Awards Night

The Thursday after the Road Trip was Michael's birthday, and that weekend the 4WD club were camping at Amamoor, not far from Jo's home at Imbil. We couldn't camp because we had sold our camper, and our caravan still wasn't finished, so a plan was cooked up where we would stay with Jo for the weekend, and spend a day with the club at Amamoor.  A bonus was that Heather's Halloween party was planned for the Saturday night, so this would take us a long way away from home.

We decided to not only celebrate Michael's birthday on the Thursday, but turn it into the Awards Night.  The husbands were required to wear the T-shirts we had bought them on the trip, and we had to wear clothes purchased but not worn on the trip.  The significance of John's shirt is that he was born in 1949.

Jo put on a tight-fitting lace dress, and promptly proceeded to harvest veges from her garden.  She looked very fetching amongst the cauliflowers.  

After dinner, the winners were announced. My mouthguard game won Quirkiest Object, so the previous winner, Jo, passed on the perpetual trophy to me.

Then it got better.  I also won Quirkiest Book for Awkward Family Pet Photos, so Jan presented me with the other award.  She said I cheated, because I know the sort of things Michael would choose. If I did, it was unconscious, I swear.

We had a great night and a great trip.  My total haul was:

3 pairs pants

2 pairs jeans

3 pairs shorts

2 pairs leggings

5 tops (2 designer brands)

3 tshirts

1 Xmas tshirt

1 pair swimmers

1 bra

1 pair shorts for Michael

1 tshirt for Michael

5 items of clothing for Wednesday

1 elephant-shaped bag for Wednesday

1 necklace

2 pairs earrings

2 bracelets

1 bookends featuring thongs

9 books

1 DVD

4 jigsaws

1 game

1 binder diary for Tash

1 soap

1 body mist

1 shampoo

1 conditioner

1 hair treatment

1 lip gloss

1 hand cream

1 watering can

1 quiche dish

1 Vision saucepan with lid

1 Danish jug

2 acrylic wine glasses

1 egg lifter

1 small Sistema container

1 wire cooling rack

2 knives

100 business card size laminating pouches

1 750ml bottle honey

Total outlay: $184.25

My favourite purchase would have to be the crossword dictionary. When I took it to the counter at the Burleigh Salvos, the man serving was fascinated by it, because he had never encountered one before. I have thrown out Mum's original one, and the second one will live in the van.

The black shorts I bought have barely been off my body since the trip so they would come second.

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Home on the Range

Toowoomba can be cool in October, but we awoke to fog, and it was actually warmer than the previous evening, which was lucky, because I hadn't thought to buy any warm clothes. 

My plan for the morning was a surprise trip to historic Harlaxton House, to show the the girls where lamingtons were actually invented, while Governor Lamington was up on the range avoiding the heat of Brisbane.  However, somehow in the excitement. I completely forgot about it.  

Our first stop was to be the Red Cross, which is in an old petrol station, but we decided to give that one the flick, since the other Red Cross shops we had visited so far hadn't been kind to us.  We had been to the big Lifeline Vintage shop twice before, so skipped that as well.

Jo decided she wanted to walk into town, while Jan and I would find a park and meet her at Save the Children.  The plan was going well until we spotted Bunnings en route to the city centre and decided to make a brief stop.  Jan then misdirected me to an exit that sent us the wrong way with nowhere to turn around, so we had an unscheduled scenic tour of inner north-west Toowoomba.  Eventually, we found a paid parking lot, and headed north. Unfortunately, Save the Children was south of us.

When we all found each other again, we liked this shop, which is large, neat, and cheerful.  Our D photo was taken there, with us all wearing denim on the bottom half, plus dragonflies for me, dots for Jan, and a very brave Jo wearing a T-shirt featuring a dog throwing snowballs.  

The next on the list was the ADRA shop, but it is only open from Monday to Thursday, the strangest opening hours we have ever encountered for an oppy. This was Friday.  We peered in the window at their display, clearly themed for a Carnival of Flowers competition, and were intrigued by a patchwork jacket that had been made from pieces of knitted fabric. We had never seen anything quite like it before, but, of course, couldn't check it out further.

