Thrift un-oops

Another interesting week - school's back in session. And despite more "solo" time I'm feeling so 'behind' after the clump of busy-ness last week.

Taxes for my family got (mostly) completed. Enough to know there's not a big bill to blindside the budget!! Knowing that has helped me breathe more freely.

Church sale thrifting was in the cards this weekend.

Games, shoes, cards, nesting dolls, books, packing supplies, camping sundries for Girl Scouts (next weekend camping out!!).

Sadly, the boots were too small for my daughter, so off to Ebay they will go.

And lookee here! I got to UN-oops a thrifting Oops from a few weeks ago. Lo and behold another of the little Japanese hotpots turned up. This time without the crack and WITH the cord.

Silly things make me happy...

Linking in with Selena's Thrift Share Monday

Out of focus Sunday

Out of focus Sunday, originally uploaded by jckirner.

Yesterday was fantastic.

I had catch-up sleep and arose with energy, no longer the leaden footed slump that had been stumbling around since the busy-ness of Spring Break.

Lots of to-ing and fro-ing with shopping and family outings.

Followed by reading and idle doodling (on a camp shirt for Girl Scouts) in the evening while watching Top Gear on Netflix.

(I have no clue who the presenters are on that UK show. I enjoy the banter, the cars, and silly challenges)

Today I'm crashing and burning. Fumbling around, stubbing my toes, dropping things and generally grumbling.

I think my body's telling me I need to recharge!

Off to a nap I go....

Epic Random

Spring Break locally, my daughter was home from school.



Which meant a trip out of town for a special show - Cirque Du Soleil's La Nouba at Downtown Disney.

AMAZING! so much going on at once, the costumes, the acrobatics, the music, the staging.....

And our friends surprised us with a visit backstage (friends temporarily edited out of this picture until i get the o.k. from them to post) TOO exciting!

Arriving home to venture out to Morikami's Hatsume Fair and the cosplay contest. (no pics yet, sadly)

A trip to a local quilt show and where was the time to thrift???

One little effort along with a post office trip....

....some summery plates from the Goodwill shop next door.

(Linking up with Selena's Thrift Share Monday posts)

Thrift and craft and geek

Prompted by my daughter and her interests in cosplay I returned to doing a bit of creative work after a week of absolute nothing in the make-something vein.
That's a Drifloon hat - inspired by a character in the Pokemon world. We spend a portion of our Saturday afternoons at the local comics and games shop for Pokemon League play (and I indulge my geeky side with comic reads and chats with other like-minded adult folk)

This week there was a fellow thrifter/ebay-er to chat to at the comics shop. We traded shipping tips and local scouting hotspots. Like the Big Garage Sale that happens quarterly at the South Florida Fairgrounds expo center.

My last time at the BGS was a great book find day, yet also found these springy bits:

The chippy sunflower/daisy pin is probably my favorite. The hankies were a graphics love purchase. I'm curious how these gauzy hankies were used - were they purely decorative? Seems they'd need to be more substantial to be a 'kleenex'.

Being pulled to graphics again with this Ultra-Geeky game circa 1980:

Game play consisted of MANY pages of calculations for ship movements, etc!

1964 Florida atlas - I can't quite let go of this one yet - too enjoyable browsing the statistics of pre-Disney Florida, just at the start of the space race.

I'm amused by the census stats of my town in 1960, barely 6000 people. That's about how many folks live in my neighborhood now!

And as always - there's a thrifting ooops tale...

Yup - another case of not checking condition well beforehand.  These pages of illustrations are very usable though - mixed media work or frameable individually. (The rest of the book is in much better condition.) And the glory of thrift - it was a $1 learning lesson!

(Now why is that Kenny Rogers song ringing in my ears? "you gotta' know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, ...and when to WALK AWAY")

Snicker

 Linking up with Selena's Thrift Share Monday

Think I'll Go For A Walk

Yep - time to get moving again. I've been far too sedentary - sitting at the computer and sewing machine.

See, there's this long term plan.
Involving walk/running long distances with my family, next January.
At the land of the mouse

Now, just 3 of us will do the half-marathon, (I'll be bringing up the rear!) but 5 of us will do the 5k through and "backstage"at Epcot the day before.

I'll admit it - I love doing organized walk/runs. VERY good atmosphere. And I love following the workout structure needed to complete the longer distances in comfort and still be able to function the rest of the day!!

It's been a few years since I've been able to commit to one of these events - and I'm excited to get back into that level of fitness!

Now - who's joining us? :-)

Conveniently close

(Marcrest Nordic Mint creamer - 49 cents)

As an eBay seller - I make frequent trips to the post office. It's oh-so-conveniently located, just one mile from home on the only road to anywhere. 

(Mikasa Cera-stone Maggi snack plates, 49 cents each)

What's even more convenient is the Goodwill thrift shop right next door to the post office! It  has a drive up donation door at the rear. Declutter and reclutter in just one stop!!

I usually pop into the post office to make my mailings, and my daughter pops in to the Goodwill to scout for treasures.

Some things we keep and enjoy, some things we are able to sell on eBay.

Some things are a big oops!!

Like this Japanese hotpot that I bought recently. Tiny cost - $1. Fun graphics. Missing cord (but I knew that).

And arriving home to untape the lid from the hotpot - finding a big old crack.

Phooey.

I'll repurpose it for paint brushes or flowers or some such thing.

This week I'm joining in Selena's Thrift Share Monday blog posts.

Mental Recharge Day

Oleander and sunrise, originally uploaded by jckirner.

"I want to be awake to hear the nothing"

My evenings are noisy. Everyone's home, tv's and games are blaring, phone chats happening in the background. Eventually we all drop off to sleep in a weary heap.

Despite late nights, I still get up early, groggily, craving to hear the quiet.

This is when I can think and plan and follow a thought or idea before a distraction bumps me off track!!

But for today - I'm choosing no plan. Just rest!!

First batch

First batch, originally uploaded by jckirner.

Heading out to a local needlework shop - The CrossStitch Cupboard in Fort Lauderdale.

Stitchy Bits by Jackie K

Needlerolls in three colorways:

Gulfstream (blues and greens)
Tropical Heat (warm brights)
Mangrove (earthtone neutrals)

Production line

Production, originally uploaded by jckirner.

My blogging took a backseat recently!

Participation in a Reseller's Challenge from Selena's Apron Thrift Girl blog had me concentrating on my eBay selling over creative things in February.

It was a good challenge that helped me streamline my procuring, pricing and listing practices.

Focus is a good thing!!

Now a small opportunity regarding my needlerolls has my focus. (Thanks, Belinda)

My old skills in manufacturing coming in handy to make these cording creations without duress!!

Back to the paintbrush and machine I go........!