Too Old School

John Bunyan's the Pilgrim's Progress was first published in 1678. I bought my very first copy in 2010. I found it in the classics section of a cute little op shop last week. I thought I'd buy it and read it as I had heard and read over the years what a great book it is. So last night I picked it up and began reading it. It wasn't too many paragraphs later that I realised that this was not going to be an easy task. In my head I was thinking, "Really? This is how they spoke back then? Too hard! Too hard! I don't know what's going on!"

I put the book down after 4 pages. I just couldn't do it. It took me twice as long to read that as it would any more modern style of writing. I thought I did really well to read C.S. Lewis' autobiography, but this one is just too old school for me. I may need to try reading it during the day and not when I should actually be sleeping.

Go on. Have a little read of the first three pages if you haven't read the book already.

"...the children of my bowels..." What on earth does that mean?

Not exactly easy, is it?

Would someone please just give me the jist of what the book is about, and then I won't have to torture myself with reading it anymore.

It can just look pretty on my bookshelf.

~ Ky x

Tropical Cyclone

Tropical cyclones hit our home regularly. I lived through one just this morning. They creep up and hit full force without much warning at all. The very strange thing about them though is that they mostly 'damage and destroy' the inside of the house. Now who has ever heard of a cyclone making it's mark on the inside of a house and not the outside? I have! Many, many times!

Yesterday the house was cleaned and tidied within an inch of it's life and this morning while I was making a school lunch and getting ready for the day, it hit! Ferociously! Like a bandit in the night! Smack! The mess was made! It not only happened this morning but later in the day too. What the...?

I just don't know what to do about the cyclone. The estimated cost of damage and clean up is huge. It's going to cost my sanity!

All tropical cyclones are given a human name.

This tropical cyclone's name is...TC Levi. It's not your usual type of cyclone either. It's incredibly charming. It's very, very cute. It has the unbelievable power to make you lose your temper. It is the most stubborn thing on the planet! It is loud! And what's more, it actually belongs to me!

Thankfully there is the eye of the storm (when I can catch my breathe) which is very, very still.

~ Ky x

My Two Most Precious, Inanimate Treasures

 I'd like to show you two of my absolute favourite things. Out of all the things I own, these would be the two I would be most devastated about losing. To me, they are priceless! Not because of their monetary value, but because they belonged to two of my great-grandmothers. Both of my Mum's grandmas.

 I'm really not much of a jewellery type girl. I have several holes in both my ears. They were put there during my rebellious, youthful years. I hate them now. I desperately wish that I could have my smooth, hole free lobes back. I haven't worn earrings for about 10 years. I think they look ridiculous on me. I hardly ever wear necklaces, except for this special one. I don't wear bracelets because I think they make my wrist and hand look dumb (so vain of me) and because I just find them annoying. And I only wear three rings...ever!

Anyway, blah, blah, blah...I wanted to show you my treasures, not rabbit on about why I don't wear much jewellery. So, here we go!

This medallion looking pendant has always been a favourite piece of jewellery that Mum had tucked away in her treasure box. Mum never wore jewellery, but she a had several pieces that belonged to family. They were the treasures that my sister and I used to love to play with when we were kids. It was such a treat to be able to wear them around the house while playing dressups.

Just look at the markings on it and the shape. Love, love, love it! Well, as much as you can love an inanimate object.

This medallion belonged to my Grandmas Mum. Her initials are engraved into it. KP...Kate Parker. I love that name, Kate. I always wanted to be a Kate, but no, I'm boring old Kylie...Koilie! I s'pose it's an ok name. You really can't get more Australian than Kylie, unless you have an Aboriginal name.

Hang on, this is a jewellery post. Get on with it KYLIE!

I don't have a clue where Kate got this beautiful piece of neck decoration. Maybe Mum can fill us in on that when she comments on this post, cos I know she will. I managed to talk Mum into 'loaning' this necklace to me about 15 years ago. Just between us...she's not getting it back! Ok, ok, she can have it back if she really wants it back, but I'd be devastated! Did you hear that Mum? DEVASTATED!

And now, on to the ring.

This gorgeous, 3 diamond, filigree ring belonged to my Grandfathers Mum. Grandma Robbie, she was known as. A tiny, little lady she was. I knew her when I was a small child, but I don't actually remember her. I wish I could remember her though, because the way Mum describes her, she was a kind, darling of a woman.

