muppinstuff

clothes swap in the park

Last Sunday we had a clothes swap in the park. It was organised as a fundraiser to buy some equipment for our drygoods co-op and it was so much fun (even though I was still in recovery mode and thought I might not make it,  I'm glad I did). It was simple too. The deal was that you arrived with your bag of things to swap; clothes (kid's, men's, women's), books, toys, shoes, some bric a brac. Basically anything good enough to give to the opshop. You paid five dollars per family and you were in. There was also a table with slices of cake, tea and coffee for a gold coin donation. We all started looking at everything as it arrived, of course, but put everything back in the pile. Once everyone was there, we stood around, poised and waited for the word. Then we fossicked. Oh it was good! The only danger was that if you took something off to try something on, it was liable to disappear! And Helke nearly lost her new ugg boots. Oops. But those issues got sorted pretty quickly and it all turned out OK.

 

The best thing I came away with was a beautiful long vintage velvet skirt with a border pattern that I am going to remake into a shorter skirt or some bags.I also picked up a t-shirt to remake slightly for Grace (although it's in an adult size she asked if it was for her - it's stripey and really her colours) and some dress ups. Gerard got some records and Grace got some new toys. We got rid of heaps and heaps of stuff and it was a good feeling that our neighbours got a chance to pick over it before it went to the oppy. Afterwards, a woman from a local opshop came with a van and took the remaining stuff away. It was a winner all round.

I think we're going to do it four times a year now, just before the season changes perhaps. Indeed, I heard that it may be the easiest fundraiser ever. Not that I organised it, but it sure beats being asked to take chocolate from childcare to sell at work. We said no to that one, because we'd just eat it and end up not only having eaten a shitload of very expensive chocolate but paying for it too.  And the clothes swap was great, the kids were talking about it for ages and I think anything where we come home with less stuff than we walked out the door with has to be a good thing.

* * * *

Thank you for your well wishes too. Things are slowly starting to improve, although I am going to have another week off work. I have all these thoughts about the hospital system swirling about my head but maybe I'll leave them until some other time.

Night, night.

cup washers and door handles

I haven't felt much like writing recently. Stuff has been happening, good stuff, not so good stuff, hardly any bad stuff. Mostly I've been feeling lost. There are some pockets of ease, times when I feel I know where I am, spaces that feel mine. But they've been islands in a sea of discombobulation. Although the shakiness I felt last Tuesday (shrink day) has gone, as have the tears (Friday and Tuesday). I put it down to moving and my doctor says to expect it to take some time. We visited our old house last Saturday to finalise some paperwork and I think that visit was at the centre of it all for me. The old house looked the same from the front but on entering it smelt different, looked funny and I had to refrain from saying well, you know it just won't work arranging the furniture like that. Because it's not my house anymore. Which I'm OK with on all rational levels. So I picked some flowers from the garden and talked to the new person about what plant was what and how if she made a frame for the virginia creeper (G took it down because it was crumbling) she would be able to sit under red leaves in autumn. But she'll have to find out all these things out for herself. I don't think I'll go back again unless I need to get a cutting from the garden. Well, maybe not for a long time. Grace seemed to find it all a bit difficult too and clung to me as I was trying to sign paperwork.

Good things that have been happening: we've been to the pool a few more times. I still feel all gooey when I go there and see all these people enjoying it. And on the really hot day, I thought to myself, where would all these people go, if they weren't here? There's a free day at the pool on Sunday, which I'm guessing will be a cracker and packed. Please come if you live in the area and feel so inclined. Week days and when it's not so hot tend to be less crowded and very, very pleasant. A very good place to while away a warm day reading a book in the shade.  What else? Oh, we went to a regular Friday night in the park gathering and met lots of our lovely neighbours. Grace has been asking about dinner in the park ever since. And that's right, we are now even closer to our favourite trash and treasure market, which we visited on Sunday. And we bought door handles! A whole house lot for $30. With octagonal bakelite handles. They're much fancier (and maybe a little earlier in period) than what would have been in the house originally, but G has put two up already and we love them. I also got some other stuff. Trifles really, but I'm looking forward to using my new vase. And G was most enthusiastic about his pipe wrench and the big box of cup washers from the man who used to sell paper ephemera but has since moved into old hardware.

