The OH and I just celebrated our 27th anniversary on Friday the 23rd. We sometimes take a trip, driving off for a few days to stay somewhere else for a while, maybe do some sight seeing, shopping and antiquing, have some interesting dinners out, etc. Not this year though. While things are OK on the financial end, his job is bucking the trend and he is pretty busy at work, so getting more than a day off was going to be problematic. Not only that, but because of my poor eyesight he does all the driving on our trips, and after working long hours in the week, that is pretty wearying. So when he asked me what I wanted to do, you can guess what I answered right? I suggested we take the day off and go thrift shopping, and then have an early dinner, so he could get home at a reasonable hour and relax, maybe catch up on some much needed sleep. Ain't I a good wife? *g*
Initially there was some resistance, because to Frank it didn't sound like a celebration. But he does love junk hunting too, so I planned us a route and we were out of the house by 10AM. Everything was within a 45 minute drive, and pretty much clustered in the same area. We went to the farthest point first, and then backtracked.
First stop was a restaurant supply place we discovered some years ago that sells used stuff to the public. I am primarily interested in smallwares, which is the pots, pans, dishes, prep tools and so on. In the past they had a big room full of that stuff you could paw through, but we hadn't stopped by in several years. The smallwares are now in a single row in one of the back warehouse rooms filled with old kitchen equipment, Sadly there wasn't much for the picking, but I did come out of there with several items.
Our next stops were a Goodwill on that same end of town, and across town a Salvation Army and a private thrift that has been there for years and supports a local auxillary group. Whoo hoo, did we have fun! By the time we got through the last place I had planned, Frank was so enthusiastic he asked me where else we could go and continue thrifting. Since the restaurant we were going to was back in our area and conveniently down the road from yet another Salvation Army thrift store (one of my regular haunts) we went there first. Finally, all shopped out, we were ready to eat.
The restaurant we went to is one of two in the area, a small, local chain that has always had fabulous food and middle-of-the-road prices. We had been given a $50 gift certificate back in 2002 for that particular restaurant and weren't sure if they would honor it, since it was so old. We went in with the intention of eating there no matter what, and were pleasantly surprised when they never even batted an eyelash at the idea of honoring a 7 year old gift card. We were told their certificates never expire and so we tucked into a nice late lunch/early dinner around 3 PM. I had decided ahead of time that I was just going to ignore the carbs and have whatever looked good, and that is exactly what I did. I don't do alcohol anymore because of my my BP medication, so I asked for unsweetened iced tea with lemon. There was a bread basket on the table, and the herb sourdough bread was really good, I had several small pieces of that. For an appetizer, I chose some tasty sausage and spinach stuffed mushrooms, Frank got boneless buffalo strips that were TO DIE FOR; and we shared, which we usually do. Both our dinners came with very nice salads that weren't just iceberg lettuce and greenhouse tomatoes, and those we savored. I could have made a meal out of the appetizer and salad alone, but then came the entrées - which we could hear being prepared since we weren't far from the kitchen where we sat (you can't miss the pounding noises of fresh cutlets being made). Frank got veal parmesan over linguine, I had Chicken Milanese with a lemon veggie sauce over angel hair, and both were very good. But we were so full by then, we ate half the entrée and took the rest home - and no dessert. You could have rolled me out of there, I had not eaten that much in weeks. We donated the rest of our dinners to the hungry ones at home and there were a couple of happy diners. Secondhand dinners after a day of secondhand shopping - kind of appropriate.
The pictures below are in no particular order, as I just plopped things on the kitchen table and snapped them alone or in groups. I apologize for all the background clutter because I was too lazy/tired to clear everything off.
This is a used bus tub from the restaurant supply place, and not a particularly clean one either. I didn't buy it to be a bus tub, I got it to mix potting soil in. It is deep and strong, perfect for that. In fact it is already in use, after being wiped out of course. Works so well, I went back for a couple more, but that is another story.
This wire lug is just like one I've had for years that came from an old chest freezer we discarded decades ago. Very handy when I am canning, putting up bags of frozen veggies, or just retrieving things from my canned goods storage in the cellar. No way was I passing that up. The second of 3 things I grabbed at the restaurant supply place
Some Salvation Army cake tins I grabbed and a giant rolling pin from the restaurant supply place that Frank grabbed for me - he knows I love to bake. It is huge, and heavy, good for making a thin sheet of dough. One of the advantages of getting restaurant supply stuff is it is usually better quality than consumer retail stuff. The extra pans will come in handy if I am doing lots of baking or making fudge for the holidays. Hmm, I have a lot of pumpkins to use up - can you smell the pumpkin nut bread?
OK, an eclectic mixture of odds and ends. Most was Goodwill. Sometimes I just grab whatever appeals to me. I tend to like jars like that with the wire bail seals, they look neat filled with things like beach glass and pebbles, shells, buttons... The tin was marked on top, but a handy size. The clothespins we can always use, we hang out laundry whenever the weather is permissable. The purse pattern set I spied at the desk of one Salvation Army and knew my crafty friend would appreciate that in her Christmas gift bag. The hook with the firetruck went to grandson Ben for his room, several adults in his family are firefighters and mom Stacey is an EMT. I told him he has to hang up his coat on that, never too young for good habits. *w*
Another mix of stuff. Most of this is stuff Frank wanted but Miss Mousie was mine. Not sure why the oil can, I'd never use that on the table because it is impossible to clean and messy even when new. The spatula is his, the egg beater was sort of my idea. Someday when my kitchen is finished *SIGH* I want a wall to display antique kitchen tools. Someday...
