Hello again.
Sorry I didn't write on Thursday. Some stuff happened and things got away from me. But we did go for a nice walk in the evening, so there is that.
On Friday, we also got out of the house and hit a couple of the thrift stores. I remember when the clothing at thrift stores was for people who did not make much money, and was priced accordingly. I cannot get past paying upwards of $15 for a shirt at Value Village, and even at the new Salvation Army store in Bedford, many shirts were $8 or $9. And they had no changing room, so you had to hope that they fit, because while they have a return policy, it is a crappy one, and time limited. I did not buy anything at the Sally Ann, but did find an Alpine Beer drinking stein for two dollars at the Value Village and got that. I did not buy any shirts at VV, either.
We ended up driving over to Bibles for Missions in Lower Sackville. The shirts I looked at were all $5 each. I ended up getting two of them, and because it was red tag day, and there were red price tags on those two shirts, I got them for 25% off, which made me very happy. I got two nice shirts for $8.53, taxes in. I wish they had been a couple of dollars cheaper yet again, but such is life.
I have promised Patricia to cull my shirt collection in the coming weeks. The shirt I am wearing, from Kirkland/Costco, I have had for quite a few years. The collar is becoming frayed, and so are the cuffs. It is a very comfy shirt and I will miss it, but the time is coming for its downgrade. I will strip off all the buttons and put them in a jar. I will cut up the shirt and use the strips for rags until such time as the rags are worn out, at which time I will throw the pieces into the trash. You understand.
There is a thrift store in the Valley that we may go to soon. They have periodic special days when an article of clothing is no more than a dollar. I can only imagine how hectic the store is on those days.
I know that people think I am a lousy cheap little so and so for doing this, shopping at thrift stores. I did it when I was working and pulling in a good salary. It bothers me on a fundamental level to pay full price for things like shirts, when there are many thrift stores nearby that have perfectly good shirts for significantly less.
I have purchased used clothing that I can find, but seldom purchased used shoes, and men typically wear their shoes down to a nub. When I need a new printer, I get it for as cheap as I an from a place like Value Village. I got a laser printer last year for five dollars, and it works great. Even has built in WIFI. I also acquired a Brother laser printer for ten dollars a few months ago. Just waiting for my Samsung laser printer to die so I can put it in to action. I got that in 2012 for $40, and it just keeps working.
Ditto for when I need a scanner. I favour the Canon Lide series, which get their power from a computer's usb port. The earlier ones in the series can be readily had for under ten dollars and "just work" out of the box when you run an OS like Linux Mint or Ubuntu. Maybe not the fastest scanner in the world, but I don't use a scanner that frequently and am not in that big a rush.
I also buy used computers. I have ranted about the word "refurbished" before, but when you buy a used computer from a reputable dealer, you are in theory buying a good machine from someone whose reputation would be besmirched if they sold someone a crappy machine. In theory. I have been burned by one dealer in the Valley, and I will never give him my business again.
I got this Dell All-In-One this Spring and I love it. Built-in speakers and webcam. More usb ports than I really need, but I use them anyway. A legacy ps/2 port, so this wonderful 1989 vintage Model M keyboard I picked up a few years ago for fifty cents at a thrift store makes typing on this computer a joy. I know if I were still working it may not do the trick; but I am retired from that job and this machine is perfectly good for what I need it for. Plus, I can hook up an external monitor to it, and do. The monitor and cable were already here and cost me nothing to hook up. It is just grand.
In the morning we have some plans. I am just not sure if we will do them or not. Remains to be seen.
I will tell you about them tomorrow.
See you then.
Bevboy
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