My new creation

I have been wanting to make stuffed animals for a while now...And I made my first yesterday!

It does look handmade a lot and when I look at it I feel proud and warm and fuzzy inside!!! You can see that this kitten had a little snack earlier....hehehe

I had never worked with fleece before and it kept stretching on the sewing machine! I'll surely know what to expect next time.

I have the crafting fever....I'm itching to create jewelry, stray sock animals and more fleece kittens....One of my Xmas gift from Dan was a work lamp with magnifying glass...I can't wait to try it...I might tomorrow 'coz we have no celebration scheduled! Which I find kinda cool, it's certainely different....and full of potential

Later!

Cold as a witch's tit....

That means that it is real, REAL cold!!! And the wind! OMG

I love to walk and it was getting difficult with the cold and the wind from the river....So I got some ski goggles for Xmas from Dan. And I got to try them on today! It makes all the difference in the world....The cold wasn't the same at all. And these are specially designed to wear with glasses...Delicious!

Next I give you the Gravlax Chronicles! It has been a couple of years since I made any, but salmon was on sale and it is a nice change especially since it will be ready for New Year's day!

For those who don't know Gravlax is cured salmon as opposed to smoked salmon. It is cured with kosher salt, sugar, dill,pepper and sometimes some kind of vodka or other alcool . You need to cut your salmon filet in half and place a generous amount of curing mixture in the middle, underneath and over the salmon 'sandwich' wrap in plastic wrap put a pan on top of it (in this case Pyrex!) that you will weight with cans. You need to turn it every 12 hours and discard the liquid after 3 days it ready to be thinly sliced and devoured!

It is delicious with a fennel salad. I took my recipe from Martha Stewart's hors d'oeuvres handbook. See you soon! :)

I scanned, I scanned!!!

Last night, on my to do list I wrote: Find postcards and put in frames.

In 2007 I had a vision for the bathroom..Why not a beach theme? Pale blue (aqua) walls, a lot of white, a chandelier, sea glass, shells...(see previous post...we are now just finishing the bathroom...LOL) We went to the Lachute flea market and I found these wonderful vintage postcards. I put them in a drawer for safe keeping and since we never started the bathroon redo, I forgot about them....and basically I lost them! What else is new? We got around to the bathroom in late August 2008 did the paint installed the chandelier, but still had some details to think of....I was still thinking about the postcards...but not finding them. On canadian Thanksgiving we went to OOB (Old Orchard Beach) and I got some frames at the Christmas tree shop for the postcards....And then I lost the frames...lol

I had a flash of genius this morning and I remembered where I stashed them and 15 min later I found the frames....Guess what? I need to trim them so they can fit....But I wanted to scan them first so I have an intact picture. I had to learn how to scan....install the software etc....But I' really proud of myself I did it!
Now to trim and frame!

New energy

Filled with new energy (or is it a sugar buzz???)

We decided to complete a couple of unfinished projects....First to clean and install the gorgoeus oval mirror. This is one of my favorite finds of 2008! One of my neighbor is selling his house and every Sunday night he takes out his trash....And me being a curious girl....I usually put my coat over my PJs and run over to see if there are any treasures....I found a coffee table base that is in the workshop waiting for a top. It will eventually go to Veronic (SD) for her living room-she's furniture challenged...lol

And I found this gorgeous mirror, full of snow and quite dirty, but I saw the potential....It was one of my proudest thrifting moments. It took nearly an hour to clean....all those nooks and crannies!

And we also installed the Old Orchard Beach frame I got more than a year ago at Cottage Decor (in OOB Maine). It fits perfectly with my beachy vision....The bathroom keeps looking better and better....We do move really slow when we fix something.....The bathroom is nearly finished and then on to the kitchen! It needs paint soooooo bad. We had painted the melamine cabinets and it chipped. So now even when I clean everything it looks dirty!!!

Merry Xmas!!!

Peanut (Pinotte) Wishes everyone a wonderful Xmas!

I was goofing around and I put santa's hat on peanut....Doesn't she look absolutely adorable? And kinda pissed off!

