New to Me

I purchased my last car, a 2003 PT Cruiser, in 2004. I don't buy new cars anymore because new cars rapidly deteriorate in value.

Because that PT is getting old, I figured I'd up-grade—to another PT. I like PT Cruisers—they're cute, peppy, and practical. Plus they're easy for old folks to get in and out of, and they don't have a lot of confusing knick-knacks and doo-dads. They're good basic transportation. And easy to park. But Chrysler isn't going to make any more of them.

So, I went in search of a late model—I wanted one that was still under warranty and preferably a one owner car. I watched ads and checked the Internet for a couple of months. After a while, I zeroed in on this 2008 PT:

It was nearly two hours away, but I figured it was worth a look. So we drove out there and I looked. My husband looked under the hood.

I drove it around the lot, and it seemed to do OK. My husband crawled underneath to see if it was dripping anything. It wasn't. I compared the old with the new—er, the less old.

The 2008 is in the foreground.

Then I began the process of dickering. You know the drill—the salesman has to run to his manager, they give me a number, I counter with another number, etc. My husband and I went to lunch where we mulled over the "deal." I decided I really liked the car, so we phoned from the restaurant and went back to get it.

The car had been washed and the temporary tag was in place.

 

I wrote the check for the amount we agreed upon (I don't do payments) and drove away. . . 

. . . for half what a new PT would have cost me. My husband followed in the old PT as far as Roanoke to make sure everything worked OK. It did.

Now we call the old PT, "Farm Use."

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Fate and the Fountain

About two months ago, Kroger had a special on a simulated rock waterfall fountain. The the Kroger ad  listed the sale price as $59.95. The regular price was $119. The fountain looked something like this one:

Well, I'd always wanted a fountain, so I decided to get one when we went to Rocky Mount for Senior Citizen's Day (which would knock off another 5%). Unfortunately, they didn't have any in stock but Frank—the manager—said that the Westlake Kroger had one.

Later we went to Westlake, and sure enough they had one. Just one. And someone else had reserved it. A sign attached to the fountain said that the buyer would pick it up the next day. Oh, well—you can't win them all.

A few weeks later, I was shopping at the Westlake Kroger and noticed the fountain was still there. But it had a different note saying a different buyer would pick the fountain up the following Tuesday, which was several days away. Oh, well. . . .

I kept looking around for one, though. I saw the same one in a K-Mart ad in the paper—$79.95 on special. Um, no. Once I've seen something for sale for a certain price, I won't pay more than that price. $59.95 was as high as I would go.

I Googled the fountain and discovered the same model was for sale for various prices, all higher than I wanted to pay:

I figured that I just wasn't fated to be a fountain owner. At least not this year.

And then—last Thursday—we happened to be at Westlake, and we happened to go to Krogers. And, as fate would have it, we happened to see the fountain, with no sign on it. We went in and checked. The fountain—despite still having a $59.95 price tag on it—was available, we were told, for $69.95. The special sale was apparently over. Once I've seen something for a certain price. . . .

However, it never hurts to ask. 

They let me have the fountain for 5% off the $59.95 price. Since we'd been to the feed store earlier, we just happened to have the truck. Even though the fountain came in two halves, each weighed a lot and I'm not sure we could have fitted them in the back of the car. The size and weight of the fountain might be why the other folks had decided not to get it.

Doesn't it look nice on my front porch?

Here's how it looks from a little further back:

I think it looks pretty good with the wicker porch furniture that I bought at the Discovery Shop a few years ago ($100 for a settee and two chairs—all in pretty good condition).

And those two plants? Someone discarded them a few years ago. They didn't cost me a penny.

I love a bargain!

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Butterfly Pin

Besides buying the decorated cat pin and the ceramic sheep pin at Westlake Goodwill the other day, I also purchased a butterfly pin. I'd never seen anything quite like it before.

It was still attached to its original card, which looked kind of old. The gold letters on the fuzzy card say " Princess Handmade." Here's what the back of the card said:

Hmmm. Real butterfly wings? Gold thread? Even though this piece was more than the usual one dollar for a pin, I decided to get it.

Back home, I did a bit of Googling. Apparently a lot of these pins were made, mostly during the 1940s. Some even came with matching earrings:

On this site, I found two "vintage butterfly pins" for sale for $80.  On an auction site, I found these that had sold for $40. Mine looks similar to the one at the left.

