Recent Thrift Store Finds

Hi! Here are the spoils from a quick trip to the thrift store (Value Village) in August.

ass="aligncenter size-full wp-image-25485 blk-brdr" src="http://www.loulou.to/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/thrifted-finds-loulou-downtown-august-2014.jpg" alt="thrifted-finds-loulou-downtown-august-2014" width="640" height="457">This is a silver plated serving tray by William A Rogers, dated 1984. It's nice and heavy and a good size from many purposes.It needs a polish but I actually don't mind the look of tarnished silver. That said, I will add it to the batch the next time I use this method for cleaning silver, which uses aluminum foil and baking soda. (It really works!)

Eddie is a Stoner : The Rise and Fall of a Catnip Plant

You know that good feeling you get when you give someone a gift and then you see them really enjoying it? Not just saying, 'Thanks, it's nice', and then putting it away, but really getting in there and using what you've given them with great pleasure? This is a story of such a gift.

Back in the spring we went to Kensington Market to get the plants for our herb garden, shown (here). I saw that they had some catnip plants so I picked one up for Eddie.

It was very tiny and I wasn't sure if it would make it, but I put it into a pot with some fresh soil and kept it up on a table, away from Eddie so it could have a chance to grow. And grow it did. Then it sprouted flower buds and bloomed.

Bits and Pieces : August 2014

Hi. Here are some pictures that I took during August, which didn't fit into any other story. Thanks for checking them out!

↑ The Many Textures of an Old Yellow House ↑

A Little Day Drinking : Peach Bellini

When I was a kid one of my friends' mothers used to call my friend 'her little Peach Bellini'. I had no idea what a Peach Bellini was but was charmed by the nickname. Peach Bellini is a fun thing to say.

With peaches on the brain after Nick brought home a basket of beauties from the market last weekend, we decided to pop open the bottle of sparkling wine (Asolo Prosecco) we had chilling in the fridge and make some, outdoors on a lovely Sunday afternoon.

There are many ways of making these cocktails, but the necessary ingredients are pureed peaches and sparkling wine. Some people add sugar and some add liqueur such as Peach Schnapps or Raspberry Liqueur. We decided to keep things light and just added a bit of black current concentrate (Ribena), along with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.

What Comes Naturally : Birds, Butterflies and Other Beings that are Common in Toronto

c="http://www.loulou.to/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/pigeon-walking.jpg" alt="pigeon-walking" width="640" height="427" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-25381 blk-brdr">A few weeks ago I posted these pictures of a family of Cardinals that had nested in our tree. I was so excited to get a good look at them because we rarely see these beautiful red birds around here.Then last week, an online friend posted some pictures of a hummingbird he saw in his garden, with a statement about how happy he had been to see it. Then reading the comments people left on his post, it was clear that some people see hummingbirds all the time. The same would go for Cardinals. Of course, it just depends on where you live.So with that in mind, I thought I'd show you some recent shots that I've taken of some of the creatures that are commonly seen here in Toronto. Maybe there's something here that you rarely see where you live.Critters : You've seen many photos of squirrels here before, but how about a few of our newest little 'pet', born this spring? She is always around, entertaining us with her cute ways. Nick loves peanuts in the shell and she has made it clear that she does too.She is different from the usual squirrels we have had around our yard, in that she is this grey-brown colour, when most of the ones we see regularly are black . We used to have about a dozen squirrels running around our yard, but this year we only have two - this one and a black one (even though they're different colours they're both the same species 'Eastern Grey Squirrels'). The parks are full of them.