Thrifting Finds #44: Another good week!

You know, we here at Fondue HQ (and by "we", I mean "me") are a generally easy-going sort.  Not quite glass-is-half-fullish, but more kind of goofily pleasant.

This weather, though, is turning me into a Grumpy Gus.  Enough already.

Yeah, I know it's useless to complain about the weather, but criminy, this is just getting on my nerves.  It's been a constant barrage of precipitation since early December, mixed in with just enough nice days to lull one into a false sense of security.  Last week (I don't remember the day, they're all a blur now...) we got 18 inches of snow.  Okay, that's not too bad, in the Grand Cosmic Scheme, but WHY ARE THE PILES OF SNOW TEN FEET HIGH????  I think there's some law of physics that's not being adhered to here.

Okay, enough ranting.  Thanks for sticking with me.

Anyway, it was a pretty good weekend at the thrifts, despite the weather.  We skipped a couple of our usual stops because I knew the parking lots were going to be nightmarish.  Two places were having President's Day sales.  The Goodwill had 50% off everything, and it turned into Hillbilly Day/Bring Your Inbred Children and Don't Watch Them Day.  It was kind of awful.  Hubby lasted about 2 minutes before he ran screaming out to the parking lot.  I lasted a little longer, but not much.  The people at Saver's were much better behaved, but there were so many of them that I was starting to get annoyed (and youall know how hard that is.)

Hmmm. I think I just ranted again.  See?  This weather is bringing out the worst in me.

So.  Let's get to the Thrift Finds!  And here I'd like to apologize for the quality of the photographs.  I don't know what happened or why they're all so terrible.  My phone seems to take either really good pictures or really horrid ones, and I can't figure out why it happens.

1.  Vacuum cleaner bags!  Yeah, I know these aren't very exciting, but a pack sets me back five bucks at the sewing machine/vacuum cleaner store.  I couldn't argue with .99 each.  Just to give this a kind of vintage slant, they fit my vacuum which is the same one Laura Petrie won on "Pay As You Go!" in the episode "Coast To Coast Big Mouth."  The last time Saver's had their half-off sale, it was advertised as clothes, bedding, and shoes only, but turned out they were discounting everything in the store.  Didn't happen this time, so .99/each.

By the way, why do sewing machines and vacuum cleaners seem to go together?

2.  Hot buns!  This is the Poppy Red version of the Avocado bun warmer I got a while back.  You know, the one that didn't work?  I took a chance on this one, and my luck improved; it got nice and hot.  Saver's, $4.00

3.  Holy Cwap, Another Cookbook?  So yeah, I found that I couldn't resist this.  I've only quickly flipped through it so I can't report on it yet, but Family Circle had a reputation for publishing some truly WTF recipes, so I'm hoping to find some good stuff in here.  Saver's, $1.99.

4.  Stretch Vase!  Fabulous, no?  I mean, come on--bask in its glory.  Bask!  This is a big 'un, too--22 inches.  Here's what it looks like in context:

I spotted this baby the moment I walked into the Goodwill.   As gracefully as a gazelle, I sprinted over to the shelf and grabbed it.  I actually said "Snatch!" out loud as I did.  Did the fact that there was a $12.50(!!) price tag on it dampen my joy?  It did not--I have a gift card!  So yeah, I was a happy boy.

Which brings up a point (and I feel another rant coming on):  what is UP with the Goodwill pricing lately?  One of our usual stops seems to have a new pricing person on staff, a person who is apparently convinced that they are reselling gold.  And now another one is suffering from the same disease.  I realize it's all for charity, but come on.  One GW actually had a stack of disposable plastic plates from microwave frozen dinners.  Maybe 40 in the stack?  I didn't count.  Price:  10 bucks.

I know!

In Other News Department:

It's February and I finally got my Christmas present from Hubby!  Okay, let me explain:  I asked for a new cordless drill and flashlight, but I would only let him get one for a price that I thought was reasonable.  Ended up not finding anything, so Hubs gave me a gift card instead.  I bought a drill but couldn't find a rechargeable flashlight that I liked.  They I stumbled across a battery store that would rebuild the non-replaceable batteries from my old drill/flashlight. Great!  I returned the drill I bought and had the batteries rebuilt.  It was kind of expensive, but by doing so I could save not only the drill and flashlight, but also the sander, saber saw, and circular saw that was part of the set.

To make a long story longer, flash forward two weeks to discover that the rebuilt batteries didn't work.  Well, they worked, actually, they just wouldn't recharge.  So I took 'em back.  Bummer.  

There's a bright spot, though:  by sheer accident, I discovered a sale on a drill/flashlight combo that was not only what I wanted, but cheap, too.  So we went to the store and got the set.  I also wanted to get a spare battery, but the difference between the battery alone and the whole set was only five bucks, so I now have a spare drill, flashlight, and charger in stock.  Plus, they gave me a really nice tape measure for free!

