School's Out for Summer.....

Well, the first day of summer vacation is being draaaaawwwwwnnnnn out to its inevitable closure with a bit of help from a) friends, and b) wine.  So. Updates. Some of the plants in the last post are still alive. Ha. And some are not. The cream was sour when I poured it in my coffee this morning but my SWEET children went  to the store for fresh cream. How nice is that. And friends have been here until the wee hours. I suppose it's bad policy to post when one's had wine. oh well. here's to summer!

Outside

Today was the first non-rainy day in ages. I didn't have the energy to cut the lawn which is getting fairly deep... but I did have the energy to plant the few flowers I bought last night into my planters on the back stairs. I have a policy of trying never to spend money on flowers so I limited myself to $5 - total came in at just $4.48! I'd much rather divide and share plants and spend my hard-earned cash on wine!

Here are the results of my puttering...
Most of my planters are filled with various sedums that somehow survive the winter in the garage. In late spring I pull them out looking all pale and stringy. Within days they have perked up and turned their lovely pale and deep greens and burgundies. I usually add a few cheap annuals for colour - this year deep purple petunias, lighter purple alyssum and a white lobelia.
The collection on the wall started when two hubcaps appeared out of the melted snowpiles near our driveway one spring. Now anything round (that should be trash!) makes its way onto the wall.

More recycling in the garden...
Yup, it's a toilet tank, but doesn't it look like one of those really expensive ceramic planters? It's filled with chunks of styrofoam packaging to make it light enough to move into the garage in the winter. Note the bits of broken teacup. And a broken teaspoon handle. I don't know.

The toasters are a big hit. My dad gave me the first one (at the bottom). It didn't work but he thought I might like it for decoration. The second one (middle) came from a friend who said "It's to add to your collection." I said, "I don't have a collection." She said, "Now you do." The third was a christmas present for my husband. It made one piece of toast and burst into a tiny flame.

After perking up the planters,  I decided to tackle the back porch. It's a bit neglected. I started with this candle holder which I never use because a) we never hang out on the back porch at night and b) I'm a bit afraid of putting flame next to this obviously tinderboxy porch wall. So, I put some creeping thyme that is overtaking my other garden into these little pots. I hot glued them on so they won't be swept away by a vigorous wind.

You can se the planter above the chair. The bunting was moved from the front porch this spring. I like it here. It gets more flapping action. 

Finally, my favourite putter of the day. On the right is a candle holder that hasn't had candles since I left the glass holders in it over the winter. They filled with water and snow, then froze solid and broke. I've filled these ubiquitous KW teacups with creeping thyme and one morning glory each. They too are hot glued to the candle rack. The wreath has an ingenious hidden bit of dirt in a slice from a juice container. It's tied on at the bottom and filled with the thyme. There's also a wee plastic bag at the upper left with more dirt and thyme. I feel this will likely fail but it looks cute today!

Only 10 more working days until summer vacation. Not that I'm counting. 

Calypso!

Just received this urgent email from my pal C. She found this at Sally Ann (aka Salvation Army). Note the price tag ($1.00!).

Lovely.

Sometimes you can't tune a piano...

I just changed the image to the right of my blog posts yesterday to a photo of our new computer desk. It's a lovely old piano (late 1800s) that can't be tuned anymore (ok. it can be if we replace the strings to the tune of $2600+). We've been debating what to do with it for years and, lacking any woodworking skills, our options seemed limited. Then I thought I might be able to just remove the front panels and somehow store books in it. Having removed the panels to reveal the lovely wood and workings I suddenly had the brainwave - computer table. Add it fit perfectly! I would eventually like to replace the white board over the keys (an old cupboard door that I needed to saw about 1cm off of) with a heavy piece of glass so you could see the keys. The cool thing about the piano desk is that it still plays. You can ping the strings directly, work some of the keys below the board, and even just sneeze (!) to get some lovely out of tune sounds from the piano.

Then today I was perusing Core77, a very interesting design blog, when I saw this!

Secret_spaces_repurposing_a_piano_into_a_hidden_workbench

The post shows how they did it. (My project was WAAAY easier!)

Smell-o-vision

Just for the Aussies who are heading into winter, I present pictures from my Canadian garden as we are deep into spring and soon summer. I wish I could add a scratch-and-sniff option! The scents this week are... delicious!

Fading already, we begin with the lilacs. The scent is gorgeous, so much so that when they first burst into bloom I bury my face in every lilac bush I encounter on my way to work! (Think "grandma's eau de toilette")

Hard on the lilac's heels are the summer phlox (?) a tall weed really, but the scent! My husband thinks its a bit cinammonny.

