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.