Salvation Army Mecca :)

I went to visit my sister up in Northern California's beautiful wine country over the summer, and took the opportunity to go to a dream destination of mine, the Salvation Army mega-store commune in Healdsburg.

If you're interested in going, here's the address and phone number. It's right off the freeway and easy to find.

200 Lytton Springs Road
Healdsburg, CA 95448
(707) 433-7404

I think I went at the worst possible time in the week, late on a Saturday afternoon. Everything had been picked through, and I didn't find anything outside in the hard-scrabble bins. I enjoyed the experience, however, and also enjoyed providing the women-starved men of the rehab center a little eye candy. I got so many offers of help, I started to avoid anyone who smiled at me.

There were several stores, but no real deals. Again, I went on the worst possible day, but I was surprised to see how expensive everything was. I might be spoiled with cheap thrift. It seemed like a good place to get furniture and appliances.

There are plenty of people to help you load your purchases should you wish to get some larger items and can't lift them by yourself.

Maybe I was tired, but the furniture just bored me. I drove about four hours to get here and there was a ton of traffic because I took a wrong turn and there was no way to turn around.

It was fun to treat it like a field trip and take pictures of all the stuff. Although there were some tools, this was definitely not a destination for outdoorsy mechanical things.

It was also really hot in July. Perhaps that's why there aren't a lot of people in the outdoor photos. The stores were all full of people. I felt crowded. There wasn't a lot of walking space. This makes sense given that the property was so large and the buildings were so small.

I could tell that stuff sat in the sun if it didn't sell, so it looked like old garage sale rejects in some places. The broken stuff was depressing to me.

There was some interesting original art.

I loved this painting, but didn't feel like I could spend any money on it.

Some stuff seemed really expensive for being at a thrift store. I don't know if they had any additional online selling or marketing going on.

This place was a barn that had all the clothes in it. It seemed like the most familiar place to me. This was the only location where I bought anything. Because of the gas to get there, I was trying to be really  cautious in any spending. I bought a large framed Picasso poster, which currently sits in my store. I also bought a suede Fossil bag that has sold fairly quickly. I really like the selection in this particular store and spent the most time in there.

Questions? I'd love to add more to this post :)

Salvation Army fun :)

I thrifted today for several hours. I woke up, got myself together, and got out the door. I had several packages to drop off at the post office, then got some pan dulce for a ridiculous $1.20. One of the stores smelled a little ripe, so I was hesitant to hang around too long. Smells mess me up. I can't handle bad smells. I spent a week at a landfill in Mexico when I was a kid, and I'll never forget it.

I wanted to see some jewelry at the Salvation Army, so I asked the lady next to me if I could look in front of her. She was a large woman, and she and her cart were blocking the whole case. Also, she isn't looking at anything. She's just standing there. So I ask politely, she replies "yes", and returns to staring blankly straight ahead. "Hm, okay", I say, and walk away. "I'm looking!", she shouts. Really, I didn't have it in me to deal with that kind of crazy this morning. I almost cried when I saw a guy, and I was trying pretty hard to act normal.

Last week, at another Salvation Army across town, there were two men in a dressing room at the front of the store. It was early in the morning, but no employees were around. One man was trying on clothing and the other man was making commentary. The door was wide open. An employee walked the thirty yards from the back of the store straight to the man and said, "Sir, you need to close the door." He didn't. "You need to close the door right now." He did. I tried to smile at her, but she's not much of a connector with customers.

Final winner of the week is the eighty-year-old woman trying on a string bikini over her clothing in the aisles at the first Salvation Army. I wished I could have documented that moment and then asked her for an interview. No shame.

Makin' pancakes.

I guess I tend to blog when I'm trying to figure out some big thing in my life. Perhaps when things are good, I avoid overanalyzing. Perhaps things are good because I'm not overanalyzing. Touché.

All the Salvation Armies had "half off everything" sales yesterday, so naturally, I bought a ridiculously expensive camera and am attempting to sell it. Girl's gotta eat yo.

