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But that's my rural island. I suppose St. Thomas is rife with shopping opportunities, but I've only been there to visit my friends in their home, never went shopping (thank goodness!)
I'm not sure if I equate yard saling as shopping, really. It's more of a going out into the world to see what's going to follow us home and chat with folks we haven't met before as well as wander around in neighborhoods we wouldn't otherwise go to.
Yeah, I think you're onto something there. I practically never visited yard sales on the mainland, and I don't seek them out in Hawai'i the way some do, and anyways, I just don't need a lot of stuff anymore. And honestly, I HATE shopping. But in Hawai'i yard sales are part of the fabric, as much about talking story as they are about buying and selling. And sometimes I find something that I've kinda sorta wanted but never enough to go SHOPPING for, and hey, I'm almost never in a hurry anyway.
Ah, if the original stuff is from K-Mart and online, once it has been used it isn't likely to be the good sort of stuff one hopes to find at yard sales. We get a lot of folks bringing high end stuff with them and getting more high end stuff from the boutiques and such. Those are the garage sales we want to go to. Also, at a yard sale, a lot of the stuff has already been pre-selected for our area which makes it more likely to be useful if it is still in good condition. No need for windshield ice scrapers or hummingbird feeders even though you can buy them at Wal-Mart here.
Do you know which part of the island you will be on, yet, DebbyDiver? Maybe there are some of the fun farmer's markets near where you will be living. Maybe by this time next year, you'll enjoy the acquisition of things. It might just be a bar of soap, but at a farmer's market you can meet the person who made it.
We're moving near Hilo and I actually do enjoy Farmer's Markets and won't be far from the big Hilo one. Funny how I don't consider that to be shopping, I go to one near my home here for the incredibly fresh local produce and herbs and baked goods and jelly nuts.
Stuff from boutiques or whatever (whether bought retail or in someone's driveway) is what I call "stuff I gotta dust" and it's also "stuff I gotta move" when we're off on our next adventure (spouse is a ship's captain). I still manage to acquire things like that from generous friends and I'm totally into regifting.
I wonder if this "get rid of your clothing and heater so that you'll have to spend lots of time replacing it" tangent is helping our original poster.
New in the box Kitchenaid mixer?! Whoohoo! Great score!
Thenkew, thenkew! <taking a bow>
Quote:
Originally Posted by hotzcatz
If you ever find a spare macaroni maker attachment for a KA mixer, buy it for me and I'll pay you for it. (At garage sale prices, of course.) I've found a KA noodle maker, but it only rolls out and cuts the noodles, doesn't make the different shapes of macaroni.
So noted.
Quote:
Originally Posted by hotzcatz
The macaroni maker which was an addition to the meat grinder attachment isn't made anymore and Macy's doesn't carry the new (and much more expensive) KA macaroni maker attachment.
I know exactly what you mean. A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away I was a top housewares salesman for Bloomingdales, the snootier sibling of Macy's, and I still know that stuff inside out.
Quote:
Originally Posted by hotzcatz
Which area do you garage sale at, OpenD? Up around Volcano? We are usually along the coast or up in Waimea. If there's anything in particular you are looking for, let us know and we will keep an eye out for it.
Some in Volcano, yes, but some in Puna, some in Hilo, wherever I might be. Like I said, I don't really seek them out, but if I'm out wandering and I happen to see a sign, sometimes I go see what's up. Mostly I just talk story. Sometime I find something exceptional. And often I resist the urge to buy something exceptional that I find, just to keep my life simple.
I did find a sweet little mahogany Kamaka ukulele once, an old one, from before Junior took over the business and they changed the logo, and I figured they were asking maybe 1/3 of what it was worth, and probably would go lower. But I already have a koa Kamaka uke I love, and I never want to get back into "acquisition" mode again, so I passed on it. Called a couple of friends first to see if any of them wanted it, but nooo, so I declined. Haven't thought about it again until this moment.
The most exceptional find I passed on was down near the bay in Hilo. I saw some stuff behind a fence with a sign out front with a phone number on it. There were a couple of garden tools I could use so I called the number, and the lady came out from the building in back, and I looked around and we talked story. She and her husband had tried farming, a pretty serious try at it, and had given up and moved back into town and were working their way through a mountain of supplies and tools and stuff from the farm. And before that, as so many fascinating island stories go, her husband was in the film business. Now they run a little hotel and he does some construction, when he can find it.
