By the Hill

Garage Sale Treasure

2011-09-05T08:10:00.000-05:00

Hi there! A couple of really great finds from my spring hunting at garage sales. This wonderfully shabby green wicker chair was a steal at 7.00!! It is big and comfy and I love it but haven't got a spot for it so I'm giving it to a friend for a display piece in her commercial greenhouse.

80's? Dusty rose settee, too cute, it's been in my house all summer, but now has gone over to the Red Barn for our upcoming sale at the end of the month. A bargain again at 25.00...........oh, those spring garage sales were good! Not much all summer, not in my end of town anyway!

Have a great day!

A few good finds!

2011-08-13T17:27:00.000-05:00

Not much time to blog, but it's not too time consuming to show you a few pictures. I am forever taking pictures, so here's a few of some treasures I've found.

This nice and very colorful log cabin quilt I picked up at a favorite thrift shop a week ago. Sold today at the farmers market!

Yummiest Irish Crochet collar, I bought this in June and it now resides in England (Ebay). A beautiful old piece, you don't find this type of work too often. I should have kept it, but.......

Look at that work!

Have a great weekend!!

Yes, it's me. Happy Summer all of you in blogland!

2011-08-08T15:00:00.000-05:00

I can't explain! I just got away from the blogging when it got too busy and never got back at it!
I must say I admire all of you gals that I can see are extremely busy with what you do, but still manage to blog!
I have been dashing in and out of some of your blogs for pure pleasure in spare moments.
So, hello again to all my bloggie friends, and I will try and post here and there, not on a regular basis though, I just can't find too much time! Hope to be back sooner rather than later!

Merry Christmas and I'm still here after no blogging for 5 weeks!!

2010-12-07T08:12:00.000-06:00

I have not logged into my blog since Halloween!!

In the last month I have peeked at a couple of my fave blogs, and read a couple of posts.

that's it!

Explanation if you have a minute.

Life around here has been extra busy.....my sister has a very sick grandbaby that has been hospitalized for over a month. We hope and pray she is now on the road to recovery. She's only just over 3 months old. My sis has been run off of her feet with helping with the other grandchildren in the family while her daughter and husband have been spending most of their time at the hospital.

My sis and I split time going to visit my mom at the nursing home and as a result, I've been trying to make up her visits, so that has taken some of my time up lately.

and

One of my 3 daughters and her son have moved in temporarily (2-1/2 weeks now) while they wait for renovations to be completed on the house they will be renting (5 minutes away from me....yaay!!)

I am enjoying having them here, but it also means more and bigger meals to cook and more visiting and enjoying the chit chat ...

I'm still trying to keep up with my ebay sales, so that eats up time too.

I have lots to do before Christmas and with what is going on here I don't know when I'll be posting again

Merry Christmas

to all!

and have safe and happy holidays.

My "Noel" is a digital collage I made probably around this time last year.

ttfn (ta ta for now)

Lucy

(hoping to get around to some blogs to visit although I don't expect to be posting)

A few more treasures to show you

2010-10-31T21:49:00.000-05:00

Halloween is over for another year! I was completely cleaned out of treats and had to shut off the lights earlier than I would have liked. They came in droves! Lots of the bigger kids in groups of 5 or 7. ALL of them were very friendly and polite, and they ALL said thankyou!

I am still coming across things I tucked away from those two end of season garage sales that yielded so many goodies! I have been busy too, and the days just fly by with my good intentions of posting just flying right by with them!

Do you love this? A heavy cast old mailbox! With a fleur de lis!

Wonderfully shabby french!

Old style, open at the back, to be fastened to the wall,

The lid at the top flips up for the mailman to deposit the mail, the front piece flips up for you to remove the mail, after you remove your lock!

I'm trying to remember the last time I ever saw one of these in use!

A Seth Thomas marble mantle clock.....older electric...

Not shown to advantage, but the neatest heavy cast metal soap dish? I think that's what it is but could be wrong. Too cool!

All of the above came from the hoarder's garage sale.

I'm happy to say that this snow that we woke up to on Saturday is now gone! Hopefully we won't see the white stuff for at least a couple of weeks!

Another busy week ahead...I am hoping to do something creative at some point this week, at least that's what I say now!

I'll be back with some more finds soon.

Have a great week!

Catching up on showing you my finds

2010-10-21T22:22:00.000-05:00

Zero-ing in on a few more recent finds.

The sweetest old baby feeding dish from England....check out that golliwog riding the wooden horse! Too cute!

Lots of glass and china, cheap, cheap, cheap!!

A vintage gameboard, snakes and ladders type with neat graphics!

Old cookbooks (I love looking through them) and old music book

A beautiful amethyst glass footed bowl.

Saved from the garbage, looks like this came from an order for a watch. Love the old handwriting!

I don't think I showed you this batch of buttons

This gorgeous iridescent art glass lampshade was in a box of junk. A very "good" piece, so I did well with the resale on Ebay.

Some of the old silver pieces, sitting on the most delicious pink depression glass platter.

I'm saying goodnight with a beautiful sunrise picture from Tuesday morning. From my deck, it was spectacular!

Goodnight all!

Catching up, last weekend fun!

2010-10-21T15:38:00.000-05:00

Did you say it's already Thursday? ...we're almost at the weekend again?
I still haven't filled you in on my last weekend.

No great finds at the garage sales, there weren't many at all, it's getting pretty late in the season.

I had my 9 year old grandaughter Kiera overnight on Saturday and we spent the day together on Sunday.

There she is, at it again! She likes to redress my dressform.....I still haven't fixed her so that she stands more than a few feet tall, but she got lowered by Kiera a while back, it makes it easier for her to dress her!

It's Thursday and she's still dressed as she was left on Sunday.....not exactly how I like her to look, but I'll leave here in missy K's designer look for now.

Sunday afternoon, we picked up my youngest from her apartment near downtown Winnipeg and went to THE FORKS!......I hadn't been there for ages! Old buildings and new, transformed into shops, restaurants, boutiques....lots and lots to do and see there.

It is backed by the Red River........there are docks and a river walk, you can come skating or hiking down the river in the winter. (not for me, thankyou)

We spent a few hours browsing the shops, then stopped at a little place for some delicious fish and chips before one last trip to the candy store, then home!

That is the old railroad station.....the Forks is built up on acres and acres behind it. Downtown Winnipeg, Manitoba......I really should get downtown more often,

I caught this picture after getting home, it's a zoom in of blackbirds in the trees out the back.

Next post will show you more garage sale treasures from a couple of weeks ago!

Garage Sale Treasures to show you

2010-10-15T20:54:00.000-05:00

Those last 2 lucky Saturdays I had with the estate sale and the hoarder's garage sale came at a busy time and I had so much more to show you than what was posted.
I'm going to try and get some pictures taken and show you bit by bit over the next week or so some of the treasures I gathered .
I had to start off with these sweet bone china floral bouquets, which were NOT from those two sales, but I wanted to show you that I now have a "collection" of them. The little vintage picture in frame was from one of the last two sales.

oooooh...aahhhhh!

The beautiful Weiss rhinestone set from the estate sale. It is the most gorgeous deep blue On Ebay right now.

From the hoarders sale, this beautiful footed glass dish with lid on the center part and little dividers at each end. Anybody know what it was for? It must have had a purpose....

Center compact is a bit rough, the others perfect and soooo pretty! ...from the hoarder's

Well, I don't think this is what the dish was for but it works!!

A ballerina alarm clock......I hated to sell it but I did,,,,on Ebay, I had a couple of auctions running while I was away and it was a quick and easy one to put on.......When the alarm goes off the ballerina twirls and instead of a bell it plays a tune, sounds like a music box. Well, it's on its way to California right now!

Silver...........and there's more, in another post. The two on the right have been cleaned, they look lovely!

2 Roseville Pottery vases...each has a chip, but I didn't care as I only paid a couple of dollars each. The pressed carnival glass spooner in the middle was a freebie.....in the free box, it has a little chip I can live with and the price was right!......cutest little scottish terrier, cast metal.... all from the estate sale

ok.......this was too creeepy....I sold it at the Red Barn sale to a fella that was going to separate the pelts and mount them on a wall along with his other taxidermy pieces. I can't imagine wearing this...they had little feet and tails...ugh...from the estate sale...

This beautiful crochet tablecloth was a freebie....thrown in for nothing (I was a good customer :)! I'm just putting on Ebay tonight.

$1.00 old petticoat, two layers at the bottom, I love these old lingerie items.

Another sweet linen.........on Ebay now.....

Just pressed this one up too, and listed it on Ebay

Don't you just love redwork embroidery? on Ebay too..

Stepping away from the pretties, the aqua fan was a real score from the hoarder's g sale.......I love it!! I'm going to clean it up and it will reside with me until the Red Barn Sale in the spring. It works beautifully too!

As for the graniteware plate, I've not had a green one yet, and that old metal trowel will find a place with my

garden tools. I have one exactly the same and it is my favorite, strong and sturdy and comfy to work with!

I just about forgot.....these two huge rolls of lingerie lace.........one pink, one blue!!.......I have to take my Etsy shop off of vacation and get the lace up for sale there, by the yard or something...

Well, that's all for now, I have to gather and photograph some more from those two sales. It is kind of spread out around the house, some still in boxes.

Tomorrow is Saturday..........the weather is holding so there will be a few sales.....I wonder if my luck will hold?

Have a great weekend and happy treasure hunting, and whatever else you will be doing!

I'm hoping to drop in for a visit to your blogs soon, I've missed so much this last while!

Down on the farm, my recent trip

2010-10-15T17:16:00.000-05:00

We had to take a trip to Saskatchewan last week, an old auntie (93) who lives on her own and has no closeby relatives needed some help after having a mild heart attack.
We took her home from the hospital after a few days, and stayed to make sure she was alright. She lives in a small town, and 20 miles away we visited some other relatives out on the farm.
We love going there, I always take alot of pictures, more of the animals than people I'm afraid! I won't bore you with them, just give you a small taste of where we were.

I made a friend......this little calf wandered around freely during the day, coming right up to the house. His mama couldn't feed him so he was kept separated and "pail" fed. He wasn't shy at all!...(the rest of the cattle are roming over acres and acres of land adjoining the farm property)

Across the road from where we stay, our hosts had purchased this property, complete with the buildings, as more farmland for planting their grain crops. The old house and buildings were left standing, and have sadly fallen into decay. It's fun to roam around there and try to imagine what it was like when the original owners lived there and farmed and brought up their children.

Year by year the buildings tumble a little bit more.

We have wondered around inside this old farmhouse, a number of years ago. It is getting to dangerous to go walking through it now.....rotten floors, etc. What a shame......

That is a huge old barn, I can't imagine how old it is!

Another old outbuilding

I zoomed in on this bald eagle...I've never seen one in real life before!

The weather was beautiful throughout our trip, wildflowers still blooming!

Going back across the road, where the cousins live way over behind that clump of trees.

Caught some great sunset pictures out the back of the farm

In another direction the new moon was just rising.

I had to put this one in too........another abandoned little house caught when we stopped at the side of the highway on our way.
I wish I had had more time to drive around the farming area and take more pictures, there are so many abandoned old houses and barns. Maybe next year.
Next post I will be some of my garage sale treasures. Those last 2 sales I went to (see previous posts) were just too fabulous!

I hit a HOARDER'S Garage Sale today!

2010-10-02T20:34:00.002-05:00

The yard was full of tables and the driveway full of furniture. There was sooo much there and the 2 daughters kept going in and bringing out more boxes and unpacking them!

They said it was only the tip of the iceberg!!

I just took a few pics of the furniture I picked up, no time to take pictures of the smalls right now.

This neat little lidded storage box, heavy! Was remade from the base of an old radio cabinet.

I went back 2 more times after my first load, lots of smalls and these pieces of furniture for very cheap! So I took them home, quickly cleaned them up and dropped them off at the Red Barn sale.

