You know it's really been raining when ducks take refuge on next door's roof.

So much sunshine, so little weekend.  Quite a few things to show you this week.

You know it's been raining when the ducks take refuge on next door's roof.

 

I weeded garden bed #1 today, in preparation for planting.  I've hired a new lawn mower man, who managed to cut the lawns and trim the edges without making a huge mess or doing my head in. He seemed to grasp that the lawns are to be cut once a month and not whenever he's short of cash - the reason for the demise of the previous arrangement.  So far, so good. (Relative) garden normality has resumed.

Various outgoings this week: one of my fave fish drawings went to live in Tasmania, in an unexpected but pleasant symmetry.  Handed on some clothing to a friend for use or re-purpose, depending on her mood.  A glimpse of the spare bed, with less spare clothing storage.

I made some Mad Men-type necklaces - really a quick re-purpose of some vintage finds into a more wearable length.  I also found some finished pieces which I'd forgotten I had, while sorting out the 'in progress' drawer. I found a positive pile of sterling silver jewellery this week.  Some of it will no doubt surface later on this page.

I found, repaired and repainted a bookcase to match one I had - thus reducing the tottering tower of acquisitions. It wasn't a big job but not bad for 50 cents.

Before...

Sometimes I find something that just wins my heart, and this week it was a dear little hand carved rustic boat, and an old sieve, which I found in the rubbish pile outside a house where there was a garage sale.  One man's sieve is another woman's hanging shadow box.      I. Love. This.

There were a few other must-haves which arrived this week:  glass squirrel bowl, anyone? 

The room divider will be a work in progress, I suspect.  The girl child has already remarked that she would like it in white in her room.  It needs some TLC on the improvised hinges but otherwise is in good condition, if a little over-varnished. It goes to that vintage 60's/70's decorating theme.

 

But stop, what are these interesting round ceramic plates marked "Edison", I hear you ask?  I'm glad you noticed them.  They were the tops to Edison battery jars, and will make nice trivets.  There was also another old wooden crate, to go towards a larger crate construction in the planning and development stage.

I found a tin of wooden puzzle pieces, destined for re-purposing for jewellery and other things, and a friend who collects kitschy religious pics will just love this one in 3D.

Don't forget Father's Day is fast approaching and you can find my original art for sale here.

a modicum of self satisfying sulking....

Some weeks, its all good, even the bad bits.  In this case the bad bit was bad, but not in a serious cataclysmic make-a-documentary-out-of-it kind of way.  More a disappointing, 'bugger' sort of bad.  But when the thing that isn't earth-shatteringly bad happens to something that you've been looking forward to for ages, a modicum of self satisfying sulking seems appropriate. There is a lingering air of feeling hard done by.  I am less than gruntled.

The small god of good things has been mostly smiling this week - and not only on me.  Even some friends were doing the happy dance this morning, for various reasons. The flowering-pink-blossom tree is.  The stuff behind it is blue sky.

Some excellent finds from Vinnies this week (although I am beginning to have second thoughts on the tartan skirt - too school uniformy?) were topped of during our Friday round, when I managed 6 nice wine glasses (nice weight and balance, and as a friend remarked, not too small) for a pittance.  A pile of books - see previous posts on that obsession - including a 1925 Sunday School prize with cute drawings of rats.  Apparently Sunday School was different in 1925.


 Some more picture frames for the little fishes, and one for some vintage postcards.  A positive pile of bits of jewellery, chains, crucifixes, rosaries, beads, and other raw materials.  A wooden shelf thingy.  A hat, amazing in its fabulousness.  Teeny vintage glass bottles for secret project #3275 (still to be unveiled).  The basis of 4 new steampunk starships.  A summer linen shirt, pre-ironed. 

Unfortunately, the garage sales were boring, overpriced and unimaginative.  Oh, well, not much money left anyway.

I spent Sunday re-arranging, sorting, tidying (a bit).  I FINALLY finished a small shelf thingy which was made from a lone drawer from the verge last year, and some 'firewood' from the neighbours, delivered yesterday.  Whatever the firewood used to be, it involved a jarrah fame and some french polished panels.  At least some of it got re-used.  I've kept some of the other polished bits too, just in case.    

And I also finished off something with the coral I mentioned a week or so ago - at least now its  protected a bit.  I couldn't help myself with the 60's tin fish.