Saturday 31 March 2012

Frazzled at Lions, Victorious at Rotary

Woke up at the crack of dawn this morning (7.30 am, close enough) with the thought "gotta get to the Lions Trash & Treasure in Vermont before the good stuff goes" blaring through my brain. So off I trundled to the Scout Hall - parking was a breeze - and dove in. There was a good amount of STUFF in the hall - lots of kitchenware, bags, clothes, books, heaps and heaps of knickknacks, kids toys, lots of kids bikes, and general "man" stuff (tools, hardware, other blokey stuff). The hall was buzzing by the time I got there (about 8.30), and some people (I assume traders) were in a frenzy, buying up bags of stuff. Some of them were too pushy for my liking, almost snatching things away from others. Grrrr. I started to feel a bit frazzled, so didn't rummage around as thoroughly as I would in an op shop. I saw a number of items that I was sorely tempted by but in the end I left empty-handed.

All was not lost, as on the way home I stopped at a garage sale and picked up this new Esprit purse for $4. Was very happy as I'd been looking for a replacement purse for the past few weeks and this one fit the bill perfectly.

I also decided to poke around the Rotary Rummage shop in Doncaster East and was rewarded with 2 pairs of pants for $2 each, 1 brown pair and 1 black pair. (Eeek - bad photo, sorry.)

The brown pair are Hard Yakka brand, unworn (still had the tag attached), and are the uniform pants from the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games!

I found the text on the reverse side of the tag amusing: "As a valuable member of TEAM2006, we trust you will wear this garment with pride. This uniform is more than just a great look. It unifies us as a team and brings us together as ambassadors of the XVIII Commonwealth Games. Worn with a great smile, determination and a "can-do" attitude, this uniform will forever be associated with a friendly, helpful and highly valued Workforce."

The pants are marked "long length" and boy, they weren't lying! They're unhemmed and extend about 15 cm down past the end of my toes. I was actually quite thrilled about this because I'm tall and often I either have to buy special long-length pants or else put up with buying pants that are slightly too short. These pants are too tight a squeeze at present, so it's yet another item of clothing to go into my "clothes to wear after defatification" bag. If (or when) I can fit into them, I'll cajole my Mum into hemming them for me.

6 comments:

Silvia said...

Great to see another op shopper out my end of town!

I have bought some great stuff at the Rotary Rummage at Doncaster, always at a great price. The Doncare stores in Templestowe Village and Macedon Square also have great stuff.

FrolickingFroggy said...

The Rotary Rummage is one of my favourites, as even though it's a small shop I usually end up finding something whenever I visit. I usually give the nearby Salvos a miss, as I think they're too pricey. Haven't been up to the Templestowe or Macedon Square shops (I tend to get lost around that area!), but it's on my list to visit one day. I also want to check out the Rotary Clothesline op shop in Mitcham, but it's only open on weekdays and I keep forgetting!

List Addict said...

I'm so happy that I am not the only person in Melbourne that buys beautiful clothes from the op shop that I will hopefully one day be able to wear--when I turn skinny. I gave up sugar this week and have tried to stick to it by hanging op shop clothes that dont fit where I can see them all the time and where they will help me resist the evil foods.
List Addict

FrolickingFroggy said...

Ha, well I wouldn't exactly call the clothes I buy beautiful, more everyday practical (that is, they would be practical if they actually always fitted me!!). I like your method of hanging your clothes up as a visual reminder that you someday want to get into them. You gave up sugar this week? You masochist, Easter's right around the corner! :-)

Gina E. said...

After reading that, I'm glad I didn't get to the Lions Trash and treasure sale. I hate it when people get pushy and snatch stuff from others. You must take me to Doncaster Rotary rummage - I've never heard of them. But I know Macedon Square very well, so we should meet up somewhere mutually convenient and go from there ;-)
A friend is taking me over to Kew on my birthday to do an opshop crawl over there, as I don't know what's on offer in that part of the world. Should be fun!

FrolickingFroggy said...

Hey Gina - Yup, would be happy to go on an 'op shop crawl' sometime. You're going to Kew? You'll be up near where I work, though I haven't really had the time to explore the op shops in that area. Have heard good things about Yours, Now Mine in Balwyn North, (Doncaster Rd), which if you're coming up the Eastern Freeway wouldn't be far out of your way.