New Toys

Neither Bob nor I are into shopping (as in going to stores and seeing if there's anything we want).  But things have a way of finding their way into the household from other sources (such as the 104 model kits in the last blog entry).

A few such newcomers have joined our household recently.  First, this lovely antique spinning wheel that niece Amanda found in an antique shop (she now lives in Mons, Belgium).  There are a couple of

pieces  missing but my brother is willing to make them (I have parts of two so they shouldn't be too hard to re-create--the third one I still have to figure out what it would have looked like.  Meanwhile I'm just enjoing having it around.  If you click on the picture to enlarge it you'll see little bone buttons on the hub of the wheel.

The next new inhabitant of the house is a dressmaker's mannequin--in a size that I have never been!  Due to budget cuts and reorganization, the department no longer has a fashion design major.  I miss it--I miss the energy of the kids and the wild creations and the impromptu fashion shows.  So this is a souvenier.  I plan on displaying various items--at the moment she's wearing my silk brocade bathrobe that I got when we lives in the Azores.  Bob has tucked in a picture of my 21-year-old self wearing it.

And the last new toy is a gift from brother Mike.  It's a coffee scoop (or, in our case, a tea scoop) for measuring out the morning brew.  It's just a ridiculously beautiful way to start the day that it just makes me smile every time I see it.  And he was thoughtful enough to make a hook to hang it on the wall so it doesn't get lost in the kitchen clutter.