I love cats soooo much. They make every moment more fun! This year we celebrated Xmas on the 24th with Veronic (step daughter) and Joe (her boyfriend ). We had a lot of fun, played Guitar Hero III and stuffed ourselves. I often feel inadequate and leftout in dinner parties but not last nite. Everything was great! The food, the company,
the presents. Wonderful!!!
Today we went to my dad's place to feed the cats ( He's still in Spain toilling away). We watch a xmas movie and vegged out.

After we had supper at the Deer Garden, one of the best chinese restaurant in Montreal (real chinese-not the north american stuff-not that there's anything wrong with it...LOL) Delicious!

The barware tacky pump was a big hit!(see Dec 19th post). I can't wait to go back to the Salvation Army.....lol :)

Have a nice nite....

Meatball stew (Ragout de Boulettes)

I believe that you have as many meatball stew recipe as you have french canadian families.
This is definitely winter food. Eat that in California and you will die a slow and horrible death....LOL
I had in July once and couldn't move for 2 days....
To make this recipe (that is not written anywhere in my case) You have to start by toasting the flour for the gravy it tastes better than store bought. Then you season your ground pork with salt,pepper,ground cloves, cinnamon, a big chopped onion ,savory and chopped garlic. I had a bit of nutmeg. The day before I had made my stock by boiling pork hocks in water with celery, carrot, onion, bay leaf ,garlic and savory. After 2 hours I strain the broth and put it outside (covered of course) to cool so I can de-grease it in the morning. I take the hocks and remove the fat and the meat and put it in the fridge. Then I make the meatballs and roast them.
When the broth is de-greased, I heat it and start adding the toasted flour to thicken it and seasonnings too: salt pepper, ground cloves ,cinnamon ,savory and garlic powder. When it is the desired thickness (I play this by eye...as the rest of the recipe I tell you) and the desired taste I had the meatballs that have been drained to re-heat and the last 15 minutes the reserved meat from the hocks and add it to heat also. It is tradionnaly served with boiled potatoes. I added green beans and I garnished it with chopped parsley (it looks better) I can hear my dad saying: Did you put lamb neck in your stew? He askes me every year and I say: No dad, I can't find lamb neck in the boondocks (and besides it is not a big favorite here). I could make this recipe all throught winter, but for some reason it has to be made BEFORE Xmas!!! And if you read the post it is a LONG recipe to make....I felt like I ran the marathon after! Anyways we had some for supper and I have 4 dishes of it in the freezer (it freeze really well). Well folks, that's it for today! I hope to blog tomorrow about ..... hihihi

Thrift finds....

In the last week I was quite lucky to find these treasures....Some of them are now for sale in my Etsy boutique, some are for gifts...

For instance...take this handsome Bar pump (is there an official word for it????) Is a Xmas gift for Dan (who is into barware). I laughed sooo hard when I found this at The Salvation Army (I guess it's the pump...) I laughed for 2 days....I did go at night with some girlfriends after we had some wine....LOL!
On the same night I found this Hazel Atlas Ovide cream and sugar set...still bright and shiny!

The Royal Canadian Art Pottery mug is in top shape with both original tags...WoW! The tag from the manufacturer and the one from the store. It is deliciously tacky....
And what about the silver plate creamer? Delicious too lol! I love the shape...so retro!

last but not least a treasure from my church basement a super cute crab hand puppet...I shipped it as a Xmas gift to Ethan DND (do not destroy) the son of my flicker and etsy friend Mrs DoNotDestroy LOL. Not everyone embraces the concept of thrifting and recycling quite as much as Michelle (DND). So when I saw that crab, I thought of her son. I will be back soon because I need to tell you about the meatball stew (ragout de boulettes) and my visit to the Salvation Army 50% sale today!

Have a super night!

The tree, the tree we got the tree!!!

