Monday, December 30, 2013

Fun, Games and Practical Jokes



It all started with some white plastic shutters.
When we bought our house 20 years ago the former owner had a strange proclivity for plastic stuff.
All over the yard there were white plastic urns, flower pots, trellises, swans and even some strange plastic shutters propped against the fence. 
They were loathsome to me and one of the first tasks on moving day was to de-plastic the yard. 
My brother, Rob, took great offense to this as it was August and one of the hottest days of the year. 
(He has no proof that it was the hottest day of the year and I have apologized for moving in August numerous times.) (over and over and over…)   
In retrospect, I probably should have been helping unload the moving van instead of removing the offending plastic from the yard but it was all water under the bridge or so I thought.
 A week later we came back to the house for cake following my son's 9th birthday party.

Can I just interject something here?
This was a week after our move-a week. Look at that. 
I had already sewn curtains, hung plates, found the table cloth. 
My poor husband. I can get a little focused and driven sometimes. 
Note the blue and white accents. You can read about how I pulled it all out again here.
 When the company left, I looked out the window and all the white plastic was back in my yard. 
Rob had pulled it all out of my trash on the night of the move, saved it in his garage and then redecorated my yard with it. Why he did that if he was so hot from moving all my stuff that day? I will never know. 
The next time Rob went on vacation, we went over and hid the stuff in his yard. 
 I was on speaker phone with all his co-workers at one point.
They just thought it was a hoot but low and behold the "game" was on.  
Over the years there have been ugly shell creatures, trolls, gnomes, frogs, skunks and assorted statues hidden in each others homes and yards.



I usually have to search my house when family leaves to see if there is a new set of eyes staring at me. 
My nephew says I am the like a knick knack Darth Vader;  always sensing a disturbance in the force with my tchotchkes.



Such is the case with our last family gathering. 
My brother's family likes to find ugly souvenirs while on vacation. I prefer to find something hideous while out shopping at thrift stores or garage sales. With the advent of cell phones we can tag each other once we find the object.
Dave volunteers at his local thrift store once week. He can find some scary stuff so I think this one is from him. 


We have had tons of fun with this over the years and it has proved immensely entertaining once the other siblings and spouses entering into the fray. The most successful hides take months to find. Such was the case with a strange gnome that I found in the upstairs guest room cabinet.



It is a really good place to hide stuff. 


The items invariably end up in my side yard or back at the thrift store.
  
While perusing the family album I ran across this picture of Jonnie from his third birthday party.

  
I made the costume, clearly.  
It was recycled from a dinosaur costume I made for Rebekah when she was three. 
 This has nothing to do with the story except that he was such a cutie and that the shutters would have been on the fence directly behind him. 


How about you?
Do you play practical jokes on family?
I wonder when we will ever grow up?



Thanks for stopping in,

3 comments :

  1. Sounds like so much fun! It must be agonizing until they find whatever you've hidden. I love that!

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  2. This is a hoot! When my sister turned 50, I planted a Wee Willie (wood painted cutout of a boy peeing with a garden hose inserted in the proper anatomical spot- hehe) in her front yard in her uppity neighborhood. She then recycled it in her friend's yard, and I have no idea where it is now! I received a hideous lawn decoration from my sister-in-law and regifted it to our nephew at his wedding. I love practical jokes and I may have to start planting thrifted treasures like yours in our girl's homes. Love the new figurines you got this year!

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  3. Oh, I love this! You must howl with laughter when you finally do find something. And to "de-plastic" the yard? LOL!!!

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