a basket case of sorts...

before we start today's thrilling installment i must just point out that all pictures are unrelated to my heartwarming tale. they are just random bits of 'eye candy' to help you get through the ramble, and let me tell you, you're going to need it...

having got that out the way i shall proceed with a tale from my 'challenge of the utmost kind' life.

i am now four months into my challenge and a 'happening' that happened to me this past tuesday, has happened to renew my faith and stay strong a long the path of thrifty handcrafted righteousness

allow me to enlighten you dearest readers on this day that just past...

i have a dishwasher.

i have a love hate relationship with my dishwasher. i love him because he does the dishes leaving me to not have to, but i hate him because he doesn't do it to the best of his abilities.

it is not his fault, for within my dishwasher lurks a cutlery basket, my cutlery basket has five compartments

("why this truly is the most thrilling of reads Tif, i think you may have surpassed yourself this time" i hear you interrupt...

"why thank you kindly" i say in return)

now as i was saying, my cutlery basket has five compartments which most of you will think is nothing special or worth note. but what i haven't yet revealed is, for the past year only one of those compartments has a sealed bottom to it.

for near on a year i have cursed and sworn at my clan for tossing their cutlery into the bottomless compartments and avoiding the one with a bottom.

(that is when they can actually find the dishwasher, which isn't very often i might add)

forks, knives and spoons left to dangle through, causing a blockage of the worst kind.

resulting in my dishwasher not preforming his duties to the best of his abilities

and me using language inappropriate for a lady of any description.

on tuesday i exclaimed to my man i could stand it no longer, i was a broken kitchen worker driven to insanity by the ridiculous of the situation.

armed with my little sad plastic cutlery basket i left Mossy Shed, intent on locating a new one despite my challenge.

first port of call, our local appliance center.

the very nice man looked rather crescent fallen when he glanced up from his desk hoping to find a customer intent on buying a whole array of shiny new appliances and not just one plastic replacement basket.

my attire put paid to any doubts in his mind that i was for the persuading...

he informed me, they were not the place for me, but that the very place i was looking for happened to be in the industrial area ten minutes further down the road.

by now all i could see was precious thrifting time being spent locating this darn plastic basket. i proceeded to the industrial estate armed with the very nice man's directions and then proceeded to drive around umpteen laps until i discovered a tiny door with the correct number above.

once again with my 'seen better days' basket i entered a door into a tiny front area where a lady stood behind her tiny desk.

"can i help you?"

"i'm hoping against all hopes that you have a replacement for this" i said, placing my mangled little basket upon her tiny desk top

"ah well, we don't actually, but we could special order it in, if you have the serial number with you" she offered

"oh... i was so hoping you would have one and now i have to go home to get the number" i replied dejected and disheartened

"well i suppose i have this one but it's used" she offered up whilst turning to retrieve her pen holder from the side...

and that was it dearest readers, the moment i knew the 'thrifty handcrafted challenge' gods had shone down on me once again.

for in her hand she held a used, old but still with it's bottom, little plastic cutlery holder. it's handle long gone and it's color well faded...

"i'm wondering if you can pull the handle off yours and reattach it to my pen holder, then you can have my pen holder and i can have your broken basket in return" she suggested

"but won't your pens fall through?" i asked

"no worries, i'll just put a bit of foam in the bottom and that will do the trick" she smiled

i left the little appliance place with a warm and fuzzy feeling in my heart...

i told the lady, she had quite possibly made my whole year, for in my hand i had a cutlery basket to end my cursing days and best of all it was secondhand and didn't cost me a penny.

now if that little tale didn't warm you through and through then i'm hoping at least the pictures of randomness helped pass the time nicely for you.

she is thanking you most kindly for giving used dog and little olive canvasing time on your doorsteps ~ Tif