a peek inside the fishbowl

* click image to embiggen.

Sarah attended two (TWO) birthday parties yesterday. So Emma and I decided to take a tour of our local “thrift store row” – which includes the Salvation Army, Ottawa Neighbor Services, and St.Vincent de Paul. We didn’t make it to the third store, because we decided to explore  what turned out to be a giant church bazaar and plum ran out of energy to forge onward.

The big find of the day proved to be the finger puppets pictured above.  

At the Sally Ann there’s a set of shelves at the front of the store where they display special items. I usually limit my time at this spot to a sidelong glance. The stuff is usually pretty junky. I have never seen anything I liked on that “special” shelf.

But yesterday, for some reason, I made a bee-line. There was a hum in the air (or was it in my head?) and it spurred me on. I saw a red box. A.Red.Box. I knew it was going to be something great. My heart skipped a beat and I held my breath. And there they were.

It was love at first sight. These puppets were expensive by thirft store standards… a hefty six bucks. A stamp on the bottom informed me of their heritage: made in Czechoslovakia. Those Czechs, they’re so good at this stuff.

Now I just need a good way to display them. AND I might try and see if I can make a set of my own.

If there’s one thing I have learned about thrifting is that you need to follow your heart. If you don’t, you’ll regret that special item you left behind and you’ll probably never see it again.

I also came home with a huge stack of lovely vintage children’s books, coins for Emma, and a game of wooden carpet croquet.

More photos to come. :)