Explanations!

I had a nice email yesterday from a reader, Chris. She said she had tried to leave a comment here on the blog but it didn't work (more on that in a minute) so she emailed. As Genie did back in August (wasn't August about 20 minutes ago? Wait, you say it's now October??!) she was missing my garaging adventures and wanted more. My ego is definitely purring!

But here's the thing - the fact is I've never been happier and don't post very often because I just don't feel like it! I'm at an age and stage of life where for the first time I can do what I want. I don't need to please anyone other than myself, and my main responsibility is to my pets.

The pandemic certainly had a big effect on sales. There are far fewer than in past years. Plus I downsized when I divorced, and already own most everything I need. I still enjoy going to sales and chatting with folks, but don't care if I go out every week.

I have no plans to end this blog, but posts will remain - how shall I put it? - quixotic. If you  miss me (warning, shameless self promotion ahead!) please hop over to Amazon and buy my books. They are quite fun, and if enough of you do it I'll have money to go garaging. Yay!

Now...circling back to the comments thing. I have no idea what is going on with that. My own blog will not let ME leave a comment! It keeps saying I have to sign in even though I already did. Grrrr. I apologize to anyone who has struggled with it, but I don't know how to fix it. Holler if  you have advice.

My now overblown ego thinks someone might want to know what I've been up to if not thrifting. Craigslist is a good pal of mine - just today I scored a cordless vacuum for about 75% off retail (I hate to vacuum, hoping this will make it easier). And for my birthday Craigslist found me something I've been considering for months - an electric tricycle! Isn't she pretty?

Mostly I just love hanging out with my fur gang. Remember that new kitten, Stanley? Best impulse decision ever. I woke up yesterday to find we were sleeping cheek to cheek. Great way to start the day!

Those Darned Paparazzi!

It’s hard, you know. You bring out a new book, and the next thing you know paparazzi are snapping your picture when you least expect it. Of course they’re sneaky and you’re not even aware your picture has been taken. Until a friend emails you the link to the place on the Web where your casual Friday morning self has been posted for everyone to see.

Craigslist.

Yup, that’s me, front and center. Here’s the story.

My friends Robin and Ken are also garagers, and Ken likes to study the pictures in Craigslist ads to determine if a sale is worth going to. The folks having this sale had posted only a picture of their house in their ad. (Perhaps feeling that the address was not enough? Of course it’s a gorgeous house, and more on that in a minute.) So Ken sent them a polite email suggesting they post pictures of the stuff for sale.

Meanwhile, Judy and I are at this sale (she’s standing in line to pay for something in the picture). A few minutes earlier as I was paying my quarter for a green vase, I heard one of the ladies say she was going inside for a minute to post more pictures on their Craigslist ad. I never gave it a moment’s thought, until later in the morning when Robin emailed me to say ‘take a look.’ And there I was.

Now that I think about it though, it’s more likely that this was a wildlife photographer. Stalking the wily yardsale bird to her native habitat.

So here’s the story about the house: Judy and I went to an estate sale here back in December 2013. The sale where it started snowing while we were there and we had an exciting time getting home. The snow had time to accumulate while we were inside because we both fell in love with the house and kept looking at it. Then, since their sale got snowed out, they had another estate sale a few weeks later and this time I went with my friend Toni. The house stayed on the market for quite a long time, so when I got to this week’s sale I asked if they were the new owners.

“Not us, but our friends,” they said. And went on to describe how their friends saw pictures of this house on Zillow and kept looking at them and looking at them – but they lived in Brooklyn, NY! Finally they asked a relative who lives here to check out the house, got a favorable report, and bought it without ever setting foot in it. And they love it!

Friday wasn’t much of a muchness sale-wise, but I did augment my windowsill vase collection.

I can hardly believe it – I’ve filled up the second window!

Saturday was a washout until I hit the last sale, and it was just fine. Turned out the $10 Cuisinart didn’t actually work (I’ve learned to always ask to plug things in!) but I got some very nice wind chimes, a couple of bottle brush  trees and a cute Santa ornament

and a nifty knitting bag with a book of cute dog knits and some very nice yarn. The bag will be perfect to store some of my overflowing yarn stash, at least if I can figure out where to put the bag!

