Nifty Thrifty Tuesday Music & Books

Today I'm linking with Linda@Coastal Charm for her Nifty Thrifty Tuesdays.

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I had a wonderful day of yard saling on Saturday! I only visited the big ones that were put on by the local churches and schools. That's like big-box thrift shopping; one convenient stop for all those things you didn't even know you needed! Pure heaven for the savvy cheap-skate!

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The early morning finds were great prices; by mid morning, you could begin some heavy duty bargaining; and by noon, everything was a steal! I filled one bag for $5 and then got a basket full for $3. Why, I got soooo much for such good prices, that even now, I feel like dancing with joy!
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Which will be easy for me with the 12 CD's I got for 25 to 50 cents each! I found CD's for all my musical moods. Yes, I can rock out with Lenny Kravitz, get hot and spicy with the Gipsy Kings, become sultry with Anita Baker or Roberta flack, or go "down home" listening to bluegrass. There's Bruce Cockburn's Xmas album for seasonal touches, or Arabic or Italian music when I feel like travelling to more exotic places. (Shock! More exotic than Bridgewater???)

With Mendelssohn, I can practice being cultured, become introspective while listening to Serenity zen-like music; And with Barry White, I can ...................

Well, we all know what Barry White's music was always used for. So this celibate little Christian lady will just have to remember her wild youth while listening to him. Sigh!!!

And perhaps cry a little :( ..... 'cause "I ain't dead yet, people!!
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To satisfy my insaitiable thirst for reading, I got this stack of paperbacks for 25 cents each as well as the Labyrinth game on the very top.

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And to round off today's post, I got another "Company's Coming" cookbook --- for 25 cents!. .

Ahhh! Ya gotta love these yearly yard sales!

Stay tuned this week for more exciting reveals!! And don't forget to run over to
Nifty Thrifty Tuesdays and see the rest of the great bargains.

Friends, Sunshine & Good Food

What a perfect way to spend Saturday! I began yard saling at 8 am, visited 3 before hitting the Farmer's Market for lovely French pastries, picked up Adriana, and headed out to the Mahone Bay area to meet my friend Winnifred and hit 2 more yard sales. I've got lots of great finds to show you this week.
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(I didn't make any silly promises about no more plants, did I?)

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Then the 3 of us went for lunch at The Biscuit Eater Cafe. The weather was perfect for sitting on the deck.
I had the cranberry chicken salad on croissant with pink grapefruit iced tea.

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Winnifred and Adriana had the Tai spicy veggie wrap with humus.

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I was the only one for dessert! But I wouldn't/couldn't leave with some of their dark and decadant chocolate layer cake.

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We spent probably 3 hr there relaxing and talking. It was so wonderful.

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The Biscuit Eater is featured as one of THE places to eat on the South Shore of Nova Scotia. And with good reason! Absolutely yummy!

Fertilizer Friday 28 May 2010

TGIF for me means "weekend!"and Fertilizer Friday with Tootsie.
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It's been a cool and overcast with sunny breaks this week. And after last weekend's toil in the garden, I've been resting up and finally getting over my cold.
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So let's see what's blooming in Bridgewater.
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Wild geramium

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I've been calling this Beauty Bush; but I believe it's actually Candytuff.

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My first Columbine to bloom .
The Lamium still hasn't opened, but it's sooo close!.
The Primrose is still spectacular.

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And this beautiful Iris has graced me with it's presence. I have several planted, but each year, I only get this one blooming. Advice anyone?.

The Meadow Rue is blooming. I love the airy-ness of this plant..

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Tomorrow there are several church yard sales in town, all of them known for their great plants and prices. I'll be up early tomorrow.

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Have a wonderful weekend!

Grocery Store Wisdom

I was at the grocery store today, and behind me in a shopping cart were two young children: a little girl about 5 years old and her brother about 2 1/2 years. As I was leaving the checkout, I smiled at her. And I heard her say to her little brother:
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"That lady is pretty. Do you think she's pretty? I think she's pretty."

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Ahhhh! Isn't that adorable! It made my day!
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Out of the mouths of babes! Such innocence! (I could have been an axe murderer!) Such wisdom! (She didn't even notice the dark circles under my eyes or the number of wrinkles!)
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And then I could help but think to myself:
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1. Wasn't she young to be needing glasses already?
2. What did she want from me? Was she fishing for that Twix bar on the shelf just out of her reach? Did she see the extra loonie in my coin purse when I paid for my eggs?
3. Why couldn't she have said that louder and with more conviction! There was a good-looking elderly gentleman in the next checkout aisle who I'm sure couldn't hear that far and whose eyesight may not have picked up on my beauty.
4. Why the heck couldn't it have been her older, single, rich Uncle Sven pushing that cart instead of that young, tanned, slim woman that I assume is her mom?

