Friday, August 31, 2012

Not feeling too chipper and the home of the week...

Wasn't feeling too chipper on Thursday afternoon, so decided to have a cup of herbal tea in a nice cup and saucer.
That is not one of the cup and saucer's I am giving away, this set my mam gave me it's Spode  Blue Room Collection, pattern Geranium.  I fancied a cup of tea using a cup and saucer, makes for more of a special occasion.  The tea itself wasn't too bad with the lemon and ginger.  I got too much sun on Thursday morning while cutting the grass, so that's why I wasn't feeling too perky.

I actually like this week's "Home of the Week," although I would never want to live there, as the $1.3 million price tag is way too high for me.  One thing that does confuse me is the layout.  The bedrooms are on the second floor, and the living/dining and kitchen is on the third floor?  Also did you see the views from the master and second bedroom.........brick walls?  However I do like the way it's decorated and the last photo says it all.  I wonder if they have any outside space or parking?

The "Cottage of the Week," is pretty nice and for once a decent price at $600,000.  Those wooden coffee tables are pretty neat and I LOVE the kitchen with the faux AGA stove.  They are expensive to buy those, have looked into it, as it would be perfect in our kitchen.  I could easily live there year round, though for part of the year I would be stuck in the covered sun room to escape all the biting bugs with all those trees!!

The "Condo of the Week," has gorgeous floors and a huge price tag!!!  Paying $1.3 million for this along with nearly $1,500 a month maintenance fees is crazy.  I could live with the wood paneling but not in the kitchen as well, that is way over board.  I'll pass on this one.

For a change I actually loved one house, liked another and only hated the condo; that makes a change!!!!  If you want to read how the housing market has been in Toronto this is an interesting article.  Dd and son-in-law went through it in the Spring and they are outside of Toronto.

Thursday, August 30, 2012

Took some photos while I was cutting the grass on Wednesday night.

I of course had to show you my reasonably straight lines when I am cutting grass!!  The field is being cut north to south.  Last week it was east to west!!

The last of the sun was catching the tree and the old seat under the seat.  Dh keeps saying he is going to refurbish the seat, one day!!

The sun peeking through the tree, on it's way to bed.
It was a nice sunset on Wednesday night.

This is looking east at the same time, with the moon in the sky as the sun was setting.

I have to say I am lucky to live in a beautiful part of Canada.



Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Filthy, tired and hurting, but happy.......

I spent Tuesday in the garden, doing all sorts of jobs.  Took me two hours just to clean out one of the flower beds; that's what you get  when you don't weed your gardens all summer!!

I got three yards of soil back in the spring and only used part of it, so now it's all weed infested, so I took four trailer loads and put that in the flower garden, got a lot more to move.  Cut some branches off a couple of trees, so I don't get whacked in the head when I drive past on the tractor.

Plus I cut some more grass, not much as I don't have much gas.  However by 8pm last night I went to bed to lay down as my back was killing me. 

Here I am on Wednesday morning and I'm afraid to say I don't feel too much better.  My poor back is not happy, so I am guessing no more digging today.  I will pop into town to get my gas tanks filled for the tractor and will at least get the rest of the grass cut as I don't have to bend down to do that.  Then hopefully by Thursday my back feels a bit better and I can do some more digging.  Just pleased I managed to get something done in the garden for a change.

What have you all been up too?

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Bit of inspiration...........

I ordered the free paint chart from Farrow and Ball and it arrived the other day with a book to inspire you.

Bit of a problem though it also came with the price list and at $90 to $125 CDN a gallon for the paint it's a bit too pricey for me.  The wallpaper runs at $175 to $275 for a 11 yard roll.  I guess you could just paper a feature wall?  It's flipping expensive though?

Regardless I put the paint chart on the family room wall to see what colours I liked.  Still thinking about it, but I do know when I do paint it will be a nice light colour, to contrast the dark wood floors.  Should say the wood panelling will be coming off at some point!!!


What is your favourite colour to put on your walls?

Should say dh is fine, I will post more about the hospital visit tomorrow.

