Holiday Rambles

NOTE: Some of the pictures in earlier entries have disappeared over the years. I was trying to restore some to this post from 2011, and discovered that Blogger is treating it as new. So here is a stroll down memory lane, hope you enjoy...and apologies for the still-missing pics!

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I try always to have low expectations when I go garaging on holiday weekends. No need to court disappointment! But for a holiday weekend, I did okay today. Very first stop was a sale presided over by a young woman who looked like Drew Barrymore. She told me she absolutely loves having yard sales and she was bouncing around with the energy of a 5 year old. And she’s the mother of preschool twins and a 10-month-old baby. Sheesh. I want to start having whatever she has for breakfast!

Met a couple of pets…

cute little dog, and a kitty with his head on upside down. Actually, kitty was trying to be cool and sat down with his back to me…and then couldn't resist checking on what I was doing.

Had a funny conversation with a guy about my age, maybe a bit older. He was showing me all the brand new things he was selling, all Christmas gifts from his son. “Why would he think I would ever use a pasta extruder?” he said, shaking his head. Even sillier was the large can opening machine that looked like it takes two hands to lift the lever so you can insert your can. It would take up a good foot or more of counter space. I suggested he tell his son that something like a gift card would be nice, or making a donation in dad’s name to some good cause. Apparently neither of these ideas had ever occurred before. Then I asked him what they give the son for gifts, and he said, “Uh…gift cards.” So I suggested that perhaps rather than exchange gift cards they could just mutually decide to forgo the gift giving. You should have seen the look of relief on his face at this thought!

There were even items for sale with great signage.

  

In spite of it being a holiday weekend, I still managed to spend $4.60. Some of it went for a LARGE bag o’ Legos.

 

My library system has been collecting Legos to use in programs. With 34 branches to share the collection, I figure we can’t have too many. So this will be my contribution to the cause.

My husband mentioned he needed a container for the cough drops he always has on hand. And this heavy glass container is perfect.

 

This hinged chrome frame will hold a couple of vintage photos of my hubs and his brother as little kids.

Have no idea if this DVD will be interesting, but I can gamble fifty cents.

 

I read on someone’s blog recently that backpacks can be good eBay items, and that Jansport is a good brand. So I thought I’d test it with this. Probably should wait till back-to-school shopping starts.

I’m sure that hearts, stars and skulls & crossbones will appeal to someone!

And I picked up half a dozen cloth napkins that I think will be fun with the striped tablecloth I bought last summer.

I had Friday off work and spent part of the day proving that sometimes it pays to buy stuff on driveways without knowing exactly what you’ll use it for. My first project involved the large stash of scrapbooking paper I picked up exactly two years ago.

I don’t scrapbook and have no intention of ever doing so, but I loved all the colors and designs and figured paper would come in handy. And I’ve used it for several things, but still have a lot left. I noticed the other day that this navy blue tin from Ikea that I use for a trash can in my bathroom had gotten rather beat up on the inside, though the outside is fine.

So a couple of pieces of scrapbook paper and some white glue, and voila, it’s nice again.

Nice enough for trash, anyway! Then I tackled another project I’ve been thinking about. I keep all my pins and earrings inside this cabinet, which had cross stitch fabric tacked inside to hang stuff from.

I’ve been reading in other people’s blogs about covering foam core with fabric and framing it to display jewelry. So I decided to do that inside my cabinet. I had a piece of foam core that I picked up at a yard sale at least 5 years ago, and some gold silk fabric that I’ve had stashed since September, 2006. I cut foam core to fit snugly in the spaces inside, covered it with fabric that I taped to the back, and stretched a narrow ribbon across to hold dangly earring and stick pins. The ribbon is the last of a spool I paid a quarter for two years ago.

  

I think it turned out rather fun!

Hmmm, getting quite a collection of pins there! While I was arranging everything back into the cabinet, I  noticed this piece, a gift from someone I used to work with, actually has a maker’s mark under the tarnish.

