I just searched the blog for 'thrift shop' intending to link all the little treasures I found at the shop across the street as 'related posts', but it seems I neglected to tag some entries with that phrase, because a number of items did not come up. The compulsive part of my brain says I should check the entire archive immediately and correct this situation, but I'm tired and the mere thought of the task is just too daunting -- after two and a half years of blogging there are now 751 prior posts -- so I'm going to leave it for now. Maybe I'll just leave it permanently and pretend the 'Lost Thrift Shop Purchase Posts' are meant to be surprises, like Easter Eggs on DVDs.
Anyway, the manager at the thrift shop had a rare treasure for me; it's a little ovoid container with lid, three-and-a-quarter inches long and two-and-a-half inches wide, carved out of a single chunk of wood and decorated with leaves and insects in relief. He said it was made by his own grandfather, who was a master carpenter. It's just the right size and shape to fit in my hand, and in fact I carried it around with me the first couple of days.
