I cannot wait to go back to Paris. I guess I think if I say it enough times it will happen.
I have not been to all places but I have been to a few and believe me unless you have to have sun, beach and bars than go to your Florida.....I will save my pennies to go back to Paris.
All those warnings about rude French People...not true! Really they say hi to everyone and good bye when you leave they are delightful!!
Rumors about you must speak French.... not true - but also in saying that dont be stupid as you must know a few things.
The food is easy as markets and shops are everywhere. We went to the grocery store and the cheese shops and fish markets (Oysters amazing and cheap). Wine OMG cheap and wonderful and if you want to stick with just wine and the most flavourful coffee in the world do it!
I will be posting more about our trip in the next few days.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Antique Rug and a Dogs Behind
This week at the St Lawrence Market.
It was filled with the usual excitement and wonderful treasures.
We arrived a little late this week as we have been remodelling a little and the old bones are sore.
I paid Mathew to unload us so that my husband and I could look for treasure. Matthew is a great young man who recently discovered his birth mom.
A friend of mine and her mom where selling this week and they had brought some great Japan wind-ups. They needed a little TLC so others avoided them but I am a wizard at fixing cast offs so I grabbed them all. I got 4 for $70.00 and once repaired they will each be worth that. Nice for my collection.
A silence came over the crowd early as my friend dressed down another dealer. He was left speechless which is rare but muttered it wasn't him, but we all know it was.
I also picked up some super soft linen sheets for my bed with just the right amount of home spun patching, yummy.
Sales at the market where a little slow this week but if you where a buyer then the world was your oyster. Lots to choose from and flexible pricing was the word of the day.
As the morning moved to afternoon I ordered a Greek salad from the snack bar that was delicious. While enjoying this a young lady came into a both with a poodle type dog. She was very friendly and interested in antiques. As she checked out all the items her dog threw his back legs in the air and proceed to drag his behind across a beautiful cream coloured antique wool rug like a broken wind-up toy. I really don't like small dogs or the use of guns but felt at that moment ......oh well. She scooped him up embarrassed and left me with a reminder that rugs are not a good thing to sell at the antique market.
It was filled with the usual excitement and wonderful treasures.
We arrived a little late this week as we have been remodelling a little and the old bones are sore.
I paid Mathew to unload us so that my husband and I could look for treasure. Matthew is a great young man who recently discovered his birth mom.
A friend of mine and her mom where selling this week and they had brought some great Japan wind-ups. They needed a little TLC so others avoided them but I am a wizard at fixing cast offs so I grabbed them all. I got 4 for $70.00 and once repaired they will each be worth that. Nice for my collection.
A silence came over the crowd early as my friend dressed down another dealer. He was left speechless which is rare but muttered it wasn't him, but we all know it was.
I also picked up some super soft linen sheets for my bed with just the right amount of home spun patching, yummy.
Sales at the market where a little slow this week but if you where a buyer then the world was your oyster. Lots to choose from and flexible pricing was the word of the day.
As the morning moved to afternoon I ordered a Greek salad from the snack bar that was delicious. While enjoying this a young lady came into a both with a poodle type dog. She was very friendly and interested in antiques. As she checked out all the items her dog threw his back legs in the air and proceed to drag his behind across a beautiful cream coloured antique wool rug like a broken wind-up toy. I really don't like small dogs or the use of guns but felt at that moment ......oh well. She scooped him up embarrassed and left me with a reminder that rugs are not a good thing to sell at the antique market.
Monday, April 19, 2010
www.antiqueshowscanada.com/
For the very best Antique Show attend this show. Educated dealers and very wide selection.
Saturday, April 3, 2010
What can You find in an Old Cardboard Box
I am woke up every Saturday morning with quacking ducks, a great alarm on my ipod, love it. This makes me think of spring and flowers and best of all garage sales. It is a promise of found treasure and my heart beat races as the car pulls up to each new address.
I restrain my self from jumping out of the car so I am not lumped into that group of desperate dealers they're called. They exit the car while still in drive and push their way past everyone. Why? You may ask, well simply because it is their business. They support themselves on what they make from garage sales, estate sales, news paper adds and the list goes on. You snooze you loose and it could mean the difference between rent paid not.
For instance 4 years ago we visited London Ontario, great place, older homes and treasure. My husband and I happened on this little garage sale, mostly junk. Over in a old cardboard box was a chandelier, beautiful with all its crystals but dirty. It was obviously taken from a old home and replaced with Ikea lights. (my dream come true) It had 200 written on a piece of paper on the top of the box. Never go by the price always ask "Whats the best you'll take?" Then ask for it for less. So we did and the answer was 2 bucks.....really so we paid the 2 bucks no need to ask for less this time.
