The store opened in a strip-mall in our part of town several years ago.
I don’t think we had visited it at all until a good friend and neighbor called Mrs. Poolman to say that she had been in the store and saw an entire set of our everyday stoneware dishes. Mrs. P ran right up to the store, but they were already gone. When Mrs. P mentioned to our friend that she wasn’t quite fast enough, the friend said, “Well, that was a week ago that I saw them.” Oops!
Now, hardly a week goes by that one of us doesn’t stop in for a quick survey. (Yes, we always check out the dishes first.) Over the last year or two, we have picked up some outstanding bargains at rock-bottom prices.
I had been looking for a desk chair for my home office. I found one identical to the one I have at work for $10.
Poolboy moved into a new apartment and didn’t have any lamps. I found two brass lamps for $3 each. They cost another dollar for the shade, and about $1.50 to replace the switch in one of them.
For the past several months, Mrs. P and I have been going back and forth over what to do about a freezer for our garage. We had inherited an old stand-up freezer from her parents that was so old, no one can remember when it was originally bought. It finally bit the dust a few months ago. We didn’t really want to spend a ton of money on a new full size freezer or even a combo refrigerator-freezer. I suggested a small chest-freezer which we could pick up at Sam’s Club for under $200. Mrs. P vetoed that for a number of reasons. So we have been at a stalemate.
A week or so ago, we dropped into Goodwill for our weekly survey, and, lo and behold, there was a refrigerator-freezer in the back of the store. It had no price tag or sold-sign. The manager said we could have it and quoted a price under $50.
The next day, I borrowed my friend Robin and his pick-up truck and carried the refrigerator to its new home. I plugged it in; placed a cup of water in both the refrigerator and freezer compartments; and held my breath. Two hours later both were frozen solid. Clearly, we need to adjust the thermostat, but the important thing is that it works!
I hope it is happy in its new home, because I know we’ll be happy with it.
It is in the same strip shopping center as the local Ace Hardware Store. Since I am in Ace at least once every weekend, I usually pop into Goodwill to see what they have. I have purchased books (50 cents for paperbacks), a golf club and putter ($5 each) and other miscellaneous stuff. Well I have been shopping around for a desk-chair to go in my “home office” (work in progress.) Even the less expensive ones of the style I want are $50-100 at Office Max or Staples. But “lo and behold”, there in Goodwill Saturday morning was an almost-new desk-chair for the exorbitant price of $19.99. Sold!
The evening was capped with a cannon firing (I thought Mrs.Poolman was going to be knocked over by the shock wave.) and fireworks. I was outbid for a James MacPherson Civil War history book. I told the folks who put in the winning big that the book stunk and they wouldn’t like it. They didn’t listen and outbid me anyway. In any case, it was a good time had by all.
Another Beautiful Day in Paradise! 