One man's trash and all that....

Of course, moves mean one has to restock some essentials. For example, when we moved to Guadalajara Kraig and I sold our bedroom set. It made more sense than storing it, and considering that it had been a free hand-me-down we had no deep attachments to it. And then there were things that weren't worth hauling across the country because it was--presumably--cheaper to buy a new or used thing here.

But moves mean a lot of expenses, and suddenly all that extra cash we thought we had (well, not really, but the thought was nice) wasn't there. So "essentials" get prioritized and garage sales become the new pastime, and the new bedroom set is on the wait list. At least we have a bed! Last weekend an acquaintance put us on to an annual flea market that runs along miles of a highway that cuts through Longview and a few of the other towns east and west of us. Kraig headed out to see what he could see and not only found an old lawn mower, but also a hedge trimmer, air compressor, and functional bikes for the kids. I've mentioned the mattress/boxspring set we stumbled on, and yesterday we hit a sale where we found an amazing skill saw for just the price Kraig was looking for.

One of the new-to-us chairs

Today, though, I succumbed to the beauty of a table with four straight back chairs. The chairs were something I've been wanting and felt were high on the essentials list, and I figured we could make use of the table. I thought the price was great, and Kraig reluctantly agreed.... It wasn't as high on his essentials list. Unfortunately the base of the table needs some work to get shipshape, and I've felt a bit guilty as Kraig has pointed out the various and sundries he'll have to fix now (adding to the many other fix-its). But I don't feel that guilty, because now when we have more than two people over for a meal we can put them in real chairs that are similar to our beloved straight-backs, the hand-me-downs from my grandmother and great-grandmother. Real chairs rather than folding chairs. I'll take that over an air-compressor any day.



I guess treasure is all about perspective.

Our table and chairs, waiting for guests :)