I’ve always thought it was probably from the 60s, but it turns out it’s a Georg Jensen piece, and he died in the 30s so it’s a lot older than I thought. And if sales on eBay are any indication a lot more valuable than I realized!

SPREADSHEET TIME!

Hello, hello! Yes, I'm still here! Sorry about the long silence, but let’s just go ahead and blame it on 2020 along with so much else, right?

Actually, besides the dearth of sales and my inclination to keep myself separate, safe and healthy, I had a second knee replacement surgery in early October that put me out of commission for a while. Happy to say it went great, possibly even better than the first, and it's absolutely wonderful to be able to walk around without pain. And huge thanks go to my friend Marcia, who one again helped me through those first difficult days after surgery when I was hurting, grumpy and drugged!

Then there were almost no sales to go to, and the couple of estate sales I tried (run by well-regarded companies) were taking so few precautions for their customers that I decided not to participate for a while. I'm talking big crowds inside the houses, staff not wearing masks…as much as I love thrifting, it's not worth dying for, right?

But it is time for the annual spreadsheet review! Smaller numbers this year, but still had fun and found some great stuff. I can hardly believe I only spent $132.65 for the whole year. Three years ago that number was just under $1200. I brought home 111 items with an estimated retail value of about $2200. I'm happy with that kind of return on investment!

Crafting and gardening supplies are almost tied for the areas I spent the most ($27+ each). Picked up a few tools and several big pots for the thungbergia vines I plant to grow next summer. 

And under crafting came the twenty bucks for beautiful yarns that would have set me back well over $200 in a shop.

The category in which I brought home the most number of items was Entertainment, which included two dozen magazines to while away all the time this year I wasn’t going out and about. Most of them were even free, so the two bucks spent for the rest was well worth it. And I was able to share the gardening magazines with friends, so even more bang for the buck.

Best return on investment once again was clothing. Only brought home 13 pieces for $9.25, but they would have set me back over $600 in a store. Let’s face it, you just can't beat fifty cent jeans and brand new shirts! And I had a lot of fun improving this linen Coldwater Creek jacket (narrowed the collar and shoulders, added contrasting accents, better buttons).

One of the upsides to reduced garaging was a drastic reduction in my ‘category of shame’ Donations – those things I bring home then decide not to keep. Only four this year!

I was recently reading my earlier year-end-roundup posts and came across this line:

No matter what else happens, I can always look back at my garaging record and say without doubt that it was a very good year!

And I have to say, even in notoriously-awful 2020 that still holds true. I'm safe and healthy, my wonderful pets are all well and making me laugh, and the garaging was fun and worthwhile – as is the spreadsheet I've maintained now for fifteen years. That's a lot of memories and personal history.

In fact, my garaging spreadsheet inspired me this year to create one for another endeavor – my yard makeover. I've never been successful in keeping a garden journal; I tried a few times but it never lasted. But this year I started listing tasks I needed to complete in a spreadsheet, with a column for completion date and notes on the project. Instantly I had a to-do list as well as a list of accomplishments. Then I added another page for bloom times, and another for expenses. I'm not sure I really wanted to know I've spent almost $130 on DIRT since I moved here a couple of years ago (I mean, dirt!). But that’s offset by seeing the great deals I've found on garden tools and pots by shopping on driveways. 

And just like the satisfaction I get from the garaging spreadsheet, I'm amazed to see that I planted 184 things in 2020! (Okay, yes, I had some fabulous help, especially from friends Lysa and Briana!) Some are in the ground, some were in pots and my window boxes, but (so far!) most are still alive.

The end of 2020 will not bring instant change to the troubles of the world, as much as we might want it to. But I feel hopeful for good things in 2021, and I know that for me, some will be very thrifty and fun to find. I hope that’s in your future, too! 

A Tiny Splurge

Strange times we are living in, right? Went to two sales on Friday, with no idea that these may be the last ones for a while, since we are all supposed to stay away from each for the foreseeable future. My own life is much the same as usual – I live alone and occasionally see other people, mostly at the dog park or the grocery store. But no more crowded estate sales for some time!

