Saturday's Thrifty Finds

In spite of the heat wave we're in,  garage sales were still on, but not very many.  We had to rush because DH was planning on attending a Car Show ( old cars, that is ) in the park nearby before it got too very hot.  So here are my finds:  a Vancouver Canucks jersey and pillow ( gifts for someone), a Lego Star Wars book that little man will love, and two purses. The one with gold metal  trim is also going to be gifted and the other one unfortunately has a small rip in the leather and will go directly to the give away box. I hate it when I rush and don't take time to examine the things I plan on buying.

      If you look closely at the center bottom of the purse you can just make out the rip.
 

These lovely etched glass plates were made in Indonesia. They are 7 inches in diameter, just right for serving dessert. There are 5 of them and all for a dollar.
 

  Last is this cute Hummingbird feeder which I quickly stuck ( very crookedly ) on the fridge so I could take a picture.  We have at least four Hummingbirds in our back yard and they are so happy with all the flowers that they rarely come to the feeder that I already have up so if they don't come to this one I'll think of it as a decoration. LOL.
 

Those are my treasures.  Now it is time for a bit of housework  and by then it will be too hot to do much that requires effort. 

 Keep cool if you can!   Granny Marigold

Get-Away part 2

When we left our campsite we took a little-used road that soon went from asphalt to gravel.  It was a good choice because we could doddle along and not hold anyone up. We stopped to see this Turkey Vulture on a stump  and then noticed there were many of them circling around. We couldn't see what had attracted them but no doubt it was something either dead or dying.

Farther on we came to Granite City, a ghost town of which little remains. Once it boasted 200 homes and 22 saloons. Now  a few cabins are standing ( propped up). Too bad it was not maintained as a place to visit the past.

Every ghost town seems to have its cemetery on a nearby hill and Granite City is no exception.
I like wandering  about and reading the grave markers. 

We passed a quiet lake,

   a field of sheep,

swampland full of bird life,

abandoned log barns,

and even some deer willing to let us get close enough to get a photo.

I hope you've enjoyed my pictures.  Please leave a comment so I'll know you visited.

     Granny Marigold

We're back

We were gone to the Interior of B.C., to the Okanagan area with the intention of picking cherries while having a time away.  There were lots of cherries on the trees and prices were very reasonable.

                   The bunches of cherries hung like bunches of grapes!

This gives you some idea of how laden the trees were. Other years we've had to pick off ladders but these trees were all accessible from the ground.

It was terribly hot ( 36 degrees C.  which is just about 97 degrees F.)  We had intended to pick 3 pails but went crazy and picked even more into a plastic  thingy.   53 pounds later we quit!!!  Both of us were so hot and tired.  

       Got to our campsite and had supper. I had eaten so many cherries I wasn't too hungry.  This was our view towards the river.  We sat outside until the bats came out. I always look forward to seeing them dart about.  Then the stars came out a a breeze began to cool us a bit.

That was Day one. Tomorrow I'll write about our second day.  Now all I want to do is jump in the shower. I feel like I was gone a week, not 2 days!

                         Granny Marigold

Thrifty Treasures

For some reason there are fewer garage sales this summer than previous years. Nevertheless I managed to find a few treasures such as this magazine. I am not familiar with it but now that I know what gorgeous pictures it has I will look for it. Even the ads are pretty and offer much for potential collages. I paid .25 for it.

 The pic above is of yet another quilted table center. I just love quilted things and when I think of the work that goes into them and then the cheap price they sell for.... well, I just have to buy, right?


Below you see a Smash Book. I already have one that I have finished but I couldn`t resist this one, still in its original packaging and so much less money than you would pay at, say, Michael`s or even Wal Mart. ( I paid $4 )    Just in case you are not familiar with Smash books  they are sort of a scrapbook but much less organized. The pages are of different patterns and some give you a prompt but mainly you fill it with photos, quotes, ideas, basically anything you want to `smash`in it. Pinterest gives countless ideas how to fill one.
Incidentally, this particular Smash book is totally different from my previous one. I think I will use this one with a theme of Getting Older.  Because, of course, that is exactly what I ( and you) are doing.

 The grandkids love to do jigsaw puzzles and although we have many ( and redo them ) it is nice to have a few that we`ve never done before. Even the almost-five-year old can help. The Santa one will be fun come next December.

Speaking of the almost-five-year old, Monday will be his big day.  I have accumulated quite a bag of gifts in the last while. These T shirts with some of his favourite characters will be a big hit.

It`s a coolish day here, perfect for a bit of gardening and maybe some watering, since our sandy soil is again bone dry. The forecast is for showers but I`m afraid we need more than a few mms of rain.
Hope you are having a pleasant weekend.

                         GRANNY M.

In My Kitchen

The morning sun was filtered by a thin cloud and there was a light breeze. Perfect weather to go Blueberry picking!  The field opened at nine and we were there not long after. The berries were large and so yummy. In no time we had picked 12 pounds ( at a dollar a pound). 

           It is now afternoon and some of those berries have been incorporated in muffins.

                               Others have been turned into jam.   I freeze some for winter of course and   we'll    go picking again next week so we have lots on hand just for eating by the handful.

 Another thing I did was to clean up this cast iron frying pan. We already have a two sizes of cast iron pans but son  #2 wanted  one and we found this one in the thrift store for six dollars. It was in rough shape but DH sanded it and I  cleaned and treated it to a coat of shortening and a nice long stay in the oven. Just to make sure it was 'ready' I made a quiche for supper last  evening and made it in this 'new' pan. It stuck a bit so I gave it another treatment. I believe it is fine now. I use mine a lot and wouldn't want to be without it.

That's what I've been up to so far this week. It seems like such a short one with Tuesday having been the holiday ( Canada Day). We have our annual family BBQ on July First and we had sunshine. Not only sunshine but the hottest day so far. The Humidex was something like 36 degrees C.
Thankfully it is cooler now and one can bear to turn on the stove. 
     Hope you're enjoying sunshine too!         Granny Marigold

Lovely Lilies

Though Lilies look like they would be hard to grow they are actually easier than you'd think. They are not fussy about type of soil and will thrive in sunshine or even light shade.  Their  main requirement is well-drained soil. I once lost an entire clump  of Lilies by leaving them in the rain all winter in a pot with inadequate drainage.   Here are some photos of the Lilies that are now blooming in my garden.

I'm sorry to admit that I have lost most of the name tags these came with but to me the name is not as important as how gorgeous they look. I hope you've enjoyed a look at  these beauties.


                              GRANNY MARIGOLD

Canada Day

                                HAPPY CANADA DAY !!!