Where have all the junk stores gone?

(long time passing.... sorry, got distracted there)

As the child of two pack-rats, I inherited their habit of never passing up a yard sale or second-hand store. My favourite stores were always the ones where you never quite knew what you might find and where the hunt was part of the fun: rummaging through bins and baskets; lifting up one piece of junk to reveal whatever was hiding underneath; finding the perfect teacup and then finding the matching saucer three shelves over. Sometimes you left with a treasure, more often with nothing more than the thrill of participating in urban archeology, building stories for "who owned this stuff?" as you go.

In more recent years, the thrift store circuit has become more popular. It may have started with hipsters but now, "in these difficult economic times" (ACK!), I'm hard pressed to find anyone who hasn't at least wandered through the aisles of a thrift/second-hand store or pawn shop, etc.

Over the same time, thrift stores started getting picky about what they would accept -- for example, I don't think there is a single store in Victoria that will accept used sofa beds, even in pristine condition, despite the fact that there are many people who would be happy to have a spare bed. (Hence the rise in Freecycle and postings on UsedVictoria and Craigslist for free items.) The stores also started to de-clutter, adding better retail shelving and displays, putting aside the "good stuff" in an area close to the service desk, and ditching the bins-of-bits sorting method.

The most recent example of this is Re-Store here in Victoria. Re-Store is a second-hand store that focuses on the home-renovation market and supports Habitat for Humanity. When it opened, I was in heaven -- aisle after aisle of hard to find hardware; replacement doors, windows, cabinets and lighting from every imaginable era; all manner of funky plumbing fixtures; flooring; and a huge supply of paint. Last year, they closed up the Douglas Street location and moved out to a warehouse in Langford. Today was the first time we had a chance to investigate the new location and I was very, very disappointed.

I got a little worried when I read all the things they are "not currently accepting" but I thought perhaps they just had too many of those items. However, instead of overflowing we found the shelves to be well organized, the aisles wide, and the selection.... thin. Sure, if you were looking for cabinet doors, bathroom sinks, or paint you would be in luck. But, where the old location had shelf after shelf of used lighting fixtures, there was a pallet loaded with what looked like contractor returns. Where before there was a wall full of bathroom fixtures (faucets, towel racks, even bins full of washers and those chains that hold plugs) the new location had one small area on one shelf dedicated to the same items. Even the one thing we most wanted to grab, a mid-size single pane window (to build a seed-starting greenhouse) was nowhere to be found because they only accept and sell double-pane windows now.

Needless to say, we left empty-handed.

The photo at the top was taken last October at a junk shop in Sooke. That place had all the junk you could ever want to find -- from huge satellite dishes to 1980s era microwaves to a mountain of Coleman camping stoves to bins full of every size wrench ever made. Stuff was packed floor to ceiling in a huge warehouse with more stuff out back. It was amazing and maybe that's where we will have to go to get the junk we need.

Vintage craft bonanza

My Mother in Law came over this morning for breakfast (mmmmm, home made eggs benedict with panfries made with fresh-from-the garden potatoes and herbs, thanks Hubby). The plan for the day was supposed to be the Moss Street Paint-in but Hubby and I are sissies when it comes to the stuffy weather (turns out there was a nice breeze most of the day and it would likely have been fine) so after talking it over with the others we all decided to hit up yard sales instead.

We got some great stuff.... a new game table (folding card table with a handmade top that includes a chess/checker board), a slot car race set for Kiddo, some movies, and other odds and ends.

But, the best find of all was an armload of Tri-Chem Liquid Embroidery stuff from the seventies. Included were two carry-cases, loads of paints, two catalogs from 1973, canvases (most untouched, a few completed, some with instructions) and some maintenance tools and instructions.

All for a buck.

The best thing was a blank green "velvet" canvas printed with a pattern that looked familiar -- a flower arrangement in a copper teapot (similar to the daisies above). I couldn't get a good photo of the canvas and it didn't come with instructions but it doesn't matter; I have another that my Mother completed back in the day. All in all, even if I never use the paint, it was totally worth the trip down memory lane. I have also added the catalogs to my mental "to be scanned" pile.

And, just in case you were curious, Tri-Chem has been made since 1948 and is still available.

A day out

swanlake_crossing
Originally uploaded by triviaqueen

Spent the day out and about. This morning, took Dad and Kiddo out to Sally Ann (found a TON of stuff, much of it half off, so I spent under $20) then lunch (Kelsey's) and grocery shopping.

