The joy of thrift-store grab-bags !

Beloved Hubby told me, as soon as we woke up, that his birthday was one of the nicest he’s ever had. That started the day off on a good note !

With the purchase of a new-to-me vintage pattern box last week, I realized I had some organizing to do. So I dragged out all my paper printed patterns – it took two trips – already in two pattern boxes and scattered about, and got to work. I now have one box of fashion doll patterns (Barbie, Monster High, Elphie), a box  of baby doll patterns (mostly for Timey Tell), and a loaded box of AG. Once it was all done and arranged, I set up a simple checklist / database, too. And that doesn’t even include all the digital and PDF ones, just the commercial paper prints. Whew, I have tons !

Also went through yesterday’s thrift grab-bag. I scored a dozen lovely, lacy handkerchiefs, two with holes, two with a monogrammed ‘W’. Can use them all after a quick wash ! The fabrics all seem to be from an abandoned attempt at making an AG or infant-size Elsa costume – they got as far as the bodice - from teal sequin and silver dot fabrics, with lots more remnants. I also got large pieces of ice blue satin, strands of two sizes of plastic pearls, a half-spool of dark blue ribbon and a still-sealed reel of white with green dot grosgrain.

There was also a package of Velcro ™ sticky-back dots, two large balls of soft, nubbly burgundy yarn, several random patches, satin and paper cords, an untouched package of shoelaces, and a still-intact package of pressure wrap, like the kind medical staff uses when you donate blood, to hold the cotton ball down, but green and wider.

It took me a few minutes to figure out, but I also got a pink and black  SpiBand wrist/ankle cuff. It was half wrong side out and kind of strange-looking, but once the site showed me what it was supposed to look like, it made sense. It’s a Lycra workout cuff that can hold small things, like ID or locker keys. It would probably also work as a light wrist brace, it’s very comfortable. Love my new, useful $10. 

freebie !

Was gonna re-donate the burgundy satin cording, but Mercy-kitty attacked it with such zeal, it’s hers now. She’s been with us a year and a half, and is still so much a kitten. (sigh) She gifted us another dead wren this weekend, so I clearly need to engage her more at home.

Happy Birthday, Beloved Hubby !

Woke up hoping therapy’d been cancelled, but no such luck. Most of the message chimes I heard were to wish Beloved Hubby a happy birthday. I’m glad he’s had so many good wishes. We can always use those !

So after getting him ready for another day – if it rained, he’d be home early, but no such luck – I dragged myself though the morning and got ready to go. Therapy went well enough, although the Needy member I was finally honest with said she’d been told much the same by her mother last weekend, and broke down in tears. It’s a long story and not mine to tell, but she’d stopped taking her meds and it was all our therapist could do to not hospitalize her on the spot.

By the time group was over, everyone but me had flown, possibly uncomfortable afterwards, even though they'd all agreed with me. I ended up driving her home. She has an appointment tomorrow, and if she misses it, our therapist will have her admitted. Hope she’ll be all right, I still feel rather guilty.

Rebelliously, I went to the OldTown thrift and had some fun. Found three pair of much-needed shorts for Beloved, a MLP-sized Mystery Machine and a Build A Bear Toothless dragon, complete with saddle, for Dearest Son. I scored several more kids’ clothes for pocket change, and was given a fabric scrap bag ! Evidently, I’m only one of three or four shoppers who buy them, and the first one of us to show up would get it. I can’t wait to go through it tomorrow.

Paid a bill while I was in the area, and was invited to help myself to their promo table. I left the cookies, but got a nice notepad, a fidget spinner, a foam mini football, and an oversized paper clip and pen, all emblazoned with the company’s name. Felt a little greedy, but they actually urged me to take more. So, yay, nice notepads for all ! And a spare fidget spinner for the truck.

Didn’t mind waiting for the train to get the sodas for the rest of the week – it was the train on the other track out of sight that moved at a glacier’s pace. But I was soon home, and delighted Dearest with his newest goodies. He’d spent the early afternoon decorating a card he’d selected last month for Beloved. So sweet !

Speaking of, he was home early, but not drastically so, and he decided to play in the garage. I got his favorite meal and we watched a movie together, the three of us. He loves his new router ! And thanked Dearest for his thoughtful card. Hope his birthday was nice for him, too.

Tuesday's trials

Ugh. Left two hours early for my VA Advanced Cardiac Failure appointment, one to make the drive, one to find a parking space. Seem ridiculous ? A little, but it still took me 20 minutes to find a slot, and it was sheer luck I found a kind Vietnam vet leaving a space I could use. The truck in front of me parked on a grassy divider, and by the time I was done, it was gone but two smaller trucks had taken its place. The ‘No Parking’ zones were loaded with sedans.

