Ebay wins: giant lampshade and stained glass windows

Ebay is a godsend. Here is the first in what I'm sure will be a regular feature of things I've bought on Ebay for Amherst

From an email sent to Mum on 4th March 2004

That giant lampshade I got on Ebay arrives on Sunday, the one that we were thinking of using as a skylight somewhere in Australia. The frame is apparently too big and too heavy to get back by plane or to store here so we will probably arrange a furniture crate in the next few weeks. In fact, it's so heavy that it takes two people to lift it apparently so that'll be fun to install. It has an iron frame on it though so has been up at one point. I was told it was taken out of an old hotel in Bath that was torn down; I'm looking forward to seeing it.

Ebay receipt for the giant lampshade

This is the ebay receipt for the giant lampshade by the way,in which you can see a photo of it. We've shipped it back to Australia now, Dad's storing it somewhere in his garage I think. Cost a fortune but given we got it pretty cheaply, it evened out. Can't imagine ever finding another one like it! I don't normally scan in my ebay receipts but this was an exception as I had to email it to Dad for the Customs clearance.




Stained glass windows emails

From my email to Mum on 20th Feb 2004.
Look what we got for the Amherst house (well probably Amherst)... pretty good to get them all matching, don't you think, for this price? It was the fact they were all decent sizes and matching that made us decide to go for them. The colours are OK, enough variation that you wouldn't be limited in decorating colour inside anyway. Ebay item # 2595768317

They're in Southhampton, we'll collect over a weekend soon and combine it with a visit to Aunt Marion. The great thing too is they don't have their wooden frames, so a lot easier to store and bring back to Australia in a suitcase.

Mum said..
they are lovely. Dad is working for a guy in exchange for some glass panel things - he has enough to build his "conservatory" at the back iand in barter has done two days work. There is a lot more glass there - do you want him to get some more? He works as barter when he doesn't have another shift nursing...

And I said...
Perhaps... it depends on what the glass panels are like. e.g., are they doubleglazed? are they part of plastic units or wooden framed or no frame at all? I always like to do things the traditional way so ideally want everything to be timber framed. Of course if the glass is going for free then may as well take it as it can always be stored up at Amherst out of the way and gotten rid of later if not OK, but if it is going to cost money (or time from Dad which I will reimburse in money) then no point unless they're what we would want. We're going to visit Aunt Marion next weekend and pick up the glass then. Hopefully we'll be able to bring it all back with us when we come back this year but we'll see... I can't really tell how big they are all together till I see them.

Here is the Ebay receipt where you can see some very small pictures of them. These too are now safely back in Australia, we shipped them along with the lamp in an old Samsonite suitcase! One that I bought back in Seattle in around 1993, had done 10 years great service but lock was a bit dodgy now so glad it found a new use.