This wasn't her engagement ring. This ring came into the family via her husband, my great grandfather. He owned a service station/mechanic workshop and he used to fix up cars and sell them there too. One day, he sold a car and this ring was part payment for it. What a score for Grandma Robbie!

I took it into an antique jewellers a few years ago and the lady had a look at the diamonds through that little jewellers magnifying glass they use, and she estimated it to have been made in the 1920's. She said that how the diamonds were cut, was how they did it back then.

I have worn this ring for 15 years. I used to wear it on my right hand, but when my husband asked me to marry him I moved it to my left hand. He didn't have a ring for me because it was a spur of the moment question. We looked at a lot of rings, but none could measure up to this ring for me. He was fine with that, thankfully. So now I use it as my engagement ring. Adding to it's history. One day I will pass it on to Angel and she will know the story of how it came into our family.

So, there you have it! My two most precious, inanimate treasures.

If you have some lovely, old jewellery then blog about it and let me know. I'd love to have a look.

~ Ky x

Another Unplanned, Spontaneous Op Shop Stop

Monkey and I (yes, he's with me A LOT!), happened to drive past a Salvo's store that I hadn't visited before. It's amazing what you find when you go home a different way. It's not like I went home a way that I haven't been before in the hope of happening across an op shop that I haven't been to. I would never do anything like that *tongue firmly planted in cheek*. And yes, I'm well aware I am developing an addiction.  Just add it to the list!

So, let's get on with it, shall we? I'm loving the wire, stack baskets that are now home to some of my shoes. It has cleaned up the bottom of my wardrobe and now it's all tidy and orderly.

Monkey spotted the scales. We've never owned a set of scales. They are Salter. It's a brand that I know is quality. I ummed and ahhed about them, but for $6 I thought they were worth getting.

This red suitcase is my favourite buy of the day. I've had my eye out for an old style suitcase for quite awhile now. I've come across a few, but they've either been in pretty bad shape or way more than I was willing to pay for them. This one was both in good shape and the right price. Six bucks ladies and gentlemen. Not bad for a special place to store all my sewing and crafting things. All those tins and wool and knitting needles and crochet hooks and patterns and fabric etc etc will be stored in here.

It obviously hasn't been used for a few years. It's been almost 9 years since Ansett went bust. I remember because a couple of my friends couldn't make it to our wedding as they had booked their flights with Ansett and couldn't afford to rebook with another airline...and that's the end of that story.

And I shall be off now. The Monkey won't settle for sleep, as usual. It's time for me to force him to go to sleep. By force, I mean get in bed with him so that he can't get out. Just hope I don't fall asleep before he does.

~ Ky x

Laundry Basket Problem Solved

I have a problem. Actually, until last week, I had a problem. Small laundry + winter in Melbourne+ too small laundry basket = Problem. An almost constant pile of dirty laundry. I could never keep that room looking tidy!

Enter my genious, problem solving, handyman hubby. He is a site foreman for a construction company and he came home with this cupboard. It's brand new. Made for part of reno's of a school on one of the jobs he is doing, but  it's the wrong size, so instead of tossing it, he thought of a GREAT idea!

He thought it would make a great laundry basket. Yes, I know it's not a basket, but that's the job this cupboard is now doing, so, it's called a laundry basket! It's huge! I will never have a dirty clothes overflow again! It's also VERY red! Fortunately, the laundry is all white, so this doesn't clash with anything. I don't mind it. Maybe one day I'll paint it a more appealling colour.

The only problem I have now is trying to keep these two out of it. They think it makes a great cubby. They can both fit in there quite comfortably with the door closed. Somewhere to hide from Mum. On Friday I was busy doing house stuff and then realised that I didn't know where Monkey was. I looked everywhere. I finally found him hiding in here, with the portable dvd player, watching one of his dvd's. He promptly told me to close the door. Cheeky Monkey!

This is what it looks like now. I asked hubby to hinge the lid so that I could still use half off it to store things on, but lift the front half to throw in the dirty laundry. I then open the door and pull out the clothes when I'm ready to sort and wash. Clever, huh?!

Ugly pile of dirty laundry problem is solved! And it didn't cost us a cent! Hubby already had the hinges up in the shed. Thanks clever hubby! I love that he is always thinking of ways to make my job a little easier.

~ Ky x