Seen Around

I love posting about interesting things I see while on the road.

Our latest road trip took us to Kingston, Ontario.

Once the capital of the Province of Canada....for just a short time . It remains an important military installation.

The old town (downtown ) is just lovely, quaint and great for unique shopping.

Here are things I saw  there, on the way there and on my way back.

 From the Brockville Goodwill, sad, so sad

 From a Kingston DVD club.

I want one (a blowmold just like this...)

 This machine really cracked us up.

Who knew the Dan meister wood worker extraordinaire had another job on the side?

In Montreal no less....

 Happy lovely mishmash from Gannanoque, Ontario

 Nice sunburst!

 The funny thing is my mother in law had the exact same clock

over the sink in the summer kitchen attached to her RV!

Whatever happened to it?

I don't know!

I bought a tiny gift for Dan, but it is still a secret!

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!!

Happy 4th of July o all my american friends!

Sorry I didn't post this morning, I was on the road.

I hope you all had a wonderful day of celebration.

I'm pretty sure I've shared this piece of Pyrex before....but here it comes again...

                                             My bi-centennial Pyrex mug . It holds a special meaning to me
                                             because I first went to Maine in 1976.

                                          I saw fireworks over the ocean and I am pretty sure I bruised
                                          my coccyx when I slipped and fell on a pointy rock on the shore.
                                          That was an intense pain!

                               We went road tripping in Ontario and I spent only $2.25. I got the Brown Homestead
                                casserole for my Dad because it is his favorite size to reheat leftovers in the oven or
                                 make smaller portions. He only has a faded yellow one , so an extra one with a lid
                                should be really handy.
                                 The little blue dish is Seetusee Glassware handmade in Portage La Praire Manitoba
                                 , they were crafted between 1960 and 1975. Who knew they were collectible?
                                  Each piece is hand painted and the back is gold pigskin....
                                 You should checked them out in Ebay.
                               
                                 We had a very enjoyable lunch at Dianne's Fish Bar in Kingston. We had just learned                                     of the restaurant by watching `You Gotta Eat Here` on Canadian Food Network.

                                  As much as I enjoy driving and thrifting....I am glad we will be staying home for the next few days to take care of business!

                                  Be well!

A tale of 2 lamps....

Last saturday we hopped in the car and headed west for an end of vacation roadtrip.

Now it's no surprise that we were heading to Kingston, Ontario.
 We made all the usual stops including one at the Brockville Salvation Army to donate a big box of paperbacks and dvds (we like to spread the wealth).

The lady behind the counter was so happy we were donating stuff, so kept thanking us and running all over the place.

Of course we stopped for lunch in Gananoque; The Pig Iron (of course) for some to die for brisket. Connected to the restaurant is a coffee shop and to it a clothing store and to it a vintage furniture and lighting store.

We decided to start with the furniture store....I took a lot of pictures but the lighting was dim and you can't see anything.

Anyways we found a fantastic lucite hanging lamp at a reasonnable price. It is more than we would pay but in Montreal and the net they are usually priced more.

So for $55.00 we bought this sweet lamp

 

We were real happy with it and took it to the Pig Iron for lunch.

The place was packed! It's not hard when the restaurant has about 12 indoor seats and

it's raining buckets outside. That is too bad because the terrace is really charming.

 

After lunch our next tradition is to work off a couple calories walking at the Gananoque Flea.

It's is a small but entretaining flea.

I tell you if I lived there I would have a booth!

 

Just beside the entrance what do we see?

 

Yes you guessed it!

 

Another lucite lamp!

 

 

This one was considerably less.

 

Okay it was $12.

 

Yep 12 bucks!

 

Now Dan asks me what should we do? BUY IT OF COURSE!

 

If push comes to shove I'll just sell it in the store and that's it.

 

Dan didn't want to go back and return the first one for ethical reasons and I agreed.

And I also think that Dan bonded with the shop owner; they had a loooonnnngggg discussion

on mid-century teak furniture....I tried to stay interested but not a lot can keep me from my brisket sandwhich with horseradish sauce!!!

 

We need to support funky independed stores. Otherwaise we'll soon be swallowed by

The Gap, Homesense, Target and what not.

 

Now don't misunderstand: as much as I looooove Target it should not rule the world

althought it might do a better job than our goverments!

 

So now we have 2 lucite lamps! Really what are the odds, in a 2 horse town...

 

The yellow green one works but I have no idea if the orange one is functional. I will find out over the weekend.

