Hi everyone! Here's another great giveaway and it's a surprise one! Visit BitterSweeatAndPrim's blog to enter!

Brenda over at The Rusty Thimble is having a cute giveaway! Just click on her name to find your way to her blog to enter!

Another awesome Christmas in July giveaway! Just click on one of the buttons on my sidebar to enter! Enjoy :)

Our 1850's homestead, hopefully soon to have a covered porch on the front :)
My wooden antique bar stool likely from the Hampton Hotel
Well, my wash basin did have lovely pansies in it but my darn chickens ate all the petals off them, lol



Our 10 foot rose bush, never had it grow so high before!




Another late night, lol, I should be sound asleep! Only 2 days left of school for 4 of my kids and one last exam for my oldest daughter tomorrow. One last trip for Rhys tomorrow , okay, it's today since it's after midnight, he's going to Toronto to the Royal Ontario Muesuem to study Medieval Times. He loves Toronto even if the usual trips there are to the Hospital For Sick Children for yearly checkups and he loves driving on the major highway watching all the transports go by. I'm sure he will have fun although there will be a lot of walking to do and his poor little legs and hips will surely be tired. Main thing is that he is super excited :)

So, the past month I have hit the thrift stores again and found some goodies. I even found 3 kitchen chairs that although they don't exactly match the ones I have, they have rounded backs and are nice solid wood. I have painted them black. I just need one more to match them and than I can get rid of the 3 other ones that do not go great with my sets at all. I have my eyes peeled for just one more chair!
Last weekend I was able to go to an auction again. Oh how I missed the action of auctions. It was for the owners who had bought the Historical Hampton Hotel. I didn't stay the whole day since it was Fathers Day weekend and we had company coming for dinner but I did get a few things and even made some money, lol. At one point I had won an old taller standing quilt rack and a young lady had come up to me and offered me a few more dollars for it. I had said no I wasn't interested as I really liked it. Of course another lady next to me made me feel really bad by telling me that this other lady was the granddaughter of the owners of the quilt rack and that she was in tears because I wouldn't sell the rack. Uggh, so stuck in a hard spot, and feeling terrible and wishing that I had known that in the first place and I wouldn't have turned her down, I sold the lovely quilt rack back to the granddaughter. I did my good deed for the day :) I can honestly understand her wanting a piece of her grandparents history. So... I did get to keep the antique quilts that were on that rack, although a bit tattered and worn, I love them and they have stories t o tell! Know I just have to figure out where to put them since I don't have the quilt rack, lol. I also got a few chairs, an old bar stool type chair that is wooden and a very old rocking chair that needs repair. Plus I got a lot of old lanterns for really cheap. One is made into an electric lamp, but I haven't tested it out yet...I will let hubby do that! I'm not sure if I will try and fix up the rust on them or leave them be but I would love to find a way to turn them in battery operated candle lanterns.
My hubby also spent this past weekend amid grass cutting and weed trimming our huge yard, making me a new garden with split cedar rails. Now I have to find something to fill in the front of it but so far I have hostas, lillies, evening prim roses, digitalis, rose bushes, false sunflowers, some various gladiolous that have poked up through the earth and some green onions, lol. and can't forget wild viollets that I have transplanted from my other gardens. Now if I can just keep my chickens from eating all the pretty petals off the plants I'll be happy!
Anyhow, here are a few pics, there is more to come when I get a chance!
Have a wonderful week everyone!!

