Town House Homestead Tuesday

It is so nice to be able to retreat to blog posting and get away from so much media frenzy, hate, and lies. These girls live without television, but we are constantly bombarded with it on other devices of our choice. We are where we are and have what we have not because of any politicians, but because of hard work and determination, obeying the law, paying taxes, and sharing with all who come and help. No one has ever left without a meal to go, a full belly, or something to help them get ahead too. So, moving forward and speaking of hard work, yes we did more this past week. It's getting harder because we are tired and hurting a bit more, nursing injuries, and sleeping less but in the end it all pays off. 

Again with help from Emily, she and I finished more painting in the basement and have set the germination shelf in place. Next step will be the lighting and then we can start our seeds. What you can't see clearly in this picture is the closet organizer being installed beyond this shelf. It's still a work in progress. My daughter got it free with her Amazon points and it will be used for more storage. Extra parts will be moved around and used elsewhere. This part of the basement is moving out of it's dungeon stage slowly, but the end result will be pollinating flowers, herbs and some vegetable plants. The reward for hard work.

I needed to get a few items at the grocers and after that we took the time to do some indoor walking through a couple of thrift stores. It was too snowy and icy to walk outside. I found close to three dozen more canning jars to add to my "jar" bank account. There are four different sizes and it was orange tag day so quite a few were 50% off. None cost more than $.99.

I continued cooking and baking from scratch. Yesterday's bread was so good and I calculated the price per loaf at $.35 and a little kneading. I also know that I can pronounce all the ingredients. So, here's to all who are working hard to be successful. I hope that this blog is more than an encouragement to you. Thank you for stopping by and have a wonderful week.

Town House Homestead Tuesday

Wow! Thanksgiving came and went so fast I hardly had time to think about it. It just fell into place and we had a total of eight for dinner. We had just the basics for our meal and the visit was fun. All three of my grandchildren at the same time. The only new cooking for me this year was home made cranberry sauce. I admit it, I always opened a small can because it doesn't get eaten in large quantities here. I canned the leftovers in eight ounce jars for use throughout the next year.

The week before Thanksgiving I went shopping for a chest freezer. After all the early black Friday  specials and discounts I settled on this 15cf  Whirlpool. It was delivered within three days and looks so wonderful in the newly renovated basement.

We took an afternoon and went to do some thrift shopping. We've been working so hard and hadn't been out to hunt for several long months. 

I never find footwear in my size, never mind new, but on this trip I found three new pair of size eight that came home with me. 

I found a couple of nice sheets, one is 100% cotton and the other is cotton/poly blend that I've added to my sewing fabric for future articles of clothing. I keep promising myself that I'll get to my sewing room. Mine is the third bedroom and the one in the renovated basement is my daughter's.

I enjoy finding vintage jars. I found these two for $1.50 and what makes them unusual is the fact that they are half gallon jars. I've seen plenty of gallon size, but these are short and stubby. I also found a set of eight vintage aluminum bell pans.

The best find was not by me, but I now own them. Emily (our special girl) found them while she was looking for some vintage items for a party she was having. For all you Pyrex lovers out there this is a set of twelve, four piece place settings of vintage Flamingo Pink dishes. The purchase price was $34.99. Our Christmas dinnerware came to us without asking. I have packed six place settings away and put six place settings in the cupboard. Most are in pristine condition. Two plates and two saucers seem to have been well used or the person who owned them may have replaced them at one time. All I know is that they are now ours and we can't wait for Christmas morning to enjoy them. It will be a "handle with care" kind of day with them. 

This is the holiday view out our kitchen window. Santa must be fifteen feet tall for me to see him so well, so far away. It feels so good to be in a home where there's something new every day and it's peaceful. Well, that's some of what's been happening at the new Town House Homestead. Stop by again for an update on our next adventure. Thank you for stopping by and have a great week. 

Town House Homestead Tuesday

Today I am a lot tired and going to take it easy. Temperatures are headed up into the nineties and it will be a slow putter day. First an update on the furniture rescues and their status. 