If this piece doesn't sell, it might find a home with me, although I don't know just where I can put it, but I just couldn't leave it behind for the price they were asking!

Flip it down and you've got these neat desk with nice little cubbies.

A great project piece. Wish I had the time!

This went into to the back of my van, to the Red Barn, and sold while I was still unloading the other furniture!

I was running all day and tomorrow I go back to the sale to help out and when it's over to pack up what's left of mine and bring home.

Just got news this evening that we have to make a trip out of town, leaving Tuesday, so it will be a big rush to get what I have to get done on Monday before we go away.

Hope to be back next weekend.

So have a good week everyone and sooner or later I'll post bit by bit the wonderful treasures I've found over the last two weekends!

Vintage Finds Sweet, Sentimental and Shabby

2010-10-02T09:01:00.000-05:00

Sweet......from a country garage sale last Saturday, it is actually a very beautiful piece of crochet that is probably a window valance. It is temporarily draped around my dress form (Millie) waiting to go on Ebay.

I couldn't take a full view, since my poor Millie has her bum almost resting on her feet! Seems my sweet grandaughter decided to give her a new look and decided to bring her down so she'd be easier to dress.

I have had no problem stepping on the pedal and raising her up and down, but this particular time she went down alright, but something in her frame is "binding" and I can't get her back up! Poor old girl!

I haven't had time to lay her down and look under her "skirt" to investigate!

Sentimental

An old autograph book. 1930 entries, all in pen and ink.

Some really interesting writings among the pages.

I wonder how old Henry was when he took this with him when visiting or passed it among friends to write their "autograph" for him?

The shabby.........this neat cupboard with the neatest built-in in the drawer!

Don't you just love those little cuppy things?...they're wood! Not removable!
I didn't buy, just wanted to show you, the cupboard and the storage box below were new items that were added to the Red Barn sale yesterday.

aaahh! Gorgeous old storage box/bench in original cotton fabric, a very shabby chic piece.

Lastly, up around the corner from me, the pumpkin wagon! Notice the mix of orange and white pumpkins.I quickly took this picture out of the window of the car while passing.
Now I'm off to find some garage sales on this beautiful sunny fall morning!

So much fun at the antique sale today!

2010-09-29T19:47:00.000-05:00

We sold piles of goodies! For the first 2 hours, steady... 2 of us were writing up the bills, while 2 others wrapped and packed, and a few other helpers rearranged and helped carry furniture out the door!

The afternoon gets to a nice steady pace rather than a big rush so we get a chance to have a break and put some more items out and keep the place looking tidy!

outside the Red Shed area of our sale, yummy shabby chippy!

...mostly finer china and glass and better furniture in the hayloft of the barn

...more country and shabby vintage on the main floor of the barn...

When you take part in a sale, you see alot that you love but can't possibly focus on everything!! Some of the items I was writing up........aaacckkk.....I would have bought that red and white enamel teapot which was MINTY for ....yes...$6.00!

Different consignors, different pricing! Some of the stuff went out the door for a song!

.....love these metal wheels!

A shabby piece that was in the Red Shed area of the sale.......don't you love it?

If you want to look at a whole bunch of yummy pictures of the sale, go to this link. You will enjoy it for sure!
Red Barn

and I gotta tell you.....today at the sale I sold the mink jacket I bought at a garage sale a couple of weeks ago, and it is going all the way to ..................

AUSTRALIA!
A very nice gal from Melbourne (originally Sydney) was thrilled with it!
I don't go back to the sale til Friday, I'll keep you posted.

Unexpected treasures from the button box!

2010-09-27T22:52:00.000-05:00

I can't ever resist the jars, tins, and boxes of buttons at a garage sale!

This tin full came from my first garage sale of the day on Saturday, along with a couple of bits of trim.

Resting my weary feet tonight, I started sifting through the box, putting aside the more interesting buttons.

Halfway down I started finding these exquisite little black carved glass buttons!

CLICK ON THE PICTURES TO ENLARGE AND SEE THE DETAIL

Tiny, and with the most intricate detail in the glass! I think they are at least 100 years old!

The largest of these is upper left and is an irredescent carnival glass type of button with what looks like a moose..see below! The camera didn't catch the purples and greens of the glass.

Then there were these! Shiny black glass with gold trim!

Not exactly the crown jewels, but part of a ring, engraved B.L. from M.S.......10 KT, not exactly enough gold to retire on........and another black onyx with initial ring...the back part is quite squashed.

Does anyone read Latin? I think that's what it is. There were about 5 of these old metal shank buttons.

So ...you never know what you will find in one of those button boxes.

I also found some neat old beads and quite a few interesting buttons once I started digging through.

It was like an archeological dig. The deeper the layer, the older the buttons!

It must have gone undisturbed and just added to over the years.

Now.........go look at my friend Carol's post over at THE POLKA DOT CLOSET

You won't believe her unexpected thrift store find!

A couple of Vintage linens from Saturday's Garage Sales

2010-09-27T14:34:00.000-05:00

I need a break from taking pictures, listing on Ebay, and the 3 loads of wash I just did.

Sooo....here is a quick post. I did get some nice linens on the weekend and just trying to list a few on Ebay and picked a couple of things I didn't have to wash and iron.

These are adoreable!! The little doilies/coasters!

The pillowcases are lovely too, but I've had this type before, but never the little pieces and in such gorgeous colors.....FALL COLORS!

CLICK TO ENLARGE so you can see the teensy stitches. Yes, they're handmade, from China, I love 'em!

Gorgeous pillowcases, never used, and although I've had this type before, I've never had them in the blues.....usually they're in a mix of pretty pastels.

I did get some beautiful, yummy, real old and lacey linens too. I'll show you when I can, as well as some other great finds from the weekend.

Now for a bit of nature! I'm amazed at how fast the leaves are turning and dropping all of a sudden! This was taken on the 24th, 3 days ago, early evening and the full moon was rising. Note the GREEN leaves.

This was an attempt the following evening to take a picture of the moon in the dark.......I zoomed too, so the whole thing is pretty grainy, (I really want to learn how!) but I wish you could have been here.

That evening and the last few, at approximately the same time, the geese have been going crazy!

They have been "marshalling"....getting ready for their trip south. Around 8-8:30 p.m. They seem to be in the fields all squaking (sp?) at once, and some flying overhead, maybe going back to where they've been nesting! What a racket......!! I tried to video and get the sound...I did work, not great, but I caught the noise!

OK.......so this was this morning.........3 days after the first picture, and the sun had just come up...Notice the BARE branches?

This afternoon, now you can really see the change in color in the last few days as well as BARE branches.

And the other pictures don't show just how YELLOW my ash trees have got. They are GREEN 3 days ago.

I fear in another few days I will be looking at naked trees and that means cold weather ahead....Ugh!

Back to work! I have so much to do with the big antique sale starting Wednesday and we might be going away for a few days next week.

I'll be back as soon as I can with more treasures to show you!

Garage Sale Finds Galore!

2010-09-26T13:29:00.001-05:00

What a Saturday I had! This table full was from just one GREAT sale! It was an estate sale and I didn't go early either!

The weather was wonderful after alot of cold, cloudy this last week, and I was just taking my time and enjoying the scenery! I took off in a different direction and was I glad! Out on a country route!

I'm going to keep that little chintz sugarbowl too, it's so sweet, I'll fill it with something and place it on the dresser.

Rhinestones!! That's a Weiss set..the blue...I didn't know til I got home, I was so busy making a pile on the grass!

The picture is definitely a keeper!

Gawsh! How could I leave that old mink stole behind! It's kinda creepy but it isn't going to live in my house for too long.

The prices were cheap and I did find some chips on the odd piece when I started the cleanup, but all in all it was a great haul!

....and that was only from one sale...I picked up a number of great things at a few other sales too! Will show you a bit at a time, I'm so busy getting ready for the big sale this week!

I hope you all found lots of treasures this weekend!

Setting up the antique sale

2010-09-23T18:16:00.000-05:00

Today I was over to the Red Barn to take a few more things and help set up the displays. These pictures were taken inside the barn, upstairs and downstairs and believe me........you only see the tip of the iceberg! I'll try to post more pics soon!

There's that railway lamp I picked up a couple of weeks ago alongside some old snowshoes.

This cupboard is painted the loveliest soft green!

GREAT old sign!

Someone who collects this type of glass is going to be VERY happy to find these pieces!

Up to the hayloft....great furniture and more!

ok.......see the fur jacket upper right? One of my garage sale finds for........$1.00....we believe it's MINK!!..and in great shape!

I have NEVER seen such a gorgeous old brass bed....that is GLASS in the headboard and there's another panel in the footboard!!

SEE?

And my old wooden chest on its stand........I painted it and gave it a crackle finish about 10 years ago.

I brought that over today. I decided to let it go. Let someone else enjoy it.

Well, gotta go and dig around for more to take over to the sale, it starts next Wednesday and goes til the Sunday. I always find things that I wanted to sell after it's over!

My dolly in the trunk! I'm getting ready for an antiques sale

2010-09-14T18:29:00.000-05:00

I will be glad when October comes! So much is going on all the time and I've been running all summer with one thing or the other! (mostly by choice, so, nobody to blame but ME!).

Well, golf finishes this week, and last day at the farmers market too......then the next thing on my agenda is taking part in the antique sale I do every year at a girlfriends place in the country. We have a big RED BARN and MORE to fill up!

So....I'm deciding to part with a few of my own things and gathering up anything I've picked up through the summer to sell, and pricing and packing it up for the sale that's on in a couple of weeks.

Did you ever think you wanted to have a doll collection? I did, ....a long time ago, and they complemented my decorating at the time and I loved them! I almost forgot about this sweetie! Bought at a garage sale of course! I even made her dress MYSELF!! That was waaaay back....when I used to actually use my sewing machine!

She's really old, fully jointed, and she wears a wig! Over 100 yrs old but unmarked, she has glass eyes, open mouth and all!

Well! She's going on an adventure......to an antique sale...
She will find a new home! She will be loved and displayed, not hidden in a trunk!

I've had her long enough and my sweet grandaughter is 9 and is just not a doll girl...

although she's a real little doll!

She was in this lovely old wooden trunk that sits on a stand....(mennonite I was told when I bought it years back)...yes....it's going too! It's really in my way and I usually have the top covered up with JuNk and never look in it or use the storage for anything but things I don't need or use. The doll was the only good thing in it!

The trunk even has this huge key.......

but I have to let it go...yes I do....I know it is a beauty...but ....it has to go..

yes... I've made up my mind....

........I think....

This was a good find last weekend. No market...too cold and windy, so I got to garage sale and first thing I got was this old railway switch lamp......it weighs a ton! Marked too....CPR ...for Canadian Pacific Railway (?Railroad?)

Best deals were on Friday though.........one really great sale just down the road. everything was 1.00 and she had a garage full!!! I got a vintage fur jacket in perfect condition for $1.00!!It will go to the sale.

Lots of jewelry, all kinds of things for resale on Ebay or Etsy.

Well, .....back to cleanin' and packin'

oooooh....I just previewed and this is waaay too long a post! sorry!

Elvis pins, Garage Sale Find, and Apple Pie!

2010-09-08T16:03:00.001-05:00

I got to create!............ an order for 6 Elvis pins, to be worn at a big Elvis fan gathering next spring. A farmers market customer........hope she likes them! 6 gals meet up to rock and roll and she wants one for each of them including herself!

A one and only find this last week, no sales for me on Saturday, I went to do the farmers market, but I managed to pick this up on Friday (for a song!!) on my way back from grocery shopping. It's a round crochet tablecloth, like new! I put it on Ebay, the auction ends on Monday...(already a bid, surprising as Ebay has been desperately SLOW for months! )

Only a couple more Wednesday night golf games. We have to start at 5:30 now, as it's getting dark earlier and we want to finish our 9 holes while we can still see the ball!