Speaking of eating, I am still eating several burritos daily weekly, but have now been cooking in my new kitchen on a somewhat regular basis. It's hard to get used to having a kitchen. Someone gave me a cookbook for Christmas, and I had the thought, "Does this mean something because you've never actually seen me cook, and I have no food in my fridge?" Asking myself that question was some sort of  necessary therapy, and I'm happy to say that I ate pancakes for dinner this evening.

Last night I listened to Merle Haggard and Waylon Jennings records, whilst listening to someone wax philosophical about the meaning of old school country music. I think at some point there was also dancing, so yeah, life is good :)

Bag o' bling: Part 1 :)

Six pound bag of jewelry from Salvation Army :)

On Monday, I went out to thrift just a little bit, because I didn't want to leave the dog alone for long, and it was a holiday so not all of the stores were open. Salvation Army had a 50% off all clothing sale, but I didn't buy any clothing. I bought some art and this here bag of jewelry.

Now Salvation Army employees are my favorite. They work really hard, and so many of them have told me how much they appreciate their jobs. Sometimes they recognize me and are a little too friendly, but this is not the norm. So Monday, I got in the only line available. All of the employees were taking the day to clean the entire store, so the only line available was with someone who I'd never seen before, selling fifty hardcover books to a well-dressed woman who appeared to be purchasing books for a model home or something.

Now the cashier was slow with the books. All she really had to do was count them, but for some reason she was ringing them up one at a time. The customer was being super patient too. Off to the side was a man with a scraped-up face, who smelled like cigarettes and looked like he may have been drinking. But he was smiling and not bothering anyone, just patiently waiting to buy a new shirt. So I got behind book lady, and the cashier starts to have an anxiety surge of some kind. She turns to face scrape man and says, "The line is over there!" and points to me. She says it several times because he doesn't move very quickly. He doesn't want to crowd model home woman, so he stands off to the side. The cashier starts yelling at him, "That's not the line! This is the line!" and points to me (we're dealing with a very small space, there are carts involved, and clothing racks in the way). I tried to be calm and encouraging to her. The guy was doing his best and not being a nuisance, but she was clearly disturbed by his face and smell and couldn't get over her fear of him. They reached some sort of detente when he started to get frustrated by her ridiculous demands, and she went back to the books.

In the middle of all of this, and a line of three people behind model home woman, a manager came over to get something and said, "Let me know if you need any help, k hon?" The cashier is in so much distress at this point that she can't even respond, and the manager walks away. Face scrape man yells "She needs help!" He rushes over to the manager, points to the cashier, and repeats, "She needs help!"

All three of us in line moved across the store to the other register. When I left, the cashier was still ringing up the books.

Please take a moment to read the most recent news about Syria, and consider making a donation to MCC, currently providing direct aid to Syrian refugees.

Goodwill outlet!!!!

Painted fabric - Someday a quilted wall hanging

Last week I traveled to the coast with a friend. My friend had a conference to attend, and I had an ocean to look at from our hotel room. I've been so worn down that I had trouble figuring out what to do with myself with all kinds of free time, so I did a lot of puzzles in the newspaper, and walked on the beach. I'm finding lots of enjoyment lately in crosswords and sudokus. I'm a simple gal.

The first night, I wandered around a super cool vegan-friendly grocery store, looking for dinner, only to realize that our hotel room's sole cooking device was a microwave, so I got some tacos nearby instead. I'd never had vegan tacos before (with grilled veggies). They were just okay.

Vera Marai Nightgown

The next day, I woke up to a wonderfully bright sunny day with the ocean steadily crashing on the beach far down below us. There were a lot of gulls of various sizes near the hotel. I imagine they were flying around. Some of them made crazy weird noises around sundown. I lived with howling monkeys. If there were a contest between groups of animals for weird nighttime noises, the gulls definitely wouldn't win, but they'd have a decent showing.