The rescued chair is all repainted white and is now home with my desk. The decision to paint it white was the correct one. It makes my desk look sharp and refreshing.

The rescued rolling file holder is complete. I think it came out quite well. I now have a large pot of endive growing in it along with a large pot of flat leaf parsley. So wonderful to have the time to restore items and put them to use.

We did some thrift store shopping and found some vintage Pyrex, a Vera scarf, a vintage towel, a new mouse for a computer, candles and of course books.. We shopped at a library book store for some too

From my container garden I harvested a few ripening tomatoes and can't wait until they're ready to use for a meal.

I have two good size sweet pepper plants growing and as you can see they're producing well. Not ready to harvest yet. These are carnival peppers and they should turn color before they are ready. 

This jalapeno pepper plant was a gift from the universe. We intended to purchase it and several days later, after looking at the receipt, we discovered we hadn't been charged for it. It is producing what it can in it's tiny container.

We purchased a habenaro pepper plant and after I thinned them to other pots had seven individual plants, for the price of one, that as you can see are starting to produce peppers. I am looking forward to making some habenero pineapple jelly. 

I have two large and long pots of beans growing. The beans are coming, but so far not enough to make a meal, but it won't be long. I also have a pot of spinach growing. These plants are moved outside during the day and brought in to the breezeway in the evening. We haven't been here long enough to build an outside "protected" garden  yet, but it will come. In the mean time the breezeway serves as a lovely green house for my container garden. No critters have touched the tomatoes, so they spend the night outside. It's been fun and later this week I am going to plant some cucumber seeds in a pot with a tomatoe cage. It never hurts to try and learn. That's what's happening here at the new Town House Homestead. Thank you for stopping by and have a great week. 

Town House Homestead Tuesday

The new house is really beginning to feel like home. It's been three months and the changes are looking good. The work list is getting shorter and the urgent structural problems are getting fixed and not turning out as bad as it could be. I had this big idea that I was going to have this great big beautiful garden and would be canning and preserving at this time, but that was quickly put on the back burner and I am still using the farm markets. I did, however, get a few vegetables planted in pots and they are growing well. Except for the pepper plant that was eaten. 

Here are my three pots/buckets of container tomatoes that are just over the moon happy and doing quite well. As you can see they are loaded with tomatoes.

I have been growing string beans in containers and starting them a couple of weeks apart so they will continue to produce for us. I also have two surviving carnival pepper plants. These I bring into the breezeway every night to keep them from being consumed by whatever country critter feels hungry. I also have spinach growing in the breezeway and many herbs. It's a glimmer of hope for the large garden that may start next year. 

We had a few appointments last week and in between we did a little thrift shopping. Here we found a mid century modern candle stand, a Wilhold sewing box and a vegetable strainer.

There are always books we enjoy. We needed a napkin holder and of course more Christmas decorations. We also found Halloween ice cube molds and the Tupperware freezer pop mold. Most items were in the 49 to 99 cent range. A couple were a bit more.

This is a set of Tupperware canisters that did not have covers. I wanted the large one for my cooking utensils, but I only needed the next to smallest one. We will find covers. It always happens.

Last, but not least we found a Pyrex round opal baking dish. Always great to find Pyrex for less than two dollars. We got the floppy disc file to hold seed packets that are getting a little out of control. I'm sure we will need more, but for now one will do and they are abundant at thrift stores and who couldn't use another plant hanger. A nice sturdy metal one for all the plants that are rooting and will need homes shortly. Well, that's what's new at the new town house homestead this week.We hope you all have a great week and thank you for stopping by. 

Thrift finds

So much happening and so little thrift hunting, but we found a couple of items. We've started the house search and process and are making it as much fun as possible. A couple of weeks ago we did a little thrift hunting, but we left so much behind. 

Just couldn't leave behind this half dozen of wide mouth quart jars and three new, never used Raggedy Ann and Andy pillow cases. Not much, but useful and items that can go on the store. Thank you for stopping by and have a great week. 

Thrift finds.