Monday, August 27, 2012

Odds and ends.....

Today would have been my Nana's 99th birthday if she was still alive......... I wrote about my Nana and Pop here  If you have a minute read that post I think it's worth while.

Dh is back at the hospital today to see the surgeon and to get his TWO stitches removed,  You would think he was getting TWO HUNDRED stitches removed the way he was going on the other night!!!  As I pointed out, he was being a drama queen.  He said I had no sympathy........well duh.....he's only getting two flipping stitches removed.  I had ten stitches in the one hand and six in the other and did I get any sympathy from him......heck no!!!!

So please think of me around 10:30 a.m.............actually it will probably be around 12 noon before we get to see the surgeon.  I am going along as I want him to make arrangements for a MRI on his other knee, as we want to know ahead of the game and try and prevent this happening to his "good"' knee.  If you hear of a British born woman murdering her dh because he wouldn't stop whining.........there's a good chance you'll know who that woman is!!!!

It's been too stinking hot and humid around here for me these past few days. Anyhow on Sunday I decided to cut the field as it was getting long again.  I have to say it's been a good summer as far as grass cutting goes.  I missed a month of grass cutting due to it being so flipping hot and the grass not growing.

Bathed Molly on Sunday morning; gave me the evil eye for the rest of the day!!!  I don't understand why she just doesn't accept the situation.  She has to have a bath, I am bigger than her, so I win not her?  Her skin feels nice and soft now.  Jane and Chris rescued this dog (Duncan) last week.  We were going to go and see him, but I don't really want a dog that is only a year old.

Cindy gave me some beets and a cucumber the other day.  So for lunch on Sunday we had cheese and cucumber sandwiches.  I love cheese sandwiches; though I think it's a toss up between cheese and red onion or cheese and tomatoes fresh from the garden sandwiches.

My dad used to take cheese and jam sandwiches in his bait/lunch and my mam said the other day she was having cheese and chutney sandwiches for her lunch.  I dislike both those types.  Do you like cheese sandwiches and do you add something to them or just eat them plain?




Sunday, August 26, 2012

A little peek.......

For those of you who have read my blog recently will know I am hosting a baby shower for "R" who is Indian by birth.  Her Indian "family" in Canada are having a baby shower in October for her.  "R's" hubby was in India at the beginning of the month, and "R's" mother sent me, dd and her best friend a sari each for us to wear at the Indian baby shower.

They are gorgeous and on Saturday morning, we went to this Indian lady's house and had our measurements taken so she can make us the blouses to go under the sari's.  She is also going to "alter" the actual sari material, so we can use the "cheats" method of putting on the sari, without having to get someone to help us.  Here is a you tube video that shows you how to put on a sari and it's quite interesting.  So our sari will already have the pleats in place and we can fasten it with Velcro...YEAH!!!!  The lady's daughter had one of those and she was nine; our excuse is we never wear sari's normally!!!!

"R's" mother also sent us the matching jewelry and this is what I am going to show you.  They are not very good photos, sorry.  The top single item is to put in your hair.  She sent me two sets of earrings as she wasn't sure if I would wear dangly ones.  Then there is the necklace.

The bangles are the colour of my actual sari.  The main colour though is black and the gold, green and pink are the accent colours.  Now idea how I will get them on, even if I cream up my hand, as they are small.
Even the bag it was all put in is lovely:
Can't wait until the actual baby shower, to wear the whole outfit.  I will make sure I take lots of photos.

Should say, dd is white background with black trim and bright red flowers, with silver jewelry.  Dd friend is purple, black and gold, with purple and gold jewelry.

Saturday, August 25, 2012

A day out and grocery shopping

On Thursday I met Cindy in Meaford as she had found me three cake stands.  Meaford is more or less a half way point for us to meet.  We also met up with Cindy's friend from the VON Lotte, she lives in Meaford.  We had a good time, although I did forget my camera, so if you want to see photos, you will need to pop over to Cindy's to see them.  Next time we meet up it will be in Thornbury, as there is a little more for me in Thornbury (sorry Lotte!)