It has been a dream of mine for quite a while now...To go to a farm and choose my tree ( I don't say a tree farm because where I got it they grow so much more than trees....strawberries, corn, blueberries, pumpkins, asparagus, apples....). I wanted to go local because it is so important to me, because if you don't buy local then the local farmers will sell out and some developper will build condos again...do we need more condos??? I don't think so!!!

So yesterday we drive buy and there's nobody, so I call and leave a message and Elwood Quinn the farm's owner call us back this morning telling us he'll be in today. So we go this afternoon and I am aware that you can pick your tree only on weekends and I ask Elwood how it works and that I wished I could go and choose my tree and next thing I know we are following him (us in the car, him in his van) we stop in a big field and I look at the trees (but I love trees that haven't been pruned-with lots of space between the branches). Elwood says" just hop in the van I will take you to another field where trees haven't been pruned at all". He is quite a character full of stories and tales and I take advantage of it and ask him tons'o'questions, about the U pick and the fields and the asparagus.

Then I see it: the tree I remember from my childhood ! Only smaller coz I have a small living room. The farmer asked us if it was ok to cut it a bit shorter because the tree will 'regrow' in a couple of years...Of course I said yes! I hope to go back next year and see where my tree came from....Back at the barn Elwood offered us some warm cider (just like in the movies...) and told us a couple of tales from his ancestors.

It was such an amazing experience! Thank you God! Thank you Elwood, I hope to see you again and buy some amazing products from your farm!!! La ferme Quinn in Ile perrot 2495 boul. Perrot sudNotre-Dame de l'Île-Perrot, Qué.J7V 8P4
tel (514) 453-1510

Check it out!

Hum...Meat pies!!!

Monday I made meat pies (tourtieres). This is traditional french canadian winter food and served at Xmas in most households...

You can buy pretty good ones, but since I got the bestest (yes bestest) dough recipe in the world...Thanks to my friend and ex-collegue Chantal Cardinal (and one of the most accomplished cook I know...) I just have to make some....They truly are a joy to eat (for us meat eaters). The filling is a mix of ground beef and pork and bacon and leeks and garlic,onions and herbs and spices....

Usually I make the small ones because we are only two and I give some to my Dad and to my step daughter (who was a vegeterian at one point but could kill for some rib roast or proschiutto). This year I didn't find any small plates but a had a big bunch of new large foil plates...They came out perfect, so perfect actually I might need to make another batch!!!

My friend Chantal makes at least a dozen this time of year....

I eat mine with green beans or broccoli and fruit ketchup!

Delightful....Next time I will show you today's snowstorm...TTFN

Cold, sooooo COLD

Yesterday there were big waves on the Ottawa river and today presto-changeo ICE!!!

I never saw the river freeze so fast!

On the first picture the steam you see is the only spots were it's not frozen.

And the temperature dropped by time too with the wind chill factor it is minus 30 celsius (it's minus 22 F). My morning walk lasted only 10 minutes...LOL

Oh well I'm occupying myself by cooking....A vegeterian stew in the crockpot, a big borscht on the stove and I'm also working on tradional tourtieres (Quebec meat pies). No Xmas is complete (for me at least) without these delicious meat pies....Good eating!

And I'm also posting new things on Etsy. Business is picking up! How exciting!

Later!

Birthday Cupcakes

Yesterday was my significant other's B-Day (Happy Birthday Dan!!!).

I made cupcakes with butter icing, but since the household is on Weight Watchers I only served 4 (2 each) and froze the rest (un-iced). I'm sure the cake with be ok, but I don't know about the icing...

When I really needed my mother's advice on cooking, she was already in the hospital (and not knowing the time of day) so I could not benefit from her experience....I kept some recipes from her books but a lot of then weren't relevant anymore....So please people, get your family's recipes while you can! Now I am the gardian of Granmimi's (my paternal grand mother) little sugar pies (diabetic pies) and Rejeanne's (my mother in law) Fruit squares (another diabetic dessert...lol) When I say diabetic dessert it means that the whole thing is sooooooooo sweet; you will get diabetes!!! Or at least a good sugar buzz...

