In the garden

My Dad's house has a special garden.

It is a secret oasis. I have been told that people could never imagine that this kind of place existed in Montreal...

 Meghan is enjoying quiet time on her private island...

 A quiet green haven

 Do I spy a pink flamingo?

I love hearing the cool gurgling of the cat's fountain.

Yes my Dad had this fountain installed for his cats...

I have trouble wrapping my head around the fact that this is my garden....

The accountant/executor is being a total mean lady and doesn't share info at ALL

I am worried that she doesn't follow the steps as she should.....

this adds up to my anxiety BIG TIME!

If you are looking for me...I will be by the fountain chilling....

Ready!

So 2 of my thrifty finds are ready to share....

First one is definitely a guilty and secret obsession. I LOVE LE CREUSET!

I will try to keep this in check and not flood the apartment as I have with Pyrex....

When Dad passed I found out he had quite a bit of Le Creuset, some badly damaged, I kept the good pieces.

On our day trip on Saturday, I was really excited to find this....

 A nice Le Creuset gratin dish!!!

It was only $6.00! Any Le Creuset under $10 is a bargain!

I have big plans for this dish! Like baked gnocchis...

or maybe some enchiladas!

Next is this little guy!

Hello Frosty! I saw this at a perpetual yard sale...

It is opened 6 days a week except on Wednesday. we stop by

every time we go to Ontario. 

I never know what goodies I will find...

Vintage Coca-Cola glasses, vintage OJ glasses, Vintage cookie tins, Pyrex.....

I lost 2 blowmolds last winter, so I was really happy to find this....Dan (woodworker extraordinaire) paid for it.....

Aaaaahhhh Thrifty goodness!

This feels sssooooo good!

AFK

If you're familiar with The Big Bang Theory you might know that this means Away From Keyboard!

I have been AWOL and AFK for quite a while.

Grief kicked my ass and I had several meltdowns (normal) and I went to see my family physician who

prescribed a medical leave....

I just could not cope anymore, I felt so overwhelmed and helpless....

I am told I looked like a deer caught in the headlights! And I felt the same as well.

I felt so paralyzed and lost.

all those books, dvds and cds! 100 facecloths , 70 obelisks , hundreds of eggs.....I just wanted to make it all disappear !

I have been cataloging, packing and cleaning...I sneeze all the time and everyday I have new zits....

Today I took a day off and we went on a wee roadtrip.

I really like the vintage Montreal tile but felt the $9.99 price tag was too much...

 Same here! Who pays  $24.99 for 3 dinner plates and a dozen salad plates...

It is Corning Ware after all not Wedgewood!

  Ditto! $14.99 for 6 saucers???

REALLY?

This was a bit better but I have all the lids I need!

 JAJ Pyrex, It is basically all I've seen lately

 From the Brockville, Ontario Sally Ann

 I nearly bought this platter...

It is so cute and a steal at $1.50!

Instead I got this adorable holly serving dish for $1.00

I have a couple of other pieces but I am so tired I can't remember the pattern name

for the love of God!

It was a glorious thrifting day and I will share

my other finds as soon as I finish cleaning them up

Sleep tight!

The glory of potted cheese

I believe I blogged about this before...once or twice!

But making a jar of it filled me with joy!

For me this is free cheese...yesssss!

On Monday morning I decided it was time for a freezer clean up. I threw out a bunch of mystery zipper bags and pieces of stale bread. I fished out broad beans, smoked salmon and shrimp to make a nice freezer supper and I spotted my freezer plastic container labeled Potted Cheese....It was full

Time for POTTED CHEESE!

This recipe is from England. You take all the bits of cheese lying around in your fridge...I know some of you will go : Whhaaattt? we never have any bits of cheese lying around!

Well I beg to differ. You know that dried piece of cheddar you are about to throw out? Put it in a labelled freezer container, and keep adding over time.

Once the pot is full, you can defrost it or leave it until you crave something different!

I usually cut the cheese a bit before freezing.

This time I had cheddar, gouda, havarti and mozzarella .

I put the cheese in the food processor (as you can see in the picture, my vintage 1989 Cuisinart)

I added seasoned salt, paprika and marsala wine

I believe you can add about any spice or dried herb.

It is great with white wine too. Beer could be nice....

after whizzing to a smooth consistency, I put it in a 2 cups (500 ml)

Mason jar or 2 smaller ones.

Wait a couple of weeks for the flavors to blend and serve as a spread or on toast or crackers!

It will keep for several months in the fridge.

Enjoy!