Here are the photos of the three cake stands, I paid $5 each for them and they are lovely, thank you Cindy for thinking of me!!

I think this one is the oldest of the three:
This is another three tier one:
Finally a two tier one:


I went grocery shopping on Friday morning and No Frills was my store of choice, as it had onions, carrots and broccoli on sale.  I took the Zehrs flyer and price matched the cling/plastic wrap, the aluminum foil, the bleach and the bologna from there.   I spent $45.40 and had savings of  over $11.  So all in all my monthly total spent is $254.78 and monthly savings are $64.94.  I am still on target to only spend $300, but it will be tight with only $45.22 left in the budget.

I picked up a couple of reduced steaks which came to $2.20 each.  Now as you know at that price they will be as tough as old boots.  I marinade them in one part honey, one part brown sugar and two parts soya sauce.  Turns out great and I generally cook them on the bbq on a medium to high heat for 7 minutes per side.  That is medium to well done and the cow will have stopped mooing at that point!!  Dh does not like to see any blood at all on his meat.

I posted another book review yesterday here.

Friday, August 24, 2012

Home of the week.........

I had such high hopes for this week's "Home of the Week," when I saw the first couple of photos, but then it went downhill fast.  Granted I could never afford the $1.8 million price tag, but why oh why did they make it so modern inside?  It's a Victorian house for crying out loud and barely a sign of the original features to be had.  Love the stair details despite them all being painted white.  It is certainly a bright, light house.

Finally a "Cottage of the Week," that looks like a cottage and has the feel of the cottage.  On the downside though is the price, a whopping $1.6 million.  If I could afford it I would take it in a heart beat and probably wouldn't change a thing.  It looks comfortable and relaxing..........just can't get over the price though?

The "
Condo of the Week," I can live without.  I love the roof terrace and the area it is located, but that's about it.  The price tag of $785,000 seems a bit steep but I guess that's to do with the area.  One thing for sure there isn't a lot of clutter to dust around?

As most of you know dd and son-in-law bought their first house and moved in a couple of weeks ago.  They have been super busy with renovations and dd has turned out to be a natural at using power tools and turning her hand to any and every job in the house.  Albeit with lots of phone calls to her dad for advise.

In their front hall/foyer they had this alcove which was a waste of space so dd made this seat area.    She built the frame, drywalled the front, put wood on the top painted and trimmed it all.  I got the seat cushion and one pillow custom made for her as part of her house warming gift.  She picked the material up at a Fabricland that was closing near where she used to live and probably paid $30 for it all and there is enough left to make a roman blind for her kitchen window (she's making it herself.)  She bought the grey coloured cushion herself and the shelf is from Ikea.  The photo frames will have photos of building's from a trip to New York (back and white).

The colours are not what they appear in the photo.  The walls are a light brown/beige.  The material on the seat is a lot paler and the cushions are paler and no where near as shiny.  However what a great use of an area.  She decided not to use that as storage underneath the cushion as they have a double and a single closet in the hallway.

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Great deal......

We got the guest list for the baby shower on Tuesday and it looks to be around 60 people, with probably 50 + people actually coming.  So I thought I had better see what I had in cups and saucers and tea plates.  Below are the 51 sets that I have.


On Wednesday I popped into a thrift store and scored big time.  Both the sets below are Royal Doulton and there was a half price sale on housewares.  So I paid $1.50 for the burgundy set and $2 for the green set.
The two plates below were 50 cents each and are just so pretty.  The one on the left is Grindley Cream Petal
Then I called into a friends house and she gave me all these teaspoons.  She told me if you wrap your silver in cling/plastic wrap it stops it tarnishing?


Tuesday, August 21, 2012

A couple of recipes........

Dh went grocery shopping with me this past weekend and he asked if I would make my fresh fruit salad.  I first posted this recipe in 2010 here.

This is so simple to make. You need the following:

1/2 cup (4 oz) sugar
1 cup (1/2 pint) water
juice of half a lemon

Boil the water and sugar until dissolved, add the lemon juice and let cool.

