A fashionably late Happy New Year! 2012

Spring cleaning is starting a bit early. I have a friend who has a "stuff swap" a couple times a year, where we all bring a pile of stuff we're tired of looking at that somebody else might love. Here's my pile of stuff:

It includes such treasures as the entire Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket, a rainstick, a chinese hat, a jar of refrigerator magnets, and a lovely tea-kettle that has turned out to be my "big pink chair". What do I mean by that?

I recently discovered a website I love called Offbeat Home. On it is an article that particularly captured my attention, called The Big Pink Chair and the White Hot Rage. This is exactly what happened to me and my tea-kettle. It looks lovely, but the whistle stinks (I can barely hear it) and it pours even worse; I usually end up with water all over the counter. Fortunately, I did not dispose of my old, stainless steel tea-kettle. The whistle is loud and pleasant, it pours just fine, and with a bit of elbow grease I managed to make it look presentable again. I now have a fresh appreciation for my old tea-kettle. The swap is tomorrow. Maybe someone else can use the new one as a flower pot, or doesn't mind a kettle that dribbles and wheezes.

Here's something I'm experimenting with. I'm always deploring the waste of space in the fireplace (we never have fires) and I'm always looking for a place to put our games. So how about putting the games in the fireplace? I'm not quite sure if it looks cool and funky, or weird and messy.