Hugs, Trish

Good morning! it's a hot and humid day here in Kendal. I've closed up my windows and am trying so hard to not turn on the air conditioner. It's supposed to get up to over 40 with the humidity. I've been so busy outside working on my gardens and getting things tidied up outside that I'm only usually on the computer in the evening. I have managed to hit the thrift shops again and a few yard sales :) I've redone a few pieces and I'm trying to post pics today...internet is slow, go figure, lol. Thought I'd better get on here before any storms hit! Things have been going well around here, busy as ever. School will be out by June 29th. I can't believe how fast time has gone by! I have so many things I want to get done but it seems impossible. My kids have lots of trips coming up, Noah has a trip to see the Toronto Blue Jays, Brynn and Kaedyn have trips to the Bowmanville Zoo and Rhys is going to the Royal Art Mueseum in Toronto to learn about Medieval Times. Can you say my bank account is empty??? Oh well, they will all enjoy themselves immensely! Oh to be a kid again :)
Anyhow, the above pics are of an antique wardrobe that was taken out of our attic years ago and my inlaws used it. I've got it back since they are moving! It's tongue and groove :) And than there's a cabinet that I got at a yardsale which I painted and it will go in our bathroom. I've been waiting for the perfect piece to go in there:) Now I just don't like the heart cutouts in the doors but I'll figure out a way to cover them up! Also an antique plate shelf which I painted and stained( can't go wrong with $2.99 price tag), a wooden magazine rack ($2.99), a little wooden basket and a handmade quilt($2!!). Oh, can't forget this cute wooden toolbox that I am using as a planter outside with pansies in it.
Well, hope everyone is having a wonderful week so far and is having nice weather.

Take care, Trish

A few pics....

My Antique wooden box and masher Kaedyn picked out for me :)
My wonderful mother in law also gave me this nice jug and bowl, I've been wanting one of these forever!



Well it's such a rainy day today and I'm not outside so I am able to finally upload some pics.

The blue enamel coffee pot I picked up on Saturday at a yard sale for 25 cents! The picture with the glass jar etc, yep, I know hard to see, lol, got the jar with hinged lid, the little flower pot with bird houses on it and another glass jar ( that my 8 yr old daughter wanted :) for 25 cents each too. You can't see it too well, maybe I'll try and post a better picture, but there is an old baking soda tin and a tin vintage flour sifter that my mother in law gave me, she found them in her basement as she was packing stuff because they are moving. Wasn't that thoughtful of her ? :)
And there's my antique berry picker...scored that for $12!

I'm back...

Jasper Boyd, December 25th 2000~May 8th 2011,R.I.P. xoxo

Hello friends, it's nice to be back! Yes, I am still alive, lol. It's been a busy past few weeks! I keep meaning to get on here but just haven't found enough time. I can't believe it's the middle of May already! It didn't seem that long ago that I was wishing that spring would get here and now... wow, we have green grass, flowers sprouting, windows wide open letting in wonderful fresh air. Last week we had wonderful weather, sunny, war, t-shirt weather, time to get out and garden and get outside stuff done weather. Than there have been birthdays and Mother's Day ( and I hope you all had a wonderful Mother's Day!! :) April 30th was my miracle son Rhys's 10th birthday, a huge milestone for him since MPS kiddos have such a shortened lifespan. Than yesterday was my daughter Brynn's 8th birthday, holy moly, where has the time gone?? And on Mothers Day, which was great by the way but ended up very sad... our beloved rotti Jasper, who would have turned 11 yrs old on Christmas day 2011, suddenly passed away :( Our protector, our friend, a loyal part of our family, got out our back door Sunday morning ( my fault !), had a nice visit with our neighbors and came back. Later that day he was really thirsty and drank a whole bucket of water, got bloated and was wreathing in pain. We couldn't even really get near him to help him. Around 8 p.m. that evening he passed away :( We felt so helpless! I swear something always happens to me on Mothers Day or my birthday! ( 4 yrs ago, my daughter was kicked in the face by our horse on Mothers Day, and I have had 2 grandparents pass away on my birthday...which is in just a few short day...ugh! Anyhow, Jasper, we will always remember you taking over the bed ,chasing the cats ( who by the way miss that too :), I am making a small garden around where he is buried to remember him... thank goodness for living on a large property where we can do this.
So, needless to say, it's been a busy but sad few weeks. I am waiting for my daughter to give me her usb cord for the camera so that I can upload some pics since the last time I was on here I had said I would put pics up of my antique berry picker etc. So... hopefully this week won't be quite so busy and I can do that!
Well, I hope you all have had a wonderful weekend. I'm off to bed, hoping that this rain will stop someday soon!

Blessings to you all!

Trish