It's the little things that make me so happy

 Five gorgeous little animal postcards from Ikea

I know that things aren't supposed to make me happy. I know that I should delight in the people and not the objects around me. And of course I do. But sometimes, a little acquisition or two can raise the spirits. And they don't even have to be very large.

A delightfully weird Japanese exercise book with a German cover from (the Japanese store) Daiso

Owl cushion cover from Ikea

Kinder Surprise chocolate eggs now have Smurfs in them (oh no, there are nine to collect...)

And two Bowie albums ("Low" and "Heroes") on sale from JB-Hi Fi...now in the CD player...

The Wise Old Owl

I took a photo of one of my favourite owls from my little collection the other day (below) and I was instantly reminded of a nursery rhyme that my grandma used to say to me...

The Wise Old Owl sat in an oak,

The more he saw, the less he spoke,

The less he spoke, the more he heard,

Why can't we all be like that wise old bird?

After doing a little googling, I found that it was also used during World War Two (above) to discourage soldiers from divulging state secrets (along the lines of 'loose lips sink ships' and all that).

Do you remember any rhymes or stories like this from your childhood?