Living Lean and Loving It...

A fellow blogger and friend posted a link on Facebook about a family living on $20,000 a year. And they pay rent! The home is beautifully decorated and they're close to an incredible beach. They have my respect.


Sometimes life moves in directions you hadn't planned. Sometimes? Let's be real here and make that oftentimes. 


Seven years ago I had left a good job with good pay. So did Hubs. We realized when we met (nineteen years ago) that we might not always be in that position so we created a goal to work towards. That goal became owning a home which then became the plan to make the dream of homeownership a reality. Yea... something like that.


We had no debt so this was a good start. We lived way below our means which was pretty simply done. All it meant was that we didn't move up the ladder of higher rent and bigger, more expensive things. We still enjoyed day trips to our favorite places, eating in trendy restaurants and didn't have the financial pressure of those unexpected expenses that happen to all of us. 


In eleven years, we were able to reach our goal and I was chomping at the bit to get on with the plan. So, we bought our house here in the East Coast country, clear across Canada. A big move to say the least. 


That was seven years ago. Much has changed. Things we didn't plan for, hurdles we didn't think existed. 


I am at a crossroads of sorts. It's not bad. I get excited about it really. I'm about to venture down a new path but I can't finish this just now. I'm getting ready to go walking with a friend. This is becoming my daily requirement. Finally.


Oh, in case you're wondering about the subject header? I'll get to that later. Hopefully, tomorrow and I plan on keeping my blog exercises in better shape.

Pretty things....

Monet rolo chain necklace 

This beauty is 30 inches long and has the feel of quality.

So gorgeous! These are 12 kt gold filled and in excellent condition.

Are these not to-die-for? Seriously!

Milk glass clip-ons. The pedals are 'strung' on and 'wiggly'

Chanel gift box. Need I say more?

... only to say another Chanel gift box. Hello!

Hearty Soup for the Soul

This past year has been challenging, to say the least. In an economy and demographic where work is hard to find (and I'm not bilingual which is a BIG issue here), I felt that I had to terminate my job working offsite for a small printer in PEI. It was more than I could endure on a personal level and it was starting to affect my stress levels. The other party refused to acknowledge their treatment of others. And then we had to say goodbye to our sweetest dog, Mikey who we tried to save but could not. A tough decision, indeed.

I've been cleaning up my computer and came across a graphic file I put together from a 'story' I found online. It's beautiful and touches my heart. I hope it touches yours. You will have to click on it to be able to read it unless you have special super powers.

Excitement at the river's edge

It's a bit of a distance for my camera to capture good quality video but this was too exciting not to capture. There were several (at least five) juvenile eagles and three or more adults. I couldn't see past my neighbour's and since I was in my PJs, standing on the porch, I was a bit limited but I know there were more. Suddenly, something caused them to scatter... I'm not sure what. And then it was over. If you have your sound up, you can hear them (and then you can hear Colby who didn't like that I was on the porch while he was stuck inside). 


I was glad to be privy to this magnificent event, let alone getting it on video. What a treat! Today, I watched two of the juvenile eagles jostling with each other in flight. No time to get my camera, though. Burn!

Bleh!

It's been a while since I posted. I mean to keep my blog alive because I find it's a good exercise for me. It's a healthy thing to do (well.. for me, it is). 


My life is in the midst of transition. It feels like hell.. lots of turmoil and as I look forward, I see nothing but a blank wall. It's a season of change. One day I'm up and then I'm down. I have plans that excite me and then fear sets in. Some aliens came and stole some of my brain matter. They hail from the planet Hormone. I've been left in a fog but I understand it's not permanent. Yup.


All kidding aside, though.... I quit my work-from-home dream job that became a living nightmare. My prospects of future work given the demographics of where I live are not good. I live in the country. I live in a French village and the province I live in is bilingual. I have a skilled trade that I worked hard at for over 20 years and when I came to this place (that I still love) I went to 'ZERO' as far as employment goes. I'll never work at the level I once did and I'm eyeing early retirement. That just sounds so surreal.


I have no regrets quitting my job. I was torture and I'll not go on about it. Let's just say that it was a no brainer proving just cause for quitting and I was accepted to receive employment insurance. I hate it so much but grateful for it. 


Recently, our beloved dog Mikey and best friend in the world got very sick and we tried to save him but we couldn't. It's a huge loss. My hubs is devastated as they were so close. Our blind guy, Colby really misses him, too. We're trying to keep him busy with play time but the weather's been miserable so it's a challenge. We're making sure to give him lots of love and cuddles. Time will help to ease the pain. It's only been one week.