Not my picture

I finished our income taxes a couple of weeks ago and when I went to print them out discovered that my printer didn't want to work.  It's always been a little touchy.  After some frustrating time, I managed to get the WiFi back on line and when I clicked Print, everything seemed to work well--except the pages were all blank!  Plenty of ink, so that's not the problem.  Hmmm.  Let me get out the manual and see if i can fix it.

Oh that's right--there is no manual.  You have to read it on the computer.  Well let me tell you, it was the Most.  Incomprehensible.  Manual.  Ever.  Nothing it said to do worked, and half of what it said to do didn't give a clue about to how to do it.  So out the window it went.  Luckily, it didn't cost me anything, as I got it with points from my credit card.

So I decided to go back to a laser printer and the last one I had was a Samsung and I liked it, so that's what I got.

Not my picture.

Now, I could have gotten it for $134.85 from a big online place, or I could get it for $70.00 refurbished from another online place.  I love refurbished stuff because it means someone has actually looked at it and fixed it.  So I went the refurb route and when the site invited me to type in a code to get an additional ten dollars off my order, I did not refuse!  Free shipping? Yes, please!

An apology!

If you sent me a comment last week and it didn't get published, please don't take it personally:  I'm just a jughead.  

What happened was, I selected a bunch of comments to post but I accidentally clicked Delete instead.  I couldn't figure out how to get them back, so they're gone.  I am fairly sure I'm stupid enough to do this again.  Still, I will endeavor not to and in the meantime, please accept my sincere apologies.

All righty.  This post is already too long, so I'm not going to bother posting what I made this weekend (trust me, it was nothing exciting anyway.)

It was a pretty good week, so I'm linking up with Sir Thrift A Lot, Thrifter/Maker/Fixer/Farm, and We Call It Junkin.

Wish list

So I was sitting here thinking about my thrifting habits and I ended up asking myself a question:  What is it that I'm looking for when I do my rounds?  The short answer of course,  is "cool stuff" and that's pretty accurate, actually.  I'm open to all kinds of things that I don't know I want until I see them (which gets me into a lot of trouble on ebay, but that's a story for another day...)

Certainly, though, I must have a Wish List, right?  Turns out that I do, and it's not a particularly long one.

Oh, and I realize that what I'm looking for is pretty common, and found almost daily by most of you. Unfortunately, either I'm just missing these things when I go out, or our thrifts just suck.

1.  Pyrex Cracker Barrels!  I've found a couple of these in my travels, but they're always either lidless or scratched and dishwashered.  Actually, I need two of these.  For the actual storage of crackers.  Does anyone know if they seal tightly?
Update:  Acquired!

2.  Pyrex Primary mixing bowls!  One day I just up and decided I needed these (I often do that.)  I have a red 402 that is completely matte, but the color is still nice and bright.  I narrowly missed the 403 and 404 at a Salvation Army a few weeks ago, and just last week I found a 403 but it was so badly dishwashered that you could barely tell it had once been green.  I know I could pick up a nice set of these on ebay, but 1) I don't want to pay those prices and 2) I enjoy the thrill of the hunt.

Update:  Acquired!  I could use a better 402, but I'm happy with what I have.

3.  Heavy cast aluminum bowl!  I used to see these all the time.  I'm looking for an aluminum bowl to keep on the dining room table as a decorative element.  I currently have a big Paul Revere bowl, but I hate polishing silver and it tarnishes the second I turn my back on it.  P.S. what is it about the Goodwill and silver plate?  I keep wanting to explain to them that silver plate has NO value.

Update:  Removed from list.  Replaced with this, which I actually like better:

4.  Presto percolator!  I love these Presto appliances with the white handles.  I already have one of these percolators, but there's a crack in the handle and I'm afraid it's going to completely come apart and shower me with scalding coffee.  This is a truly an excellent coffee maker.  It's super speedy, immersible and easy to clean, and makes coffee that's actually hot.  I already own the matching Cook 'N Serv electric skillet and the Popcorn Popper.

5.  Magnavox 65-02-00 radio!  For no other reason than the fact that Rob & Laura Petrie had one in their kitchen.  I'm on a quest to acquire as much stuff that Rob & Laura had that I can.  Because I'm weird.

6.  Homer Laughlin china!  Either Turquoise Melody or Romance.  For the same reason stated in number 5.  I'm still not absolutely sure which pattern Rob & Laura had.  Unfortunately, the camera tends to linger on faces rather than props...  And it turns out that HL sold blanks of its china to other manufacturers, so there's really no telling what the Petrie's pattern was.  Still, I like both of these.  Service for 8, please, though I wouldn't turn my nose up at service for 6.

Update:  No!  It's South Wind!

Thank you Dawn!

7.  Tupperware!  I'd like to start with a set of vintage Wonderlier bowls--look at those colors!.  Once I've got them, we could move into some other Tupperware, like maybe canisters.  The only piece I've been able to find with any regularity is the big green Jell-O mold.  Every thrift has at least one of those!

Update:  I now own a lot of Tupperware--but still no Wonderlier bowls!

That's it, really, at least for the time being.  I'm a simple man with simple wants.