Saturday, January 5

Little Pleasures.

One of my favourite passtimes is to browse garage sales when possible.
We have made some wonderful fun finds, & it is always nice to get a rockbottom priced bargain. Plus it is always good to recycle!

This gem of a Cookie Jar was one such find. My daughter loves pigs, & has quite a large collection of all things pig. When I saw this lovely cookie jar, in mint conditon, for a mere $2 I had to buy it for her. She was thrilled, & has it proudly on display on her kitchen counter.

We couldn't decide whether the pig should be facing this way, or the other. Daughter J says the lid, which is the Pig, seems to fit best this way.
I must admit, it brings a smile to most people's faces!
Our friend L came out this morning & got a wonderful bargain bicycle, in mint condition for a price too cheap to mention!
She rode it home, while Gom drove her car home, & I drove ours. I think she regretted the decision to do that! It was so hot & humid with the damp conditions, she was very hot & quite exhausted on reaching home! Gom had offered to ride it for her, & I was rather glad he hadn't when I saw L, who is much younger & presumably fitter!!
***********
I hadn't seen Small Grandson for about a week, since his father's work schedule has enabled him to be home to care for him. I was getting withdrawal symptoms, so I decided on this wretched, grey, intermittently showery day, to go & collect him, & take him out to a Duck Pond to feed the ducks.
He was delighted at the prospect of an outing, & his mother was glad to have a break. His father is on night shift again, so they have to creep about, & try to keep quiet.
Here is a 'forbidden pleasure' these days. He was given this for Christmas, & luckily we have had a good bit of rain, to fill it. With water so tightly restricted, it is not a good plan to use it frivolously! One layer had gone flat, & luckily I had bought a pump for $3 at the garage sale, so it was just the perfect item!
I collected SG & a generous donation of some stale bread, & off we went to the Duck Pond. It is a pretty area maintained by some community group, & the ducks seem to know it for a sanctuary, & they are always present.

I love this photo of the little boy, SG, standing so carefully tossing the bread for the ducks

On the way, I stopped to photograph gum blossom blown from the tall gum trees. Not a very good pic! I realised to my disgust that my batteries were almost out.

I had wanted to get lots of pics of SG with ducks, & so I was very disgusted with myself for not taking the camera I have been loaned. And/or the extra batteries I have.

SG was delighted when Mr Big Duck came & ate from his hand! I told him to be careful, as ducks can hurt with those big bills!

We think this one was Mr Duck, as he is larger than the darker Mrs Duck. He was quite bold too.
However Mrs Duck was a little timid & would not take his offerings from his hand, & she kept her distance.

There were many other plainer, smaller, ducks on the water, but none of the pics I took came out, so the batteries must have been too low.
*****
I seem to have a curious feeling that the days are just 'rotting out from under me'. My brother was quite amused by this thought, & as he has been on holiday, & according to him, not achieving much, it is rather a good description!
He is off to stay with a Beloved Aunt, who is unwell presently. I wish I was there too. Our cousin, her daughter is staying with her, after having her at her place for a week. Slow improvement is a worry. She has diabetes, & not being able to eat is a serious problem, as a result.
Beloved Brother is to attend another Cousin's 40th wedding anniversary tomorrow.
*******
I had thought to do a post about the little French couple's cottage, that became ours. I think I may have one or two photos, so must look them out. I do have some but they show little or nothing of the house.
Jean-Michel Jarre, Equinoxe







26 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love the pig cookie jar. What a good find. It made me smile too.

Mary said...

Have finally joined bloglines so can save myself a lot of time and get over here quickly!!

That first photo of SG is wonderful. I love photos of people you know and love in the distance. Might be something in that!

Yes yes french couples cottage!

Casdok said...

A very unsual cookie jar! Its amazing what you can find!

Aunty Evil said...

I love garage sales! Not many around at the moment, and that is driving me crazy, as I missed out on a lot when I was working with Santa 6 days a week!

Joyce said...

I love garage sales to but DH hates them so I usually only get to them when I'm in Australia because my daughter loves them too. The cookie jar is very cute.

CONNIE W said...

Great photos...love the cookie jar. Grandson is as cute as ever there feeding the ducks. Happy weekend.

Joni said...

The cookie jar seems very unique and funny!

I admit I love ducks, the way the waddle and swim effortlessly but darn can they be messy! I know SG loved seeing them.

Happy New Year!

ancient one said...

