Tag Archives: junk

Spreadsheets, arguments, and a spiral staircase at the auctioneer’s sale room (Rousse)

Posted on December 17, 2024 by Dreamaticus

The auctioneer’s accountant praised the clarity of the layout of our financial transactions. ‘That comes from years of working with spreadsheets’, I said with pride. The accountant’s colleagues were not so happy that we sisters argued openly in front of … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged antique, argument, auctioneer, Barbara, bed, double, family, handbag, junk, Newcastle, room, sale, sister, spiral, spreadsheet, staircase | Leave a comment

No junk in Jesmond (Rousse)

Posted on December 8, 2024 by Dreamaticus

I had dreaded the visit to my sister S’s house in Jesmond, convinced that I probably wouldn’t even make it past the front door. This was due to the quantity of junk that she stored from floor to ceiling in … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged antique, flat, flatpack, IKEA, Jesmond, junk, sister, Tyneside, vintage | Leave a comment

Check your junk mail folder (Rousse)

Posted on August 29, 2024 by Dreamaticus

I felt obliged to pass on the news to LM that her conference paper was not, in fact, rejected. Rather, it had been warmly welcomed by the programme committee and already published in the conference proceedings. Unfortunately, however, there was … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged black, committee, conference, folder, junk, mail, mark, moral, paper, proceedings, programme, reject | Leave a comment

Unwanted charity shop donations destroyed in secret in-store bonfire (Rousse)

Posted on February 17, 2024 by Dreamaticus

TPR brought out yet another bags of clothes and random bits and pieces to sort for donation to charity. I guessed that the knitting needles would be welcomed, but most of this junk was almost certainly destined for the Bethany … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Bethany, bonfire, charity, clothes, in-store, junk, knitting, needles, secret, shop, TPR | Leave a comment

Le Creuset mini-pan measuring spoon set (Rousse)

Posted on May 6, 2022 by Dreamaticus

I was relieved to learn that the messy holiday cottage in Lanarkshire was not, in fact, ours. My parents had bought it with my middle sister and her husband – and then filled it to the brim with junk. I … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged cottage, holiday, junk, kitchen, Lanarkshire, Le Creuset, measuring, mess, spoon | Leave a comment

Salvaged: a single-footed skateboard and an antique secrétaire (Rousse)

Posted on November 26, 2020 by Dreamaticus

Back in Birmingham again, TPR, my father, and my little sister were picking through the contents that we had left three decades earlier in our old house in Northfield. Much of it was junk. This included a narrow skateboard with … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Birmingham, bookcase, Christmas, cushions, father, house, junk, Northfield, salvage, secrétaire, shelves, sister, skateboard, TPR, van | Leave a comment

Hope for hoarders dashed (Rousse)

Posted on June 11, 2018 by Dreamaticus

The back staircase was decorated pink. The neat piles of junk on the steps were numerous – perhaps an indication that, at long last, my parents were having a clear-out. However, when I stumbled over a box of out of … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged blue, box, breakfast, clear-out, drawing, hoarder, hope, jest, junk, parent, pink, raisin, room, sitting room, sofa, staircase, step, tidy | Leave a comment

Classic car investment (Rousse)

Posted on March 10, 2015 by Dreamaticus

I despaired at my parents who proudly showed off their latest acquisition. This was a set of four wrecked ‘classic’ cars that they considered to be valuable vintage vehicles. There was a badly bashed grey Golf GTi, a Ford Cortina, … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged black, car, cars, cast-off, cast-offs, classic, death, embroider, Ford Cortina, frame, Golf GTi, grey, grief, handkerchief, investment, junk, legacy, name, names, nuns, parent, parents, saint, sister, sisters, spending, unwanted, Vauxhall, vehicle, vehicles, vintage, wreck | Leave a comment

Last minute wedding outfit disaster and a cosmetic use for dust (Rousse)

Posted on July 5, 2012 by Dreamaticus

We were last-minute additions to EM’s wedding party. EM himself lent me one of his maids for the afternoon and her first task was to rush back to our flat to fetch suitable outfits for us. Meanwhile I wandered around … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged artist, bride, ceremony, clothes, compact, cosmetic, cosmetics, decoration, disaster, dress, dust, flat, foundation, Georgian, gown, house, jigsaw, junk, maid, maids, make-up, mother, outfit, paintbrush, parents, party, powder, shoes, tights, underwear, wedding, zip | Leave a comment

The “sad camel” look in Grantham (Rousse)

Posted on September 25, 2011 by Dreamaticus

My grandmother returned from the dead for a day trip to Grantham by train. I was delighted to see her after almost two decades. However, my happiness turned to horror when we approached an outdoor jumble sale and I spotted … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged beige, camel, clothing, dead, death, Grantham, jumble, junk, north, sad, sale, town, train | Leave a comment