Catching up, last weekend fun!

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!

Friday again, where did the week go?

 

.......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!

Garage Sale Goodies and water bombs, weekend fun!

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.

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

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!

A note to Santa and Jaxon's Christmas haircut

Same doggie?........my sweet grand-doggie was pretty shaggy, but at least he kept nice and warm in this minus degree weather. Well, now he's all spruced up for Christmas, and looks like a proper Airdale Terrier!

My gal Sherri, Kiera's mom, sent these pictures. Below is a note she found on the coffee table, one of many assorted notes to Santa that she's been finding lately around the house. How does the mind of an eight year old really work?

Have a great weekend!

Lace, Ladybug, Lemon Curd/Butter Microwave Recipe

I had to show you this fabulous old lace tabletopper! I just took some pictures of it for Ebay and thought I'd show it here as it's one of those pieces you rarely see........a real antique piece of battenburg/tapelace...All handmade, old, with some breaks, but these pieces give me palpitations when I spot them at a sale, even with some damage. You just don't see them anymore! ...and you must know by now, I LOVE LACE!

We got a teensy bit of snow on the weekend, it's pretty well gone now, but Kiera was over for a visit, saw the snow on the deck outside the patio door, promptly removed her shows and socks and carefully stepped out and made these footprints!....what a girl!!

I shooed her back inside for her shoes and socks and jacket and she spent a few minutes out there making a few snowballs and making more prints and handwriting in the snow.

As for the ladybug? Well, I went to the garage for some potatoes and there she was atop a potato in the pail. Brought her in and perched her on a little potato in a dish so I could take her picture. She has since disappeared in my kitchen and I hope she winters well.
Now for a recipe that a girlfriend swears by for

Microwave Lemon Curd (lemon butter)

3 eggs

3/4 cup sugar

1tbsp grated lemon rind [I put more]

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

2tbsp soft butter

In microwaveable bowl, whisk together eggs & sugar. whisk in lemon rind & juice & butter.

Microwave on high for 2 minutes, whisk until smooth.
Microwave for 2 to 3 minutes longer until it boils & thickens slightly.

Whisk again until smooth.
Cool, pour into jars & refridgerate.

I sterilise the jars & it will keep for several weeks. If it lasts.

Great on toast, in tart shells or on icecream.

I can't wait to make it but will make it after Christmas when we're in Arizona and I have TIME, and luscious fresh off the tree lemons are  a dime a dozen!! Off to make dinner, have a good week, hope I'll be back here before the week ends!

Family fun and rescue horses

It has been crazy busy around this house lately! I have out of town company coming for a couple of days this week too, so it's not over yet! I'm enjoying it all but am craving to get back at some digital artwork and take part in a couple of challenges!

The end of last week saw our sweetie Kiera having a sleepover at our house! Fun, fun....she keeps us hopping! We played, crafted, baked, played, created, inside, outside...all over the house and garage...non-stop! We are exhausted when she goes home!

We had a housewarming to go to Saturday night, then on Sunday, Kiera had a ringette game so we all went to cheer the team on. That was all three daughters and their spouses, besides my husband and I. All 8 and 9 year old girls skating their little hearts out, ....too cute...and they are very good! Ringette is sort of like hockey but instead of a puck it's a ring that looks like a donut, and their stick is straight, they have to place it in the hole to "shoot" the ring across the ice.

Here's Kiera after the game, minus her helmet/mask that they all must wear. We all went back to our house for chili and buns and strawberry/raspberry shortcake and alot of fun!

Wondering about these horsies? Well, our oldest daughter Sherri, (Kiera's mom) has always been a big animal lover and when she was young had a horse and a colt and loved to ride and be around horses as much as possible. Maybe at some future date she'll be able to have her own again, but for now, she has been looking for an opportunity to be around horses without actually owning and having the full responsibility of one.
Well, she has found through an ad a horse owner that needs someone to ride and excercise one of her horses and she also has in her care, 2 Paso Fino horses, rescue horses, a mother and daughter, who were badly neglected and taken in by this kind lady. Sherri took Kiera to meet them on Sunday morning and of course Kiera was thrilled!
Both horses are quite nervous of humans, but surprisingly took to Kiera, no problem!
Sherri and Kiera will be visiting them at every opportunity!

Kiera loves animals, she was certainly not nervous around the horses and she's little.....could that be why they were not fearful of her?

Such lovely animals, it's hard to think how they can be neglected the way they were.

