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Friday, January 27, 2012

A Trip to the Doctor=A Trip to Thrift Shops

We have to make our trips count. If we have to go to town, we try to accomplish several things, not just one. It's a habit for country people; if we need gas for the tractor we're going to wait until we need milk or something else. Then we'll add in a stop at the library and whatever else we can to make the most of the money we're spending on gas. I bet most of you do the same thing.

Yesterday was Larry's regular appointment with the VA doctor in Charleston. I'd stopped at the ReStore, Habitat for Humanity's resale place, on Tuesday evening and found a little gas heater for the greenhouse we'll be building next month. I also noticed a lot of doors and windows--we plan to build this greenhouse using old windows and other salvage and I wanted Larry to look at them with me to see if we could get what we needed for a reasonable price. So that meant I needed to go with him to Charleston (which is 50 miles from here).

He dropped me off at a big thrift shop--and he was gone 2 hours! Do you know what kind of damage I can do in two hours? I combed that place pretty thoroughly, I can tell you. Lots of finds, a couple mistakes (do you ever do that? Something looks great but when you get home you find the chip or the stain or it's not what you thought), but overall it was a worthwhile stop.

When he picked me up we headed to another small church-run shop. There I found some good vintage linens and some vintage dishes (Daisy by Indiana Glass--5 grill plates). Then we headed to ReStore. We looked through windows but then I saw the sliding glass doors. The windows were just too pricey, but the doors--not full doors but individual panels--were just what we needed. We could get 3 foot by 7 foot door panels for $15-20 each. It doesn't take many of those to make a wall of glass. We also bought a good storm door with a sliding screen for the entrance, and an antique interior door for the log cabin room we're building. That door had the neatest hardware, a handle with little flowers all over it and old hammered hinges.




I found a small 9-drawer cabinet for the bathroom (one drawer missing but that makes a nice cubby for all sorts of things) and boxes of decorative tins that I will sell on eBay. I wondered about the tins--they had pallets of them? So what was the story? Did the truck wreck? The boxes were waterstained, so had a warehouse flooded?

There must be some story behind all those tins ending up at the ReStore--as there is a story behind every thing they get. I was enchanted with a fireplace gas heater that I could just see in the room we are building. Larry wasn't as enchanted with it so we came home with it.







When I got home I found inside one of the drawers of the pink cabinet a very pretty cameo and silverplate box. The hinge pin is missing but I'm sure I can fix that.



We ended up with 6 glass panels, the interior door, storm door, and the other things for $137.00. We have all the glass we need for the greenhouse now except for the roof, and just need one more door. The greenhouse will be built against the garage so we only need three sides. Larry is going to build a block foundation for it, then we'll build frames and slide the glass panels in, caulk them along the seams, and trim them with wood so they look good on the outside. The roof will be partly glass, and I'd like to use something that will open for a vent. Still working on that part. For this year the roof may just be plastic sheeting until we find what we want.

We were tired when we came home but we worked on the used washing machine we'd got the night before and after a lot of fiddling around, got the loose part back in place and hooked up the washer. It works like a champ and look new inside and out. I have a lot of wash to catch up on today!

And after all of that, I worked on eBay until after midnight. Yesterday and today are free listing days so I try to take full advantage and get as much listed as possible.  These finds are from earlier in the week and I was cleaning them up last night. Haven't got them listed yet, though, as I concentrated on listing some things I'd had for a while.

As you can imagine, we were late getting up today and I am moving slow. It's a good day for resting, cloudy and drizzling. So I am working on the grant applications, packing a few eBay things and taking the day as it comes, one thing at a time.

I hope you had some good finds yesterday. Be sure to check out Colorado Lady's blog to see what others found!

A few more finds--yes, I do love colored glass :)

Back to grant writing!

10 comments:

  1. A good kind of busy. Perhaps keep track of your milage when you are buying for your ebay shop. It is a business expense in Canada.

    That greenhouse is getting closer all the time. Great solutions for the glass walls.

    Rest, work, busy day ahead.

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  2. Pretties! And I love the greenhouse idea.

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  3. I also love the greenhouse idea. That is something we are discussing here as well. Restore is a place that I would really like to visit.

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  4. OK! I'm getting the bug. We're bound to have winter, and I don't want to be caught to far from home when it hits, so maybe late February we'll do some rummaging? Also, I know a little shop in Waverly that would make your eyes pop!

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  5. I'm the queen of the thrift store "oops". I just consider it a donation and move on! LOL My favorite pastime is combing a thrift store, though. You found some great buys there! Love the cameo.
    Hugs,
    Courtney

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  6. I do the same thing when I go out I try to get as much done as I can. It's the only way to do it. You always find the cutest things!

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  7. Sassafras, I'm glad I'm not alone! This time it was a beautiful 100% wool long sweater with a designer name, made in Italy. Good buy, right? Wrong. It had holes in it I didn't see in the shop. Now what to do with it? Honestly, if I knew someone who had the patience to do it, I'd send it to them to unravel (is that a word?) for the wool because there is a LOT in it. Oh well.

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  8. Michelle, if you decide to build a greenhouse be sure to post the pics! I'd love to see it. I've had a variety of different make-do ones over the years; now it's time to build one that will last until I can't use it any more--another 25 years, I figure :)

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  9. Love all your wonderful finds on that trip to town! Cute idea for the little cabinet...it looks like the missing drawer was done on purpose!

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