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Still, I won't allow those unanswered questions to take away from the general feeling of well-being that surrounds me right now.

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Other's may go to dances or bars or even check out E-harmony.

Me? I think I'll hang out in more grocery stores!

Tons of Lemon Coffee Cake

It's been another very busy week, so I've not been blogging. But here's something to blog about: cake!
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My book club met at my house last night; and I received compliment after compliment over this "Tons of Lemon Coffee Cake". It was wonderfully moist and yes, had tons of lemon flavor.
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I hope you can read this recipe. If not, you can get it right here at http://www.thatsmyhome.com/hannahs/cofcake/tonsoflem.htm. It calls for a lot of lemons; and lemons are a little pricey right now. (At least, in my neck of the woods they are!) But it's well worth trying out.
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Instead of baking it in the 9 x 13 pan they ask for, I wanted to try my new Paderno cake pan that Santa brought me. So, I sprinkled streusel in the bottom "peaks" (& the streusel just stuck there and had to be scooped out and placed on top of the cake); I also sprinkled it in the centre and bottom of the cake. The pan was a perfect size for the amount of batter, and it did look really pretty. .
More importantly, it tasted terriffic! This one is on my list of favorites.

Mum's Garden

The Mum Brown Memorial Garden is in! Thank Goodness!
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What hard work -- to dig up one garden on Saturday and dig another and plant the next. I was in the garden yesterday from 10 am until 4:30 pm (with breaks for lunch and cold drinks etc.). I am T-I-R-E-D!!
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But I think it's going to be a really nice garden when it fills in a bit. Here's the first overall picture.
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Mum Brown gave me these gnomes last summer when I visited her. So, it was only fitting that they go in her garden. I've named them Kris and Kim after Mum's daughters that I used to hang with when I first met her. (And yes, the ears bear an uncanny resemblance to Kris and Kim's ears!)

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I think this is Beauty Bush. It seems to not mind being moved and replanted. It'll look pretty spilling over the edge of the rocks at that end of the garden..

The chives were placed here for easy access when cutting for salads. And the mystery plant to the far right of it ..... from the smell, I'd say it's garlic. Behind the garlic are some day lilies, and to the left, I've planted Lungwort.
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To the right of the Beauty Bush and all along the front edge, I've put in pieces of Creeping Phlox..
Behind that row of Creeping Phlox, there's a row of Primrose. When I tried to divide the large clump of Astilbe, it fell into 7 different pieces. So, there are 4 behind the Primrose and 4 to the left of the rock stepping stones. I also built the garden around a fern which is naturally growing. .
The large Hosta I dug up was so root-bound; it took an enormous amount of work to divide it. But I know that Hosta are real troopers and will continue to grow despite hacking at it with a knife!! I've potted some and put a few more along the bottom edge of the driveway (along with some day lilies). There are Hosta and day lilies planted in the back corners of the new bed as well, along with another spot for Primrose and 2 Bleeding Heart bushes -- the traditional and the old-fashioned..

The Butterfly Bush got tucked in Mum's garden (I hope there's enough sun for it!!). As well as a mystery plant I'd forgotten about; when it perks up, I'll post it and ask for help in identifying it.

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The other mystery plants I'd asked for help with yesterday with the purple flower are actually bulbs. Those were planted next to Mum's garden. I look a few of the Primrose to tuck into other beds on my property. (There were more than the original 10 I thought I had!!).

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And there's still a wheelbarrow with Hosta and day lilies waiting for me! I'm looking forward to the next rainy day followed by the next sunny day to see how my garden will grow.
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But no planting for me today! Today is Victoria Day in Canada; my daughter & her new boyfriend are coming down to join the family, and we're doing a barbeque. I will be doing a lot of sitting today. I need to rest up for work this week!!

A Gardener's Dream!!!

Look at the truck of my car! There are pots of plants from front to back; and bags of plants placed carefully on top of others. AND there's even a few plants in the back seat of the car. It is a gardener's high!
Today was the day I went to Mum Brown's house to dig up her garden. Digging up THAT garden? I don't think so! I put a small dent in it and probably brought home a quarter of what is there. But what fun I had!
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Here they are lined up back home.
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This was just half of one patch of day lillies; they hadn't been divided in years. Then there's some creeping phlox - pink, purple and lavender..

And was that a Primrose we see there? some of you are asking. The very plant you said yesterday that you wanted more of?

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Yup! I have about 10 of them! (And there are still more left at Mum's!) There are also a few tulip and grape hyacinth bulbs in there..
There's also about one third of a huge Hosta, some of what I believe is Beauty Bush, a patch of Chives, and a couple of unknowns..
Here's one of the unknowns. Anybody have any ideas?

And here's the flower bud of the other unknown.

