Inorganic Collections

I think you either do or you don't when it comes to checking out the stuff on the streets during inorganic collection time. I'm definitely in the "do" camp. In NZ this rolls round only once every two years. Oh joy, in Sydney we seem to get a collection every 6 months. I become a dodgey driver, slowly doing drive bys of stuff that may look plastic and toy like. And I've had some finds. My most successful yet being the large roll of brand spanking new chocolatey grey carpet, which once I'd hauled it into the back of the truck (dang carpet sure is heavy!), in front of some coiffured Remuera'ite in her softtop BMW, with the kids yelling.."mum what are you doing?". I had it edged for next to nothing and now it is one of the two slabs of carpet in my freezing "summer" Sydney house. My next house is going to have wall-to-wall carpet, maybe even in the loo that's how much I want carpet. So after a couple of bad calls in NZ (rusty hand mower, plastic clamshell sandpit that I dumped around the corner only a few mins after squeezing it into my car), I've made my first "selection" in Sydney.

A week or so ago on a wet day during the school hols, we went to one of those indoor playground places, where Smith obsessively followed around one of the two (!!!) ride-on cars, he managed to get in it for a nano-second before hopping out to watch the wheels go round. In slow motion I yelled "Nooooooooo..." as some snotty little girl seized the opportunity and leapt in. Smith then followed her for the next 30 mins fruitlessly crying "Mine" in her face. Where was that girls mother???? Probably inside with all the other mother's groups, unlike me who dumped my mothers group a good 71/2 years ago, I now go it alone in these places. With both our hearts broken a bit, we drove home but as we neared home, we saw a wet, ride-on car sitting amongst other recycling for collection. The homeowners were in full view, but swallowing my pride, I stopped and with the kids yelling "what are you doing mum?", I squeezed it in the back of the car.

We now have a large red plastic car taking up space in our very small house amongst the other plastic kids paraphenalia.

Maybe I'll dump some of it next collection day. Or probably I'll just add to it!

To start...

I knew I was in trouble when we all picked our bags off the conveyor belt. The Husband and I both had one small bag each (new and finally with wheels and a handle) and everyone else, well, had lots of bags, even makeup bags on wheels, and The Husbands boss's wife even had what she called her jewellery bag.

I had a revelation. I had packed like a backpacker. T-shirts were rolled up inside shoes, with the intention of being recycled many times, everything had a purpose and had been packed with strategy and economy.

I then had a second revelation which I shared with The Husband..."I haven't brought enough clothes with me..I need more...stuff!" After months of careful planning, I fell off the wagon in a haze of panic. Random clothes items raged through my head..."got...to...get...to...shops...". One thing was clear to me though, I needed walking shoes. The little slip on covered toe shoes I'd brought especially, were uncomfortable even on our flight (and I'd been wearing the flight socks for most of the trip too), how were they going to get me down Table Mountain or cope on the safaris.

And that started what can only be described as a shoe shopping blowout, hitting rock bottom with a purchase of two pairs of blingy, uncomfortable, ridiculously high heels when on a spree with The Husbands boss's wife (the one with the jewellery bag), who MADE me buy them. Actually she did, "Lisa you MUST get these divine shoes), she has a passion for blingy, uncomfortable, ridiculously high heels and looks great in them! I think I brought 7 pairs all up, and this is from someone as you know who lives in jandals (spring/summer/autumn transition) and trainers (autumn/winter).

What was I thinking?

I know now for a fact that a $40 pair of shoes will still be cheap and uncomfotable regardless of what continent I buy them on, unless they are Havianas of course!