Sunday, May 24, 2009

DUCKS AND DOGS AND DEALS ON DRIVEWAYS


This was in the driveway next door to the first sale we stopped at:
Aren’t neighbors fun?

I was reminded of a simple yet profound truth Saturday morning: Happiness really is a warm puppy.
This is Lola. She is ten weeks old. I got to hold her and yes, it did make me happy! Is there anything like that puppy warmth?

Being a holiday weekend, the number of sales was down, but it was a good day for pets, including a pair of freckled cocker spaniels…
…cute little Maggie…
...and a handsome kitty boy whose name has complete left my brain. By now it feels normal not to be able to remember a person's name, but it makes me feel really old not to recall the name of a pet!
We also enjoyed visiting with a lady who has a pair of ducks living in her neighborhood. She felt they needed water, so she went to Big Lots to buy a large container that they could splash around in. Not only did she find one (which gets refilled every day because ducks are enthusiastic splashers), they also had bags of duck food! So Mr. & Mrs. Mallard are very much enjoying their stay in her neighborhood.
I enjoyed having my colleague Trish join me for this week’s garaging. Hopefully next time she comes along there will be many more sales, but we both managed to find some goodies. Trish’s loot included a book by one of her favorite authors, and a large glass bowl embossed with roses.

I spent $6. One find was a new roll of bender board for yard projects. Didn’t bother to take a picture of that! Also found some door prizes, including a new storage case for an iPod and accessories…
…and a brand new Folkmanis mouse puppet.
When Trish saw this she gave a squeal of excitement (she’s a former children’s librarian, and no matter how far into management we migrate, we still get excited over a good puppet!) then clapped her hands over her mouth, lest the sellers decide they should charge me more than a quarter for it.

This will probably be a door prize too, unless I become really good at using it—one of those juggling thingies called a diabolo.
The seller told me her daughter spent a whole bunch o’ money on it when they saw Cirque du Soleil and she was inspired by the performers there. Inspiration was not enough however and apparently you have to actually practice to acquire this skill! Realistically I know I will probably not practice enough either—but just the fantasy of dazzling friends and acquaintances is worth the fifty cents I paid. Actually, I just hope I turn out to be better at this than the marble labyrinth I bought a few weeks ago. Still haven’t managed to get past hole number 3. But then neither has my husband, and for some reason that makes me feel much better about it!

From the duck lady I bought a nifty little clip-on flashlight. I think I'll keep it in my purse, seems like the kind of thing that could be useful.
I'm always looking for garden inspiration…
Been hoping to find a chenille bedspread for my guest room. Haven’t yet, but thought I'd try this matelesse spread for now.
It's a tad formal for us, but heck, it was two bucks and included two pillow shams, and it's from Portugal and I don’t think I own anything else from Portugal. Used to have a spoon rest from there, but we broke it a few months ago. Don’t you think a person ought to have at least one thing in her home from Portugal?

The spread is heavy and I needed both hands to pick it up and check it out, so I stuck the two bottles of dog shampoo I was holding in my pocket. (Yes, my garaging pants have big pockets!) Almost forgot they were there but felt them bouncing around as I was leaving and went back to pay. The lady said just to take them; wasn’t that nice?
My last find was crammed into a plastic bag with a bunch of other linens. The colors called out to me…
…and when I pulled it out I found a round tablecloth. Pretty big, looked like it wanted to be on my patio table.
The price, when I inquired, was reasonable. Very reasonable. In the bag were matching napkins, and I got it all for a buck. I said they were reasonable!

When I got them home I discovered the set is by April Cornell, so the fabric quality is quite nice. Not only that, but two of what I thought were napkins are actually pillow covers, and would you believe her pillow covers are something like $39 each on her website? Tablecloths this size are $89, and 4 napkins are $18. So if you didn’t already know why I shop on driveways instead of stores…now you do!

25 comments:

  1. Oh, great finds and lovely animals (again). The table cloth and pillow cases are amazing value, and I love the bedspread, too. But I don't know what a door prize is..?

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  2. What else could a girl want...all I can say is SCORE...and cute pets ( if squatter ducks can be loosely called that ) too! xo Joan

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  3. Lately, I've been finding things which do not photograph well.

