Mother's Day weekend update

This won't be a wordless Wednesday!

The weekend at D's was wonderful. We did some gardening, a bit of garage sale shopping, a few trips to the nearby park, and G'ma got lots of hugs and cuddles from her favorite grandson. The weather was perfect, in the mid 20's celsius (mid-70's fahrenheit), which meant lots of time outdoors. While D worked on the area out front, I tackled the large bed in the back yard, that can be seen from her neighbour's living room. It has several perennials, including rose bushes, day lilies, a cedar, and variety of lamium. Those were kept, but all the little trees and weeds were cleared, and I cut back the branches on a couple of larger bushes that have been allowed to grow. It will take a stronger person than I to dig these out. There was also a patch of thistles that had me saying blue words. The prickles found their way through my gloves!

I took a water break mid-way through on the front deck. D's neighbour K, returned from a garage sale, and after seeing what she had found, we decided we'd clean up a bit and head over. It was the most amazing garage sale I've ever seen. K told us, the husband had recently passed away, and his current spouse (he had been a widower when they met), was attempting to clear out some outbuildings. There were four buildings attached to one another, one of which was originally a garage. The first building we entered wasn't packed with items, but each of the following buildings were. There were walls covered in shelves full of salt and pepper shakers, mugs, cookie jars, teapots, and other glassware of all sorts. There were collectibles too, magnets, toys, and so forth. In the second building, there were a multitude of windchimes hanging from the ceiling, and every room was a maze of shelving from floor to ceiling. In some spaces one had to sidle down the aisles. Eli picked a most practical item, a ruler, while his mother and I found items we couldn't live without. :)  

The set is marked Ineke Canada and the pottery set includes the salt and pepper, a oil/vinegar cruet and a small container for mustard as well as the tray. Information from the web suggests it was manufactured in the 1980's or early 1990's. I just liked it!

I also purchased a tumble up teapot that I left at D's. The tumble up refers to the cup that fits over the lid of the teapot. I didn't use it while I was there, but it will be nice to have on future visits. Total cost $4!

D found several pieces of blue glass, and made another visit on Monday, while Eli was at school to pick up more. I had purchased a blue glass candle holder for Eli to give her on Mother's Day and she has now increased her collection significantly. 

We made one more stop at a garage sale across from Eli's school. There I found a small wooden bookcase on wheels. While it had a little damage, it was still in decent condition so I grabbed it for $15. This garage sale was different too, as it was primarily items the owner had picked up at various auctions. The bookcase was actually being used as a display...we had to clear things off of it so I could take it away. It's now set up in the craft room with a few supplies tucked away. 

I can't forget the visits to the park. We visited after our garage sale foray, and then again later that afternoon with a followup visit on Sunday. The spray park was open, and Eli had a lot of fun running through the water. He watched some older boys playing basketball and eventually joined in briefly. He doesn't know how to dribble the ball but he had fun running back and forth on the court.

As usual he and I slept in his big boy bed - which isn't big at all, and especially when Sheldon (one of the cats) joins us. At one point, I slept on the floor beside the bed for an hour or so. So apparently, I can sleep on the ground and get back to my feet. :p  We read several books each night, and told scary stories. I learned that Eli is as much afraid of spiders as I am, so no more scary spider stories for either of us. 

I'm also no longer the scary stranger for Spencer, D's recent rescue cat.  Although she was cautious around me for the first day she did let me touch her, by Sunday she was coming to me for pets an even jumped up on my lap while I was sitting with Eli on the couch. She's definitely my daughter's cat, and comes when she's called. Spencer gets along with the two older cats, and gives as good as she gets in the tussles. 

The drive to and from were good, with light traffic and the weather cooperated throughout. I'll be heading back again in a few weeks for Eli's birthday party. While his birthday is in March, his mother has his party in the park so it has to wait until the weather is decent. It's a great place to hold a party with a covered area with picnic tables, the spray park, lots of playground equipment, as well as outdoor washrooms. 

I'll keep the remainder of the update from this week to Saturday's post. It's been busy and productive, and today...very smoky!