Garage Sale Finds

We took the grands and went to some garage sales this morning.  We found quite a few and most had great prices as well as super friendly people ( sellers).
Here are a few of my finds:

                                These three will be hung on the porch.

Books were .50. I really wanted to buy them all but restrained myself.  I'm pretty sure a couple of the ones I bought lean toward "new age" but at my stage of life I'm not about to be much affected by any philosophy not in line with my beliefs.  I guess I just love to read. Did you notice that the Poems Past and Present is a 1946 edition?

This little book has wonderful pictures and the magnifying glass is so unique I had to buy it.

The lit-up pumpkin will be put away until Autumn. The urn is perfect for something. Not sure just what.  My credo is 'if I like it and it's cheap, I buy it."

This glass flower ornament was FREE. I couldn't believe no one had taken it before I got there. I have admired them on various blogs, now I have my own.

I hope I haven't bored you too much.  I enjoy garage sales and thrift stores so much and tend to think others must as well.  Incidentally, the grands found all manner of treasures too.  M is still at that cute, adorable stage and whenever he wanted to buy something the seller would either give it to him outright or at least slash the price in half.  I used this to my advantage ( shamelessly) when I wanted a very large pink rock or crystal that the woman selling it said was worth $50.  I had M go ask her how much it was and she said for him it would be FIVE dollars.  Hmmm.  Guess who gave him the fiver to pay for it.

Thanks for visiting today,  GM

This and That

                                              Poppies are blooming!!

             I couldn't resist taking a picture of this old truck which was parked down the street. 

Our power was off yesterday morning. I had started doing laundry but didn't get far. Apparently the power pole needed replacing. Something to do with the large house being built next door. 

Here's my comfy swing ( with my rabbit's cage in the background).  It's all under cover so I can sit here and watch the rain. Which we haven't been able to do for a while and it is getting quite dry!!
 

DH built this glider swing a number of years back.  It doesn't get as much use as it used to when the kids were at home.

I didn't have much to write about but I did want to do a post.

Have a wonderful Wednesday!!


G.M.

Strawberries, Pretty China, and Flowers

Local strawberries are ready to be picked so off we went in the cool of the morning.  We picked 10 pounds between the two of us. A pailful each.  We found them not nearly as sweet as other years. Don't know why not because they've received lots of sunshine.  I made 3 jars of jam which will be wonderful on tomorrow morning';s toast.  Some  went into the freezer and the rest we'll eat in the next day or two.

After we got back we went to a nearby garage sale which turned out to be several on the same street.
I couldn't leave this lovely tea pot behind. It was only three dollars.

These pretty teacups were a dollar each because the poor frazzled woman whose gs it was couldn't find the saucers.  Luckily I like odd teacups with no saucers so I was happy to buy them.
The one on the left is a Royal Albert, the other 2 were made by Sadler.

I went out to check on my flowers and saw that several had fallen over so I cut them and brought them in. I find I don't do enough staking and many flowers just can't seem to support their blooming stalks.  I think the reason for that weakness is the shade that the back yard gets until around 11 AM.

That was my day. I hope you had a good one too.

Thanks for coming by,

GM

Teacup Tuesday

I found a lovely cup and saucer at the thrift store this morning. It was made by Royal Standard and the pattern is Mandarin.

This pretty teacup by Paragon had no saucer but I find it so pretty ( and because it had no saucer it was marked down). The pattern is Flower Festival.  I love the shape.

          This delicate soup bowl had to come home with me. I don't have another like it.

The outside is rather plain but look at the inside.  Underneath is written Swansea and on the internet I learned that Swansea was made by Wedgwood.

I didn't buy this one today but I can't remember if I showed you this one or not but it is too beautiful not to share.  It joins my Japanese collection.

All the new teacups needed more space to display and my DH built this set of shelves last week. On Sunday he and youngest son secured it to wall on the porch. The paint was hardly dry when I put the teapots on top. That can of paint ( which was a 'miss tint' originally bought for the taller cupboard to the right) is just about empty now.

Gretchen, you wondered if the top cup in my before-last post was a Royal Grafton. No, it's Royal Standard.  You also wondered if I sat on the red bench by my Hostas. Just opposite is a wooden swing that hangs from a beam.  I have a blanket to make it extra comfortable and that's where I tend to sit if I'm not on the porch swing. Yes, I do have a love of swings!

Thank you for coming by and letting me share my thrifty treasures.

G.M.

My Day

It rained all day. The roses hung down their branches heavy with blooms and the blue Iris which has the weakest stems, fell over. I went to cut them off and bring them in so we could enjoy them. Iris are hard to arrange in a vase I find. I end up just stuffing them in a jug.

In spite of the rain we took the grands and went to some garage sales. I found, among other things, a Brambley Hedge journal ( which is so pale on the photo that it's hard to see), a purple shawl ( for when I get old,  haha), some books and a Bone China Christmas teacup that I didn't yet have and wasn't really wanting but she was only asking a dollar. .

I'm excited about the Ami McKay book. She's Canadian. Lives in a house in Nova Scotia that was once a birth house. I'm assuming she researched the history of her house and based her book ( fiction) on it.

       I was happy to find this dragonfly brooch and have already pinned it on to a jacket.

I baked cupcakes and peanut butter  cookies. Did a tiny bit of housework and now it's evening.
I hope you had a lovely day too!


Granny M.

This and That

I was surprised at the different views on lemon curd in my last post. I can imagine how delicious a lemon pie would be filled with pure curd. My lemon pie fillings have mostly come from a box I'm rather ashamed to admit.

Does it happen to you that you want to do a post but really don't have much to write about?  That's where I am today so I've looked at my pictures and chosen some recent ones that hopefully I haven't yet shared. Of course teacups will predominate. I just love this first one. So bright and cheery!
I'll just let you browse through  ( or not ) and wish you all a wonderful Friday!!

If you made it till here you deserve a medal. Thanks for coming by.


Granny Marigold

Lemon Curd and Iris

Have you tried making home made lemon curd?   I've heard people rave about how delicious both the store bought and home made taste so I looked up a recipe for easy lemon curd and made it. It has nice texture, a tiny bit 'gritty' and very lemony. Not nearly as sweet as the store bought.

Below is a picture I took off the internet and also the ingredients are below the pic.

INGREDIENTS: Glucose-Fructose Syrup, Sugar, Water, Lemon Juice from Concentrate (8%), Maize Starch, Palm Oil, Dried Egg, Rapeseed Oil, Citric Acid, Gelling Agent (Pectin), Acidity Regulator (Sodium Citrate), Lemon Oil, Colour (Carotenes), Antioxidant (Ascorbic Acid).


Here's what's left of the curd I made. Obviously paler and it doesn't have all the strange ingredients of the above. Just lemons, sugar, eggs, and butter.

Well, I made it and now I know. I doubt I'll make it again. I just wondered if anyone else made it and would they make it again.

 I brought a bunch of Iris in and put them on the table. The light blue one has a wonderful scent and fills the room with it. None of my other Iris have much, if any, scent.


Thanks for coming by,


     G.M.