Retirement "Ain't no vacation"!!

Who would have thought that retirement would be this busy!!  Some days I think I work harder than when I was gainfully employed, but you know, I wouldn't change it one bit.  I love having something to do every day, even if it is only creating or chasing down a bargain for my Boutique.  I loved working at the Public Library and before that, in the Library of the Public School System.  Of course, when I did go back to work when the kids were able to take care of themselves, I really didn't expect to do it for any more than a couple of years, just long enough to help out with the family budget.  As it turned out, it was the best thing for me to be employed full-time as circumstances changed.  Anyway, this week has been a mix of medical appointments, thrifting and re-purposing.

On Monday I had to go for a cat scan because when I had x-rays taken of my back and chest recently the results were not good - showed that my spine had severe arthritis and a spot on one lung, hence the chest cat scan.  Praying that all will be well and I'm not worrying about it unless I have to.  Wednesday I went for my monthly back injections, OUCH and then today, Thursday, had to go and have my eyes tested again because one of the meds I am on for Lupus could affect my eyesight.

On to recent creations..............

And this is how things look in the Boutique at the moment.....

Just to give you an idea of what I do to keep myself busy and also to not give in to my health issues.

I am running out of space and have asked if I can move into another room on my own and I have to say that I will be absolutely delighted if I can get it and then arrange everything is a more orderly fashion instead of bunching everything up into a rather cramped area.  I think my two partners in crime will be happy when I do also, so they can also spread things out.  We really didn't think that we would accumulate so much "stuff".

Along with all this, I do have a wonderful and diverse "bunch" of friends and we do the movies, theatre, lunch, etc. so you can see that I really am not retired, just changed hats, LOL

Don't have any new photos of the darling grandkids.  I will be taking the Greyhound bus in the near future to go and visit and be putting my camera to good use.  'Til I chat with you again, I hope that you will all stay healthy, safe and happy.  Big hugs,

Delightful evening with the girls

I always look forward to my Tuesday evening out with the ladies from the Library.  Tonight it was Helena and Janis and we went to the early show and dined on pizza and coffee in the theatre.  So much fun.  The movie we saw was "The Place Beyond The Pines", starring three very good actors, Eva Mendes, Bradley Cooper (I do so love me some Bradley) and Ryan Gosling, who by the way hails from London, Ontario, Canada where my sons and I lived for many of our Canadian years.  Lovely city.

"Luke is a high-wire, motorcycle performer who travels from town to town with the carnival. While passing through Schenectady, he tries to reconnect with a former lover Romina and learns that she has given birth to their son Jason in his absence. Luke decides to give up life on the road and provide for his new found family by working as a car mechanic. Luke's boss notices his ambition and talents, and proposes to Luke that they work as partners pulling off a string of spectacular bank robberies. This puts Luke on the radar of ambitious rookie cop Avery Cross, who is also has an infant son and is dealing with the menacing and corrupt detective who runs the local police department. The consequences of Avery's confrontation with Luke will reverberate into the next generation when their two sons must face their fateful, shared legacy."

This was a pretty good movie and brought out quite a range of emotions, but bottom line was once you cross the line between honesty and corruption, the consequences can be very harsh and lives ruined.  Go and see it if you can.

My lovely friend Laurie gave me a fabulous set of hat boxes for me to sell at my Boutique.....

and these two came from some dear soul in my apartment building............

I love getting donations and enjoy spending time on some that need work, revitalizing them and putting them in the Boutique for someone else to enjoy.

I added two more scarves to those I recently knitted.  Such gorgeous colours out there.....

This is the crow table I just finished and it's now for sale in the Boutique.  Just waiting for the "right person" to come along and fall in love with it.....

You haven't seen many photos of my Boutique for a while - it's always improving and we are continually finding new items to display..........

The Bushplane Museum here in the Sault http://www.bushplane.com/

asked me for a donation for their Mother's Day Luncheon and this is what I gave them....

Well, that's about it for now.  Hope you are having a great week.  Hoping to see these two little darlings in the next month or so.  I have to have some tests, e.g. cat scan etc. so as soon as that's over, I will be heading down on the Greyhound for kisses and cuddles.

'Til next time.  Love, 

It's getting warmer

It was Janis' birthday, so the usual crowd from the Library, Janis, Helena, Kathy and myself took her out for pizza and a movie.  This is the one she chose and we all agreed that it was good for a laugh, but found that there was a lot of unnecessary swearing.  Don't understand that because the movie would have been just as funny without all that crap.  Anyway, a great evening was had by all and we all came away smiling, just don't take any children with you when you go to see it.  I thought Jason Bateman was very cute, seems to me that he gets yummier as he gets older, or is it me???

"Unlimited funds have allowed Diana (Melissa McCarthy) to live it up on the outskirts of Miami, where the queen of retail buys whatever strikes her fancy. There's only one glitch: The ID she's using to finance these sprees reads "Sandy Bigelow Patterson"... and it belongs to an accounts rep (Jason Bateman) who lives halfway across the U.S. With only one week to hunt down the con artist before his world implodes, the real Sandy Bigelow Patterson heads south to confront the woman with an all-access pass to his life. And as he attempts to bribe, coax and wrangle her the 2,000 miles to Denver, one easy target will discover just how tough it is to get your name back."

I have started knitting again, even though my fingers are not as flexible as they used to be.  I had seen these pretty scarves and didn't think that I could make them, they looked so difficult, but no, they really are quite simple, but painstaking.  These are the ones I have made so far and I will have them for sale in my Boutique on the weekend..............

I hope they sell because now I have the bug and I'm running low on other ideas.

Just finished a batch of "Hooker Boards".  They seem to be quite popular.  I love making these and distressing them to make them look like they are old.  When I first started to make them I used heavy, cast iron hooks which I shabbied.  I must say, I prefer the boards with those on but I can't get those hooks any more.  These are my new ones............

There is a delightful new store just opened in our city - it sells the most scrumptious British goods.  I have a hard job just walking past it without being pulled inside to see what tempting new stuff he has to offer.  For my local "followers", if you haven't already heard of it, here is the link............

https://www.facebook.com/justbritishontario?fref=ts

Here are a few things I picked up on my visits, bringing back so many memories.  I have yet to pick up a bag of dolly mixtures, my favourite candy when I was a little girl............

I made a few pin-cushions and that's about it for the last week or so.........

So dear friends, that's about it for now.  Here's the little "pickle boy" Rhys, eating his dill......

and Katherine (aka Kit-Kat) with kitty

Enjoy every day.  Hugs,