more shopping ideas & mike deserves our empathy

these frames are availaible from mary-kelley decoupage.  you can have them personalized in any way you like & they have some very pretty frames & backgrounds.  i put a rumi quote on one for wedding gift- it seemed well received.  they made an error with the personalization that was not entirely their fault.  they offered to replace the frame & redo it if i would pay shipping.  very nice customer service- something in short supply these days.

here we have a calendar- each page is one month. aren't they beautiful?  it is a pricey calendar- but, we do look at it every day, don't we?  this is available from www.paper-source.com.

these are knives- i think they look fabulous.  it appears that they can stand on the counter like that- quite the display.  they come in orange as well.  

look what else i found - this is a useful & great little tool to have around.  works for trying

 to manipulate small objects such as jewelry repairs.  this is from www.vinçon.com which is based in spain, but is accustomed to mailing to the US.  once again, we lose on the exchange rate.  but, boy, do they have some cool stuff!  the bathtub drain plug from yesterday is also from vinçon.  it's a great website.

now, most anyone who knows me knows i love to shop & i love to look.  i love getting catalogs & scouring the globe for that unique & perfect gift.  catalogs help me to travel inexpensively & see what is out there.  and the deluge of catalogs starts in mid- october & goes through to the new year.  every evening when i arrive home from work, there is a new stack of brightly colored catalogs awaiting my perusal.  of course, some don't even make the cut- they go straight to recycling without being opened at all.  & for all this,

i have lots of empathy for mike the mailman, the bearer of these missives from hopeful entrepreneurs & corporations.  this is the take for about a week and a half-  i worry for mike's back.... 

i started this post a while back & just changed the date.  is that cheating?  & then i publish with a back-dated date- helps me look less lame.  please forgive me my deceitfulness..