Usually when I go to the local Post Office (PO) it is for one thing only, to do posting business. Probably like most people do!. You know stuff, like the sending off a parcel and the buying of stamps for the occasional letter, birthday card etc.
It is always handy to have a stamp or 2 on hand. I don't think that I am on my own with this attitude. Getting a list of jobs done in the quickest time possible is my usual shopping mode. I am an in and out kind of girl.
Here is my local Australian PO, not very impressive looking but am stoked with the great reflections, it was not intentional as I was too busy with centring.
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But, today was different, I was feeling relaxed and mellow, open to browsing. Anyway the long line of customers was moving slowly so I decided to check out the huge variety of items on display.
I wondered whether I was in the PO, not a gift shop. The little displays were eye catching, some of which proved to be tempting.
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I could see this cushion on the bench seat at my front door!
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The attractive water bottles reminded me that I had misplaced mine a while ago and it entered my mind that perhaps it was time to buy another. They are really attractive water bottles for $19 each.
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Being a #silverblogger grandmother of 2 little boys I definitely stopped here at this point. Little ones love soft cuddly toys as does their big sook of a Weimaraner, Willow. She sneaks them to take to her bed for a good chew.
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But, I am really tempted to buy these two hooded blankets, they would love them.
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Then my attention was distracted with these exercise work-outs sitting on postal boxes. Would it be something I actually use I wondered as I contemplated how much they cost? I always find it a catch seeing such extra fit young people looking terrific and super gorgeous. I have fell for this before so I put them back and walked on.
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Even though the line was getting shorter I was more than happy with a #marketFriday explore.
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And anyway I was too caught up with the vision of doing craft with the boys. Maybe the fun tasks can be done in stages? Or maybe this is a fun buy in a couple of years? I was thankfully not talking out loud for everyone to join in as I always find someone enjoys a chat.
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The PO has always sold children's books which are very tempting to stop and flick through the pages. I am a ardent buyer of books for little ones.
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I picked up the Patricia Cornwall novel to flick through and check the price, which was reasonable at $14.95.
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I have to confess it was a fun look around the PO today, entertaining and productive in every way. I confess that my intuitive feeling that there was something for me today proved very right as I bought the water bottle with lemons and bees.
And thus finished my #marketFriday fun at the PO. Even though it is presenting as a variety gift shop it still sells envelopes and stationary equipment which I am sure people do buy. I imagine sticky tape and envelopes/bags are often used when organising a letter or parcel for posting.
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Thanks for joining me in my PO browsing, it was an unexpected and unplanned and maybe not to be repeated for a while. But at least I now know the range of gifts available in this shop which can only be helpful when buying presents for specific friends and family members.
Obviously you are never too old to learn something new. My walk around the PO showed me that no longer are specific items bought in certain shops. The PO sells a multitude of products, it can be classified as a book shop, a news agency, a gift shop, a toy shop, fitness gym all rolled into one. I have a feeling that I will be back to buy 2 cuddly hoody blankets I am thinking.
Regards, this silver bronze #silverblooger shopper is now signing off
Variety offered at the PO is amazing, nothing to what our ones used to look like, as you know our postal system is almost null and void.
Post Offices only sold stamps, taking in a parcel or letter, old days used to have postal book savings but that was a long, long time ago!
Oh for the days of red post boxes, quaint little post offices in small towns, the one that is still standing I have not been into in years, not sure what 'service' they offer.
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Thank you @tipu ...@joanstewart
Oh no @joanstewart I am sorry to hear that your postal service is almost extinct. We still have quaint old wooden country post offices.
Our Post Offices are all privately owned so it makes sense that the owners promote their business with a variety of items and I am thinking that they must do well. I recall a few years ago that I bought a unicorn beanie hat set up.in a Melbourne PO. I must post your a photo. It is funny and a classic. I couldn't resist it.
Being privately run is where business thrives in fresh ideas, ours is government run, some private services have sprung up which I have not visited, sound similar to what we had, you drop of parcels to be delivered no additional goodies in store.
We have an older lady postie at the moment who always brings little parcels to the front door. She is very gracious, friendly and kind.
We kept the street address, never opted for a box to hopefully keep someone employed.
Over the years we first had a middle aged man deliver via a bicycle, he got knocked off and injured, placed into office duties after cycling thousands of kilometers during a year, he did it for about six years. Yes I miss the friendly chat over the gate offering him a sandwich and cold drink on a short stop.
Now system has so deteriorated a younger chap delivers by foot, who know what distance he walks daily to earn sadly a pittance, times have changed from being proud to completely disgruntled and I cannot blame the employers.
Here we have the posties on little motorbikes, they are covered in bright yellow, shirt, hat, helmet and a flag. The flag is to deter the magpies from swooping at them. A couple of our resident ones were very diligent protecting our little place.
Your postie situation is very glum, I feel for sorry for the workers getting so little for their efforts. It is a glum situation in every way.
Balance in life over here has been out of sync for too long, when change happened we rejoiced hoping for a better future for all, alas they never learned "Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater"!
I like your post office! It looks like mine! Well, the postal part anyway.
The United States Postal Service (USPS; also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service) is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government. They have many small offices in towns and major ones in the bigger towns and cities. I live on the outskirts of the city, so I am fortunate to have a cute little place with nice people on it. She always has pretty stamps for me when I go in. My mailman drives his little mailtruck. :)
I do like the little things they have for sale at the post office, although we don't have books and such, just fancy mailing things. I like the water bottle! So pretty! I am not a huge fan of the water bottles, but, that one is exceptionally pretty!
The shore house has a real old-timey post office, with wooden floors and the old cage :) I like it. I chose not to have a mailbox out there as I am not there all the time, so I go to the post office for my mail. Everyone has a bin. :) This was a really fun post! It reminds me of my car wash post. Just regular life and yet, they make awesome posts!
I love your picture there! So pretty! Love the skirt too!
It is interesting to see the different cultures in our little world. It opens up my world, and, I hope yours too. Thank you so much for being a part of all this. I hope you have a most wonderful day! Hive on!!
Fridays are all about the #MarketFriday Challenge! Looking to take part in it? Here is how:
How to Participate:
Go to the market! Any market will do! Food, clothing, plant, or animal, if you wish. You can go to the zoo, an art auction, and to restaurants. Anywhere or anything that you pay money for any kind of service.
Take pictures! Be creative! It’s fun!
Tell us a little bit about the market, what brought you here?
Post the picture.(s)
Don’t forget to use the MarketFriday Community #196308 to post from or hashtag it! You must use #MarketFriday by @dswigle somewhere on your post and then drop the link to your post on my #MarketFriday post, so I can easily find them.
As always, please remember! #MarketFriday loves you! ❤️
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Imagine a a coffee table table book of the world's post offices, what a spread it would be. Our PO even sells chocolates and lolly pops. Anything goes now. It wasn't always like this when all the little POs were government run but now they are privately run by very enterprising people. Our little country POs have a lot of character too.
And I promise to drop a link of my post to your #marketFriday post next time. It just takes a while to get my head around Hive.
ps: I love #marketFriday, it is a fun adventure to go off to take photos. Thank you Denise, you are very special. 💗
The dress is a Review one, they are a ladies clothing line that make very pretty feminine clothes. Flowers are one of their trade marks. I bought my pink cardigan there too and so pleased that I found one in their shop. Most of the other boutiques only sold jumpers, I was getting a bit desperate by the time I went to Review.