Monday, May 13, 2013

Back to Regular Programming

On to a new day.  Mother's Day over and done with and glad for it.  My family resists that urge to spoil me, or heaven forbid, acknowledge me on that day, and they never notice how it upsets me, and since I didn't want to sit around the house moping (especially after writing yesterday's post ... and yes, I turned comments off there for my own messed-up reasons), I headed to a store that I was saving up just for yesterday.  I knew I would need somewhere to go on M's Day well in advance (since last year!). 
 
You probably know the store was the thrift store.  Not too long ago, "the store" would've been the book store and the fabric store, but lately I've been enjoying the thrift store where it's always a surprise as to what you may (and may not) find.  I was somewhat disappointed at the crowds of people in the store yesterday!!  Why was everyone there on Mother's Day?!  Shouldn't they be home having chocolates and gifts bestowed upon them?  Shouldn't they still be at the Sunday brunch?!  Alas, I had to share the aisles with many others, but was still able to find some nice surprises ...
 
First off was a pretty crocheted throw. 



Not too large, but very nice colours (more pinks showing up in real life).  Hanging on Grandmother's clothes horse to dry this windy and cloudy day.  I should probably dry it flat, but I've been rotating it around on the rack, and it isn't too large so I don't think it'll stretch (too much!).   It's quite soft in texture, and I believe it's a wool/acrylic blend as there was some colour left in the water after the washing, and a steal at just five bucks!
 
Then I found these two pottery dishes ... why is pottery I find lately all blue?  I want to paint my kitchen blue sometime soon (right now it's a ghastly deep yellow, which I loved when I first painted it, but am tired of it now 6 or 8 years later), so these should fit right in. 
 

 
 
And another blue pot ... have you noticed I have a thing for lidded pots?  Something to hide bits and pieces of crafting clutter I think is my objective, although in truth, they more often than not don't end up holding anything!  This pot has lots of birds and butterflies and all things spring-like and lovely :)
 
 
 
Then I bought this book ....
 
 
 
of which I now have two!  I found this book earlier in the year, and bought it because there was one craft that I thought looked really cool.  When I brought the first book home (it too was a thrift store purchase), the page with the instructions for said craft were ripped out of the book!!  Why would someone do that?!  Just keep the whole book rather than fool someone into thinking it was complete.  So needless to say, that was disappointing!  I didn't return the book either because there were other crafts that also looked good, and I may even one day get around to making.  But when I saw the same book yesterday, I scooped it up again.  Of course I checked to make sure the crucial page was still intact first!
 
I also found a little creamer for when I want to make myself a pot of tea.  Just big enough for milkfor one or two cups of tea.  There was no matching sugar bowl, but I don't put sugar in my tea anyway, and have been looking for a lost little creamer that needed a home :)
 
 
 
Then onto the drug store where I bought a pretty magazine with lots of wonderful images of cottage-styled rooms, and even more blue pieces!  And a bag of chocolate malt balls which just about made me ill after a couple of handfuls (I should know better, but I was trying to cheer myself up).

 
There was a white-on-white and a blue-and-white theme going on throughout the magazine.  Love the look of crisp cotton vintage linens tucked into a natural wood cupboard :)

 
The blue & white stuff was pretty too, and something I've always had a fondness for.
 
 
These are some of my own blue & white plates which I will one day (!!) get displayed on the walls again.  They once belonged to my Great Aunt, and my great grandmother or great-great grandmother before her.  I've always loved that shade of grey/blue and the details of birds and flowers is so pretty.
 
 
... the stamped bottom for those who are interested ...

 
 
So the day ended not too badly, even though no one in my family was aware of my purchases.  I also stopped at my favourite gardening centre which has a huge selection of wonderful and often unusual perennials and picked up a couple of poppies (I don't have any in my garden and have wanted them for a long time).  Even though my husband refused to join me on Saturday when I asked him to go there and he threatened "you can't buy anything yet because it's too cold!!" .  They're hiding in the garage, but they're a spring plant and I'm sure they'll be fine.  I also bought some packets of seeds, and I'm looking forward to getting those going indoors this week. 


My garden is so pathetic right now, as I've not had any spare time to clean it up and sort it out.  The hostas all need splitting, and I need to organize a lot of plants that I brought from Mom's garden.  This weekend it was actually snowing on Sunday ... snowing!! ... and so cold and windy that it was no fun being outside (although I enjoyed my outdoor time at the gardening centre admiring all their plants.

 
So I'm happy to move onto another week, and hope that the weather warms up because I don't like putting the furnace on in May!  And now back to regular programming and chores ...
 