Since the pin I bought is vintage—more than 50 years old, I doubt I'll wear it. 

I guess I didn't do too badly pricewise, though—I paid $1.59.

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Teapot and Sheep Pin

More treasure hunting: While I was at Westlake the other day, I popped into the Discovery Shop to see what was new. I found this ceramic teapot.

I loved the color. It looked as if it might go nicely with the blue dinnerware I'd gotten at Discovery not long ago. And it was in mint condition. 

Here's another view:

And here's a view showing what I paid for it.

Of course, I'd already stopped by Goodwill where I'd already found a few other treasures. For instance, I bought this ceramic sheep pin for a dollar.

I figure I can wear the sheep when I do presentations about Ferradiddledumday, my Appalachian version of the Rumpelstiltskin tale.  I'll wear it on August 7 at the Hanover Book Festival, where you will find me sitting at the Cedar Creek Publishing table.

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Decorated Cat Pin

Today at the Westlake Goodwill, I made a few good buys. I hadn't planned to buy any jewlery, but I confess that I did.

Since I love cats, this pin caught my eye. Usually pins at Goodwill sell for a dollar, but this one was a bit more. Should I splurge? It was still attached to its original card and looked like a nice piece of jewelry.

The card the pin came on had an inside:

On the inside was a message from the artist. (You'll probably have to click on it to read it.)

Hmmm. The artist's statement bode well for the little pin. I decided to buy it. When I got home, I did a bit of Googling it to see if I'd gotten ripped off. I found the pin on the Zarah website, but—alas!—no price.

There was a link to Paul Brent's website, but no info about the "Decorated Cat" pin. So I Googled more. Finally I found some identical pins and their prices:

OK, that made me feel better. I guess I got a good deal after all.

How much did I pay? A whopping $1.39.

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Cats 'n' Flowerpot

My latest finds at the Rocky Mount Goodwill yesterday:

These little two-inch high pewter kitties were fifty cents each. They look like they might be for small candles, but I'm not sure. Until I figure out what they are for, they'll sit on a shelf and be decorative items.

The original tag on the back looked like it said $5.60, but that couldn't be right.

This flowerpot was a dollar. The colors are perfect for my kitchen. That shade of blue is my favorite color.

A hand-written tag on the bottom said $2.50. Here's another view:

The opening is four and a half inches across. I can't decide if I should use it as a receptacle for utensils, or if I should plant a spider plant in it. I'm open to suggestions.

And if you have an idea what those little pewter kitties were originally used for, I'd love to know.

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Pet Dishes

I bought a couple of nice ceramic feeding dishes for the cats the other day. The white "doggie" dish was $2 at the Discovery Shop at Westlake; the bowl was only a dollar at the Dollar Store in Bedford.

Yeah, both are actually dog dishes, but the cats don't care.

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Book Sale

I bought these at the Westlake Library used book sale yesterday:

The two on the right are for my husband, whose hobby is law. The others are mine.

The current prices on Amazon:

•  A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson ($11.55)
• Politically Correct, the Ultimate Storybook by James Finn Garner ($4.60)
• Law 101: Everything You Need to Know About American Law by Jay M. Feinman ($18.45)
• Prize Stories 1999: The O. Henry Awards  by Larry Dark ($23)
• The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini ($8.25)
• An Introduction to Legal Reasoning by Edward H. Levi ($10.58)

Total Amazon cost for new books: $53.43 

My total cost of six gently used books: $7.00

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iPadding

A few weeks ago, I bought an iPad, a delightful little gizmo. Figuring that I didn't need the 3G network one, I bought the bottom of the line model. It fits my needs quite well. I can surf the net, check email, post on Facebook or Twitter, play games, read e-books, listen to music, take notes, and a bunch of other stuff.

But the little iPad needed a protective case. I Googled around until I found a leather portfolio-type I liked—but it was nearly $30, plus shipping. I Googled more and found the one I liked on Amazon for about $12—including shipping. I ordered it:

It has a place to put my business cards, and a little nook to tuck the microfiber cleaning cloth. The iPad looks right at home in it. Very businesslike. . . .

But what if I'm feeling whimsical? At Goodwill, I found a padded make-up pouch that will do nicely. See?

And it was only a dollar.

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Little Pots

I bought these little hand-painted flower pots for 79 cents each at Goodwill.