Taken last week.......sun is starting to go down and still one hole to go!

The flower bed is getting tired looking but there's still some color there to enjoy. The apple tree right behind the flowerbed is bare now, had to pick what was left on the tree before the WASPS got at them!

Many buckets of apples have come off of that tree and I have lots of peeled, chopped apples in the freezer for pies, apple crisp and muffins .

I really do NOT enjoy baking, but made a few pies and apple crisp the other day. I usually buy frozen pie shells, but this time made my own........hmmmm.....I know now why I buy frozen pie shells! What a mess I had in the kitchen! Pie was really good though, better than the frozen shells!
YES, that really is apple pie.......my husband likes the apples chopped fine with lots and lots of cinnamon!

I made 38 pints of these Crisp Pickle Slices and at least 50 quarts of dills! If I didn't give away most of them I'd only have to make about 5 pints and 10 quarts!

I am done, done, done and glad it's fall......just stop fall from going into winter and I'll be very happy!

off to golf shortly..........have a great evening!

Time? Time to play for a challenge!

2010-09-06T12:57:00.000-05:00

Well, I don't really have time to play these days, but I made this digital collage one late night last week, I haven't "PLAYED" with photoshop for weeks, more like months!

I started off to make a collage that I wanted to use for a project I was thinking of, but ended up with this!...no particular reason, it just HAPPENED!...

I just filed it and today, after not logging on to blogger all week thought I'd check on a few challenges and lo and behold! There was one on TIME over at Soartful

So here is my first challenge piece in months!

It was good to PLAY and CREATE!

2nd post today, 2 hours later, pickles on the go and recipe

2010-08-22T12:35:00.000-05:00

It is now a couple of hours since my last post and yes that is ice over the sliced cucumbers, etc.

This is the BEST recipe for pickles that are like a yum yum or bread and butter pickle but they stay really crunchy and the flavor is really yummy!

Since I had the recipe on the computer from sending it off to friends and family who request it, I pasted it in below.

I really think the secret in making these so crunchy and that they stay that way even after a year in the cupboard is that you sprinkle pickling salt over the veggie mix and add cracked or crushed ice and leave it for a few hours.

This is after digging in and tossing the whole lot with my hands......you can use a big wooden spoon, but hands work better and faster!

oops, I forgot the garlic.........this is from the garden, and has done well this year, unlike alot of my other veggies......

I love large cloves......so much easier to peel, especially when I'm making my very garlic-y dill pickles and I need to peel alot of it.....

ANYWAY, HERE'S THE RECIPE, try it, you'll LOVE it!

While they're sitting I have to clean up my mess and go out to the garden and pick cucumbers! If I get them picked today, I can make some dills while they're small and I'll be caught up for a couple of days on the cucumber patch!

Crisp Pickle Slices

Makes 8 pints

3 qts sliced cukes (med size)

6 med. onions sliced

3 cloves garlic

1 green pepper

1 sweet red pepper

1/3 cup pickling salt

3 cups white vinegar

5 cups sugar

1-1/2 tsp turmeric

1-1/2 tsp celery seed

2 Tbsp mustard seed

Slice the cucumbers thin, (not too thin) add sliced onions, garlic and the peppers cut in narrow strips. Add salt, cover with cracked ice, mix thoroughly.. Let stand overnight or 3 hours (I never tryed leaving overnight, just 3 or 4 hrs). Drain. Combine remaining ingredients, pour over cucumber mix. Heat to boiling, seal in sterilized jars.

Surprising Garage Sale Find Vintage Linens and day at the farmers market

2010-08-22T09:48:00.001-05:00

These were waiting for me!

Leaving the house early to go and set up at the farmers market, my Saturday garage saleing has to be on the way home around 2.00 p.m.

I make a quick sidetrip off the highway to the village nearby, check out any garage sales and then home I go!

Check out that DEEP crochet lace!!

At $2.00 a pair!!! They were kind of behind on a table with a whole lot of unattractive ordinary bedding and curtains.......maybe nobody saw them? ....or wanted them?...

I think they were just waiting for a vintage linen lover to find them!

There's our little setup at the market........Under the light colored canopy. It was a perfect weather day, and lots of people came out for the wonderful fresh produce and so many other things that the market provides with their varied vendors.

These busking gals were GREAT! They sang alot of 80's, 90's tunes and gave it their all!

A lady that does spinning, brought along a pal.....so cute...baaaaaaaa!

Hope you're enjoying your weekend!

I must confess.......

I've been shoving the cucumbers in the fridge this last week or giving them away.....I have got to go and make some pickles and pick the cukes again...

I'd much rather be doing something creative or visiting my blog friends.

.....and the dust bunnies are taking over too!!!

See you soon I hope!

What a weather change and a monarch butterfly

2010-08-15T09:45:00.000-05:00

I want to put the heat on! From sweltering humid hot days this week to rain and low temps.......

The farmers market yesterday was windy,cloudy, and we did get a few showers, but the turnout was good and we managed to get packed up in record time before the real rain started!

I captured this picture Friday after seeing this butterfly coming back and forth to my purple cone flowers. I had to sneak up on it and only got the one shot before it fluttered away, but it turned out decent!

I stood still waiting for it to return, but no luck! The bee took over the territory!

We had Kiera for dinner and a visit through the evening. It was one of those gorgeous summer evenings,no wind, comfortable temperature, so we just had to take a walk up the road and round the corner to the little playpark. Oh, what energy..........Kiera must have swung back and forth on that piece of playground equipment at least 75 times!

We let her sneak an apple from the tree overhanging a fence by the park. I know, I know......but there were tons of them laying on the ground, the owners were certainly not picking them!

The little playpark is right beside this creek that runs through our development.

We would have loved a walk on the footpath, but the mosquitoes were starting up so we headed for home!

I zoomed in on the ducks swimming around in the creek.

And another shot of the bumblebee that I just could not get blogger to move to the top....!

CLICK TO ENLARGE ANY OF THE PICTURES

Rainy day, so maybe I'll get something done inside.

Happy Sunday!

GREAT GIVEAWAYS & my domino art digital collages

2010-08-13T16:23:00.000-05:00

You just have to go and enter these two giveaways!

VINTAGE SUSIE, one of my favorite places to visit and one of my very first followers, a true blog friend, and someone you'll all just love to visit..........

COTTON PICKIN CUTE is also having a great giveaway, some awesome goodies! You must go check out her lovely blog too and enter!

I was catching up on some blogs I follow and popped in to see Chris over at My Arty Attempts and this link will take you to some very creative ATC's she's done.
One of them was using the image of this girl. I have the same image and used it in photoshop to create the above digital pieces which I then get printed out..........I layered the girl on different backgrounds and added to it in different ways to use for making my domino pendants. She's an all time favorite!

I'll post the link to where we got our images later. Gotta get dinner on right now!

Yummiest vintage linens, favorite filet lace!

2010-08-11T13:24:00.000-05:00

I just love filet crochet work! It has always been a favorite and I just washed and ironed the two pieces pictured, what a pleasure to revive them!

The piece above is just gorgeous and I wish I had a place for it but it will end up on ebay. I think it was meant for a long sofa back but I would love to see it hung as a valance! I love the design of the bluebirds and the roses and bows!

Yummy.........sorry I had to lay it on the floor to be able to get above it and take a picture.

Another beautiful piece of filet crochet, this one so fine and delicate! It's a small square, you know, for a parlor table or similar small table. The detail is wonderful!

Just thought I'd share these pics, I know I love going to other blogs and drooling over vintage linens and lace!

Meanwhile..........back at the kitchen.......seems I'm either picking or pickling these days! Glad I took that little bit of time yesterday to do up a couple of my linens!

An empty nest

2010-08-10T21:07:00.001-05:00

We missed the first of the three baby robins leaving the nest, but the second one just wasn't quite ready to fly and made his way to a spot under a tree where mama and papa tended him/her

I kept missing the best pictures of course......like the feeding.....

They sure grow up fast!

The last one........gone now as I write this post.

Poor little robin....walkin', walkin', walkin' to Missourri.....remember that song? LOL, I'm dating myself! Can you see that tiny little robin making his way across the grass? That little dot?

Off he went and stayed at the edge of the flower bed for about an hour....when I next checked, he was gone, probably to the back of the yard in the bit of bush, hiding in the underbrush until he could use his little wings. I could hear mama and papa, chirping at him over the course of the day and evening.

While we're at the flower bed, a few pictures for you.

The heat and humidity we've had lately and rain on and off have really pushed the blooms!

The sad thing is, then we will be on the downward side of summer!

I was very happy with the way the flowers planted in those big plastic swans spread and really made a very colorful display.

I will definitely plant these low bushy zinnias again next year. They have really been looking good. You can see some yellow ones in one of the pictures above this one. They are great!

SORRY, if I haven't been visiting, I really miss dropping by to your blogs and seeing what you've all been up to. I will catch up one of these days, meanwhile, I'll at least try to keep on posting!

Don't get too close to the nest! An explanation too!

2010-08-10T21:04:00.000-05:00

I'm so behind, and here is a post that was intended for over a week ago! There has been alot going on around here, out of town visitors, cucumbers to be pickled, and .........a husband with a bad back that couldn't golf for 2 weeks.....hanging around the house........get it?
So here is the first of a few posts that I am now taking the time to do. Cukes are picked and ready to pickle in the morning, husband thank goodness golfing again and gone for a while longer so here I am posting!

Daddy Robin was NOT happy when I bent over and was peeking through the cracks of the deck to check on the babies! I wish I could have got a better shot of his head. His feathers/hair was standing on end, he looked like he'd spiked it!

The nest can be seen when you peek through the boards......

Sunday morning I weeded, and weeded..........

See all those bare spots in the garden? Well, that's how bad it is this year, as usually there is hardly a spot of dirt to be found!

More later!

UPDATE.........as I post this I can't get over how the bare spots have greatly filled in.......those cucumbers are going crazy!!!

Yummy handmade lace!

2010-07-29T10:49:00.000-05:00

A couple of doilies I picked up at a garage sale. I never know what to call this type of handwork so I inquired on the Ebay Vintage Textiles discussion board. There are some really knowledgeable people on there that will help out. Yes.....it is HANDMADE......

can you believe it?

Where would you even begin to figure out how it's done??!!

I'm going to put them on ebay tonight.

My flower bed is weeded now, and looking better but I'm still missing alot of my taller perennials that froze out over the winter.

Bare spots........not a good gardening year....but the whole bed still looks good from my kitchen window!

Have a great day. I hope to visit and catch up with everyone in the next couple of days!

Sunny Market Day...perfect! thought I posted this already, LOL!!

2010-07-28T16:01:00.000-05:00

Made this post and was going to add to it, then got busy and forgot all about it!! That was Sunday!!
You can click to enlarge...........just put this together quickly, you can see it was a bright sunny, gorgeous day at the farmers market! ....unlike last week!
Kiera was doing her best to make some sales......which she did, lol....she negotiated a commission from me and is a great little salesgirl!........
Lots of people came out to enjoy the day, and we had the BEST buskers.......the guy with the guitar was a cross between Kenny Rogers and Johnny Cash!
.......there was also a family group that were playing old time music...fiddlin' and such!

Marilyn's little grandaughter couldn't resist dancing! She was so cute!...She came out with her mom to visit us and shop for some fresh beets to make a big pot of borscht....yummy!

Friday again, where did the week go?

2010-07-23T22:29:00.001-05:00

.......the weeks fly by too fast! I can't believe it's already Friday and time to load up the car for the farmers market tomorrow!

What did I do with my time this week?

Lots of different things that eat up the day in large and small bites!

Summertime is particularly busy and besides the ordinary house and garden things to do, I still like to do my Ebay selling, so washing and ironing linens is a regular item on my agenda.

