THE BAGELS WERE JUST THE BEGINNING

I decided this was a bagel and cream cheese morning, rather than a cinnamon roll morning, so as I headed out on the garaging trail I stopped at the local bagel place. I gave the cashier a twenty, and asked if she could give me mostly ones for change, since I was headed for garage sales. She lit up—I had found another garager. As she counted out my singles, she said to the a guy picking up his breakfast, “She’s going to garage sales!” Now he lit up. “There are two over on my street,” he said. The cashier almost forgot to give me the fifty one cents that was part of my change. “Hey, that’s a new outfit,” I said. She laughed, then said she’d never thought of looking at clothes before. I started telling them some of the things I've found, and by the time my bagel was toasted we had two converts to thrifting. Plus breakfast.

Great way to start the day.

I'd already found something to laugh about on Craiglist: an ad for a “fabulouse” moving sale. Last week I chuckled over the ad with “an inconclusive list of what will be selling.”

At one stop, when I asked if they were having fun yet, the wife said, “Nobody asked me if I wanted to do this!” She was perfectly cheerful about it, not grumpy at all. I told them the tale of my friend’s husband who had sold anything for a dime and has never had to mind a sale again, and she really liked that. So I asked if the picture frame they were selling was a dime, and she said, no, but it was fifty cents. Turns out there were two, and I bought them both. Aren’t these gorgeous?

Even the little hinge thingies on the back have glitz!



At another sale I saw some handmade paper loosely rolled up and laying on the ground. I looked at it, almost picked it up (I really love paper) but then I thought of the mulberry paper already in my closet and resisted. I was so glad I did. A middle aged Chinese guy found it and asked how much. It was a dollar. He looked happily stunned. He said he is an artist and does Chinese calligraphy on this kind of paper. The lady having the sale said it had been in her mother in law’s estate. MIL died in the 80s, and the seller didn’t even know what this stuff was but always thought that someday she’d find out. So today she found out, and I think she was a thrilled as the calligrapher.

I spent $12 and along with the frames I brought home:

7 handmade lampwork beads—don’t know what I'll use them for yet, but at a quarter apiece I was willing to speculate.

At the same sale I saw this box as I was leaving.
The contents were all jumbled but I saw Fimo, so I bought it. Turns out to have two dozen blocks of Fimo in wonderful colors, two or three kinds of Fimo varnish…
…plus two boxes of sealing wax and three seals. And the Lucite shoe box it's all packed in would cost as much as I paid for everything. I have some playing with clay in my future.

Signed vintage linen tablecloth.


Isn’t this adorable?

All hand stitched, mounted on board. I think it originally had three of these…I'm guessing potholders.

The seller said her mother in law had made it, she thought in the Fifties, but I think it looks older than that. Anybody want to venture a guess?

Two little chalkware chickens—to add to that chicken vibe in my bathroom!

Don’t think anyone uses Rolodexes anymore, but these cards will be great by the phone for taking notes.

I am now prepared for the next time Edward gets matted fur behind his ears (hopefully never).

I'm always a sucker for a cute depiction of reading together.
This is a nightlight but the innards are missing, but I bet I can find a replacement (as I did for the Pooh & Piglet nightlight back in September).

I picked up these earrings…
…so I can use the posts to remake these.
They just don’t work with the wires. There, isn’t this better?

Lastly, I am totally thrilled with these cushions for the chairs on my patio. I didn’t hesitate one second over $3 for two of them. (Already had the model on the premises.) Looked them up on Lowe’s website when I got home. You can buy some just like them—for $58 each. Sheesh. Do people really pay sixty bucks for a cushion? A handsome Edward dog, maybe, but a cushion?
I think I got a fabulouse deal!