Sneaking Out

It's been an interesting week here in the Castle of Fifty Cents.

Let us return for a moment to this past May. Springtime. Planting tomatoes in big pots, and moving them via wheelbarrow to their summer location on the front deck. See the big pot with the baby tomato plant unbalance and tip over. See the gray-haired old lady struggle it back into the wheelbarrow…and cry ouch as her back twerked. See the same old lady a couple of days later tackling a whole bunch o’ weeds with a scuffle hoe and ignoring what her back was telling her. See her trying to get out of bed the next morning - and yelping.

Fast forward six months (six months!!), past pills and doctors and x-rays and an MRI and physical therapy to this Tuesday. The old lady now has a neurosurgeon added to her medical team, and she takes her very well-scrubbed self to the local hospital where the neurosurgeon has his way with the ruptured disc in her neck.

Amazingly, you go home the same day. It seems I’m one of the lucky ones who came through a disc replacement procedure with very little pain afterward (so far anyway). I had someone around for a couple of days, but am having no trouble managing on my own. I do have to keep remembering that I am not allowed to bend, twist, move my head, or lift more than five pounds. It curtails a lot of daily activities, and I've spent the past couple of weeks weighing things so I'd know what I can pick up. Millie is 10 pounds, so she is staying at my ex’s for a bit. The dogs are willing to hop onto the sofa for treats, so I don’t have to bend over. I’m getting very good with a grabber – picked up a Q-tip from the floor with one yesterday. Unfortunately the results were not as positive with a couple of china bowls. Crash, smash. I covered up the shards with an old towel until someone came by and vacuumed them away.

So I've been reading and watching movies, and getting just a leeeetle bit bored. Why is it that being forbidden to drive makes me instantly want to hop into my car and go somewhere…preferably a really good sale?

I peeked at Craigslist Friday morning, and wouldn’t you know there was a moving sale listed that sounded great. So I tempted the ex with the vinyl albums advertised, and off we went (about a 10 minute drive, well within allowed limits). Maybe the yard sale gods thought I deserved a treat; I came away very happy. Two pairs of very comfy shoes (which I discovered retail at $150 & $200), 

a couple of pairs of knitted slacks (the cream pair are cotton and linen, yum),

a very nice planter. I'm planning to put some daffodil bulbs in it for next spring.

And a pair of Dansk bowls that match the six mugs in my cabinet! All for $15, woo hoo.

Their ad said Saturday would be half price, so I talked Steven into going back the next morning. Scored again! Two wool blankets – the cream one is already felted, 

and the other appears to be hand woven of linsey-woolsey (linen warp & wool weft). 

It was very loved by someone, who took the time to cut a strip off the side and hand stitch a rolled hem

to mend a series of holes, matching the woven pattern. (I emailed via Craigslist later to ask if they knew of its history. Turns out had been in the family forever. Family came from England and Wales, and the pattern is a combination of Cats Paw and Snails Trail. I’m guessing it’s from the 1800s!) 

Two more pairs of comfy pants. 

And three more pairs of practically new shoes – SAS, Nike, and one of my favorite brands, Naot from Israel. 

And the day's total? Ten bucks.

I feel like the garaging gods have patted me on the head and said, “You’ve been a very good girl. Now go home…and don’t bend, twist, or pick up more than five pounds!”

It IS a Small World After All

Lately I've been having small-world encounters. You know, like when you’re at a large conference with people from all over the country and you get to talking with the person next to you who is from another state, and after a bit you figure out her daughter is your next door neighbor. (Yup, that actually happened, but it was years ago, so it doesn’t count for now.)

A few weeks ago I got to talking to a good old boy at a sale, and we discovered we were both from Missouri, though he was a recent transplant to Oregon and I left Kansas City at the age of 10. We had a nice chat; he seemed a bit homesick but willing to give Oregon a chance because his wife likes it here. My favorite part was when he said, “You know what I really miss about Missouri?” There was a pause as a myriad of possibilities raced through my mind…the rolling hills? Sweet German wines? The Ozarks? Grasshoppers? Fields of corn? “No, what?” I encouraged.

“Red potatoes,” he said. “We never have red potatoes any more.”

I managed not to laugh, wondering if his wife prefers Yukon Golds and has convinced him it's all she can find here. “Ummm, that’s my favorite too, and most grocery stores have them.” He looked pleased and we went on our ways. I've wondered since if his wife has relented and fed him red potatoes, but I'll never know.

My latest example actually happened at the grocery store, and came about because I was wearing my favorite jacket, which came from a yard sale (of course). I remember the sale where I found it, but not the year; had to be between 2001 when I moved to Orange County, and 2005 when I started my garaging spreadsheet (it's not on even the earliest pages). It's a floral print barn jacket from now-defunct Smith & Hawken, who purveyed rather upscale gardening tools, clothes, and household goods. 

