We Did It!

Happy Op Shop Week to all.  

To celebrate, I will describe the 4WD club Op Shop Crawl that happened on the second attempt.

I planned it on the Brisbane Show Holiday Wednesday so that Brisbane workers could come and because shops in the Moreton Bay Region would be open as they have their show holiday on the Monday.  The numbers were looking good, but gradually I lost the two passengers in my car; Heather lost the three in hers, and the one person I thought wouldn't actually come, dropped out.  So in the end, Heather came in with me and we had a convoy of three vehicles.
The plan was coffee at Westfield Strathpine, followed by a sacking of the RSCPA shop opposite, which had served me so well during the eight years when we had a shop at Westfield.  As the clock ticked slowly towards 9 o'clock, I noticed that said shop was looking suspiciously tidy outside.  Close inspection revealed disappointment but not total despair.  It appears to be being renovated (but not closed down). Phew!

We piled into our vehicles, checked out UHF radios, and headed for the Lawnton Trio: Neighbours Aid, the Sallies and Vinnes, side by side.  There were good buys made here.  I picked up three pairs of pants at the Salvos, for example.  And in Vinnies, is the biggest bra I have ever seen. If you wear a 48I, there is one in pristine condition just waiting for you. Also in the Sallies is a beautiful old piano.

This shop is very new, and has nice little shopping trolleys at the front for your convenience.

In Vinnies, we discovered that there is nothing less marketable than a former politician...

It was time for morning tea.  We had to make a stopover at the Lawnton Bakery for those who had not bought morning tea supplies (as per instructions); and then it was off to Bullocky Rest picnic area on the shores of beautiful Lake Samsonvale.

This is a historic photo because on the table is the McBurneys' Stanley thermos flask. This was Telecom issue when Michael was a backhoe operator in their camps in the late 1970s. It has had a rough life, including falling off the back of a truck.  Now it has entered a new phase of its history, because I left it on that table. 

I actually saw this tall thing on the table from a distance just before we drove off, and thought to myself 'It is getting busy; someone has bagsed our table already.'

The next stop was Redcliffe, and on the way the convoy lost Kerry for a while.  She thought she was behind us, but was actually in front. Anyway, we made it to the carpark behind the shopping strip, only to discover that everyone in Brisbane had decided to spend Show Holiday beside the water, and parking was at a premium. 
The vintage/retro shop was sadly closed, but the wonderful old haberdashery was open, as were the two small op shops that face each other.  In one I found the worst souvenir mug ever, complete with its own cave and ugly stalagmites, and in the other were pineapple holders from the Big Pineapple at Nambour.  We did the shops, strolled down Bee Gees Way and then headed for Margate.

Here there are two big shops side by side: Save the Children and the Lifeline Super Store. And big it is. 

At the former, I found an MCG tie for Michael, and at the latter, an office chair for $10.  The photo at left hows the McBurney and Blacklock loot for the day, including the forementioned items plus a second tie, FREE hairspray and soap, a ramekin to replace the chipped one in my set, a small pyrex bowl to complete that set and a steak knife that matches the ones we have (that's my lot).

Heather acquired two books, a brooch, a pair of earrings (which I may steal), a shoulder bag, and three items of clothing.

With the shopping done, we headed along the Redcliffe and Sandgate waterfront to Upper Moora Park at Shorncliffe for a late lunch.  On the recce day, there was no-one there. On this public holiday, there were people everywhere.  We all eventually parked, bought takeaways as required, and congratulated ourselves on a successful expedition.

I had given the participants a challenge for the day, namely a scavenger hunt.  Each needed to find a non-souvenir teaspoon, a hand-crafted object, a pair of knitting needles, a Christmas item and a baby names book.  In the end, only Kerry collected all five, so she was the winner of the grand prize, a glass bowl purchased at Vinnies, Lawnton, during the recce.  There was also a Trip Leader's Encouragement Award, namely a Sydney Olympics souvenir spoon featuring a map of Australia (including Tasmania) containing all three mascots.  It was purchased at Endo's at Stafford.  This award went to Graeme, who not only picked up the latest Tom Clancy novel for a fraction of the price is is currently fetching in bookshops, but was the only man brave enough to take part.

It was a beautiful day, and we all had a ball.

Bookarama

My daughter needed to buy a book that she could destroy for an art project. I knew just the place.

May I introduce you to Lifeline, Everton Park, possible the best op shop for books on the north side of Brisbane.  You park behind it in the eccentric, meandering carpark of the Everton Park Shopping Centre, away from the chaos of the main road.  (There is a basic-but-nice little coffee shop there as well.)

The whole shop is big and tidy, and the book section has its own large corner room.  All books, I repeat ALL books, are $2.

There are lots of CDs as well ($1 each), DVDs ($3 I think) and heaps of children's books.

While Heather was choosing her victim, I had a ramble and a random look.  The first book I laid my hands upon was all about epergnes.  Yes, those wonderfully eccentric table pieces.  It was called Elegant Epergnes and chock full of pictures like this.

At $2, I actually wanted this book quite badly, because it was so beautiful, but resisted the urge.

The next one I resisted was Chambers Biographical Dictionary, about 5 centimetres thick, but biographies are what the internet is for. 

The books are beautifully catalogued, so I strolled over to the cooking section, where I found this.
 

It is a beautiful collection of biographies and photograph of migrants, both individuals and families, each accompanied by a recipe from that family's tradition.

I nobly resisted this one as well, as I could not possibly fit another cookbook in my house. But, $2...

I then moseyed over to the novels, which were not only in alphabetical order but had little alphabet stickers on them, so that you could see instantly if a book was in the wrong place.

As in all op shops, I noticed multiple Stephanie Meyer, but no George R R Martin.

Heather had by now made her choice, a huge hardcover collection of aerial photos of Sydney.

It seemed such a shame that it had to be mutilated, but $2...?

I was spared from any more temptations, as we made our way out into the clothing area...wait, I just might try on that black top.  Yes, we did each buy clothes.

Meanwhile, on the subject of books, The Cystic Fibrosis Book Shop at Nundah is in the third and final day of one of its everything-in-the-shop-half-price sales and I have resisted going there, too.  It has something to do with a cash-flow problem.  However, this is a great little shop, tucked down beside the railway line in a back street, where old Brisbane City Council library books go to die.  I sincerely recommend it.