Hidden Treasures

Pushing against the wood as that's where I assume it is the strongest, I can't seem to quite push it open. I lean with all my weight and it suddenly gives way, sending me tumbling into the room. A loud creak escaped from the door as it became un-wedged from its frame. I land slightly unsteadily in a room that my eyes have trouble adjusting to. It looks like one of those Eye-Spy puzzles where there is something new and strange every which way you look. A family of mis-matched china dogs sit upright on an ethnic coffee table atop a family room rug. A collection of devilish clowns are perched on the top shelf behind a sheath of protective glass in a cabinet on which the paint is stripping. Over 20 lamps from every era light the cluttered living room, illuminating the creatures lurking in the shadows. A mannequin is looming behind me dressed in animal fur and a red feather hat; her eyes have a demonic quality that makes me uneasy.

And it's all for sale.

An Egyptian looking necklace catches my eye and I immediately fall in love; it's nice to have something to focus on due to the overwhelming amount of "stuff" in this place. Old children's toys dented and marked lay strewn across the floor among price tags for beautiful treasures hidden amongst the terror. Eyes from figurines are watching me take in all the beauty and horror of this cluttered cave masked as an opshop.

There is definitely opportunity here. From a blouse that looks like it was salvaged from a pirate ship, to a cracked tea pot that I'm sure means something to someone. Overalls from an old laborer hanging near a broom stick that looks like it would assist more with flying than cleaning. Nic-nac's on every flat counter top, a box of fake fruit hidden beneath an old writing desk. I can see tiny carvings possibly from the owner or perhaps their kids, little drawings unreadable to those not in the know.

My writers mind is exploding with the possibilities of this "store." If I am ever at a loss of what to write I plan to drive all the way to this far away land and emerse myself in its treasures. So rich in ideas and stories, you could never be bored here. I couldn't live if my house were this cluttered but this space feels to magical and homely when I expected to feel overwhelmed and anxious. It was like visiting a picture book, my hands running over all the different materials not wanting to alter or remove a single thing.

I want to go back. I want to relive it. But I'm in love with this memory.

I feel like it never existed or more that something that insane could never have been, but it's there, in the heart of the tiny township of Foxton, New Zealand. There lies a place of wonder, of beauty, of treasure.

-ShaniJoy

The light in the dark

One of my favourite types of days belongs in the depths of winter. It's one of those unexpected gem's in life.

You wake up expecting it to be as freezing as when you went to bed, all wrapped up in your pj's that you only wear because they're warm but you secretly love. You gently open one eye, only enough to see that its far too bright for this time of morning and "Who turned all the lights on!!" Annoyed, you roll back but you know that once you've opened that one eye, there's no going back. The sunlight has pierced your eye and you must open the other to see why on earth it's this bright. You search your mind for a reason before your curiosity forces you to look.

Rays of glorious sunshine pour into your chilly room, still huddled in blankets kidding yourself you could have slept through winter and woken up in summer. You venture out of your room to investigate this confusing phenomenon (everything is a little more interesting when you're still half asleep.) Dragging your blankets behind you, still freezing, you open the door to what appears to be more sunlight than you have ever seen almost completely convinced that it is summer. But how can it be, it's June and you live in the southern hemisphere, all those Tumblr posts of summer must be getting to your head.

It is at this point that half of me wants to crawl back into bed and wait for December to roll around and the other half wants something completely different.

I want to get up, get dressed, forget the make up, go for a run somewhere beautiful, buy a coffee, drive to the beach, stay in the car cause it is far too cold to get out. Go to the library, check out some books, write a story, ignore my phone, see a friend, laugh too much. Enjoy the fact that the sun is shinning when the sky should be storming.

I feel one with the world in this moment, like everything is connected in some way. For the sky to put on a beautiful day even though it should naturally be all thunderstorms and raindrops helps me realise that we've all got stuff beneath the surface and our brave faces can sometimes hold more meaning that just being a way to hide. I think they prove our strength. We push through despite the worries and struggles that press on our hearts.

- ShaniJoy