Friday March 24, 2017
Today
I was happy because I got out of work an hour early (my boss had to take our
server down, so they let everyone leave early), and it was absolutely gorgeous
outside – around 70 degrees and sunny (though a bit breezy).
Karen
picked me up a couple hours later so we could attend Foodie Friday at Giant
Eagle. This was a belated Birthday present which I believe I had suggested to
her after I attended a couple weeks ago. Not only did she pay for my admission
to it, but also bought me a bottle of wine, so she was very generous.
Not
sure what the theme was this week, but I think it was Italian judging from the
pizza, pasta, and gelato we had at three of the six stations (the others were
cheese/crackers, asparagus and something with chicken).
Like
when Andrew and I attended, we too did our weekly shopping. I only had about
three things on the list, but just winged it. I think I got enough supplies to
feed us for at least the next week or so. We finished off the evening with a
bowl of broccoli/potato soup.
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| Cheers darling! |
All
in all a fun evening, and there was music this time. I don’t seem to recall
that from last time, but maybe there was. Hopefully Andrew will take me again
some time after Easter.
Saturday March 25, 2017
This
morning after I finished decorating for Laetare Sunday, and got my chores done
at home, Andrew and I headed to Grandview for lunch and an errand.
I suggested
we eat at Sweet Carrot (www.sweetcarrot.com), a somewhat newish restaurant
situated in what used to be Riffe’s Market on the corner of 5th
& Grandview Avenues. They specialize in barbecue and other American comfort
foods. Andrew ordered his sandwich (pulled pork?) which was served on a slab of
cornbread, whereas mine (chicken meatballs) was on some sort of a roll topped with a non-traditional slaw. Next time I hope to try the Carrot
Tomato soup (but it really wasn’t soup weather today). Since it was so warm we
ate at a table outside, and it wasn’t too breezy, so that was nice.
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| The one on the right is Andrew's meal. |
After
leaving there we drove over to World of Used Photography so I could sell three
boxes of cameras and camera paraphernalia I had after thinning out my
collection a little bit. The proprietor was really pleased with the selection I
brought in, even noting there was one camera he had never even seen before
(probably the 3-D one I used on our honeymoon).
Shortly
after he had looked through the boxes he asked me to name a figure I had in
mind. I wasn’t prepared for this since usually stores where you bring in items
to sell they dictate a figure to you – take it or leave it. Also, I am used to
be low-balled (Half Price Books I’m talking to you!), so I really didn’t know
what to say. I conferred with Andrew who did a little research by seeing what
prices they were asking on similar cameras to get some idea. We still had no
idea what to say, so we asked the proprietor, who seemed quite eager to have my
collection, just to tell us what his figure was. When he said $140 for the
three boxes I was absolutely gobsmacked because my figure was only a tiny fraction
of that (but I don’t think the proprietor would have only given me that and let
me walk out a sucker). I happily accepted figuring it would just be greedy to
bargain any further. I really wanted rid of the cameras and would have given
him whatever he didn’t want to pay for just to save me taking them to Goodwill.
Andrew
and I wandered around and checked out the stock, but nothing really grabbed me
as a must-have, though there were some cameras I was 50/50 on. Andrew lucked out and
found a fisheye lens he can mount on his Lumix, so we purchased that, and then
pocketed the $30 difference. Even though I didn’t buy anything, I was glad
Andrew found something useful. I told the proprietor I would be back with more
stuff next time (like that huge unwieldy screen we bought off of Craig’s List
that’s just too big for us to want to bother with). I would prefer to have
something a lot smaller and lighter.
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| a photo of Andrew's bookshelf taken with the fisheye lens |
Shortly
after I got home I grabbed a couple boxes of miscellaneous items, a bag of
pillows and a rolling laptop case and went to New Uses to see if I could sell
them. After I had set the last item on the counter one of the assistants immediately
started removing things from my boxes putting them in one of their black
plastic bins. There were only 4 items they said no to right off the bat (2
candlesticks and 2 small globes from World Market). They said they would text
me when they were done, so I took the empty boxes and refused items back to the
car and then did a bit of shopping while I waited, and waited, and waited, and
waited. At one point I decided to just purchase the items I wanted so I didn’t
have to keep track of them any longer. They still weren’t done at this point,
but I kept getting periodic updates from one of the assistants. Finally around
5:15 pm (about 90 min after I arrived) they were all done. At this point I was
definitely hoping for a good offer and would definitely have been angry if I
had been given a pittance, but I was offered $40, so I was quite happy with
that, and just barely made it to church on time afterwards.
Sunday March 26, 2017
Friday
night Karen invited us over for Sunday brunch so she could make me a stack of
Nutella pancakes. We never refuse an offer of a free meal, so syrup in hand we set
off for Karen’s. I felt honored that Karen brought out the bottle of Champagne
she was saving for Wed Mimosas, so we had that with our pancakes. Karen also
fried some potatoes and bacon and served some yogurt and granola along with
crackers (purchased from Giant Eagle on Fri) and cheese. All told I think I ate
8 medium sized pancakes, along with several of her side dishes (minus the bacon
and potatoes) and still feel stuffed to the gills. I’m definitely good to go
until dinner now! Thanks for your hospitality Karen!
I
then spent the rest of the afternoon sorting my stuff in the basement which had
since gotten a bit disorganized as I kept dumping things there while going through items
in my spare bedroom. After putting things in separate piles throughout the
basement I ended up taking three boxes of stuff to Goodwill and returned some
empty storage bins to Target. I also moved empty boxes (some of which will get
used for my bread run next Sat) up to our den. All total I probably spent about
four hours down in the basement. By the time I emerged the sun had come out
(and then gone again while we ate dinner). I still have plenty of items to sell
(and a few to give away), but at least I can see the floor again,
Well,
that’s all my news from the weekend. I hope you all have a great week!
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