What a waste!

Have a great week everyone!
I know I haven't even said "Have a happy month" either!LOL!
If anyone wants a beautiful desktop on their computer here's what I have on for November taken from Geninne's blog!
So the week started with a great day at school. I love it because it is still sunny and warm and the sun makes us all happier!
While returning from the service yesterday morning in the car I spotted the shop window of a closed antique/second hand store in my neighbourhood. My eyes opened wide when I saw a mustard colour velvet armchair there!
It was the same armchair(one of a pair) that I had seen on the curb last week and of course didn't have the courage to take home. How to take them and where to put them was the usual question!So now someone else took them and is selling them too!!!!!
I will try to take  a pic and show you! I am also going to start taking photos of curb side finds to show you what I mean that people throw anything out!What a waste!
Have I shown you this shop window mannequin I collected from outside a shop that was closing down recently?Many shops close down due to bankruptcy and after selling their stuff for very cheap then throw things away!Again what a waste!

I almost collected these curb finds at some point!My husband would have killed me!

That reminds me that I had bought something from an antique store in the end of September but never showed it here. It was a very cheap price and it is so so lovely!

I am in love with its colour and transparency.
Also in the end of September I coffee dyed this lovely heart wreath I had stitched in summer because when I washed it some green colour had bled so I thought it a good idea to dye it myself. And here it is in its new IKEA frame!

In the beginning of October I had also added this frame in my balcony. The frame was an old curb find and the teatowel is by Arounna.

 We had to change the light in our kitchen so here is the new one again from IKEA. I am not sure I like it that much but it provides good light!

So I will just say good night!Off to correct some tests and do some cross stitch!

This and that on a cold autumn day

After months and months of absolute drought yesterday it started raining cats and dogs.....
This week was not tiring at all although school started.
I worked full time from day one although there are still teachers who haven't been positioned at school as they should have.
Also we started our Drama Club rehearsals which was fun as we had a drink afterwards watching the rain.
Here are a few things to show you.
A pair of shoes with the British flag on them. Because of the Olympics Union Jack was everywhere. These were on sale and I will probably wear them a lot.

 A summer tunic that a friend gave me. I don't mind second-hand use. It is lovely and she didn't want it any more.

 Two books I recently read.
Red Riding Hood  by Sarah Blaklie-Cartwright which is based on the movie screen play. It is about a warewolf and of course it is a teenager's reading. It was a gift for my son but he didn't want to read it so I did.
The other was my first September reading and I chose it because of the title. It is The English Teacher by the Indian writer P.K.Narayan. I didn't really enjoy that one and am glad I didn't spend too much on it. Maybe it has to do that I do not understand Indian philosophy of life.

 And a curb find. A lovely wooden chair. Today I found one more of a different design and hubbie didn't let me take it saying that I first have to find out what I will do with this one. I guess he is right.

Sidewalk finds...

I used to call them curb finds but I think I prefer the new name I read on a blog, I can't really remember which one.
Anyway I had found this white frame a long time ago and that's how it turned out.

I added to it a teatowel I had bought from Arounna's etsy shop. You can find them here.
Another sidewalk find was totally different!
I was out for an afternoon coffee with a friend one day and while returning home we saw this leaning on a trash bin. Without even stopping I grabbed it and said "Oh I'll take this with me!" She smiled  and said "Why not?"

I put it directly on the wall after just dusting it!
It is a beautiful backstitch with golden thread on black velvet! It is huge and I love it!
This will be a winter frame on this wall and Arounna's will be a summer one!
And here is another photo I took the first time I brought it home.

The flash hit directly in the mirror. As if the reclining lady is playing with the sun in her mirror.As I read somewhere this is called Forced Perspective photography. Maybe I am wrong. You can see 99 photos of the forced perspective photography here. Anyway mine just happened like that!
Thank you for your comments and becoming a follower! See you soon!

All kinds of things.

 This bundle of ribbons was lying around on the curb so I gathered it up and here it is clean and inside a box ready to be used somehow.

 These golden leaves were stuck on a huge branch of a tree and was decorating inside a museum in my neighbourhood for an exhibition. When they threw the branch out of the museum I painstakingly and patiently collected all the leaves!!!!!

 This lovely letter and birthday card arrived recently for my birthday from my dear friend in the Azores Maria Jose!

 I recently taught my students how to smile!!!!!!

 And fruit!

More curb finds

We had a meeting tonight with the Drama Club discussing all our plans for the new year and our future performances as well our premier  over carbonara pasta and wine!
Here I will continue though with some of the happenings of last year!
It is a continuation of my previous post.
Leaving the Koperti bazaar I went for coffee at a friend's house and then returning home I spotted a couple of lovely things on the curb.
I went back home but could not forget them so I asked for my son's help and went and fetched them home. Here they are.

 A lovely shelf. Even the glass is intact.

