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Tag Archives: honesty

200 posts…who would have thought?


men's smoking jacket

This is the gown I wore when I first started blogging.

I guess I thought I should make an occasion of it!

The last almost two years and 200 posts have been both interesting and painful. Initially I became quite caught up in the stats and enjoyed the friendship of the commenting community. Recently however commenting has become a bit of a burden as I find the discipleship aspect of some blogging communities to be both disheartening and disturbing.

I started blogging because of  insomnia which was a symptom of intractable pain and it was distracting and rewarding to while away the hours reading, commenting, trying to build some sort of a relationship with whichever bloggers reciprocated at the time. I know a lot of bloggers have been advised by their doctors to start blogging due to ill health or a death in the family. I really did it because it is very isolating being awake when the rest of the world is asleep. Now I find that I am just starting online in the middle of the night when my online friends overseas are going  about their day and it has become routine for me to check in and see if they have updated their blogs or flickrstreams or groups. One thing that has changed for me in the last year or 100 posts is that I am using twitter more and also networking through my flickr craft  groups more than before. I find flickr to be even more immediate than blogging and indeed blogging to me is a tool which goes with the more visual aspect of flickr.

Over the last 100 posts I have continued to meet the most wonderful people. I met a lot of lovely bloggers after the Kaylee scam and am still in touch with several of them now. Widdle Shamrock, Dina and Teeni are much valued fellow bloggers and indeed I met Dina and family when she came to Australia earlier this year. I meet a lot of artisan bloggers  through flickr and also some who do not blog but are very loyal and supportive crafting friends. Aneela is hosting a quiltalong and her fun quirky style is a boon to the craft community. Two of the ladies who are involved in the quiltalong have just started blogging and I am so pleased and happy to encourage them.

I would like to take this moment to thank my dear friend Angie of Nanna Days, we have known each other for some time now as blog buddies and I have come to be very fond of her and her family. She has enriched my life with her wonderful and humourous tales of life with her three homeschooled children and her childhood sweetheart husband. My life has been enriched enormously by knowing her.

Compare my relationship with Angie to the one I had with another blogger who recently told me that online I  “befriend people with no class, no tact and who bore people stupid”. That I and my friend Dina were “but tiny little specks of nothing in the whole blogosphere”. And those were two of the nicer observations.

That is the beauty and the ugliness of the blogosphere.

I have started a new blog, Just Speaking From The Heart, where I will be blogging in future about things that are on my mind and heart. I think it best to separate the creative blog from the personal one….on the few occasions when blogging has backfired on me it has affected my creativity here and I cannot allow that to happen. I have been contacted increasingly for commissions to make various quilts and homewares so need this  blog to become more of a design and crafting one. Watch out here for tutorials, artisan profiles and lots more of my thrift finds. And of course for giveaways. Speaking of which….

Anyone who has commented regularly before…..or semi regularly…..will go into a draw for my 200th post giveaway. Comments close on June 30th. There will be a choice of prizes…the main one is Dragonfly Horses…see below.

Almost there!

Oh yes I am almost finished it now…..just the binding to do!

In Tears

Yesterday we had an electrical fire in our block’s communal electricity circuit box. I had trouble sleeping because our brand spanking new Vornado fan kept shutting off  …it was intermittent. I eventually got up and put the tv on for the news and it exploded …went bang anyway and all the appliances went off. I grabbed my rubber soled shoes and went downstairs to the circuit box to see if it was a fuse and saw some of my neighbours and realised it was across the whole building. While I was talking to my upstairs neighbour the whole box started flashing, then smoking…we talked…quickly …. then called the fire brigade as when we had our electrical fires in our flat the fire brigade said that the box was too dangerous to touch when there was a fire. By then though my neighbour had turned our and his electricity off but after the flashing we were too afraid to turn off any other flat’s electricity off at the box.

The fire Station is about two minutes away by road so they were there in minutes. At first they could not see what the problem was as there was no visible fire just lots of smoke. They did say though to unplug all our electrical appliances except freezers and we did that although it was too late by then for most of the people’s precious and expensive goods. While waiting for the electricians to come to the building the firemen went through the building to ensure none of our electrical goods were on fire. A lot of people had to leave to go to work including my neighbour opposite. She also wanted to get her little toddler away from the smoke. She left the dog in the unit but she told me where her spare key was kept in case the firemen had to get into her flat.  After a little while there was a second wave of smoke and my neighbour raced to get the key to the flat where the dog was by herself…we raced up and got the dog out as the smoke was quite bad by then. The poor dog was most distressed and very loving and affectionate!

