Lots of DIRT

Monday morning bright and early (while I was at work THANK GOD) the crew came with the tractor and the tools and dug up the foundation.

I took pictures of before....

 

Ricky patio and past due gazebo

(notice the big top stripes on the fabric...10 years ago it seemed fine)

 

 We loved that place, spent a lot of evenings hanging out and chatting there.

but it was time to move one.

the patio was rotted and the fabric fried.

 

 

We spent the whole weekend dismantling it.

It was like a giant puzzle.

I'm glad we have tools, lotsa tools.

By the end of Sunday afternoon, it was in pieces by the side of the road.

 

They took the patio on Friday.

 

I found a lot of stuff in the dirt. Old cans, margarine containers?, ice cream containers??? and

this

 

A glass Coke bottle

I'm guessing it's from the 70's or early 80's.

 

All gone!

 

 

I can't look throught the patio door because it makes me queasy!

The trench is about 7 feet deep.

 

 

 

Bye bye blackberries!

To tell you the truth I'm glad they are gone. They are messy and take way too

much room.

If I ever get a bigger yard, I'll get some more.

 

On another note....I started yoga classes today and I'm really tired and achy all over.

lol the classes are a B-Day gift from Dan

That is so nice! The gift of relaxation.

 

I had a major thrift haul last week too but that is for another post!  

 

 

 

 

And the WINNER is....

I've had a lot of fun with this giveaway.

Of course I would've wanted tons of comments but I need to accept that I didn't.

Like Dan would say: It is what it is.

I used Random.org to help me decide who the winner will be.

And the winner is comment number 2!

I'll be darned! Mick you will get that funky bird peeler after all! LOL


CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

There will be Delphite in the Casablanca!

Please write and refresh my memory with your coordinates so I can send those fab goodies your way.

You'll have to tell your mother not to be surprised because you'll be receiving a box from Canada!

Delusions of Bobby Flay

On Sunday mornings at 10 on Food Network Canada we always try to watch  Bobby Flays BBQ Addiction.

I'm always awed with the ease he cuts an onion that I don't see in other Food Network chefs and heck he can throw anything on the grill and it looks good!

He's the one who inspired Dan in buying the smoker...Bobby Flays makes me believe I can do anything on the grill and once in a while I decide.....

Like this morning to cook breakfast outside!

Eggs and potatoes

Now the bacon is already on a cookie sheet on the grill...

Potatoes

Eggs...

Halfway through I always wonder what cockemanie idea I had because I don't have Bobby's grace and confidence.

But I was delicious nevertheless!

I'm sure you noticed the Butterprint casserole....LOL

I wish you a great week :) 

LAST GIVEAWAY TEASER AND IT'S A GOOD ONE!

What a week! A bit of advice of ALL employers in Canada: Give your employees more than one week of vacation the first year please!!!!!

Even if I go t bed early I'm still tired! I was on vacation on August 29th last year....and my body is  feeling  it. I only got a week because I became permanent in January 2012.

Next year I get 3 weeks paid vacation, yay!

This year will be a staycation  because we need to TCB (take care of business) all outside around the house because we have the big dig in September. Our ciment block foundation is leaking so we hired a company to dig out the foundation ,install 2 membranes, a french drain.....

I need to move some perrenials....

Now for the giveaway....

This little guy need a home....

A lonely shaker...

He is totally adorable!

And this is the piece the resistance that I kept for last!

Yes you saw that right.

A Delphite 502 fridgie complete with a Delphite lid.

There is a small chip on the lid. But a great piece nevertheless!

Is a recap necessary?

Here it goes!

Now remember this giveaway is only opened to my existing followers.

 You have until August 21st 2012 12:00 pm to leave a comment

RIGHT HERE!!! 

Have a great day folks

and

Happy Thrifting!

Best!

I had a super nice weekend and it feels like it was soooo long and leisurely.

I was a real bad girl because I didn't take a lot of pictures. We had a great yet tacky motel with a restaurant and bar (this is kind of rare) and the food was really good.

We got to hang out with my cousin Nathalie; she is great fun.

I was worried about thrifting.... Quebec is not the same as the rMontreal area. At a crossroad I was surprised to see a Friperie (thrift shop) in deep ruraL Quebec.
Now usually a friperie id more of a clothes thrift shop, but in this one we were lucky to find some goodies!

I got these great bakelite handle steak knives

6 for 3.50$

We tried them and they cut great

Next in line are some sweet lime and purple Phentex

crocheted slippers, new.

Now these are really hard to come by here in Montreal

so whenever I find some new, I buy a pair.

They are very handy on those cold winter nights....

Why are they hard to find?

Now Phentex is really rare (the good kind)

and the people who know how to make these are getting fewer by the minute!

Last but not least...

   

This delicious vintage Australia linen tea towel.

This will be a goodie in my B-Day Giveaway!

have a great night :)

    

More?

Well I'm happy to say that so far I've had a great week at work and at home.

I'm slowly but surely starting to understand the ins and outs of the insurance biz....

I'm in a great place mentaly. I feel strong, steady and eager.

I've joined the gym at work and just signed up for yoga classes; at work too.

I feel creative, crafty and thrifty!

So I feel this is a great place to be a couple of weeks before my 47th B-Day!