 

And I will keep you posted of course 

 

Going back to work after a week's vacation has been a challenge.

I'm happy to go back, my job is enjoyable, not that stressful

but my energy level is REAL LOW!

 

I'm taking my vitamins but I feel I have no energy and have too much stuff

to do at home!

 

I'm sure I will get back into the swing of things real soon.

 

Now sleep tight and don't think of our lamp dilema, LOL

 

Next time I'll share a new spot we found for sweet,sweet mid-century decor.

 

Night night

 

 

 

Seen in eastern Ontario

So last weekend I got to enjoy my B-Day gift. I got to go on a roadtrip to Kingston , Ontario. I love that area, the vibe, the thrifting, the seaway, the colors, the food....

Here some of the stuff I saw:

 I nearly bought this, really! But when I grabbed the box, it smelled like old lady and dirty hair! EEEEWWWW!

These 2 casseroles have been at that flea forever (in flea market talk, it's more than a year). Old orchard is not one my fave patterns and I'm proud to say I've resisted bringing it home.

Hello there Jabba! I nearly bought this....let's just say that I know some Star Wars nuts real well...

But I finally left it in Kingston.

I fell in love with this evil eyed kitty but it was not cooperating for the picture!

OoooH! Did I just spy some Pyrex? Too bad I have them all!

Does that pattern ring a bell? It's just the same as Homestead from Pyrex but on a fondue pot.

On the way we stopped at Gananoque for lunch at the Pigiron Barbeque. Man oh man what joy!

They even serve homemade lemonade in a Mason jar. It was the perfect drink to wash down all that BBQ!

Here's yours truly waiting for her chow.

Here's the fabulous pulled pork sandwhich

Let me just say that the brisket with horseradish sauce was even better but I never got to take a pic!

Now I'm rested and full of energy for more thrifting!

Have a great night and yes I found some Pyrex but haven't taken the time to take some pics! 

WEEKEND! HEEEEEEEHAAAWWWWW!

Ok so I wanted to have a lenghty post on times changing and the end of another era.....well that is for another time!

I want to shout from the top of my lungs that HALLELUYAH THE WEEKEND IS HERE!

I know, I know, I've already posted about the unrest at my workplace but I can't resist an update! Well , it's not really an update....

This is the company that told me I would get a permanent job by September for sure....NOT HAPPENING!

I'm still happy to get up in the morning and still thrilled to handle cheques and assorted payments, however I'm not feeling the love from my boss and I don't think they will renew my contract.

In a twisted way I think my boss is blaming me because the training was crappy; like I didn't learn fast enough. But really what is there to learn when they don't teach you anything or when they do it's so fast you don't even know what hits you so you can't ask questions your brain can't process it fast enough!

So now for a change of pace! No nudie bar or chip wagon or asian joint....

Really this is Roadtrip time....time to relax, thrift,nibble, thrift, relax, drink coffee, thrift some more, have a cocktail, supper and thrift some more!

This is what I chose for my B-Day gift to go on a road trip to Kingston, Ont! The road is so lovely, we take the old hihway most of the way.
The views of the St-Lawrence nd the Seaway are breathtaking and littered with little thrifts. And Chip Wagons....you can always get a snack in western Ontario.

It's the second place (besides New England) that I've fallen in love with. I just need to visit Cornwall, Iroquois, Brockville, Gananoque and all the litle places in between!

That sign is so cool, vintage and not politically correct at the same time!

That is probably the smallest bar in Ontario!

This Chip Wagon is in Brockville, Ont. Just so you know, it's pre-molded patties with crap in it not real meat!

STAY AWAY!

But these beauties are docked in Kingston! I can't wait to see them!

I might just get some of these.....If I'm lucky!

I wish! I can't wait to see what we dig up!

Have a nice weekend and a fantastic Thanksgiving!

Be sure to give thanks for all your riches vintage or new. Life is a gift to be fully enjoyed and be grateful for.

Woohoo! Roadtrip!

We left bright and early saturday morning. I was imagining tons of yard sales....after all it was Labor Day weekend! The weather semi sucked, some rain,wind and chilly temp. And there was not a lot of goodies by the side of the road...

I found those cuties at one of the first yard sales. It was full of gorgeous but heavy stuff: A wood burning stove,a carved bed, chairs etc...We have a small car...so I only took the tins (they are still full!).

 

This adorable coffee set I found in Brockville. The insides of the coffee pot are missing so it's now a tea pot!

It was made in England in the 60's...SWEET!