Last time we were in Toowoomba there were two shops close together in Russell Street, but one had gone, leaving only Orphans and Widows, which we had liked last time.  It is a long, thin shop with an almost hidden doorway right up the back which leads to an almost identical space next door, where everything other than clothing lurks.  Jo found a top to change into, because the dog shirt was uncomfortable, and Jan found a replacement lid for her Tupperware container because the original had cracked earlier in the trip.  I was intrigued by some of the signage. "Not for Sale" would have been much less interesting.

We needed food and the loo, so made a beeline for Grand Central Shopping Centre, where I learnt that if you press the LOCK button on the disabled toilet door before it has closed, someone can pay you a visit at an inconvenient time (I was using the disabled one because I had brought my folding shopping trolley with me).  By this time we had noted that Toowoomba looks a bit sad at present, with quite a lot of apparently homeless people out and about. There was one sleeping on a seat near our coffee shop.  It seemed so incongruous among Toowoomba's beautiful buildings.

Our last shop down town was Good Samaritan, which we thought was a sad little store.  I have since learned the rent they are paying for this out-of-the-way location, and now I understand why they look a little desperate. I didn't find anything to buy here.   I tried to find the Collectables Boutique Op Shop, but apparently I was looking in the wrong street.

Time was now an issue, because we had to get back to Brisbane in time for Michael to judge the quirky things, and for the girls to get home to the northern Sunshine Coast before nightfall, so we decided to revisit one more shop that we knew was a good one, Vinnies Madonna House.  It is two-storey shop with bric-a-brac and big things downstairs.  Here I found a cute tulle skirt for my granddaughter, my last purchase of the trip.  Heather had wanted me to look out for a mini bundt pan, so she could cook little pumpkin-shaped cakes for Halloween.  I thought I had struck gold, send her a photo, but was informed it was in fact a donut pan, so that was that. 

Down Darren Lockyer Way we headed, with the obligatory stop at Schulte's Meat Tavern at Plainland.  We had had our usual fantastic time.

Out came all the quirky objects, once we had dragged about thirty bags out of my car. Jo had high hopes for her 1950s novelty salt and pepper shakers, and Jan had found a definitely quirky Chinese hand puppet. My thong bookends were in there with a chance too.  What would Michael choose?

Cotton and Cadillacs

We had visited Toowoomba twice before on our travels, but still hadn't been to all the oppies there. The first newie to try was the big Lifeline at Drayton.  And big it is, in a huge shed.

When I travel, I always buy honey. I don't have the honey palate - it all tastes the same to me - but Michael and Heather do, and he has honey on his porridge and she puts it in her tea.  I also like to support the local economy in this way.  What was the first thing I saw on the counter?  You guessed it. It was fresh (dated) and cheap. Cash only.

The next thing I spotted was a watering can, just what Michael wanted.  I thought I had found some wool for my friend Suzette, who knits for children in refugee camps, but another woman beat me to it. Intriguingly, the label was in German. "Baumwolle" must surely mean wool? Nope. I looked it up and it actually translates as cotton.  So Suzette wouldn't have wanted it anyway. Still, I picked up a quiche tray to replace my rusting one, a packet of 100 business-card-size laminating pouches for $2 and a pair of leggings, so the shop was definitely a success.

We needed some supplies for dinner, so went to Woolies instead of the Lifeline in Herries Street, which closed at 4.30, and headed for our digs for the night.  Cotton Tree Cottage at North Toowoomba is a delight.  The unit at Bilinga was in a brilliant location, but was showing its age. The power point taped to the wall in the ensuite shower was of particular concern. In contrast, everything was tickety-boo here, and in a beautiful, treed street.

Jan headed upstairs to the loft where the two of us would be sleeping and called me up, somewhat excited.  Out the window she could see the next door back yard, in which were parked two beautiful old Cadillacs.  

