this cute train case that eldest daughter painted and gave to me. 

Kate (#1 granddaughter) gave me this lovely hardboard suitcase that is full of scrapbooking odds & ends.

 I hope I haven't bored you too much but I always wonder where others keep all the things that we all need to keep around.  Do share your methods either in the comments or even do a post about it. 

Thanks for visiting today,  GM

Books and Baking

 

 

 I hope you are enjoying a pleasant Sunday.  We're having a couple of cooler days and they are so welcome. A good rain would also be very welcome but so far none is in the forecast.
We had a nice walk this morning. Didn't see much except for the usual ducks and geese and this heron. It was early and few people were out making the walk extra peaceful.

 I finished reading this book based on the life of a woman pioneer who moved from city life in Oregon to the wilds of Northern British Columbia. Her husband convinced her to go "just for one winter" but she fell in love with the North and spent her life with him on a homestead there. I enjoyed this book and I appreciated all the old photos she includes.

This book is from our local library and is also autobiographical.  I'm two-thirds of the way through and have to make myself put it down and get some work done.  Mary MacLeod writes about her years as a nurse on a remote Hebridean island in the 1970's.  She describes so many strange and challenging situations she finds herself coping with.

I managed to use the last of our box of pears to make pear/strawberry jam, a combination I never tried before but it's quite tasty.  Before the jam I used some of the pears to make Crisps in ramekins (just the right size for individual servings).

 

So that's what's been happening here in the past few days. I'd love to know what you're doing these last days of August. 

Thanks for coming by,  G.M.

 

Morning on the Lake

 Another day, another walk by the lake.  You can see how clogged the lake has become with all the water lilies!  There's a heron in the picture but it's hard to see it.

 

 In an effort to get rid of some of the lily foliage a machine was on the lake yesterday and also today.

As we watched it came to the shore and disgorged its load. I hope that the foliage will be made into compost. I can imagine what good compost that would be.

 Here you can see where the machine has passed through.

 Finishing my post today with an Autumn teacup.

 Thanks for visiting,   Granny M.

Zinnias and a Recipe

 Thank you all for the lovely birthday wishes. My family made the day so special with gifts and cake and more.

 The sun is shining and the zinnias are in full bloom. Here are a few of the colours this year.

 Not every stray kitty gets to have a spoonful of ice cream on a Royal Albert saucer.  It is becoming increasingly obvious that kitty is going to have kittens. For as long as she wants to stay around we'll continue to care for her ( and her kittens). Eventually we'll have to have her spayed.

 In regards to the tomato pie that I made. I had a recipe once upon a time but misplaced it so I made it as best I could remember and it turned out fine. My directions are vague but if you decide to try it I'm sure it will be fine.

 TOMATO PIE

 1 unbaked pie crust  which I spread with mayonnaise. Sprinkled mozz cheese on the mayo then the tomato slices (which had been on paper towel to absorb excess juice).  Topped the tomatoes with salt, pepper, a few spoonsful of bread crumbs then more cheese. I baked the pie on the lowest rack at 375 oven temp. until the bottom crust was golden brown and the cheese melted.

Thanks for coming by,

Granny M

 

A Cat and Pies

 Almost 2 weeks ago we noticed a stray cat wandering through our back yard. It was very thin and afraid of us. I put out food and if I stayed 6' away her hunger overcame her fear and she'd come and eat. It didn't take many days before she began to look less thin and she ( yes, it's a she) allowed herself to be patted.   You can see how scared she looks in the first pictures.

 She has become quite friendly and would dearly like to come inside. I'm not much of a cat person and definitely don't want an inside cat but for now she's welcome to stay around.  My guess is that someone nearby moved away at the end of July and just abandoned her. That would mean she was on her own for close to 2 weeks.

Here she is sitting on the low roof outside watching me work in the kitchen.

 

 I had some frozen pie dough in the freezer and we had a box of pears that were ripening faster than we could eat them so I made a pear pie. There was enough pie dough to make a tomato pie as well.

