Tuesday, September 27

intermingling with Hubert...

yesterday as i sat on the floor, Used Dog deep in slumber close by, Little Olive upon my lap chewing her bone and me 'a pondering and a plotting' my next crafty move, the word 'intermingle' popped into my little brain.


where it came from i have no idea, i have never used nor thought of this spiffy word before. after several moments of thinking about nothing but this new and exotic word i decided it must be a sign. a sign from the thrifty gods. yes yes, with no doubt at all, they were sending me a sign.

i realized in this one word 'intermingle' was a whole message, the message being
"Tif, go forth to the thrift store and intermingle with other thrifty souls"

i protested a little, i know perhaps that sounds very unlike me, but we have reached the time of year when for two whole months my thrift store is taken over by halloween and the need for every man and his dog to find a costume of such. thus resulting in much loved shelves and rows, once filled with spiffy secondhand goodness, now filled with crappity crap mass produced wares.

however, 'intermingle' would not let me be, all through homework, all through dinner, all through whatever else i was 'all throughing' (Mr Spell Checker isn't happy) 'intermingle' kept on calling my name.

so i had no choice, i could not lie in bed listening to this word the secondhand gods had sent as a sign. this would have been a terrible faux pas, for the gods may chose to never bless me again with their thrifting good luck.

upon entering my thriftstore door, i turned to the left as is always my way and that was the moment Hubert and i found each other. on the shelves of knick knacks, right by the door, all else faded away except for a white bright light highlighting Hubert and his little fleabitten soul.

on close inspection Hubert has been knocked around a bit, he does not wear his 46 years well. i know his age, not because he told me, for alas Hubert has not spoken in many a long time, but because someone at some point decided to write it on his derriere, of course they could have been making it up, but i like to believe he is quite the old boy. i noted his crazed and craggy fur, i noted his terribly broken leg, still showing the scars of a badly patched job... but most of all, i noted his dignified look as i gazed into his little black eyes


when Hubert and i returned home to a dark and quiet shed, such is my life living with 'lads of three' who are out and about most evenings, i bathed him and then i found him a perfect little spot, one i had created only a few days before. i like to call them vignettes, my man has taken to calling them 'Tif's shrines' as in "ah, i see another shrine to your handcrafted and thrifty finds, has popped up whilst i turned my back". no matter. what matters is, i am thankful i was given a sign, so old Hubert can look forward to many happy days of 'intermingling' at mossy shed.






she is thinking how perfectly lovely of Victoria to encourage folks to dilly dally my way this friday ~ Tif

Monday, September 26

big things and little strings...

last week all became a little tricky dicky 
and so on friday i went to spend quality time with
my adopted auntie
at her little gray cottage by a babbling brook



where we spent many happy moments




whilst Miss Mina looked on 


i think it quite true to say,
one of the besty best things to have happened to me of late is adopting my auntie.
i would highly recommend it...

she is delighted to say, the mountain has become a mole hill and she is nearly at the top ~ Tif 

Thursday, September 22

mr and mrs monkey...


rescued from the shelves of despair, mr and mrs monkey have found true happiness in their twilight years. mr monkey having no sense of smell is unawares of mrs monkey's need to wear her 'eau de toilette' on the heavy side. and most peachy indeed is mrs monkey, being very hard of hearing, is not kept awake at night by mr monkey's tres terrible snoring. one might think an old monkey may not snore when his nose is a fabric button, but think again because he does.







this lovely little tea tray celebrates mr and mrs monkey's fondness for each other and quite frankly, makes me smile. big enough to enjoy tea for two or indeed perfectly suited to be hung on the wall as a reminder of what makes us happy in life.

if you think mr and mrs monkey would be most suited to spend life in your peachy nest, then you can find them sitting in my shop window, waiting patiently for their forever home.

she is off to visit her adopted auntie in her little gray cottage tomorrow ~ Tif