Thrifting on the Run

Several months ago a friend asked if I would do a workshop on how to publish an ebook for a literacy conference she was organizing. Sure, I said. It was way in the future. I’d have plenty of time to prepare (and recall what it was I did to publish Sleeping Dogs Lie as an ebook).

I’m sure you can guess what I’ve been working on this past week!

No, I didn’t leave it till the last minute…I just wanted it to be FRESH.

Turned out to be a lot of fun, had a great group. But what I didn’t realize when I signed up was that the conference would be on a Saturday morning.

Saturday, the day sacred to the thrifting gods. And not just any Saturday; one of the four Saturdays a year that having yard sales is legal in the town I live in, when I head over to a gorgeous posh neighborhood and drool over the vintage houses as I shop on the vintage driveways.

But the Queen of Fifty Cents is not going to let a little thing like a workshop commitment get in her way. Workshop started at 9:00; needed to be there about 8:15 to set up. Garaging starts about 7:00. You do the math!

An hour of thrifting beats none at all, and I even managed to spend $15. Didn’t have time to meet lots of pets, though I did spot this handsome guy. I wonder if he used to be able to squeeze through that gap when he was a baby.

The garden tour on April 30 has been much on my mind. But I found a Garden Angel and I’m going to try to turn over any fretting to her care. Have to admit she’s not to my husband’s taste, but I was smitten with her jewelryand her Minnie Mouse shoes.BTW, if you go to the tour website, there are now some pictures of our yard among the Saturday 1 photos. Or visit my garden’s very own website!   

At the same sale I picked up a couple of new dish towels.Continuing in a practical vein, I bought one of those steam cleaner thingies.Hmmm. Not just any steam cleaner thingie, the ULTIMATE steam cleaner thingie. Have no idea if it will be worth the five bucks I paid, but I did test it on a little bit of grout in the kitchen and the gunk melted away, so I have high hopes. It would be great if it really will clean things like my shower doors. We have very hard water here and it’s a battle not just to be clean but to LOOK clean!

I suppose this find is also practical. At least semi practical, since I’m not sure yet where it will go.

You can turn on just the base, or the top bulbs, or all three, and the darned thing weighs almost eight pounds. Always a consideration when the kitties go on a rampage through the house. I think what really got me was the little pointy thing on top though.My last buy was this little Yixing teapot. My collection grows slowly. As I was paying for it, the woman took my money and then announced quite loudly, “Your jacket is the exact same fabric as my sofa.” Everyone in earshot whirled around to see what a well-dressed sofa would wear.

High time to retreat to my workshop. As far as I know, no one mistook me for a sofa while I was there.