jp knit 'n' natter: Shopping At Ikea and A Cat In A Box Again

My favourite storage system at home is a set of backed Ikea bookcases consisting of 6x2 Cubes.

We have one stacked on top of three others in the study and a lof of the gaps are filled with practical and easy to use Cane baskets. My SIL went shopping before Christmas to buy us some more but unfortunately they were sold out. So yesterday, armed with the gift voucher we recieved instead, I headed off with my mother to Ikea.

Our shopping list consisted of just 2 things baskets (4-5) and some plastic coat hangers she has found useful to hang up clothes on to dry.

We managed to find the baskets and got side-tracked in the material section.

The fabric they have is mostly cotton in prints and colours in sturdy heavy furniture weight. Perfect for Tote Bags and handles! The price starts at $5.00 a metre and going up as high as $12.00 a metre. This was too much for a pair of ladies that have a fabric stash (My mother now has a fabric stash that is enviable it will exceed her lifetime filling a built in Wardrobe (floor to ceiling) and a heap of storage in her sewing room (second spare bedroom if you are really desperate). I picked out a selection of bolds and plains as below. But alas the coathangers proved elusive (even though the website says they have 300+ of them). I did pick up a three pack of cheap scissors (to encourage the family to leave my fabric and knitting scissors alone) and some bag sealers for the freezer.

We had a strange experience at the checkout. One of those things that is going to make me sound like a grumpy old woman. Whilst in the middle of being served a nearby checkout operator asked the young man serving me to count some cash for her 1x$100, a few $50's and a few $20's. He counted 3 times (the last time using a calculator) and didn't get the same number as the first operator or himself even once. (It was $620) Scary as he was working one of the all-payment method registers. I was horrified, the couple who were trying to purchase something were embarrassed at holding up 3 other customers in the end as the girl handed it to the next checkout as well. I happily covered nearly all my purchase with the gift voucher and just over a dollar in change.

Whilst I am in grumpy old woman mode i should say what is the point of having ramps between car park floors (Rhodes Shopping Centre) if the barriers stop the trolleys going up and down between floors - no wonder the lifts are impossible to get in and out of.

On return home we stacked the baskets in the loungeroom ready to be used. This morning after her breakfast the cat has found them and identified them as her new resting place for today at least.