In this new year with a move lurking in the next few months, and the hunt for a new home to shelter in, we have spent a lot of time purging and packing in preparation for this event. There are a couple other reasons also, but we won't go there. We are in a position where we are having to protect from two intrusions from a neighbor. When renting you have to be prepared for many things, but these were something we thought of, but never expected. So naive of us. This past week we filled a few more bags with donations and went to drop them off. In doing so we  were given a 30% off coupon to use on our next purchase. With time to spare before our next errand we decided to look around. There were good purchases and we were very selective knowing it would have to be packed to move or quickly listed for sale on line.

We found several vintage sheets, some vintage salt and pepper shakers, some collectible plates and a wall plaque for our new home. 

There were a dozen wide mouth quart size canning jars that we eagerly scooped up and after the 30% off coupon they ended up being free. I've already filled a few and the rest are waiting for my creativity in the kitchen. It feels good knowing that when I have the room to work in a larger kitchen and a space for storage everything I need will be at hand. Thank you universe and thank you for stopping by for a visit. Have a great week and wonderful weekend. 

Thrift finds.

Here we go again buying what we really don't need, but oh such great finds. Some more after Christmas shopping lead us to these finds.

This collection is full of vintage Santa's. There's the planter, a set of Hallmark salt and pepper shakers, a vintage elf, a Santa ornament picture frame, some candle sticks and a holly leaf bowl. 

This is a vintage Mikasa serving plate. It's named Susan. My daughter likes to decorate her walls with Mikasa plates.

This group include a small book, a pink Pyrex loaf pan, a stacking doll, a pair of fawn salt and pepper shakers and a straw hot pad. 

We found a salad bowl set and weaving looms 

The best thrifting ever came when we found a junk spot that had a "FILL A BOX, ANY BOX", for $5.

Both of my daughters enjoyed filling a good sized box. To begin with there were canning jars, wax and lids. I was happy.

They found books, vintage post cards, a spice shelf, a large cocktail mixer, a vintage velvet rabbit, a darning egg and some Beaba brand baby food storage containers.

They found NIP green planters, vintage linens, a small Russian wooden box, a French espresso cup and more straw hot pads.

They also found a vintage kitchen prayer plate and plastic rose wall hangings. This was only half of what was in the box, but all that came home with my eldest daughter. My younger daughter found more items, but I didn't get pictures. Some items will be and are listed for sale on line, while others will be kept for future use. Thank you for stopping by to visit and may your thrift hunting be as much fun.

Thrift finds

After Christmas Thrift Shopping.

Okay, so we're not supposed to be buying anything that will eventually have to be moved in a few months, but once bitten by the bug it's hard to stop. We had to catch up with family members who also love the thrill of the hunt, so we took a day between the holidays to head out. We have gone out again since this trip to thrift shop, so I guess the bug is permanent.

We enjoyed going through the marked down Christmas shelves loaded with filled bags. Here are some metal, miniature cookie cutters, candles, two boxes of canning jar lids and a tiny Japanese candle holding figurine.

We found a gingerbread house themed holiday cookie jar, some Holley print glasses, a vintage tablecloth that is new and the darling cardboard Japanese Angel that is my daughter's favorite color. She will most likely put on the top of her next Christmas tree. 

We found holiday linens, napkins, sheets, NIP pillow forms, elastic and slippers too. The gingerbread boy is a bowl.

There were vintage sheets, more ornaments to add to her collection and this fun and bright vintage plastic tray made in Japan.

There were boxes of vintage sewing patterns to rummage through too. We got a few so we can use up some fabric in our stashes, but we were selective and left so many more behind. Okay so we shouldn't be shopping, but the bug was biting hard and we still feel the hunting urge. Thank you for stopping by for a visit and have a wonderful new year hunting. 

Thrift finds

The mission was to go to the thrift store and find one item to be used in an up cycle project. Many dollars and more than a few minutes later, the words from my daughter were "It's like Gramma's house got delivered to the thrift store and I couldn't resist". She was right and we left plenty behind for others but what wonderful fun and finds.

