going on 71

 Almost 31 days into my 71st year...

feeling a bit wild and free.

Free to sit and do nothing

or anything else that I choose.

It's a great time of life

(if a bit daunting).

I've given up haircuts for awhile,

wondering how long it will grow

before I give in.

This experiment is symbolic

of something else, I believe.

I just haven't figured out what yet.

At any rate, I've saved the money 

of haircuts.

Maybe that's enough.

A paintover

 I asked a friend if she could paint over

a canvas board painting

I'd purchased at a thrift store.

She said, "Yes."

I sent her a link to an abstract painting

I liked; she copied it off to work from;

and I'm now the pleased owner

of a Nancy Leimer original!

pleased as punch

After many hours of contemplation,

we decided to leave this hanging rack in its rustic condition.

My wonder-working husband dismantled an old, useless ladder

to fashion this 57 1/2" long piece.

I envision it hanging in a laundry room or entry hall.

I have neither --

so we're posting it on a few Facebook buy/sell pages.

Meanwhile, I'm "pleased as punch" at this re-purposed item!

I looked up the etymology of that phrase and found this at Mental Floss:

The pleased Punch in question is not a drink, but a puppet. 

The traditional, ages-old Punch and Judy puppet shows feature the married couple 

battling each other with clubs. 

 In the original story,line hunchbacked, hook-nosed Punch 

eventually beats not only his wife to death, but also his infant child, 

with a policeman, a doctor, a lawyer and the Devil. 

Punch is deliciously self-satisfied with his sadism, constantly uttering his catchphrase: 

“That’s the way to do it!” Punch’s strutting pride in his awful deeds is what led to the coining of the phrase of being “pleased as Punch.”

Hmmmmm.  Maybe it's NOT a phrase I should continue using! 

cushionry

 After a week of a malaise,

 I just MAY be on my way out of it!

 This morning,  I had desire and "spark" enough 

 to cut out two sides of fabric to cover this cushion

whose previous cover was ragged..

 Using the old one as my pattern,

 I simply stitched around the outside edges and called it "DONE"!

 This is the chair I sit on at the table to eat, play games, and converse.

 Without the cushion, the seat is hard.

 With it - PERFECT!

necessity and invention

Necessity is the mother of invention, someone has said.

Well, I've done this before and am sure it is not MY invention,

but when I needed a larger envelope to hold some picture postcards

I wanted to give to Joy,

I pulled a page out of a magazine.

Stick glue sealed the edges.

I always enjoy the customization possible when I remember

to pull out this old trick that costs me NOTHING!

eclipse

 Did we watch it?

Of course we did!

In the thriftiest way possible.

How about you?

fit and trim

I wanted corner guards to protect some corners from gouging.

We'd added some to a few corners upstairs some time ago.

I'm CERTAIN we didn't pay the $30-$50 they "go" for now on the internet,

and no local lumber or big box stores had them available.

So.........

we purchased 8' lengths of corner trim at $2.98@.

My handy husband cut proper lengths and carefully fashioned trim

from a piece of scrap trim to top each piece.

The photo turned out light, but you can get the idea of how each guard is topped.

I'm ecstatic!

Now five new corners in our house are fit and trim

at a very affordable price.

three bags full

 I took a chance at Meijer yesterday when I stumbled on an assortment

of bagged coffee beans on the discounted rack toward the back of the store.

 With a little help from our grinder (which had been out-of-service for awhile

and apparenty not cleaned when stored), 

we enjoyed our coffee VERY much this morning!

Killer Beanzzz was the first one we tried.

Have you ever found a surprisingly good buy on a discounted grocery rack?

simple, thrifty and refreshing - a great combination

Not all Thrifty Style here involves thrifted "treasures".  Thrifty Style includes simplicity at many levels--including food.

Now sometimes it is simpler to go out to eat, but that's not exactly thrifty.  However, our evening snack tonight is both Simple AND Thrifty.  It's one of my favorite combinations - pineapple, oranges and bananas.

When I shop, I notice what's on sale in the produce department and try to incorporate it into meals.  This week, it was fresh pineapple!  Soon I hope to be enjoying another favorite combination - green grapes, cantaloupe and pineapple.

Do you have a favorite fruit combination?

memorial day - keeping it simple

 Napkins purchased after a holiday last year...

 a hanging patriotic plaque - found in a free box at a garage sale...

 pasta salad made with tuna, veggies I had on hand (yellow peppers, peas, onioin),

 bound with mayo, and chilling in a thrifted vintage bowl...

a vintage canister that sits year 'round on my kitchen counter.

Memorial Day will be low key around here.

We spent some time Saturday with one of our daughters and her family,

had guests for dinner after church yesterday,

and made no plans for today.

So, when we woke up to rain this morning, 

I decided pasta salad would be just fine

(and hubby agreed).

There are plenty of projects to keep us busy, and if the rain stops

we may take a walk.... 

