Greetings to Followers/Comment Reply

Hello,

Thanks to all who have been stopping by my humble blog. Special thanks for those who have taken time to post comments, and to the Followers who have given their stamp of approval. We're in this together! I haven't quite figured out how to reply to comments, so I will do this now.

To Vonlipi (love that name!), I'm glad I'm not the only one feeling that this season of SYTYCD is a little poopy and droopy. I did watch the Canadian SYTYCD and I'm sure I will tune in for Season 2. I hope they get better judges who actually have some constructive criticism, rather than, "You were dope, and you look hot." The winner was a French Canadian dynamo dancer, but we all knew he would win. There was no arc to the story.

To Kibbygirl, I asked Lise to break down the directions to Goodwill by the Pound. We came from East York, so we drove along Eglinton (heading east), into the depths of Scarborough, until we got to Midland. From there, we turned left and drove north along Midland until we got to this little street called Emblem. You could Google Maps it. It's tucked away behind the Umbra headquarters. Ummmmmbraaaaa. Mmmm. I love Umbra!

That's it for now. Rock on!

Hello from our family! (El Husbando behind camera).

Maxi Madness at the Legion

My husband and I stayed up into the wee hours of the morning watching the Tour de France. Heinrich Haussler's win of the 13th stage yesterday for the Cervelo Test Team was a small victory for Canada given that Cervelo is a proud Canadian company. We'll take what we can get.

Anyway, I dragged my weary bones out of bed and went to the parking lot sale at the Legion hall on Woodbine at Mortimer. At first glance, the clutter seemed perfectly normal.

Here we have usual items like trivets and mugs.

Then I discovered this Conair Body Tone machine in sexy packaging.

Things became weirder when I noticed "beltless" maxi pads for sale. Don't get me wrong. I'm all for being frugal and environmentally friendly, but this has clearly gone TOO FAR! I think those are Swiss Chalet playing cards beside them.

Next, I discovered a strange picture that appears to be of a man in his final stage of life, surrounded by loved ones.

I bought Duncan a Dora Snakes and Ladders game for $1.00 and I bought this vintage Fisher Price Pocket Radio (circa 1972) for a quarter. I also bought this vintage ruler and the happy glass hen mug for a quarter.

I had one of these when I was a youngin'.

I bought this stylish linen martini tea towel for a quarter.

I also bought this functional Tupperware salad container for $1.00. The woman told me that she used it a lot. She also shared some memories of eating salad with her daughters when they were little girls. I love the backstories of yard sale finds.

This is a nifty function - instant drainage! We'll use this container for sure when we start harvesting basil for our annual pesto production.

Treasures From Goodwill By The Pound

My sister Lise drove the gang (her kids - Devlin and Eden, along with Duncan and yours truly) to Goodwill By The Pound today. I had never been. Eden wondered whether or not it would be a productive visit or not. It was. Goodwill By The Pound is a cross between a church rummage sale and a Chinese buffet. They just keep on wheeling out binloads of stuff. You could spend the whole day there just diving in these giant blue containers. Many people had shopping carts piled high with clothes and other random things. They charge you $1.99 a pound, but the more you buy, the cheaper the price. If you have 100 pounds or more, it's .99 a pound.

The map above shows you how to get there.

Here's my swell nephew Devlin searching for retro athletic wear and other cool stuff.

You need a bit of Attention Surplus Disorder to navigate through the bins.

A stature of a praying girl.

Acres of albums for the vinyl nerd in your life.

My stash: This pretty Made in Japan apple cup.

Here's the leafy back of the cheerful cup.

I bought these four glasses for nostalgic reasons. We had several of these growing up. You used to get shrimp cocktail in them. Behind the drinking glasses you'll find a vase-like CN Tower glass circa mid-eighties.

The glass features a junior high cocktail recipe on it and a CN Tower-sized clown.

My extra special find was this vintage Pyrex beaker. It's about 15 cm (6") tall. I couldn't resist these colourful measuring spoons either. Happy baking moments to come!

I also bought this palm tree handbag. I'm not really a purse person, but I could be persuaded to start a collection.

Here are two Made in Japan earthenware saucers. They came with cups that were badly chipped, so I bought the saucers for plants. I also bought this earthenware pot to put a plant in.

In addition to the pieces pictured above, I bought a pile of books for Duncan and my classroom and several science-related posters. In all, I spent $12.00. I'll post my teachery finds on The Foolscap Flyer in the near future. I am a happy shopper.

So You Think You Can Dance Season 5 My Two Cents

I've noticed that my post about Wade Robson's choreography has brought a few people to this blog. In light of this, I thought I'd weigh in on this season of So You Think You Can Dance. Overall, I feel like this season has been lacking. There are some talented dancers to be sure, but apart from Janette, nobody seems to have the complete package of technical skills, personality, and versatility. Where are the likes of Benji, Sabra, and Josh? I'm also disappointed with the choreography this season. They have done well to bring in some new choreographers, but they still depend too much on Napoleon and Tabitha. Is it just me, or does all their stuff look like a GAP commercial? I love Wade Robson (only used twice this season) and I think Joey Dowling is a keeper. I kind of miss Alex De Silva. His choreography was always the kiss of death, but he looked amazing and drove a cool hotrod.

I still watch the show religiously and last night's episode (with the group dances of guys and girls) had more polish and energy, so there's hope that the remaining episodes will have more pizazz. Here is Brandon and Janette's red hot Argentine Tango.

That Seventies Mug - Knotty But Nice

My sister is taking me to Goodwill by the Pound on Friday, so I hope to share some cool stuff that I am hoping to find. Let's hope the sun is shining on Saturday and that dozens of seniors in East York are holding garage sales. Sniff.

In the meanwhile, I thought I'd share a ubiquitous Made In Japan mug that I bought for a quarter at a yard sale last month. My son dropped my large York University mug yesterday. I dug this mug out a tad reluctantly. Was it pretty, or butt ugly?

Here it is in all its avocado green glory. My homegirl, Kate Bush looks on in the background.
The verdict? I like it. It's a nice size and holds just the right amount of tea or coffee. The ropey texture is surprisingly sensuous to the touch. Looking at the mug, I imagine secretaries in the seventies in wraparound skirts and clogs on a coffee break. All this for a lousy quarter. What a world.

Old Bamboo Tennis Racket

I had a poke around the Woodbine Value Village last night. Alas, nothing funky for the house, but I did score this cool Madison Super Speed racket for $5.99 - that's less than the cost of a hot beverage at Starbucks. Duncan and I have been watching the tennis players at the East York Tennis Club. Last year, a lady at a garage sale gave him a little racket (I'm sure it has a proper name, but I'm terrible at these athletic things). With my Super Speed, we're now ready for a full-out game of sloppy driveway tennis.