A nice month

I know that August has just begun...but I am feeling good.

feeling good in my new space, feeling good in my head...I finally feel like I belong.

I don't need a huge space, I don't need a trendy neighborhood....Turns out I needed a smallish duplex, in a quiet neighborhood and a wooden fence.

When we bought the house, there was no fence in the back and I felt uncomfortable sitting outside like an over easy egg...

but it all changed with this...

 How can part of a fence make so much difference?

I don't know and it is between my 2 ears for sure!

But it makes a world of difference!

We have been hanging out in the yard nearly every day!

 I can hear my babbling mini Niagara (really loud)

 And tend to my mostly herb garden.

 Today I felt so good and inspired by all the local produce that I am making a lasagna with lotsa vegs

inside....for the freezer and probably a Mexican lasagna for the freezer as well.

I have strong squirrel genes and I like to make reserves....

in case you are wondering...we are still not totally unpacked and that is quite

alright alright alright...

I will explain in the next post!

Be well and stay thrifty

Now what?

Now we are all looking in front towards the future and doing the bast we can.

 Of course it looks like a storm blew in and dumped shit all over the place...

I can vouch that on this date it looks much better !

and as 2 people suffering from different mental illnesses and one of them is just retired

and the other one is working full time...

we just do what we can everyday. 

slowly but surely

 And since I took these pictures , I sold a bunch of stuff to my life saver...

I cannot tell you enough how I am grateful I found this great quirky lady!

 in love with it

 More of the mess downstairs...

everyday it gets better, everyday I feel more at home!

We call this lamp...the pineapple lamp.

I have seen it all my life and for some reason Dan fell

in love with it....I officially gave it to her...

so folks that is our progress so far. 

red living room 90% done

Bedroom 80% done

Dining room 60% done

Kitchen 70% done

Basement 40% done since this is where the bulk of the mess is...

So it is truly one day at a time...and we need to 

relax and have fun...

so being optimistic in 2 weeks everything should be done...

LOL

I will keep you posted on that!

Thank you Dad

Dad I hope that somewhere in Heaven you can read this.....

I want to thank you for that beautiful house, I really am grateful for this gift. However keeping it was not feasible even if we really liked the neighborhood.

The cost of living in this beauty was too much for us and our peace of mind.

at one point in your life we need to realize what we can and can't afford and that is how the cookie crumbles.

Your friends were not shy in voicing their opinions....they were sad I was selling the house. That house was full of beautiful memories for them...but now I realize full of stress and sorrow for me.

 Getting rid of the books was as difficult as one of Hercules 

challenge! WORD

 Carport after 1-800 you know...

thank you guys, you were lifesavers!

 Last pic of the kitchen...I will miss those curtains...

 dining room and whatever space all empty now

the white living room before my friend Denise came

to pick up goodies....

I have endured my Dad's friends opinions and judgement for the last 3 1/2 years...

so here it is...

I am artistic, but not an artist. 

I do not have the same set of values you have.

and that is okay. 

doesn't mean that I am inferior to you....

yes I got a lot of that vibe

so I sold my Dad's house so I could provide for my girlfriend, 

my daughter and myself.

so on that note...

have a great evening 

and stay thrifty!

OMG

The house SOLD, the house SOLD, the house SOLD!!!!!!

What? What? What?

And it sold in less than 2 months...which is freaking amazing considering the price point.

All the stress fell and we caught this freak cold...If a cold and the flu had a love child!

That really kicked our butts...all the while trying to pack boxes, boxes and more boxes and trying to deal with the balance of my dad's stuff.

and working full time....so it was good times all around!

This is also a very emotional time as I am purging, cleaning and finding this I was not aware of.

 My Dad was as shy as he was exuberant...Yes it happens

When he told me he had been nominated for an Emmy award for Cirque du Soleil's Dralion

he also told me he would not go and pick it up in L.A.

This is when he received it at his workshop.

 I took this picture from the TV.

I was watching the documentary that was released 

the year after his death. It was like visiting with him.

 This picture is from Google. He was in his early 20's.

His teachers had him pegged as a fashion designer

but he loved the theater.

So selling his house and moving is a huge thing but

it was a necessary thing.

I do not see our life as scrimping and scraping trying to get by 

, to pay insurance and those crazy municipal taxes....

So of my Dad's friends do not approve...

And to those people I say fiddledee!

And to this fuzzy bellied cat I say hello gorgeous!

Yoda loves to sleep on her back! 

When we move in my Dad's house we only bought

a sofa and a staked washer and dryer for small places.

this move we needed a kitchen table and we wanted a Tulip table

but after seeing the prices we opted for a lookalike not really Tulip table

 and those will be our dining room chairs. we decided to

refurbish our old chairs for the kitchen.

And after trying 50 plus sofas we decided to keep the 60's black vinyl

3 seater and put foam and new vinyl on it.

