Tiny Plates, & Tiny Villages

Tiny Plates

And... the benefit of working at a thrift store:
Pussy willow bread-plates, 49 cents each. I bought all six out of the cart of priced goods going out on the floor.
Hand decorated, each plate a little different; stamped Winfield--a California pottery from 1929–1962.
Online they go for a few bucks each, so, like the pastel milk-glass plates I also got for .49 each, these could have been priced a bit higher.

The placemat was in textile recycling because there was only one, but I'm pretty certain it's from the Scandinavian imports shop down the street--Ingebretsen's. Still owned by the original family, they've been on Lake St. for more than a hundred years--selling items like Swedish cloudberry preserves for $16--in the 21st century, mostly online.
They're personal friends of the thrift store!

The tiny kitty-face plate is modern, made in China. For my favorite food: tiny snacks!

Tiny Village

Yesterday I went to a meeting with the city council member and reps from the police and homeless task force. It was a listening session: mostly frustrated neighbors talking about people living in their yards, doing all the kinds of business you most would not want in your yard.
So so troubled, all the way around.

I don't feel in danger working at the thrift store, but we close at 5:30 PM. I sure wouldn't want to live on the block!

The city reps could only keep saying, "We're working on it."
Essentially their hands are tied by lack of funding (and, of course, laws--you can't just haul people away).
I was happy to hear that the councilor is pushing for a Tiny Village model--where everyone gets a private little shelter of their own, built inside a bigger building.

Such a great idea, but currently only in the "talking about it" stage.

There is one such successful village in another area of town:
"Avivo Village, an indoor community of 100 secure, private dwellings or “tiny houses” in Minneapolis, provides shelter and wraparound services to individuals experiencing unsheltered homelessness."

Funded by government sources and private corporations and individuals.