The fire captain stayed with us for over an hour , he said massive amounts of power were coming into our building and we needed to find out why. He also said he would write a report stating that our fuse box is unsafe and needs to be upgraded. Something they would not do even after our two electrical fires several years ago. We have since paid to have some upgrades ourselves as our son was almost unconscious when the first fire occurred. The Energy Australia electricians were here for some hours and isolated the electricity…turned it off …and said that our body corporate would have to arrange repairs. They also said it was likely that all electrical goods in our building were fried.  As it could take hours to do the repairs and we were assured it was now safe my son and I went back to bed. Sometime over the next four hours someone came and made the repairs and when we awoke we tried to see which of our electrical items were salvagable. My son tried the tv first naturally and got a dreadful electric shock so I phoned the body corporate and they sent the electrician back out to check out each individual unit. We discovered by trial and error and another electric shock for  CJ that our appliance extension packs which have surge protectors on them were fried and were causing the shocks and we only lost those and one set of ceiling lights…we think anyway.

Our neighbours weren’t so lucky…some flats lost all their HD TV’s… some brand new and all their electrical equipment including fridges and microwaves. To top it off the body corporate and their personal contents insurance does not cover this. My neighbour upstairs lost her ducted air conditioning and all her electrical goods. At present they are trying to find a way around it. We have a few good things out of this …no one was harmed and we got to know what neighbours we can rely on and my son knows he definitely wants a dog!

Update on charity shop fiasco

Today I went into the charity shop where I asked to speak to the manager about the bag of fabrics which was given to me when I was in there last. He said he did not know anything about it and as he is getting a really bad deal from his staff since taking over we are not sure if someone is trying to set us both up ….his staff are not happy since he arrived and they have hated me since I raised this issue last time I was given bags full of perfectly good donations. He asked me if I would speak to the area manager on the phone to clear it up which I did but I do not remember if I even got that far as she basically kept saying that I was in the wrong for taking the goods out of the store and kept quoting how I had compromised myself and my husband as well. After hearing that spiel for some time I said I did not appreciate having my husband’s job being brought into this and it was surely the responsibility of the staff not to give the goods in the first place. No way … did not matter it was all about my actions and how I took them out of the store and how I did not pay until the next day…well after telling her repeatedly they would not take any money then, believe me I tried as did my husband. I then burst into tears…..something I never do. This is in front of a whole store of customers.

The manager sat me down and tried to give me water and talked me through it but I said as it stands I do not feel I can come here again and I resent what she said about my honesty. Also if I was set up or he was then I really do not feel inclined to give that store my business. I guess I was still emotional from the fire and was more upset than I had realised because my son said he knew something had happened because my face was still flushed hours after I spoke to them at the store. I sent an email expressing my distaste for the area manager’s treatment of me to her boss after I spoke to my husband and son. They are not surprised but my son said “stay out of that store mum they employ fucking crazies there”…he never wanted me to forgive them as I tried to do after the way they turned their backs on me in the store after the previous incident. So I guess you can see why I was a little bit teary?

Sheer Abundance

I started shopping again at the charity shop at the end of my road recently after about eight months of not going in there since “the incident ” earlier this year. It was difficult going in as the staff were quite upset and hostile whenever I went in although the episode was never to do with them…only the manager.

Since I have been shopping there again they have had a change in manager..again a male manager. He has implemented the changes in the  store which meant that the shop is packed to the rafters with clothes …including a lot of winter coats…..really old ones at that. One can barely get through the store in some places and I heard the manager telling  a lady with a pram that the store is no longer pram friendly.

On Tuesday when I was in there I saw a whole roll of curtain fabric and after enquiring how much it was I bought it and arranged for my husband who was due back from England the next day to pick it up. He has been visiting his very ill mother. So the manager then asked me if I could use scraps and pieces of fabric and fabric sample books as he had some and was going to throw these things out as he no longer had room for them.

My husband came with me to get them after he arrived yesterday, I thought it would keep him awake and distract him from the upset of his mother’s condition in England. We arrived there and the manager was away…the roll of fabric was there to pick up and an enormous bag of fabric scraps. About a square metre am not kidding…had no idea how to get it home. My husband took the roll of fabric home after saying “have you paid for this” repeatedly. I started to put some of the fabric into other bags so that it would be easier to transport it home.

