thrifty thursdays...

oh yes indeedy!

it has been a while has it not, since i did a 'thrifty thursdays' ramble.

indeed it would be quite true to say

it has been a while since i went to the thrift store,

a whole six days...

i think that shows great willpower on my behalf.

of course now the 'great show of willpower' thought has popped into my head this morning,

i can think of nothing else than leaving the shed

and heading to the thrift store.

i've actually started

twitching,

rubbing my hands

and

pulling my hair.

i am now relying upon every ounce left of my 'willpower' reserves

to stay rooted in the shed.

so let us not dwell on the thought of what lovely finds could be waiting for me

but instead focus on my last adventure to the thrift store.

it was a perfectly perfect thrifty adventure

full of fabby forsaken finds...

if you asked my man he would tell you otherwise,

but we are not going to ask him

for we do not want to spoil our 'thrifty thursdays' post

with 'bah humbuggers' of the thrifty kind.

as i entered the thriftstore

with $15 in my hand

i found many a forsaken little soul looking for a happy home

a nest of russian dolls

who obviously have something bothering them

but they haven't told me what

a few napkins and one pillowcase

always a favorite find for me

a pair of sprightly salt and pepper pots

who have seen many sights in their lifetime

a little wooden monkey looking for a new nose

(and of course we know had a very long journey to find it)

a red tin bowl, just like one i already own

but it would have been insanity to leave it behind

a pretty summer straw basket,

rather battered in a perfect vintagey way

as soon as i saw it, i went off into my imagination,

thinking of the lovely summery thoughts that come from owning such a straw bag.

upon leaving the thrift store that evening,

i pondered a thought...

indeed it was quite true to say

i was now $15 poorer than an hour before

and yet

without a doubt

i now felt so much richer than an hour ago.

i'm thinking i am probably not alone with that thought...

she has been fiddling with things again, she is wondering if others have noticed her fiddling ways ~ Tif

a little monkey tale...

if you are sitting comfortably,

then i shall begin...

once upon a time in a far away land

lived a little wooden monkey.

he was a happy little wooden monkey

who liked to spend his days high above the jungle floor

playing in the trees.

the little wooden girl monkeys thought him quite the best swinger in the jungle.

this made the other wooden boy monkeys rather cross.

one day as the little wooden monkey was just doing his thing,

a branch broke,

he fell

down

down

down

landing with quite an awful thud.

as he lay there dazed and confused

he could hear chattering coming from above.

to start with the little wooden monkey thought it was

the great monkey gods in the sky talking to him,

but no it was not.

it was the naughty wooden boy monkeys laughing

for indeed they were most wicked

and in their jealousies

had weakened a branch

thus causing

this terrible tragedy

to befall the little wooden monkey.

worse was still to come,

as the little wooden monkey lay upon the jungle floor

he noted something different

for although he was face down

he could not smell the ground.

he touched his little wooden face

and a great sadness washed over him.

where once his lovely little wooden nose had been,

there was nothing.

early the next morning,

being sure no other little wooden monkeys would see him

and his 'ugliness'

he walked to where the great wooden wise owl was waiting,

for the wooden owl was so wise he knew the little wooden monkey would be coming.

and so he got up especially early

and waited

after much thought and consideration,

he told the little wooden monkey

quite wisely,

there was only one hope,

he had heard of a place far far away,

a thrift store for little forsaken souls.

legend has it

that an eclectic woman of an uncertain age who goes by the name of Tif,

frequents this mysterious place.

often looking for little waifs and strays who may need some help.

the great wise wooden owl continued to tell the little wooden monkey

that legend also has it,

Tif lives in a dwelling called Mossy Shed.

a place that it has been told

is a mecca for little forsaken souls.

all the time,

the little wooden monkey's eyes got bigger and bigger

the very next morning

the little wooden monkey stood exactly where the wise wooden owl had told him to wait.

he waited

and then he waited a little bit more

just as he thought he could wait no more

a large shout came from the trees.

the little wooden monkey turned to find

Eric the Viking

with his mode of transport

"hop aboard little wooden monkey,

it's time to go"

he growled.

after many, many days and nights

the little wooden monkey found himself in Tif's thrift store

he was frightened

he was tired

and

he was still without a little nose.

he looked around him,

for the first time in days he started to feel normal.

for next to him was

a little ceramic bird with no tail,

and on the other side

a china doll with a nasty gash in her head and not much hair.

days past,

he watched as forsaken little souls

came and went.

he got used to being picked up

and put down.

he got used to small children

spinning his little arms around and around

until it hurt so badly

he wished to weep...

then one day it happened.

an hour before closing the little wooden monkey heard

the other lost souls start to chatter words of

"that's her"

and

"see, i told you she was real"

the little wooden monkey watched

as an eclectic woman of an uncertain age

perused the shelves.

she came closer,

she gasped

she looked straight at him,

he gulped

and then he felt himself being lifted up

in a rather gently way.

"little wooden monkey, how lucky am i to have found you" said Tif

upon arrival home at mossy shed

Tif's man asked

"any good stuff tonight?"

to which she replied

"oh yes!"

"what did you say" he called "only crappity crap?"

Tif smiled

pulled out the little wooden monkey,

placed him on the table and said

"i think i struck gold"

several hours later

the little wooden monkey,

who's little nose had been lost,

who had travelled so far from the jungle

had a spiffy new dottie angel nose

and

knew without a doubt

he would live

happily ever after...

the end

she is past the third coat and still the green mocks her ~ Tif

a typical monday...

whilst working on my little shop update this morning,

twiddling my thumbs,

humming a little tune,

inbetween photo uploads

a little voice kept talking to me.

i told the little voice i was terribly busy

updating,

twiddling

and

humming

but the little voice would not go away...

in the end i sat back in my desk chair,

and said

"all right little voice in my head,

just say what you have to say

and

then leave me alone"

"it is quite simple"

said the little voice

"your desk color looks all wrong with the rest of your studio, go on take a look"

i took a look

and now all i can think of is how my large over sized second hand

1950's Boeing Company green desk

as peachy as it is,

is letting the side down in my studio...

she is telling you this from under her desk with paint brush in hand ~ Tif

footynote: with little olive as my trusty assistant