Thrift Store Finds

 

Here are the small treasures that I found at the thrift store.  The cream and sugar set caught my eye. I thought that although the design is roses they look very autumnal to me. In fact at first I thought those were pine cones.

This pretty coral watering can will be put outside in Spring. Maybe I can find spray paint in that exact colour and paint a few flower pots to match.

The minute I saw this bedspread I liked the old fashioned look of the fabric. Also the scalloped edge.
I plan to use it on the porch swing as an alternative to the red/pink one I have there now.  I even like the backing.

 

Last of all is this apron which is hand made and I don't think it has ever been used. I like the colour and I'm fond of rickrack too. Can you believe it was a dollar?

 

teacup # 13 is nothing fancy but the delicate pink flowers make it special.

 Thanks for visiting,  GM

Reading and Baking

I finished reading The Kitchen Front. I thought it was predictable but interesting. It's about 4 very different women in an English village that enter a cooking competition during WWII. They had to create dishes using their rations and the book includes recipes from cookery books from that era.  Not that any sounded like something I'd like to try.

I've just begun the Wendell Berry book but no doubt it will be interesting.  Both these books are from the library.

I baked late yesterday afternoon. I baked the muffins in order to use up the last of  a jar of raspberry jam that had been in the fridge and the last third of a package of cream cheese that had also been waiting to be used up. I took a plain muffin recipe and made indents in the top of the muffins and put teaspoons of the jam and cream cheese in them topping them with a little dollop of the dough before I baked them. They are quite tasty.

 This morning we had some rain and there wasn't much I could do outside. Perfect morning to go to the thrift store. I'll take pictures and show my little treasures next time.

Teacup #12 is Royal Albert  Lavender Rose pattern.

 Cindy ( Creations by Cindy blog) asked how many teacups I have. I'm not sure but probably close to 200 so I have a lot left to feature.

Thanks for coming by,  GM

Morning Walk and Some Ducks

 Cloudy morning. The lake looked a little ominous but a few of the trees in the parking lot have turned a lovely colour.

Also in the parking lot were these ducks looking for a hand-out. Can you spot the oddball? We haven't noticed it before but it's definitely different from the rest.

I did a silly thing this morning. Middle son was drying some of his abundant crop of Habeneros in the air fryer. Being of the curious sort I went to see if they were dry yet. I poked one ( it was far from dry) and never thought any more about it.  Later, however, I rubbed my eye and felt such a burning sensation. Couldn't think what was wrong then the penny dropped. I hope I won't do that again!!
Incidentally, DH dried some sage leaves yesterday and that worked perfectly. No more bought sage for Thanksgiving stuffing.

Teacup # 11    Pattern is  Marilyn by Queen Anne

Thanks for coming by today,   GM

Welcome October

 

 

 September left us on a day of rain. We're hoping now that the earth is saturated we can enjoy many days of sunshine before Winter sets in.  It's often hard to notice the difference between the rains of Autumn and the rains of Winter.  Some years we get snow but not until much later. Meanwhile the flowers still bloom even if they look bedraggled. The Dahlias I bought last week look fine because we've kept them under cover. Here's one of my favourite ones.  I have it on the porch.

My freezer seemed empty of sweets so I baked chocolate cupcakes and lemon scones. It's always nice to have something on hand to have with a cup of coffee or tea especially if one of the children or grands comes by.
Do you have plans for October?  

Thanks for visiting today. 

Granny M

Teacup # 10 by Paragon is called Antique Rose.

Altered Books

 

Blogger is giving me endless trouble today. I can't place pictures where I want them so I'm having to do things a bit differently .  Instead of ending my post with a teacup I'll have to insert it here.
 

Teacup #9  is a very delicate footed teacup made in Bavaria by Malmaison.

 

Have you heard of "altered books"?  The explanation that google gives me is that they are a form of mixed media artwork that changes a book from its original form to a different form altering its appearance.

Basically you take a book and draw, paint, or, in my case stick things over the original pages creating something new. I thought I'd show a couple of my pages. I had lots of fun making altered books, Smash books and Common Place books over past winters. Now I feel like I'm done that but who knows?

In both the pages below I've used old CD's which I've glued things onto. The first one also has a brooch ( pin)  stuck on. On the  second set of pages  I've used a key and an old necklace..

Thanks for coming by today,  GM

This and That

 It's a fairly nice day and the temperature is in the low 20'sC.  A perfect day to putter outside ( which I've been doing).  Remember those Canna Lily seed pods I was thinking of collecting? Well, when we went for our walk the Parks crew were digging all the Cannas out in preparation for planting Spring bulbs.  I asked if I could have some ( they were just going to throw them away) so we carried them home. Must have looked odd but who turns their nose up when offered free plants?

On the subject of plants....my Hibiscus are both blooming!!  The one on the left has done so well since I bought it at Home Depot greatly marked down. This is the first time it has bloomed for me.
 

We made a quick trip to the plant shop this morning. I bought 2 more Dahlias, 3 small houseplants, and some Tulip and also Daffodil bulbs. The bulbs were available either from open bins or prepackaged.

I promised I wouldn't be in the store long so DH amused himself watching the various animals that  are in the fenced area next to the shop. Mainly goats and chickens.

Thanks for visiting today,   GM

Teacup # 8

Houses

 

 

 The rain storm we had last week must have been too much for this neighbour's eaves troughs. The fascia board and all came down.

 On my walk I took some pictures of the houses that I pass on my way to the park. This is the latest one to be built.  The style is so boxy and not to my liking at all.  Look at all the reinforcement in the driveway. That's surely not going to crack no matter what gets parked on it.

 

The house above is across the street but one and the one below is right beside us.  To the left you can just see a corner of our house.

Enough about houses.  DH comes home later today and that will be great. I managed to get all the things done that I wanted to while he was gone. Now to keep things that way!

Here's another teacup. I believe it is # 7.

Thanks for coming by,  GM