The staff seemed a bit preoccupied but I put that down to them being over burdened with all the work they have to do now that the shop is packed to the rafters with clothes. They could not find the fabric sample books which had absolutely stunning samples in them …no wonder with all the goods there. As I transferred the fabric I could see the quality of the fabric pieces and became quite concerned. I said to all the staff that I knew that I would like to pay for this fabric as it was too good to throw out. I said this repeatedly. They just looked baffled.

When I got home I sorted through the fabric…no easy matter with our tiny loungeroom full to the brim with Christmas decorations in boxes ready to be put up. So I ended up with some piles of fabric out on the balcony as there was just so much fabric. Metre upon metre of the very best quality furnishing fabric..the sort of thing one sees in magazines at three hundred dollars a metre. Metre upon metre of silk dupion dress fabric…upon metre…. it is at least twenty dollars a metre here.

As I sorted through these fabrics I became more and more distressed as this is even worse than what happened last time. At least I had managed to save these things but what else had been thrown away? This bag had not even been opened I am sure. One of the reasons I am so upset about this is because my husband works for the charity and is in fact a manager and a more scrupulously honest person you could ever meet. I know how hard they work there to make the kind of money that the charity needs to help the refuges and all the charitable organizations that they support.

I was also distressed because this puts me again in a difficult position. When I complained about this last time I was assured that the managers were told of the value of donations but here we go again with the new managers making up the rules as they go along. I feel that either I am being given a special deal because I am the wife of staff and that makes me feel like a thief or that untold amounts of fabulous goods is being thrown away. I do not know which is worse.

People donate to charities for many reasons but one of the reasons that they are so successful apart from the economy is because in this day and age we are all about recycling and saving the planet. I went into the whole betrayal of the person donating the goods last time…or think I did. for these things to be successful though there needs to be transparency of the methods used in these places. Let us face it if we knew our precious donations were going in the bin would we even bother donating? Or for that matter if we thought staff were the ones to end up with their choice of the donations?

I know my husband is impeccably honest, though he discovered how these places can be used for evil purposes early on in the game. When he was working for the charity many years ago he noticed that when the manager was not there they regularly made around three times as much as when she was there. He took his concerns to the area manager and they set up a sting…and sure enough the manager stole the money which was unaccounted for. We estimate that she could have taken that charity for over fifty thousand dollars in her time there. And not surprising considering that she had on an ankle bracelet monitoring system as part of her home detention for embezzling a bank where she worked previously out of over one hundred thousand dollars. She did come clean to the charity about the home detention and her conviction but the charity still allowed her to become a manager and therefore in my opinion put her in a position where she was able to reap the rewards of others good works. So you may understand why all of this leaves a sour taste in my mouth?

I went up there today to try to talk to the manager but he had left for the day. After saying that I wanted to pay for the bag of fabric scraps that had been given to me yesterday I had a talk with the staff present and found out they had no idea what was in the bag as they had never even seen it to check if it was rubbish or not. They were deeply distressed and it appears angry with me until I explained to them what had transpired. So I paid a token twenty dollars which is what the area manager told me to do when it happened before and I signed a receipt so that the staff were covered as well. After having a long talk with the staff I told them I would be contacting the area manager and I did that this evening and cc’d it to her boss as well just to cover myself.

Again like last time my husband is not happy that I am going to report the manager. He said it would cause bad feelings and create a scene for me in that shop, he is worried about me and thinks it will cause trouble for me and nothing will change in the store. But I find it hard to see how it is right to report a manager for theft of money but not for misappropriation of goods. Who knows how much in monetary value has been tossed out by these managers of this store over the past year?

I am one of those insanely honest people who give money back if the wrong change is given and I recently left that charity shop having paid for my shopping to find a handbag and several things inside tucked into it that I had forgotten about. I went back in as fast as I could and the staff were not surprised that I came back…only that I had forgotten they were there in the first place! I am one of those awful people who if you ask if I like your hair will say no it does not suit you…I am truly honest to a fault. I cannot abide lies and deceit it sickens me…literally. I am honest even if it is going to embarrass and pain me and I cannot abide liars and cheats.

So I hate that for a split second I was tempted to keep this fabric, because this is truly my weakness, this stunningly glorious fabric which I could never afford to buy full price and probably never could even second hand…because there is so much of it you see. Is that what caused the temptation…the sheer abundance of it? I do not know but I do know that if they had done their jobs properly I would not have been in that position…not for a despicable second.

What's the deal with these thrift store primadonnas?

