diamond in the rough

Call me what you want -

cheap, frugal, stubborn -

I have wanted a stereo for a long, LONG time.

Never has the price been right until THIS one.

"Free" the sign read on Saturday morning

(the last hours of a garage sale in a neighboring small town).

The gentleman even helped us load it.

He said he'd purchased it with his first paycheck in 1968

from a Murphy's store in Kentucky.

He said it had worked the last time he tried it but made no guarantees.

We plugged it in as soon as we got home

Sure enough!  It works.  Only a little bit of hesitation in the loud/soft control.

A friend of ours is coming over to fix it on Wednesday.

My husband mended the hinged top

and now I'm trying to decide on what color to paint it.

I'm thrilled with this diamond in the rough.

The first record album we played was an old Glen Campbell one I had

in a stack of records I've been saving for this day.

a smple grill

Purchased several years ago for $15 at a garage sale,

this simple grill is getting a workout this spring.  

We're using it more than ever now that my father has come to live with us,

and we're eating more meals at home!

Last night (in spite of cooler temperatures), Gary grilled leg quarters -- 3 large ones.

Enough meat left over for at least another meal for three!

I tried something new to me.

Employing a small, old cast-iron skillet, I sliced some golden Yukons

and added onion and garlic salt.  

I poured a bit of melted butter over them 

(probably should have used olive oil), 

covered it with foil, and put it on the grill.

We will definitely do this again! 

And next time, I'll slice one more potato!

So simple.  So delicious.

tweaking

Saturday, I tweaked!

The sun porch in the back of our house had become the unloading dock

for most everything all winter long.

While trying to get it straightened a bit, 

I came across both the print AND the empty frame (above).

My husband took the frame to the local hardware store and had a glass cut to fit in,

cut in insert to cover the back and applied a hanger.

I have JUST the place for it!

THEN...

he stitched the binding that had begun to detach from one of the rug's (below) back sides.

When surveying the finished product, 

I realized there were roosters in each corner and the middle!

How could I not have realized this?

Having noticed that, the logical place to put it was in front of the faux mantel

in our dining area where the five roosters join

more roosters, swan, geese and a few other miscellaneous fowl.

All items seen in these photos were garage sale or thrift store purchases

or -in the case of the mantel, for example - curbside treasures!

unintentional

There we were.  Minding our own business.

On the way to somewhere.

Suddenly!  Garage sales peppered all OVER the small town we were passing through!

 One thing led to another and
almost before we knew what happened,

we were the ecstatic owners of three new items!

It was so unintentional.

balls, boxes and bowls

 The long-neglected task of dusting began early this morning.

 It wasn't so bad as I alternated it with a cup of coffee.

 Beginning in this corner, I planned to work my way around the room.

 Progress is slow.

 I stop to photograph my recognition of all things wooden--

 balls, boxes and bowls.

Each one a favorite.  All thrift store or garage sale purchases, I'm certain. 

the magic of framing

Yesterday morning, my husband and I took a walk in a local nature preserve.
(You can see some photos here...)

While transferring the photos to my computer, I noticed

how much THIS one reminded me of an amateur painting I'd bought a long time ago

(probably at a thrift store).

I took it out of the small, nondescript brown frame it was in

and painted the frame black.

It fit beautifully into another frame I had on hand - again purchased

either at a thrift store or garage sale.

By the time I returned home this afternoon from a pleasant lunch and visit with a friend,

the inner frame was dry and the whole deal ready to be assembled.

Ta Dah!

What a difference framing makes..

for profit

 While taking in a couple of garage sales last weekend, 

  I found these two gems--fine enough to keep myself,

  but with a hunch I could re-sell them rather quickly.

I was correct!

The satisfactory profit helps with a few upcoming graduation 

and bridal shower gifts.

 (I especially like the picture.  Isn't it sweet?)

you would buy too if it happened to you

 We were just going for a ride through the country.  

Passing through a small town, we soon realized 

we'd run into town-wide garage sales. 

 Weather was threatening and it was nearing the noon hour.
People were eager to sell, it seemed....

We made an offer on this little table, and it was accepted.

 It's going to be a sweetheart after it's painted!

(I plan to get back on the wagon next week.
See previous post if you wonder what I mean.)

falling off the wagon

I know I'm downsizing.  And I really HAVE been staying clear of thrift stores and garage sales.

Until today.

Driving through a small neighboring town on my way to visit my parents,

I stopped at a garage sale in the parking lot of the local Senior Center.

I am a sucker for prints and paintings.

That's all I'm going to say.

Items weren't priced.  Payment was on a donation basis.

I don't like those arrangements and generally walk away, but this time I didn't.
I couldn't resist the sweet, muted turquoise and yellow colors.

an outdoor kind of day

 An outdoor-kind-of-day today.

In addition to a LOT of weed-pulling, there was some dividing and transplanting....

and general enjoyment of bunches of yard furniture and decorations

that found their way to our house via garage sales,

thrift store shopping, and roadside treasure-hunting.

corners and angles

The high winds drove the cold right through the walls of our old house yesterday!

I moved my recliner to  a place where the draft was not so pronounced.

Sitting in a new position, I saw our room with fresh eyes!

One thing led to another.....and before long, I had moved two of these chairs

into position on either side of a small desk in front of our stairs....

Yes.  That's a stack of books you see on the steps in the background.
It's not their permanent home.

...and here is another corner to be dusted and rearranged.

Kind of makes me happy to sit and look at things from the first angle!

By the way, if you SEE it in these photos, you can be pretty sure

it came from a thrift store or garage sale....

650 miles of sales

 This was the scene at one of thousands (?) of garage sales last weekend

along 650 miles of Route 127 extending from Michigan through Alabama.

We only visited a few miles of it.  At this stage of my life,

I found it overwhelming!

 Now, we already had three other metal cabinets

serving a variety of purposes (the one above, a broom closet).

However, we couldn't pass up one more (below) -- a $5 purchase.

It wants a new paint job, but maybe you can overlook the splotches

to see its charm...

 Before it could be painted, it was pressed into temporary duty - 

serving as a gathering place at church for donations of snacks and beverages

for our local Christian Youth Center.

It will come home next month for restoration and eventual service--SOMEwhere.

we call it HOME

 Yesterday  I had fun setting up the eating area of our kitchen

for a rather informal Salad & Dessert Luncheon.

 In order to accommodate an unknown number of guests,

I slanted the main table in the room and put a tablecloth over the dropleaf

(shown "naked" above after the fact).

 The room looked attractive to me, somehow...

so this morning while cleaning up, I snapped some photos.

 I realize that most people would probably not place three tables in such a small space,
but it's what has "happened" here.  And it feels quite homey to me.

 I'm also aware that furniture in its natural or stained wood state is not in vogue,

but except for our curbside-found mantel and a few picture frames, 

most everything we have retains its original wood tones.

As I look around, I mentally calculate how little money we've actually spent

in this room.  The furniture and accessories have mostly been free, thrifted or gifted--

and we call it HOME.

low cost fun and finds

I collect white ironstone so this Meakin gravy was a no-brainer

when I saw it on my favorite thrift store's shelf recently.

 These two vintage plaques with Scripture verses on them

were garage sale finds last weekend.  

I treasure BOTH of them.

And while we're on the subject, how about this unusual bust of Christ?

(Actually, there were two of them.  The person selling them at her garage sale

thought they were bookends.  They certainly are heavy enough!)

   And finally, this bracelet! 

I paid a quarter for it.  It caught my eye before I realized what it was made from...

I decided to buy it if for nothing else - a pattern.