I got a couple of nice strawberry planters from her for a few bucks, and 150' of heavy chain. And when I looked at a case that was off to one side, a kind of shipping case that seemed full of junk but that I thought might be useful for tools, she said it was her husband's and after checking with him told me I could have it for $40. But while she was checking I poked through the junk and found a Swiss made Nagra sound recorder in it, an older model but still worth thousands, and I told her to please take it to him and have him list it on eBay or something else sensible.
She did, and I guess he did, and every once in a while I see her around when I get down to the Hilo Farmers Market and she always waves and smiles.
Come to think of it, we do need to do a little shopping when we arrive. We'll be needing two 18- or 21-speed hybrid bicycles, and we want to add a Ukulele or two to our musical instrument repertoire. I just can't think of anything else we'll be lacking.
I did find a sweet little mahogany Kamaka ukulele once, an old one, from before Junior took over the business and they changed the logo, and I figured they were asking maybe 1/3 of what it was worth, and probably would go lower. But I already have a koa Kamaka uke I love, and I never want to get back into "acquisition" mode again, so I passed on it. Called a couple of friends first to see if any of them wanted it, but nooo, so I declined. Haven't thought about it again until this moment.
Granted this was Portland Oregon in 1995. But, living there for a year, I randomly came across a little old Parlor Guitar. It was fairly damaged and just unplayable. I bought it for $5.
I paid someone else $20 to fix the neck and get it so it would stay in tune for a couple minutes. They did that, but it didn't seem much more worth it than that.
Than I tried to sell it in the newspapers for $100. I sold it immediately to the first caller who was anxious to get it right away. Than I got about 25 more calls that day.
Incidentally, I also had another guitar I was selling, just normal one, it had 0 calls, and I was selling it for way under what it was worth.
Anyways, to this day, I often wonder if I could have sold that Parlor Guitar for significantly more than I did. The ironic thing is it played okay for the entire 5 minutes the guy played it before purchasing it. But, before that, it was fairly out-of-tune, all the time.
Anyways, to this day, I often wonder if I could have sold that Parlor Guitar for significantly more than I did.
Probably, but I won't ruin your evening by mentioning how many thousands it might possibly have been worth. I'm just too nice a human being to do that to another human being. I hope you appreciate my restraint.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tiger Beer
The ironic thing is it played okay for the entire 5 minutes the guy played it before purchasing it. But, before that, it was fairly out-of-tune, all the time.
And that, my friend, was a true musician.
Funny thing is, renowned rock guitarist Jack Black famously seeks out funky old guitars that are hard to play, because he says that fighting with them is energizing and inspiring to him.
Probably, but I won't ruin your evening by mentioning how many thousands it might possibly have been worth. I'm just too nice a human being to do that to another human being. I hope you appreciate my restraint.
And that, my friend, was a true musician.
Funny thing is, renowned rock guitarist Jack Black famously seeks out funky old guitars that are hard to play, because he says that fighting with them is energizing and inspiring to him.
Jack White
Although I'm a big fan of Jack Black too
I loved that documentary with Jack White with The Edge and Jimmy Page. He really held his own, in a major way. Jimmy Page is just massive to me, for guitarists. I've never been a big Edge fan, but Jack White, wow! He quickly went up a few notched in my book immediately after that. He's already up there as it is. Just such a natural.
I got the holes in my brain the old fashioned way. I EARNED them!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tiger Beer
Although I'm a big fan of Jack Black too
I like him too, but come on... his Tenacious D thing is such an obvious rip off of MY online identity...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tiger Beer
I loved that documentary with Jack White with The Edge and Jimmy Page. He really held his own, in a major way. Jimmy Page is just massive to me, for guitarists. I've never been a big Edge fan, but Jack White, wow! He quickly went up a few notched in my book immediately after that. He's already up there as it is. Just such a natural.
Yeah, "This Might Get Loud," ditto, and I saw a lengthy piece about him on maybe PBS? And it cemented it for me. Very unpretentious, very talented, solid.
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