Of course you've got to find them too, so a trip or two to the thrift shop and any garage sales I can find are in order. I try to stop at the thrift on the way to visit my mom at the nursing home. My sister and I make sure she gets a visit every second day, we alternate.

(this picture is from an earlier post)

After the washing and the ironing, they have to be photographed, measured, weighed for shipping, then the listing has to be made up and finally listed! Why do I like doing this!?!?!?

Tonight, I was working on a couple of things, I was listing a "lot"......35 pieces...of linens, got it all done, thought I clicked on the button to schedule it to list later, I didn't! So........it's gone, I've got to do the whole blinkin' thing again!
Then I listed these beautiful lace curtains, .....TWICE...by mistake and I don't know what the heck happened but none of my description was there so had to end the auction .......uggghhhh...not my Ebay day today!

Doing the farmers market on Saturday mornings is lots of fun, so I've loaded up for an early start in the morning.
Earlier today I spent some time with my favorite gal......my grandaughter Kiera....
We had alot of fun, but it was weird.......We planned to go to the library, Kiera loves going there and hadn't been for a while, lots of summer things going on.

Well, we were going to garage sale on the way..........NOT ONE SIGN on the way there.....
We got to the library........CLOSED FOR RENOVATIONS!.....for the whole summer!

So .....we went to investigate a couple of neat shops near McDonalds....lunch!
OK.......now it's 1:00 p.m., warm sunny mid July day, so we head back home following my usual garage sale route. ONE sign.......for a sale on Saturday....but found a very junky sale on the same street.
I could NOT believe it! Garage sales in this city are mainly on a Saturday but in the warm summer weather there are usually a fair amount to go to on a Friday. NOT TODAY! It was so disappointing, we were so looking forward to treasure hunting together!

Best part of the day, Kiera's mom Sherri sent me these pictures, just as I was going to do this post.

Earlier in the summer

Visiting Joe earlier this week, celebrating his birthday. He was bobbing for apples and carrots and they'd decorated him with beads made by the breeder's mom and sang to him.

Jaxon had a haircut......I saw him today, his long curly locks are gone, but he's much cooler for the summer months, even if he looks a little strange!
Time for bed........have a great weekend!

New creations, Market day, Baby Robins have arrived!

2010-07-20T10:33:00.000-05:00

What kept me busy part of last week was making these bobby pins! I've got alot of old buttons and odd earrings, so I thought I'd add to my display at the farmers market.

See that grey sky? Well it was not a great weather day, which kept alot of people away. Rained on and off, but luckily the huge downpour and lightning didn't happen until we were on the way home in early afternoon!

We now have an overhead canopy, which really helps out when the weather is threatening and also allows us to make our display larger and more inviting.

There's my sister, chatting it up with a couple of very nice ladies. The older lady bought a beautiful crochet doily from Marilyn and the younger one a crochet tablecloth from my. Our prices are great!

My table of domino pendants, a bit of vintage jewelry and my newest creations, the bobby pins. I still have to improve my display, I'm not happy with it as it is.

Now for the birth announcement!

There are now 3 tiny featherless baby robins in the one of the nests under my deck! The lone egg in the nest beside it is still unhatched.

When I went to look yesterday, there were still 3 eggs in the one nest, but one was jiggling about! First thing you know, it broke open at one point and I actually SAW the baby robin wiggling his way out of the shell! It was so neat!

This morning there were 3!

I'll be watching that lone egg and hope for the best!

Have a great day, I'm behind on my visiting and hope to blog hop later today or this evening and catch up with all of you. Seems summer, everyone is busy!

We're expecting!! Still catching up!

2010-07-16T17:59:00.000-05:00

In a previous post, I showed how some robins had built six nests in a row on a beam under my deck. Well, at least a month went by and no nesters! So, I hung out a vacancy sign.......see a more recent previous post below.... and lo and behold!

One egg in one nest, and beside it there are three in another nest!!......Only one set of parents, so I don't know what will happen, whether they will abandon one of the nests or not!

I'll get pictures of the babies when they arrive!

The flower bed is slowly filling in, it's a funny summer for weather! I'm missing alot of my perennials that froze out over the winter, as we didn't get enough snow cover.

I took these pics about a week ago, so it's filled out a bit more since.

Good news is that the bunnies have slowed down, and although I won't have beans and carrots, they have left the lettuce alone and it is so yummy!

A really strange gardening year, so I'm just being thankful for what is growing and producing. Can't wait for those first baby potatoes!

Summertime is so busy! I always keep busy at any time of the year, but add to the regular "busy" the gardening, garage sales, golf, and my sister Marilyn and I just had our first day at the farmers market at Pineridge Hollow selling vintage linens and my domino art jewellery, which I try to find time to keep up a good supply!

The car is packed up for the market tomorrow, I must remember my camera so I can show you some pictures. I did post some last year when I first started the blog, and this year we are looking so much better as we have a canopy covering and can set up a much more eyecatching display.

We did great last week and hoping for a good day tomorrow.

Now I must go and visit......I have not been logging in and have alot of visiting to do!

So happy to be back posting!

Reunion is over and I'm finally blogging!

2010-07-16T17:27:00.000-05:00

Wow! I haven't blogged since before going to Grand Forks, ND on a girls getaway, and then there was the family reunion and all that went with it!
The above picture is my paternal grandparents on their wedding day.
They had a large family, my dad being one of the children.
The reunion was wonderful and we hope to do it again in another 5 years or so in a different province.

There they are again, on the farm in Lac du Bonnet, Manitoba, years later.

Driving down the highway nearby, on my way to visit my mom at the nursing home, I had to stop and take a picture of the wild clover alongside the road in in the ditches......We have had so much rain this summer and I've never seen the clover in such profusion or so large.

yellow, purple, pink, white! and it all smells soooo sweet!

I'm going to do another post shortly and catch up a bit more!

Catching up before I head south of the border!

2010-06-27T11:48:00.000-05:00

This will be a very busy week, a little more so than usual. We are having a family reunion next weekend, and starting off, one of my British Columbia cousins is already here and we are heading for a fun girlie getaway, south of the border, down Grand Forks, ND way!.........

Debbie, my BC cuz, came in a bit earlier so we're taking advantage and doing this fun trip with her mom, sister, my sister and a friend.

We're leaving in the a.m. (Monday), back Tuesday evening........I can't wait!! We're gonna have FUN!!

Meanwhile, a few pictures I took on Wednesday, haven't got around to posting them til now.

Wednesday is golf night for me, and I have to cross the river to get to the course, which is only 15 minutes away. Coming home as I was getting off of the highway, facing west, the sun was a big PINK ball! I couldn't get parked at the riverside fast enough to capture it, but took these shots as it was sinking behind the trees.

This is only a couple of minutes from my home, I pass by the river almost every time I'm going somewhere. It always is a pretty sight!

Turn my head to the left and take a little zoom shot, there's the bridge I cross, and down the river is downtown Winnipeg!

I turned around and facing towards the East, there was the moon!...The sun was just about down and the moon was high in the sky already!

Golf night was so much fun as usual!

Daughter Kris, didn't quite make it to the island green that we have to deal with.......here she is fishing out her ball from the reeds at the edge of the water........We did the back nine and there's a fair amount of water to deal with and I'm proud to say I didn't lose ONE ball to the water this time!! Cleared it every time!!

There's our crazy gal, Maggie! She keeps us laughing for all 9 holes!

I had a narrow escape from the water here..........I thought for sure my ball was going for a swim!

The mosquitoes didn't get too bad til the end as it started to get dusky and we were lucky to have an evening without rain, which has been almost a daily happening around here lately!

On to Friday, Saturday and garage and yard sales........
nothing to write home about......I did get a few goodies, nothing fantastic, but I was pleased. I didn't go too far or stay out too long, so who knows what treasures I may have missed!
Well, have a good week, I'll get back here as soon as I can and tell you about our fun trip!

Those cheeky bunnies, yard and garden update

2010-06-21T21:55:00.000-05:00

Just a little update on what's going on around the back yard. I hope to take a picture each week of my big flower bed, so you can see the progress. We have such a short summer season and it's amazing really how quickly the plants and flowers grow!

The little chair I was hunting for and found last week, is now placed in the flowerbed, along with the old kiddies; wheelbarrow and a few other favorites.

I went back to the greenhouse and bought MORE flowers to transplant, the bunnies ate all the petunias and pansies that were in the flowerbed! I will miss those favorites this year, and hopefully the marigolds, dianthus, portulaca and zinnias I picked up and planted will give me the splashes of color that I want.

Look carefully at the above picture......you can click to enlarge.....just above left of the wheelbarrow....

caught in the act!!!!!! bent over who knows what floral delicacy!

......little bugger!.......I had just chased him away 5 minutes before and he headed for the bush!

Now he's following the sign.......to the GARDEN......

Check and see if the coast is clear.......

..........he's just waiting to get at what's left of that lettuce.......cheeky bunny!...and there was another one in the garden at that point too that scurried off when I was approaching!

We've had so much rain, the mosquitoes are getting really b-a-d......! I wish the rabbits would change their diet and eat the mosquitoes!

Garage Sale Goodies and water bombs, weekend fun!

2010-06-21T17:11:00.000-05:00

I managed to bring home some goodies again this past weekend. Oddly, I started out to a sale in the country and didn't take the house number, assuming there would be signs.

No signs, so detoured into a little town nearby and ended up finding these adorable embroidered day of the week teatowels plus a few other items including the bakers rack in the background! I drove back to my original destination, ....finally a sign was posted.........GARAGE SALE CANCELLED.........!! OK.......back to town!

There were LOTS of garage sales in town! I'm not showing absolutely everything, but I did well! Lovely depression glass vase, more linens, some brass hardware, a whole bag of old apron and doll clothes patterns (to sell), some jewelery items, and that not so old peignoir set that I bought for 2.00 just because it will look pretty hanging in the guest bedroom when ever I clean my ~~junk~~ treasures out of there and get it together!

A few bits and pieces, I put the rest away before I took this picture

My detour find.........I was thrilled!...I can finally take my laptop off of the kitchen table..........$15.00.

.......not an expensive piece to begin with but that was still a bargain and worked perfectly for me! That nice old chair beside it we've had for years and years! I love it and am sitting in it right now, pecking away at the keyboard.

On to some fun and games! Do you know what Kiera, my grandaughter is holding?........a balloon filled with water.....she decided that we should have a balloon water bomb fight!

Did you know that 1 gallon of water weighs 10 lbs?..........that's a fact! She is holding a 6 lb water bomb. We were having fun chasing eachother around the yard, but then ended up deciding to launch the bomb from the top of the deck, while the "bomb-eee" stood at the bottom......we crashed them onto the patio so that the "bomb-eee" wouldn't get drenched, but just well splashed when the bomb exploded!

LOL......what fun!...

well.........not the part that includes mopping up the bathroom from premature explosions.........they were being filled in the bathroom because that's where the scale is.....
...that's a 6 pounder and a 4 pounder.....she started marking the weight on them!
......that child never did play with dolls much at all!
I'll be back with an update on my flowerbed & bunny situation.

Great old cabinet and update on the robins' nests

2010-06-18T09:40:00.000-05:00

This old storage cabinet is in the garage, each drawer filled with various hand tools....wrenches, screwdrivers, sockets, all that "guy stuff".....

I could sure use it for storing MY stuff!

I don't even know where it came from........

It's at least 6 feet tall and has scads of drawers! 26 in all, and some missing in the bottom

old wood knobs, some have been replaced .....I would love to have it but he just won't give it up!

*******

Remember my post on the multiple robins' nests built under my deck?

6 RoBiN'S NESTS IN A ROW!!! Under my deck!
Well,, they are still vacant!

Those robins are still around though......I can hear them constantly.......I hear them singing all day long!

I took this picture last week, today it is RAINING AGAIN!

