Saving Water Is Pretty, Easy

British Columbia is in a drought. It’s hard to believe that where I live, which is a temperate rain forest, we are moving to water restrictions not seen since 2015 and wild fires are burning all over the province. Clearly, climate change is here.

You can see the stress that some trees are under, given the little rain we’ve had this spring and summer

The question is, what to do? What can I, as one person, do in the face of what seems so overwhelmingly dire?

The answer? Easy. I can do my part, which is actually all any of us can do; but if we all do it, we can make a difference.

This photo was taken several years ago at Harrison Lake – lush and green!

My husband and I aren’t what I would call hard-core environmentalists. We’re not marchers or protest joiners. We simply love nature and we care about creation. So we recycle and compost faithfully. We try very hard to minimize the non-recyclables we bring into our house so that we don’t create a lot of garbage.

In the 25 years we’ve lived in our home, we’ve transformed our yard from a standard lawn/border garden format to a yard that is dominated by drought-tolerant perennials and trees. The best thing we ever did was invest in trees: we’ve planted 12 of them in the 26 years we’ve lived here. We don’t have air conditioning, we have shade and I am amazed each summer at the difference that makes.

They’re not particularly beautiful but they sure do the trick!

In recent years, we’ve been thinking a lot about water-conservation. We have two rain barrels that capture water from our eaves and I use this to water flower pots and rinse out my kitchen composter.

Most recently, we’ve started capturing the water that we run from our taps to get hot water – like when you need warm water to wash your face in the morning, that kind of thing. Since we started doing this, I’ve realized that we let a litre and a half of water just run down the drain – water that could be used for something else.

isn’t it pretty? cost me a whopping $3.50

When we began the experiment, I just used an old plastic measuring cup to capture the water. But on a recent thrift trip in Langley, I found this pretty little ceramic pitcher.

It fits perfectly under my bathroom sink tap and it holds just over a litre and a half. I use the water to fill my tea kettle or coffee maker, to water plants, or just pour it into my Brita filter to drink later. It’s so easy to do and while it’s a small thing, I think it makes a difference.

The pretty pitcher just makes me want to do it more.

What do you do to save water? What’s your environmental priority?

Testing a Theory in North Vancouver

This past weekend my son Aaron, his partner Des, and I travelled to North Vancouver to check out the thrifting scene there and to test a theory. We hit three shops, each with a different vibe and with some success.

The theory was this: shopping in a higher-income neighbourhood might mean better quality products at a thrift shop. I’ve tested this theory in West Vancouver, New Westminster, and also in Scotland and it seemed to hold true. What we discovered on this trip, is that it depends on what you’re looking for. If you’re looking for clothing, which is what I was mostly looking at, it’s true. You’re going to find less Joe Fresh, Old Navy, H&M, and more Holt Renfrew, Talbots, MEC, or other brands that I had not heard of like North Vancouver-based Blue Sky. My son is primarily looking for collectible DVDs, Blu-rays, or video games and while he found a few things, it wasn’t quite what he was hoping for. Here’s the scoop:

The Good Stuff Connection

This thrift shop supports services to women and children in North Vancouver. Their shop was having a big sale and we got there on the last day (which may also have contributed to the fact that we didn’t find much.)

The store is well organized and has a friendly vibe. You could tell by the banter between shoppers and staff that this is a local hub. I like that.

I didn’t find anything but Des found some brand-new wrapping paper and Aaron found a few movies and video games. I did have a laugh at this Cat Farts colouring book. I mean, really? Ready to frame?!

Salvation Army

Soooooo… Sally Ann appears to be going the way of evil Value Village. The store is big, really well organized, lots of product but expensive compared to your average thrift shop.

While I gripe about evil Value Village, I also understand that it is NOT a charity thrift shop. It is a retail store that gives a tiny percentage of its profit to charity. Big difference. They’re paying all their staff, giving full-time staff benefits, paying for advertising, etc. etc. etc. Sally Ann, on the other hand, is a charity thrift shop and as such, would run largely on volunteer staff, with some staff (like managers) paid – unless there is something I don’t know about? So they’re walking a fine line, in my opinion. All that said, the theory on better quality clothing brands donated did prove true here.

I found a pair of 10 Tree sweat pants like new, and a Talbot’s tank, which made me so happy because it’s white but NOT see-through like nearly every white cotton t-shirt/tank seems to be these days. Aaron found one DVD.

SPCA Thrift Shop on Pemberton St.