There was a little table with chairs out the front, so we made ourselves comfortable there for Happy Hour, when a car pulled up in next door's driveway.  Jan, being the country girl she is, had made friends with the driver in seconds, and soon we were invited in to checkout the Caddys, which belonged to his father.  Neither are currently registered, but one is close, apparently.

Max was a most intriguing character and I wish I had been able to sneak a photo of him. Just think Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean, complete with beard, headband and earring.

Once again, we were too tired to bother with a proper dinner, so we cracked open the stone-baked seed bread from Kings Op Shop, some hommus, and lots of cheese from Woolies, and that was enough.  We fell into bed early, dreaming of outfits starting with D.

In the Reeds and the Mulga

It was time to move on from the Gold Coast, but not before one last walk along the beach and an easy geocache pick-up close to our unit.  I'm glad we went to that spot because otherwise we would not have discovered the remains of Bilinga's Aloha Surf Motel.  It looks like it was built in the 1960s or early 70s at the latest, and is still occupied. I am guessing it's low-income housing. The letterbox collection is an artwork in rust. Sadly its days are numbered because both the SOLD and development signs are up.

Back at the unit, Jo and I finished the Wacky World jigsaw, and then it was time to see if three days' worth of purchases would fit in a Subaru XV.  They did...just.

We headed for the highway where, strangely enough, there was no traffic travelling north from New South Wales.  Our destination was Reedy Creek where there are two oppies, both church-run, and just off the main drag.  Reedy Care was the first.  What a lovely shop!  It has its own proper coffee shop inside, where those with cash can pay forward cups of the good stuff, and those without cash can drink it.  

Just after we arrived, a bus from a retirement village or nursing home pulled up, and two elderly women alighted.  One of them took a shine to Jan's top that featured lemons, in keeping with the day's L theme.  She kept saying "I'd luv a top like that" in a delightful English accent, till eventually Jan offered to give it to her for the cost of a replacement shirt, if one could be unearthed.  

Once the top was found, the handover was duly photographed and I asked Jan if I could post said photo and the story on the Gold Coast Op Shoppers facebook page, which I had joined while planning the trip.  Up it went, and one enigmatic comment said "Well look who it is?"  I didn't think any more about it until last week, when I received a message from a woman called Sue in New Zealand, telling me that the lovely lady was her Mum, Joan, and how delightful it was to see her on facebook.  I passed her thank-you on to Jan and we both got a little teary

We moved on to the Kings shop up the road and it just about took my breath away,  It is huge, with a separate furniture section out the back, and I have never seen such an organised oppy.  Everything was sorted and labelled without the place looking sterile, and there was just SOOO much stock.  Even the bras were sorted into individual sizes within separate drawers. And then guess who walked in...our two lovely bus passengers from Reedy Care. We greeted each other like old friends.

Jan found another top that fitted in with the L theme, and changed once again. I found the ring-binder organiser diary that my daughter-in-law was looking for, and on the way out we helped ourselves to not only more free bread but bananas as well.

It was about now that Jan realised she had left her small, specially purchased, bottle of Moccona coffee in the unit at Bilinga, and it had barely been touched. Well we weren't going back for it now!

I had found a nice little Anglican oppy in a shopping centre at Coomera on the day of the recce, so we stopped there next, bought a couple of things and had coffee at the nearby cafe. 

The next excitement for me was turning onto the Logan Motorway, as I had never travelled its entire length before.  For parts of it, I had absolutely no idea where I was, but just hoped we would end up on Ipswich Road, which of course we did.  I had promised the girls lunch at a country pub, so we left the Warrego Highway and headed for Mulgowie, the Lockyer Valley's best-kept secret, at least for those from the northern suburbs of Brisbane.

We had a leisurely lunch watching all sorts of agricultural machinery drive by, and the barmaid took the obligatory photo.  Jo, as usual, dressed differently to we lime ladies, as she was wearing lavender and lace.  By now, the clouds were gathering, as we continued west then onto the Toowoomba bypass. Jan hadn't been on it before; Jo had, but by accident!