 
 
Thanks for stopping by, and thank you very much to those who left comments on other posts regarding my mom's post, they were all very touching (I was just feeling a bit disheartened yesterday).
 
Wendy

 

28 comments:

  1. Wow, you had quite the shopping spree! I'd have planned the same thing too if no one acknowledged me on mother's day! In fact, I would have preferred a little 'leave me alone' time yesterday but it was a good day still. I really thought your post about your mom was quite lovely and I can tell you miss her a lot.

    I love pottery ~ those are my favorite of your thrift store finds. I sure hope it warms up there for you. Have a good day!

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    1. And here I thought I was showing some restraint in my purchases ;) Thanks for your very kind words Stacy.

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  2. I'm sorry your family isn't kinder to you on Mother's Day. That makes me sad. I'm glad you made the best of it, though; those are nice things you found! I enjoyed yesterday's post about your mom even though I wasn't able to tell you in the comments, and I understand having reasons not to welcome comments on such a post. :)

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    1. Thank you Jennifer, I did what I could to treat myself a bit ;)

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  3. Sweetheart what a beautiful post to your Mother, it resonated so much with me. Even though my Mum sits right next to me she can't remember how much she loved her garden, and how she passed that passion on to me. Your Mum sounds like an amazing woman. I'm sorry your family don't make more of an effort with you, you just keep on making sure you treat yourself....lots! :) x

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    1. Thanks Ada, I know you're dealing with so much with your own mother. Our situations are reversed, as you know, I lost Mom first and it's my dad with Alzheimer's. He's still remaining at a certain plateau, but every time something else has slipped away. Take care, and I hope you enjoyed your crafting outing ;)

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  4. Oh Wendy, we've had conversations about Mother's Day before haven't we? I'm glad you did something for yourself and bought some lovely things ... The blanket is very lovely, and what a great price!

    I loved the post dedicated to your Mum, it was a beautiful tribute to her, from a very loving daughter.

    Take care sweetheart, and have a lovely week

    Claire xxx

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    1. Yes, we have Claire, and even though I planned the day in advance, it still brings me down :] ANYway, must forget about it now and move along. I do hope you enjoy your London tour, and although I'm terribly jealous, I'm so happy for you to splurge on this trip! Have a wonderful week and I look forward to seeing your photos :) x

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  5. ~ Dear Wendy! I knew you had turned comments off for your very own reasons, because I almost did the same, when I did my heart felt post for Mum on her birthday just recently...We are very much the same us 'girlies' on here and share more than you would think, my friend! I am soooo glad you had a little walk and a thrifty spend.....I have been there and done just the same! I really have!~ Sending you some 'Twinkles' ****** With kindest thoughts...LOVE all your treasure too!!!! Maria x

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    1. Thank you Maria, and I know you and I share a lot of similarities. Thrifting isn't a remedy for all that comes this way, but it does put me in a happier frame of mind. Today I spent cleaning up my latest treasures which I always enjoy ... making things clean and fresh again with new life! Another hurdle over for this year ;) and thanks for the twinkles!

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  6. Treating yourself to a day of thrifting yesterday sounded fun, and I enjoyed seing the photos of your finds. Beautiful finds indeed, I love the crochet throw and the pottery, what treasures :)

    I did stop by your blog yesterday to read your Mother's Day post, and it was very touching to read. Such a lovely tribute to your mother!

    Have a nice new week, Wendy!

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    1. Thank you for all your kind comments Hilde, and yes, the thrifting was rather fun. I think the crochet and pottery are my favourites too. So many crochet throws in the thrift stores are acrylic and I don't like the feel of them, so I was happy to come across this one. Here's to a better week ahead ;)

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  7. Your post yesterday was so beautiful, what a lovely tribute to your mum!
    I'm glad you had a good day shopping you have found some lovely treasures, I think that's a good way to spend Mothers' day just pleasing yourself and doing the things you enjoy the most, however I think if my family ignored me on Mothers day I wouldn't be keeping quiet about it, I would feel hurt and I would let them know it, I don't care if they don't come to see me but a card or a phone call would be appreciated xx

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    1. Thank you Linda, I found this was a good way to spend the day now that my own mother has passed away. I've said things to my family in the past, but it's made no difference to anyone, so what do you do. What upsets me the most is that Mother's Day was always so special to me, but it's turned out quite different now.

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  8. I'm glad you made the best of your day and were able to turn it around. Looks like you had fun and found some wonderful things. I love your transferware plates. I have one with the exact same pattern but it's in cranberry. I have a stack of transferware just waiting to be hung...just like yours are. Someday. ;-)

    That was a wonderful and touching post about your mother.

