BooKS, SUNshINE, JUNK, and SchNitZEL ... ah, LIFE is SWEET !!!

Wow ... we can pack a weekend !! We get 1.5 days as our weekend and we get the most out of it that we can. It usually means a lot of work at night AFTER work but we don't mind working hard so we can PLAY HARD !!!
This weekend we took off for Halifax after work on Saturday. We made our usual stops to buy bags and then off to shop ... Costco, Michaels for magazines, chicken Marsala for supper (yummo!), and then Chapters for some awesome books & mags !!Then we headed home, bags full of books. Happy happy. This time I had a great book on preserving, another on making and binding books, and another on great sock creatures. Lots to inspire me !!
Sunday we decided to go to Graff Brothers in St Bernard. The drive there was lovely. When we turned into the driveway I felt the clouds part and a blessed light shone down. I think I even heard music ! I LOVE JUNK !!! And there was so much ... a school full, little buildings full, lean-tos full, piles in the yard, piles out back ... AAAAAHHHHH !!! JUNK HEAVEN !!! It was awesome. We poked around for a long time - paper, metal, doors, windows, stretchers, desks, bowling alley floor, .. you name it ! There was a 12 foot bowling alley return ... and if we had taken the truck I know it would be ours !! Next time maybe !
Here are a few of the treasures I found ...

The bucket, the pattern, and the tin Christmas tree light shields are from Grandma's Barn in Plympton (?). The rest was from The Graff Brothers - photos, all the metal pieces, and the 2 books of sheet music ... all $5 !!! Then I went back and bought the tin tile and the pieces of tin trim. I think the tile will be a great magnet board and the trim will make great birdhouse roofs !!(Thanks Taryn for sharing it with your blog readers !!). These are the tin pieces ... aren't they great ??!! The quilt came from Grandma's too ... also $5 !! A little worse for wear but who cares ?
Since we were that far, we decided to keep going. Back to my old college - Universite Sainte Anne - I haven't been there for over 20 years. I hardly recognized anything in the area ... the restaurant we used to go to was gone, the residence I lived in looked pretty worn out, there were lots of new buildings ... totally changed. Oh well. On we went ...
We ended up in Yarmouth where we found the restaurant we used to go to all those years ago ... the Austrian Inn ... still there & with the same owner !! We hadn't had lunch so we decided to have an early dinner before heading home. As I ate my lovely schnitzel, I looked around and realized it was just us and a handful of very seniors. It felt like we were part of the blue haired wave looking for the early bird special !!! REALLY ... we were just hungry. HONEST we hadn't had lunch ...
As we were headed home, the most beautiful sunshine appeared and we drove home, stopping at a few more junk spots, under the bluest sky. A great day !
A few hours gardening ( weeding !!), doing laundry, making lunches, and whatever else needed to be done and the weekend had come to an end. But it was another one well lived and enjoyed !! HOORAY !!
Oh ... and then we come to work Monday and I find this !!!
It was leaning up against the Red Cross box and I took it !! And I don't feel bad either ! Actually, they won't take that kind of thing ... they only want clothing & shoes. So it would have been discarded. I though it was wonderful ... kind of like the Junk Gods were smiling on me !! So now I have a potential table top also stuffed in the back seat of the car ... along with all the other GREAT STUFF !!! WOOT WOOT !!
Now back to working hard ...