Yes, Yes, on the garage/yard sales!! I love to say, I'm going to collect "this"... whatever I decide.. immediately I will see them everywhere at all the sales...Bells, Raggedy Anns and teapots are three of these..

Loved the picture of SG at the duck pond. A memory that will not be forgotten!!

That pig cookie jar was too cute. Made me smile.

Imagine dad working night shift and seven children and mom trying to be quite... that was our life. People comment to me all the time, how they don't know how all of us could live in that small house..

Enjoyed this post!!

Linda G. said...

Wonderful post, Meggie!
That cookie jar is a pig collector's dream!
The pictures of your SGS and the ducks are beautiful, especially clicked for detail;)
Good idea letting the rain fill the swimming pool.
There is an old homemade swimming pool here, but we've never filled it because of the drought..

~Bren~ said...

GREAT cookie jar!

Lone Grey Squirrel said...

My wife and I are also into anything "piggy". She would have loved that cookie jar. By the way, I cannot hear any of your music for some reason but I have been reading who you have been putting on your playlist and I must say that I am impressed by your wide and eclectic range.

Julia said...

Good for old garage sales!

meggie I am passing this award on to you..because you do!
"You Make Me Smile"..
The awards rules are to“Give the award to up to 10 people whose blogs bring you happiness and inspiration and make you feel so happy about blogland!
Let them know by posting a comment on their blog so that they can pass it on. Beware! You may get the award several times!

smilnsigh said...

Great cookie jar! Betcha' that would bring a 'pretty price,' with some collector. ,-)

Precious pics of SG feeding the ducks. And there are more of those, with the red on their heads. We don't see them up here. But I think I've seen them, in blogs of people in TX or some such. Maybe they like warm weather.... ???

Take your time in telling us about the little French couple's cottage. I can wait. :-) And even if you don't have pics, you can describe it. :-)

Thank you for the sweet things you said about my picture. But I'm far from _sweet_ in Real Life. LOL. And I'm also far from ageless. But I love it when someone says something like that, about my Pretty Blog Land personna. 'Cause I quote them to my family, and they laugh uproariously!

Mari-Nanci

Mike said...

A friend of mine loves garage sales too. He and his wife spend most Saturdays looking for a bargain. A few months ago he bought an accordion. He has absolutely no idea how to play it, but it was cheap and he thought it was in great shape.

Boggles the mind.

Anonymous said...

Duck feeding with a little one is indeed one of life's free treats.

Thimbleanna said...

What a great little cookie jar Meggie! It looks as though you've had a wonderful time with SG too -- what a cutie he is!

Lucy said...

Actually duck pecks don't hurt usually, since they have sensitive bills for rootling around in the mud.
Peacock pecks really hurt!

Christine Thresh said...

The picture of your grandson in his red shirt feeding the ducks is really good. It could be an award winner in a photo show.

Joke said...

That cookie jar is glorious!

-J.

Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson said...

The red shirt was a perfect accent to the lush green that you have right now. sorry the humidity is so high though, that kind of ruins it.

Judy said...

Looks like the verdict is already in on the cookie jar!

I have a plaster hog (upper half of a hog, and must be called a hog rather than a pig because he appears to be really fat) in a chef's hat, holding a plate that says "Fine Food". It's a wall hanging at the entry to my kitchen. Absolutely outlandish with the general decor, but it tickles me. One day I'll photograph it and put it on the blog. Pigs have that certain charm...

What is grander than a day with the grandchild? What fun you must have had feeding the ducks.

All that's good in the New Year!

Granny J said...

Oh, I dassen't go to a garage sale!! It's bad enough when I pay a two or three times a year visit to a couple of my favorite thrift shops. But then, for a pig on a cookie jar???? Who could pass that up?

Ian Lidster said...

Love the cookie jar.
Muscovy ducks are very different. They wag their tails and they don't quack. I only know because I used to keep ducks when I was a boy.

fifi said...

ha ha, a piggy jar, reminds you that you shouldn't have too many cookies!

You must go to good garage sales...I never see anything worth buying.


I have to say that inflatable pool gave me a nasty feeling...the little girl two streets away drowned in one last month. It was full of rainwater, and she tripped into it.. I watched the helicopter take her away, i could see it from here.Too horrendous. Be vigilant, it takes only seconds...

corry said...

What a great find! I love that cookie jar...so funny!

Tanya Brown said...

SG is a delight, and the cookie jar was a wonderful find.

Another great Meggie post - thank you.