It’s no surprise that I love thrift shopping since I post about my finds often. Imagine my thrill now that my daughter is also starting to enjoy these excursions. This is what bargain hunting with Margaux is like.
Find something, try it on.
Nah. Not what she wants.
Find another item:
This was a knit poncho with rabbit fur somehow incorporated into it. I thought it was odd but she went bananas over it. We bought this one and she wore it a ton over the winter.
Here are a few outfits we found put together from our finds:
And this:
But the best, in my opinion was this:
A brand-new travel vest — this baby retails for over $100. It cost us $4 and will be perfect for my girl to wear on our family vacation this year.
Or maybe the best truly is that my daughter is learning that saving money and being frugal can be lots of fun. This is an important skill that will serve her well throughout life. And I get to enjoy her happy self on our shopping adventures.
I found an old cuckoo clock at Goodwill two weeks ago. It cost me $4.
It was missing a few parts — the weights, the pendulum, and the gong. I had no idea if it worked but thought it was interesting enough to take home. A few days after buying it, I took it to a clock shop to see if it was possible to get it running again. They told me it was worth over $500 since it is of high quality and also plays music. They also told me they could get it running again for $235. Uh, no.
I took the clock home and started searching around for info on repairing cuckoos. There is a ton of information on line. I found another local shop that had parts and took it there. They sold me the pieces I needed for $25. They also showed me how to turn the cuckoo on (who knew it could be on or off?), which chains were off gear, and a few other tips on getting it running. I took the pieces home and fiddled with my clock. It works! It cuckoos and plays “Edelweis” every hour and cuckoos once on the half hour. It’s keeping perfect time and I am thrilled to sit and listen to it tick and tock.
And John? He’s thrilled that I can turn the bird and music off at night so it doesn’t drive him cuckoo.
I am reopening my Etsy shop. It’s been a few years. I closed it because I wasn’t really putting any time into promoting the shop and never had a large inventory. I was also selling stuff through another online vendor site, Hyena Cart. For the last two years, instead of selling on line, I’ve been selling hand knit items to a local Waldorf school. Since it is my goal to blog more this year, I am reopening my shop and will be, hopefully, posting a few new items each week. The first item up is in honor of my kid’s hobbit obsession, a hand knit gnome (or hobbit or dwarf — whichever you wish it to be).
You can reach my shop by clicking the button on your left or HERE.
It’s my favorite time of year again — time to make resolutions! Last year I had a few. They were:
*Learn about beekeeping — I read a few books and attended a local beekeeping association meeting.
*Learn to swim laps for exercise which means I need to progress beyond the dog paddle — nope.
*Brew beer (already in process…..) — we brewed at least 6 batches. This fun hobby is here to stay!
*Complete Couch to 5K program. Last spring, I quit after week 6. — nope.
*Sew a vintage style dress for me — nope, but I have made some progress. I found a dress form really cheap at Goodwill and padded it out to my measurements. I altered a shirt pattern to fit. It worked. Next step is working on that vintage dress.
*Build something big with my husband. — We built a cabinet to go around our TV. It was so much fun to build something together.
So this year, I have some repeats:
*Learn about beekeeping — I want to take a class in February. I’m still undecided about whether beekeeping is right for us but still want to learn more before I either jump into it or give up this idea.
*Learn to swim laps — yeah, we’ll see how far I get with this
*More sewing for me
*Build another something with my husband — we have a few projects in mind — shelves for Margaux’s room or a new bed for her.
And some new resolutions:
*Best garden ever — this is really a joint resolution with John. We’re committing to having our best veggie garden yet!
*Blog regularly!
Out with the Halloween decor:
And in with Thanksgiving:
Oliver did another science fair project about mushrooms. Last year he made a model of one, this year he did a field survey of mushrooms of our neighborhood. The field survey part was done over summer break when he would walk around our neighborhood and catalog his finds. He kept good notes and his enthusiasm for the subject shone through.
And it is still shining brightly.
This post almost sounds like another too-early Christmas one — it’s about chestnuts and we all know that when you think of chestnuts, they are roasting on an open fire.
There is a park not too far from home. John and I were walking the dog and we saw a bunch of people under a tree picking stuff up. We had to investigate what they were doing. They were picking chestnuts! Who knew?
Early the next morning, I took Mojo to the park before school to pick some.
Yes, it was very early — like the sun was just rising. It was also drizzling outside but my girl is always up for an adventure. We managed to fill a small bag.
Here is what they look like in their spiky hull.
Pretty mean looking, eh? I can attest to the sharpness of the hull — it took me nearly a week to work one of the splinters out of my finger.
Now we just await the perfect moment to roast the chestnuts…..yes…..over an open fire.
The last one is done! This one is for Mojo. She has named him Xander — after the horse she rode this summer — the horse that started this horse knitting adventure.
I’m glad that this last one, knit in 1 day in July, is finally finished. Why it took me so long to add the mane, tale and details, I do not know. Really, it took under an hour to finish this and turn it into a much beloved toy. And now, seeing all the love being heaped upon my handwork, I’m itching to make some more horses.
Maybe these next ones will be finished faster.