 Last week on a buy and trade Facebook site, I read

the message of a young woman who had recently separated and had 

2 kids and she was looking for this we could donate.

So I gave her these. She was so grateful and happy and I did not have to list them and deal with

weird classified buyers...

 I had to empty my freezer and look what I found...

pork chops from 2015! and they are not even freezer burned! 

WHAT???

I am my parents daughter and I will thaw them out and cook them.

My mother was a penny pincher and even if Dad loved to splurge he was really cheap on food!

 We also got through our first move.

Yes we will have 2 moves.

All my Dad's nativity is moved, 50 boxes, all the wood working tools

the freezer, the extra fridge and some furniture.

So that clears a lot of extra place for new boxes!

Seeing this makes me so happy, I feel tingly all over!

We have a red room right now and we love it, so this was 

a no brainer!

I just fined baking Dixie's Orange Cake from 

Pyrex prize recipe. This was a challenge from the Facebook group Pyrex and everything vintage!

NAILED IT!

That's it for tonight...Suddenly I am very, very tired

Take care faithful readers!

Sunday Night

Between inspections, visits, service people and working from home ...Whenever I have a moment, I purge and pack.

Funny how I moved here only 3 years ago and I am discovered things I had forgotten about...

The Boo keeps telling me that it is because we have too much stuff! LOL

Today while I was washing Pyrex, I was reminded how much I love Pyrex and how much it brings me joy and I was really happy enjoying that moment in my present hurricane of emotions....

I was also happy to be working from home tomorrow because the weather has been crappy...today we had rain, freezing rain, hail , snow, wet snow and then all of them again....

Of course I am nervous about the roof, because the house is old and you see tons of stories of roof caving in on the news.....

but a light at the end of the tunnel...I heard water in the roof drains, which means everything is hunky-dory!

Sigh! I can now take a deep breath and enjoy my Sunday night!

Did not watch the Oscars but I saw Billy Porter's dress on the internet and I swear this guy lit the internet ON FIRE!

and that was amazing! Thank you Billy for your HUGE balls and the flair to pull it off!


As usual my pictures did not download, but I figured the problem! I need to open the laptop everyday!

 Instead I am sharing some of my fave

vintage advertisements.

I have never eaten canned wieners and not with sauce!

Have you?

This ad is a winner because of the Charcoal Snowflake Pyrex

Open Baker! oooooh!

And I have never tasted Spam...Even if I bought a can

last year....It is still in my cupboard...

In this one .....The eyes really got me!

I will add sliced olive eyes to ALL my dishes!

Getting back to the Oscars...I saw that Shangela (of RuPaul's Drag race fame)

made a fabulous appearance on the red carpet!

You go girl!

And I started to watch RuPaul's Drag Race last week and I am 

having so much fun!

Stay tuned for more house developments!

Rollercoaster

it is in these times that I cannot deny I suffer from mental illness.

Friday I felt like a deer caught in the headlights of life and yesterday I had a panic attack and Dan had to talk me down.

In case you need an update....in October 2018 we visited a duplex in Verdun, fell in love, bought it , and that meant I needed to sell my huge house on Le Plateau mont Royal.
House is on the market, we accepted an offer, inspection is in 3 days and I am freaking out because I fear the buyers might change their minds and be stuck with 2 houses....

Since then we went on a road trip to Ottawa, Ontario, had a great meal, thrifted but I did not find anything...On the plus side my Pyrex eagle eye is as honed in as ever! I can spot a piece of Pyrex a hundred yards away!

 All the following pictures are random, no real theme here.

My cat Yoda is not a cuddle but suddenly there is cuddle action..

WHAT???

 Are there any old time SNL fans here? If so I am sure you will appreciate

these Ambiguously Gay Duo action figures I spotted in one of my neighbor's

window. I love their sense of humor and would sure like to meet them before

I go. 

 My Dad picked up those 2 Italian funeral ornements quite a long

time ago, I remember them from my childhood. They were in his office.

and now I have them. the beading work is amazing but this is a kind of craft not everybody

is confortable with....

 I have seen this Empire dresser most of my life. It is a thing of amazing beauty

and I was oh so very happy that my BFF Jean-Francois wanted to give it

a good home.

It is now living on the north shore of Montreal.

On a newer note, i spotted these Vintage inspired Pyrex pieces

at the dollar store. I know, I know the quality is iffy but I like the design...

Okay I got one!

And by the way...today I feel so much better, so in control. 

so Que Sera, Sera...what ever will be will be

the future's not ours to see Que Sera, Sera!

so my friends, my faithful readers...if you feel scared, anxious, panicky...

please reach out to someone.

There should not be any stigma about mental illness .

 Most of us suffer from it one way or another

stay safe, stay thrifty

New Year!

After we agreed to put the house on the market...It was time for pictures!

That was nerve racking! Because that was then that it hit me...I was putting my house on the market!

