Grocery Shopping and a few Treasures

 

The day began with heavy rain. We did the weekly grocery shopping then DH went to his volunteer 'job' and I unpacked all the groceries. I've been buying extra baking supplies whenever they're on sale and I had to organize my pantry to be able to see what I actually have. As I organized I kept an eye on the weather and when the rain stopped I went for my walk.  It was still overcast but by the time I came back the sun was shining.  BTW, when I was putting things away I found I have enough icing sugar, brown sugar, chocolate chips and 10 kg (22 lbs) bags of flour to take me well into 2022.

I went to the thrift store this past week and found a number of small treasures.  I'll share a few today and leave the rest for my next post.  

This pretty platter is plastic but I think it's cute. As are the little plates that  I couldn't resist. All 5 for a dollar. Can't beat that price.

I'm going to enjoy looking at these magazines. Have you checked the price of new magazines lately? These were .25  each.

The CDs were also .25. The harp one was the first I put on only to find that the CD that was in the case is not the one that was  supposed to be there.  (Yes, I'm listening to Christmas music already).

Today's tea cup is # 27 and to my surprise when I looked at the bottom of the saucer I found it did not match the cup. The cup is by Aynsley and the saucer is by Royal Albert. Funny that I never noticed. I'll have to be on the lookout for a matching saucer.  GM

 

 

Blast from the Past

 Just for fun let's look back at prices in the "good old days". I have no idea what years these ads came out but they amused me and I thought they were worth posting on this rather dull, wet day.

I had a metal doll house just like the one in this ad except mine had a blue roof.
 

 Teacup # 26

 Thanks for coming by today,   GM

November

 

 October went by so fast and somehow November has arrived. We're enjoying a few days of welcome sunshine. The Dahlias in pots got cut down and put in the shed where they will hopefully be fine for the winter.  Any potted plants that need to be protected from winter rains have been moved and I think we're ready.
 

Daughter Sheila went to the Pumpkin farm yesterday and took some great pictures. I don't think she'll mind if I share them. I think this is the first year in a long time that DH and didn't go. It's like the end of an era.

That's her, second oldest of our 5 kids.  I'm so glad they all live locally and we get to see them often.

Teacup # 25

Thanks for coming by,   GM

This and That

What I'm reading:  The Melissa Harrison book was so well written and interesting until about two thirds or more through the book when suddenly it became depressing and had a fairly unsatisfactory ending. Not one of the three main characters had  their hopes/dreams fulfilled. I felt depressed when I was done reading.
Miss Read, on the other hand, never disappoints me.

 Does anyone remember the Ideals magazines?  I used to have a big stack of them which I donated. This week I bought these 2 "for old times sake". For all I know they might be some of the ones I donated years ago.  I enjoyed paging through them reading the poems and looking at the pictures. Next time I go to the thrift store I'll take them back and some one else can enjoy them.

 
I bought a bag of Daffodil bulbs and put some in pots and the rest in the ground. I hope they'll all grow and bloom next Spring.

My Thanksgiving/Christmas Cactus have lots of buds. I bought a potted plant with two different coloured blooms last year. After it finished blooming I divided it into 3 pots but I don't know what colour I'll end up with. These look quite pale so maybe white?

Years ago I had a Chinese Lantern plant and I'm not too sure exactly why I don't still have it. They tend to be very hardy and even invasive so I don't think it died. I think I'll look for another one. At this time of the year their papery pods look wonderful. I got this picture off the internet in case you are not familiar with this plant. Isn't it pretty?

Teacup # 24

Thanks for coming by,  GM

What's happening in my Kitchen

 The chilly weather has made me want to be in the kitchen more.  I have been reading about the health benefits of lentils and although I've often included red lentils in most of the soups I make I had not used the brown ones ( those are the ones that retain their shape even after soaking and boiling).  Below is the picture of the lentil stew  I made and both of us enjoyed  and look forward to having it again soon
.I found so many different recipes for Lentil stew on line and I ended up making my own version.

 

Baked Oatmeal was another experiment and was deemed a success as was a pan of granola. I have made granola in the past so that wasn't an experiment.

 
Have you been baking or cooking different foods now that colder weather has arrived?  

 Teacup # 23 is called Greenwood Tree and is a Royal Albert piece. I've added the saucer picture to give a better look at the pattern but Blogger insists on placing it sideways. Sorry.

Thanks for visiting,  GM

Halloween

As I've mentioned many times I'm just not a fan of Halloween but my eldest daughter with her talent for making things of all kinds has created some remarkable vignettes that I thought I'd post. For those of you who are interested.  The skeletons mostly came from the craft shop but were rigid and upright. She heated them and formed the various poses.

 

I'll end this post with a cartoon I found on FB.

I'll be back soon and I will resume my very ordinary homey posts.    GM

 

Autumn Colour

 We had a lovely walk even though the sun wasn't shining. Rain is in the forecast also high winds. I'm so glad we could feast our eyes on the beauty of the Autumn leaves because chances are good that the wind will blow them all away.

 I took these photos off the internet because they capture the paths we walked much better than my camera would.  I'm going to miss this beauty so much when its gone.

 I hope you are able to get out and enjoy Autumn or Spring, depending where you are. There's beauty in all seasons even if we have to look for it a bit harder in our very wet Winters.

 
 Teacup # 22  Royal Albert unnamed pattern with a simple white Rose.

 Thanks for popping by, GM