Poked around the small PX (post exchange, military store) for a few, but not even the 75% off shelf had anything of interest to me. Tried a sample of Victoria’s Secret ‘Love Addict’ cologne – I may have to get some of that soon. Still have most of a bottle of ‘Pure Seduction’ left, though. Headed up to my appointment only 20 minutes early.

So, as usual, it ran late, but it wasn’t until 40 minutes past my time that I got notified that I should have had blood drawn, so it had to be done right now. And, by luck of the universe, the lab was slammed, and most of the people that came after me went before me, for some reason. By the time that was done, I was over an hour past my appointment, and hadn’t had it yet.

Long story short (too late !), I got gently chided for my weight and had a couple prescriptions raised and lowered. Due to that, I have to go back next month. Arrrgh. Already dreading it. Found that the ‘20% possible chance of rain’ actually meant ‘monsoon’, and I’d left the windows down as it was already hot during my 8am drive. My increasingly damp butt drove straight home and arrived safely – six hours after I left. I was exhausted.

So was Beloved Hubby. He’d not had a good day either, and came home early. We discussed our Tuesday trials and came to the conclusion that a snack and a nap were good ideas. I still have my old ‘medical anxiety’ plaguing me the night before, so I was already darn wiped out.

Felt much better afterwards, and we chatted more and laughed at my trusting WTF (What The Forecast) for my sarcastic weather needs. The storm caught him by surprise, too – nearly all the forecasts called for thunderstorms tomorrow. We’re taking it easy tonight, and I got therapy tomorrow, but after that, I’m doing family, house, and me stuff for the rest of the week !

Grape Monday

Rather quiet day, I finished cheap-serging my material, using up eight little spools of cut-rate thread, and got the bright colors into the wash. The darker ones will have to wait a bit longer.

We ate all but two of the pizzas and pizza rolls this weekend, and Dearest Son had one today. Since the ’10 for $9.’ sale ends tomorrow, and I wanted the 99¢/lb. grapes, off we went. We got samples of three cheeses – I loved the creamy Colby Jack, but the Camembert was too sharp for my taste – and small pieces of cake from the bakery. It’s a very nice grocery ! Got the few other things we needed for the week, and headed home.

That got boring, so I took Dearest to the new thrift, and we had some fun. He selected DVD/BluRay discs of Frozen (ours is acting up) and Cinderella III : A Twist in Time, one of the less odious Disney sequels. I actually kind of liked it.

I found a quarter yard of white velvet – not the stretch stuff, the real thing ! – and a quarter yard of laminated paisley. I’d been wanting to try that, but the only place that carries it is Hobby Lobby, another place I only rarely visit. Also picked up a pretty embroidered vintage dishtowel. I selected a gorgeous sand-dollar beach coffee mug from St. John in the Virgin Islands, it’s a marked improvement over my old black plastic pen holder. A starry blue infinity scarf and spring-green purse were half off, so I took the chance. There were a few other bits- including a doll size handgun from the ‘Free’ box ! – but that was the majority of our hunt.

Dearest discovered that the movies still had the Disney Movie Rewards code leaflets inside. Nothing ventured – and three minutes later, my points increased by 250 ! We now have enough for a free Diamond Edition of Cinderella or Little Mermaid – soon as he decides which.

My Frito Pie came out well, even though it only had a nodding acquaintance with the recipe. Decided to add the half-eaten can of chili and the going-fast enchilada sauce from the fridge, and I’m glad I did.

Up early as usual tomorrow – I love spending the morning with Beloved Hubby – but I have to go, too. Advanced Heart Failure clinic at the VA Med Center at 10am. I’ll have to leave at 8 – to get gas, make the drive, and find a parking space !

Lathe-y Sunday

Beloved Hubby volunteered to work today, but got very involved in the lathe project and bagged it. It’s amazing how far and how fast he’s come with it. Went to Harbor Freight to snag a few bits and bobs – he used the 20% off coupon, I used the ‘Free 4-In-One Screwdriver’ one. Those things always vanish around here. I joked that I should gather a dozen of them for his upcoming birthday !

Took Dearest Son to Dollar Tree. I didn’t buy anything for me, but I got Super Glue and several of the newly-restocked one and one and a half inch paintbrushes for Beloved. Those are in a thrifted coffee mug in the garage with the others now, a small bouquet of bristles surrounded by ‘I Came. I Sawed. I Fixed It !’. He really likes those brushes.