The big score was a brand new Dale of Norway sweater, still with its tag hanging. Ought to resell well next fall.

If not, Noll says he’d like to have it.

Oh yes, and besides all this good stuff, I learned a valuable lesson.

Be careful where you put your donut…or Judy might sit on it.

Ta-Da!

Shopping on Driveways is here!

I decided a while back to turn my “Shopping on Driveways” program into a book, and this has been such a fun project! It’s all my best advice for garaging, and I’m the first to admit I LOVE to give advice!

Furthermore, it’s good advice!

The ebook is only $2.99; you’ll find it over on Amazon here. Paperback is available as well for $12.95. (Sorry it can’t be less; it’s the production costs. I literally make 62 cents if you buy the paperback. Of course you and I both know what I can do with 62 cents…)

Here’s what it’s about:

Shop ‘til you drop…and spend pennies on the dollar! Yard sales, tag sales, estate sales, rummage sales have amazing deals on all kinds of treasure. You can

• furnish and decorate your home
• clothe yourself and your family
• entertain the kids
• spiff up your yard
• find gifts for everyone on your list
• collect materials for crafting and upcycling
• buy items to resell at a profit.

The Queen of Fifty Cents will show you how to find great sales, how to bargain like a champ and leave everyone smiling, even how to hold your own sale (the best ever). Great advice from an expert thrifter!

Even if you don’t have a Kindle ereader you can still access the ebook. Amazon has a free Kindle reading app thingie, so you can read it on other devices. I hope you’ll take a look, if for no other reason than to find out what happened to Judy and me the time we borrowed a bathroom without asking first.

That’s right - there are stories you haven’t heard before!

Penny Pinchers United!

Penny pinching is alive and well in Salem, Oregon…and practiced by a lot of nice folks! I had a ball doing my Shopping on Driveways workshop last Saturday at the Library. Had about 50 frugal people in the audience. If you were there, thanks so much for coming!

I’m not sure I taught anyone much, since nearly everyone seemed to be an experience garager already. Unless it was the part about figuring out how much I’ve saved on each item by not shopping in stores. As I’ve mentioned here before, I keep a spreadsheet with all my finds.

There was a little eye rolling over the idea of writing it all down. Okay, maybe keeping records seems silly, but there have been lots of times I’ve wanted to know how long I’ve had something or what I paid for it (as opposed to what I think I paid!). It truly only takes a few minutes each week. But the real payoff comes at the end of the year, when I look at my bottom line and compare what I spent for a whole year of fun treasure hunting with the probably value of my finds.

Yes, that was a very good year…but typical. I just keep showing up, and the treasure is there. Not every week, but often enough to keep me more than happy.

More than the stuff though, I value the stories. And I got a couple of good ones at the workshop. Before we started the presentation I was chatting with a friend from the dog park. She said, “I was reading your blog the other day and saw that tray you found. Did by any chance come from an estate sale?” Why yes. “Blue house?” Sure was. “I thought so,” she said. “That was my mother’s tray. It was originally silver and I remember her painting it when I was just a little girl.” The sale where I found the tray was at her sister’s house! Of course I offered her the tray, but she declined, saying she just wanted to make sure it was the same one and that she was glad to know it has a good home. Her mom must have been a talented lady. It never occurred to me that a regular person had painted this lovely thing!

A little later I was talking with another lady, who said that Judy and I had come to her sale back in August. “You both bought wooden drying racks from me,” she said, which was the clue I needed. Of course I remembered her and her sale.

“Funny thing,” she went on. “My husband never noticed I had gotten rid of those racks until a couple of days ago. He asked me where they were and I told him I had sold them in August.”

Now it was my turn to look sheepish. “I have to confess I haven’t used mine yet,” I told her. I actually feel a little guilty each time I see it down in our storeroom. I still use our metal rack and probably shouldn’t have gotten the wooden one. “Would your husband like to have it back?”

But no. She got it out of her house and it’s not going back. Maybe I should have offered to pay her to take it? Guess it would be a lot more frugal just to start using the darned thing!