On Wednesday morning, I clawed my way to morning consciousness to this view from my bedroom window.   The whole 'red in the morning' thing appears to be a guideline, rather than a rule, because the day went on to be sunny and of no threat whatsoever to any nearby shepherds.

On the weather report here there is often a warning to sheepfarmers - but they are never specific.  What sort of warning, one may ask?  Diversify or perish?  Don't buy a new tractor?  Don't wear that hat with those boots? That flannel shirt would be better with shoulder pads and some darts?

But I digress.  I survived my first (shortened) week back at work after the grand tour, largely through liberal application of chocolate and cups of tea.  It's not really to be recommended and cuts appallingly into one's social and art time.  Apparently the working week's vicious cycle starts all over again tomorrow (Monday).  Good grief.

 The early morning chill had caused me to consider buying a fur vest.  I should explain that trends are sometimes a trifle slow to reach this little backwater, and fur - fake or real -  hasn't really made the re-entry splashdown here that it has elsewhere.  Like others, I had the lapin jacket in the 70's but I sold it on before the trend began to fade.  

I was toying with bidding for a faux fur vest on Ebuy, having seen a young lady looking splendid and warm in one just the other day.  On reflection, I decided that perhaps, as in the 70's, it's a look best left for the young and that I run the risk of looking too much like mutton dressed as rabbit.  I shall persist with my collections of faux fur snoods and scarves as long as they are warm and I do not attract foxes.  I left behind a vintage mink at a garage sale this weekend - not a coat, but a stole with a face and ears.  I did get this rather snuggly hat, styled after the 60's, for a really cold day.

A very fetching faux fur hood, from the 60's, with fluffy dangling bobbles was snatched from my hands last week by the girlchild, who tells me that she has received many a compliment and envious glance.

During an unscheduled stop at Good Sammies on Saturday, I snapped up some perfectly-fitting Doc Martins in a fetching and non-muttonly Union Jack design.  They are my new equal favourite boots, with the red faux snakeskin-but-actually-really-soft-leather ones I've had for years.

They'll look fetching with the hat.

 

Shopping in a cold climate - day 1

I've learned a lot this week, starting with that I'm too old to stay awake for 36 hours at a time and still be expected to think.  Damn you, midnight horror flights.  I'd planned to sleep but unfortunately Qantas was showing Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law in the delicious Sherlock Holmes II and that took up the majority of the flight.  Sleep is for the weak, I thought.

The second thing I learned is that the sleep deprived have little resistance to retail spending at 5.45 am in the airport, when you have 3 hours to wait for connecting flight #3.  I found myself seriously thinking about buying Pandora beads, because it was that or eat Hungry Jacks for breakfast.  I wasn't hungry but luckily, neither was I cashed up.  I've done this sort of thing before and I'm well aware of certain...character flaws.  Some would say why bother opening at that ridiculous hour, but I can assure you I was not the only one wandering around stretching my legs and browsing.  I napped on flight #3 over Bass Strait.

After a nice cup of tea with the Sister, we adjourned to the local tip shop for a quick browse.  I intend to make more visits because you can, to a tip shop. We located not one but two new op shops - well, new to me, here. I got some knitting needles (can't really take them on the plane, and I'm on holidays in a cold place - emergency knitting may be necessary) - and a Jo Nesbo book for holiday reading.

After 12 hours reasonable sleep - for me - we mooched to Latrobe, where there were some interesting little shops open.  We spent quite a bit of time in Reliqueware - partly because its possible to just go round and round and keep finding more interesting things.  The dolls and repros aren't really my thing but as sheer display they are fantastic. The handmade things were great. The free fudge on entry was a bonus. 

The pop-up shop of my dreams is vacant, in the main street.

Bolstered by the sugar hit, we surged onward to one of the perennial favourites -the Antique Emporium.  Again, the imports and repros don't do it for me but there are always bargains to be had and the owner, like me, is a fan of the rusty and dusty.   The first thing which jumped into my hand was an Australian Monthly magazine - a kind of girly magazine from 1951 - but how can you not buy a mag with an article entitled 'Scientists explode bomb in woman's brain'?  It did not disappoint.

Two bags of steampunk pocketwatch bits, pocketwatch faces, an antique frame,  - oh the excitement.  On the way out I saw some brilliant cameras and illustrations - I shall return with expendable cash.  The Sister bought a lovely old tin car and a vintage Australiana tin - very nice. 

The bonafide antiques were lovely, of course, and the prices are generally pretty reasonable but unlike some I know I don't want to have to ship furniture from one side of the country to the other. But then I've only been here two days.