This was HUGE! This was going to be life changing!

It think it went on the market on Boxing Day. It is very exciting and scary all at the same time.


Now for the resolutions...nothing too drastic this year....I am moving after all!

I want to read more. Real paper books not the online stuff (so far so good!)

Walk more. I want more days where I walk more than 10K (so far so good)

Sign up for a yoga or tai chi class

Bike. Once I move I will buy a bike and ride on the waterfront

Take up needlepoint. I have 2 vintage needlepoint patterns new in their wrapping and I can't wait to
work on them!

A nice pantry! I know this sounds funny but when I lived in the burbs I had a nice space to store canned goods. Here not so much.
So I am dreaming of organizing and storing a nice pantry with all the essentials.

Meal plan or big batch cooking. I am still unsure between both but I think the big batch will win.
I would love to have 5 meals in the freezer.
I used to be super organized in the burbs...but I guess the proximity (relative) of grocery stores really threw me off add the mourning, the depression...etc....
we are only 2 most of the time, but we never know when my stepdaughter might drop by and look all sad and lonely....

you get the gist!

Almost Over!

So after we bought the house....It was time for R&R in Vegas!

Actually that trip had been planned months earlier.

I was sure I would love Vegas because I love neons and bright lights, but Dad had been a couple of times with Cirque du Soleil and he hated Vegas!

Yes there are 2 Vegas, the glitzy glamorous place where everything is possible but scratch the surface and the despair is real close to the surface....

But it is a feast for the eyes!

The Bellagio's fountains are breathtaking.

 One of the Cosmopolitan's bars

Me with a HUGE pepper mill

Fresha Peppah???

Yes I had fun, yes I will go back. I won't go to a show on my first

day....too tiring

If I go back to the Stirling Brunch I won't waste time

with that weird lobster....

I will buy that tote bag the first time I see it not think about it, go back and 

never see it again....lol

I won't fly with Air Canada Rouge economy class...it is beyond cheap!

and then it was time to tidy, pack purge and get ready to sell my house!

Recap 2018 part 3

By October I realized that if I wanted to make a HUGE dent in my Dad's stuff I needed an outlet, somewhere where they would take a large variety of items....

I found those lovely people on Facebook and they have a second hand store in my new neighborhood.

They were a total godsend! and right now my priority is getting rid of stuff and making a bit of money and it makes them happy and I am happy so everybody is happy!

Here are some of the things they took

 So much copper! Yes there is a market for it but people like to pay $1 soon

I was happy to see it go.

 Pewter was my Mom's fave. I kept a couple of pieces

bit I was singing a song when it left....

 More copper....aaarrrggghhh!

 Brass anyone? The glassware I still have and I just might keep

the celery glasses because they make great vases.

 They did not want the duck family at first but they took them!

Woohoo! I could not stand these guys....

I kept an antique Chinese one for Peking duck

 Yes I sold this one but in the classifieds and well below market price.

I am against Pyrex that is so expensive so need to second mortgage your house!

I bought this one in early 2018 for a really good price and I made a profit while

making a husband really happy to find a great gift for his wife for Xmas!

Is that a win win??? YYYEEESSSSSSS!

I French those chairs are called Burgers and I've seen them all my life.

I have a picture of Dad holding me on my first Xmas and he is sitting in one of those.

well they were from the early 1900's and would have benefited from a total makeover.

They were ripped up by claws...kinda scratchy and smelly so out they went....

sigh....

and then I fell in love! Every Thursday night I would check the duplexes for sale....

and it was always the same listings....crappy buildings....weird renos....a new trend is totally opening

the space even the bedroom.....NO just NO!

 I saw it on Friday night, I left a message to the realtor. He called me back on Saturday

On Sunday we visited, we made an offer and it was accepted all in the same weekend!

 I dream of that kitchen at night...heated floors ...what???

It is so square....and plumb and white and shiny.

 I love the floors....

I have a basement, I have a basement lol

that is so exciting to me.....

Thanks for bearing with me! I was sure by January 5th I would've posted my resolutions...

I still haven't been to Vegas!

That is for another day

Be well my friends

2018 Recap part 2

Starting in June it was PURGE time!

and I started selling stuff in the classified.

 My Dad collected Flameware from Pyrex...so all I did't want I listed on Facebook

 You can't tell but underneath the kitty and the throw was

a beautiful Mid-Century report turquoise chair.

It was beautiful but so uncomfortable!

I hope the new owners are happy with it!

 Just a small collection of my Dad's pitchers

I found a good home for them...

 This beautiful Teak leaf table was listed on the classified and 

went to a good home.

We sold 2 of these chairs and kept the third one.

we also sold patio furniture, a smoker, a planer, a router with bits...

and a Queen duvet cover, a pink coffee maker....

and much stuff I am forgetting about!

So right now I am too tired to continue....Sorry

balance of recap hopefully tomorrow!