On The Shelf

"Ramblings of a Square Peg in a Round Hole" is having a photographic scavenger hunt and I happened to have a pic that fit the theme this week.

"On The Shelf"

Actually it's on the microwave, but I am using it like a shelf and I think it reveals my eclectic nature and tells a story very well without any staging or placing. It just happens to be an accumulation.

The Holy picture in the condiments caddy alludes to my Catholic upbringing and though it is not marked, I think that it is has to be Our Lady of the Rosary, Mary mother of God.

It is a funny cheap little plastic framed thing but very reminiscent of my childhood.

In the foreground is a silver plated tea strainer from Blackall, QLD, where I was born. A small town in the outback near Longreach. It has a head of a merino ram on the enamelled disc. Blackall was a big sheep country back in the day. Prophetic? Well it is even spookier than that possums....

Not only is Craig a shearer, but he also lived in this tiny outback town for many years at the time that I had first moved to Tasmania. (Craig himself is originally Tasmanian) Our paths have criss-crossed in a remote region but fate brought our paths together thankfully. 

My grandfather on my mother's side was also a shearer when he was young and healthy.

To the right is a small vintage woven basket holding harvested chamomile flower heads from the front garden. Chamomile is a wonderful herb for calming.

There is also a small teapot with a deep strainer that sits inside. I love it for herbal teas and it is ideal for one or two people. There is a pump bottle of hand cream that someone gave me and I had every intention of using....but I am not the sort of person to stop and moisturise like that. I'm always too busy for greasy hands. I thought if I put it there I would see it and use it more often but probably it has gone off now. I am more likely to use my own home-made herbal salve of Comfrey, Chamomile, Calendula and Clover (red). The tin of Wedgwood tea speaks to my many past years working with the really big china companies, Wedgwood, Royal Doulton, Villeroy and Boch etc.

And finally, can you see that little blue plastic ring beside the basket?

Well that's an identifying leg ring for a hen.

Typical hey!

All those random things spell Tanya more than anything I could have created.

I'll bet you've got a corner of accumulation that spells your name clearly too.