'If you have a dog, you will most likely outlive it; to get a dog is to open yourself to profound joy and, prospectively, to equally profound sadness.' Marjorie Garber

Thursday 7 February 2013

Turning Japanese

One person's junk is another person's treasure...

I think I have mentioned before that I am a huge eBay fan. I have bought many things over the years, ranging from knitting yarn, 1960s Sindy dolls, tatty chairs to designer bathroom fittings. Most are treasures to me, but some things when they arrive are a disappointment. But then I guess that is part of the thrill of eBay, never quite knowing whether you are buying a genuine Renoir or a painting-by-numbers.

Now, because of this addiction to eBay, and believe me, it is an addiction, I have rather a lot of, well, stuff! 

'Clutter', Hubby would say, but then he is a bit of an eBay addict too. So I've decided I need to find homes for this 'stuff'. No, I am not about to give it all away here on my blog, (but I am planning a little giveaway soon). No, I need homes here, in my home, if you get my drift.

So I thought what I need are a few attractive trunks and boxes to store my chattels. And where did I look first for such trunks and boxes?

Yes, you guessed it. EBay, of course!

And here is my first purchase. A bargain! A Steal! A Steel Japanned Travelling Trunk complete with vintage stickers. I collected it from a lovely country house near here. It came complete with the whiff of dung and a few decades of dirt, but I just know it will be perfect. Just what 'japanned' means, I have no idea. The gentleman selling it said he used to play with his farm animals in it when he was a little boy, presumbably he meant his toy farm animals!










I think it's sad that someone should keep something for so long, maybe forty or fifty years, because it was once precious to him and then decide to part with it for a song on eBay. Never mind, his change of heart is my good fortune, I guess.

Now, I actually collected this before Christmas but I am at a loss as to how to clean it without ruining the stickers; two have already peeled off because of my attempts. Thankfully, the smell seems to have faded, (or maybe I'm just used to it now). However, it is still very grubby. So please do let me know if you have any idea as to how to clean it. 




Tuesday 1 January 2013

GOODBYE 2012

I'm sad to say 'goodbye' to 2012.
For me, personally, It has been a very memorable year for all the right reasons. A year to be proud to be British.

But it has been a year of extremes: the amazing achievements of the Olympics and Paralympics; the diamond jubilee celebrations; the half-centenary celebrations of dear friends and my own...the devastation of Hurricane Sandy in the US; the cyclone in Samoa; severe drought in West Africa; earthquakes in the Middle East, the Philippines and China; the floods here and other countries; too many natural disasters to list, but 2012 also brought avalanches, tornadoes and flash fires. Then there is the list of man-made events. Right now, the ones that come most vividly and tragically to my mind are the suicide of Jacintha Saldanha, the nurse, and the senseless killing of the innocent children in Connecticut. Tragic beyond words.
I hope 2013 will be a year to reflect.
  
I wish you a
HAPPY NEW YEAR
 
May your 2013
be 
A GOOD ONE!

Sue x