I was outside walking around looking at things while it was over 35°C today... however, this time I wore a hat! And shorts and everything! My legs are so fucking pale...But today started in that usual rush of activity that seems to occur on a Saturday morning... I get up and then I flit around the apartment tidying up and making it all presentable. Well I did the same thing this morning, but it was more about putting up the rest of my toy soldiers (at least all the ones that live in the box under my bed) and associated Christmas decorations... didn't take that long, but everything looks very jolly (there will be photos when I get a chance).
Fortunately, because Ma was having her pre-Christmas haircut today, I didn't have to rush to get ready in time for her arrival... not that I took my time.
It was a reasonably light-on shopping excursion... which I seem to be saying quite a bit of late... but I did pick up some nougat for Ma for Christmas (it's become something of a tradition... it's not something she tends to buy for herself, but she does like it).
Once I was done with the groceries, I went to wander around Target, partly to look at clothes (nothing) and partly to take a look at what they had on offer in the way of pedestal fans, since the last time we went looking for one we went to just about everywhere and ended up at Target in the end anyway.
And they has some... the same white plastic one that I got last time (although cheaper) and a chrome one that cost three times as much.
I went with the chrome one...
Damn but it's powerful! I have it on the lowest setting currently and I swear it's actually blowing more air than the highest setting on the old one. Woohoo! Although the blades are metal, so it feels like it could be deadly...
Anyway, I trundled home with my purchases, put the groceries away, read the paper and was halfway through putting the fan together when Ma showed up.
We took my car down to Port Adelaide (ah, the joys of air-conditioning!) and almost ran headfirst into a combi van who decided he needed to turn his car around in the temporary parking area... tossbag.
The only thing I don't like about the Art at the Hart market (other than the fact that it was a very hot day this time) is that it happens in conjunction with Celtica Festival... so there are annoyingly amplified people playing slightly whiny music at loud volumes. Seriously, if I had my way, 90% of all outdoor amplification would have to go unplugged. Nobody really cares, so shut up and let us shop!
There was a lot more actual art this year... and most of the stalls were different from what I remember being there last year. It didn't seem to take us as long this time around either... maybe that was because we didn't really stop and explore as many stalls. The only thing we ended up buying other than food was a pendant from the Ruben+Kosch stall (who don't seem to have a website unfortunately) for me...
I was very, very tempted by a guy who makes robots, rayguns and rockets out of metal "junk" (kitchen items, homewares, etc). They were incredibly beautiful and I would LOVE to own one, although I don't really have the room, and if I'm being totally honest, while there were some great pieces, none of them actually spoke to me.
By the time we'd had some gozleme (I love gozleme... almost as much as I love the handmade lemonade they sell!) we were officially overheat and over it, so we headed off to West Lakes in search of cooler climes.
Bless the air-conditioning in my car, and double bless it in shopping malls!
After seeing the ease with which the lights went up on the tree at work this week, I decided that what we needed for our tree was a string of lights rather than a big loop. A big loop equals a big pain in the ass, whereas the string should be smooth sailing (ask me again tomorrow!).
Weirdly, Kmart didn't seem to have any coloured lights... of any kind, although I could be exaggerating... but they certainly didn't have any coloured lights in strings. Usually I'm all about the white lights, but the coloured ones at work look kinda nice.
Anyway, after stopping off to look at the puppies and kitties and bunnies at the pet store (so cute... but I don't actually want one, I just like to look at them) we wandered around everywhere else...
We were headed for JB Hifi, but oddly enough, as we got there Ma mentioned something about a girl she works with thinking that Greg the Wiggle was 67 years old. I mean, seriously, who the fuck would actually think that? But she did... so I had to Google it on the spot. Turns out he is only 38, two years older than me... he wasn't even born in 1967 which I thought could have been the cause of the confusion. The reason this becomes important (for varying definitions of "important") to the story is that we went to sit down near David Jones so I could Google... and that was when we saw the Maxwell & Williams toy soldier mugs (technically they call them a grenadier, but same difference). That then led to lots of looking at stuff in David Jones and a couple of extra presents for other people.
So it was a fairly successful day all up really. The market could have been better, but you takes your chances...
After Ma left though I suddenly realised that we haven't seen any of the Hallmark Keepsake Ornaments around this year... usually they're front and centre in Target from about November... this year, no sign. So I went looking online... and you guessed it, they have a toy soldier ornament this year.
But you can't order from the Hallmark website... and while you can order them from Amazon, they don't ship them to Australia... which then led me to eBay... eBay is dangerous... one search for "toy soldier hallmark" and I had access to any number of ornaments from years past...
And currently two are potentially winging their way to me... the one I actually went looking for, I accidentally did the whole "Buy it now" thing to a seller who doesn't ship to Australia... so either he'll email me back and tell me I'm an idiot, or he'll let me know about shipping. Fortunately there is another seller who will sell worldwide, so I have a backup plan.
Silly yani...
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