bargain hunting

I laid claim to a quiet corner of our house quite early on for my 'hobbying.' Just off the lounge room it used to be the entrance to the house and has side wings - or little alcoves - perfect for the stereo on one side and a storage unit on the other. We didn't have any unit that fitted so I searched on eBay. It had to fit the dimensions and era of the house. No luck.

One Saturday, however, a few days before my sewing machine arrived, I went for a drive around our neighbourhood. It was about lunchtime but I was hopeful that there might still be a garage sale cracking on. No garage sales but the local Bowlo was having a jumbo sale! Perfect, I thought: doilies, old cook books, perhaps some two old lamps for our bedside tables.

I had a grand total of $25 after I scrounged around my wallet and my parking money. Whoops! Lesson 1: when bargain hunting, which is always, carry quantities of cash.

That day I walked out with a great cane basket: sewing storage; a Donna Hay wedding magazine: for my cousin-in-law and; a stack of doilies: a bit of canvas art perhaps. As I went up to pay an elderly gentleman I noticed he was leaning against a timber cabinet. Hmmm.... One of the glass panels was missing. I was certain it would fit in the little alcove but it had a $40 sticker on it. I showed an interest and the gentleman immediately said, pointing to the sticker, "Oh. And you wouldn't need to give me that much. What have you got love?" I explained that I'd collected a few things but still only had $25. After no negotiating it was all mine! Perfect. Now- to get it home! It wasn't going to fit in the back of my car and I wasn't keen to show my lack of expertise by strapping it onto the roofracks.

"Not a problem. Give us your address and we'll drop it off for you!" Now you don't hear of service like that anymore!

If I get the motivation & have the patience to learn a new skill I'll use one of the many spare glass panels that I found inside the cabinet to repair the window.