Work has been trying on a few levels. One of my colleagues acts in a way that makes me want to slap them fairly constantly, which would be mighty unprofessional, so there's some anger that I'm carrying. However after cracking the shits in a major way about not ever getting my lunch until well after lunchtime, because said colleague never went or returned on time (which I never said directly because that would be dobbing but everyone knows), I now have the earlier lunch spot (which was deemed an easier solution than anyone discussing matters with said colleague). Whatevever. I don't really care, this issue has been going on for months and months. Now I'm having lunch at a reasonable time, I'm also not having to work through the whole busy lunch period getting hungrier and crankier and busting to go to the loo while everyone else has their turn at having lunch. Of course sometimes I will (as will everyone else) have a late lunch because I get caught up in something that takes a long time, but it shouldn't be every day. Anyway. I've also negotiated new hours starting in a couple of weeks. An extra day a month at work (which I'm not totally happy with but you have to give to get sometimes and it is a trial), but shorter days all in a row, which means longer weekends. And a later start time so I can catch a bus which connects well with a train and have some time at home with my little family in the morning. Which might help me feel a bit more connected with my life again. And as a bonus, I had some leave approved for next week which means I have the whole week off. Woohoo!

Oh, and another good thing. We have discovered the most awesome Lebanese fruit and nut shop, just blocks from our house. Mostly fantastic fresh produce (including the best cherries I have ever tasted) and great breads, dips etc. The sort of shop where I couldn't find the cracked wheat for looking, because there were more than ten kinds for sale. A place that smells like food and where they offer you a coffee while you shop.

life of a packrat

Our modem died on Sunday, and if you sniffed it there was a suspicious burny smell. So we were cut off from the world of email, blogs, flickr and it made me feel, well a bit panicky. Not like being on holiday cut off, for which one plans. More like, what if the conveyancer sent me an email and I didn't read it. Or what if I wanted to buy something online... like perhaps a new modem? Anyway, I bought another one today and more or less figured out how to connect it properly. The only issue is that the send/receive on outlook seems to have become somewhat temperamental. But working. So, this afternoon I have been inhaling the internet with great pleasure. Inhaling it, I say. Utterly tragic. Anyhow this post was meant to be about my latest opshopping exploits...

Despite the fact that I'm trying not to buy or otherwise acquire anything new, the opshop has been good to us of late. On the way to the craft retreat, the Salvos at Kyneton had a beautiful window of old board games in well used but good condition. In the city, they'd have been for display only or asking an exhorbitant price. So I tentatively asked how much they were and then had to ring Gerard to see what he thought. We now have monopoly and a draughts set. The draughts are beautiful but I love how the monopoly game has writing in the lid. It sends a big tingle down my paper emphemera loving spine. Also bought some books: an Enid Blyton story book about two children who go fishing, an old TV comic compedium and a Dorothy the Dinosaur golden book, in which the other characters keep stepping on her rose garden. She doesn't yell at them, even though she is obviously very unhappy about it. It's on high rotation at the moment. Very high rotation. Romp-bomp-a-chomp.

Then last Tuesday, I was in Savers with Grace waiting to meet Gerard for out appointment to see Mr Bostonov* at the bank and Gerard called me to say he was at Don Bosco standing guard over a really great chunky Lego train set and that I should come and have a look. We bought it (it was really great) and then dashed off to our appointment. When we returned to pick it up, I found some really great books including these three Alison Lester board books. We had the other one already and being a total Alison Lester fan, it delights me to have the complete set. I was going to give them to Ruby, but Grace is loving them almost as much as Dorothy. They were only twenty cents each and the Lego was also absurdly cheap, so I felt like I should pay a bit more, a feeling I sometimes have at Don Bosco. It's one of my two favourite opshops: cheap, friendly, community minded and they support good causes.

