Sunny Saturday

It continues to be hot and sunny.  We went to a few garage sales this morning but didn't find much. DH was off to the local Agri-fair at lunchtime so I had a relaxing afternoon. When he did get home I suggested we go to the nursery since at one of the gs the woman there said that everything was marked down. She had bought all sorts of plants and really inspired me to do the same. ( Not that it takes much. smile.)  Here you see what I did get. 

I have often wondered if I could successfully grow Canna Lilies. They seem so tropical that they must be difficult. But at the price that they were I decided to take a chance and got a red one and a yellow.  I love how dark the leaves of the red one are.  I did google Canna Lilies and found that they do need some extra care but probably no more than my Dahlias do. I hope I will have good luck.

The pot in the front with the fountain grass , Coleus, pink Petunia, and more was only 3.98 !!
I think it's so lovely.
 The three healthy looking plants on the steps are Victoria Blue Salvia  ( .59 cents each).  They have nice buds and some of our sunshine should make them bloom in no time.

The Gerbera Daisies are destined to be houseplants. I never realized they could be kept inside but the tag stuck in them gives this info so I'll try it.  
   That was my fun for today.  What did you do on this summery Saturday?

                      GRANNY MARIGOLD

Tea cups

Is it time to post some pics of tea cups again?  The first one is one that was given to me recently by  my DIL's step-mother whose mom passed away and left a number of tea cups. So this cup will always have lovely remembrances associated with it. The pattern is "Torquay" by Royal Albert.
(The berries are Mountain Ash  berries that I brought back from my walk this morning. )

The next tea cup is one I have shown before but I thought it looked so pretty with the variegated Laurel leaves ( that I plucked from a bush in front of the Drug Store, put into my purse, and forgot about  for a week. Rediscovered them today and I am amazed that they are still in fine condition.)
The tea cup pattern is Laurentian Snowdrop.

Happy First Day of August. Did you know that today is what is known as a cross-quarter day?  It marks the half-way point between the summer solstice and the fall equinox. ( I hope I have that right. If not, correct me). ( Have you noticed I seem to use brackets a lot?)
        Granny M.

Good-Bye to July

The week has flown by and so has this month!  It continues to be hot here and I have been taking things easy. Mornings are the time to get things done because by afternoon the house is more than warm and outside is almost unbearable. 
  The campers came home today and it sounds like they had a great time. I asked the little man what his favourite part was and he said it was walking across the river. The water must have been so cold and my DH said the water came as high as the little guy's chest at places but he walked across that river!! Of course, he was holding his grandad's hand otherwise he would never have been allowed to try.
   I know the Susan Wheeler picture is more fallish than summery but I thought it perfect for August. What do you think?  I love Susan Wheeler's illustrations and they make me think of the Brambly Hedge books ( Jill Barklem).  I like them almost as much.
  
I hope you have an enjoyable weekend !        Granny Marigold

Teddy Bears

As you know ( if you've been following me for any amount of time) I have a soft spot for Teddy Bears. At the thrift store this morning my DIL spied this one that she thought I'd like and she was right. It was the only thing I found but I left happy. Isn't she adorable?

                 The front of her. I like the brown polka dots on pink of her dress!

                  The back view. Incidentally, I think that is a cat she's holding.

 Here she is making friends with a couple of bears that have been around for a few years.

             These little guys didn't want to be left out.

And then there's the mob on the wardrobe looking at me as I come and go, always friendly because that's how Teddy Bears just are. 
  ( This  display changes with the seasons.)  Hope you are having an awesome week.
                                     Granny Marigold

A Winter's Worth of Reading

Garage sales this morning yielded such treasure... free books. Not just any old books but really good reading. My stack is delightfully tall and I know that come the dark days of winter I'll have lots to keep me occupied. Here are some pics of some of my treasure trove. I'm especially excited to have the book with the contrasting views of C.S.Lewis and Sigmund Freud.

                Obviously some of the books were for my little grandson.

These are for my collection of Jan Brett books!   One of my sisters and I collect children's books in general and Jan Brett in particular!

I have no idea about this author but will give her a try.  Also in this picture are four as new tea towels that cost a dollar for all.  I do love a bargain.

I'm off to make  supper now. Hope your weekend is going along smoothly!!   Granny M.

Rain

At last we had rain. Drenching rain which caught me on my walk! That was yesterday morning and it continued to rain until this morning so the ground is very wet and my poor Hydrangeas are hanging their huge mopheads towards the ground. I hope they will recover as they dry off.  Our temperatures are forecast to be near 30 again come the weekend so they will definitely dry off.

While I was outside poking around and seeing how much damage the rain had done I discovered this lovely Lily hidden beneath a Rose bush. Since it was so hidden I thought I'd cut it and bring it inside so we could enjoy its beauty. 
 

Now I'm off to the kitchen where I plan on making some thing delicious with the luscious cherries I bought on Tuesday. I think the cherries this year have been better than years past and I'm going to buy more tomorrow. The season isn't that long so we have to enjoy them as much as we can. 
    Are you enjoying the fresh fruit that is so abundant right now?

           Granny Marigold

Wordless Wednesday...... Clouds