I have lots to do though, so I'll keep busy inside. Tomorrow? GARAGE SALES......YIPPEE!

Wish me luck and have a great weekend!

Sunset and I LOVE Onions.....my own, that is....green onions from my garden

2010-06-15T12:37:00.000-05:00

I still have more yardwork to do today, I didn't quite get finished with the flowerbed. We had a beautiful day for a change and a lovely sunset!

The garden is not doing all that well, but I did pick my first green onions yesterday while I was out there.

I love onions! ....I love all kinds, but there is nothing more tasty than green onions from the garden.

Each year, I wait for them to be big enough to pull, while sneaking off the greens and munching on them!

I cleaned 'em up, wrapped them in a damp paper towel and put them in a plastic bag to get them nice and crunchy. ..........(those white marks are from HAIL......) I leave the whole green part on them.....
'cause I eat it all, yum, yum, crunch, crunch....

I kid you not, I have to get more from the garden today..... I ate at least 8 or 9 last night, and that much again just now with a delicious salami on fresh rye bread sandwich. LOL..there are only 3 left!

Well, lunch is history, better get some ebay parcels in the mail and then back at the yardwork. It may just rain within the next 24 hours......

Have a great day!

Where is that little chair I put in the flowerbed?

2010-06-14T13:57:00.000-05:00

Do you see that shabby little vintage child's adirondack chair in the middle of my flowerbed? I know, you can hardly see it..This is a picture taken in summer 2008........I place that little chair usually somewhere in the flowerbed . Most times it ends up almost hidden by the end of July!

As I was working away planting my flowers this morning, I remembered I had to leave a space for that little chair.

Which made me go searching for it. I thought I'd stored it in the little red barn storage shed......no...not there!

Well, I remember putting it somewhere where it would be protected from the elements, maybe under the deck..........

aack! what a mess!

Waaaay too much stuff in there piled up, alot we never use, and just store, just in case, you know......

Husband had been wanting to get at some bits of lumber way at the back and some other things and started shuffling things around.........

Well, at least I found it! See it? ...underneath and behind all that STUFF!

It's going to take me half an hour to move all matter of things outside the door so I can get at it!

Too hot and sticky today........maybe tonight? I'll take a good picture of it when I get it dug out of there.

Well, I have the camera out so will take a couple of shots of work in progress.

You know, I never plan my flowerbed. I just buy what I like, keeping in mind short and tall, and then just start plunking them in wherever! I love a mixture of color! I'm never disappointed.

Hoping that in another month it will have filled out and bloomed enough to make it look as happy as my 2008 flowers.

Or my 2009 flowerbed.......

Meanwhile, at the back of the yard........needs some tidying there too....always wanted to do something with this old iron bed........have the head and foot of it.....have you ever seen a flower "bed" .....I'd need the space in the veggie garden to do it up proper......

What's this doing just laying on the ground?....Have to get it propped up and do something creative with it.

A patch of ornamental grass, it's finally amounting to something pretty! Don't ever plant in the flower bed without containing it.....it is like a very BAD weed once it gets going!

This little guy never stops working! I plunked those chives in there a couple of years ago and he just keeps on pushing them around in his wheelbarrow! In the shade and seldom, actually closer to never...watered, those chives still survive! I've been trying to rid my flower bed of them for the last few years and I still get them coming up there too!
Well,enough of a break for me, I should really go back to the greenhouse for a couple of things so I'll be ready to get back at it after supper when it cools off a bit.
Have a great day, no matter what you're doing!

Vintage PINK Garage Sale Goodies!

2010-06-13T22:09:00.000-05:00

I did well again! I had found the Kromex spice set at the thrift shop on Thursday,..... walked in and there they were! Must have just been put out! I couldn't pick them up fast enough!
I see the odd set here and there with the black tops, but PINK!!! Wow

Seeing as my walls in my kitchen are a pumpkin color, these will be ebay bound!

If you wish hard enough?....Well, once I had found the spice set, I was really wishing I had a desirable vintage tablecloth with pinks! We hardly ever find nice American made tablecloths here where I live in Canada, they have to have been a gift or brought back from a holiday in the USA.
Found the "Chicken Today Feathers Tomorrow" tablecloth at a garage sale Saturday a.m.

Love it!

My luck held! A gorgeous fluffy PINK vintage chenille bedspread, and a lighter weight AQUA one...both in excellent condition! I get so excited when I find a nice chenille, as that doesn't happen too often either! I'm on a lucky streak!A few more trinkets, love those big old buttons!

I also picked up a couple of pairs of lovely pillowcases, which I'm washing right now. Haven't found any nice vintage pillowcases for a long while!........a few other linens, some vintage kitchen items....a variety.

I just missed out on the most fabulous old white wicker rocker and a very old...early 1900's dress form! I specifically went to a sale early as it was one I'd been to a few weeks back and the lady was having another one and said she would have her linens out by then. Well, no linens, although she will phone me, and I was probably 5 minutes later than the lady who got the rocker and the dress form, plus more!

Nobody else came along all the time I was there poking around after the that lady loaded up and left!

Well, that's ok, I've had my share of good luck and I do own a very wonderful old dress form, but I sure would have loved the rocker, it was a unique one!

I'll try to get some pictures up of my other "junque"......

Oh yeah!..........My last post showed the flowers I'd picked up at the greenhouse and they were sitting just outside the back garage door. I went to do some transplanting today and discovered that one of the bunnies that's been hanging around the garden has decided he/she likes petunias and pansies!

They were eaten down to a bit of stem and leaves! ...grrrrrrrrrhhhhhh!

Have a fun week!

Friday already and a trip to the greenhouse

2010-06-11T13:25:00.001-05:00

$85.00 later.........a few tomato plants and flowers for the back flower bed and the leftovers for some pots!

I did splurge (19.95) for the little urn that's been planted and I can just put out.

That big flower bed in the back is getting full of weeds from all the rain! Got the front beds done, but left this one and it keeps raining! Good news is the perennials got bigger so I won't be putting my flowers in too close to them and having them hidden in another couple of weeks!

The garden looks pathetic! Too much rain, it washed alot of my seedlings away. Oh well, I'm usually amazed at what becomes of it regardless by the first or second week of July. I'm missing my lettuce though, it didn't come up too well and the rabbits have been enjoying it lately! I replanted, so we'll see!

I'm looking forward to tomorrows' garage sales, there are so many street sales and community sales, I don't know where I'm going to go first! I'm hoping for my good luck finding treasures will still be with me!

Have a great weekend and good luck to the other treasure hunters out there!

I don't think I'll golf this evening

2010-06-09T11:15:00.000-05:00

I look forward to my Wednesday night golf (look at the fun we have in this post from last summer) with my daughter Kristine and friend Maggie. Last Wednesday night was picture perfect, a beautiful calm evening, perfect for golfing.

Different story this week, wet, rainy, they say tonight will be cloudy with sunny periods, but the course is probably soggy and it won't be too warm.

I just may not go, but happy I took my camera last week.....sometimes we have to shoo the geese families out of our way. The gosslings are growing up so fast! I didn't have my camera when they were just little balls of fluff!

too cute!

There we are, Kris on the left, Maggie at center and lil ole me. Our 4th couldn't make it last week.

Looking forward to a summer of fun Wednesday nights, but maybe not tonight!
Focus, focus.......I can't seem to focus on any one thing on this rainy day, I hate when that happens and you have a whole day ahead of you that you can spend at home!

Well, maybe I'll go iron some pretty linens, that might get me going!

Have a great day!

A busy weekend, finds, country fair

2010-06-08T21:26:00.000-05:00

I didn't go to many sales this last weekend, but managed to fill a box at an estate sale I found.

A few of the prettier things I found there, I couldn't resist that tray and mirror. They are so "like new".....and those hands, which someone made in a ceramics class...they will look nice displaying some pretty rings!

A little Wedgewood Jasperware trinket box and a pretty 40's silhouette.

We took our grandaughter Kiera to a country fair...."ChickenDaze"....we had a ball! They had chicken races, rides, barbeque, face painting, talent show...all that kind of fun, but it was a small town so the whole thing was in a small enough area, friendly people, just a really lovely atmosphere.

Kiera had been the day before with her mom and dad and wanted to go back. Those chickens were just being taken over to the "race track"......notice the egg?.......Kiera (9 yrs old) thought that the chicken shouldn't be racing just after giving birth!!!.....

I have been spending some time outside catching up with the yardwork and planting the flower beds. Can't wait til they fill in with color!
Well, off to the ironing board! Gotta get some more linens and doilies washed up and ironed and listed on Ebay! Have a nice evening all!

Last weekend's haul, almost! More of my Garage Sale finds!

2010-06-04T21:16:00.000-05:00

Well, we're going into another weekend so thought I'd post some more pictures of my great haul from last week. If you missed those posts you really should go look. You now know why I didn't mind wading through the water up to my knees into a few garages to get these goodies, so much really GOOD treasure! A couple other things I put in the picture that I had previously found.

I can't even show ALL of it, there's more jewellery, more linens, some lovely Royal Albert bone china cream sugar sets and cups and saucers, and some different odds and ends.

I actually just picked up the "doyley" keeper this afternoon at the one and only garage sale I went to today. Just fit into this picture perfectly! A beautiful lacey tablecloth, and above it a whitework linen one! Some of the doilies I got, not all, the rest are in the laundry basket.

These were not from the garage sales, but I got them a couple of weeks ago at a thrift shop and forgot about them. They surfaced when I was moving things around to arrange for taking the pictures, still in the bag.

Handmade smocked satin pillow/cushion covers with RHINESTONES...! It must have been a sign of things to come!

So! Had to spread out that victorian beaded applique in the front, even though I bought that at the antique sale I was in, I hadn't shown a picture of it laid out..

Alot, but not all of the jewellery from last week,.......... some minty bone china roses bouquets, keepers....Royal Winton chintz sauce/gravy pitcher with stand........ a most gorgeous pale green with pink rose Royal Albert china cup and saucer. The picture in the background...$3.00... is a Gozzard print in the most gorgeous minty gesso frame, I'm gonna keep this one.

The lace tablecloth I also got last weekend too and just draped it over the corner of the picture
Honestly! Don't think I always get these kinds of goodies at garage sales. There is many a week that I drive around for 2 or 3 hours and come home with nothing!

I put most of the rhinestone earrings and pins into this nice old jewellery box.....

Got this nice shawl at the thrift shop, I just liked it very much!

Old lidded picnic basket...........my last purchase in the rain last Saturday. Great for storing "stuff !"

Well, ...rain......and hail......this afternoon. Took this out of the window, but should have had a video camera, it was pounding down and the hail was just a-dancin'! That is white hail on the garden, although it was only mothball size and melted promptly

I was going to put out some petunias in the flower bed this morning, I'm glad I didn't! They may not have liked getting pounded by the hail!

As I'm posting this, the sun is out and the sky is blue and it's going on for 9 pm.....forecast is rain on and off tomorrow, so we'll see.........

I'm hoping for at least hitting a few garage sales, wondering if my luck has run out!

Have a great weekend!

BLING! Pics Garage Sale Vintage Jewels, I'm so lucky!

2010-06-01T22:51:00.001-05:00

Here you go! I still can't believe I found all this jewellery this weekend!Wading through the knee deep water was worth it! Look here! I was just hoping to find some broken odd rhinestone earrings and lookie!

All pairs of earrings and only one broken screwback in the whole batch!

CLICK TO ENLARGE ALL OF THE PICS.

The blue and silver is really interesting.......that's some kind of blue glass.

Love the reddish pink rhinestone set which looks like earrings but are a pair of little brooches!

Alot of really interesting and unusual pieces.

That flower pin is a silvery mesh......the lighbulb type earrings (do you think they are recent) are hallmarked in a strange way and I can't make it out, but they appear to be sterling.

The soft green beads are ? not glass. Those white and rust colored ones are glass, and most interesting!

