Oppy- tune moment

On the way back from Ramp Attack (walls of noise and plywood), I benevolently dropped off the four tired, sore boys at Macca's for a 50 cent cone and (surprise), realised it was next door to Ron and Brian's. (There may have been some ulterior motive but after four and a half hours of watching under- twelves scoot and skate I had earned a browse.)

I felt a little karma in the air. The Lairy Godmother had bought me this cream enamel bowl for the chook scraps. I found the blue one yesterday and will give it to my sister for her new chooks.
These little pillowcases will make handy draw string bags for Shorty to take her little people with her everywhere we go. They are her portable playgroup, friends in a baggy if you will.
I love a bit of sunny seersucker and the Western Australian flowers linen cloth is a treat. If only I could cut it up for a cushion.
This skirt was too good to pass up. Too big for Shorty and deemed too pretty by the dark one, it will be shelved for a year or two.
Looky at the Russian dolls and pom-poms. How could I not?
This little tee is just pretty and fits Shorty now. There were other clothes too and a few bits and bobs. All up $13 plus $2 for the ice cream cones to keep the boys busy. Kept me sane for another hour anyway.

Booty and the Beach

After the week we just had and spending Sunday with a disconsolate 12 year old,a sick Harriet
and two sick children

I felt a compulsion to further load my shelves with op shop ephemera.

I had been meaning to investigate some op shops since the big soccer final when I had to drive past a lot of them with Grandad and the kids in the car. Flossy and I hit the 'Northern Beaches' leaving the Big fella with assorted pick up instructions. What joy to have a free day unhampered with schedules to be places by!

Beach booty included Scooby Doo thongs,
a pretty plate for Broadhurst England (the designer was Kathie Winkle and I believe I may have bought it more for her pretty name than her pretty design), a great cache of colourful knitting needles (mine have been modded into the weapons of mess destruction),
and a flashback hand recorder. My engineer Dad used to have one of these for talking into as he drove around inspecting bridges, etc. There is still an 30 year old recording of my little sister talking into it when she was Flossy's age. This one has a variable speed button so you can make yourself sound like a chipmunk or a zombie. Your I- pod touch can't do that now, can it. For $2 I think they'll get some fun out of it.
There was an abundance of pyrex including a set with roses on it but I resisted and just got this little aqua gratin one and some glasses for the children to break at dinner. I already broke one on the way home to get them started.
There was this shadow box which is a bit too rustic and will have to be painted. More aqua? Clean white? Suggestions welcome here.
Then as we took a short cut through the back of one shop to another I spied this little Christmassy thang.
I love those back straps- so Enid Blyton. Floss hates it so I will have to hide it till she forgets.

After a few hours of sweaty op shopping we needed to cool down
and blow off the cobwebs from the op shops and last week's chaos by chasing birds,
grey shadows,
and purple shadows,
trying to stand up in the waves
and running away from them. This all sounds like a metaphor for why we went to the beach in the first place!
There were also the dear old beachy weatherboards along the waterfront, some the colour of kitchen stools
and old survivor beach houses with 50's triangular bits and picture windows and names like 'Keeloway'.
Then I was taken aback to see this big, bolshy blight on the landscape.
This mirrored sphincter of bad taste is either a gateway to a wormhole in the fabric of space and time or the lamp room of an unfortunate lighthouse! What dear old weatherboard died that this may live?!
Ah, progress!