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Post by Ally on Apr 5, 2017 19:59:12 GMT -5
I haven't posted here is a while. I really haven't purchased much.
Over the past month or two I bought: Some pond supplies. I had pulled the filter box out for the winter, and left it in my garden... and my DH (D does not stand for dear in this incident) while out playing in the backyard with his gun, shot a hole right through the thing. He denied doing this, but hmmm... I certainly wasn't back there shooting at random stuff, and he was several times. There are several projects I'd like to take on over the next few months and one is to work on the landscaping around the pond. I tried this a few times, last year DH decided that the little mound of earth behind the pond would make a good place to put things to shoot for fun, like old phone books and pieces of dry-wall. He trampled all my freshly planted ferns when he did this... totally clueless that I had been trying to make this area look nice. Anyway I ordered a new filter box, tubing, and some other supplies that I need to build a waterfall.
Today I saw something I have never seen before in my life. A swarm of termites flew from an exposed beam in the north east corner of my kitchen! I was in shock. I didn't know what they were. We bought some spray to do some localized killing which we can spray into spaces inside the walls near the beam. I know we need to get an exterminator since this is a sign of a serious problem, that a couple of spray cans will not eliminate.
We have a new dress code and uniform at work. I bought a few items, but not a whole new wardrobe. I went to top-stitch the hems up, but didn't have the right color thread, so I did buy a spool of thread too.
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H2H
Banned
halfwaytohoarder gets rid of it all!
Joined: February 2017
Posts: 2,041
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Post by H2H on Apr 5, 2017 20:44:58 GMT -5
Ally: A swarm of termites flew from an exposed beam in the north east corner of my kitchen! I was in shock. Oh Ally, SHOCKING!! AKAKAKAK!!! this would scare the heck outa me.. when I was new here in the area I was standing near the forest looking over the sunset on a hill nearby, and this glorious glitter of gold wings of thousands of insects flittered by..I told a friend my impression of this "beauty in nature" He freaked and said "Oh Crap!! that was a "queen swarm" We see housands of them out looking to start new homes... Now I look like this when I see those double winged beasties> <snip> What to Do if a Swarm Is In My House? If you have a swarm that is active in your house you can do a few things to help yourself out. Freaking out is not one of them. Feel free to let the swarmers go by opening up a door or window. They are trying to get out into freedom’s air to mate and start a new life. Now their new life might be a good distance from your home, or it could be near by. Their life most likely will be short lived if you have birds, frogs, or other animals or bugs that like to eat insects. You can go ahead and vacuum up the swarmers thus rendering their mating process a lost cause. Collect a batch of the swarmers in a glass or plastic jar so that they can be identified later by a professional. You can then call your termite exterminator company to come out and inspect and assess your home for the presence of termites. In all cases you’d be best advised to call a termite extermination professional for an assessment of your situation. A swarm is an indicator that termites are around, but they could easily be outside in your yard. Those outside swarms can find their way into your house but it would take a few years to see a swarm from within your home. However a termite colony that is present in your home and trying to get out does indicate presence of termites that you will need to get professionally treated. www.johnsonpestcontrol.com/termite-swarm/
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Post by peaceandfreedom on Apr 5, 2017 21:50:46 GMT -5
Bought a new bow saw (for tree trimming.). Old one just would not work well any longer; it wore my arms out trying to push and pull it last time I used it.
Also bought a small leaf rake. Used to have one but it disappeared. New one's handle will extend out a ways. The raking part is about 6" across, perfect for getting crud from underneath bushes, etc.
Bought a roll of weed eater cord too.
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Post by Ally on Apr 7, 2017 18:39:24 GMT -5
I forgot to add to yesterday's post that I also bought some new socks for work to match our new color, and a new pair of shoes. I have been throwing out old shoes and some old socks as I have been cleaning, so I don't feel too badly about these purchases. My hens are getting old and not laying well. I have plans to buy some hatching eggs locally. I know that in the long run buying chicks is probably cheaper, but I'd like a rare breed that is generally not available as chicks. Since DH dislikes roosters, the roosters will be sold/given away. I plan to do purchase these eggs sometime within the next month. I already have contacted a seller. About the termites, H2H, I realized that when I turned on the light that triggered them to fly, and they continued to fly toward the windows on the south side of the house, I opened the window and let them out, but later realized that I might have been better sucking them up with a vacuum. A little while later, most of them were no where to be found. The few I found had all dropped their wings.