Friday’s first sale was for some folks who have moved over to the coast, and were selling the leftovers they weren’t taking. I spent a total of $2 and happily carried off a Pyrex pie dish 

(to replace the lovely vintage one that spontaneously shattered in storage – I could hardly believe my eyes when I opened that drawer!), 

a package of “cushion grip” push pins, 

two little spice jars, 

and a new bowl for Millie (who pushes her dish off the counter from time to time and breaks it, so a quarter is the most I want to spend!).

Then I headed to the estate sale, which was indeed crowded – both with stuff and shoppers. Didn’t find anything I wanted in the house, but out in the backyard I had more luck. I really liked the wrought iron sculpture of cattails and leaves, about 4 feet tall, but the price tag was twenty-five bucks. I just couldn’t do it; plants are a higher priority in my re-landscaping project and I need quite a few (my lot is just under a quarter of an acre). So I sighed and passed up the art. But a few feet away were some rather beat-up metal bell-shaped flowers stuck in the ground. 

They were priced at two bucks each, and when I looked at them I had An Idea. So I picked out three, and when I went to pay the guy taking money was happy with a fiver for the trio.

When I got home I located sandpaper in my untidy garage and scoured out the inside of each one, as well as rubbing off any rust on the stakes. Then I decided they might as well get really clean, so I loaded them in the dishwasher. They looked even rougher when I took them out! 

But not for long – I masked the edges on the backside, 

nestled them into a cardboard box, and sprayed the inner surfaces with copper metallic spray paint that I had on hand.

Wow, what a difference! I love them, and I think the copper surface makes them look quite upscale. 

My little splurge looks like it must have been a much bigger splurge than it was…my favorite kind of splurge of all!

Spoonery

I'd say it was a quiet holiday weekend…but the 4^th of July isn’t quiet, is it? My poor Zoë is one of the zillion dogs driven to distraction by the noise of fireworks (also thunder and anything else loud and sudden). I hope it's going to end soon; we haven’t had a whole night’s sleep for a week.

I was on my own again Friday and headed out with low expectations, although I had my grocery list so I knew the morning wouldn’t be a complete waste. But the first sale I stopped at yielded some great deals and a fun story. I knew they were on my wavelength when I saw the price of this 6 ounce Pyrex custard cup.

Then my attention was caught by a bunch of things made out of spoons, and I started hearing the story of The Spoon Man. The guy having the sale used to have a photography studio in downtown Salem, and he did the photo shoots for their catalog. Seems that the Spoon Man started his craft business back in the early 70s, selling at craft fairs including Portland’s Saturday Market. I understand they there sell to this day. He grew it into a mail order business, and they still have a website (you too can have some spoonery!). At some point a teenage boy started working for him, and eventually bought the business and has kept it going. I think that’s kind of amazing – you get a part time job as a teen making things out of spoons and it becomes your life’s work!

My first selection was this bunny pin, 

then I also picked up a spoon kitty

and a spoon boy. 

And a spoon kitty keyring. 

And these cute elephant earrings. 

And then I heard the tinkling sound of spoon wind chimes, and picked out this set.

But the piece de resistance was the spoon mask. 

I’m going to hang it on the wall in a handy spot in case I ever want to wear it. Hmmm, I have an appointment tomorrow for an eye exam, maybe I should wear it there? “Hey, doc, have my eyes changed very much since I was last here?"

I managed to resist the head pieces – with difficulty!

That’s quite a few spoon things to bring home, but my visit to their sale set me back all of three bucks. I refuse to feel guilty!

I went on to three or four other sales, and picked up a piece of original art for another dollar.

Heading back to my car I spotted their free-stuff box by the gate, and liberated this very nice canvas bag. Salem is now a BYO shopping bag city, so these come in handy. 

This one even has my initial embroidered on it! All it needs is a good washing, and if it should shrink or something my groceries won't mind a bit.