Free in April

Here's my list of all the stuff I got free in April:
white bread: $1.49
sesame buns: $2.99
large bag tortilla chips: $3.99
wheat crackers: $2.99
Publix salad dressing: $2
4 2-liter bottles 7Up: $7.16
7 Reece's Dark Chocolate: $5.53
5 Smart Balance sour cream: $9.95
one gallon milk: $3.69
2 bags M&M's: $7.98
2 large pans of food from On the Border: $20
2 dinners at Bahama Breeze: $28

Schick Hydro Shave Gel, $3.99
Big Roll bath tissue, 79 cents
Stayfree: $3.79
6 rolls Publix paper towels: $4.76

Large ceramic casserole dish: $39
13 yards designer decorator fabrics: $975
CVS Go Green bag tag: 99 cents
All detergent: $7.49

Total: $1131.58

Clean and Tidy

Three days of being sick has left me with no energy for housework. But I did muster enough to tidy my poor cluttered desk today. Before: such a mess and no space to do desk work.

After: lots of room for a new project.

David Cooks

because it is just the two of us for dinner tonight and I don't want to spread my cold germs all over his food. The simple menu:

rotisserie chicken (leftover from last night)
romaine salad with ranch dressing
mashed potatoes (from a pouch) garnished with cheese
garden blend veggies (left over from last night)

Cute Fabric

Greta passed this piece of fabric on to me when she cleaned out her stash last week. I think it will make a nice post-wedding project. I'm thinking apron.

Fabric and Fabric and Fabric

My good friend Bonnie has a friend with a furniture import and customizing shop. He invited us down to select rolls and rolls of his $100-per-yard decorator fabric; stuff ready to be tossed into the dumpster. As much as we wanted! The friend even tossed in a large box of leather scraps for us.

Our first priority was selecting fabrics suitable for art classes, and then all the activities involved in children's ministries at church. We found perfect stripey fabrics for Bible time costumes and solid earthy tones for backdrops and banners. Lastly, we chose our personal favorites for home decorating. Mine are all greens:
I came home with five different designs totaling over 13 yards of 54" and 60" wide designer fabrics. What fun I'll have in the months to come! (These really are all green, not golds and khaki. Trust me.)

Wedding Attendants

The children in the wedding have their clothing now. Greta chose attire for them that coordinates well with the historic church we will be using. Luke and Chloe will look very cute. But will they make it up the aisle or freeze up at the last moment?

Garage Sale Day II

The customers poured in all Saturday morning, and even by afternoon, when traffic usually slows down, we had steady customers. Some of our more interesting stories from day 2:

Our first customer asked if we had any old gold we didn't want. At first I put him off, until he claimed he paid more than jewelry stores do. I mentioned "a few broken chains". He said he would take a look at them and tell me what he would pay. It was fascinating: he pulled out a little kit consisting of a scale and little bottles of chemicals. He tested each piece and identified the metals I had. I ended up with $36 for 3 broken chains, and $3 for a couple of broken silver pieces. And I have a tidy jewelry box now.

Greta was thrilled to sell all of her canvases and drawings, and two of her three sculptures. This ceramic lady was quite popular with the customers; by late afternoon she had a new home. A mom and son bought her for their neighborhood annual Halloween decoration contest. I'm not exactly sure what her role in that will be, but Greta was glad to sell her.

The iris bulbs were particularly popular this year. I kept grabbing the shovel to dig up more; by the end of the day I had sold 17 bags of bulbs.

We tried a new sales technique this year: at 2:00 we grouped all the remaining small stuff on one long table. Then we invited customers to "Fill-A Bag" for $1. Whatever they could get in the bag they could have for $1. (We included hanging clothes in the offer too.) It had mixed results. Some people didn't understand and thought we meant everything remaining in our sale. Others just didn't understand. So we decided not to try it again in future.

Overall, we were very happy with the results of our garage sale.