So, that's it. I know this is just a season. Better things are in store and I'm still so very thankful for so many things. I'm thankful I'm not in that abusive work relationship. It was horrible. I'm thankful that I have EI (really thankful). I'm thankful that I have my hubs and my Colby, and CeCe, my cat, too. I can tell she misses Mikey cause she's not being bad to the bone at all. I mean, she hasn't even scratched my favorite vintage red chair since Mikey 'went away'. 

Slow Death of my Bedside Clock

A few years back, I found the cutest vintage alarm clock on eBay. I was smitten but when it arrived, it looked rather dirty, the kind that cleaning won't remove. I had really wanted a rhinestone alarm clock but they sell for more than I'm willing to pay. So, I settled for something that was cute and affordable.


Hubs said he could give it a fresh coat of paint in an off-white and it turned out much better than I could have hoped for. Then I got to thinking... I could still have my vintage rhinestone clock so I set about fitting and glueing a strand of glittery rhinestones around the bezel. Perfection!

The clock that I love.

Well, all good things must come to an end. The power had been shut off several times during our mudroom reno and resetting the time more times than normal proved to be too much for my clock that I love. I had noticed for some time that the inner workings were getting tired. The 'teeth' around the ten after mark have worn down and the minute hand just stays in the same position... minute after minute after minute. I'm so sad. It was perfect beside my bed, the clock that I love. 

I looked online at some vintage clocks but my needs take huge priority over my wants right now so I just went to a 'big box' store and bought a Baby Ben wind up clock... no batteries, no electricity. I just have to remember to wind it everyday. It's a boring little thing with a smoky acrylic crystal. 

And then I got to thinking... I have this sweet vintage clear rhinestone choker with some pretty blue stones and it might spruce up my boring Baby Ben, plus I'm still using a vintage embellishment. After a bit of a struggle applying glue, which I had to do in stages, it's OK. Darn cute, really but it's not fitting with my color/decor theme and it's not the clock that I love which is now retired to my mantle, just for the sake of looking pretty. My 'new' clock with the vintage bling will grow on me, I'm sure, over time but it's not about form over function. It serves a purpose. I just want it prettied up.

Adding bling to boring.

Yard Sale!

It's high time I got this online yard sale going. I don't know what's stopping me. I have this fear of the unknown... jumping in head first and then realizing I forgot to test the waters. It's foolish of me... I can't explain it. How hard can it be to list items with clear photos and honest details on each item? I get tripped up on the shipping costs, the payment transaction (I have a seller's status eBay account AND paypal). So, what's my problem? I don't know! I wanted to blog for a year before I started one. 

So anyway, everything shown on this blog and over here is up for grabs (you will need to visit the archive pages which should be simple enough since there aren't many). I've included a "contact me" button on both blogs so if there's interest in any item, please message me, be sure to include your contact info and I'll be happy to answer any questions. 

Over the course of the next few (or several) days, I'll be listing things on eBay so once I've managed to work my way into it, and past the learning curve, then I'll happily supply my 'sellers name' or whatever it is one searches for when looking for a particular seller's items. I'm not new to eBay, really. I've been a buyer over the years. The selling part, though, is quite a different matter.


Meanwhile... here's a few more things added to my purge list.

Sweetest vintage angel candle huggers in mint condition

I recently acquired two Tom Kuhn vintage yoyos (circa 1998). Now, I don't 'yo yo' and I don't (or didn't) know much about them. I just saw these beautiful hardwood yoyos (in their original boxes) and snapped them up. I was delighted to find they are quality made and retail in the $50 range (each). I have the Sleep Machine and the Roller Woody. Perhaps they'll find their way under someone's Christmas tree this year and for a great price, too!

Hardwood (maple) and just a beautifully crafted yoyo

'Yet another pair eye-grabbing chunky 80's earrings... there more in here or my other blog. Pretty sure I double posted some pics, too. It's confusing when you mix two blogs with the same content. Oh well... my blog, my rules. 

Now, this is chunky! Clip-ons if you're wondering.

Maybe I should wear these for part of a day
and see how they feel. Do they appear to be staring at you?

Here's some tamer vintage earrings by Raynor Inc. Not too much found online about this company but the pearl earrings have genuine pearls and 14k gold filled which a step up from gold plate. The twisted 'loop' earrings have GF stamped backings but the posts read 14k gold so it's possible these are more than gold filled but I can't say for sure.

Pretty and delicate.

14k gold stamped posts. Can't say for certain if earrings
are gold or gold filled but they are lovely.