Anyhow, after I did some newspaper puzzles (all whilst watching Law & Order), I decided that the thing that I would actually enjoy doing would be to go thrifting. So I got out the phone book and made a plan. Obviously there weren't descriptions, so I just had to go off names. I really wanted to dig, so I looked for really dirty places. I don't know what sounds especially dig-worthy in a thrift store moniker, but I suppose I knew it when I saw it.

Pflatzgraff Norway - Cruiseline pottery

The first store I went to was a fund-raising store for the Catholic school in town, staffed with who appeared to be mothers of students. It was trying to be boutiquey, but it didn't have the je ne sais quoi that I'm always looking for. I like people who just go for it. If they're a place for digging, they own it. If it's a place that's trying to be antiquey and appeal to a higher class of customer, they own it. Anything in between is unappealing to me. I'm picky that way. I know when someone is being authentic. I'm brilliant that way.

I don't know why I picked a Goodwill store to put on my list of three (the maximum number I was willing to travel to in a strange city before needing to return to home base and eat lunch). But after the first store, I wasn't feeling hopeful. All of the Goodwills in my city are whitewashed and boring. I go when I need a fix, perhaps like Diet Coke addicts with a generic brand. But I've heard, in online thrifting lore, that not all Goodwills are like this, that there may be different ones out there, so I was willing to look.

Old football trophy - Sadly unmarked :(

It was a strange "suite" address, so I wasn't sure what I would be looking for. I drove around a large shopping area looking for it, only to drive away after a single lap. Even though it didn't look like any retail stores were beyond that particular area, I trusted my trusty address/map discernment earlier in the morning, and turned towards the questionable industrial section.

After a quarter mile or so, there were a bunch of people milling about a particular parking lot. There were some construction workers, yes, but there also appeared to be some non-working folk. Suddenly, I saw it. The Goodwill Outlet sign. I may have screamed or cried out some version of "Hooray!"

For the hydroponic gardener in us all...

After parking, I was cautious. What does one do at a thrift outlet? Are there cultural norms? Should I have a box with me? Gloves? Hand sanitizer? What if there are no helpful signs? What will I do?!

Old Speed Ball Font Book from 1952

Well, as all carbon-based life forms have found (I think), I looked around to see what other people were doing, and I did likewise. It didn't feel like what I expected it to feel like. It was smaller than I had imagined. But as I began looking, and digging, it hit me that I could find any number of things, that I would really get to "find" things. It was a fun hour.

There were clearly regulars. Who knows what people do with all of the things they buy there. The woman in front of me at the cash register bought $180 worth of stuff. I paid $8. The load was as much as I could carry, and food needed to be in my near future. The guy at the register (totally cute), weighed the clothing that I had, but charged me for the other items individually.

It was a dirty venture. If I'd known where I'd end up, I'd have better tools in my car. I don't like to use "antibacterial" products in general, but I appreciate water-free-hands-cleaning post-thrifting. I need to get on that. Maybe I need a car toolbox. I know. I know. This is old hat for most people, but I'm a bit bad on the planning side, so I'm slow to plan ahead. But after it was all over, I was so happy and warm and fuzzy. I felt like I'd gotten a cosmic gift, just for me. And now I want more outlet adventures! I'll let you know...

My weird perspective :)

Vintage large round light blue eyeglasses from "Mainstreet"

Location: Salvation Army
Time: Yesterday afternoon

I am in line behind a woman purchasing three San Francisco Giants souvenir baseball bats in orange and black. The cashier bags the bats, and the woman says, "Thanks for the bats. I like to take these on my walks", then walks out the door with her purchases.

Wait...what?!

As the cashier bags my mug, and I hand her my 50 cents, I say quietly, "What is she doing on these walks that she needs a bat?" The cashier and her manager stare at me strangely. "I mean, what does she need to hit with a bat?"

The two women look at eachother and start cracking up. The cashier says to me, "Bags! She said bags! She likes to take bags on her walks! What's wrong with you [smiling]? Get out of here! Stop spreading rumors!"

I laughed at myself for the next five minutes :)