Chop up whatever fruit you have on hand and add to the simple syrup.
I then had a look at the zucchini patch and discovered these monsters:

I cut one up with some onions and fried them in a pan with some precooked sausages.  Added some garlic salt and pepper, and cooked them all together for around 15 minutes until all cooked through.  Simple and quick to make:
We had them with some leftover cauliflower and broccoli in cheese sauce.  I can actually say we had our quota of veggies and fruit for the day for a change!!!

Monday, August 20, 2012

I think I have got all my tea cups and saucers now..

While out and about on the weekend I purchased some more cups, saucers and side plates.  

I got two of these along with two dinner plates and a bowl for $5.  As the woman said the plates and bowl could be used at Christmas?  I love the colour red but am not overly fond of these...but do agree that I could use the plates and bowl at Christmas.

I got a great deal on the following sets.  I paid 75 cents for a set (cup, saucer and side plate).  I got four of the sets in the background, and six sets in the foreground.

I paid $10 for this whole set.  I didn't really want all the pieces, but it also included the platter and milk jug and I know I can use the rest of the things at the baby shower.
Here is a closer view of the pattern on the cups.
I have been on the look out for a pair of sugar tongs, but not in silver, as I wanted to use them to pick up slices of lemon for the tea.  No one really keeps or sells them anymore.  I called in at "From the Kitchen to the Table," in Orangeville and they had a pair, and they cost less than $4 and are perfect for what I want.
They have a lot of really good quality things in there and a lot of different things.  I need to pop back in there when I have more time for a really good look around.

Saturday, August 18, 2012

Dh and wallpaper, need ideas....

So dh took off his dressing on his leg on Friday and solemnly declared he can no longer be a leg model due to the scars he's going to be left with???  I actually thought it didn't look too bad, he of course thought different.  He had a shower and that cheered him up a bit and I let him potter around outside burning weeds off the driveway.  All in all that put the morning in for him.

We had to go out in the afternoon and he survived, although he did say he was tired by the time we got home around 7:30 pm.  So he has survived another day of being an invalid!!

If you go to the Farrow and Ball website you can order up to 5 wallpaper samples free of charge.  they only sent me four of the five I ordered for some reason, but here are my picks.

They are really nice and the photos don't so them justice.  They are around 8 " x 12" each.  I want to do something creative with them; any ideas?

Do you wallpaper?  I haven't in years, and although this is an old house we live in and would suit wallpaper, I am too lazy to do it.


Friday, August 17, 2012

Home of the week and other things...

This week's "Home of the Week," is okay I suppose.  It has some good features, like the stained glass window details, and from what I saw of the back yard it looks pretty, and the basic bones of the home is fine.  However I do not like the kitchen, or the way it is decorated.  Which is down to personal taste and they would take their furnishing's with them.  Then there is the price tag of $1.75 million, bit pricey I think?

This week's "Cottage of the Week," is not for me.  It's too big and who on earth has a boardroom at their cottage?  The views and area it is located in are stunning and I would love to live there in a smaller place.  The last photo of the steps down to the water in winter is just stunning.  I'll pass even if I had the $6.5 million that they want for it!!

This week's "Condo of the Week," isn't really my cup of tea either. there seems to be a lot of wasted space if you ask me?  The comments weren't overly complimentary either!!  The skull and cross bone wallpaper in the powder room was an interesting choice????  Paying nearly $3,000 a month in condo fees, is just plain crazy?  I'll take a pass on this one.

Finally if you want to give the kids something to do for the last couple of weeks of the holidays, why not send them to a summer camp for the rich people?  You can read about that here.

I posted another couple of book reviews on my book review blog (link on top right of page,) if you want to take a look?

And finally dh..........well it didn't take long to hear those words, "I'm bored."  It was 2pm on Thursday when he uttered those words.  Mind you we had been out running errands (with him being chauffeured everywhere) in the morning and didn't get home until lunch time.  We had eaten lunch and I headed outside to cut grass by 12:30pm.  So in that hour and a half he was bored, despite me giving him the weekly flyer's to read, plus I bought him three magazines the day before to read (reno/diy magazines.)