So much of our lives revolves around food...especially at this time of year...Let's get out our family recipes and make them, and celebrate the traditions!!!

It's beginning to look a lot like....

Yes, yes, yes you got it right... XMAS!!!

Since it was snowing I decided to install the wreath on the door...and technically I'm not cheating 'coz Monday is the 1st of December....WOW time sure flies! Also I'm in a big cleaning mode....cleaned out the fridge (I definitly don't do that enough....I saw some SCARY STUFF!), cleaned out the big freezer in the basement, cleaned out the can pantry...I had expired soup cans....I never looked at the date until recently, and I read an article on the dos and don'ts of giving to the food banks...They said don't give expired food(some people do that???) so that's why I was going through the canned goods. I had a can of cream of chicken soup expired since 2003..OMG!!!

Anyways all the expired stuff is gone and I made a big bag (of NON expired non-perishable food) to give at the drive.

And I have been baking...not the actual cooking of the cookies, but making the dough to freeze so I can bake it at my leisure....First baking picture using my turquoise Pyrex bowls are Pfeffernusse ( a big fave at my house) those are german spice cookies with pepper...Yum! And yes Dad if you're reading this I will bring some when I visit on Sunday...:)

Next baking picture...using the NewDots Pyrex bowls...Xmas shortbreads...Not a big hit at my house...LOL...Actually I'm the only one who eats them...It was my maternal grandmother's recipe...It's the only thing I have left from her and I hadn't baked them in a couple of years...so on I went my the shortbread. I like the green and red candied cherries and the chopped almonds.

Next Tuesday I'm going to the city..I will visit the chiropractor and the Salvation Army (heehaw) and after that a lunch with some friends I used to work with...TTFN!

Potato, potato

I say tomato, you say tomahto, I say potato, you say potahto, tomato, tomahto,potato, potahto let's call the whole thing off....

I tried today the most DELICIOUS potatoes...Fingerlings! I would see them on tv and in magazines...but fingerling potatoes hadn't reach my neck of the woods....(It seems that we get the new products last...like I live in Boondocks, Quebec!!!) Anyways, I saw them today at my neighborhood Maxi & cie and I couldn't resist...I rinsed them, patted them dry and sprayed some olive oil on them...put them in a roasting pan with thyme sprigs and garlic cloves...a sprinkle of salt and pepper....30 min at 400F....To die for....hum,hum potato goodness!

I didn't take a picture I was too busy eating them....lol

Kinda slow on ebay and don't let me get started on Etsy.....I guess these things can take time!

later readers...:)

Naughty, naughty girl!!!

I have been a naughty girl! No thrifting expedition....no Salvation Army.....And I didn't take a lot of pictures...

Basically I have been busy with getting rid of precious artifacts....by selling things in Ebay and Etsy and listing things is long; mesuring the box and weighing everything....

And like forever ago (nice phrase structure there!) I decided to make a quilt, I saved fabric and cut some squares, but that's it...So I started working on it ( It was on my "to do" list while unemployed...) Since I will go back to work eventually (euuuuurk) I need to put my pedal to the metal and get a move on!

And it is soooo cold here! 15 degrees for my american friends and minus 8 or 10 for my canadian readers....No snow! If it's cold I need the snow!!!

I had to pour hot tap water on one of my borders (yes i'm talking about gardening here) to thaw the soil so I could plant my fall bulbs....Brutal

The picture in my post is my mother's xmas lights...wow they still work...brought back a lot of memories...I wonder if somebody will buy them. Ebay is like russian roulette.....you never know what will be a hit! But cleaning the house has been a life changing experience...No joke, I feel so liberated!

Later my friends!

Tuesday's finds

It was very cold ,humid and grey last Tuesday in Montreal...Brrrrr!

