Sale bargains and a sobering experience

Cats Corner

 As you can see from the photo's above and at the end, the cats are enjoying and more importantly USING their platform!  Surprisingly, Bertie plays with it more than Lilly, who uses it mostly as a base to sleep on (while waiting for us to leave the room then she leaps onto the furniture - which we suspected would happen and the white fur confirms this each morning!).  They've yet to use the tunnel or hammock but they do hide and retrieve "mousey" inside.  Bertie particularly likes the pom-pom and has bitten through the elastic already and had to be knotted - a bargain at £30 off the full price and good all round buy!

New Lamp

Creates an ambiance

with a nice effect

 BEST BUY however has to be the lovely upright lamp with lime green shade that we bought at a "works sample sale" last weekend for just £10 (normal retail price = £100)
It fits perfectly into our corner which is waiting for a piece of furniture or shelves, but we've yet to decide how to finish this and in the meantime the lamp is in situ.

50p! wine?

Set of cheese boards

And a chopping board!

 For just £1 each, I picked up some boards, we're using the chopping board and will probably keep one of the cheese boards and fling the other gift-wise to someone - for just £1 you can't say no, really?

Mug!

 Our no.1.son loves marmite! for 50p dh picked up a marmite mug and its just as well he did - yesterday one of the cats jumped up on the kitchen counter, sent our son's tea-mug crashing and smashing to the ground - naughty cats! its the rain! they don't like all this dismal weather and end up chasing each other and pestering each other to relieve the boredom!

50p minatures & glass

 Well for 50p its worth it just for the lovely little glasses!  Of course a drop of baileys in coffee and some bourbon in tea will also be welcome!

oils

 For £1 a set of four oils with spices infused, and 10p for pots of spice and a lt of finest olive oil for £1 dh was pleased with his selection and they are now sitting on the shelf in the kitchen looking pretty!

pots of eye make up!

 which is exactly what I shall look like! PRETTY! with all these lovely eye shadows for 50p! who cares that they aren't Clinique or Estee Lauder, my usual preferred choice, at this price I can afford to be fashionable with the latest shades?  Not sure what the family will think when I come down stairs glowing and glittering in peacock blue and lime green, but I will at least match the new decor!  I best not sit under the glow of the new lamp!?

Cats Corner

This time the Management decided to relax their rules and allow employees AND their spouses to attend the regular sample sales.  this was good in respect that dh was allowed to have a chance at grabbing a bargain or two and also good that he wasn't stuck in the car park for 3hrs waiting for me!
In the past I've always attended in his place mainly from the point of view that I am the better "shopper".  On the one occasion when  I wasn't able to go, dh went and came back with a huge bag FILLED with something or others of minimal interest and a load of pants.  TANGA pants. to be precise.  WHY? I asked, did you BUY all these??  A bargain! he said! yes.  but will you WEAR them?  oh! yes! .. yes? hmm .. no.  apparently.  once he'd opened them and seen what they were ..

He fared slightly better this time, but not in the clothes department.
Two too-small shirtstyled jersey tops with 3/4 sleeves and collarless design in white and black - I MADE him put them ON and even he had to confess this was a big mistake and if he dared to wear he'd be arrested for crimes against fashion.  The lads declared they'd leave home if the shirts were to stay! they are now in the charity bag!  Two more slightly dodgy tees including one which I pointed out seemed to have some semi naked image of a woman in fishnet stockings astride a large motor bike? cough ? which apparently he'd not noticed and had to clean his glasses and stand under the lamp to SEE .. hmm .. and WHEN? do you plan on wearing THAT? then? .. in the house. he declared.  for decorating? I said hopefully? .. (next = the dining room) 

I bought a few tops and a skirt and some slippers for myself all at greatly reduced prices, not the best of sales we've experienced, but the lamp made it I think.
Which is just about what we did - just ABOUT MADE IT!
Its a very scary thought that through no fault of your own, and completely by chance one can be caught up in someone elses bad judgement & how quickly your life could be changed for ever or even taken away?
Driving down the fast country roads there are some very sharp bends and tricky corners but after 20+ years dh knows this route like the back of his hand and with confidence he generally drives at some speed; luckily for us on this particular day he had slowed considerably and we'd just time to sit and register the fact that ahead of us - from nowhere! - in a single split second - a white van appeared! headed straight toward US and fully on OUR side of the road!
Thats how quick it was, thats how fast he was going - the first we had chance to SAY "look out!/ did you see that? " was AFTER he'd HIT US!
For what has turned out to be a non-crash in terms of damage etc, it was one HECK of a bang enough to send the car shooting to the side and blasting our wing mirror but it was all done from start to finish in less time that either of us were able to process it!  Another 2-3seconds ahead, dh felt that it would have been a lot worse - for us! I feel that the fact the driver WAS going so fast, was in our favour? he literally came at us hurtling like a bomb blast! and cannoned off the side of us as he'd tried, we presume, to straighten and get onto his own side of the road?
Anyway, apart from the damage to the car which is slight, by comparison to what it could/should have been, the event was rather unsettling all round not least the realisation our lads could well have been orphans in one go OR we could have been stuck in Hospital for some time and then what would we do?
You can't dwell on what has happened nor worry about what might have happened any more than you can change what did, and with that I'll leave you with an inspiring last comment made by dh's Neice who says it all here ".. no time to dwell on what I can't do!!"
And its lovely to see her exploring a crafty side, too! this definitely needs following up!!