Hypochondriacs must love Google

I've had varying degrees of flu-like symptoms for the last week and for a laugh did a search on Google. So I went to the boot sale nursing my West Nile Fever ( fortunately not contagious ) and holding on to my flapping trench coat and scarf. It's one of those big weather Cape Town days - patches of brilliant blue sky, silvery dark cauliflower clouds and sudden showers of big plopping drops of rain. The few traders who turned up were mostly battening down the hatches from their cars, all misty-windowed with the breath of people and dogs. There was a happy looking farmer with mounds of beautiful Muscat grapes, dusky and slightly blushing. Found I was not in the mood for the book shop and now I am home looking forward to an afternoon on the couch.

Finished the Emmeline apron yesterday:
 

 I ordered the pattern from America. The envelope was post-marked Lincoln. My idea of where places are in the states is fuzzy at best. I need to go there one day.

Suzy Q

 Here's the lady who's been making us do the run-around. I have huge mixed feelings about the whole thing. The fact that she was brought all the way from America in the hold of a plane. How else? But how is she to know she'll see her people again? She went crazy when she heard her trainer's voice once they unloaded on this side. It was fascinating to watch her up-close. The way her ears move, her lovely soft hands, shiny lozenge eyes and her predilection for head-over-heels rolls on the floor. She loves chewing gum.

Aha Shake

 The Lip has been ordering records online. I made him order my favourite Kings of Leon and it arrived this morning. Thrilling. All new and shiny and the records are crystal vinyl. See through man!

A Harlequin Romance

 What with shoot days and the accompanying craziness, I didn't get to the boot sale last week. In a mad dash through Canal Walk one afternoon, I found this scatter cushion at Loads of Linen. It has a down inner which sealed the deal. I did pop in at Ashbeys - there were piles of old New Yorker magazines, very tempting, but I didn't leave a bid. One sees them every now and then, but for some reason I still haven't found old issues of The Paris Review.

Mary Quant No Less

 That Ernie. Obviously he's never going to tell me where he gets his stuff. He talks about getting calls to go and look at things, regular suppliers... His is one of the smallest stalls at the boot sale, but he always has such lovely things. He keeps items aside in his car for special clients. Today it was an exquisite old embroidered kimono for "that Czech girl who collects embroidery". Amongst the treasures on his table today: a blue Bristol glass fruit bowl, a small oxblood glazed ceramic dish.

A few stalls down, I found this little scrap of a doll. Back in the 60's and 70's, my grandmother used to buy little plastic dolls like these, make teensy clothes for them and sell them at the church bazaar.
 

Tonsil Monkey Twilight Zone

So I've been pretty occupied with thoughts of chimpanzees and my favourite childhood toy has crossed my mind a few times. About thirty-seven years ago, I had my tonsils out and returned home to find a toy monkey waiting on my bed with open arms. He was holding a little bunch of flowers from the garden. I was very scared of the dark and Peanuts became my pillow and held my hand every night. In my twenties I gave a box of old toys to a children's home. It was really sad to see him go. Then, yesterday, I walked into a prop house on the foreshore and there he was. Flea-bitten and grubby. One wonky eye. Still has the stitching on the back of his neck done by my Mom. Some nail varnish courtesy of my six year old self. Hey Buddy. Where've you been?
 

Seventies Tea Towels I Like

 R 5.00 each at the boot sale.

Softie

 

Made from bits out of a fabric sample book, for my friend's baby, who's around the corner! I found a picture of a toy I liked and drew a little pattern. Hence the lopsidedness...  Stuffed with cotton and a tinkling bell.

They make my other cutlery look dinky

Ernie had these today. The table knives measure 2cm across the handle and 2.5cm across the blade. They feel fantastic in the hand. I want to eat grand dinners with these! German stainless steel, emblazoned with a bear inside a pentagon. Krupp Berndorf. 1920's-1930's

A Room for Suzie

 

 I'm art directing a commercial in the next few weeks. A star is being flown in from America - a chimpanzee called Suzie. I'm very excited - I've never met a chimp before.

A Period Revolving & Collapsable Chair

 It's the kind of thing I'm always looking for when I work on a 40's film. Invariably one needs six... but it's a start. The label is intriguingly worn away, all that remains is: SA...... CHAIR CO. ( 1931 ), LINCOLN HOUSE, LOND....., MADE IN GREA.......

Bought at Ashbey's Auctioneers yesterday.

A word about comments...

I've been receiving complaints about the rigmarole of leaving a comment. I have now uninstalled the security settings. The only reason I had them in the first place, was to avoid the weirdness that abounds. So let's see how it goes. Please ignore any links to Russian Porn and suchlike. xL

The Curtain Skirt

 

 I bought a seventies linen curtain from Nazeem last winter. When I told him on saturday that I had cut it up to make a skirt, he looked completely aghast. He told me about a lady who had cut up one of his antique french linen sheets to make a dress with doilies for a bodice. I'm really happy with the skirt though, and there's enough left for a table cloth.