Puppet on a string

Isn't this a cool thing on the wall? It's a very old marionette, not in the best condition, but it's found a spot hanging on the wall that separates the living room from the 'rest room'.

Notice my cool dog Dutch laying on the couch.

But I digress. The marionette was 1.99 at Goodwill.

I'm a sucker for odd home accents I've found at the thrifty thrift store. And I'm not alone.

There's an atmosphere at thrift stores that's intrinsically imbued with imagination. I like to overhear folks chatting with one another while they're finding big bargains, and it's so refreshing to hear people talking about the possibilities that an item they've found might hold. You don't hear that kind of conversation at Target.

Or at Costco. I took a day off from the thrifting today, had a lovely brunch with my friend Pammy, then went, somewhat reluctantly, to Costco. A woman's got to have coffee.

And while I was making a beeline for the items on my list, I overheard a 20-something woman talking with her mom about how she was going to decorate her apartment, and she said she was going to go to Goodwill to get her decorating needs met, not Costco.

I felt like a spy, listening in to their conversation.

Because I totally get where that woman was coming from. I've realized I like kind of subtly creepy things, like the puppet on a string. Here's something else from my house - I found the hook for a buck at ARC, and the ancient doll arms were 50 cents at an estate sale. The arms were obviously considered to be of little worth to the estate sale people, but I like how these two pieces have found their way to my wall:

So when it comes to finding cool home accents, I'm the puppet and ARC, Goodwill and the like are my puppet masters. I'm hooked.

And speaking of hooked, the Goodwill Outlet a la The Bins in Portland opens tomorrow! I won't have a chance to get over there until Wednesday or Thursday. No problem.

There are always treasures, everywhere.