    Take care.

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    1. I don't often take off on my own, so the shopping spree was the perfect antidote! I didn't know this type of plate was 'transferware', but thank you for that info :) I can imagine they would look very pretty in cranberry too.

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  9. Wendy! Snow?!?! It was cold here too but we managed to escape snow! I am sending you warm thoughts for the week so you can go out and enjoy your garden! Your blooms are gorgeous as is your blue inspiration for your kitchen!!! And your thrift store finds are fantastic!!! I'm glad you got out...I weeded yesterday and wiped poopy diapers sooo.. no spoiling here either! Happy Mother's day to you friend!

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    1. I'm thinking some fingerless gardening gloves might be in the forecast ;) Ah yes, the early years of motherhood ... a never ending line of bums needing changing! Despite the necessary chores, I hope you enjoyed your day in your garden (which looks wonderful), and I'll look for that warmer weather (0'C at the moment!). thanks Nicole :)

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  10. Hi Wendy,

    One of my favourite things to do is have some time to myself to hop around the thrift stores so I'm glad you were able to enjoy doing that on Mother's Day. You found some lovely treasures there. But why doesn't your family acknowledge you on Mother's Day? That makes me feel sad, especially when they know YOU hold special memories for this day. We don't like to buy into the whole commercialism of Mother's Day but I would be very upset not getting the cuddles/homemade cards/or some kind of verbal acknowledgement. Such a beautiful tribute to your Mother in your last Post. I loved reading it.

    Mel x

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    1. I did enjoy my shop around as I was under no time constraints. I don't know why my family chooses to ignore the day, but there it is. I just find it a difficult day to get through these last few years, so decided to change it around this time :) Thanks for your very kind comments Mel.

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  11. Hi Wendy, You have found some lovely items, I specially like the pottery dishes, one is very unique.
    I did stop by to read your post on Mother's day, and it is beautifully written, made me emotional for many reasons. I wish you a very happy Mother's day ! [belated] and a wonderful week !! - Gaia

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    1. Thanks for stopping by Gaia :) and thank you for your best wishes, my day turned out ok in the end, and I think the cold weather is moving on again. Have a great week!

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  12. That second bowl you found ... love it :)

    I have a small collection of blue and white china gravy jugs, I must post about it sometime. Your plates are lovely.

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    1. Thanks Annie, and I'll keep an eye out for your gravy jug post!

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  13. I'm glad you treated yourself Wendy. You deserve it! I love the throw. Great finds all around. Have you tried telling your family what you want? Most occasions I tell my husband I want a book, a treat, a candle, etc. Men can be clueless. This year, I took them all with me to Homesense while we shopped for gifts for my mother and mother-in-law. At the same time, I handed my daughter things and said, "Bring that to daddy and tell him I might just want that for Mother's Day." Sometimes a gentle nudge...or a push...helps. Eventually they get trained to know what you expect. :)

    I enjoyed reading about your mom too.

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    1. Thank you for all of this Jo. I'm a simple gal at heart, and I'm not looking for gifts, just to be treated a bit special for one day. I've just given up with the whole thing now though as my arguments have fallen on deaf ears for the full 19 years. I enjoyed spending the day doing what I wanted to do in the end. But it would've been nice for just one of the crew to have said "Happy Mother's Day" while holding a tray with tea and cookies for me ;)

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  14. Wendy- you are awesome. I love your "treat-yo-self" attitude. If they don't spoil you, spoil yourself.

    You have plans and visions and ideas and can spend time by yourself, imagining and thoughtfully creating. You are obviously a very loving person. I can tell just from the words you wrote about your own mother. Even if your family don't show it, I'm sure they are glad of you and your love! Folks are strange sometimes... but never let it get you down. You've a whole online community loving you and your posts from all over the world.

    Happy Mother's day from Ireland and happy new week too xxx

    P.S I can't wait to see your garden once you get your green fingers out :) Hazel x

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    1. Hazel, this is such a sweet thing to say ... thank you from the bottom of my heart ;) We have the long weekend ahead of us, and I've enlisted my son to help me with some heavy work in the yard. I think I'll haul my husband out there too and get him to remove a huge stack of firewood ... hmmm, perhaps I'll take this as my secret mother's day gift from them, and they won't even realize it! Enjoy your weekend, and thanks again, your words mean a lot. Wendy x

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Thanks so much for leaving a comment, it's nice to know when you've stopped by! :)

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