Thrifting 101...

Last week, on a whim, Norene, her daughter Haley and I decided to

go into the city for some serious thrift store shopping.

Usually I tie this in with other chores I have to do but this day

was strictly devoted to the art of thrifting.

We parked the van, paid the all day fee and walked all

over the city in search of  our treasures, beginning with a walk through Chinatown...

After spending some time in Value Village (one of the biggest thrift stores around)

we had worked up an appetite...Irish Times Pub to the rescue!

Nothin' like Guinness, fish tacos and pizza to recharge your retail therapy battery...

Cruising around town on a sunny day, checking out the old and the new...what fun...

 Heritage buildings becoming condos.

Some places have been around since I was a teenager.

My mission was to find vintage wooden spools of thread for a needle felting

project but I was out of luck on that mark.

But the thing about thrifting is that you never know what treasures will appear to you...

Here's a few of my finds.

Nice, wooden stamped fruit box...$3

Lovely bird print fabric...$4

Antique cutlery for a garden project....25cents each...

Pretty summer skirt...$4...

Wooden Russian bear on skis toy (for a friend who collects them)...$3...

Shadow box frames for needle felting landscapes...$3 each...

Little blue plant pot $2...

So grand total about $22 dollars.

Shopping with the girls...

Priceless!

Post script...

I just recieved this email from my 2nd cousin in Australia!

Hi Kerry,
I've been following your blog for a couple of months. I love your images and your thoughts. The apple blossoms are exquisite!!! They resonate really strongly with me. And your music - Levon Helm, Joe Cocker, Neil Young - I just love it.

One of your recent blogs mentioned thrift shops and I had to smile. I saw your blog this morning and I thought I'd send an email. It must be genetic. Your Great Grandmother, May Cairns, was a big fan of thrift shops. I can remember trailing around behind her in the early fifties as she checked out 'Sally's' and the 'Goodwill'. I remember baskets of buttons and jewellery, big bins of ladies' 'foundation garments' - that pinkyorange colour was both horrible and fascinating. Maggie and I still visit the second hand shops. The city (pop of about 40,000) she lives in has at 5 or 6. Retail shops are very boring. 2hand shops always have something different, unexpected, surprising, emotive......

Oh yes, I recently found a post card, (at home, not in a 2hand shop) with a poem to May, from WW1. I think it must be from Jack Cairns to Granny. I'll send it to you as you seem to be the keeper.

All the best
Ellie (your second cousin)