    Some great pans and glassware.

    BUT! This week I found a Polly Flinder's dress which I hope will fit my granddaughter.

    Your table cloth/pillow covers.., what a find!

    You truly are THE QUEEN.

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  4. Love the table cloth! Those are my colors! I found a Sunday sale while waiting to pick up my son at a meeting today. Got two 6ft fiber mats to put on the beach for $1, then my boys took them to the beach this afternoon!!

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  5. Matelassee set for $2, I'm jealous! That was a STEAL. You will love it, I have it on 2 of my beds. And the outdoor linens are great too. Score, score! I always love reading your stories & seeing all the pets you spy along the yardsale road.

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  6. That matelasse spread was a huge find! Way to go! Linda

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  7. Great finds!!! I'm so jealous you got to hold Lola, what a cute dog & cute name :-)

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  8. Great finds as usual! Love the bedspread and the tablecloth set!

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  9. oh. my. word. you totally scored with the tablecloth/napkins/pillowcase :) combo!!! what a fun suprise!

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  10. As soon as I saw the tablecloth I knew it would be April Cornell. All her shops have closed down recently in Canada. Great score with the Matlasse spread too! But the puppet is the best. My kids would love that and they are almost too old for puppets. I think I will post about the puppet theatre I made my youngest soon. No garaging this weekend for us. This weekend the younger ones were performing. Did the cats name suit him because I sometimes don't remember incongrous names.

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  11. Floss asked a good question, what the heck am I talking about with the door prizes?

    I work with children's librarians, and I give door prizes at the beginning of our monthly meetings. Encourages everyone to be on time!

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  12. I'm quite jealous of the matelasse bedspread you got! I've been looking for an afordable one for YEARS! You got an incredible deal!

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  13. Great finds. Cute puppet. My daughter would have squealed with delight too.

    Love the chenille bed spread and the tablecloth. Wonderful.

    Adorable pets too. Ducks! funny.

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  14. Matelasse spread for $2 SCORE, you are definitely the Queen of deals :)Great finds! I love your outdoor linens too. Cute pics of the pets :)
    Toni

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  15. loooooove the bed spread! That is so pretty! :)

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  16. Oh, what a great blog name! I'm right there with 'ya!

    I LOVED that boxer puppy. I swear, all puppies are adorable, but boxers????....just the cutest.

    Warm blessings,
    Spencer

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  17. I love all of your thrifty finds, especially the bed spread and table cloth! Gorgeous!

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  18. If you find the bedspread you want, I'll buy the matelasse one and shams from you! I love it and have been looks for one for ages.

    Remembering dog names? Easy. People? 'nother story. When we lived in the Houston area, there was a neighbor that would walk the neighbor in heat or cool in an old Army jacket with the pockets full of beer...he'd walk and drink, put the cans in people's recycling...very nice. NO idea what his actual capacity for it was (he even had a cooler strapped to his riding mower & he would mow and drink) Anyway, we used to call him Beer Guy. Did actually meet him and his wife and dog. Dog's name is Sophy. He is Beer Buy and Beer Guy's wife...sad. Friend's son was out there with us one day & w ended up clamping a hand over his mouth when h started to say "Hi Beer guy"...we got him in time :D

    And my word verification is the oddest one I've ever seen......;/

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  19. You really got some great finds! Saw lots of sales out on the highway this last weekend, but did not stop.
    Glenda

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  20. Gosh, I always love your animal pix! I really, really want your little mouse puppet - too cute!

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  21. You had some amazing finds! I'm jealous!

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  22. The bedspread is beautiful, and the tablecloth etc was a steal! And that may be the cutest puppet I've ever seen.
    Thanks for joining TST!

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  23. I wanted to stop by and say thank you for visiting "The Zoo". It looks like you got some great buys and had a really fun day.
    Have a wonderful weekend!
    *tricia

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  24. Wow how do you have time to meet the animals and shop, lol ! You really did find some great buys !
    Hugs~ Kammy

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I really love your comments. Thanks for coming along on my thrifty adventures!

 
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