YIKES! 47? Well dahlin' it's the new 30!

Now you know where I'm going....Don't you?

It's time for another teaser! For my giveaway of course!

Now you've seen this fab critter....

And this beautiful restaurant ware Pyrex plater....

So what will be next?

How about....

Sorry for the glare in the picture.

A brand new Tupperware microwave steamer casserole and a Good Seasons vintage

dressing shaker.

Now is the time to say goodnight and sleep tight,

See you soon with more vintage goodies....

I hope!

Can you say ROADTRIP?

WOOHOO!

This is a different kind of road trip

1)It will be in Quebec

2) I will be seeing family on my Dad's side

3) I hope there will be yard sales/fleas/church basements....

 

Sunshiny Thrifty Finds

10 years ago, no make that 7 years ago I would have never looked twice at anything orange, or brown for that matter.

I'm a child of the 60's and my super thrifty mom would transform my dad's sweaters in outfits for me...brown,brown and more brown!

My aunt (the one that yelled at me about the will) crocheted a spider web sweater for me in brown,orange and yellow and it haunted me for years...

So now I love orange! Don't love brown yet but I'm getting there....

So here are my latest orangey finds!

A Seashore Trolley Museum Federal Glass mug

This brings back memories of my summer in Maine as a child with my parents.

 I got this in Hudson last saturday at the street fair.

Dan and I reached for it at the same time. This is barely used and will look fab in my house.

BTW we are already filling it with iced water!

And the best part is that it was made in Montreal, sweet!

I love my beautiful orange thermos carafe! 

And last but not least....and not orange but to die for nevertheless....

No this is not the franciscans stuff, to me it's even better!

It is made in France! OOOOOHHHH LALA!

It is called 'Les Étoiles' (the stars) and manufactured by Les Faienceries Continentales.

It came from the Salvation Army. Beautiful!

Well that's it for now.

If you are a follower be sure to enter my super duper birthday giveaway

RIGHT HERE! 

Sleep tight, stay cool

Drumroll please! LOL

Finally I was able to finaggle and now I'm able to download my pictures from the IPhone.

I'd like to begin my last saturday's lunch...We had read in the local newspaper that on the Vaudreuil/Hudson border was a BBQ luminary that would park his rig in a mall parking and do some real Q.

This is so rare in Quebec that we nearly couldn't wait to jump in our car and stuff our faces in BBQ heaven!

A juicy smoked beef brisket sandwhich with homemade slaw.

The sauces (homemade) were fantastic. I tried the medium bbq sauce and the creole mustard.

Major Yum!

To top it all off these folks were the friendliest.

They cater, weddings ,parties etc....

Now I'm looking for an excuse to book them!

They only use antibiotic and artificial growth hormone free meats from farms that

treat animals humanly. Another plus!

I was really impressed my the size of the rig....

Compared to my little dinky smoker!

Here's the chef Michael Phillips with the monster!

Check out their web site and phone them to see if they'll be in the parking on the saturday

you want to sample Q joy.

I was told that the pulled chicken was to die for and that is what I'll have next time

I'll stop by

(which might be tomorrow)

http://www.zeegrub.com/

By the way I was not paid for this post. I just bloged about it because it is delicious and they are super friendly!
The pulled pork looked amazing and the ribs too. I saw lucky folks buying sauces and racks of ribs to bring home!

not the same caliber!

This is the first time I used it.

You need to buit a fire to season it.

But this is for another post!

Now for the drumroll.....

This is the first thing to go in the giveaway

A cool bird vegetable peeler

A Pyrex RW Laurel serving plater.

The picture is a bit fuzzy. The paint is bright and shiny.

Of course you are aware that I can't show you everything all at once!

I will show you more another day!

Yarnstorming and a teaser

I,m so glad you liked the crazy crochet scupture! And this morning I typed artist who crochet and came to Montreal and I got this....

I would've loved to see the Wall street bull covered in pink and purple!

The name of the artist is Agata Olek and is based out of NY city.

Here's a link to her website, go visit her work will blow your mind!

http://agataolek.com/home.html

Now for the teaser....

Actually there isn't one because of technical difficulties and I feel bad about it!

I took pictures of some of the items included in my birthday giveaway and I can't seem to download them from my IPhone!

RATS!

I'll work on it so I can tease you over the weekend.

I want to thank everybody for signing up to the giveaway. It will be soooo much fun!

Gotta go! The crazy girls from Absolutely Fabulous did an Olympic episode!

Check them out on YouTube!

TATA!

A little bird told me....

That is was high time for a giveaway!

Mind you this is a special giveaway for my present followers****NO NEW FOLLOWERS PLEASE***

Why a giveaway? Well it has been a while and August is my birthday month so let's celebrate!

This scupture is near where I work on Sherbrooke st.

in downtown Montreal.

There's this performance artist (I will try to find her name)

who was on visit in Montreal and she crocheted clothes to enhance pieces of art

I totally love what she did for these guys because it is quite ordinary in real life.

But I digress!

About the giveaway....I took some pics to tempt you but didn't download them.

There will be usueful stuff, cool stuff, funky stuff and Pyrex of course!

Now you need to be a follower and you need to leave a comment before August 22nd.

Easy peasy!

Night night!