Made of a heavy cotton fabric; originally the collar and cuffs were dark red corduroy, but I covered them with some scraps of silk I had in my stash.

It's one of those season-spanning garments that you wear and wear and wear, and the mix of colors means it goes with just about everything. I remember paying $3 for it. I cherish the memory of wearing it at another sale where a woman declaimed loudly, “That’s the exact same fabric I have on my sofa!” Everyone shopping on her driveway slewed around to stare at what well-dressed sofas were wearing.

Anyway, I love this jacket. And so did another grocery shopper yesterday, who came up to me in the bulk foods aisle to tell me so. A compliment can be a great ice breaker, and before we knew it we were talking and laughing and comparing yard sale notes. We kept talking as we both headed to the bins of nuts, and both started to get bags of pecans. I said something like, “Aha, another pecan lover,” and she said, “Well, I’m from Oklahoma and that’s where they’re from.” I stopped dishing nuts. “I don't believe this – I'm from Oklahoma!” (It's where my family moved when we left Missouri.) We quickly ascertained we had lived in the same city, and since she was about my age I asked where she went to high school.

And would you believe that in a grocery store in Salem, Oregon, nearly 2000 miles and over 50 years away, we found we’d both graduated from the same school. Not the same year, she was there a bit before me, but she only went to that school for a year and a half, and I was there only for my senior year. Goodness, what are the odds?!

We talked and talked; it was wonderful. This is probably what I've missed most during the pandemic, just talking to people. We had to keep moving out of the way of folks who were trying to get to various bins. I'm sure they thought we were long lost sisters or something.

I've reaped many benefits over the years by thrifting; it's a habit that contributed enormously to my finances. But much more important than the stuff has been meeting so many interesting and entertaining people, both in person and through this blog.

Even at the grocery store!

That’ll Be $5.50 Please

When you do the same activity over and over, it’s always interesting when a new detail appears in all the sameness. I've gone to a gazillion sales over the years, and in the time I've been blogging, some standout moments were the day I bought and sold King Kong, the time young Maggie danced for me, the Saturday morning I brought home an eight foot long sofa in a Honda Civic. Or this past Friday, when Lysa and I encountered the first campfire-in-a-garage I've ever seen. 

Which, while charming (as flickering flames generally are) struck careful old me as possibly a bit rash – with the bowl standing on a wooden stool, and - before I gently commented on it - a box full of various aerosol cans and a roll of paper towels right beside.

A couple of weeks ago, I went to three sales and when I got home and totted up my buys, I realized I had spent the same amount at each sale: $5.50. I'm pretty sure that has never happened before. My friend Marcia’s reaction to this news was an incredulous, “You spent $16.50  in one weekend?” (She’s known me a long time!) Well, yes, but I got some good stuff!

One sale netted 5 movies – 3 Blu-ray and 2 DVDs. (Have you ever seen G-Force? Superhero guinea pigs…hilarious.) 

Another had something I was just about to resort to buying new: a wheelbarrow to replace the one I've about worn out. 

The fifty cents went for a white long-sleeve t-shirt (I know you can provide your own image!), always a useful item.

And the third sale provided a pair of minty green crop pants, 

another t-shirt, 

a festive boiled wool vest, 

and three pairs of adorably cute shoes.

I was going to be semi sensible and only get the red and blue shoes (two bucks a pair) but then the nice lady threw in the black ones for free. How could I say no?

Segue to this weekend. I didn’t buy a lot, but I was amused to realize when I got home that I had spent…that’s right, $5.50. The fifty cents this time went for a lovely plate that I suspect is pretty old. 

And the $5 went for a treasure.

I've been watching for linen tablecloths, because I have a yen to try out linen sheets and I figure I can easily repurpose tablecloths. (Actual linen sheets are hideously expensive.) I was planning to sew two or three together with flat overlapped seams, but it's been ages since I've found even smaller ones for a decent price. Or at all.  I'd started to wonder if I've already bought every piece of linen in Salem.

Lysa and I had almost finished perusing a sale with a lot of vintage ‘collectibles’ when I walked by a couple of young women pulling things out of a box and exclaiming over them. When I realized it was vintage textiles they were looking at, I moved closer. We all admired the lace curtain panels, and the long dresser scarf of tatted lace. None of them had ever heard of tatting (sheesh, I am getting old!) so I explained about the tatting shuttle and fine thread and how when your grandma tries to teach you to tat you get all tangled up in that thread and cut off the circulation to all your fingers. (Maybe that’s just me.) Then one of them picked up something white in a plastic case, glanced at it, said, “Oh, Irish linen,” and put it back in the box.