Expect photos of Lego soon. It is dominating the loungeroom in a charming way. At this point.

Then on Friday, after my GP appointment at which I learnt the scary news that my medication is a bit below what's considered to be the theraputic range (I'm dreading pressure from my new psychiatrist to increase the dose to the point where I'm a fat(ter) totally level robotic blimp), I stopped by Savers again. We're looking for a new wardrobe for Grace's room as the one she has now, although lovely, is far too big for her new room and not very child friendly.  No wardrobe, but..... more books for Grace (we like books) and these Enid Gilchrist pattern books for me. When I saw Sue's at the craft retreat, I knew I wanted some too. Sewing, retro, paper, ephemera - what's not to love?  I thought $4.99 was a bit exy, but when I got home there were more than I expected in the bag and it looked like they were meant to be $4.99 each. Eeek. I feel a bit guilty, and the freak in me wanted to go back and correct the error, but it was an honest mistake. Maybe it's karma for how shabby Savers were when I asked to return stuff from my psychotic shopping spree back in 2005.  Anyway, I do love these books. Not just for the patterns but for the ads too. Check it out, the fantasy of the yummy mummy is certainly not a new one...  And I think my mum may have had one of those child leash things for my sister.

* Grace has an old phone in her room and Gerard often plays a game with her, pretending that Mr Bostonov from the bank is calling. He asks her if she would like to talk to him. If she says no, he says, no she's not avaible now and hangs up.  As we were signing the loan documents, Grace kept burbling on about Mr Bostonov. It was pretty funny really.

seven random things about me and pineapples

On Wednesday morning as I rushed out to work, there was a wonderful gift in my letterbox from Suse (thank you). Three beautiful old linen tea-towels. Featuring pineapples. On Thursday, late in the afternoon, I hung them on the line and pointed the camera, hoping to preserve their complete glory before they start doing the hard work of tea towels in this house (although the one with the surfer may be a wall hanging for a while).

Then I had the idea of a pineapple meme. How hard could it be? While on summer holidays, now so long ago that my memories are more faded than my tan, I was tagged by Schmutzie to do the seven random things meme. I didn't do it at the time because the internet connection at the sandy point internet cafe was at best flaky. And the computer was on a shelf in a passage between the kitchen and the door to the toilet. Where I  perched on a high stool, watched chips being cooked and thought about the beach or other holiday joy I was missing, sometimes trying to keep the small child out of mischief. Although I was only ever charged for 15 minutes, even when I'd been there for a good 45. Anyway, this meme continually circles blogland, somewhat like the playgroup cold/lurgy. It nonetheless has a certain charm. I like this meme, but it's hard separating out what is and isn't weird and /or random. Hence the pineapple thought. And I get to show you my new tea towels!

1. When I was a child, a dinner we sometimes had was ham steaks, or rather slabs of ham like meat, possibly out of a tin, grilled (as in broiled) and with tinned pinapple on top.  I loved it. Now it doesn't even seem like proper food.
2. Sometimes when I feel a bit liverish, tinned pineapple juice and soda or (diet) dry ginger does it for me.
3. I still make the boiled pineappled fruit cake that was my grandmother's recipe. It's probably from the fifties, uses a tin of crushed pinapple and a standard packet of mixed fruit. It's really very nice.
4. Back when I bought my own point and shoout camera, an olympus mju, I spent days racing around taking heaps of photos. Here's one of three pineapples against the window in the sunroom on a rainy day. Why would I have had three pineapples? Where they really cheap back then? Now they tend to be a bit of a treat. These tea towels made me immediately think of that photo. Gee I loved that camera. Pity it got stolen, not once but twice. The replacement also got stolen so I just gave up.
5. When I was in Paris and twenty-one, I remember being in a shop that sold dried fruit and asking for ananas in French. When I checked the spelling by googling, I got "Je suis un ananas ivre" which means I am a drunk pinapple.
6. I rather like fresh pinapple, but only if it's sweet enough not to hurt my mouth and has been cut up so that all the core and all the skin and all those little sharp bits are gone. Sometimes it improves sitting around for an hour or so cut up, but more often than not pineapple is just a waste of money. I think the only way to got a good one for sure is to have a greengrocer that tastes their own fruit and will tell you for sure. Like Cramer on Seinfeld said, fruit's a gamble.
7. Here's another picture of a pineapple, from about this time last year. I remember the fruity smell of this one on the kitchen bench. Rich and ripe. Attracting for those little flies that hang around fruit shops. I don't remember being dissapointed. Maybe I'll get another one tommorrow when I do the shopping.