I'll be back when I can get here!

Just came across this old picture

This would have been taken at 58 Sadler in St. Vital around 1953. That's Marilyn on the left, brother Jeff center, and me on the right. I don't look too happy!

Flashback! Jelly Roll! Mom's recipes

My sister, Marilyn, emailed me last night. My brother Jeff, who lives in British Columbia, wanted to know if we had mom's cook books and could find the recipe for jelly roll. I haven't had homemade jelly roll since mom used to make it! I remember she made it fairly often and I can see her now, rolling it up in a damp towel!

I have my mom's cookbooks. When we cleaned out her apartment (she's in a nursing home now), I ended up with them. I've looked through them for fun many times, and now and then for a special recipe. Of course the best one is the smaller size 3 ring binder that she covered in 60's mactac and glued in a zillion recipes that she had clipped from newspapers and the handwritten ones she had gathered over the years.

The ones in the above picture are all handwritten by her, except for the Lemon Butter. Definitely not her handwriting, and looks pretty old. As is the jelly roll recipe! The paper is starting to disintegrate!

Click to enlarge the first picture above and you'll see bits of some of the recipes like "Pate Christmas 1974". We called it "potty", lol, always did! On that page are several "potty" recipes, the basic ingredients but changed up a bit. My mom and dad were trying to duplicate from my dad's memory, the taste of this spicy meat pie that they used to have each year at Christmas, usually after midnight mass, when he was growing up on the farm. You'll also see a recipe for butter tarts which has written below it and crossed out: "I owe Vera 2 bus tickets".....Vera is her sister.

Mom never made anything without a recipe! Unlike me......unless it's baking (which I seldom do!)

I'm going to have to make a jelly roll once fall sets in and there is more time! (How can you tell, I'm not a baker?)Meanwhile I'll give you the recipe here, if you want to try it. It's delicious!

Mom's Jelly Roll

Beat 5 eggs and add 1 cup sugar, 1tsp. vanilla.

Then add: 1 cup flour, 1 tsp. baking powder.

Bake 10 - 12 minutes in 375 degree F oven.

Proceed as for jelly roll. Ha ha ha, only kidding, but there are a few people reading this that will find that line funny....... private joke!

OK.............well, the written recipe becomes vague. It says:

When cooked roll in a damp towel, spread with jelly & roll........which won't make alot of sense to you, so I've googled and found a recipe with decent directions and am just going to paste it here for you.......just the directions. You can use jam or jelly or whatever you like when you make it. Also, I'm sure she was just using a regular cookie sheet that had sides to it, maybe not 1" but close. Also wondering if she just didn't heavily grease the pan with margarine??

Heat oven to 375°. Line jelly roll pan, 15 1/2 × 101/2 × 1 inch, with cooking parchment paper, aluminum foil or waxed paper; generously grease foil or waxed paper. Beat eggs in small bowl with electric mixer on high speed about 5 minutes or until very thick and lemon colored. Pour eggs into medium bowl. Gradually beat in granulated sugar vanilla on low speed. Gradually add flour and baking powder, beating just until batter is smooth. Pour into pan, spreading to corners.
Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Immediately loosen cake from edges of pan and turn upside down onto towel generously sprinkled with powdered sugar. Carefully remove paper. Trim off stiff edges of cake if necessary. While hot, carefully roll cake and towel from narrow end. Cool on wire rack at least 30 minutes.
Unroll cake and remove towel. Beat jelly slightly with fork to soften; spread over cake. Roll up cake. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

My feet are sore!

Things have been hectic since last week. The garage sale, then on Sunday I had the kids and grandkids for a weeny and corn roast, complete with fireworks! I had neglected the garden so it's been catch-up time!
The laundry and ironing is next....oh what an exciting life I have!

Today I was pickling all day and evening and my feet hurt! Took a break this afternoon for a quick trip to visit mom.
They were having a little gathering for residents of the month! Got to enjoy a nice visit with mom and a few of the other residents at the same table, and a lovely cuppa coffee and some delicious cake!

I bought a new camera!! Last week I went to look at one on sale and ended up with something else......... a deal I couldn't turn down. I had planned on using my garage sale money to get a badly needed new camera and wanted something that took good closeups as well as having a nice long zoom.......mine is 12x.

Just a couple of point and shoot pictures of flowers taken at Mona's. CLICK TO ENLARGE, the detail is pretty darn good and the camera was not expensive.
Can't wait to play with it!