Antarctica's Recycling Program Upgraded

It's time for another small Antarctica post.  As many of you know, my daughter works down there and leads me to some great photos, blogs and other sources of information.

The other night, we were chatting about the recycling down there.  We're always very careful of what is sent to her, because there is no landfill where she is and all trash has to be reused somehow, burned or brought back out of the continent.

It appears that the inhabitants of the station have quite a sense of humor.  I heard that prior to the head of the waste program's arrival, a few new containers were added for grins.

and

And in her usual fashion, my daughter actually checked in the glitter bin recently and found that someone had recycled their glitter make up.  Unfortunately, that wasn't what Sparky was hoping for.  She was looking for the usual craft store variety.  (And by the way, the back of this bin has little unicorn heads painted on it.)

Hope you have a good weekend.  See you Sunday.  I'm in Austin teaching and will pop up a quick post to say hi.

Gnome Arrangement

I was so happy to see my friend Ann Bremer when we were both visiting Asheville a few weeks ago and meet her delightful husband,  Fred.  Last year at the Gathering, Ann bought one of my gnomes for him.  And I could tell he must have a great sense of humor, when she chose the one holding a skunk.

Of course there's a story behind that- when I was a kid, my Dad had a skunk for a pet.  His name was Hercules (the skunk, not my dad).  Herc was a fun little fella who had been "de-scented" for the most part and acted kind of like a cross between a cat and a dog for a long time.  We would pick him up and carry him around and take him for walks.  So it's a good skunk that this gnome is holding.

Anyhow, Fred was so kind to send me this picture of his gnome, which I think is great.  According to Ann, the gnome must be of the traveling gnome clan, because this one doesn't sit still and has his photo taken in a variety of places.

If you need a traveling gnome of your own, please contact me.  I'd be happy to make you one- even without a skunk.  (Usually they are holding a bird, a magic ball or even a dog.)  And I think there might be one in my StudioMarcy Etsy shop right now too.

Buildings With A Sense of Humor

I had quite a response with my "face house" that I posted on Sunday, so I went looking for more examples.  Boy, did I find them!  I love the sense of humor that both the architect and the home owner must have.

This first one is in Kyoto, Japan.  I would definitely seek it out, if I were to visit.

I don't know where this house is.  But I read that it has a different face on each facade.  I think one face is enough, personally.  I can just picture little kids getting a bit creeped out, like they do with clowns.

This is my favorite.  It's subtle and just keeping an eye on the neighborhood.  And in my very understated way, (ha ha) I could add more decorations temporarily, if the whim hits.

Of course, I love this one.  It looks like a potentially unloved, drab building has a sense of humor and life.  I can just picture kids daring each other to step inside through the mouth.