All figured out...

It's the last day of the year and in The Shopping Sherpa household that means only one thing: accounts!

This year is a real doozy. Not only do I have the usual personal end-of-month accounts for December (in 4 currencies, just to make things more challenging) I have the half-financial year budget update, the eBay December accounts for The Shopping Sherpa plus the TSS business accounts for November and December (as I was away for the end of November and haven't quite got round to doing that update)

Urgh! I think I need a stiff drink. Would that go under Medical, dental & hair or should I stick it in Food & alcohol?

For those of you who celebrate New Year's Eve, have a good (and safe) night. I'll see you all bright and fresh next year...

Seven Things Spring/ Summer Week 17: and so the year ends

In:

* Sophie Gray cookbook, black & white apron, pot holder & oven mitt, set of bird-shaped clothespegs, Flushed Away DVD (Christmas gift)

* New Zealand Home & Building souvenir edition from the Auckland City Art Gallery 1950s show, 2 Bro'town DVDs (Christmas gift)

* White handtowel (Christmas gift)

* 2 cards, 2 cutouts, 1 necklace, 3 dolls house miniatures (gift)

* 1 length of black denim, 4 video cases, 4 Maxwell Williams White Basics cereal bowls from Taph

* 1 frame for this picture.

Total In this week: 28

Out:

* 54 dolls house miniatures: donated to Janet

* 1 set placemats: gift

* 1 Groovy green bag: gift

Total Out this week: 56

Shake-it-all-about:

* Placemats

* Groovy green bag

Net items out so far during Seven Things Spring: 242

Oh - and if you want to see some impressive numbers, pop over and see the results of Taph's week!

Dear Jesse

No I'm not ignoring your 7 things tag.

I've just spent the last three months trying to narrow down the list of things that make me happy in my home to a mere 7.

Today, as I did the big Christmas clean of the lounge, I realised what a thankless task that was and so decided to show why, using just one room of my home as an example.
See here, with notes.

Oh yeah, I'm supposed to tag 7 people. So if you're reading this and feel like it please share photos and explanations of 7 things you use every day or 7 things that make you happy and link back to this post!

Bowled over

The challenge is complete!

It took a whole 14 months, far too many visits to op shops to count, a grand total $19.20 and Taph (who found 4 cereal bowls on her frugalling rounds today) but I finally have a Maxwell Williams White Basics dinner set for 8 (plus some spares). For under $20 (I already said that, didn't I?)

Here's the final round up for The Great Maxwell Williams Dinner Set Challenge of 2006/2007:

Dinner plates: 8

Total cost: $6.10

Side plates: 9 (Oops!)

Total cost: $2.40

Cereal bowls: 9 (Double oops!)

Total cost: $1.00

Cups & saucers: 10 cups & saucers (Oh well..)

Total cost: $9.70

GRAND TOTAL: $19.20

Feeling kinda crafty

This afternoon in a manic Oh my God I'm so late with Christmas presents panic I finally had a brilliant idea and made J a set of placemats using this fabric from February last year (see, I knew I'd work out what to do with it!) backed with this green fabric bought 9 months later.

Phew! Perfect colours for J's house so she'll be happy and I'm happy because I have one less overdue present to stress about. Plus I used some stash, shook some stuff about and had an Out to count (but is it one set of placemats or six individual placements. Or do I count two bits of fabric removed from the stash?! Ahahahahaha!)

Wanted

I'm (finally) putting together my proposal to be included in the Canberra Museum and Gallery's Cabinets of Curiosities series late next year. One thing is bugging me - I don't have a Caroline's Home house as part of my collection:If you happen to have one or know of one which is looking for a good home please let me know!

Happy happy joy joy!

I need to do a little happy dance.

While you're waiting you might like to go see why.

(That spot has only been empty since April 2006 and it took Janet about 2 hours to fill it up for me. And she even beat my self imposed deadline by 6 days. What a star!)

and all through the flat

there was no chocolate to be found!
(Wonder who ate all that?)

Twas the day before Christmas

I've been getting me some culture and watching me some Tarantino.

(Muppet style, Bien sûr...)

Seven Things Spring/ Summer Week 16: back on track

In:

* 7 magazines
* 2 Homebake07 CDs (free from the newsagents - 1 to keep, 1 to give away)
* 3 pairs tortoiseshell knitting needles ($4 total)
* 1 pot plant (gift)
* 2 books ($3 total)
* 2 champagne top magnets, 3 embroidered vintage hankies, 1 picture frame (gift)
* 1 book (gift)

Total In this week: 22

Out:

* 1 dead bra: bin
* 1 dead pedicure toe separators: bin
* 2 knitted washcloths: gifts
* 2 old magazines: donated to Taph to pass down the chain after she's read them
* 1 old Plan magazine, 1 old Powerhouse Museum magazine: recycled
* 1 large bag no longer required bits of paper and stuff from the filing cabinet: recycled
* 2 plastic folders beyond redemption: bin
* 1 Royal Caribbean souvenir glass from my first cruise in 2002: posted to a cruise buddy who collects such things
* 1 bracelet: given to Taph to be upcycled
* 1 Groovy Green Bag: gift
* 2 Christmas postcards: given to Taph
* 4 coloured pillowcases I don't want that I got with doona covers I do want (for sewing), 1 tray mat, 1 set of Christmas window clings, 1 polycotton waffle weave bathrobe (for the spare room which hasn't existed for almost 2 years), 1 black and white "mod" dress (which has been waiting for over a year to be listed on eBay), 3 plastic black and white bangles to match, 1 brand new black hoodie bought off eBay which is polycotton and not cotton as listed and also just slightly too small (which is the whole reason I thought I'd banned myself from buying clothes on eBay!), 1 pair of Prudence Chastity d'sprett's glasses and 1 bag: Smith Family.
* 2 posters bought from The National Gallery Shop about 5 years ago and never framed: recycled.

