As a kid, I caught the bus on steamy Brisbane summer days with my grandmother. Back then no buses had air-con and by the time you got into the city your clothes stuck to you and you stuck to the seats. Back then, my grandmother made me stand for adults.
I caught the bus the other day and school girls from Brisbane State High and Kelvin Grove sat chatting pretending not to see their standing elders. Traditions fade but memories don't.
The Kerri Craig Emporium in the beautiful Brisbane Arcade is a must for fossicking - especially around Christmas time and particularly when the Arcade holds its annual market with little stalls in the corridor from one end to the other.
It's great for anyone who collects fabric and trims and creative inspirations - or new, leather shoes for $10.
I found the heart fabric on sale at Sewco at Mt Gravatt's Big Top - a the January sale with 30 percent off. That's where I bought the pattern some time ago.
The heart buttons I bought three years ago in Grafton, on my way home from Christmas in Pearl Beach.
So I mixed and matched everything to come up with this birthday gift for my niece. Not for sale. Sewing is very much a brain tease and a dexterity test. But it's a pleasure when you have materials to play with at hand.
The other shop in the city I like is the delectable sweets store in the Myer Centre - I think it's called Chocolate Boulevard. They sell liquorice sherberts, liquorice of all kinds and Tiny Tots.