So, whew, meme all about pineapples. Didn't think I could do it. Although I do have the sadly neglected blog about washing, which is soon to feature a delightful laundry related gift from another lovely blogger (scanner has started working again). I feel very lucky and smooshed by blogworld sometimes.....Thank you. Now I'm going to tag, because it's in the spirit of it all.

Girl on the Avenue
Alby Mangroves from new blog on the block, Life in General
Saha
Stomper Girl
Susan from Five and Two

Rules, you know, seven weird or random things about yourself. You can even re-cycle a previous seven or pick a theme. Tag another five people. But any or all of it, only if you want to.

a visit to the ephemera dealer

Need something lighter after that last whingerama. So. We went to the Coburg market this morning and it was great. Excellent. Although I did get a little carried away. Books for Grace, including a delightful Noddy at the Beach board book. Another camera for me, an old olympus mju 1 film camera, the same model as my first point and shoot camera, which I truly loved.  I had two of them actually, both stolen in burglaries. I missed both. Just love that design, so beautiful to hold. Saw it, had to have it and haggled down the ridiculous price the lady was asking.  Some cheap and pretty plates. And then Grace begged to go to the playgound and I watched as the market started to wind down and tried to feel big about it. Because I hadn't been to my favourite stall yet. The ephemera dealer. Gerard came back and I made a beeline. And boy, did he have the goods today!

An excercise book full of baby cards. Two babies, a boy and a girl. And, from the same family, an old photo album of snapshots. How anyone would let this fall into the hands of an ephemera dealer is beyond me. That makes me feel sad really. Nonetheless, and I feel it's a bit weird or somehow at odds with my sentimental reaction, but I love looking at these photos of someone else's family, imagining their stories. Seeing how life has changed. Although the back of one photo was extra sad.

Also thrown in, some old jam covers and a picture frame. Should have gone for some buttons as well, because the ephmera dealer will always throw in extra little stuff if you spend more than five dollars and ask nicely. I really like it that he bothers with paper stuff, which is really my favourite and he's good natured and generous with it. Which is proabbly why he has such a good stall. Grace had wanted a new baby dolly, but there weren't any. Until we were leaving and I saw a doll abandoned in the carpark. We stopped the car and I jumped out to get her. Doll came home with us and after having her hard battery bit in the middle removed and a good scrub, is now hanging with the dolly clan (in the middle, they all had a bath together after lunch, being grubby sorts of dolls). We'll have to make her (or him) some clothes later in the week. 

the tale of how we bought horsey and I redicovered the joy of sewing

I went opshopping three times last week! How delightful. First there was after the beach on the Tuesday. An opshop I remember from visiting my grandmother by train and bus maybe twenty years ago. And it's still pretty much the same. I do enjoy an old fashioned opshop. We bought quite a few books, my favourite being a Rudyard Kipling tale of elephants with beautiful illustrations. And a funny top for Grace which she loves because it's pretty and cute, and insists on wearing over her singlet. Which amuses me a little because it's hard to get her to wear anything other than dackies and just singlet. I also found the crochet bedpread there, for eight dollars! It's handmade from beautiful soft cotton and I have visions of it being Grace's summer bedspread in our new house (when and if). And a lovely piece of silk (pretty sure, although have yet to do burn test). I worried that the design might be a bit busy or too nana for me, but it's such gorgeous soft, light fabric. And just wouldn't leave my hands.

