I Hate Change!

A few weeks ago, I got this email from Junker Newbie, one of the blogs that I follow:

 "As you may know, Google is retiring Google Friend Connect, which means that after March 1, 2012 many blogs will no longer support the Google Friend Connect community"

 She goes on to explain how we can follow her in the future.
"If you would like to continue being a part of my blog's community there are two super easy FREE options!

• Follow me on Google+
• Follow the Junker Newbie blog via Linky Followers..."

Since my followers are all through Google Friend Connect, I'm going to have to find a new way to have followers, too.  Apparently, Blogger is going to take over the following procedure from Google Friend Connect, but no one (at least the places I've checked online) seems to know if followers will be automatically converted or if they'll be lost and have to 're-follow'.  I'll keep Google Friend Connect there as long as it will stay.  I've also added a Linky link to the sidebar.  I've hesitated to join Google+ because I just feel like I don't need one more social network to follow), but it seems inevitable now. 

If you're one of my followers, thank you very much!  I love you all & appreciate your comments and feedback!  Please look for the Linky link on the sidebar.

Have a happy thrifty Friday!

A little shopping . . Lots of bargains

It's been an odd (and very busy) couple of weeks.  I've decided that I have enough stuff and have resolved to buy less and destash.  Those are famous last words...

I haven't been to a good estate sale in a long time and I've really missed them.  It seems like the best ones often start on Thursday and I don't get out of my day job in time to go to them.   The ones on Fridays are too far away or don't look good enough to spend the gas.  So most of my shopping has been at thrift stores.

I went to one family-run estate sale last week that was just a few miles away.  It didn't look like anything I really wanted, but when they're local, I go.  The cheapest thing there was $15  and it was a wooden file/recipe box with pre-printed Betty Crocker recipes inside. The tag said '$15 - Complete Set', as though this was a great bargain!  One man who went in with me was there specifically to see some silverplate flatware.  It was in a silver chest and I couldn't see the price, but the seller  started 'selling' him -- HARD!  She said that it was in the top ten most popular patterns ever (I don't know how she knew that...) and that she'd looked that flatware up on Ebay and 'just a fork was selling for $125'.  She said she'd priced it as she had because 'just a fork was selling for $125' -- I wish I could have seen how much the entire set was!  I didn't want to point out that a person can put any price they want to on an Ebay item -- the trick is to get someone else to pay it!

My next stop was a rummage sale at a church in our next town over.  It was so much fun!  All the little older ladies working there were friendly and just happy to be there -- it was a delight.  I got a few bargains there, too.

Then I came home and cleaned, cleaned, cleaned dishes!  I had been to a thrift and gotten two large lots of dinnerware at an unbelievable price, but they were pretty dirty.  As I was cleaning them up, I realized I'd left all of the coffee cups of one of the sets at the thrift store.  There's no way I'm going to drive all the way back to get them with gas at almost $4 a gallon!  I called them and told them to reprice and resell the coffee cups.  Actually, no one really uses them any more anyway.

Here are some of my thrift store & rummage sale treasures. . .

One of the dinnerware sets

Salem dinnerware -- minus all of the coffee cups!

Pyrex!

I love this 8mm movie camera -- with original box & instruction manual

I've never seen Pyrex bowls this size before -- they're bigger than a ramekin, but not as big as a cereal or soup bowl.

 Last Saturday, I went to a moving sale at a local antique shop -- everything was either 50% off or just $1!  I got lots of stuff and saw several other dealers from our mall there.  It was really fun, but insanely crowded and busy.  So I went back today to see what else might be there that I missed in the crowds.  I picked up a few more things, but a lot of it was gone.  If I get pictures of it all, I post them later. 

So you can see that my destashing 'good intentions' haven't exactly paid off!  Maybe I'd do less shopping if I don't resolve not to shop -- what do you think?

A Fun Day & A Kiss for a Prince

I went down to Jackson today to have lunch with my friend who moved there (and to pick up the bookcase I bought, but had to leave, last time I visited).  There was an indoor flea market there, billed as a 'Cabin Fever' event. I'd gone to this market a few times and it was always just so-so -- some prices reasonable, lots of prices high and also lots of 'tube socks' (my code for new dollar-store-type stuff).  I wanted to spend the day with my friend, though, so it was definitely worth the trip.

The flea market turned out to be a real prince this year!  We got there about 10:30 and it started at 11.  As in the past, people started lining up at the door then.  In past years, though, they wouldn't let the shoppers in until the stroke of 11.  They'd let you into an entry area of the building where you stood there crammed in like cattle, looking at the dealers (who were all ready to sell and stood there looking at you)!  This year, though, they just let us in!  The prices were still all over the place but there was a lot of great stuff and I bought some of it.

After we shopped, we went to lunch and sat and talked for hours -- we caught up on our families and what we've been doing and went down one conversational bunny trail after another (the way good friends do when they've known each other for years).  I've really missed seeing her all the time and it was just a boost for my spirits to get a long visit.

Maybe you want to see what I bought, though...

I love these little 1950s Japanese figures, too.  I don't think they're going to leave my living room

I love these chalkware elephants! 

The crocheted hotpad is just like the ones with pop bottle caps, but it's jar lids.  I've never seen one this big before.  The little blue hankie has 'To my wife with love  Iceland, 1942' painted on it.

More Gurley candles -- I can't resist!

These ornaments are unusual -- they're plastic and have little figures suspended inside.  At 50 cents each they were worth it

3 really odd postcards from 1905 & 1907.  I have no idea what 'Sure Mike' means!  The ride around town is someone in the back of a police wagon

I saved the best for last!  This is a BIG framed paint-by-number of flamingos (really well painted, too) -- it combines two of my favorite collectibles.  I think I'll keep it. 

  I hope you all had good shopping this week!  I'm off to check out your blogs now...