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Monday, May 24, 2021

Another Almost-Summer Weekend and More Free Piles

I think all of our neighborhood is in a purging mood. I've seen quite a lot of good free stuff in the past few weeks. Sometimes I stumble upon these piles while driving. But lately, I've come across most of them while on my daily walks. Here's what the weekend brought to us.

We picked up a long rectangular folding table. This is the kind of table that you might use as a craft table for a group or a buffet table when covered with a floor-length cloth. The metal is brown and the top surface is very thin laminate. The laminate is peeling on the corners. One of my plans is to use this on the lawn for alfresco dining. We tried it out on Saturday for our dinner. It worked well and could seat up to 8, I think. For now, we're using a tablecloth. When I can get my husband to help me, we'll sand the laminate off and I'll paint the top. Many years ago, I picked up a laminate desk for $5 at a garage sale. My husband and I sanded the laminate top, and I painted, then coated it with marine varnish.This is the desk my daughters shared in their room for years when they were young. I'm thinking I can do the same with the folding table.

We also snagged a chandelier-style hanging light fixture. It's in brown faux wood, with fake drippy candles that take chandelier bulbs and have fabric shades. There are 5 shades. I can repurpose them on a couple of other fixtures in the house. The bulbs all work and I can use them in my existing chandelier. My plan is to remove the electrical components and fake candles, spray paint the fixture and use it as a hanging candle holder, perhaps in the backyard or on the deck. 

I also found the perfect picnic basket. It looks like something out of Yogi Bear. My daughter and I stumbled upon the picnic basket in a free pile on one of our walks. It prompted me to tell her all about Yogi Bear and Boo Boo, Rocky and Bullwinkle (plus the villains Natasha and Boris), and Felix the Cat -- all animated shows she's never seen before. I'm hoping to use the basket for breakfasts at the beach this summer -- an improvement over my usual brown shopping bag.

Anyway, I thought taking long walks was delightful this spring as an opportunity to see all of the flowers as they bloom. Who knew my walks would also become treasure hunts?!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. What was the most exciting thing you did this weekend?

5 comments:

  1. I have never seen FREE piles where we live but we do have a lot of garage sales.

    I am looking for an old fashioned pet carrier. We have a newer one but it is made of hard plastic and the handle broke ending up with my cat (in the carrier) fell to the ground. I need one of those old ones that are not plastic.

    I did see a nice 16 piece Corelle dish set for $5. It is called Coordinates and it has square plates. I don't need another dish set but for $5 I bought it. My oldest daughter at home has claimed it for when she returns to the US for good next year. She will need a job and then a place to live so I'll save this for her.

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    Replies
    1. Hi Alice,
      I hope you find the pet carrier that you're looking for.
      That dish set will be nice for your daughter when she returns and sets up a home for herself. Great job!

      Delete
  2. Saturday evening my daughter and I planted the flower pots and Sunday she wanted to go to JoAnn Fabrics for sewing supplies, so it was nice to have time together doing things we enjoy. My only weekend freebie was the rhubarb I got from the Extra Blessings table at church. We enjoyed rhubarb crisp last night!

    Maybe it is spring cleaning time in your neighborhood. I would have to go to a resale store to find items which are that nice.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Kris,
      What a lovely weekend, especially time with your daughter.
      That's nice that your church has the extra blessings table. Occasionally, someone brings in some fruit from their trees, but that's about all I can remember. And there isn't a designated place for it. What other kinds of things do people leave on the Extra Blessings table? I think that's such a wonderful idea.

      Delete
    2. All sorts of garden goodies are left on the table. As the season progresses, there will be zucchini, yellow squash, cucumbers, tomatoes .... sometimes people have brought it extra plants for people to transplant. We have a few prolific gardeners in our congregation and I think that about 10 or 15 years ago, the Extra Blessings table was started. It's a great way to prevent good food going to waste and to allow those without gardens to have some fresh produce. I may have mentioned that there is a man who has brought plums in--that's how he discovered that my daughter loves them--last fall he brought in a bag just for her. They are the best plums I've ever had--I don't know what they are but it's like eating candy.

      Delete

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