A pair of great wooden chairs which I will take to my summer house where I will paint them off white and add striped blue and white fabric to match my deck chairs.
And although I know you won't like the next two photos I would like to show you how furniture and other useful things end up in the garbage in Greece.

There are no thrift stores or reclaim stores or charity shops or opshops and you are not allowed to do a garage sale or an estate sale or a carboot sale or a tag sale and you cannot sell anything in a flea market without permission and there is no second-hand market.What a pity! In Greece "One man's trash is another man's treasure" is very limited;not many people believe in it.
* I found a second hand shop (probably the first in town) somewhere in the city centre just after I had written this post at a neighbourhood I do not frequent so I am going to go soon and if I like things there I will probably become a regular.

More curb finds!

First of all I want to welcome all new followers, I can't believe I reached 47,most of all I can't believe that there are people out there who are happy to read me. But rest assured that I am happy to write and to be read and to read other people's blogs too. And thanks every one for commenting.

Anyway...in my previous post I was talking about loving my home. Today I managed to rearrange and declutter my shoe rack and part of my wardrobe. I felt good about doing this but most of all I realised that I have enough clothes and shoes to last me this winter and the next one hundred!(just kidding!). I am just trying to persuade myself that I shouldn't buy anything new this winter because I can't afford it any more.
I was never the expensive clothing type of girl, always cheap,comfortable clothes my choice. But things in Greece financially have been getting worse and worse that even I of the cheap chic taste,cannot afford buying anything this winter.
Anyway smile, things will definitely get better.

So in  my previous blog I showed you a pic of the IKEA lamp I put on my computer desk. But did you see the first photo of the lamp being assembled on my bigger desk?
Did you notice the crocheted tablecloth on it? Did you like it? Here are a couple more pictures of it. This is another curb find.

Here is the whole story...and believe me I am very honest about it.
Last Saturday morning I was out in the balcony and suddenly saw someone looking at a big bag outside the rubbish bin. I couldn't help but notice that this person had found some interesting things in the bag that someone had thrown away. She found.......books! I was shocked! What kind of people throw away books? Why didn't they take them to the school nearby or the local library or even the paper recycling bin?
I spent a couple of minutes looking at the woman choosing the books she wanted to take and then she left leaving the rest in the bag!
I stood puzzled for a couple of minutes. I have seen many a time people taking things from the rubbish bins or from out of them to be recycled or sold. I don't find it strange but most Greeks do because usually the people who take things from the rubbish bins are too poor or gypsies who sell things at the old things market for a couple of euros.
Anyway as long as it took you to read the last paragraph it took me to decide to go and get the rest of the books as a rainfall was approaching too and I was afraid that the rest of the books would soon be destroyed for ever.
I went dowstairs in the street grabbed the bag and returned home and felt so so good! Is that strange or dangerous?
Ok here is what I found in the bag(there was no other rubbish or dirty things or anything in it mind you!)
Two sets of vintage postcards from Venice (one set colourful and the other black and white) and one postcard from Rome in another packet. Probably the other woman took the rest of the cards from Rome.

 Lots of travelling brochures about Italy all vintage from the 60's and 1970. Someone probably a woman had travelled in Italy at that time.

 Three books one about Rome,one about Michael Angelo and one about Florence. Each book is in a different language English, French, Italian so the owner probably spoke all these languages.

 Two home dresses a yellow one and a pink one from which I only kept the vintage buttons.

 And of course the crocheted tablecloth which I handwashed and put it on my table.

I don't know if it is handmade crochet or machine made but it is quite old and with some little holes at places but I don't mind at all.

Finding things in the street.

Unfortunately recycling is not a habit in Greece. And there are not any thrift stores around or garage sales or flea markets where one can sell the things one does not want. One man's trash is not another man's treasure in Greece unless you are me.
Walking to and from school every day gives me he chance to cross corners where people leave things to be taken by the rubbish truck. They even leave old furniture,books, and various kitchen and home accessories. No, I don't look into rubbish bins but when things are left outside of them I can't help but have a look. Some things are so absolutely attractive that I can't just pass by ignoring them. When I am with hubby he always scolds and tells me not to look and not to take anything. But so far I have taken a perfectly blue blown glass vase, some blue bottles and two lamps.Also a couple of frames which my framer turned into beautiful framed art.
So the other day I crossed something that I really did not know what it was. It looked like a huge square porcelain dish. It was dark,heavy and full of dust so I didn't take it. When I saw it the next day (yes the rubbish trucks don't pass every day!) there were some huge tile pieces next to it and the huge heavy dish was broken.Probably someone tried to pick it up and it fell and broke. Hubby was with me and said "You are not taking anything,are you?"
The next day the tile pieces were still there so I grabbed four of them the only ones I could carry. I don't know where they are from. They look like porcelain pieces of an old stove or something.JN is written inside the tiles.They have four holes,two on each opposite side. They are heavy and thick.But they are beautiful!
Don't ask me what I am going to do with them because I don't know!