Punishable By ...

"Dude, where's your manners?"

A few minutes ago, I thought I'd nip out to water the plants on my porch and enjoy the pleasant breeze and late day sun. Just as I picked up the watering can I heard the unmistakable sound of nail clippers in action. Clip, clip, CLIP! I glanced over two houses down to confirm my horror. Yes, one of the dudes who lives there was sitting out on the porch happily cutting his fingernails completely oblivious to social norms and me - his nice neighbour who takes care of personal hygiene in the bathroom like regular folk. With a nauseous feeling stirring in my stomach, I put down the watering can and ran over to the garden hose. I ran down the driveway and with the water turned up to Olympic levels and began soaking the tomato plants in the backyard. 


After a good five minutes, I returned to the front of the house only to see and hear the porch troll cutting his toenails - this time in the company of his roommate who wasn't about to let his friend's grooming get in the way of their conversation. 


I believe that anyone caught clipping in public should be sent away to Plum Island and forced to read everything written by Miss Manners. Entry back into civilization will only be granted when the offending person writes a 2,000 word essay on the importance of grooming in private spaces. They must also pass a test on the subject and promise to never cut finger or toenails ever again in public. 


Thank you,
I feel better now.

Tootling Around Lake Erie

Last week we took Duncan to "A Day Out With Thomas" in St. Thomas. We decided to keep the adventure going along the shores of Lake Erie. Here are a few snaps from the road. I'll try to post some pictures of my vintage yard sale treasures later today. Cheers, Erin. 

 Duncan had just asked Sir Topham Hat how many times he's been married and his question was greeted with an icy reception. 

Skipping stones at the lake - a simple pleasure. 

The pretty lighthouse at Port Burwell. You'd think that climbing a few stairs in a lighthouse wouldn't be such a big ordeal but they were so steep. I spent the next few days with my thighs covered in Deep Heat. 

View from the top of the lighthouse. 

The dirty charm of Port Rowan's marina. 

Big Dick, a small, but well loved vessel is left up on oil drums for happy lakeside photo ops. 

Just "Beet" It

 This is the first time I've really been able to be free and enjoy time off this summer. I'm not taking any courses, Duncan is out of daycare and at a great age to take off on daily adventures. Oh yeah, the Tour de France is in full swing. We're all fanatics. Here, Duncan models his new hat and t-shirt. I could go on, but my sense is that most people don't share my passion, so I'll move on...

 Last week I bought beets at the East York farmer's market. I phoned my mom who quickly rattled off the ratios of vinegar, sugar, and water needed to pickle beets. Voila - here are my lovely beets. Please forgive my crusty ring around the burner!

I've also taken up fishing again. This week, Ontario folk were allowed to fish without a license, so we bought some bargain rods at Canadian Tire and hit three locations: Grenadier Pond at High Park (above and below photos), the Don River (which we biked to), and Newcastle. Sadly we didn't catch any fish, but we had fun. I don't recommend fishing at Grenadier Pond. It's full of weeds. Duncan spectacularly fell into the pond and managed to pull himself out, which is lucky as he just started swimming lessons. While he dried off, we were entertained by a yoga group - "Pull the energy up out of the earth. Scoop it with your hands." 

Duncan in his Jaws-meets-Daryl-Sheets-From-Storage-Wars shirt. It's a lifestyle. 

I hadn't been to the local Value Village in some time, so I stuck my head in this week. They had completely moved things around. The place looked cleaner, but lacked the overstuffed charm of previous years. I did find this crazy Made in Japan palmistry dish. It looks like it could be an ashtray, which would be pretty funny. I don't believe in palm reading, etc. but I like the artistry of the mystical hokum. 

Today, I took Duncan to Kensington Market. I collect Mexican folk art and couldn't resist adding another piece to my collection when I stepped into Courage My Love. I like this humorous scene from a wedding.

 View from above.

Duncan chose four Mexican wrestlers. They cost $1 each, which I thought was good value. After that, we grabbed some tacos from a take-away and ate our yummy food in a sketchy local park. It's all part of the colour that makes the city great. I hope to do some thrifting out of town soon. We'll see how it goes. 
Bye for now!

The Paltry Pickings in East York

I'm ashamed to call myself the Yardsale Snoop these days. I have been trying, don't get me wrong. Apart from the fact that I sleep in a little on Saturdays, I do get out on my bike and have been hitting the street and rummage sales hard. The demographics of my neighbourhood have changed drastically since we bought our house 14  years ago. There aren't so many older people anymore. It's mostly younger people trying to get rid of baby gear. Anyway, I have picked up a few good things in the past few weeks. Here are some of the highlights. 

Duncan discovered this galvanized aluminum windmill. It looks old, but had a Made in China sticker on it. It was bought at the Main Street Street Sale four $5.00. 

 I bought this very old farm saw a few weeks back at the Monarch Park Street Sale. A 30-ish man sold it to me for $10.00. He told me that he lived on a farm once and found this saw in a barn. I love it. 

Believe it or not, but I carried it home on my bike and came close to sawing my leg off. Surgery has come a long way since the Civil War.

 Here's a tin that pretty on the inside and out. 

Here's a photo album and Greek paper clip. 

Always handy in a classroom or at home. 

 The local Anglican church had their parking lot sale yesterday. I always reluctantly go because the prices are always too high. It's one of those sales where people in the community can rent a table for $20 to get rid of their over-priced junk. Believe it or not, the only good things I found were these vintage Christmas stickers. They don't make the lick 'n stick stickers anymore. I got the two packs for .25 - a true East York deal!

All the Buildings in New York

I read an article in today's Toronto Star about Australian illustrator James Gulliver Hancock who is determined to sketch every building in New York. Click here for a link to his blog. Click here for a link to the star article. I love the look of his sketches. You can tell that a lot of love has gone into the project. 

An Orange-Coloured Day

Illustrator Adam Gustavson recently tracked me down, asking if I would be willing to part with a cowboy guitar I bought some time ago at a Goodwill store for a picture in a book he is illustrating. The guitar was badly in need of repair, but I really liked it, so I bought it for $5. Gustavson's work is incredible. He wanted the guitar to ensure accuracy in his painting. How could I say no? Check out his blog http://adamgustavson.blogspot.ca/ Below is the guitar before being surrounded in packing material. I'm waiting to hear if the guitar made it south of the border.