Saturday May 26, 2007
Mooooo (Trade 8)
This was a cow trade.
I didn't know it was until we met to swap. But a cow trade it was.
A few weeks earlier I had responded to an online ad. Someone was looking to swap a rocking chair, and I thought a rocking chair would be a little crazy, so why not. And I wouldn't say Luke was Luke Warm at the time, but he was happy to keep his chair.
So we left it at that, and then Luke sold his chair, and that was that.
But it turned out Luke had another chair in his basement, only this one was half-restored (not half-stripped as he would correct me). And I could but won't take a wild guess here on how she did it, but Luke's partner Katy persuaded him to go ahead and swap his other chair "for a laugh".
Maybe she promised to buy him another rocking chair.
Anyway, I now think the laugh was mostly provided by the cows on the breakfast cup and saucer I swapped for the chair. Because this trade took place in the cow house, aka Luke and Katy's home.
Luke helpfully sent me an email to explain in detail:
The house was built in about 1902. An eccentric couple moved into the house
in the early 1990's and decided it would be a good idea to paint it like a
cow... the whole house was covered in cow spots, there was also a daisy and
a bee painted onto the front of the house.
The house caused local uproar, it was in the local newspapers and became
'talk of the town'. It affectionately became known as the cow house.
Whenever people find out where we live, we get 'oh, you live in the cow
house then'...
The next door neighbour planted fast growing ivy on the side of the house and
the new tenant painted the front and back of the house.
When we moved in and removed the ivy that was now covering the side, to our
horror, the wall underneath was covered in cow spots!
Not for long now, we have arranged for some painters to come and cover it up
with white.
- provided by Luke
A house with a story, and an appropriate new home for my cow design cup and saucer!
But there was more to come from this house.
Just before we did the trade, I asked if they might have something small they could throw in for yet more fun, in the same way I had asked Sarah in Trade 5. Their response was immediate, as if this question was anticipated - there was an old wooden match box kicking around somewhere, they just needed to find it.
So they looked for it. And looked some more. And five minutes later they were about ready to admit defeat... when Katy found it somewhere way up high, out of toddler's reach.
I was expecting some sort of wooden Matchbox toy car. But no, I was handed a very old looking Lucky Strike wooden match box.
How cool is that?! I thought.
Luke explained that when they were renovating the dining room not too long ago, the match box just dropped out the ceiling.
And he did some research on the 'net to try to date the new discovery, but without much luck.
But at least he added a new word to his vocabulary, or mine at least: phillumeny!
So we did the trade...
And what a great trade - Luke and Katy Rock! No question.
Or rather Katy rocks, and Luke used to. Because Katy still has a rocking chair, and Luke doesn't. Such is life.
But at least Luke can now enjoy warm cow's milk from a big cow cup in the old cow house.
So we still don't know how old the match box is, not even approximately. Luke thinks maybe the 60's, because the central heating was installed then, and the floorboards would have been lifted.
I think it may be a little older, maybe around World War Two, because they sell replicas here, I guess for use in movies and suchlike.
There must be a philluneny guru somewhere who can help solve this mystery...
If you want to make me an offer for one or both or any trading nothing items, please use this form or contact me.
Other news... I am in Ireland now. There were two possibilities to do Trade 9 today, but both have been postponed, hopefully for not too long. Maybe one could happen next weekend. The other may take a little longer, maybe something will be specially made for trading nothing, we'll see.
Watch this space.
Posted by Andrew @ 11:26am
To see what I traded the rocking chair for, click here
To see what I traded the old match box for, click here
To see how I got the cow cup and saucer, click here
Thursday May 10, 2007
Get Back
I'm taking Porky and Bess back across the Irish Sea tomorrow, because a trade for them in Ireland is looking possible. Probably not this weekend though, but hopefully in two weeks time... we'll see.
Apart from that, I am still extra keen to do a swap for a good old car or van in UK, because I think that could lead to one, maybe even two further exciting trades...
So any help in making that trade happen would just have to be rewarded.
Hmmm... yes, the reward could be my other bottle opener!
It's in pretty well brand new condition too, so it's OK to get really excited about it.
And get this - it is also a keyring!!
Excitement overload, I know.
Posted by Andrew @ 11:54pm
Sunday May 6, 2007
Oops!
The last blog entry was posted on May 1 - not April 31!
Too late to correct that now, of course.
My next trade is not yet lined up, though I am hopeful a fun trade could happen very soon, maybe even next week. And there are other possibilities which could materialise in the near future.
As usual all offers are welcome... and I am particularly interested in trading for the following things right now:
- a good car/van
- a period of free rent or a holiday somewhere
- a once-in-a-life-time opportunity of some sort
I think any of those could help me big time on my way to a Rolls Royce, which I am now aiming to get by the end of the year.
Because that's the timeframe I gave The Lancashire Evening Post when prompted, and that's what they printed twenty thousand times or something.
So, "by the end of the year" is now my official timeframe target.
Posted by Andrew @ 12:24pm
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