This was hands-down our favourite shop. It also had the weirdest layout of any shop we visited. The front of the shop is quite small and we couldn’t find any parking so we went around back and were welcomed in the back door.

That’s because where you expected to find the shop’s sorting area was actually also retail space. I have no idea where these people sort donations. The rest of the shop was a rabbit-warren of rooms, over two floors, each room dedicated to specific things: clothing, furniture, books, china, vintage, you name it.

There was lots of lovely furniture, lots of animal carriers (not a surprise), good selection of books, and fun vintage clothing.

i took this from the upstairs mezzanine. you can see the back door where we came in.

there seemed to be a farting theme going on …

Aaron found some movies and games as well as a really great Montreal Canadians hat that still has the tag on it. He also found some really nice Pendleton mugs, a brand that we had never heard of.

I found a cool London-themed scarf (can a woman have too many scarves?) and a fun hat. One nice bonus at this shop is that if you pay cash, you don’t pay tax!

So while it didn’t quite meet expectations, it proved our theory to a degree, it was a fun outing, and a chance for the three of us to spend some time together.

If you’re from North Vancouver, what’s your go-to thrift shop? And what do you think of our theory? Does it bear out in your experience?

Thrift Mystery…

…novels, that is.

It’s cool that the books are all numbered, you can see that i’m missing some!

My love of mystery began as a child. I visited my local library in South Vancouver weekly and it was here that I first discovered Trixie Belden mysteries. What made them doubly interesting to me was that Trixie was also a lover of horses as was I… although I am not sure how the love of horses came to be, given that I grew up living in an apartment. No real horses grazing in my back yard but lots of books on my shelves!

When I started earning an allowance, I visited the used book store on Fraser Street and I’m pretty sure one of my first purchases was a Trixie Belden novel.

There’s Trixie with her saddle!

I’m still a lover of mystery novels and am a huge fan of Agatha Christie. I own 118 paperbacks of her mystery novels. Some are the same novel under different titles – for example, Murder On The Orient Express is the UK title, while in America it was published as Murder on the Calais Coach.

When I bought the one on top, I felt like I was doing the world a favour by getting that word off the shelf. (And here I am publishing it on my blog… sigh.)

And Then There Were None was first published in 1939 in the UK as Ten Little Niggers (based on an English children’s song, which informs the plot line) but the title was changed when it was published a year later in the US – for obvious reasons. In 1964 it was republished as Ten Little Indians by Paperback Pocket Books publishers. I found all three at various thrift shops.

All of my Agatha Christie books are used copies, either purchased at thrift shops or used book stores. In addition to her mysteries, I also own several of her novels written as Christie Westmacott, a collection of her short stories and poetry, and several biographies. I’ve read most of her books multiple times. I don’t know what it is that draws me to books with such violent subject matter but I just love a good whodunit and it’s always satisfying to see how the good guy figures out the mystery.

Christopher Fowler’s books, which you see on the far left, are almost impossible to find used. His books, set in London, are awesome.

I also love mysteries by Ian Rankin and Peter May (both set in Scotland), Louise Penny (set in Quebec), Iona Wishaw (set in Nelson, BC) and Jacqueline Winspeare (set in England) to name a few. Most of these I’ve either taken out of the library or purchased thrift… except for Louise Penny’s last few novels. They are so good that I can’t wait for them to show up used – and they rarely do because people love to reread them.  

i just finished rereading all of Louise Penny’s novels. it took me 7 months because i had to wait at the library for a few of them, ones i couldn’t find used – but realized that i do have a few used ones. Her stories are so good that i wish her characters were real people that i could hang out with…

Are you a mystery fan? Who is your favourite author? How do you get your book fix: library, used book stores, or new books? (No judgement here, I’m just curious!)

By the way, I’m also a fan of theatre. If you live near Abbotsford, Gallery 7 theatre is staging Agatha Christie’s Murder On The Orient Express. It runs January 27 – February 4, 2023. 

Lots to Like in Lumby

A great little shop!

Lumby is a little village just outside of Coldstream, BC (which is next to Vernon, in case you were wondering.) It’s a classic village with a grocery store, a few restaurants, a gas station, and a few shops for tourists.

And, of course, a thrift shop.

The Lumby Community Thrift Store supports a variety of charities and community efforts in the village. It is staffed by a great bunch of volunteers who seem to know everyone in the village by name and who do an incredible job of organizing their shop.

Surprise! 50cent sale! The woman in the lovely pink top is the book-section-organizer-extraordinaire. (the other lovely is my sister!)

