my blue valentine

We stopped first at a thrift store

several miles from home.

There I purchased this

Fabulous Piece of Pottery.

For $2.00!
After a steak dinner purchased with
a gift card, we headed to
Barnes and Noble where I sat across the table from this man...

The magazines I thumbed through
confirmed the desirability of my
pottery purchase!

Afterward we returned home
to enjoy a soup & salad supper
and table games with some of my siblings.
A near-perfect day!

significant results

After painting the base, My Guy attached it to the top.

A final waxing over the stain resulted in a great looking board.

It just fit the space it was meant for!

I put pottery pieces on (and below) it....

but looking at the photo helps me see that there are too many "smalls".

I shall work at arranging this to be less cluttered.

I learn much from My Guy who accomplishes so much.

I watch him patiently fill his spare minutes and hours 

with chores and tasks (small and large)

 that add up to Significant Results.

 Above:  Improvement
Below:  A different mirror was the perfect finishing touch.

a stop at the shop

On the way to spend the afternoon with my mother last week,

I stopped at my Favorite Thrift Store to select a birthday card for a friend.

(For $.45 I find some very beautiful and appropriate greeting cards!)

 Then I made my quick pass through the store.  I was happy to add the blue and white tin

to my blue tin collection ($.10),

and how could I pass up this sweet, unmarked pottery dachshund ($.25)?
I found this puppy on ebay with a pincushion on its back!  What do YOU think?

And you!  What unexpected "treasures" have you stumbled on recently?

the pleasure of pottery

 I was content to wander in and out of quaint shops in the attractive town

of Grand Rapids, OH yesterday.

"Just looking,"  I responded cheerfully to the proprietors' offers to help.

Honestly, I don't need ANOTHER thing.

 Unique pieces of pottery always catch my eye.  Yesterday was no exception.

And though the prices there were fair, they were too high for my budget.

So imagine my pleasure to find two pieces at one of my favorite thrift stores this morning!

 For less than $1.00, I got BOTH of them.

 The colors on this "pocket" caught my eye immediately!

It's a heavy little piece with a charming copper hanger.

I couldn't resist it.

confused. very confused

 

Wearing its first coat of paint already....

  I really WAS going to get back on the wagon* this week.

Then, I read "Let's Celebrate the Art of Clutter".
Now I'm confused.  Very confused.
 Consider this quote:

In accumulating, we honor the art of the potter, sitting at a wheel;

we appreciate the art of the writer, sitting at a desk; 

we cherish the art of the painter, standing in front of an easel. 

From "Let's Celebrate the Art of Clutter" 

Pottery, books and paintings definitely occupy a large part of my "clutter".
Who am I to not honor, appreciate and cherish the art that surrounds me?
If the topic of downsizing, decluttering and simplifying interests you,
you may enjoy the read AND join me in my confusion.

I'll be interested to hear what YOU think about Dominique Browning's musings.

*See my prior two posts for enlightenment about the "wagon".

how well she knows me

She's a blogger friend I've never met in person,

but - OH! - how she knows me!

After reading of my pleasure in reading THESE two library books....

she kindly sent me Face Toward the Spring.
(How about that beautiful dust cover?!?)

I want to savor EVERY word of it!

I want to PRESERVE every word of it.  

Though written in the late 40's, it is as current as yesterday.

Surprisingly (to me at least), our yearnings and essential challenges
haven't changed all that much at all.

Thank you, Claudia!

 A recent (and rare - since I've called a sort of moratorium on thrift store shopping)
purchase at my favorite thrift store.
1/2 of $.25 made it impossible to pass up.
The color matches the house color on the dust cover of my book.
They're probably from the same era, too...

less than $1

 +

 +

 =

less than $1total!

hull

 The price was right!

 (So was the color!)

And shape.

In Lieu of Fireworks...

 I don't spend money on fireworks...

 instead, I celebrated the 4th of July eve by spending $2.56 at my Second Favorite Thrift Store.

 It's in a nearby town where my husband works out over the noon hour....

 so today I tagged along, shopped, and then we ate at a small Chinese restaurant 

in the same town.

 These were my purchases along with a large cribbage board

which I can't find at the moment.

 In addition to this large, blue plant-waterer (which have never worked for me),

I also came home with two smaller ones - blue and green.

I use them for "pretty" in our yard.

Not a thing I "needed", but some fun items that will

bring me much more pleasure than sparklers or crackers!

thrifty decorating 4 the 4th

Above - a thrift store find.  Small commemorative glass tray.

Below - a wooden folk art heart.

I really thought I was more careful to write down where I stored our 4th of July 

decorations when I put them away last year.  But I seem to have forgotten WHERE I wrote it down..

 So this will have to suffice--what you see is what you get!

The t-shirt I'm wearing today was purchased last year (or the year before)

after the 4th.  $1, if I remember correctly.

(I've tucked a few blue stripes into my jean skirt, so they're not so visible;
and a bit of the glitter has washed away from the stars, etc.
but you get the gist of it....)

I decided I could tuck this flag (thrift store or garage sale purchase)

into the wreath made of old bed springs.

These hang on free shutters found curbside.

Happy Fourth of July to you!

It couldn't get much thriftier here.

Getting creative with what's on hand.

Bigs and Smalls

 He's already "on" the BIG...

and I'm "on" the smalls--

 Taking off price stickers,

 washing the glass,

 digging out the candle wax,

 and photographing, of course!

Do you see a squirrel on this little pottery bowl?

I do...and I'm lovin' it!

I hadn't been to a thrift store in quite awhile, but yesterday

I left early to go to my no-longer-Red-Hats luncheon in order to 

check out one I hadn't visited in a long time.

What fun I had.

i stumbled....

 I never made it to my intended destination yesterday,

because on the way I stumbled upon a garage sale.

I couldn't resist these items.  So, with the trunk of my car raised

to accommodate the  large wooden box,

I decided it was best to return home.

And look what I stumbled on in the Thrifty Food Department!

I found these leg quarters reduced and well within the expiration date.

 I brought them home, stuck 'em in the crock pot with a tiny bit of water,
salt and pepper, and cooked slowly for 8 hours.

 I removed the skin and the meat fell off the bones.
I skimmed the fat off the broth and will cook noodles in it
and serve with some creamed chicken today.
Then I think I'll make a loaf of buttermilk/oatmeal bread
and enjoy some cold chicken sandwiches (which I love) tomorrow.
What have YOU stumbled on lately?