I could smell spirea all the way home from work today and I was riding my bike! It always takes me back to the yard I grew up in. This one is too close to the house and seems to be affecting the foundation so we may have to move it this year. Hope it survives!

This was Buster's favourite sleeping spot. The flowers don't smell but the leaves are lovely. It's catmint.

And what I always feel is a secret treasure, the lily-of-the-valley. Probably because I'm the only person in Ontario that isn't overrun with it! (Another classic granny perfume)

COMING SOON:

This one is just about to bloom, but the scent is in the leaves - sage! On a hot day, you can smell it as you brush by.  

Can you see the tiny ant on the big ball. It's trying to open the next smelly beauty - peony. I've been babying a few of these for years and finally get enough blooms to bring a couple into the house (after I've given them a good shake to dislodge the many ants!) Another one you just want to stick your face right into...

Finally, two little bouquets from the garden in a couple of milk-glass (probably fake) vases. (And an over-the-top flowered table cloth!)

 Cheers!

Life after Life

This is just to say I've been reading Kate Atkinson's new novel, Life after Life, all day. It's wonderful. And I've still got half the book to go. And it's supposed to rain all day tomorrow. Life is good.

Finished! Last night I was so close to finishing this book that I went to bed at 8pm so I wouldn't be up reading until after midnight. SPECTACULAR. I love this book. I highly recommend you get on the waiting list at your library ASAP! (And then hope for rain...)

Dying and un-dying

Our cat, Buster, died this winter, having lived 17+ years, outliving his twin Angus, surviving (and healing from) feline diabetes, and giving us more pleasure than I'm sure we deserved. He was lovely.

I'm always taken by coincidence and serendipity, which doesn't make me unique - it's a common human trait or so I've read. Currently, I'm reading Christopher Hitchens "Hitch 22" which was written before he knew of the cancer that eventually killed him. The version I'm reading is the paperback (but e-book) so it has a preface that he wrote knowing about the cancer. Yesterday I read the first chapter in which he talks about reading about his own death because of a typo in an arts magazine ("the late Christopher Hitchens...."). He continues to talk about what that does to people who hear the news of their death before they die (Mark Twain, et al).

Then, when I came home from work, I found that someone had done a street-view goole-map of our house. And there, on the lawn, in his usual sunny spot, was Buster our cat. As alive as ever.

Tada!

This morning I took a quick look at librarygirl's recent post at livinginthekingdomoftoomuch.com to see -drool- that she had a new Winkle - a pattern I'd never seen before called "Sombrero". I was feeling a little blue as I headed to the dentist, thinking that I hadn't found a new Winkle for aaaages. THEN on the way to work, finding I was a little ahead of schedule, I swung by my local thrift shop and LO AND BEHOLD:

It's a serving bowl in a pattern called "Agincourt", a totally new one for me. The colours are gorgeous. And the price, at $3.00, was more in line with what I'm willing to pay than the recent Rushtone serving bowl that they had priced at TWENTY ONE DOLLARS!

I actually had a happy little thrill when I picked it up. Aaah. A lovely way to end April.

__________________________________________

In an effort to control my propensity to hoard, I don't often buy dishes that are NOT Winkles, but sometimes I just can't help myself. Here are a few recent cuties.

My new favourite coffee cup - front...

and back... (bottom says "Woods England")

LOVE the texture on this plate (back is really hard to read as it's stamped into the plate, rather than printed. I think it says "Codela Spode"? Any guesses?)

Lovely apple blossoms (surprisingly called "Blossomtime", by Royal Swan, Staffordshire England)

and finally these cute sandwich plates ("Nestor Vellum" Coral Island, Swinnerton's, Staffordshire, England).

Cheers!

In My (Egg) Cups

Finally! It's been possibly months since I've seen any Winkle stuff in the thrift shops hereabouts. That is, of course, not counting the Rushtone serving bowl that was at St. Vincent de Paul ("Vinnies") priced at... $21.00! So today was a nice surpirse and not where I expected it. I don't usually look at the shot glasses (I have a couple - how many do I need? But I was scanning nearby and caught these in the corner of my eye.

The stamps on the bottom are a bit mystifying. One says Made in England and the other two say Staffordshire England. The one with Made in England might be from a different batch because the transfer is much sharper than on the other two. I know they are Winkles because they match this plate from a gravy dish set. It's called "Autumn".

And I bought them because they fit my (loose) rule: new shape or new pattern.

Aren't they sweet. I'm having three soft-boiled eggs for breakfast tomorrow. With soldier boys. Yum!