 I'm wearing a necklace & bracelet constructed from seed beads

in a summer camp "craft shack" over ten years ago.  

Every once in awhile I bring them out for the good memories...

outdoor thrift

 If you've visited my other blogs recently, this one may seem a little repetitious...

 but we've been spending a lot of time in our yard this spring!

My husband (alerted by my sister) picked up some picket fencing

that was trashed in her addition.

 For "free" - with some elbow grease, paint and creativity - we beautified 

 several spots in our lawn.

 The fence was a perfect place to hang this rusty wreath.

made from old, rusty bed springs.

 My husband repaired and re-hung this old, wooden swing we found at a garage sale

 or auction many years ago.  It will be ready for our youngest grandchild who will

 visit us this weekend!

One of my favorite projects was finding the "perfect place"

to hang this mirror which had been laying around

waiting to be purposed.  This, I believe, is where it belongs!

I'm a strong proponent of Outdoor Thrift - as you can see.

fun and games

 He finished it - and it is BEAUTIFUL!

 You may wonder 'bout this, but I wanted to share a thrifty tip...

 we use these for picture hangers.  They work great!

It's a small thing, I know, but it all adds up.

And finally, an explanation of why I've been so spotty and random in my posts!

We're long-distance grandparents, so when we have them for a few days,

things pretty well revolve around them here at "Gatescroft" (as we call our house).

Here, I'm reading a Mrs. Piggle Wiggle book - Betty MacDonald, author.  

They are SO entertaining and fun to read and the children absolutely love them.  

The two paperback ones I currently own

were both purchased at a thrift store - as were the games & puzzles below.

Ten cents go a l-o-n-g way in THIS grandparent's bag of tricks!

thrifty entertainment

 Thrifty entertainment for me (us) yesterday involved a few hours

at Barnes and Noble.

I browsed through magazines...

jotted down ideas, and even drew a sketch of possible ways

to create some paths in our back yard.

 When possible, we settle ourselves in a couple of comfy chairs,

but yesterday they were occupied, 

so we pulled a couple of small round tables together

and spread out.

 (He later enjoyed a cold, caramel coffee drink.  I had a sip or two, 

but was satisfied with the free water always available to the patrons.)

 Just look at these two interior photos!

Oh, the pleasure of holding the magazine in my hand while my eyes

took in every detail! 

Soft chairs, books, and leather.  

♪ These are a few of my favorite things ♪

After a couple of hours of quiet pleasures, I came home with new ideas

and in a relaxed frame of mind. 

Have YOU enjoyed any thrifty entertainment lately?

we do!

"Use it up

Wear it out

Make it do

Or do without"

Most of us have HEARD this adage or a variation of it.

At OUR house, we try to DO it.

This Rubbermaid(?) organizer has hung on cabinet doors

in a few houses I've lived in (THIS one, for the past 9+ years).

No doubt the unit has stretched,
and for sure the packaging of these items has shrunk!

The paper and foil seem to always be falling out - to my aggravation and consternation.

So this morning - EARLY this morning - I asked my husband to help "make it do".

These are his hands and the terrific solution!

Yay!

We DO make it do!

 These slacks just may be as old as the Rubbermaid organizer!
At any rate, they are good quality and lined.
The pleats don't do a thing for my figure,
but I don't mind "making do".
The outfit will see me through a varied schedule from morning through evening.
(Everything I'm wearing came from a thrift store
at one time or another.)

spend, sort, save

I'm SO aware that this isn't a "pretty" post, but
 I bit the bullet this morning and SPENT some time 

 at a chore I've been putting off for quite awhile--

SORTING  my stocking drawer!

On the right (above) - those worth SAVING.

(One tug at the waistbands was the initial test!

So many of them had lost their elasticity!  Aggravating!)

 Above, the throwaway pile!

The end result is that I WILL save $$$ !

I see that I have plenty of leg-ware that

SHOULD last me through the winter at least!

In the sack to the left - socks and trouser socks, etc.

In the middle - tights & hosiery (yes, I still wear "hose").

To the right - footless leggins. 

I'm sure there is more spending, sorting, and saving

to be accomplished elsewhere in our house.

What have YOU sorted lately?

Warm, White, Wool

    I wore my second "new" sweater to church this morning.

 Off white; wool; warm!  (I "featured" the first in my previous post...)

The price was one-half a dollar at a church rummage sale Friday morning.

  Saturday evening we hosted our Home Connection--

 a  group of friends from church--in our home.

 I composed these centerpieces for the two tables.

Just used what I had on hand--some wooden fruit, candles, pottery, etc.

Candlelight created a special, welcoming atmosphere for our evening.

I stuck a single (artificial) flower into a little vanilla jar

that I couldn't bear to throw away.

It added to the fall assemblage on our mantel.

 I believe my fall sweater wardrobe is complete now.

I'm thankful to have found this second one to add 

to others in my wardrobe from years past.

 

Enough IS enough.

Here's a closeup of the detailing I did on the half-round table
my husband fashioned for me...