It's now in my sewing pile. For after I finish this binge of work clothes sewing. Two skirts and a slightly dodgy refashioned top this weekend. Considering that we also went and looked at houses, did shopping and other weekend hoohah, I'm pretty pleased with that. No photos because I was too busy cutting, faffing and sewing. Unfortunately when I washed the other skirt I made, it lost so much colour and sheen that it now looks very worn in. Not in a totally bad way and I still really like it, but I think it's a weekend and going to the beach kind of skirt.

Anyway, mid week we dropped a load off at the brotherhood. And came home with more yet more stuff, but still less overall. Which is good. Nothing too exciting there, just some old magazines. The real haul was on Friday after I went for my (should be more) regular thyroid function blood test. Grace was very good at the doctors, played with the toys in the waiting room and then sat on the little stool next to me while the nurse slapped my arms around and tried to remember which vein she used last time. Afterwards at Savers, I took Grace into the changerooms with some summer clothes we selected together and she told me they were all too big or too small, give to bubby-lee. Even dresses or tops that fit well. Sigh. I think she's still too young to help select her clothes, which is a pain because if she really doesn't like something, it involves no end of drama to get her to wear it. I try to pick things that are practical, that she will like and offer limited choices and pick my battles but, as far as I can see, there's no reasonably reliable laws as to what she does and doesn't like. Even the aforementioned dackies and singlets can be tricky.

After hanging the rejected items on the return rack we found some books and I did a deal that if she came up the back with me to look at tea towells and fabric, then on the way back she could play with the toys. Which we did. She started playing with a slightly older girl and it was all going well until the older girl got down a plastic dolls pram. That Grace instantly decided she wanted. I said no, because she already has a dolls stroller. There was howling and the other little girl was kind of egging her on. I looked away and noticed a felt horse. I pulled it from the shelf and realised it was a homemade hobby horse. Not great felt, but kind of kooky and charming. I gave it to the girls to play with. Grace liked it, but the other girl raced away with it, riding all around the shop. In the end, I told Grace that we had to go home now, or we'd be late for lunch and that as the other girl was playing with horse we weren't going to buy it today. More howling and some kicking and screaming. After the storm abated, I sat her up on the bench and she looked all woebegone, horsey come home with Grace? The Savers lady looked at me, did you want the horse? She didn't think the other woman would buy it and went to see. Now, tantrums don't as a rule get results around here, but I would have bought the horse anyway, if the other girl hadn't run off with it.

Grace rode horsey all the way back to the car (except for crossing the road) and has been telling me all about girl play horsey, lady in shop get horsey, thank you lady, horsey come home. On Sunday, horsey had lunch (salad) and then had a afternoon sleep on the sunroom floor with blanket over her. While I sewed and Grace played with my buttons. The buttons are no longer sorted according to kind in little plastic dealer bags but a big joyful muddle. Which gives me a precious thrill. Especially since when I came home from work (aargh) tonight, Grace asked, mummy do sewing and play with mummy's buttons? I see so much more sewing in the future.