Love that chartreuse pin covered with rhinestones and a teensy little rose made of some type of mineral or glass. Click for sure, you'll see some sweet greenish rhinestone earrings resting on the broken string of pearls. They're so pretty but wouldn't "pose" for me .........the blue stoned (turquoise?) little pair to the right have the neatest setting.

BLING!

Can you believe it?........Top set is signed Lisner, earrings and necklace.........brooch and earrings are a signed Sherman set, ooh lucky me! I love the other set which is unmarked but just gorgeous!

Below are the earrings I picked up on Friday at that one garage sale I posted about.

Lucky me, lucky me, lucky me!

I sometimes go all summer garage saling and don't find one pair of rhinestone earrings........some odd ones but not a pair.

I had to wade through knee deep water for garage sale finds this weekend!

2010-05-31T10:45:00.001-05:00

........but did I score! I went out in the pouring rain on Saturday morning, as there was a community sale at a gated 55plus condo development not far from me. They hold it once a year and I usually pick up a couple of things, not too much. Well.............it was well worth wading through knee deep water with my shoes on to get what I got!

Believe it or not there were alot of people at this community garage sale event. I took the above picture on a little strip that were no sales, but the cars were lined up along the street wherever there were garage doors open!

I got my feet wet when I crossed the road to this sale...........I was in there for about 10 minutes and it started raining buckets! The drainage couldn't keep up and the water was a foot deep across the road so what was a girl to do?...........just walk through it to the car!

Shoes, jeans, up to the knees.

I DIDN'T CARE, I WAS SKY HIGH ON WHAT I GOT AT THAT PARTICULAR SALE!

Other enthusiastic and hardy garage salers were taking off their shoes and rolling up their pants to get into the sales! It was only in the odd area that it was bad like that, but it was contiunally pouring rain, so not much chance of staying dry!

I continued on and 2 more sales I also was on a high when I took my goodies to the car.

I looked like a drowned rat when I got home but I was loaded!

MORE jewellery, rhinestones galore!

awesome china, even chintz!

linens!

old lidded picnic basket

beautiful old print in fab gesso frame

I will post pictures probably tomorrow, the rest of the weekend was busy, busy, and yesterday was the last day of the antique sale, so I have to unload the car yet, and I am in a real mess in the house.

Spread out all over the place.......gotta start putting away and cleaning up.

Watch for my finds, and enjoy your Memorial Day holiday, all of you in the USA!

We have a winner....Cottage Charm Giveaway

2010-05-30T09:19:00.000-05:00

Congratulations Ramona! The Paper Princess over at Create-With-Joy......
This has been so much fun and I met so many lovely bloggers and saw so many beautiful blogs!
I'll be sure to take part in this wonderful giveaway next year too! Welcome to my new followers too!
Happy Memorial Day!
Meanwhile, I'm going to email Ramona right away and let her know the good news!

I have lots to tell you about my weekend, so check back!

Beautiful Finds and some funky ones too! Don't forget to enter the giveaway, it ends soon!

2010-05-28T20:17:00.001-05:00

I am thrilled that I found these at the antique sale I'm involved in (see post below) .....I wasn't even really looking.......just standing talking and there were two little bags in a basket near the floor that caught my eye.
This was on Wednesday, the first day of the sale, when we finally could take a breather, it was as usual, extremely busy. I'm glad nobody else saw the two little bags....$2.00 each....

One bag contained a length, at least 2 yds, of beautiful beaded trim, and a little bundle of floral wreath trim, both must be 80 or 90 years old! The beads are faceted and have a coppery metallic coating. I pulled off a loose one and scrubbed it with a scouring pad and some powdered cleaner and it looks like they are black glass or jet that have been coated with the metallic finish! I love the coppery shine!

The other bag contained what I thought was just a bunch of black beads, and that fabulous old metal capped tassel. Ends up that the "beads" is actually a long Victorian black jet glass beaded applique, it would have been attached to an article of clothing, probably a very glam dress!'

It's all there, just gorgeous, I will have to get a shot of the whole thing layed out and post it at some time.

So now I'll show you what I got at a garage sale I happened on today when I went to the post office.

I bought all but 2 pairs of earrings for 25 cents a pair, 2 pair were 1.00. They were all in little plastic bags, pinned to a big board. I might go back and get some more, but I did take all the rhinestone ones.

Aren't these wild? ....and that's not all of them! At least 8 more pair, some more stripes, and some others that are just really neat! I'm probably going to use them in a crafty project or two....

And if you haven't yet entered my giveaway that is part of the Cottage Charm Giveaway (link on sidebar), you still have some time! Last day is May 29th to enter. Scroll down to find the post for the giveaway.

Come see the antique sale I'm in this week!

2010-05-25T21:00:00.000-05:00

So many treasures, such great prices! Wish you could all come, but it's probably a long way for you seeing as I'm in the middle of Canada!

See that cream and green woodstove? Well, it used to be my mother-in-law's, then came to our home when we were out a bit in the country. We had to sell it when we moved away from there and that's how I met the gal who started having these sales twice a year. It makes a great display piece doesn't it?

The sale (only twice a year we do this) takes place from Wednesday to Sunday at a friend's place in a lovely old barn......2 floors plus more outside! I don't pick up alot for the sale like I used to but a couple of the girls gather from auctions all year and we all are also picking things from our own collections, making room for more or just plain making more room, lol!

Below is an a slide show, so you can get an idea of how it's set up, etc.

Slide show below, is another friend that's out of town. Her sale is in a double garage, you'd never know it from the way she sets up. It's on today til Sunday.

My most treasured garage sale find REAL EYE CANDY

2010-05-21T17:13:00.003-05:00

No it's not a whole Victorian crazy quilt, but to me it's just as great a find!
I think it was made to hold lingerie or gloves?
Isn't it wonderful? Sorry to tease yesterday, I just didn't have time to gather the rest of the pictures and tell the story.

Found at a garage sale at least 15 years ago, this has been a favorite treasure. I just love to look at it and marvel at the tiny pieces that have been super skillfully embroidered!

The variety of the pattern and the different colored threads used, omg! Have a good look by CLICKING TO ENLARGE........(on my laptop, I have to click, then click again once the picture is up)
The overall size of this bag is 11.5" x 8"........look at all of those pieces!

The inside is lined with the lilac colored raw slik that you see binding the top edge.

Old plastic or bone rings have been attached and a twisted silk cord is threaded through them.

Each side is different, one of these days I'm going to count up how many pieces were used, bits of grosgrain ribbon and silky fabric........pieced together and surrounded by feather stitching that has been done in different colors.

Below are some closeups that I loaded onto a collage page. You can CLICK TO ENLARGE

As I look at this beautiful textile work of art, I imagine a lovely young woman in a white lawn dress, sitting in her parlor, in front of a fireplace, a little dog at her feet, stitching with nimble fingers while she dreams of who knows what..........other times she is sitting on a garden bench in the shade, surrounded by beds of beautiful flowers, her needlework basket beside her on the bench......
I could go on and on with my imagining........

Catching up and a real treasure of mine

2010-05-19T14:30:00.001-05:00

I just am teasing you with this one picture, but I want you to CLICK ON IT TO ENLARGE IT so you can see just how beautiful and intricate the embroidery is. One of my treasures!

Sorry I haven't been back since Friday! I feel like I'm running in a million directions for the last few days and it will get worse! There are just too many things happening all at once!

After my fabulous Friday garage sale finds, Saturday was a bit of a bummer! Even with the curbside giveaways and all the garage sales, I didn't get any great finds, a few bits and pieces, that was IT!

oops.......yes I did, I went back to where I got those half dress forms and they had found one more, a little bigger, same price 5.00, a real steal! So now I have 2 and my sister has 1......we're both thrilled!

I will try to get back here soon with some more news and pics. In the meantime I'm leaving you with a picture of one of my great garage sale finds from years back.....one of my most favorite things that I will never part with.

I'll show you more pictures and tell you what exactly it is in another post soon. Meanwhile, CLICK TO ENLARGE the picture and look at that embroidery. It is done on those little bits of fabric that are less than 2", some on pieces only just over or 1", different shapes and sizes!

It was a truly FABULOUS FIND and I'll share more on it soon!

Friday Garage Sale Finds! I am so excited!!!!

2010-05-14T17:34:00.018-05:00

Would you believe 2 of them! Both were wearing a pinned on black bandana, sitting on the driveway, I almost missed them!!! I have an antique dress form but she's a little bulky (I'll say!) to take to a craft show and you can't sit her on a dresser, so I've always wanted one of these, not vintage, but sooo nice!

My sister has been wanting a dress form, but I knew she'd love one of these and so I got the two of them

$5.00 each wooooooopeeeeeeee!!

The couple had closed up a gift shop and were getting rid of their inventory. I'm going back tomorrow morning, they have one more a little bigger, I'll check it out!

Adorable little old chippy country stool......it will go to the sale I'm in, but those garden markers are going in my garden! So cute!

........no linens this afternoon, but I got these which I'm very excited over getting......framed vintage petitpoint pictures! The 2 medium sized ones have damaged frames, but the others are perfect and so sweet! I'll be putting them on Ebay.....I just love 'em but can't keep 'em!

I didn't go this morning as planned, good thing......even when I left around 1.00 I kept seeing signs but they didn't start til 4:00 pm! Was getting frustrating til my first sale that was open brought me those half mannequins, or what ever they're called.

I'm a happy camper! Hoping I'm on a string of good luck! There are many times on a Saturday morning I can drive around for 2 hours and come home with 1 or 2 mediocre items that I didn't really want, but just had to satisfy the urge, ya know what I mean?

Wish me luck for tomorrow! I'll be out the door early!...and a 50th wedding anniversary come and go to attend in the afternoon too! (different end of town, maybe I can hit a couple of sales on the way?) Good luck to all of you this weekend! Love seeing and hearing about your finds!
Don't forget to enter the giveaway a couple posts down!

I won a prize, the weather's great, weekend garage sales coming up!!

2010-05-14T08:04:00.000-05:00

A nice surprise yesterday! June over at DEZINAWORLD let me know that I had won one of her Spot Prizes! It was for creating this collage, which I just love and had so much fun creating!

June makes beautiful collage sheets that she sells for creating altered art and digital art. I got to pick a free sheet! Can't wait to find some time to use it! There is never enough time in the day!

Friday today, and that means a trip for groceries with my eyes peeled for garage sale signs!

This weekend is the 2nd time ever for a curbside giveaway! People put out their unwanted "stuff" at the curb and it's FREE!!

Sorta like free garage sales!...........Hoping to find some treasure, the price is sure right!

The weather has turned beautiful so there will be lots of garage sales too!

Wish me luck!!

Look! Pink Teacups Vintage Crochet Doily and Daffodils one too!!

2010-05-12T12:50:00.016-05:00

From my fab garage sale finds on the weekend!! See the post below! I spent some time this morning preparing some of my linens for my ebay auctions.

Isn't this fabulous!! I listed it at 9.99 as the opening price......pretty fair I think.........such a unique piece.........go and have look at my ebay auctions if you want to see more pictures of it!
I have never had one of these and I have collected, bought, and sold for almost 25 years!!

This pretty one I just got yesterday.........the daffodils are kinda faded, but it has that really shabby cottage appeal! It's listed too!

.........another listing...silk embroidered iris.......I'm having a flower filled vintage linen week!!

This is my favorite...........not listed,...not for now...I have to hang on to it for a bit. It has some breaks on the outer edge, but I don't care!! Never had this pattern either, it is sooooo pretty!!

Well, hope you enjoyed and don't forget to enter my giveaway, one of just many that are signed up for the Cottage Charm Giveaway... just scroll down to see mine and there's a link for you to look at the many others!

I've been having a ball blog hopping and entering the giveaways and it has opened my eyes to many fabulous blogs that I may never have found!