After returning Dad to his place, Kiddo and I went out to Swan Lake, despite the cloudy skies. As you can see in the photo, the clouds did part somewhat and we mostly avoided rain. I think today may have been the first time I have actually walked across the lake on the floating boardwalk -- generally that thing freaks me out. However, it was interesting to watch the swallows flying low over the algae-covered surface to feed on mosquitoes. Other than the swallows and a few ducks, we saw a hummingbird and a garter snake, but not much else. Still, it was nice to wander around along the trails.

Tonight, I plan to make use of some of the craft supplies I bought at Sally Ann... I feel the need to create something... maybe cards...

Photography, books, and good food.

First of all, some Happy Mothers' Day wishes to all the maternal parents in the audience.

This morning, Hubby made me savory stuffed french toast at my request (mmMMMmm) and I'll be going out to the Keg for dinner this evening for dinner. Until then, I plan to have a hang day, doing very little.

This weekend has been all about hanging, actually. I had Friday off and it was the first flex day in a while where I had nothing really planned. I took Kiddo to school (on the bus, which makes her very happy) then went into town.

I wandered around the waterfront taking photos before starting my shopping wanders. I was happy to get a pretty good photo of the Johnson Street bridge in action, from the parking lot beside the Janion hotel.

My shopping day included visits to Sally Ann (found a copy of Dark is Rising (which I've never read) for a buck plus a bag of rick-rack), Solstice Cafe (for Kicking Horse coffee!), BeadWorld (beads, of course), Capitol Iron (hardware supplies), and Value Village (big bag of buttons and some kids' books).

Had lunch with a co-worker, took a few more photos in town, went to the Market on Yates for dinner ingredients, then hopped on a bus home. I was happy to be using the bus on Friday because I am pretty sure every road crew in the CRD was out working -- road work, sewers, utilities, you name it -- tearing up the road and blocking traffic all over the city.

Saturday, we went to the GVPL Friends of the Library book sale -- billed as the "biggest ever" I think they may have exaggerated, but it was big. For the past few years they have been having more frequent, small sales in the meeting room of one of the branch libraries. I went to one in that location and swore I would not go to others because it felt like being led like cattle through a series of gates. There was no room to really browse (elbows everywhere) and little choice.

For this sale, though, the Friends of the Library rented space at the Archie Browning Centre in Esquimalt. There were no lines to get in and dozens of tables overflowing with discarded and donated books. I picked up a half dozen books ranging from cookbooks to graphic novels; adding in Kiddo's and Hubby's choices the total came to an amazingly affordable $14.50. My favourite find of the day is probably Little Lit: Strange Stories for Strange Kids. I got another one in the series a while back -- paying full price -- so a buck for this book was a fantastic bargain.

After the sale, we stopped in to John's Noodle Village on Bay Street. I had low expectations for what looks like a hole in the wall but I think we found the best ginger fried beef in the city! The other foodie treat I got yesterday was a yummy fresh-baked batch of raisin scones, complete with Devonshire Clotted Cream and strawberry jam. MmmmMMM!

Weekends like this make it very difficult to go back to work... sigh.

Lazy Friday.

Temple3
Originally uploaded by triviaqueen

I had a very nice, relaxing day off yesterday, most of it spent downtown. I wandered through Value Village then meandered about taking photos. Lots of photos.

Of course, I forgot to do two things I had planned to do while I was downtown (doh!) but neither was critical.

I did remember to meet hubby at 12:30 for lunch; we went to The Temple, which was quiet, but the food was oh, so good! The menu was small -- soup of the day (tomato spinach), two salad options, three paninis and three burgers. I had the lentil-pecan burger with fries and it was incredibly yummy! The burger had a mild curry flavour and the fries were shoestring-cut, which is something of a rarity these days. Hubby had the vegetarian panini with soup. I also had coffee which was actually a small americano, I think, and subsequently strong and tasty.

At value vilage, I picked up a bunch of stuff for kiddo and a few things for me. For kiddo, I got two books -- The Stinky Cheese Man and Mr. Bump -- plus stickers and some Barbie magnetic paper dolls. For me, I found a small messenger-bag, a book on photography, a new wallet, a pair of winter hiking boots (with Thinsulate™!) and another pair of sneakers.

Oh, I also got kiddo a plain white t-shirt which she needs for her end-of-school performance next week (they're dressing in a 50's "rock and roll" style, which apparently means jeans and white t-shirts).

After lunch, hubby and I wandered through town a bit more, then went our separate ways for a while. We met up around 4:00 again, grabbed a HUGE sum of groceries then gathered kiddo from daycare.

There's more, but I feel like I am rambling... so tune in later for more.