Thinking about another houses post. There was a fabulous one, which even though it probably won't be ours, was great to visit, but haven't processed either the pictures or my thoughts yet. One thing at a time.

take me to the kittens

Four houses today. Including the stinky house, which Dad went through with me prior to auction. He has an approach to houses which is very detailed and practical. It's the first time it's just been me and him and I learnt alot. All week, I've been flip-flopping about this one. Great location, nice aspect, much potential. Haunting me was the thought it would go really cheap and I'd read the result in the Sunday paper and kick myself. The auction was slow but went well over the reserve and well over the price we could pay for it and realise the vision splendid. It was all a bit shocking really, that people would pay that much for a house probably built during or around the time of the war (an austerity house) with bad plaster work, a crap kitchen and an unbearable odour. So bad that my jacket is still hanging out on the clothesline waiting to be washed tomorrow. It will be interesting to see whether it's pulled down or renovated. And it was a relief to hear my Dad say that it was a good house to consider but I'm also a bit relieved that it really wasn't the one.

There weren't many houses to look at this morning and the first one up was delayed by an hour. So we drove around looking at the other houses on my afternoon's list and visiting garage sales. Getting an idea of the neighborhood, you know. It sounds like an excuse, but you do get to talk to people and hang out. It's also a break and a pleasure in a day that has lots of driving around, the odd tantrum and some quiet bits that aren't really worth going home in. We let Grace choose one or two little toys and some videos, if they're cheap. Today there was one sale that was mostly kid stuff and she scored bigtime, heaps of new books (I chose these), three (!) new videos, a Thomas the Tank engine thing-a-ma-jig and a green dinosaur from the Wiggles. Obviously we're going to have to do a big return to the oppy trip soon. At the next garage sale, G found a very cute tin.

Once Grace settled, I bought a picture which she subsequently decided would be nice in her room. Kittens. And knitting. 

And a book about the history of gardens and plants, full of gorgeous photos and writing that I'll go back to again and again. 20cents!

And, and, and I now have the use of a very flash camera for a while. To see whether I like using a DSLR. It might still be a while before pictures appear here because there's going to be a big learning curve as I've never really used anything other than a point and shoot before, and there's software to set up etcetera. It's very exciting though!

Oh, and one house I saw today is pretty nice. With very special and very brown carpet. In a good area, but maybe not too good. If you know what I mean. And it doesn't smell. Not one little bit.

yesterday was father's day

I asked G what he wanted for father's day and he said, a sleep in. Fair enough. Grace even took him a glass of orange juice and then dutifully dissapeared to watch TV. But he didn't sleep in that much, so we went to Coburg trash and treasure for a spot of shopping. It was quite excellent. Grace wheeled Pooh bear-bear up and down the isles and was generally pretty good company despite having a bit of a cold. And needing to have her face wiped frequently. We scored bigtime as there weren't that many people there, being father's day and windy. Also we haven't been for a while so there's been a big turn over of stuff.

I bought a rather special yellow dish and a tea strainery type thing in a little stand. Both of which delight me in ways that are impossible to express. Also a big bag of trashy mags (I don't care if they're a couple of years out of date), some retro and modern kiddies books and a swag of old photo phamplets. Oh how I love buying papery emphemera!

Grace chose herself a rather revolting pink barbie wallet in which to put her library card (actually a Carlton blues thingo from a chip packet, a very treasured possession although she does also have a real library card) and a doll which she chose from amongst many. A stallholder was selling her large collection of childhood dolls. I've started calling this doll Dolly Parton. We washed new dolly, as Grace calls her, in the bath last night because she probably hasn't had a bath since 1970. And she was pretty stinky. Luckily G was able to get her head back on. But apparently, the best thing of all are her shoes. Which are also in the wash, alongside the rather goovy little outfit which includes bubble underpants. G scored himself a robotron at-2 (a boy's doll?) which apparently blows smoke if you fill it with household oil or somesuch.