Down to the Antique Market we go with our treasure at 5 am in the morning. This is the best time to go as all the high end dealers from Queen St West., Rosedale, The Annex, and the list goes are there with cash in hand ready to deal.
We where swarmed! This was a treasure! Again the trick is let others make the price especially if you don't have a clue. I say to the first dealer interested "make an offer", as he fondles the crystals and the look in his eyes are already selling it in his mind to someone else. Then another dealers interrupts and you stop him because you are a good honest person and you are only dealing with one person at a time. At that point you original sales goes up and the price is set and the item is sold. This all happens very fast and you can't get flustered, you must keep a clear head and a happy face. My God I love this business.
I will post regularly with new episodes of my experiences at the St. Lawrence Antique Market.
I restrain my self from jumping out of the car so I am not lumped into that group of desperate dealers they're called. They exit the car while still in drive and push their way past everyone. Why? You may ask, well simply because it is their business. They support themselves on what they make from garage sales, estate sales, news paper adds and the list goes on. You snooze you loose and it could mean the difference between rent paid not.
For instance 4 years ago we visited London Ontario, great place, older homes and treasure. My husband and I happened on this little garage sale, mostly junk. Over in a old cardboard box was a chandelier, beautiful with all its crystals but dirty. It was obviously taken from a old home and replaced with Ikea lights. (my dream come true) It had 200 written on a piece of paper on the top of the box. Never go by the price always ask "Whats the best you'll take?" Then ask for it for less. So we did and the answer was 2 bucks.....really so we paid the 2 bucks no need to ask for less this time.
Down to the Antique Market we go with our treasure at 5 am in the morning. This is the best time to go as all the high end dealers from Queen St West., Rosedale, The Annex, and the list goes are there with cash in hand ready to deal.
We where swarmed! This was a treasure! Again the trick is let others make the price especially if you don't have a clue. I say to the first dealer interested "make an offer", as he fondles the crystals and the look in his eyes are already selling it in his mind to someone else. Then another dealers interrupts and you stop him because you are a good honest person and you are only dealing with one person at a time. At that point you original sales goes up and the price is set and the item is sold. This all happens very fast and you can't get flustered, you must keep a clear head and a happy face. My God I love this business.
I will post regularly with new episodes of my experiences at the St. Lawrence Antique Market.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
What can You find in an Old Cardboard Box
Ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes of a big city Antique Market? Who has expertise, who doesn't. Is what they sell real? Do they know what they are talking about.
The story I will lead up to is about a great Vintage and Antique Market in down town Toronto. I have been blessed to be a part of this market and its stories for over 10 years. Oh what stories I have to tell and what an education I have received.
I went University to prove I was an Artist. So yes I can draw and sculpt and am very creative with ideas, but I'm not that kind of artist. I get bored easily and the thought of 50 of the same style of paintings in a gallery as a body of great work would never be in my future. I am more of a spur of the moment artist. I see something and notice potential in it and I run with it. I also have a love for organization and display of wonderful things, groupings and collections.
This takes me back to my twenties when the need to remove myself from a marriage with my baby daughter forced me to be creative. We lived in a horrible run down house 10 Nolan St. in St. Thomas Ontario. If you put a marble on the floor at one end of the house it would literally pick up speed as it rolled through the house.
I began to sell items in front of my home on Saturday and Sunday mornings to people passing by.It was junk really but people loved what I collected and how I displayed these items so they sold. This helped me to raise enough money to get into a nice little apartment across from my job at the Bank of Montreal. Yes another horrible job that I will discuss later possibly.
My collecting and displaying never stopped and odd jobs would present them selves over the years. I have painting windows in shops for Christmas, painted large agricultural chemical tanks, window displays, taught Art to students, worked in special ed.,and worked at many very awful sales jobs.
Back to the Bank of Montreal, what a terrible place to work. I was a teller stuck behind a desk for hours standing on my feet. Rarely would you get a break and rarely would you get off work when you where suppose too. I was a terrible teller and hated each day at this job. I lost weight and was so worried as they told me I could lose my child if I lost this job. It was during a time when farms where being put out of business and the bank would literally take everything back that a family had built over a life time. So I knew they where capable of many things and compassion was not one of them.It was hard to look at a draw full of money everyday but not have any in my pocket.