It is deceptively large. When you come in, you enter a long narrow room and at first, I thought this was all there was to it. Then I discovered the door that took me into the depths of the shop, which, it turns out, is quite big.

so helpful to have books so well organized!

Back to the entrance. The first thing you see are books, so of course, they had me right there but then, as I started to browse, I was super impressed with how well organized they are. The volunteer who was stocking the shelves invited shoppers to ask for help.

“Let me know if you have a genre you like or an author you’re looking for,” she said.

“Do you have any Louise Penny?” I asked.

“Yes. I have one, just came in a little while ago,” she responded and in 5 seconds she had found it and handed it to me. Well, wow. She did the same for another fellow who was looking for a specific author.

The rest of the shop is equally well organized. Bras by cup size. Pencils by colour. Clean clothing neatly hung and categorized.

i know, right?

what a good idea – build your own pencil crayon selection!

the tips are still pointy!

Prices are so reasonable.

I know that this is what you sort of expect in most thrift shops but my experience with small-village-shops is that they often are not that at all; things are in a jumble, they’re not always clean, and most often the book sections are just a mess. It’s obvious that in this shop, the volunteers clearly care about their shop as much as they care about their customers and their village.

The crafts area was huge and clearly there’s lots of crafters in Lumby – note the sign at the top!

Beads sorted by colour.

Lots of children’s clothing and toys.

Aisles well organized and clean.

I found a couple of things in the 50cent bins that didn’t fit, so they’ll go back but along with my Louise Penny novel, I scored a book about Agatha Christie I’d not seen before, and a Tupperware container that I can always use.

Some of what I scored – came to a whopping $7. 🙂

So, next time you’re in the Coldstream area, drive into Lumby and check out their little shop. It’s well worth the visit!

Do you have a favourite small-village-shop?

So Tacky It Is Beautiful

Lawnware Lamp detail

My friend Cyndy recently “inherited” this incredibly tacky patio lantern. It looks like Tupperware and Lite-Brite had a baby, doesn’t it?

Cyndy is actually beautiful

This lamp has a fun story. The lamp has been part of her family for as long as she can remember. When her parents downsized, the lamp became one of those things that she and her siblings couldn’t quite part with but also no one wanted. So they took turns… except her family lives in Manitoba and she lives in BC, so every time it was her “turn” she politely declined, declaring there was just no way it would fit in her suitcase (or whatever other excuse she could come up with.) Her sister finally decided that Cyndy absolutely needed to have her turn… so she mailed it to her. ( I won’t tell you what that cost!) So, admitting defeat, Cyndy hung this beauty in her patio!

The lamp is made by Lawnware – an American manufacturer that seems to have gone out of business. They appear to have been very popular with RV travelers and there’s even a blogsite dedicated to recreating them by converting Lawnware flowerpots into lamps. I can’t seem to find any other history about them but there’s a number of vintage sites that sell them in case you want one.

I can see the attraction, can you?

When it’s unlit it’s not much to look at but when it’s lit, it’s actually pretty cool. I think it’s so tacky it’s beautiful. What do you think?

Spectacular Crap

When two friends are looking for an excuse to hang out, what better thing to do that watch movies, right? My son, Aaron and his buddy Matthew have been doing that for years, but their movie choices have always been eclectic. The two love watching B-movies – and making fun of them. That eventually evolved into a podcast called The Retro Craptacular, in which they give you the benefit of their opinions on every “good bad movie” you can think of, and some you didn’t even know existed.

I used to watch this all the time – i LOVE this show!

Recently, Aaron decided to start a companion Etsy store called The Retro Shoptacular. It began as a way to recoup the costs of doing the podcast.

“I buy a lot of VHS and DVDs to watch,” Aaron says. “It’s a great way to discover new stuff and a lot of the stuff we watch is not available online to stream or rent.”

When Aaron is done with the movie and it’s not something he needs in his collection, he puts it up for sale so others can enjoy it – and “tapes can live on!” (i know, right?)

For the Bond Fan in your life

Aaron is also a die-hard thrift shopper (because his parents have raised their son right) and when he finds something he doesn’t need but it’s rare or cool, he’ll pick it up for his Etsy shop. The collection  veers towards Sci-fi, Horror, Fantasy, and Action genres. The store also has things that are rare and unique, things that will rarely even come to a thrift shop.

“You won’t find Jerry Maguire, Independence Day, or Men in Black tapes in our store,” Aaron says. “Everything we put up is stuff that you don’t see in the wild when you’re hunting for tapes.”

