October 04th, 2018

Yup, I've been hanging out at the dollar store again. 

Felt the urge to do a little seasonal decorating and naturally that led me directly to my favourite shop for that sort of thing.  I had no problem at all coming up with this little combo platter of Autumn and while it may not be fine design or top notch decorating, I'm am just as pleased as I can be with the results. 

It's sits smack in the middle of the kitchen table and just gives a little hint to the season.  Nothing elaborate, nothing big or obvious but just enough.  This together with that little bit that I did in the courtyard and I am completely set until it's time to decorate for Christmas and we know what a crazyperson I become then!

Courtyard decoration:

One of the purple flowers has vanished, mysteriously, I notice.  Originally that bottom basket was full to overflowing with purple flowers. Hmmmm.  I'm not sure if a lizard kicked it out of the basket and then dragged it off somewhere or the wind took hold, wafted it far away and then dropped it in the ocean as a comment on my decorating style.  Everyone's a critic.

Regardless there it is.  I'm done.  For awhile anyway.  Less than ten bucks and I'm good to go. 

I've said before how much I really like the dollar store, particularly for this sort of thing, but there is one element that baffles me.  Why, oh my, please do tell me why, do they bother putting price tags on anything that is sold in the dollar store???????

I already know the price on everything.  It's a dollar.  Coz it's the Dollar Store. 

This dawned on me while I was struggling to cut the tags off of these itty bitty decorations.  I'm trying to cut the doggone things close enough to the  decoration that I can no longer see that damned ugly little plastic tag, but not so close that I damage any of it.  Oh and I have damaged plenty of things trying to cut them realllllllly close.  It's So Freakin' Annoying!

Every time the seasons change, or the creative spirit moves me off I go, happyhappy, to the dollar store to find whatever it is I seek, and forgetting that one thing that irritates me so  much and will eventually happen when I shop there!  ARGH!

I am normally such a patience, loving, forgiving person. But there is just something about trying to remove a plastic tag from something that doesn't want to cooperate that just makes me completely lose my cool.

Same thing happens when I buy clothes.  Of course they have to have price tags because those things are so totally not a dollar.  So Okay, I am resigned to the necessity of cutting a zillion or so tags off of clothes every time we go clothing shopping. Fine. 

And lots of store make it a point to affix the plastic tag through that manufactures tag at the back of the neck. The one that has the size on it and sometimes washing instructions.  That one is relatively easy to cut off as long as I pay a modicum of attention to what I'm doing.  But sometimes, for no reason that I can think of unless it's just to drive me crazy, they put the tag in a side seam.  In The Seam.  No matter how close to the seam I dare cut the tag,  part of that tag is forever embedded in the seam and I can feel it there. 

Of course I have issue with that manufacturers tag in the back of the neck too. What sort of material is that tag made out of anyway?  It feels like some sort of sandpaper/thistle/cactus blend. It itches, it scratches, it annoys and irritates, it leaves red marks on my skin and I dislike it intensely.  And so I cut them out. 

Well as best I can.  Some of them are loosely  kind of basted in place making it a very simple task to snip out the stitches and voila, the entire tag is removed and the fabric is no worse for it.  Other times the tag appears to have been either permanently attached with crazyglue or perhaps it was just born there because there is no way it is coming out whole.  So I must snip, ever closer to the fabric or the garment, carefully, slowly and with my tiniest scissors leaving only the ittiest bittiest bit of the tag behind.  Naturally that tiny bit of remaining tag continues to itch, scratch and irritate my skin.

Or I cut it a wee bit too close and now I have a teensy little hole in my brand new whatever it is that I just bought. Which naturally doesn't stay a teensy little hole for long. Nope, as soon as it's worn, it grows.  When it's washed it grows even more.  In no time at all there is a big honkin' unable to be disguised hole and now I have a dust rag instead of a shirt. Dang.

Maybe it's just me.  A Princess and the Pea sort of situation. But I don't think so.  Otherwise, why would those brilliant tee-shirt people get the idea to just print their tags right on the inside of the fabric instead of affixing a tag, eh?

There has got to be a better way.  Oh and dollar store people...No Tags Necessary on your products. We already know the price.  It's a dollar!