He was also interested in that polishing cloth I thrifted last week. He was going to need one for a lens located on one of his tools. He showed me what he wanted, a buffing wheel to spin on his drill, and together, we made one ! I cut circles out of the cloth and stitched them together, all the while amazed that my KJ (sewing machine) actually could sew through such a thick stack of thick fabric. He installed the center hardware, and it worked perfectly ! I told him if he ever needed a felt one, I could whip one out in minutes. And I have plenty of felt !

Prepped dinner – pork sirloin steaks in oniony gravy, low and slow cooked for six hours. When we were ready to eat, I stirred up garlic mashed potatoes, and shucked fresh corn on the cob. Not a lot of leftovers ! Steaks fell off the bone when I tried to take them out of the gravy.

Think I’ll try Frito Pie tomorrow. About all I need is a can of pinto beans !

What is with all these abandoned Build A Bears ?

Got to stay up late and sleep in even later with Beloved Hubby, then we all got to it ! He surprised me with my favorite takeout sausage biscuits, I returned the favor by making a soda run a few hours later. Have to keep him hydrated while he works on projects in the garage. He salvaged several cabinets that had to be remade – clients are forever changing their minds ! – earlier this week, and made himself a nice storage area in the garage with them. He’s working on new tables for his routers (a cabinet designer’s right-hand tool) and saws, and hopes to start on a lathe. He’s a mechanical genius, and I love to watch him work things out.

However, it is steamin’ hot in there, with super-high humidity, and even nearly stripped, I got tired fast. So I hung out as long as I could, then did my own thing for a while, but checking in to make sure he was OK and hydrated.

Took Dearest Son to Goodwill for a bit, and found two more dressed Build A Bears. I claimed the jeans and a purple dress, he wanted the ‘Beary Nice’ t-shirt. The bears will end up re-donated. He found a Ty Beanie MLP, the Applejack his collection lacked. Now he has them all ! The nice can opener I bought doesn’t work (&^%$ !), but I found a couple books, so all’s well that went well !

After a late-afternoon nap, I cheap-serged most of the fabric pile, which served several purposes. It got my ‘sewing eye’ back into play, and prepped it all for the wash, so I don’t have a huge tangle at load’s end. Also used up cheep thread and reminded me that I should be shot for buying or even looking at more fabric. At least it kept me from wanting to visit Jo-Ann’s !

I’m getting tons of e-mail coupons from them, every day, sometimes twice a day, occasionally even on my phone. Jo-Ann’s is about a half-step away from sending me a note offering to fill the bed of our Ranger-truck with sale stuff for $11.75. Funny thing is, I’d still debate going if they did ! I got too much of everything now.

Food Friday

Happy Friday ! I had a fun day, mostly in grocery stores ! Local one offered 10 Totino’s pizzas or pizza rolls for $9., and Dearest Son was thrilled. Had to be careful with funds, but I got some soda, the pizzas, the bread Beloved Hubby likes, and a couple markdowns – and still had enough left to take Dearest for a 7-11 Slushie. While the cheese pizza rolls I selected tempted me, I cleared out some leftovers instead, and had a Babybel cheese.

Trying to be more aware of my eating. Had a random thought last night, that people with healthy self-respect don’t eat like I do. Even Beloved couldn’t argue with that, and it made some choices easier. Long as I kept myself busy off the computer, I didn’t think so much about all the good things to munch in the kitchen. My therapist once said that my choice to not self-medicate with drugs or alcohol made me a rare bird, but I admitted that I do the same thing with food. It’s time to put those crutches down. There’s too much for me to do to obsess over potato chips and cheese, and I’ll have more time to do ‘em when I’m not so blasted hungry all the time.

I miss walking. But it’s 90° with 90% humidity at 7am here. Really need to break out the Wii Fit system again, I’m just being lazy.

Perhaps ironically, Beloved said my cooking has really improved over the past few months. Actually, I’m simply trying new recipes and adapting what I know to what we have, but the results have been pretty good. Plus, slow cooker ! Evidently the one we got as a wedding gift was malfunctioning, I couldn’t cook squat in that one. Now I’m amazed at how easy it is, and how tender meats get ! I’ve discovered that I taste meals better when I drink water instead of soda, so it’s been easier to cut my carbonation, sugar, and caffeine down. But I can’t resist his coffee ! It’s rare to brew a pot in summer, but when he does, it’s like a warm hug, every time.