I am hoping by the time you read this on Friday morning he will be feeling a little better, as he will be able to take off the bandage and have a shower.  Having a shower perks everyone up I think.  Luckily I "accidentally" forgot to remind him to bring his tools home from dd house, other wise he would have been down the basement today renovating!!!!

God grant me patience!!!


Thursday, August 16, 2012

A day at the hospital.............


Spent the morning at the hospital with dh.  He had key hole surgery on his knee, to wash it out and tidy up the torn cartilage in his knee. 

His surgeon missed going to school for bed side etiquette {SIGH} otherwise everything went as well as could be expected.  Dh has arthritis in his knees as well, so the goal is to put it off as long as possible getting new knees put in.  However if I have to deal with this guy for the next ten plus years, he had better improve his bed side manners, otherwise me and him are going to have words!!!!

It was a big day also for dh, as he lost his "hospital virginity," as this was the first time in his life he has ever had an operation.

Also one of the nurses taught our kids to swim, way back in the day, so it was nice to catch up with her.  All the nursing staff were super nice and couldn't fault the way they treated dh.

He had an uncomfortable night last night, but as long as he takes things easy he should recover nicely.  Because of dh's job, he should be off work at least for a week; although the surgeon suggested a full two weeks, but then told dh to use his discretion.  He hates taking it easy and is always on the go, so this should be torture for both of us trying to keep him still!!!

As per the rest of the family, I shouldn't give up my day job to be a nurse.  However so far so good, although I did make major threats to dh last night to sit quiet when I went to cut some grass!!!  He was in bed when I got back in as he was pooped from the day and the medication he had taken, Tylenol 3's.

It should be a fun few days until he gets back to normal!!

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Recipes for Chicken

I had a mini cooking session on Tuesday afternoon as I had the following things that needed to be used up:

3 chicken breasts, bone-in
3 chicken breast bones (had already taken the main breast of meat off it and used it)
2 bunches broccoli
1 tub ricotta cheese
1 lb mushrooms
1 head cauliflower

I took two chicken breasts and took the breast meat off and put that aside.  The bones along with the remaining chicken breast and the other three chicken breast bones, I put in a pan of boiling water with seasonings and cooked them for around 30 minutes.

I drained the liquid into another pan, added some onions and mushrooms that I sweated down and what ever meat was remaining on the chicken bones, other than the one remaining breast, I put that to one side for another recipe.

I added a cup of rice to the onions, mushrooms, chicken and the cooking liquid to a pan and boiled for a half hour.  I then added some broccoli, frozen peas and corn, cooked for a few more minutes and I then had a big pan of chicken and rice stew/soup.

The next thing I prepared were chicken lasagna roll ups.  I don't have exact quantities here, but you'll get the idea.  I cooked 8 pieces of lasagna.  When cooked I laid them on my glass chopping board that I had sprayed with oil so they didn't stick and let them cool down a bit.

In a bowl I added the rest of the onions and mushrooms that I had sweated down, along with the one chicken breast that I had cooked; chop the chicken finely.  I added some very small pieces of broccoli and around 3/4 cup of ricotta cheese, and mixed it together.  You can add any seasonings you like at this point.

Divide the mixture up between all the lasagna strips and roll them up.  I used a nine inch square baking dish, which I had greased to place my lasagna roll ups in.  

Top with some Alfredo sauce or a savory white sauce.  I used a packet mix which made around a cup and a half (3/4 pint).  You could add more or less.

Top with grated cheese, I chose mozzarella and Parmesan.  Cook in a 375 oF oven for around 30 minutes, until it is all warmed through.

With the remaining two chicken breasts that I took off the bone, I flattened them with a rolling pin, so they were all equal thickness throughout.  I placed some baby spinach on the breast, then a heaping tablespoon of ricotta cheese.  Rolled them up and wrapped bacon around them.  Cook them in a 375 oF oven for a good 30 minutes or so.  They are so moist and yummy.

