SuMmEr HaS fInAlLy ArRiVeD :))))

Hello Everyone!

I believe that Summer has finally found us :)))
It has been super hot here these past couple of weeks. Too hot to do any work really but I am still not complaining because we were getting nothing but rain...rain...and more rain. For the month of July, on the news it stated that we received only 9 full days of no rain for the whole month. That's pretty sad when you think about it. But so far this month, it has been absolutely fabulous!

Mind you, with all the rain and sunshine, we have still been quite busy. From working outside in the gardens and lawn, cleaning ALL cupboards and re-organizing and I have had alot of family that came home from Ontario visiting. So we have been quite busy out and about visiting everyone.

I wanted to share this next photo with you because it's quite special. I had one cousin who came down to visit a couple weeks back now to celebrate her Mom and Dad's 50th Wedding Anniversary. So for the celebration, her husband, two daughters and granddaughter joined in on the mini family vacation. This will be a very cherished picture...
Standing in the back on your left (pink shirt) is my cousin Cindy, who was the first born grandchild in our family, her mother (Aunt Alvine, second born), Cindy's first born daughter and first born great-grandchild, Sarah, holding her daughter, Lily May (second born great-great grandchild) and my sweet grandmother, Lucy who was 97 back in April. This is a very special 5th Generation picture. I would only love to have Gramie around when my grandchildren come along (NOT for sometime yet) but I know she won't be here. But how special is this???

Gramie said she wanted to be able to live to see her first great-great grandchild. Well she now has TWO! And she also claims she will live to see her 100th Birthday. And you know, I believe she will. She is in such great health and has a memory as sharp as a pencil. She still gets up early in the morning, applies her makeup, dresses up and makes sure that her nails are painted at ALL TIMES! This picture will definitely make it my 'Cassista Genealogy' book. Someday, I hope to publish a book on my family line. At the rate I am going at, it looks like my dreams will come true. Sorry girls but this has been one project that has been keeping me from blogging. I get so caught up in it that I loose track of time quite quickly.

So all in all, we have been having fun visiting tons of family :) I was so happy to have a chance to visit with everyone. It's not often that so many of them come home for vacation around the same time.

I also just remembered tonight when I was getting ready to write up a new blog, I forgot to show you guys my treasures that I purchased when I was on vacation with the family. I almost died when I walked into a antique shop and saw these two beautiful crocks.
The white has a bad crack inside BUT that is fine with me and the brown one is in mint condition. The brown one has a 4 engraved it in on the front but very hard to see. Not quite sure if I will put anything in them but I have a plan and I will see if it will look good once I am finished. I will definitely share a picture once I have them in their spot. But I have to say...to my American friends, it seems that you guys find these all over the place and pay next to nothing for them. Here in Canada, they are very hard to find and when you do most of the time, they sell for a pretty penny. So when I got both of these for $40, I thought I hit the jackpot :))))

But I do have a question though...Exactly what were these crocks used for? I had one person tell me that the four gallon was for butter. Is this true??? And what made the difference between the colors?

The next item that I purchased while on vacation was one of these lights for only $17!!! They sell between $35 to $40, so once again, I was very excited when I saw the price tag on this. Of course I had to swoop it right up...LOL
And then just the other day, up the street from me someone was having a garage sale. So of course I had to go and check it out. I found this most wonderful basket for $1. All I could envision was it painted black, sanded a bit, stain rubbed all over and it filled with dried flowers.
I have it placed on top of this cabinet at the moment because I was trying to find a home for it since it is quite large. I think it will look wonderful once I have my idea done.

I have so many things to paint...unreal. I started the other day but then had to quit because it was just way to hot. I am not one of those lucky ones with a garage. So I have to paint on a nice day.

Then once again, the other day, the phone rings...hum, who could it be??? Remember that lady who was having the antique Garage Sale??? Well she was calling to let me know that she was selling a few new other things that she did not put in the Garage quite yet because she figured I would be very interested. Do I ever love her...hehe :)))) She had two smaller crocks...a four and three gallon for sale. I started shaking when I saw them. How much better could that be? I already had a five, now I have a four and three. The lid on the four is in really bad shape BUT that is OK with me. I will just end up putting it away. I felt like I was such a lucky person. Because I have been looking for these for years and could never find any and if I did, they were out of my price range. I saw one the same size as my 5 gallon going for $200. Imagine that??? To steep for my pocket book!

NOTE to Daphane because I know you read my blog...one of these would be really nice for your rolling pins collection. And if you don't want the collection anymore, you can send them my way and I will take really good care of them...LOL
I also purchased a old tool tote. I forgot to take a before picture. It's not done yet but once I have completed it, I will make sure to get a picture. It is quite large, so I want to put magazines in it. It won't hold all of them, but a good chunk at least.

I am hoping that tomorrow wont be quite as hot as today so I can finish painting the items and get them put in their place. My house has been a bit upside down and I am having trouble dealing with it...LOL. I am a bit of a neat freak. Everything has a home and do not, I repeat, do not leave anything laying around. My girls have learned the hard way. You leave it laying around, it goes in the garbage. You have to understand, my house is quite small. If anything is out of place or things laying around, it makes the house look dirty. So I am quite picky about this.

Finally the last picture I have to share is a 'Winning' that I received in the mail last week. Becca from "I'm me, What more do you want?" was having a drawing and I WON first place. I was so excited!!! Look at what I received...
A container full of homemade cookies AND they were delicious!!! My husband has a sweet tooth, so he jumped right in them as soon as I had the package opened. There were two chocolate bars, but my parents showed right when I had everything unpacked, so of course they jumped into the bar. Leaving nothing behind...LOL. And then this cute basket with some goodies I believe from The Body Shop. I haven't used them yet but the arrangement is cute. So once again, I want to thank Becca for the wonderful gift. I have to admit, it was loved by all :)))))

I also realized today that I never took pictures of the outdoors with all the work we have done. So you can be counting on some outdoor pictures coming up in the next few days. Mind you, I have seen much prettier yards so prim and all mine don't quite look like that. But this year sure does look alot better then last.

So until next time my friends...