Saturday, March 28, 2009

Sigh of Relief

Josh brought home the perfect table yesterday from a thrift store down on 51st and Peoria. It is simply named "Thrift Store" with no apparent ties to those crazy stores that charge ridiculous prices. It sits next to a store whose name is equally clever: "Affordable." Just "Affordable," no nouns, just the adjective. Visiting it on Thursday proved the items therein, however, were not affordable. So, feeling lied to, we continued on to Thrift Store where we found our table for the desired price of $15.
The perfect table, by way of one small drawer, turned out to be the perfect desk. It still suits our purposes precisely, and is now on the back porch being covered in snow.

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Indignant Rants Require Many Italics

1. You're a thrift store 2. You're in Oklahoma Who in the world said it was okay to sell furniture at outrageous prices?! Who goes to the Salvation Army prepared to buy a $500 sofa?!

We're looking for a table for our back porch. We want to spend no more than $15. If we were in Oregon, this would not be a problem. Used items are reasonably priced in Oregon. You can buy a full-sized table that seats six from the Goodwill on TV Highway for $15 and go home happy. But nooooooo, not here because for some reason Oklahomans think their crap is gold. There was a table that was no more than 3 feet in diameter at the HOW Thrift Store and it did not have a price tag. This table was not real wood. It had white painted legs that are now mostly brown because somebody had smeared them with poop (maybe it was dirt). It had a couple scratches on top and was complete with the occasional crayon swirl. I asked the clerk, "How much for that table?" He looked at it for a second and said, "I'd take $50 for it." I'm pretty sure I laughed in his face. I had seen the very same table, minus the poop and crayon, for $40 at an antique store already today. I wouldn't pay $40 for the nice one, I surely won't pay $50 for the poopy one. I can get a new table from IKEA for less than that. I told him I would give him $15 and he declined. So Josh and I talked loudly about how overpriced it was for a minute before continuing on our way.
Next we went to the Salvation Army (the one with the $500 sofa in the front). They had a table that would maybe seat 2. It was once painted, but most of the paint had worn off. It was marked $100. ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS.

These are thrift stores, people. This is Oklahoma. Who do you think you are? Seriously.

Saturday, March 7, 2009

*Sigh* I guess I'll be productive instead

We had a brilliant plan yesterday. The weather was perfect, and I took the afternoon off so we could head down to Lawton to go minimalist backpacking with our friends. We were on our way to meet them when one by one they all backed out. To be fair, where we planned to camp was not exactly legal, and being caught is accompanied by hefty fines.
We still had perfect weather, and the time to do something, so we made a backup plan. Again, they all declined. So we took our sorry selves home, made plans to leave in the morning (just the two of us), and took our dog to the vet. Turns out her upper respiratory infection is allergies. Did you know you can just give your dog Benadryl?
Well, we woke up to 20mph winds today. Winds that will continue all day and bring thunderstorms. I just want to go backpacking. Stupid Oklahoma.