Two or three lasagna rolls per person is filling.

I cooked both chicken dishes in the oven at the same time to be more frugal.

I steamed both the broccoli and cauliflower, and will use them as veggie sides with the meals this week.

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

A real tonic and other things

As you know my step-father has been in hospital after having open heart surgery and then having a stroke.

My nephew who is around 8 or 9, I can never remember has been visiting him with his parents.  Here are some of the things he has said or done.

John:  Pop you are really, really lucky to have a bed like that, I would like one.........the hospital bed.

John: That's a really cool cane

John: I "borrowed" this flower, so you can roll it between your fingers so you can do your exercises.

John: Pop, is your heart better.

Pop: yes it's fine

John then goes to give him a big hug, as prior to that he was hugging him on his shoulder.

The other day they brought him some strawberries to eat.  Pop was having trouble getting the last few from the dish, so Nana told John to feed them to Pop using a spoon.

John gets the spoon with strawberries on it and makes an airplane noise and "flies" the spoon to Pop's mouth.  Everyone is laughing at this point, including Pop.

John: What, my mam used to do that to make me eat!!!

Nana, John's Mam and John went to the hospital the other day and where they parked was a bit iffy and the adults were worried they may get a parking ticket.  So they were talking about it, and said to John, they hoped not as they could end up in jail.

John: Don't worry Nana, you get porridge in jail................. I guess that's a good thing in John's books???

As I said to John's mother he's a real tonic as you never know what he is going to say next!!

I got an email from Crate and Barrelng a few things including this "Poppy" print.

Does that not look like a Tulip to you? Or am I misunderstanding something?

I posted another book review yesterday here.

Monday, August 13, 2012

Dd and the Olympics........

We were down at dd on Sunday, so I was busy painting and gardening.  There was a very brief introduction of Molly to Olive the cat and it didn't go well!!!!  So the cats were shut in the bedroom, probably for Molly's protection!!!

Did manage to watch the Olympic closing ceremony and thoroughly enjoyed it, despite all the adverts we had to endure over here!!!!

Thought I'd show you a close up of the bouquet's that were handed out thought they were very pretty:







The bouquets
The victory bouquet has been designed by Jane Packer, an internationally renowned UK florist. The bouquet represents the vibrancy of the Games and the four sections hold a different variety of the rose, an iconic British flower. Each section is also divided with traditional herbs – mint, rosemary, English lavender and wheat. These British-grown ingredients are designed to provide an unusually eclectic fragrant mix. Info from the London 2012 site.


Loved "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life"


And of course John Lennon's "Imagine,"

 Love George Michael, granted he's past his best, but his songs are catchy:

 All in all very well done I thought!

Sunday, August 12, 2012

Visiting thrift stores is addictive!!!!

We went for a ride out to Stayner on Saturday afternoon, to visit my favourite thrift store.  The lady is very helpful in there and even though I only got this platter this time, she hunted out a pile of other stuff in the back room for me to look at.  The platter is Snowhite Regency by Johnson Brothers and I paid $3 for it, so was happy with that.  I was trying to find this exact pattern on the internet, as it was also made without the pattern as well.
We then went to this "Antique Store," where I have bought from before and I picked up this pair of cups, saucers and side plates.  They cost me $3 per set, which I thought was high, but never mind.  It seems to be like a Corningware/Corelle type of product, and not fine china, but sometimes you have to take what you can find!!

This is my favourite set so far and again I paid $3 for it and it is Moyatt Staffordshire "Medici."  I think it is the Turquoise colour?  She has more pieces of this and I think I will go back next week to see what I have to pay for the platter she had.  The longer I was in the store, the more friendlier she got.  I think this is stunning:


This last set is Blue Bow by Crown Staffordshire and is very pretty as well.  She would only sell me the one set at $3 despite there being more.
I love going to these stores to see what I can spot.  The platters are not to give away, I will keep most of them for myself, so I will only buy what I truly like.  

Saturday, August 11, 2012

Weather for ducks........