As we were about halfway up, the rain hit, and as I tried to pass a line of large trucks, we were hit by walls of water.  It was quite hairy there for a bit.  The heavy stuff didn't last long, and we found the Toowoomba exit easily, before heading for Toowoomba oppy number one.

The Sacking of Southport

Having done a selection of southern Gold Coast shops, it was time to head north, but not before a quick detour into Currumbin.  But first, a walk on the beach.

The clothing theme for today was O, and orange clearly trumped olive green.  Jo bucked the trend with her owl shirt, and posed with it paired with an orange skirt, that she then decided was just too much orange. [Trivia question: what was named first, the fruit or the colour?*]  Since our return, the owl shirt has found a new home with one of my facebook friends, whom I suspect might be a little bit obsessed with owls.

After breakfast, I drove the scenic route via Currumbin Rock and beside the Creek,  but there was not time to stop for photos (and no parking spaces).

The first two shops in Duringan Street we had visited before, and had particularly fond memories of the Lighthouse one, where we had struck message-Tshirt gold a few years ago.  Alas, it has had a change of management and the prices were too high. While we were browsing, a woman challenged the man behind the counter about the prices, and he had the cheek to say that other customers had told him his prices were competitive. 

They obviously hadn't gone to Animal Welfare just up the road before they came to him. This was much the same as we remembered it, and you could buy clothes for $2 each or three for $5. Jan did well there.

Next was Genuine Love, which is hidden in a nearby industrial area and where I had found my $3 red hat on the recce.  The lovely woman there was our photographer for the day. 

By now, I was learning the downsides of my "designer" top. Because it slipped off my bra straps, I had anchored it with safety pins, which meant that every time I wanted to try on a blouse, I had to take off the whole lot!  It still didn't sit properly unless I rounded my shoulders.  The next problem was that if I raised my arm, even a bit, you could see everything. So I kept my arms firmly rammed against my sides for the whole day. 

Now it was time for the much-anticipated trip to Southport.  We drove past the first nest of three shops, planning to come back later if there was time, and headed for Railway Street, where there are five in a row. The Salvos is supposed to be nearby, but we didn't spot it.  This was the second place (after Burleigh) where we had to pay for metered parking.

First comes Lighthouse which actually occupies two separate shops, with bric-a-brac and furnishings hiding in an arcade. If you would like to buy a flute, they have two. 

Vinnies is next and it is a big, airy shop with lots of goodies.  I bought four items of clothing for my granddaughter for $2.  Jo bravely resisted some beautiful vintage ramekins because they weren't a set of six.

Then came Lifeline, which is a good one, and has the best decor of any of the shops we visited on this trip.  There are records and other wonderful things dangling from the ceiling everywhere.  This is also the place to go if you are looking for gear for your school formal.

The next two, Add Care and Animal Welfare were not so good (at least for me), although at the latter, Jan managed to find the vertical wire CD holder she had been seeking all trip. Not long ago, op shops couldn't give them away.  Add Care had Christian muzak as well, a negative as far as I am concerned.

We were now hungry and tired and headed for Australia Fair Shopping Centre where we could park free for two hours.  We found the food court, stuffed our stomachs, and headed for the tram stop.

G:Link is the Gold Coast's light rail network, that started operating in 2014.  As a Brisbane girl who loved our old trams, I had long wanted to have a ride on one of these super-sized modern ones.  All you need is your GoCard, and they come along about every seven minutes.  

Southport to Surfers Paradise is six stops and cost each of us oldies $1.35.  Surfers itself has become a ghost town.  I have never seen so many "For Lease" signs in one place before, and the shop-keepers that are still open have a slight air of desperation.  The only oppy in town is the Red Cross, which, like the rest of them, sells only clothes, but the ladies there were cheerful. Their special line is crocheted bikinis.  Despite their clear qualification as quirky (and orange), we did not buy them. Anyway, we already had togs!

Back to Southport we went, still within the free-parking two hours, and were delighted to discover we weren't charged for the return trip.  We noted how bustling Southport is compared to Surfers.  A couple of decades ago, the reverse was true.