The first find was several cases of canning jars. We kept the pint size jars and my daughter's co-worker wanted the half pints. The timing of this find was perfect. These are two of the vintage table cloths that we chose. The blue with flowers was in almost perfect condition. The gingerbread print one needed, and still needs soaking, but the stains are coming out. 

We found two new vintage Vera table cloths and a vintage terry towel. It was hard choosing some items, but we've already sold one tablecloth.

Here we found some vintage 70s double knit fabric and some Christmas yard good. The bright pink and purple fabric is another tablecloth. There were boxes and boxes of fabric on bolts and yarn, but the baby yarn is all we got and it was only 99 cents. Not shown were some aqua soup/cereal bowls that immediately were cleaned and put to use in the kitchen and of course the original item we went for we did find plus a few more. We had promised ourselves not to bring a lot more home, but it was a great shopping trip and the items were fabulous. Thank you for stopping by for a visit and have a wonderful week. If you need some last minute items for holiday gift giving my daughter's store is having a 40% off sale so stop by and check it out. Here's the link and you can find the shop on my side bar. 

poetcharms.etsy.com

Thrift finds

It was just a random stop on our way to treat ourselves to ice cream. Well deserved for all the hard work we have been putting in. It was also an excuse to use a coupon I received for a buy one get one free offer. While the weather was still pleasant and we didn't need to bundle up we just went.

We were not really looking, but here are a few items. Books, always looking for books and here are three more to check out. The one titled Green Winter by Elise Maclay is a collection of one page shorts about aging. I'm getting a chuckle with some and thinking with others. There is a finance book and another herb book. There was a box of blue Christmas ornaments, a vintage Hallmark holly print metal tray, a package of Ball red checkered lids and rims and best of all a Pyrex bowl. Now this bowl looks like a plain white opal bowl, but it isn't. It was however a vintage white bowl with a gold rim. You can just barely see the gold rim because it is so worn off. It is a 404 that was well loved, but in excellent condition and my daughter is just happy to have another large bowl for her collection.

Other odds and ends we picked up were a vintage Pyrex 1.5 quart lemonade bottle, a bag of Halloween gift bags, a new unopened black ink stamp, the can is a raised floral print and large enough to put a plant in or use for some kind of craft project. Last of all we found the two pilgrim figurines. Now usually we don't even look at these things, but if you notice these figurines are blond and the boy pilgrim is wearing a white hat. They were just odd and different so my daughter got them for our simple holiday. They are not vintage or collectible just one of those things she put in the cart. That's what a random trip for ice cream found us. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Thrift finds

So on our two day adventure we found so much that I've had to split it into two posts. Today I am remembering the fun.

We found a vintage 1957 Betty Crocker cook book and it has most of the recipes that I've been using for many years. It's wasn't in top notch condition, but neither are the old copies I've been using. We found a book on how to be happy. Can't wait to see what it says. There was a Care Bear good luck glass, a Flintstones Barney glass, a new in package serrated vegetable cutter and a package of baby yarn so I can knit more socks. I took a chance on the yellow plastic picnic utensils. I have my plastic utensils in recycled drink mix containers. I got tired of them being all over the place.

I found myself tossing the containers back and forth to access other items on the shelf or knocking them over because they were in the way and when I needed to take along some utensils  they were dusty and needed washing or were just all over the place. Well, this fun little find worked. I have a container for spoons, forks, knives and napkins. Just pick it up and go or keep it in the car. True recycling.

We found five vintage Strawberry Shortcake place mats that need binding and a good soaking. 

There was a wonderful white basket and a great selection of linens.

Along with linens were a couple of blouses to wear to work. Thrift economics at it's finest.

My daughter found this complete set of paperback books. There are eight and it is the Anne of Green Gables series.

She also has a thing lately for vintage spice racks. We found three different styles and sizes on this past trip. I know when she has her own home she will probably spray paint some to match her decor and put her herb oils on. She will have an awesome collection because there are probably eight or more that we have packed or have hanging. All in all it was a wonderful weekend and along with all our thrift finds we made lots of memories with friends and family and found some treasures for our future.