"And when did you get this handbag?" demanded to know my six year-old niece. She continued to question me about the details: where it came from and who had given it to me (she doesn't seem to grasp the idea that as an adult, one pretty much buys one's own stuff). I'm beginning to think she has a running inventory of my wardrobe in her little head; any new addition must be run by her for approval!When she comes to visit with her older sister, they hardly stop to say hello as they dash past me to rummage through my wardrobe and begin their endless dress-up games. They'll dress their cousin too, who at three years-old loves to follow them around. It makes my sisters and me nostalgic – how we enjoyed our fantastic dress-up games! However, the most sought-after items weren't mum's clothes – it was her handbags! The girls seem to have inherited this penchant for handbags… and the things they'll put in them! If there's something I can't find, I jut need to remember which bags they were playing with and true enough, I'll find the T.V. remote in one of them!
My nephews love to inspect backpacks and briefcases and once finished they'll solemnly declare the function and purpose of every pocket ('pens go here, mobile goes there') and compartment ('notebook goes here'). You've got to wonder if our affinity towards bags, purses, backpacks, etc is genetically determined – one more for the nature-nurture debate?Grandma's attic in her old Victorian house in Matlock Bath (Derby) was truly a treasure trove. Amongst the many things there, she kept fabulous handbags that once belonged to her mother and grandmother. Mum now keeps them in an old hat box in her house in Mexico – safe from my nieces' inquisitive chocolate fingers!
The thing about handbags is that there will always be one to suit any occasion, just as there will always be a bag that will please the most demanding of tastes – even if one doesn't 'like' to carry bags (and stuff everything in their jeans' pocket instead).
Did you know that an elephant facing the door is supposed to bring you good luck? Same applies if you have an elephant sculpture with its trunk turned upwards.
Frogs seem to be benevolent creatures in most cultures around the world. In Indonesia, their arrival is seen as a good omen: it means the start of the rainy season and the promise of a good harvest. In Europe, an old wife's tale claims that a frog brings good luck to the house it enters.