The Cabinet II

The newly painted cabinet fits right into the space beside my laundry closet. Because the cabinet isn't very deep, the louvered doors have room to open. The burgundy red paint works well with the muted burgundy squares in the vinyl flooring and with the red in the wallpaper.

Olivia (mother of kitties Jim-Bob and Chloe) is breakfasting in front of the cabinet. Although Olivia coordinates well with the colors, I really need to find another place for the cat buffet. 

Above the cabinet are some peg hangers that I bought cheap when Salem Creek (a decorative accessory store in Roanoke) was having a sale about 20 years ago. 

From the pegs hang some cutting boards that my husband made from walnut lumber that came from our Smith Farm in the 60s.  On the right is a stockyard cane that we've had for years, and beside it is a wooden thingie that measures dry spaghetti.

Let's take a closer look at my folk-art decorative items. 

All were Goodwill finds; the cat, rabbit, and pie lady were a dollar each. The chalkboard was 75 cents. The bowl was 25 cents, and the pie candle that fits nicely in the bowl was $1.25. That little horse was my splurge at $2.75.

~

The Cabinet

One person's trash is another's treasure, the saying goes. Last week, I found this little treasure leaning against a dumpster. Apparently, its last owner considered it trash.

It wasn't in the best of shape, but I didn't think it should take up space at the landfill. I decided it might be worth recycling.  If I couldn't use it, I'd at least take it to Goodwill.  

At home, a "cat scan" showed it had potential. I thought maybe if I fixed it up, I could use it in the kitchen.

Those shelves would hold a lot.

But the cabinet had plenty of scuff marks, both on top . . .

. . . and on the sides. The hinges were kind of cute, though.

I decided to paint it red, so I bought some spray paint at Lowe's. I let a bit of the woodgrain show through the paint to give it an antique-y look.

I think it'll look cute in my country kitchen. What do you think?

Total cost: $3.78.

~

Favorite New Things

Here are some things I've acquired during the last two months.

This kitty tote was at Clay's Consignment Shop on Brooks Mill Road. It was new and still had the tag on it. I paid $6.00. My iPad fits nicely in the side compartment.

This little folk art horse with its load of wooden watermelons was at the Westlake Goodwill. I paid $2.75, more than I usually pay for knick-knacks, but it was so cute.

When I bought the horse, I also found a couple of pillar candles for 69 cents each. 

Last month I also acquired a couple of freebies. I won this little book in a contest that Facebook friend Janice Lee was running. It's a delightful little book of inspirational poems and quotations.

I won this really neat bat-hat in a contest that blogger buddy Diane Cayton-Hakey was running on her Blue Ridge Gal blog.

I already owned the cat and the basket.

~

Cat Scratchscroll

A while back, I bought this cat scratching thingie at the Discovery Shop.

I paid $10 for it, more than I usually pay for used merchandise. However, this didn't look used and was still in the original box. But would the cats use it?

They did.

I checked online to find the original price.

I guess I got a good deal.

~

Urn

A few weeks ago, I found a large fiberglass urn at the dumpster. It looked as if someone had spray-painted it silver. I figured I could use it for something.

I thought it might look better than the plastic tub that currently holds the ficus. Sure looked like the ficus would fit.

 So I cleaned up the urn and bought some spray paint designed for plastic. The paint cost less than $5.

I thought sage green looked a lot better than the metallic silver. The urn, which looked as if it were originally a sand color, took less than a can. After the paint dried, I sat the ficus's tub inside the urn. Before I repot the ficus, I want to see how it looks.

Looks pretty good, considering the condition of the ficus (which someone gave me a few years ago). But I wondered how much an urn like this cost? The brand Grosfillex was stamped on its inside. I did some Googling and found these Grosfillex urns that are about the same size as mine:

They're not quite the same, but they're similar. I figure mine would have cost forty-something new.

I guess I got a good deal.

~

Sneakers

Recently I was shopping the Prime Outlets in Williamsburg with my former college roommate. I'd needed a new pair of sneakers for months and found a pair at the Reebok/Rockport Outlet.

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."

~

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!

~

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.

~

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.

~

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.

~

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.

~