Woohoo! Garage Sales Were Great Today ~treasures!~

2010-05-08T13:18:00.003-05:00

There were alot of sales this morning, the most there has been so far. I started off early, planning to be home by 10:00 at the latest, but I kept going on and on, lots of signs!

Finally gave it up when I started hitting a string of bad ones!

But I was happy, happy!!

Look at all my treasures!

I should have taken more of those plates! So pretty and at 50 cents each!.....Got some nice pink doilies, one is little dimensional teacups and saucers around the edge of it! I'll show you when I get it washed up. Got that crochet white tablecloth that's underneath everything too!....perfect condition and just beautiful and lacey!

I think that's a Wilendur red rose tablecloth, no label, but it's huge, 15 panels of roses! Some bits of jewellery and a cute country ironstone pitcher, a little petit point rose picture.....I get so excited when I start unloading and looking at my haul! Sometimes I've forgotten already what I've bought!!

The teapot will go on Ebay, I don't like shipping china but this one should be worthwhile. It's a good one!

Couldn't resist this pup! Heavy!! Don't know if he's an old one or not, but he'll keep me company until I take him to an antique sale I go into in a couple of weeks.

This great big picture is sooo unique!! Probably 50's and a view of a plant filled windowsill with the other side being a winter day with snow covered spruce trees and bluejay and cardinal and a couple of other birds flitting around in the yard!

Wish I had a place for it.......I just love it! Well, it will go to the sale....sigh....

Taa daah!! Really OLD,and heavy for its size.....a child's wicker chair. I can see it's been painted a couple of times........Really great condition, it will go to the sale....a few years back I would have kept ALL of what I picked up today, but.......gotta be good....downsize, downsize!

There's that cute little guy again, and he's sitting on 2 old hooked mats, with labels from Quebec.........for ebay....

For me! A fluffy, like new vintage wool blanket in a cream color, not too big, I'm going to use it as a throw in the bedroom.
It's now time to get to work on a project I had intended on getting at this morning. Hope you enjoyed!
Don't forget to enter my giveaway below!
...and HAPPY MOTHERS' DAY TO ALL MOM'S OUT THERE!

The Sweetest Package in the mail from Vintage Susie

2010-05-07T14:40:00.000-05:00

I just couldn't wait to open it! I won this giveaway from sweet Susie over at Vintage Susie & Wings! She makes these wonderful fabric pins, but she wrapped up the pin and embellished the little package so beautifully!

Inside....the beautiful pin and a handmade tag, (to die for!) ...and look at that little vintage hair comb/pin.....that was on the outside of the package.

Oh Susie, you are the sweetest and I just love what you sent! Thankyou, thankyou, and bloggers, if you haven't been to visit Susie, please do so, I just love her blog and you will too!

COTTAGE CHARM GIVEAWAY! I'M IN!!

2010-05-06T12:36:00.002-05:00

What fun! I found this wonderful Cottage Charm giveaway over at The Twice Remembered Cottage that will be going on until the 29th of May and decided to jump in!
What could have more "cottage charm" than PANSIES!

I've had this lovely handpainted vintage dresser dish for some time, but felt it would be appreciated by one of you who truly loves to decorate with country cottage, shabby chic, or vintage victorian style!

I am also including 3 pretty reproduction hatpins made by a friend years back, I have duplicates of these so I'll put those in with the dish.
As well, I'm including the lovely little dresser runner, vintage filet crochet, with roses in the pattern in each corner...........one of my favorite types of vintage crochet work is filet crochet....

I hate to do it, but must limit the giveaway to USA and Canada, our postage rates are way too crazy!

To enter this giveaway, simply leave a comment on my blog, on this post, and you'll be entered!
For an extra entry, become a follower, and then add another post letting me know. That way I will be sure to get your 2 entries in!
I am looking forward to "meeting" you!

If you'd like to join the giveaway, by all means do so! See the list of entrants and the rules, etc by clicking on the giveaway graphic below.

I will need an email address to contact you if you are the lucky winner. If you don't have one on your blog or profile, you'll have to let me know if you are the winner.
The winner will be announced here on my blog on May 29th ,so please check back. Have fun entering the many great giveaways, you will enjoy visiting all of the participating bloggers and their lovely sites! I'm going to be busy getting around to them all! GOOD LUCK!!

Wow! Lookie what I found!

2010-05-05T16:54:00.001-05:00

No.......I didn't buy them!.......found these listed on Kijiji, just browsing for display items for displaying jewellery then got caught up in mannequins and dress forms!

I just did a search for my area. Would you believe you get the mannequin and the wedding dress

which is vintage 60's -70's for $150.00!!!! Two were available...Wow!

That seems like a really good deal..........too bad I don't need anything that LARGE....besides which my husand would FREAK out seeing these supersized "barbies" hanging around the house!

They sure are beautiful though.......sigh....

AND HERE'S JOE ! Hypoallergenic.curly haired horse!

2010-05-04T18:53:00.001-05:00

I'm having one of those days, I can't focus, not getting anything done, so while I was into my pictures, this jogged me to post about the horse that daughter Sherri purchased while we were away in Arizona.

You can read about Sherri and her riding and the rescue horses she visits HERE

This is an American Curly Horse (lots of information and interesting notes on this site). I'm sure most people don't know that there is actually a horse that people with allergies can deal with!

Kiera has a major peanut allergy and some other allergies, horses being one of them. She had to be very brief in her visits over to see the horses and Sherri had to change clothes, wash up good before coming into their own home after horseback riding or being around the horses.

Sherri was browsing the web and horse sale ads and found Joe. She made a trip to Regina, Saskatchewan, about a 5 hour drive and decided to have Joe brought here, on trial, (yeah, right! I know my daughter!)

Anyway, he has this really soft long curly hair and Kiera can bury her nose in his hair and no allergic reaction at all! She is not as horse crazy as her mom, but does like to visit them and is learning to ride.

The whole idea of a hypoallergenic horse is great! If you know someone with allergies that would love to own a horse, pass on the information.

This is Joe without his winter curly hair. Picture was sent to Sherri when she was enquiring. They shed in the spring and although he looks off white through the winter, underneath all that hair he's completely different!

Sunday Postcard Art Weekly Challenge

2010-05-02T20:46:00.000-05:00

I have been waiting for the opportunity to use this image of the "sew sweet" little girl......she is advertising the thread, but she's not exactly sewing....she is making a "cat cradle".....I remember how to do the very basic one! Anyway, here she is, hope you like her!

Sewing was the theme this week for Sunday Postcard Art , my first challenge for this site.

6 RoBiN'S NESTS IN A ROW!!! Under my deck!

2010-05-02T20:42:00.000-05:00

Amazing! Last week (Sunday) I noticed the scant beginnings of 2 nests on the beam under our deck. We are usually host to one family of robins each year.

Yesterday, Saturday, after the rain ended I took a walk around the yard and was shocked to see six nests, almost completed, lined up on the beam!

Row housing for robins? !!!

I have never seen the robins make nests with the long grasses hanging. They are usually nice and neat and made more of tiny twigs and bits of skinny straw type grass. Peeking through the deck boards I can see they still need some lining and have seen a pair of robins going back and forth with bits of nesting material in their beaks. I thought at first I might be hosting some very strange bird families, not robins!

The above are last year's robin family...........I'll keep you posted on what goes on in the nests this year!

I was still looking at the nests when this little guy came scooting around the corner, spotted me, and went for the nearest hiding place. I kept still and got a few great shots.

I was so still, he pranced right past me within a foot of my foot, across the yard to the neighbor's.

so guess what I see ?

Hop Hop Hop........

I had the camera in hand so got this shot!

I figured luck was with me, so ventured to the back of the yard to see if the geese were close by........

Yep....! Those two have been nesting in the field just behind our yard.

I wonder how long before I will see them leading their family on a walk!

Have a great week!

Back Home for ACF Challenge 70

2010-04-16T21:56:00.001-05:00

Such a beautiful image of this lovely young lady we were given for this challenge from Art Creations Friday. I have called this piece "Innocence".

I'm now back home in Canada after almost 3 months in beautiful Arizona! What a surprise to come home to an early spring, NO SNOW left at all, dry, yards being cleaned up, grass raked, golf courses open!
That hasn't happened for at least 10 years!

Catching up at home and hope to catch up on my blogging real soon!

Art Creations Friday #67

2010-03-26T00:41:00.000-05:00

My entry for Art Creations Friday. A beautiful background was given for inspiration.I just added the fairy and brushes. I was going to go further but decided I liked it just like this!

Hope you like it!
I barely have time to do a challenge! Panic has set in! We have been in Arizona since mid-January and now I only have about 10 days left and I have alot to get done before then.

The time has flown by! The desert wild flowers are starting to bloom, I must get out there and take pictures before we leave! Only 2 Saturdays left to garage sale! Want to try the rapid transit and go to downtown Phoenix.......haven't been to one of my favorite shoe stores.....I could go on and on....

AAAACK..........I need at least another month!

Weekend Finds Vintage Baby Gowns!

2010-03-22T09:19:00.004-05:00

A thrilling find at the estate sale that I went to on Friday and back again on Saturday for the half price day!I got the long gown and little dress on Friday, then found the matching slip for the gown on Saturday!....

They were wrinkly and yellowed, but as you can see I have lovingly restored them and they look so sweet! Teensy embroidered flowers, a butterfly, and FEATHER STITCHING! ....which I just love, and you don't see it too often!

The bottom of the dress, the feather stitching goes right down and the embroidery pattern is repeated.

Pintucks and more teensy embroidery!

The scallops have almost got me drooling.....! only a vintage linens lover would understand!

I had my days of keeping these special items that I love and would display them with all of my other vintage things.

Now, I own them only temporarily, ......touch and admire them while they are in my possession, then pass them on by selling them. Sometimes I just break even on them, but I really enjoy making them pretty and being able to have something nice to put on Ebay or into a sale.

Now that I'm blogging, I get to share with my blogging friends too!

Anyway, they will be listed on Ebay this week in case you are interested. There's a link on the right hand side for my auctions.

I'd wait a little longer but we'll be leaving for home (Canada) in 2 weeks....!! I can't believe it! The time has flown by! I miss home, but also will miss Arizona as well when we leave.

A BIG collar, these look neat displayed on a hanger on a hook in a bedroom.

This dragon embroidered teacloth was a real find! There is such delicate threadwork as well as that fabulous embroidery.

How about these big glass storage jars! they are the same jar but love the one with the green lid! I'll take them back with me and they will go in our Red Barn Sale displayed in a shabby cupboard very nicely.

PURSES!! How can you go wrong for $1.00 each and they are like new?!?!

I got all of these Saturday at 2 separate garage sales for a buck each!!

The black and white one I didn't even like that much but it's a Liz Claiborne and has a matching wallet. I've got 3 daughters at home so wasn't about to leave it for that price!!

Well? did I do good?

Out to tea and estate sale too!

2010-03-19T22:49:00.000-05:00

Diane, Lucy, Millie (that is a life size figure of a butler, he sure looks real!)

What a fun day! Millie and I were meeting up with a good friend of mine from home in Canada, Diane. She and her hubby are also snowbirds and we always meet up a couple of times to go and have lunch and maybe browse an antique mall.

Today we just had lunch at our favorite tearoom in Mesa. .....Yummy, yummy lunch and we must have drank 6 pots of tea! We caught up with each other and had a great time.

On the way, Millie and I went to an estate sale.....one of those "professional" ones. The prices were sky high as per usual the first day, but I'm going back for some linens tomorrow as they usually put everything on at half price the second or last day. A few things caught my eye and I was happy to see any vintage linens at all! I did pay the price for 3 sweet items today and will post pictures when they are washed and ironed.

Garage sales tomorrow.........hoping for some goodies, if not we'll have a fun time anyways!