This week did not do much vintage shopping as had a big problem over the donations that were being given away from that store. Some of them were quite good and silk at that, not to mention new from Lincraft! Was told I did not know what sold and that they were basically unsaleable, this in front of a shop full of people. Well thems fighting words and had been really concerned for some time since I bought a large shopping bag of embroidered items for about $40 and was then given two bigger bags full of goods of better quality than I had bought.

So I contacted the area manager who said no donations should ever be given away as if they had no value and that anything that is not paid for cannot leave the store. So there has obviously been a mix up somewhere along the line between policy and implementing that policy. I should say here that I did ask the manager if they were throwing away any damaged embroidered goods if I could have a look at them to see if any could be used by cutting them up etc. Thank goodness I was able to rescue so much embroidery which I gave to another branch of the same charity. One pair of crochet gloves that were rescued sold for $25! I just hope that they do not decide that some of the type of things I rescued are unsaleable and throw them out. The reason I asked was because there were no stained tablecloths etc going out that could be cut up and restyled. And I did suggest that scrap bags could be a money spinner as you only have to look on etsy and ebay to see what sells. I know some of the larger stores have older volunteers who are there to price the manchester. I had offered to go in but honestly after the hostility I faced when I tried to explain the situation to a staff member I just cannot be bothered inflicting more abuse on myself.

They do get inundated with donations at times but these vintage linens may well be from deceased estates and the attitude of staff or volunteers at the many charity organizations sometimes increases the impact of the grief if they perceive that their loved ones donations have no value. It is ironic that in trying to save these items for future generations that I may be inadvertently the cause of their destruction. I have to trust that the area manager somehow managed to instill into the staff the true value of these items. I feel that they are blessed in this particular person as she has suffered loss of an unimaginable kind and is in the very real position of knowing what the impact of tossing items out would have on remaining loved ones.

Neither my husband nor my son thought apparently that it was worth the trouble involved to pursue this matter. Even knowing the sheer mortification of having staff turn their backs on me when entering the store does not make me question my decision as cannot stand by while these things go on. My son after much discussion said that the biggest problem with the world today is apathy, I believe it is selfishness. In the incident that I next detail for you both of these “virtues” ensued.

In the same store I witnessed a previous manager run downstairs to tell the fifty odd year old gentleman that she did not want his donations. He was putting them into the donations bin at the time so have no idea how she knew what he had put in there. As she ran downstairs she was saying “I have had it with this”. She had a heated argument with him and he then said he would take the donations back and would never again set foot in or have anything to do with the charity. I was appalled as who knew what these donations meant to him? Could they have been books from a dead child or a broken marriage or an aged parent who has been placed against their will in an old persons home? That is just it we do not know and it behoves the staff to graciously accept those donations in the spirit they were offered. Not the “people like nice things” whine that came out of the manager’s mouth when she realised she had gone too far. And all this in front of a shop full of people who were too intent on not missing a deal to even consider speaking out.

You may ask what did I do then? I followed him outside the store after shaking my head in disbelief at the manager,who knew me quite well, and told him I was mortified by that outburst and that I personally knew that it was not the policy of the store to refuse donations and that they would be appalled at the verbal abuse and victimization. He was shaking with rage and who knows what other emotions and repeated that neither he, nor if he had anything to do with it would anyone else he knows after this, darken the door of that particular charity again. I do not know if he reported the incident, I think he made a good case himself anyway and that is another thing that the manager should have been aware of…we live in a highly skilled area with a large university presence and he was able to run rings around the manager verbally once he got started, all this without being abusive back. What a remarkable thing to take that kind of victimization and not get down and dirty with it…he certainly left the store with his pride in place whereas nobody else in the store that day could say the same.

I did phone the area manager as was concerned as this was the fill in manager for two weeks and thought that the stress of the position was obviously getting to them. I do not know what ensued as do not have the same confidence that I do with the current person in the position but I do know that I could not go in the store for over two weeks as felt really sick about it. The fill in manager saw me shopping in our mall one day and asked me to come back as she had missed me.

So that was in contrast to this week when I did try to explain to a staff member why I had spoken to the ‘boss’ and to assure her that I had in fact put in a good word for her. She would not talk and turned and walked away from me, leaving me standing in front of a store full of customers. This is also a person that I had done free alterations for as knew money was tight with her. I shall wait a few weeks until I feel that I can handle whatever may be dished at me …as I said to a friend I have enough angst in my life I do not need to add more!

Here’s hoping I have some stuff to show you next week, I am intending to do a little trading myself so keep posted if you are looking for luscious jewellery etc

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