I figured Miss Mousie deserved a picture of her own. She is so cute! She was the first thing I grabbed at The Penny Saver, the auxillary thrift shop. She is sitting on a toadstool BTW. I have a burgeoning collection of fantasy items and she kind of fits in well with all the fairies and things that now inhabit my home.
More housewares. The vase and tomato slicer were Frank's finds, the rest is mine. Funny how you come across things you already have and like. I have a large Rubbermaid tub like that I use for storing Christmas cookies while I am baking, and thought it would be good to have another one, since I do like 6 dozen cookies each of 5-6 varieties every year. The bowl was a find too, because we rented a house back in the early 80s that the landlord said we could clean out, and the last tenants had left a bowl just like it behind. It is made in France and I absolutely love it, and have never seen another one like that until now. The other two pieces were just handy sizes of ovenware good for custard, French onion soup with melted gruyère, or roasting garlic. Yeah, I love to cook too. *s*
These are both Frank's. The beer mug brings a smile. He does collect them. I like my bowl better - nyah, nyah!
More odds and ends. I have plenty of star cookie cutters but wanted the angel to do in gingerbread with frosting. The cast iron sheep doorstop is going to my crafty friend who spins and knits. I'm keeping the hollow tubular green coated aluminum knitting needles, but they do need the backs replaced. I might do something decorative in polymer clay. The ornamental birdcage top folds open and right now I have 4 little crocheted birds in there. The little flowered dish is bone china.
A closeup of the bone china dish to show the detail. Yeah, that's what I paid for it, but it is very pretty.
Oooh look, I found yarn! This was all from the last Salvation Army we hit I got the box lot for $2.99, but paid another $2.99 separately for the big cone of bittersweet orange sweater weight. I am thinking a shawl or something with that one. There's a lot there. Yarn is one of my frequent purchases, as long as I can find something I like and can work with. I crochet quite a bit, and will eventually learn how to knit.
Yeah, more tins, from Goodwill. They are a bit beat but open and close well and are not all rusty inside. I like to use them to store my craft supplies that I leave out all the time. Much nicer looking than plastic boxes. I would never buy the stuff that came in these because it would go to 'waist'... LOL
Found this set of hardwood embroidery stretcher bars at Goodwill too. I don't embroider often, but they are nice to have. I have worked a bit in crewel and candlewicking, and have some interest in cross stitch and needlepoint.
This was from the Penny Saver, and I grabbed it as soon as they put it out. It looks brand new. It is a holder for seagrass hotmats, something we use an awful lot. I have one in my kitchen already that is a chicken that holds 4 mats (that are getting beat up) and it is handy. We do a lot of cooking and the hot mats will save your table and countertops from getting heat rings when you put a hot dish or pot down. They also don't absorb the heat from the dish, so if covered with a clean dish towel, your food stays hot longer. See? You learned something!
The stairstep basket was from The Penny Saver, my find. Frank grabbed the long shelf at Goodwill, I do love the fancy brackets.
The debris you can see out back is from a recent kitchen floor project still being worked on.
I do really like this old file box I found at one of the Salvation Army stores. I'd love to repaint or decoupage it with a nice design, but not sure when I will get to that. I was thinking it would be a great place to keep folders of my favorite crochet projects, or it could store folders of favorite recipes. It latches securely for carrying.
I love repurposing old things like this that have been used a lot. Knowing something has a history I may never understand just makes it that much more appealing. And it's not going to a scrap metal pile somewhere, but actually will continue to be useful.
I wish more folks would look at what they have and what else could be done with it, rather than keep buying new stuff all the time. I am always amazed at what perfectly good things get tossed out. I haunt the thrifts for that reason, and because I know that whatever I purchase from them is income that ultimately helps people in need. Win-win all around.
It wouldn't be a thrifting stop without looking through books. I did OK there. The ladybug book is for grandson Ben, because we have those Asian ladybugs all over the house on any warm day. I grabbed the Larry McMurty western for Lee, and we will share the Neil Gaiman, a book I've been wanting to read. The Dragon Lance books are for #1 son Jason. The one with the colorful cover is a blank book with ruled pages, none written in and like new.
The big find of the day, a lightly used original NES system for $10! It even had the original Super Mario/Duck Hunt/Track Meet game in it. Oh did I make the boys happy when I brought that one home!
Best part is, it actually works! And now they can play all their old favorite games again. I got that at Goodwill too, just spotted it as we were getting ready to leave.
As you can see, Ben really loved the ladybug book. He begged Brian to read it to him. It always makes us grandmas happy when we know we got something for a bargain that is well appreciated.
Yeah, I'm sure in the eyes of some folks I could find better things to do with my time and money, but we had a memorable day out, and really didn't spend all that much. In fact, Lee and I went out again the next day locally, looking for something at the last Salvation Army we stopped at, which was the one in our area. And Frank and I went back out this past week to check out a piece of furniture in one of the thrift stores, and he wanted to hit them all again. While those forays will be the subject of another post, the point is, we obviously enjoyed ourselves. Thrifting is inexpensive fun; the walking around you do is pleasant and gentle exercise, there is the thrill of the bargain hunt, and it gives you a chance to unwind - plus you come home with something new (to you). You can't beat that as a holistic hobby. *s*
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