Findings

A few days ago, as I got out of my car at the dog park I realized the couple walking by with a black lab were some people I do not care for. Yes, there are some! I ducked my head and walked s-l-o-w-l-y around the car, hoping they would keep going and not see me. (Actually, it worked. Possibly they don’t care much for me either and were doing the same thing!) As I neared the back of the car, I swear I heard a voice in my ear say, “Here, this will make you feel better.” And there at my feet I saw this.

Another dollar bill, just waiting for me! When this happened last month it made me search back through my archives for great stuff I've found for a buck. But this time, what immediately came to mind was the time I bought four very nice sweaters (including a couple of cashmeres) for a dollar. 

The 25¢ cashmere sweater became the yardstick by which I measure how good a deal I'm getting. A few days later I actually found a quarter, and I was just as excited as with the dollar.

Out came my trusty spreadsheet! Thrifters can really rock a quarter, can't we? Last year I spent $13.25 in quarters…that’s 53 items! And what a variety of stuff! One quarter went for a bunch of freshly picked roses. There were sewing notions, like a pair of decent scissors, a bag of 25 spools of thread (yes, thread for a penny each!), a leather thimble that I've used a lot, 

a brand new package of 200 glass-head pins. There were gifts for friends and family – Linda got the Ralph Lauren shirt, Judy the vintage poodle!

There were things to resell – the vintage clothespin bag turned 25¢ into $12,

and the poodle pillowcases (two for a quarter!) made over $25.

I went to the theatre Friday night wearing my 25¢ linen slacks. Rest assured I have ironed them since this picture was taken!

Perhaps the most amazing buy was the linen & wool jacket still sporting this price tag:

And one of my very favorites was Larry the Bookend Dog.

It’s all out there if you just keep showing up. People sometimes tell me they don’t have time to go garaging, and maybe they don’t. But often those are the same people who do have time to go to malls, and watch television. Just sayin’!

If you read the story of finding the earlier dollar bill at the park, you may remember that I had lost an earring there, and someone found it and pinned it to the notice board. A couple of days after finding this latest dollar, I noticed something odd in the mud, and it was an earring! So I pinned it to the board. And now I'm wondering if the lady who lost that one will retrieve it – and find a dollar on the ground to boot!