 

We stayed at the Radisson and this is our view....

Not too shabby!

We took the last room (lucky) and at the restaurant we took the last table (weird). We are creatures of habit. I'm a firm believer in the phrase: If it's not broken don't fix it. We always eat at Café Amadeus a nice little quaint crack in the wall kind of restaurant. The food is austrian and delicious! The portions are huge and we always take the leftovers in a doggy bag. There's a fridge in the room and we ALWAYS travel with a cooler. When we go home the next day we have supper all ready! How thrifty and practical!

We walked and walked and froze. Frozen people on a stick! We left home with t-shirts and shorts (capris), but the temp kept falling; we had to buy fleece jackets to keep warm and I lost my voice....

I also found this...

a dark green eeg plate to go with the S&P hens I found the other day!

On the way back we stoped at a yard sale that just had boxes on the grass, some closed. I opened all the boxes and found some antique canning jars, I asked for the price and they were 25cents each! I took them all! As you can see, I already put them to good use!

2 small and 3 large Crown canning jars with the glass lid. In the pink one I have pickled red onions I made last night, delicious and so easy to make! I cut a red onion that I placed in the jar, I heated 1 cup of white vinegar in the microwave and zapped it for 2 mins, I added some agave syrup to taste and poured the solution on the onions. They were ready to eat in 30 mins. I stored them in the fridge after.

They are great on a salad!

I was inspired to make these after having lunch at the Keystorm pub in Brockville on Sunday. Their salad was delicious and had pickled red onions! I had my all time fave sandwich...A Reuben! Those are very hard to find in Québec! So whenever I see one on a menu, I have one! I just love the sauerkraut, cheese, meat combo...LOVE!

Come back tomorrow as I will blog about a fab flea market for Vintage Thingy Thursday!

More from Henry!

I was informed by Henry yesterday that I had forgotten to load the lunch pic where he had a big bowl of vietnamese soup. So here it is!

That was one hot soup! the waitress asked us if we wanted hot and we said medium!

Henry is enjoying the harbor view from the hotel room. Isn't gorgeous? The ice is just beginning to form...And believe it or not, we could open a window! I'd never seen that!

Here Henry is enjoying a hearty breakfast of eggs,bacon and hash browns at Morrison's (great dinner)

Henry loves tea and took the opportunity to shop at Cook's fine food for last minute gifts...

After all that excitment Henry waited for us in the car while we shopped.

Then we went home after a brief stop at Value Village....

At home Henry went straight to bed! That was one tired little Xmas elf!

Delicious Weekend!

Can you believe that this is what we saw from the hotel room? WOW! I'm still in awe of the view! And all of Kingston too! It is a great place to visit. The hotel was very close to the main shopping and walking strrets so we just left the car in the hotel's garage....
To get there we took the freeway until Iroquois then we took the old road. There was a lot to see,charming towns, farmer's markets,thrift shops...

We explored some salvation army shops, but nothing caught our fancy. Nice antique malls...too expensive! You know it's true!

It seemed I had been in the car sooo long I wouldn't unfold...lol

With Kingston it was love at first sight! We so need to go back! We took way too much time to get there (we stopped at each and every thrift store we saw).

We had a nice german supper at the Amadeus cafe-delicious snitzel ans spaztle! Another hit...

Let's just say that at 9:30 I was fighting off sleep all that thrifting and walking and eating!

Road Trip!!!!! And banana bread

While spelunking in my big coffin freezer last week I spotted a big ziploc of frozen bananas...Hum! Time for banana bread! Not only it is delicious but I get to show my Pyrex loaf pan...and I can bring some on the ROAD TRIP!

We don't celebrate Thanksgiving (Canadian Thanksgiving) by making the big meal and having a lot of people over, we celebrate by going on a road trip! In 2007 & 2008 we had beach extravaganzas in Old Orchard Beach Maine but this year we're going west.....To Ontario!

Kingston Ontario. I have never been there....It looks to be real cute! I have made some Google maps for some fleas....Can't wait!


YUM banana bread with butter...everything takes better with butter (or bacon) or cheese for that matter. I won't be posting the recipe because I concocted this one from 2 different recipes...It is delicious and for the first time in AGES, I do not lie, the bottom is not burned! It must be the Pyrex! One more reason to LOVE the Pyrex!

Back to the road trip! lol I feel pretty scatterbrains this morning....From what I saw on the net...We will be swimming in antique shops and flea market! Good times!

Have a great Thanksgiving, Columbus Day or weekend!