I saw the same characters as I usually do...Don't ask me why, but the bulk of Salvation army shoppers I see are the same old chronies...lol

Anyways I found a 4 cup Pyrex Flameware coffee pot (without the insides), 2 Corelle saucer for the kitties and a Better homes and Garden book "Favorite ways with chicken" Those pictures are really funny today back in 1967 they were probably very chic and elegant! Ooohlala!!!
My Etsy boutique keeps me busy and non-vintage items I list on Ebay...Must clean the house!!! I made my first etsy sale Saturday and I was very excited! I hope I sell more things soon...:) This afternoon I will install my printer and try to scan things and print. I need to post some of those beautiful chicken pictures...lol
Have a nice day!

Idid it, I did it

I opened my own etsy shop!

It took me quite a while, but finally it's opened. I do need a place to send my overstock...If you know what I mean?

My shop will feature vintage linens, glass, pottery as well as vintage and handmade jewelry!

I will add many other items as time goes by, especially jewelry!

So stop by and say hi and start browsing coz' Xmas is just around the corner!

Thanks everyone and I hope to hear from you soon!!!

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6303407

vonlipi.etsy.com

Belated Salvation army post

Better late than never!!!

First of all this is the Pittsburg souvenir tray. I got it after a flickr member expressed an interest in it..It is already on it's way to the Pittsburg area. How cool is that?

Next I got this swatch of beautiful psychadelic shocking pink and orange fabric for 1.50$. I also found parts of Pyrex...A handle for Flameware (the set came with 3 pots and just one handle..can you see something wrong with this picture???) I mean when your pot is on the stove with a handle the heat makes it swell and you can't remove the handle....So multiple handles are a MUST if you have flameware! And lo and behold a double boiler lid for my Dad, he had the bottom, I gave him the insert and finally the set will be complete....fantastic

I need to talk about the Salvation Army personnel...They're a bunch of characters allright!!! But I must say Hi to a special cashier, I don't know her name yet, but everytime a price is missing on your items she just yells 25 cents!!! How cool is that!!! That is what I paid for the double boiler lid and the Flameware Handle! WOW! Thank you anonymous Salvation Army Cashier! Thank you!!!

Well this is my two cents...until another day

Sigh.......

On this very strange American election day, I feel very nostalgic and sad...I don't really know why

Maybe it is because everyday I close the garden more, maybe because i know that whatever the results of today's election my country will be affected by them....

Of course my blog is not supposed to be a forum for my political opinions, but I feel that sometimes the american goverment is bullying my goverment.... That for sure won't bring anymore positive comments on my blog...LOL

I was too lazy to take pictures of last week's loot at the salvation army.

I mailed a souvenir tray to the pittsburg region before I could photograph it and 2 items I found will be a small gift for Dad so I can't post a picture( he actually reads my blog...). Suddenly I started being more and more interested in vintage fabric...my dad says I have very powerful and strange genes!!!

I will try to post a picture 2 morrow after I come back from the church basement. And tonite, I cannot bear to watch the election, it stresses me too much...I will remove caulk from around my tub and my kitchen sink!

Later my friends

Church bazaar

Every year before Halloween the church near my house hosts its annual bazaar in the nearby school gym. I usually go there to purchase Phentex slippers (because they las forever!!!). Las year I found a small red refrigerator dish (sans lid ) for a quarter...So I was very hopeful for this year!

Well my optimism paid off! On your left is a picture of my loot.

4 Corelle saucers with Flamingo trim (for the kitties), 2 Glasbake custard cups, 1 Pink daisy 1 1/2 QT casserole with lid and a small McCoy violet planter for 2.50$. Imagine that!!!

It is a wonder I manage to find these treasures in a sea of people...It was soooo warm ( I was sweating from places a lady doesn't sweat from lol) and I was pushed and shoved and pulled in all directions. When I saw the casserole it was as is time stood still...there was silence and then I saw it, just standing there minding its own business....

Same with the McCoy. I just say to myself (aproaching the home decor table) wouldn't it be fun if I found a McCoy? Well ladida, I should play the lottery more often!!!

The pot just appeared before my eyes....I also managed to break 3 or 4 glasses with the lid of a Pyrex teapot (oops) they made me pick all the glass from the box (ouf!) but nobody was hurt!