Flea Market Finds Vintage Linens

2010-03-18T15:10:00.001-05:00

Wanted to share a few of my finds from the last couple of weeks.....a couple of flea markets I went to I was lucky to find some yummy vintage linens! I sell them on Ebay, have been since 1998, and hard to break the habit! LOL! I can't resist them when I see them!

I LOVE this big round pink lace tablecloth! For a bedroom I guess, it came with a matching dresser scarf! Found scrunched up in a plastic bag in a basket under a table........you gotta always check under the tables! Especially if it's a MAN at the table......(when you want linens!) 3 bucks!!

I got the cute chair doily set and a sweet embroidered spoon holder on a clearance $1.00 each

Got this for a mere $10.00!! Couldn't believe it was perfect when I opened it up! Then a few days later I found another one almost the same! Sold them both on Ebay.......This one I made a huge profit on, the other, just got my money back.......oh well!

Souvenir little tablecloth......too cute!

My Ebay link is on the sidebar in case you want to look at my linens!

A beautiful Arizona Day Pictures

2010-03-17T00:43:00.000-05:00

I was home most of the day and what a beautiful day! Warm, sunny, blue sky! I kept going outside on the patio and it seems every bird around was singing! This one, a quail, has a really weird little song! I took this picture of him/her up on a tree branch........they aren't usually sitting up on a branch, I see them mostly on the ground, sometimes with a brood of babies following behind....they're beautiful!

My first shot of the quail, I didn't want to get too close and scare it off!

Doves.......I hear them all the time, cooing just outside sitting on the block wall.......

A huge raven/crow?......My friend Millie and I often go and pick up a coffee around 4 in the afternoon at the Circle K at the corner and go for a little scenic ride, or just park up the road to look at the mountain while we yak!

Today we went up toward the Superstition Mountains, rode around in the foothills, stopping to take pictures.

This picture was taken just up the hill on my street where we parked for the lovely view.

The desert floor is filling in with GREEN......soon the wildflowers will bloom....thanks to all the rain we've had during this Arizona winter, more than usual!

Cholla cactus........Beautiful to look at, but don't get to close.......very painful !!

We pulled off the road at one of the higher points on one of the roads we were on...what a view...!

Looking down from where we were parked ....just another angle of the view.....So GREEN....the mountains around the valley are all turning green as well........some will turn yellow with blooming wild flowers, I can't wait! There should be a really spectacular blooming of wild flowers on the desert and roadsides this year!

I should have taken pictures of some of the beautiful homes that we saw .....will do that next time

More desert and cactus.

More to come, I just can't get enough of the desert and the Superstition Mountains.

Soartful Challenge.........OOPS!!

2010-03-14T22:53:00.001-05:00

Here's my entry for this weeks' challenge over at Soartful Challenges.

Thanks for stopping by!

Art Creations Friday Challenge

2010-03-12T23:20:00.003-06:00

Is she primping for the frog prince? Do you like her water lily hat? LOL!

I had fun with this beautiful image that was provided for the challenge. The is the first time I have entered the ART CREATIONS FRIDAY challenge.

The added elements are from Itkupilli, Frame is from Lisa's Altered Art

Have a great weekend!

Soartful Challenge and a catch up

2010-03-08T18:49:00.010-06:00

I can't believe my last post was 2 weeks ago! I've been busy, also down with flu/cold, but I'm feeling better now and hopefully won't neglect my blogging!

The theme at Soartful Challenges this week is International Women's Week and like Jeanette I'm honoring motherhood.

We get some really interesting swirly clouds in our sunsets! I was just able to catch the end of what had been some really great formations..........

I MADE THIS!!!!!!!!

One of the fun things I did over this last couple of weeks was to take a class in making soldered glass pendants!! It was so much fun and I can't wait to make more! I have my supplies, but then got sick and so no energy! Maybe this week, if it doesn't shrink in front of me!

The pendant above was my second attempt. The choice of images was very limited so I picked the only one that looked "vintage"......I have TONS of images back home in Canada.....who knew I'd be doing this! Don't you love the use of scalloped foil (you solder over it) rather than the straight edge type?

This was my first attempt and rather rough and gobby!

Soartful Challenge Life is Just a Bowl of Cherries

2010-02-21T21:27:00.001-06:00

A fun theme this week at Soartful Challenges! I used the vintage cherries background (googled), the lady and grunge from Lisa's Altered Art, and some added effects. I always want to keep going but "less is more" usually is the case. It was fun and didn't take me forever like some that I get into, LOL!!

I've not been a very faithful blogger lately, too wrapped up in my snowbird life here in Arizona! Garage saled yesterday until it started raining! We retreated to a mall, found some bargains, so happily headed for home after a nice lunch!

I got into a book I couldn't put down and just had to finish it so actually didn't even turn on the computer til near noon today! It usually gets checked for email, etc first thing in the morning with my first cup of coffee!

Have a great week everyone, hope I'll get back here soon!

oops.......almost forgot to post this picture....I got these great Mardi Gras masks last week at a garage sale....I will take them home to Canada with me and my grandaughter will be delighted with them. I know she'll make her mom and dad each wear one too next Halloween at one of their costume events! $1.00 each, one still had the attached tag and it was 12.00....

Soartful Challenge and Arizona sunshine

2010-02-14T22:47:00.003-06:00

I feel like I haven't blogged or done a challenge FOREVER!....so I played with this one and it really doesn't make too much sense, but then why should it if it is "out of this world!"

The image below is what we started with to do this

SOARTFUL CHALLENGE with.

On to other things....the weather has turned absolutely gorgeous! We are supposed to be in the 70's all week! Garage saleing this last Saturday was so much more fun with the beautiful day we had!

And I spend a couple of hours by the pool in the afternoon too!

This afternoon, my BFF Millie and I grabbed a coffee to go and went a quarter mile up the road and parked at Prospector Park where we have a bit of a different view to soak up while we enjoy our coffee.

I didn't even realize there was a little birdie perched up on this big saguaro cactus until I uploaded the pictures to my computer! CLICK ON THE PICS TO ENLARGE

I'm sure I have a zillion pictures of the mountain. I just never tire of looking at it and taking pictures of it from different spots and angles.

Theres Millie, watching me taking pictures and soaking up the sun. She's sitting on her "baby". Her 1990 Nissan Maxima lives here year round in Arizona (Millie and husband Tate return to Oklahoma City in May). We put alot of miles on "baby" between garage sales, shopping, riding around taking pictures. She runs like a clock! ......even at 20 years old!

A beautiful Ocotillo cactus infringing on a saguaro. Did you know that it takes approximately 75 years for a saguaro cactus to sprout 1 arm?....so we know that although the cactus in the picture doesn't look too large, it is around 75 years old.......it does have the beginnings of an "arm".

They get really quite huge and live to be around 200 years old.

....did you know that?

Three Muses Birds of a Feather

2010-02-02T22:04:00.006-06:00

For THE THREE MUSES Challenge this week......Quite simple.....that gorgeous background is part of a digital collage set I won over at DEZINAWORLD (thankyou so much June!)...I just had to add a few things. The lovely white doves were just googled.

Soartful Background Challenge

2010-01-30T18:13:00.002-06:00

I'm sure we've all seen a sunrise or sunset with these vibrant colors! Depends where you live, I've seen these colors in Canada on the prairies. Here in Arizona there is more pink involved. Anyway....here is my entry for the challenge this week. As usual, it's not at all as I planned, but just kind of evolved!! Look at my last post to see a few pictures of last night's beautiful sunset here in Arizona, plus a gorgeous moon!
Below is the background that Jeanette at SOARTFUL gave us to work with.

Moon on the mountain

2010-01-30T08:06:00.000-06:00

Looking to the east last night at just about sunset. A most fabulous view of a big yellow moon hovering at the edge of the Superstitions. I ran out to the road to get a shot before it disappeared or got too dark.

My pics didn't turn out too great in the dim light, in reality it looked so, so beautiful

Zooming in a bit, not a sharp picture but gives you an idea of the spectacular view I had!

I turned to walk west back to the condo and I can see there must be a great sunset happening!

Yep! My BFF Millie is at the door and we quickly drive out to the road and down a bit to a spot where we had a view. Not our best view but no time to waste!

..what can I say? ...I wish you could have been here!

Crazy Amigo Challenge RED

2010-01-28T10:58:00.000-06:00

My first time doing a challenge for Crazy Amigo The theme is the color RED. The Aix-les-Bains poster is an image of an old advertising travel poster. Aix-les-Bains is a tourist destination in France.
I just can't leave the photoshop alone!

....I do have a zillion other things to do! Next week I will start going to the rec center just down the road for some fitness classes....I need to "tone and trim" and seem to only get around to doing so while we are here in Arizona for a few months.

It has also been kind of dull and cool around here, so no swimming pool.....it's heated but I like to feel warm when I get out of the water!

I did go to a huge church sale this a.m............a few vintage linens for ebay, nothing spectacular but the price was right. This particular sale is a yearly event and only 5 minutes away and it is HUGE!! The crowds are HUGE as well! You can't MOVE once you get inside. I'll go back later and check tomorrow and Saturday as well. Some good sales coming in the next couple of weeks, hoping I can SCORE!!!!
Bye for now, but I'll be back!! The challenges are calling me!

Yes another collage!

2010-01-25T15:29:00.001-06:00

I am determined to practice and learn more in photoshop! The weather is a little cool here in Arizona (but a beautiful blue sky and sunny day) and I had washing, grocery shopping, etc to do today so in between I've been sitting and playing!

I made this for the Dezinaworld Spot Challenge, and used some of the elements from the collage sheet set that I just purchased there. The set was featuring Gold, but I ended up getting all involved with the photoshop effects and I liked the way it turned out.......silver or pewter!

I can see my errors now that I've posted it.....I should have layered the flowers over the oval locket frame....I'll go back at it later and see if that works or not, LOL...I've already gone back and re-centered the oval locket as I was posting and when I previewed I noticed that! Well, that's all part of the learning process I guess! Happy week to you all!

Soartful Challenge Little Black Dress

2010-01-23T10:38:00.003-06:00

Audrey Hepburn immediately came to mind for the latest challenge at Soartful called The Little Black Dress. I'm actually early doing it this time!!

The sun is shining, although a little chilly here. I wonder if there are any garage sales today?

Dezinaworld Girly Challenge

2010-01-22T23:55:00.002-06:00

Little Girly Daydreams
I'm trying to get back into my Photoshop collage fun! I'm rusty after a few weeks of not using what I've learned. I did this piece for the Girly theme over at Dezinaworld

I used the sweet and dreamy little girl image that was a freebie from June on her other site Art Freebies, and other images from Lisa's Altered Art, the pink background image was from Carol Anne's and also a couple of images from my own collection.

Stormy Arizona

2010-01-22T13:00:00.001-06:00

Here's my view this morning, ...we had tornado warnings last night! Very unusual, plus we did get alot of rain. Some areas in different parts of Arizona are having lots of problems, so we are lucky where we are.

The locals call the mountain "old spooky"..........I agree

Soartful Challenge POGONIP (FROST)

2010-01-22T12:30:00.002-06:00

frosty sisters.....

LOL! I thought I'd better get this submitted as it is already Friday! I have not used my photoshop for the last few weeks, being busy getting ready to escape here to Arizona and the travelling, etc.

I had already made one collage using the image provided and I have NO IDEA where it disappeared to!! I'm sure I saved it to my Soartful folder!........gone!!
Being new at it I have forgotten some of what I've learned......it will come back and I'm always learning something else as I fool around trying to create. Backgrounds of pogonip are what my daughter back in Canada took pictures of a couple of days ago. Ladies and pets are from iTkUpiLLi and Elegia's freebie sheets. They are both so generous....go look at link in sidebar.

Please read more about Pogonip here.
Soartful Challenge

...the one below I like as well but while fooling around I put that funny frame thing around it and couldn't get rid of it!