I also spent some time photographing the colours at the trash and treasure which I never think about until just before we have to go. But really it's one of my favourite aspects of the day. Up there with fish and chips for lunch and the unpacking of various bags and parcels and the showing each other all the stuff we've scored. It was a pretty good father's day outing, really. A little oasis of pleasure amongst the stress of househunting (which I never thought we'd do but I'm really pleased and grateful that we are) and the trials of cold and flu season. Grace had her first visit to the doctor in well over a year, she's hacking a cough and streaming snot but doesn't understand why she feels so terrible and can only run around for half the usual time before falling in a heap. Gerard did a sterling job of looking after her today, but you know, I kind of take that a bit for granted on a day to day basis. Which is actually pretty nice.  It makes me very happy when I think of that. It's not coming out right, but he is a terrific Dad and I really do love and appreciate that about him. 

career woman's cookbook and other gems

There's a post brewing about my motherhood stuff. It's in draft form and every couple of nights I open it up and type a few words or a sentence here and there, and then suddenly feel really, really tired and have to aimlessly cruise flickr or go to bed. I think this draft is blocking me from writing about all sorts of other stuff. Like opshopping. Sometimes when I read dear meagan or fiveandtwo and about their fabulous opshop scores, alongside the vicarious pleasure ( a bit like the best kind of make believe/virtual/internet opshopping), I get this feeling oh, I don't go opshopping anymore, boohoo. Which is just not true. Not at all. There is always some opshopping (or trash and treasuring) in my life. Without it, I feel bereft, so lately I've taken to having a longer lunch break and once a week, striding down to one of the oppys near work. Last week I got some fantastic new tea towells and small tableclothes useful for draining glasses in the scullery. This week I found an orange folder of neatly ring bound women's weekly cooking supplements. I can't tell you how much pleasure it's given me, the touch of old paper, the history, the recipes. And this one spoke to me, not that I see myself cooking prawns at home on a weeknight.

I remember my mother making us dresses like this and I think there's some photos somewhere which I might drag out for a flashback friday soon. Except mine wasn't white, but lurid purple. A bit like the dress in Miles Franklin's, My Brilliant Career, you know the moment when she gets out the beautiful dress her mother has slaved over and it's all wrong, it's lurid and gaudy. All the other girls have dresses that are tasteful, pale and understated. And then she digs herself into an even worse hole and says it's the dress of some girl who died.

There is also a book on cooking with potatoes, some racey rice packet pictures, copha cooking (but no White Christmas or Chocolate Crackles which are the only foods occasionally justifying the actual ingestion of copha, in my opinion), spring lamb cooking (yum, yum pigs bum), some cakes and slices, kids cakes and a book of wedding cake designs. Which contained this one, for a young wedding. 

It's decorated with jasmine, pink rosebuds and the bride and groom design is flooded onto the cake. I don't know what that means exactly, but all the other designs look stuffy and middle aged by comparison. Not hard, I guess, when this couple look like very young children.

whiskers on kittens

My last opshop finds, photographed in sunshine which seems a distant memory, even though we are getting little bursts here and there. I miss opshopping, I'm yearning for some good opshopping action. Not that I miss the stuff I buy all that much, but I miss being in opshops and the calm space of going through a box of odds and ends at my leisure. Although I have to say, I'm a bit taken by my last purchases. From a quick trip to Savers, with Grace in tow, walking or should I say, running around and finding all sorts of things to pull out. Not really all that restful.

Anyway, it plays Lara's theme. And still had the box, which I found on another shelf. I love it when I find the original packaging for stuff like this. So much more thrilling. Almost like new, and yet old, all at the same time. I have fond memories of having a music box just like this when I was a girl and thought Grace might enjoy it now, and she did. Especially pulling the ballerina off the spike and putting it in her mouth. So it's living on the high shelf above my computer desk, along with a few other fragile oppy finds until she's old enough not to destroy it within the first five minutes. And, of course, until she's old enough not to hurt herself with it either.

 

I'm not sure about the material. It was an impulse buy. Yellow isn't really my colour and I'm not sure whether it's seventies or a more recent knockoff. Not that that should matter. And I'm not sure what I would make out of it but sometimes buying material just for the sake of having it is cheering. Maybe it will become one of those pieces that I pull out of my cupboard every year, touch and look at before putting back in the cupboard. Which in itself is quite satisfying.