I had a wonderful cupcake with white and turquoise icing (but I didn't manage to take a picture of it, I inhaled that cupcake...hihihi)

There was stuff for everyone and you could even have a hearty lunch for 3 dollars (sandwich, chips, soup, coffee and dessert).

After all that excitement I walked home with SO (significant other) while pulling my trusty buggy (just like in Brimfield Mass)....

I would like to give a shout out to my dad: Hi Dad! have a good day :)!!!

And to all my faithful readers (yes the 6 of you, lol) Till next time....Have a super day and Happy thrifting!

Salvation Army Tuesday

I didn't find any Pyrex, but that was expected because I have been having a lot of luck lately....Nevertheless this is what I found! A double boiler insert from Wearever to replace the one I had (It was all banged up and the lid didn't fit anymore...) for 2.99.

An uncandle glass (pyrex) for .39 cents (I gonna use that as a vase) and a Xmas kitchen towel (New with tags) for .29 cents. So a satisfying experience over all. It was good to go back to the Salvation Army, I had missed it terribly and I looooove de chase! The expectancy, the 'I might find a treasure' fealing...It is priceless!

Grey Day

Fall brings us really beautiful images...Like the wonderful sunrise I was lucky enough to see this morning.I was hoping for a gorgeous day like yesterday, but instead I got cold, humid and grey...Brrrrrrr
Even the cats don't want to go outside! I was able to tie up a lot of loose ends like rake some leaves (again???), finish closing the pool, taking a walk and continue to prepare the borders for winter. I even harvested the Jerusalem artichokes (sunchokes) I stayed outside 3 1/2 hours and it was time for a break!
So now I am inside witha lot less energy, LOL!
I am looking forward to my city outing tomorrow...Salvation army here I come!
The second picture is of the sunchokes in an antique egg basket, in case you had never seen any.
It is an heirloom vegetable and is native to North America, it was, at one point called Canada potato.

Have a nice afternoon!

The loot....

This is most of it...I need inspiration to make the most of the dishes...lol

The first one is called Tulips (I call it Black Tulips) a 1957 cradled Xmas promo. I was not aware that it was so old. I tell you it is MINT!!! No scratches on the design..I did not know it came with a cradle...I got it in Maine ( a Pyrex hot spot...), it was on sale...9.00 (not too bad!)

Second one is a Town & Country casserole with lid (I think it is a 474) I did not have that size...8.00 minus 30%...cool 5.60! Yippee...

Next a 471 Crazy Daisy 5.00 minus 30%.... 3.50 cool..Did not have that size in that pattern

Last but not least...A 471 pink Butterprint! Ho man! How cool is that? 6.00 minus 30%...4.20! I had never seen one! And actually I saw it back in September but I could not make my mind..I was in Pyrex OVERLOAD!!! So I was lucky it waited for me....all dirty with a dead fly in it...LOL

I also picked up 2 small bowls with an unknown to me pattern, but I haven't taken a picture yet...Maybe tomorrow....:)

I'm back....

Aaaaaahhhhh! The beach, the sun, the sand, the wind, the cold....

the temperature wasn't as nice as last year....but i dipped nevertheless...Did not stay long....But I dipped!

I had my fill of seafood and junk, had a lot of fun and shopped sooooo much...I thought I would never shop again!!! The Maine mall is sure big! The term GINORMOUS comes to mind...I am sure there are bigger malls out there, but for us it sure was big. The foliage was beautiful. I say goodbye to OOB for the winter, and hopefully I will return next year. Today is a quicky post, but I will return shortly with a Pyrex finds post....see you later....

Crazy fun....

Who knew just how much fun I could have with Pyrex???
A few of us were issued a challenge to do our own version of a photo in Pyrex in action...A sqare hostess set bowl with a candle and glass chunks as a center piece.
Since I have 3 of those bowls I decided to do 3 versions. Here they are!!!
Two things that bug me: I didn't have enough sea glass and my red bowl was too small!!! It would've looked better bigger with those big pine cones...Anyways it is a cheap, fast and fun way to do a centerpiece for any occasion....