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Post by angela on Apr 8, 2017 21:01:49 GMT -5
Ally, I can imagine how startling it was to see a swarm like that! Glad they have moved on. I have a couple of old ground level stumps here by the house and about once a year there will be a swarm around them. Don't last long as they chickens have a real party! I hope you get those eggs soon and that it is a successful hatch. __________ Thursday acquired some free clothing items: an orange-red cotton cardigan, heavy gauge. Fits nice and looks nice, have worn it the last two days with compliments. A sagey green cotton cable cardigan, I am always looking for good cardigans...and a warm red cabled cotton lower crew neck pullover, lighter weight. Have all washed, dried, folded, and put away. Went to a quilt show today and only picked up a couple of things. The stash sale had a lot of bits that triggered some memories of making doll clothes and doll quilts. If someone was into those crafts, they would get a serious bargain. I enjoyed looking at them but didn't get any. I got a yard of a Dutch blue batik floral with white and cream accent washes. And a little scrap of a blue and brown block print. .25 cents. They gave me a little Monet book for free. It is from the Met and is a little instructional book about what makes a Monet a Monet. There are others in the series too. From the '90s but I don't care. I'm enjoying it and will donate it when I'm done. I did purchase a yard of batik from one of the vendors in turquoise with orange flowers, very happy. It's very easy for me to make a scarf from these reversible cotton batiks. So nothing needed but a couple of little bits that are amusing.
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Post by creativechaos on Apr 8, 2017 21:47:26 GMT -5
oh Ally; please call your exterminator or county extension agent. these ones with the wings were likely queens. i believe that only the queens fly - to their new nesting sites. the good news is, they are OUT of there and not making more nests in your home. the bad news is, they got in there in the first place, and you want to be sure whatever's left there is dead and not laying more eggs up there! good on you for resisting buying at the quilt show and sale, angela. the turquoise and orange batik (love that color combo) sounds delicious. i was not so restrained or thrifty as you were on my quilt show foray. i went to the "studio sale" and got two red 15"zippers, some scrap material and yardage that ended up costing about $5 for all - my big "takeaway" being a lovely packet of 4 FQs of african fabrics, a book on making fabric postcards, and an olfa rotary cutter that makes circles! will need to find blades for it to see how it works or if all the pieces are there. then our group went to the local quilt store in the town of the quilt show - it made me appreciate the ones closer to where i live because this one, IMO, was unexciting and really expensive. bought 1 yard sale priced at 5 bucks. total for all was $17 - and nothing too bulky that it can't easily find a home. of course, this means a more ruthless and honest eye toward other fabrics i like less well in my stash, or know, despite good intentions, that i won't use; i'll need to release at least as much as i brought in, and more.
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Post by angela on Apr 9, 2017 12:24:07 GMT -5
creativechaos, I would have bought the book and the rotary cutter too, I think you did well choosing your purchases. In fact, I'm going to look up that cutter, it sounds really useful! At craft shows there is so much "candy" that it is hard to make more measured decisions. ALL of it looks really good so I then I think I should buy NONE of it. I am thinking that going forward I will take a closer look at what I spend on craft supplies at the thrifts and really compare value. $10 of so-so yarn at the thrift that I buy cause it's cheap vs $10 on unique, one-of-a-kind dyed roving at the next fiber show... Same with fabric or threads or... At one of the vendor booths there was a bowl of spools of hand-dyed pearle cotton. I thought, I would take back almost all my thrift store pearle cotton for a couple of spools of this stuff. AND for bonus points, the money I would spend at a craft type show goes DIRECTLY into the pocket of the creator which completely resonates with my values. Except for resale stuff like bolt fabric, but still, pretty close as the vendor would get the mark-up margin. The thrifts I do frequent anymore are directly linked to local charities and they would get my business for clothing still. Unless at some future point I go really minimalist with clothes and buy two pieces a year from a hand-made business on etsy or something.
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H2H
Banned
halfwaytohoarder gets rid of it all!
Joined: February 2017
Posts: 2,041
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Post by H2H on Apr 9, 2017 13:10:10 GMT -5
Angela, all.. am listening to a program on the "cheap fashion" industry and how it is degrading the lives of those w never see. I've read books on this about the many thousands of China factories producing even cheaper and cheaper clothing, plastic thread, and the waste and air pollution, stifling life of the people working, and the mindless buying by (mostly) young women for a trendy thing they throw away 6 months later. Buying one thing of quality, that lasts is hard to teach. In all the silk clothing I saved, the good linens and well made clothing you can SEE the quality. I wonder why the recycle fabrics into other things isn't a bigger deal, outside of Etsy? utterly.co <<< kid's $$ clothes, made from new fabric left overs saved from waste stream I bought--what I refer to as-- ladies "Sherlock Holmes" style hat from a local sewer, she used ONLY men's old wool jackets, and the linings, mixing patterns..and adding a feminine touch like metal- actual metal flowers-- to the hat. I LOVE my hat, wear it all winter, and am happy she is still out there producing more.
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H2H
Banned
halfwaytohoarder gets rid of it all!