I had put my daughter in a day care down the street from my job and she was happy there. She was very smart and was told by the staff she would get special things when she got home because she was so helpful. I was not getting any support at the time from my X husband and money was used to pay old debt, day care and a car and apartment. The last thing I could do was buy special treats but Melissa understood. I felt like a bad mother some times back then. The only good times where with her but sadly I had to share her every second week end with my X.
The bank was where I met my wonderful husband to whom I am married 26 years this year. This was the reason I had to tell you about the bank, a rotten job but a good place to met a husband.
I have two more children, sons, also very smart. They along with my husband and daughter play a huge part in who I am today and why I made certain choices in my life.
Again always collecting. Always displaying and now garage sales, what a wonderful hobby. My husband and I love garage sales and find some amazing treasures. We have gotten up every Saturday morning for the last 20 some odd years at the crack of dawn to garage sale. In what ever place we have lived from Manitoba through Ontario or visited from Florida to Vancouver we have garage saled. Again always collecting and displaying.
It was one of these such week-ends of garage saling that we discovered the St. Lawerence Antique Market. and this is the story I wish to tell.
Till next time.
The story I will lead up to is about a great Vintage and Antique Market in down town Toronto. I have been blessed to be a part of this market and its stories for over 10 years. Oh what stories I have to tell and what an education I have received.
I went University to prove I was an Artist. So yes I can draw and sculpt and am very creative with ideas, but I'm not that kind of artist. I get bored easily and the thought of 50 of the same style of paintings in a gallery as a body of great work would never be in my future. I am more of a spur of the moment artist. I see something and notice potential in it and I run with it. I also have a love for organization and display of wonderful things, groupings and collections.
This takes me back to my twenties when the need to remove myself from a marriage with my baby daughter forced me to be creative. We lived in a horrible run down house 10 Nolan St. in St. Thomas Ontario. If you put a marble on the floor at one end of the house it would literally pick up speed as it rolled through the house.
I began to sell items in front of my home on Saturday and Sunday mornings to people passing by.It was junk really but people loved what I collected and how I displayed these items so they sold. This helped me to raise enough money to get into a nice little apartment across from my job at the Bank of Montreal. Yes another horrible job that I will discuss later possibly.
My collecting and displaying never stopped and odd jobs would present them selves over the years. I have painting windows in shops for Christmas, painted large agricultural chemical tanks, window displays, taught Art to students, worked in special ed.,and worked at many very awful sales jobs.
Back to the Bank of Montreal, what a terrible place to work. I was a teller stuck behind a desk for hours standing on my feet. Rarely would you get a break and rarely would you get off work when you where suppose too. I was a terrible teller and hated each day at this job. I lost weight and was so worried as they told me I could lose my child if I lost this job. It was during a time when farms where being put out of business and the bank would literally take everything back that a family had built over a life time. So I knew they where capable of many things and compassion was not one of them.It was hard to look at a draw full of money everyday but not have any in my pocket.
I had put my daughter in a day care down the street from my job and she was happy there. She was very smart and was told by the staff she would get special things when she got home because she was so helpful. I was not getting any support at the time from my X husband and money was used to pay old debt, day care and a car and apartment. The last thing I could do was buy special treats but Melissa understood. I felt like a bad mother some times back then. The only good times where with her but sadly I had to share her every second week end with my X.
The bank was where I met my wonderful husband to whom I am married 26 years this year. This was the reason I had to tell you about the bank, a rotten job but a good place to met a husband.
I have two more children, sons, also very smart. They along with my husband and daughter play a huge part in who I am today and why I made certain choices in my life.
Again always collecting. Always displaying and now garage sales, what a wonderful hobby. My husband and I love garage sales and find some amazing treasures. We have gotten up every Saturday morning for the last 20 some odd years at the crack of dawn to garage sale. In what ever place we have lived from Manitoba through Ontario or visited from Florida to Vancouver we have garage saled. Again always collecting and displaying.
It was one of these such week-ends of garage saling that we discovered the St. Lawerence Antique Market. and this is the story I wish to tell.
Till next time.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
It was HINDI!!! so I don't have to...
Ah the things you learn, I was just telling my sister to check this out, she is younger and skinny and has a wonderful tan. I am happy with chocolate...LOL.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
एतस्य
The word I wrote in my title is etsy. Maybe I will have it tatooed to my neck as I think it looks beautiful but WHAT LAUGUAGE is it??? Oh well and does it really say etsy or does it say "I want to eat your hat"...I don't know. but someday I will figure this our..
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