Replacement Day

Wicker furniture, bread machines & blue glass. That's what kind of day it was today. I steered clear of all those. Instead, it was a good day for replacing old icky stuff: Pyrex bakeware in much better condition (sparkly & new) than my old pieces; dish towels without stains or rips; coffee cups with no chips and just the right size; another nice big glass vase. My sister, Terry taught me this trick: buy vases at garage sales so that when you pick a bouquet for a friend, you can include the vase as part of the gift. Much classier (despite the name) than Classico spaghetti sauce jars, which is what I usually end up doing.

I also found these cute little tequila glasses. Personally, I try to stay away from tequila, (it makes me really stupid), but these and a bottle of Patron will make a nice presentito for somebody. And the little garden turtle gizmo for $1 was too cute to leave behind.

I bought this little set of books for a specific kid in my classroom. I worry about this one. He carries around big fat chapter books, but he can't read them. He wants to be able to, but he's just not there yet. These are shorter and more manageable, but still look like 8-year-old boy stuff.

The rest of this stuff didn't actually come from a garage sale, but a church rummage sale. Last year Emily & I went to what turns out to be an annual event at the local Presbyterian church. We went on the "preview" day, Thursday afternoon, and make out like bandits. Emily pretty much outfitted her entire kitchen, and I bought a beautiful red wool coat from Talbot's. So when Carol & I saw the signs last week we decided to do the "preview" again. Carol got there first and texted me: This place is a zoo.

These Presbyterians know how to do a rummage sale. I've been to Catholic church sales and the Armenian Orthodox Christian sale (yes, who knew?), but the Presbyterians leave them in the dust. So I found Carol (she was easy to spot...she was wearing a top hat) and this time (knowing the drill from last year), I left her slogging through God knows what and headed straight to the "better" clothes section. Here are the things I bought: a black & white print shirt from Chico's, (I can hear Emily snickering about that one, but hey...I'm 57), a long elegant green t-shirt from Eileen Fisher, a lightweight cardigan from J. Jill, a nondescript but good color pullover, and a floral print cashmere sweater. They all fit and they'll all be actually wearable. So in keeping with today's theme, I'm replacing some old worn out stuff from my closet.