Total Out this week: 30

Shake-it-all-about:

* Still working on that stole from last week
* 2 groovy green bags for gifts

Net items out so far during Seven Things Spring: 214

Bucketing down

So much for summer. Since I've been back from holidays it seems like it's rained almost every day and today's storm was a doozy requiring the following* to be added to the decor in my office:It was the sort of day where you stay hunkered inside and make soup for lunch. Which I did. And Taph came round (once the weather cleared a little) to help eat it and share my yearly viewing of Robbie the Reindeer: Hooves of fire and Robbie the Reindeer: Legend of the Lost Tribe (I'm very excited to see there's a third part, Close Encounters of the Herd Kind due out this year!)

Taph bought gifties including the most amazing vintage (antique?) hand embroidered silk handkerchief:and champagne fridge magnets made from Danny Seo's instructions:
All in all it was a very relaxing Saturday. Just what's needed at this time of the year.

( Happily when I called the real estate agent they had a roof fix it man round quick smart. I'm very impressed...)

Sorted.

Well not completely sorted but I'm pretty happy with what I managed to deal with today after I officially declared it the first day of the Christmas break (with a slight hiccough on Monday when I have to do some work):

* The To be filed tray is empty. The stuff is filed. The scary thing is I found things in there dated 2006 so I obviously didn't do any filing over Christmas last year... I also threw a lot of stuff into the recycling bin while I was sorting.

* I finally FINALLY managed (I think) to convert my Optus bill from paper-based to web-based after a saga covering many years.

* There is no longer a teetering pile of Lundby stock with damaged packaging in the corner of my office floor because they're now listed here and stacked neatly on my stock shelves.

It's a pity I still haven't finished making my Christmas presents but at least I've cut a couple of them out after making major inroads into refinding my workroom. (It was used as a general dumping ground for mess from the rest of the house before I went away so the place looked presentable for my house sitters...)

All is calm...

This is about as Christmassy as it's going to get round here.

A Christmas mince pie (lovingly handmade by an Elf at the Woolworths factory), some relevantly coloured knitting (Princess B's stole - up for the award of The World's Most Boring Knitting Project - which I worked on while I was away but didn't get finished) and a suitably festively coloured bottle of my favourite alcoholic ginger beer.

And since the weather is unseasonally cool and wet at the moment , this is about the perfect way to spend the evening...

First Law of Cats

If you place newspaper (or any other reading matter) on an otherwise empty floor, a cat will always choose to sit itself in the middle of it and not on the other (clear) floor.

Happy feet, I've got those Happy Feet...

I may have a lawn long enough to lose the cat in, a pile of washing to rival Everest and enough sorting out to last me to the New Year but at least I've got yummy tootsies - Princess B and I decided to treat ourselves yesterday and since I didn't have my usual red polish with me I opted for a more casual look to help me slide through the Christmas break...

Seven Things Spring/ Summer Weeks 12-15

In:

* Bags: 2
* Books: 5
* CDs: 2
* Dolls house minis: 7
* Fabric pieces: 3
* Gifts: 16
* Magazines: 9
* Monogrammed cutlery sets: 1
* Pears: 1
* Sheets: 2 sets plus 2 individual.
* Souvenirs: 14
* Stationery: 6

Total In for the period: 70

Out:

* 1 metal sugar bowl bought here: given to V as it matches her teapot and I've never used it.
* 1 yoghurt maker: Taph asked if she could borrow it while I'm away to experiment with making her own soy yoghurt. I'm buying my yoghurt these days so said she can keep it.
* September 2007 US Vogue: donated to Taph to read and pass on down the chain.
* Groovy green bag and washcloth: gift
* 1 2000 edition Singapore guidebook: donated to our waitress at The Schooner Bar on board Rhapsody of the Seas.
* 1 beautiful white vase: broken in transit home and put in the bin.

Total Out for the period: 7 (I could have got rid of more but I've been home a total of 4 days during the past 4 weeks!)

Shake-it-all-about:

* 1 moss stitch stole

Net items out so far during Seven Things Spring: 206

Photos

I've just loaded my Lombok and Bali photos up to Flickr.

Australia and Singapore photos to follow but not til next week. I've just discovered my work Christmas party has moved from Friday night to tomorrow night so I have to leave for Sydney a day earlier than planned...

Shattered

One souvenir that didn't make it home:Unfortunately one that did was a stinking head cold that pretty much everyone on the ship was given as part of their holiday package. Lovely. Mine was the deluxe edition with added nosebleeds.

I'm also at that "back from holidays" stage where I wake up and have no idea where I am until it slowly dawns that perhaps I'm not at some weird hotel which supplies room service cats but rather at home and that the fluffy creature snuggled up beside me is my own.

Gotta love it.