That's about all that's happening here for now. The kids will be coming over  later in the afternoon to help me celebrate my birthday (which is really tomorrow ). 

Thanks for your visit and comments.

Granny M

Thrifty Finds

 

 

Well, I managed to honour National Thrift Day by finding more treasures.  Right here I'll answer the question of where do I keep all the 'stuff' I buy. Just this week I packed up 4 big boxes to donate. Things that gave me pleasure for months or years and now I passed them on to others that might want them. It's a harmless 'hobby'. Might even be my one vice.   I do have cupboard space to keep many of my treasures that are not on display. Believe it or not I even found a cupboard with an empty shelf!!

So here are my finds.

This piece will find a home in the garden. I can imagine an ivy growing in it. By the looks of the bottom it had dirt in it at one time.

We can always use more pretty coasters around here. There are 2  each of 3 different pictures. I like the cute box they came in too.

This pretty oversized mug caught my eye.  Made in Portugal and the loveliest shade of blue with a tiny bird on the handle. How could I not love it?  I plan on using it to keep things in.  Paper clips?

Of course I had to browse in the book dept. None of these cost more than $2. I think DH will also enjoy these.  I'll put the Christmas one away until December.

Finishing my post with some pictures taken by my DIL of the gorgeous morning sky.

Thanks for visiting today.  I hope you are having a good day.

Granny M.

National Thrift Store Day and My Morning Walk

 

Yes, August 17 is National Thrift Store Day.  I think I should honour the day by paying a little visit to one of the nearby ones. It's only right.  If I find anything I'll let you know.

It was another lovely cool morning for our walk. Can you see the turtle on that rock? And the up-ended duck?

 

 

One of the Canada geese ( the one on the left)  is much smaller than the rest. It's definitely full grown but obviously didn't grow as big as the others. I should have gotten a better picture.

Thanks for all the lovely comments on my buttery and the stained glass window. That was a garage sale buy a number of years ago. I got it for a low price because the middle frosted glass has a large chunk missing. The glass bird isn't part of the window. It hangs from the ceiling on fishline.

Ellabie commented on how neat my pantry/buttery looks. That's because I asked my DH to make doors on the north wall where he had originally built open shelving. Which I couldn't keep neat. Now it's all hidden!!
And I mistakingly called my samplers needlepoint but they are counted cross stitch.  Thanks Karen for pointing that out. 

The morning was cool but the sun has very rapidly changed that and it's predicted to reach 33C ( 91F).
I've been outside deadheading and  checking which plants absolutely need watering. I'll go out in the cool of the evening to water those.
I hope your Wednesday is going along nicely and you're taking time to sit and enjoy the day.

Granny Marigold

A Plate and a Pantry

 

 

 Happy Monday!  Although maybe you'll be reading this on Tuesday. I'm really late posting today but it has been a busy day A hot one again. Got the laundry done and the houseplants watered ( Monday's jobs) ; outside watering will have to wait until the cool of the evening.

When I was last at the thrift store I picked up this pretty little plate. It's just so cheery. I used it today to put my afternoon snack on...cold juicy watermelon. Perfect for this late summer day.

 
Years ago I did a lot of needlepoint. Two of the samplers I made have been languishing in a drawer until today. I asked DH if he'd hang them over the freezer in the walk-in pantry.

The pantry was not part of the original house but gradually rooms got added here and there. The pantry was the first I think.  I had an old window that I wanted to use in it ( the kind that pushes up)  and the screen is also very old. It is about 8" high and adjustable as to width.  Another sampler hangs to the right of the window.

Green beans are in full production now and supper today is green bean soup with Summer Savoury to give it the flavour that I remember from my childhood. The soup also has new potatoes in it (from our garden where we managed to find room for a couple of potato plants). Soup and homemade bread is my kind of supper in any season.

 Leave a comment so I know you came by.  Reading your comments brightens my day!!

Granny M