Joined: February 2017
Posts: 2,041
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Post by H2H on Apr 9, 2017 13:41:57 GMT -5
oh yeah.. and I acquired 6 jars of my favorite coffee, on deep sale, so I grabbed them up quick and had to stop at just 6! somehow after all the medical issues my tastebuds changed and home brewed coffee is vile to me, so this brand of instant is my delight. (buying at a coffee shop is not, that tastes good! go figure) Useless natter of the day--- in the 60s marketing psychologists tested the introduction of instant coffee People interviewed were shown two grocery lists.....one had instant coffee along with 20 other items, the only difference in the 2nd list was a can of the regular brew stuff... in every case the "housewife" who planned to buy the instant list was seen as LESS caring than her counterpart, more willing to not clean, or make as good of meals for her family, be more "self interested"..etc. ALL because instant was seen as "***" they had to work around that. In a similar vein boxed cake mixes do not need a fresh egg..but when introduced they FAILED to sell ..because again psychologists learned that women saw that as 'not being a good cook'. they were doing NOTHING really....so "Betty Crocker" took out the egg component, and when women got to 'break a real egg' it was like 'giving birth', "contributing' to their family. _____________ Since i have never given birth, this is my "contribution" to society, passing on the cocktail conversation tidbits like Cliff Clavin, the postman from "Cheers" on TV.
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Post by lucie on Apr 10, 2017 8:38:35 GMT -5
Got two books free and bought a dish toy set for my nieces to play with while they are here.
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Post by angela on Apr 15, 2017 16:09:17 GMT -5
H2H, I had heard that tale about the egg and the cake mix but I hadn't heard that about instant coffee! I like my instant. I don't drink coffee regularly but once in while in the winter, I like to add just a bit to my hot chocolate and instant makes that easy. _______________ My acquisitions for yesterday: This Laundry Alternative hanging dryer, FREE! It is BRAND NEW in the box, sells online for $69! I am so excited... Here is a link: www.laundry-alternative.com/our-products/solaris-plus/Also purchased 3 plastic embroidery hoops, 35 cents each. All my old metal hoops had rusted. I kind of waffled between the plastic and old-fashioned wooden but thought the plastic is the better choice for usability and durability. And a woven, orange, mohair boucle' yarn throw. Not needed but yummy anyhow. I have become a blanket hoarder! $2 for this one.
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Post by angela on Apr 15, 2017 16:23:22 GMT -5
Oh and two clothing items I had forgotten to log:
A BRAND NEW turquoise corduroy blazer, 99 cents! I don't know how this nice garment kept getting passed over each week, all the way down to the lowest bargain price.
I had also forgotten to log a free clothing acquisition, a cowl neck knit cotton turtleneck in orange. So that batik fabric I bought last weekend matches the turquoise blazer and the turtleneck together and makes a lovely combination. Once I get the scarf sewn up I'll post a pic of it all on crafty bits.
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H2H
Banned
halfwaytohoarder gets rid of it all!
Joined: February 2017
Posts: 2,041
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Post by H2H on Apr 15, 2017 17:51:42 GMT -5
angela > I like to add just a bit to my hot chocolate and instant makes that easy. <haha i do the REVERSE..big cup of instant java, and 1 tbl scoop of fat free/sugar free Nestle..I pay extra for that version, so I can add my own Stevia, and real cocoa powder..I like my coffee chocolaty!!!
Today I stopped by the "elcheapo" grocery outlet ..senior day 5% off is Tues, but I keep missing deal day..so today (Sat) I spent $120. on some amazing deals..including a SHOVEL to replace the one the idiot yard/tree murders broke..and when I TOLD this to the clerk he said he does yard work and was I interested?..hahah who knows? could be a good guy to get stuff done.
OK I use Stevia liquid, and powder, when I can find it cheap there I get it!
I got 23 little BOTTLES (50 serving each) of liquid at .50 cent a bottle $11.50 for "1150" servings.
I just ran out of my 8oz BOTTLE stevia @ $35 has "1168" servings ..and hated spending more for another.. total of the .50 bottles cost was under 1/3 for the same amount liquid!! I bought every bottle they had!!
I got 10 boxes of 80 ea packets stevia powder for 1.99 ea. also a very good deal!
Also- fancy face cream I like @ 1/2 price, shampoo, melatonin, cat treats, popcorn, Kashi bars, and many other food items. best part of elcheapo is they have brand names in overstock..like $6. Hagen Daz ice cream for .99..so you can try a new flavor, and no big deal if you dont like it. people I know love the $1. "trial run" foods you can try..I go back and stock up the next day if I find something.
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Post by creativechaos on Apr 18, 2017 17:07:10 GMT -5
i got a "new" used scale at the thrift store for $4 that seems accurate - my old one weighed 15 lbs too LIGHT! i'm going out right now to put the old one in the dumpster!
and ooooooh, angela - how ever did you find that clothes dryer for FREE? that is so cool! and it'd be perfect for your minimalist living lifestyle. can't help but feel a bit envious of that since i have to share public washers and dryers and they so often wreck my clothes with all manner of bleach where i don't want it, stains where i don't want them, ETC. it's maddening. good score! also the turquoise blazer and orange turtleneck sound great for your capsule wardrobe; i'm sure you will make a beautiful scarf with that batik.
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Post by outfromundah on Apr 18, 2017 17:39:10 GMT -5
OMG! I've wanted one of those for a long time. They were out of stock for over a year (at both Amazon and Laundry Alt's) and before that, the price was $99. I'm glad to see the price has come down, but how did you get it for free - someone gifted it to you? I'm jealous! Enjoy!
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