They're too small to plant anything in them, but they're the perfect size for a votive candle.

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The Blues

Yesterday, the Discovery Shop at Westlake was running a special. Everything was discounted an additional 25% from its usual sale price.

My husband and I, who had just redeemed our 1,000 Kroger gas points for 6o gallons of gas (the most we could get before cut-off) at a dollar off per gallon (total per gallon: $1.34.9) were headed past the Discovery Shop on our way home. We decided to stop.

I'd admired some blue dinnerware a week earlier—but it was priced $12 for an incomplete set. Isn't it pretty?

Yesterday, it was just $9, so I decided to get it.  When I turned a plate over, I saw it was made by Pfaltzgraff. I wasn't familiar with the pattern though. A bit of Googling revealed that the stoneware's pattern was "Sky," which had been introduced in 1987 and discontinued in 2002. 

Here's a closer look: 

I paid less for the lot than I would have paid for one plate.

I love the shades of blue. This dinnerware coordinates nicely with some other blue and white items I own, such as some rooster plates and salad plates I bought at Discovery last year, some rooster mugs I got a Goodwill for 25 cents each, and some salt & pepper shakers and a sugar bowl I bought at a Newport News Goodwill for $2.95.

I might buy some more blue dinnerware—if the price is right and it goes with what I have.

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Cat Vase

I haven't posted on this blog for a while, but nonetheless I've tried to live frugally, despite supporting twelve cats—and getting five neutered in December. Good thing my vet gives senior citizen discounts.

Yesterday at the Smith Mountain Lake Discovery Shop, I found this cute cat vase:

It was priced $5, but the shop had a 25% off sale on it. For $3.75, I couldn't resist. You can't really tell it's a vase until you turn it around. Here's the back view:

Proceeds from Discovery Shop sales support the American Cancer Society. I've found some great deals there in the past.

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Bargain Jewelry

What do all these pins have in common?

They were all a dollar at the Discovery Shop or Goodwill (except for the heart-shaped one which was fifty cents). You don't have to pay a bundle for jewelry.

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Garbage Bag Substitute

You don't need to buy plastic garbage bags if you have large empty pet food bags handy. This horse feed bag holds a lot of garbage, and it's sturdier than the plastic ones.

Hunting Season

Bargain hunting, that is.

Every so often, my husband and I go bargain-hunting at thriftshops. That's what we did this morning, and we got some pretty good buys. Our hunting ground was Westlake. When we left home, we weren't sure what we'd bag.

First we stopped a the Discovery Shop, but didn't find anything we wanted, although the shop had some great stuff.

Next we hit Goodwill, where I found a like-new Coldwater Creek black knit dress for $4, a beautiful handmade mug for $1.49, and a copy of Edible Wild Plants for 75¢.
The dress coordinates well with Dylan.

Since I had a coupon for $1 off, I didn't do badly. John bought a spiffy-looking made-in-UK wool cap for $1; with his coupon, it was free.

We arrived at the Westlake Library a few minutes before the early closing and bought $11 worth of books from the sale rack of discards and donated books. I selected four I wanted to read; John found two for himself. Most of the copies were in mint condition; only one was a discard. The retail value of the books was over $120. Since John and I are both avid readers, we were pleased with our find.


My writer buddy Marion has been telling me how good The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency books are, but I hadn't read any. Now I will. I'm a John Irving fan, so I was also glad to get The Fourth Hand.

Our best finds came on our way home when we stopped at Clay's consignment shop. I'd been wanting a set of International Tableware in the Bob Timberlake Ella's Rooster design since I'd found two cups for a quarter each at the Rocky Mount Goodwill a few months ago. I really liked the colors and the country design, but the pattern had been discontinued.

Clay had a complete service for four—twenty pieces—that hadn't even been used. The set was marked $40; after a bit of haggling, I got my dishes for $15. The color goes great in my country kitchen.

I have no clue how much these dishes would have cost new. Anybody know? Some of the online replacement china sites list the plates for $9.99 each.

John probably scored the best bargain of the day. He's wanted a Texas Instruments graphing calculator for a long time, and Clay had a TI-83 Plus. However, it didn't have batteries so John didn't know if it would work. He decided to take a chance.


For $20, he got both the calculator and a small TV that we're now using as a monitor for one of our security cameras.


The calculator, which retails for $99.99 at Staples and other stores, works fine.

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