My trembling hand reached out for it, trying not to appear too eager. A new-in-package Irish linen tablecloth, a big one, and when I asked, the price was five bucks. Mine, mine, mine! 

This has to be one of the best things I'll find this summer. Besides the price and the fact that it's 100% linen, it's the largest size the company made for the consumer market, 144 x 72 inches. Actually bigger than a king size sheet (though not quite as wide). When I looked up the company name of the maker, I found it has a long and interesting history behind it. The William Ewart linen company started in 1814, and the William Liddell company in 1866; the two companies merged in 1973. Their linens were sold all over the world, I think mainly to hotels and other commercial venues. The Liddell factory provided the linens for the Titanic! Liddell still exists, but it appears that now they weave cotton, not linen, and focus on the luxury hotel market (not my usual home away from home!).

So my tablecloth was made sometime since 1973, and given the feel and appearance of its plastic wrapper, I'm guessing mid-70s to early 80s. I haven’t yet taken my treasure out of the plastic cocoon. Feels like it should be done ceremonially, and I'm working out the proper rites for its emergence into light and air.

I looked on eBay to see if it has any resale value, and it sure does. A similar one (same packaging etc.), also unused but smaller, recently sold for almost $120. Others are listed but unsold yet at closer to $200, and none are as big as mine. But I'm going to stick to my sheet plan. I will really enjoy knowing I'm sleeping on a $200 sheet. It will make me feel like I'm staying at one of those luxury hotels!

 

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! 

She Made Me Go Back!

KK and I were planning to go to one rummage sale on Friday, then head ten miles north to the farm that was advertising you-pick tomatoes. After all, we wisely told each other, neither of us needs a single thing, in fact we need to get rid of stuff that we have, yada yada yada. But then I texted her early that morning, “Or we could go to that neighborhood sale where I got the great light fixture a couple of years ago and pick tomatoes another day; I'm good either way.”

Yes, we went to the neighborhood sale!

It quickly became apparent that participation on Friday was low; there were probably quite a few more sales on Saturday. But that was okay. After all neither of us needs a thing etc. And our very first stop was worth going: piles and piles of fifty cent clothing. I haven’t had a dig like that for ages. I spent three bucks and came home with three pairs of jeans, 

two long sleeve t-shirts, 

and a linen jacket from Coldwater Creek in a cheerful floral print. 

Even better, everything fits, and except for the jacket, I don't think any of it has been worn. It all still has that sizing smell. No fancy brands, but who cares?

We cruised for a while longer, then decided to hit the rummage sale on the West side of town, just down the street from the epic estate sale where we bought so much incredible clothing. (I’ll be wearing all that cashmere forever.) The church ladies had moved their annual sale out into their parking lot, and we were all masked and distancing. And so we happily rummaged. Racks of clothing (no thanks, just bought six things), piles of fabric (must…resist…more…fabric…), boxes of picture frames. I flipped through these, smiling over the framed needlepoint with a funny saying about housework. Tempting, but I resisted. I also resisted a curious glass object among the kitchen wares, but happily grabbed the medium-sized saucepan with lid I've been looking for. Each one I've seen for the past few months was over my price-flinch point. At one dollar, this one was meant to be mine. 

Another dollar brought home these two wonderful vintage but unused tea towels.

We grabbed Thai food at the food trucks and went back to my house to eat by the creek. My outdoor table is probably less than ten feet from the water, and the ducks provide a daily aquatic show, augmented by a pair of green herons, kingfishers, geese and more. (In fact, at my birthday dinner not long ago, also held on my deck, KK suddenly exclaimed and pointed – a hawk had just swooped down and grabbed a fish out of the water!) We chatted about the usual this and that, and I said something about the funny framed needlepoint that I kind of wished now I had bought.

“Let’s go back and you can get it,” she said. Nah, I said, I don’t need it…and so we got back into her car and drove back across the river and parked in the exact same spot in their parking lot, and I hurried over to the box of frames, now fearful it would be gone. But the garage sale gods were smiling upon me, it was still there, still sporting its 75₵ price tag. 

I grabbed it, then went to the kitchen wares. The mystery item remained; I showed it to KK who thought it might be a wine aerator. 

I decided if it was cheap enough I'd buy it. Along with this adorable bunny that would make an excellent soap dish (now that all I do is wash my hands multiple times a day). 

The church ladies had no idea about the mystery item and priced it at a quarter, and the cute bunny at fifty cents. Well within my splurge range.

Apparently KK was right, and this is to aerate red wine as you pour it from the bottle. At first I thought not because it did not go in the bottle of pinot noir sitting on my counter, but then I tried it in another wine bottle and it fit. I never knew that the interior diameter of all wine bottle necks was not equal, so for only twenty-five cents I have increased my fund of knowledge.

And that's a bargain any day of the week!