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There's still so much that I didn't get! And although Mum said there was an Azalea bush there for me to take, I didn't see it.
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Oh well! Not to worry: I'll get those when I go to visit in August.

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Free plants, people! Free!

What a great day!
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PS -- When I stopped for gas, what should be right next to the gas station but a yard sale with a long line of tables --- full of plants! It was a serendipitous moment. So, I bought a chartreuse color Hosta, a Columbine, an Old-fashioned Bleeding Heart, 2 Lamiums and a Butterfly bush. Total cost = $7..
So you all know how I'm spending my Sunday afternoon!!

A Mexican Girl gets Her Way... FINALLY

My little Mexican girl loves her seafood.
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"Is it fish tonight?"

"When will we have salmon again?"

"I l-o-v-e shrimp!"

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So, as I was driving home from work today just after noon, I stopped and I picked them up. I'm seeing fishermen on every corner lately selling them -- $5 a pound. She was so happy!

They were sooo delicious!

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Adrianna has eaten lobster many times before. But she'd never seen them alive ("The plastic bag is moving!!") -- never seen them cooked ("Do they feel pain in the boiling water?") -- and never seen them taken apart ("You are so vicious with those things!") -- hammer & nut cracker & sissors & turkey skewers ... to get out the little bits.
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She says her Dad will be impressed that his little girl has been awarded honors in in her brutal instruction!
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Daughter #3 was more impressed with the potato salad. More lobster for me, I say!

Fertilizer Friday 21 May 10

It's Friday and time to check out Tootsie and her pals at Fertilizer Friday. There's not many new blooms in my garden but there's so much growth! It's amazing what a little aeration, compost, sun and a couple of days of good rain can accomplish. Mother Nature has been good to us here in Nova Scotia.

This is a long weekend here in Canada, and the sun is supposed to shine the whole time! I see the prospect of a perfect weekend ahead of me: gardening, family & friends, relaxation and good food & wine.

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I moved a few plants last weekend. So now, these beautiful tulips enjoy their last performance in front of this new addition from last fall - Jupiter's Beard (Centranthus ruber). I was quite smitten with this one and am really pleased that it's made a reappearance -- and will bloom soon! It's supposed to be a prolific bloomer. Anyone else out there have experience with Jupiter's Beard?.
My primrose is still showing off beautifully. .
And the Sweet Woodruff is hitting it's prime. Such a pretty old-fashioned plant.
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Here's one of my Mountain Bluet (or Bachelor Button) buds getting ready to open soon. (Excuse the blur but I was taking these pictures just before running off to work.).
I'm impressed with the intense color of the Aguga (Bugleweed); I think it's a very jolly little groundcover! (That's the only word that really describes my feeling about this plant.).
This is, I believe, a Monkshood (Aconitum) plant. I bought this one from a plant sale & am unsure of the genus and color. So, being the reckless "Devil-may-Care" kind of gal that I am, I'm going to assume it's the common blue Monkshood. (How daring of me!!) It's always exciting to have some mystery in your plantings, don't you agree! It's adds an extra air of excitement to one's life!! (One's obviously really boring & uneventful life!).
And here's the first open bud on what I call Wild Geranium. (They grow anywhere, in anything and smell divine!) .
I'm still able to enjoy the Forget-Me-Not's last hurrah. .

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While I was looking for the marker for the Jupiter's Beard, I found one for a plant called Gallardia. I can vaguely remember seeing this one at the local Farmer's Market plant lady's stand -- but ya know, I don't remember if I bought one!! I hope so! I looked it up online and it looks very, very pretty.

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See how exciting and mysterious my life is! I bet you're all jealous 'cause even at my age, I'm still so totally WILD!!

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(Or is that forgetful & disorganized? Hmmm? But at least my definition of excitement and mystery is, so far, inexpensive and safe! No bungie jumping for me!)

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Happy weekend, bloggies!

Thrifty Thursday May 20.10

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I'm Joining Thrifty Thursday at Tales From Bloggeritaville.
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I haven't thrifted a lot lately. This cold has thrown a wrench into both my blogging and my thrifting: one day, it makes you think it's going away, only to flare up again the next. But Sat afternoon after I'd spent a few hours in the garden, Adriana and I headed to Frenchies. Here are my purchases:
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This is a lovely white cotton blouse; it has a drawstring/tie in the back - $3

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I love skorts for the summer -- it reminds me of being a child in the 60's -- and this little blue plaid one from White Stag is really cute - $3.85

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I'm always on the lookout for new sleepwear. This pretty yellow robe ($3) will be perfect with my cotton nighties.

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And then I found this nice knee-length cotton peignoir set ($6).

Look at the pretty detail -- hearts & lace!

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And lastly, I found these towels for my eldest daughter who loves purple/mauve shades. (The colors in these pictures lie!!) Two bath towels and a bath mat ($3 each).

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Happy Thrifting my friends!