Friday was a wet miserable day, perfect for ducks.  We went to a memorial service for our friends dad.  It was lovely and I shed many tears with them, as the stories they had to tell about her dad were lovely.  I hadn't seen her two boys for a while.  Got a bit of a shock as they are not boys but fine young men.  Made me feel old actually.

Anyhow the funeral home had limited parking, so dh had to park a five minute walk away.  Despite having an umbrella, we got drenched, right down to our underwear.  Got out of dh's truck to see a delightful wet patch where I had been sitting!!!!  We went out for a fish and chip supper, had to use my car, as there was no way I was sitting on a wet seat.

We need to find another fish and chip shop, as although the fish and chips aren't bad, the place is icky.  Cleaning is not at the top of their priorities and the lady who owns the place looks as though she is sucking on lemons the whole time.  You know when your server comes back during your meal to ask if everything is alright?  You know for a fact that this woman really does not care one way or another. 

We are going to check out Orangeville and hopefully find a decent fish and chip shop.  Do you enjoy fish and chips?


I posted a book review here yesterday.

Friday, August 10, 2012

Home of the week and other things......

This week's "Home of the Week," is not really my taste, but I do love the before and after photos.  They really did a good job, of bringing light into the home.  It is amazing what the right wall colours, and staging does to an old house, plus some renovations.  They brought a tired dark home back to life.  Not sure I would pay $2 million though for the house?

If you don't click on any of the other links click on this one for the "Cottage of the Week."  Mind you paying $12 million for a cottage on it's own island is probably out of all of our reaches.  It's way over board for me this place, just too much of everything, don't you think?  Even the grounds feel over done as well, not at all natural.  I think I'll pass on this one!!!!

Want to pay $7.5 million for this week's "Condo of the Week," go ahead I won't be fighting you for it!!  The swimming pool is so wrong it looks like a fish tank perched on the terrace.  I wonder why they didn't put any furniture in it to stage it?  At the selling price isn't it expected?  I obviously don't move in the right circles, as I had no idea who Peter Freed was, I had to Google his name!!!!

I had to go into town on Thursday, so I went into the thrift stores, in my search for tea cups.  Didn't find any sets, BUT did find this platter for $3.  It's lovely isn't it?

It poured down all day on Thursday, and I took a photo of Molly staring out of the window.  She is probably thinking about whether she should venture outside, but with it raining will it make her shrink as she's "allergic" to water!!!

Thursday, August 9, 2012

They come in threes and more purchases.......

You know how we say things come in threes, we got news on Wednesday of another death, this time a friend's dad.  So now we are waiting for number three.........

I went into Brampton on Wednesday and while I was there, I checked out some charity/thrift stores.  I was surprised at how expensive things were, but I did manage to get a couple of things.  Everything I got in the photo below cost under $9.50.  So now I have 30 sets of tea cups, saucers and side plates.  I have nearly 40 teaspoons now, and the glass double handled container is to put the spoons in.  The little milk jugs are cute as well aren't they, and at 50 cents each a deal.


When I was visiting a very dear friend on Tuesday, she gave me this tea cup, saucer and side plate, which was ever so kind of her.

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Spoons and Mug Cakes.........

Adding to my teacup, saucer and side plates, are spoons.  I have been collecting these and they seem to cost around 25 cents a piece.  Can't say I am an expert in these, so if you think any of them are worth a small fortune, please let me know!!!!!

I liked this one the best in the ones I have bought so far:
I got a buy one get one free coupon for the Dr.Oetker mug cake.  So I bought a couple to give them a try.


They are very easy to make and each package makes two cakes.  They don't look as good as the ones on the package, but overall weren't bad.  We had ours with some vanilla ice cream.
I think I paid $1.99 for two packages, and other than a little milk you don't need to add anything else to the mix.  Unless I can get them super cheap I probably won't be buying them again.  They make a quick pudding.

Hotel Stay

First of all thank you for all your birthday wishes.  Each and every one of them was greatly appreciated.  The kids bought me/us an overnigh...