There are so many more op shops in Southport that we did not have time for, but I really wanted to get to the Church of Christ one in Griffith Way.  The Burleigh one had been really good, and this one showed great promise on the recce.  According to the internet, they stay open till 5pm: I regret to report that the internet lies.

So back down south we went, sailing past Vinnies at Tugun (the nearest oppy to our unit) once again. and settled in for drinkies and dinner, and a chance for me to shed my shirt, roll back my shoulders and unglue my arms from my sides.  The top I now put on was a better find, a Misha top for which I did pay $10, but I love it.  I bought it somewhere in Railway Street, but I forget where.  We ended the evening with a game of Bananagrams.  It was fun, and Jan proved herself to be Top Banana.

I consigned the floaty top to the regifting bag, and wasn't sure about those orange pants.  However, when I was back home, I discovered that the op-shop acquired cat shirt that Jan gave me some time ago is just made to wear with them, in all their delightful orangeness.

  

Burleigh and Beyond

We hadn't finished with Burleigh yet, because there are so many shops there to choose from.  Next stop was the Salvos, a most excellent oppy.  They had a wonderful mixture of clothes, furniture and bric-a-brac there - although one less big vase after a customer knocked it onto the concrete floor - and while browsing through the books, I made one of the finds of the trip.

If you know me, you probably realise that I am a crossword nut, and always have one or two on the go at any time (along with the ubiquitous jigsaw).  From my mother, I inherited her favourite crossword dictionary, which I have just about worn out.  It is held together with rubber bands, and lives in our permanent camping gear.  A couple of years ago, I discovered that a later edition exists, and after a big, broad hint, Michael ordered this online and gave it to me for my birthday. This is now the one that lives permanently on our table, next to where I sit.  In the Salvos, West Burleigh, I found another one, in immaculate condition.  This means I can finally throw out the caravan copy.

The only downside to this shop was that the woman with the annoying voice from the Animal Welfare Shop turned up while we were there. We suspect she is an on-seller.

The next destination was Orbit, which turns out to be a tiny little shop in an industrial area, selling very little but clothes.  The woman minding the shop, with her dog Django, told us that the owner changes the charity he supports every few months or so.  I picked up a cloth bag there in the shape of an elephant, which my granddaughter just loves. This is the only photo I have of him, before he went to his new owner.

We announced that we were hungry and needed food, and Django's mum informed us there was a food van outside selling tacos...and she could serve us drinks. It took us about two nanoseconds to agree to this plan, when said van owner came in and told us he had closed ten minutes earlier at two o'clock. Rats! I could taste those tacos.

There was a shopping centre just to the north which was bound to have a cafe or two, so we headed there and all independently ordered some version of avocados and bread.  Jo said "While we wait, I'll just pop into the op shop." Somehow on the recce I had missed the Red Cross shop in Treetops Plaza!  Bonus. I bought an orange necklace there to wear with my black top on "O" day.

We had now "done" seven Burleigh oppies so it was time to move on.  I must comment that Burleigh is the only place where I have ever seen size 14 considered Plus Size, so I'm not sure what that says about the place.

The New Life Uniting Church shop at Robina was high on my list and we arrived there in their last half hour of trading.  It did not disappoint. I found a top there for three dollars which would tone down my bright orange pants, and which immediately made my five-dollar necklace redundant.  Jo informed me my top was a designer brand, not that I cared. 

We reached the Anglican shop nearby just as it closed, so made a dash for the RSPCA one in Robina Village.  This is a lovely shop where I had bought a pair of shoes on the recce.  Here I found another item from my list: a small Vision saucepan to replace my broken one. It came with a lid, which was a bonus. Back at the unit, I discovered that the lid was purple rather than brown, although the colour difference is subtle.  Neither Jo nor Jan has had cataract surgery, and couldn't see the difference.  Later research revealed that Corning later released a colour called Cranberry, which explained my lid.  My photo does not help.  I blame the coated lens.

Day two was now over, so we headed home, too tired for dinner at the surf club as planned.  Instead, Jo and I kept working on the jigsaw I bought on day one.