Here’s a film I’ve never heard of, have you?

They add new things all the time, so Aaron encourages shoppers to check back frequently for new stuff.

of course it as a tie-dye background…

“I just added Cheech and Chong’s ‘Up In Smoke’ for $4.20,” he says. “It’s definitely worth more but I couldn’t resist the joke.”

Clearly, his parents also shared their sense of humour with the lad.

How about you? Do you still own and watch VHS tapes? What’s your favourite weird film?

The Art of Friendship

My sweetheart and I recently painted our home office. Well, mostly he painted and I was the cheerleader (and packer of books, remover of pictures, filler of holes, and washer of carpet, he helped with that too!) It’s one of those things we do every 20 years or so, whether the room needs it or not.

The best part of doing this was the opportunity to have freshly painted walls on which to display some of the original art we’ve collected over the years. We love art and even more, we love the art created by people we know. Some of our pieces were given to us, others we’ve purchased. Some has been professionally framed and others, I just placed in frames picked up at local thrift shops.

this was my desk view before we painted

One of the things I find challenging is hanging art in groupings. When we finished our office, I had 6 pieces of art of varying sizes that I wanted to hang together because I felt they complemented one another well. But I was really stumped as to how best do this. Luckily, one of my amazing artist friends, Linda Klippenstein, came to my rescue.

She had me take individual photos of each piece that I have along with their dimensions. She then entered these into some kind of magical program that hung them on a virtual wall to show me how the pieces could create a beautiful whole. The advice was to match edges or corners and balance colours and sizes.

So here’s the individual art pieces.

Original art by Kathy Curry, a high school friend, purchased in 2020. Professionally framed.

Artwork by same Kathy Curry – this was the Christmas card she sent this year. Thirfted frame

Original artwork by Sarina Brandt, friend. Purchased. Thrifted frame.

Original art by K. Schellenberg, purchased at a fundraising event put on by Abbotsford Arts Council. Thrifted frame.

Photograph by Allison Imbenzi, taken when she was in highschool more than a decade ago. Thrifted frame.

Art by William Voth, friend and member of our church youth group. This was the family Christmas card last year. Thrifted frame.

And here’s how Linda recommended I hang them. Cool, right?

But I still had to get them on the wall in that order. So I cut out pieces of newspaper to the size of each piece and used painter’s tape to stick them on the wall.

genius, right? pretty sure my sister taught me this trick.

This helped me get the picture hangers in the right place. I measured the back of each piece, where the hanger would be and then measured that on the newspaper and banged the hole in the wall. Here’s the final result!

isn’t it lovely? the art on the left is an original given to my father-in-law in 1988 upon his retirement and which we inherited. it’s a painting of the canal in Ottawa in winter!

What’s your favourite piece of art in your home?

Sharing the Joy

I am a klutz in the kitchen. I’m forever dropping stuff, grating my knuckles along with the cheese, or burning my fingers. Learning to bend properly and having bandaids on hand takes care of the first two, having an Aloe Vera plant on my windowsill is essential for that last one. Every time I burn myself, I snap off an end of one leaf and squeeze the aloe gel directly onto the burn. It has a cooling, almost menthol quality that takes the heat and sting away instantly. Lucky for me, I have a beauty of an Aloe plant and, wouldn’t you know it, it comes with a great story.

I have a birthday twin. Dolores and I are exactly 20 years apart (I won’t tell you who is older.)

Dolores, me, and Judy – all birthday twins and Dolores and Judy were actually born on the very same day!

Two years ago, just when our province was implementing lockdowns, we met for lunch. At that lunch, Dolores gifted us each with a wee aloe plant and I was so happy because I had given mine away and was regretting that decision.

The original plant is the huge one on the right, when it first came to me, it was as big as the one on the left!

In the two years since, that plant has grown so much that I’ve had to repot it twice. And I don’t know what was going on in that flower pot recently but it had so many children that the main mama plant was getting really crowded. So, I decided it was time for those kids to move out and I headed to a thrift shop to find the tools I needed to make that happen.

At the MCC Centre Thrift in Abbotsford I hit a jackpot of little plastic pots – perfect for this repotting project and super cheap: 4 pots for 50cents. I found a couple of cute plastic sleeves as well.

As I scanned the flower pot shelves, I also noticed some earthenware pots in great condition, including the lovely grey one, made in Italy. I haven’t decided what I’m going to do with these yet but I couldn’t resist them.

I purchased everything for under $10 and headed home to clean them all up and do the repotting. The Aloe Vera plants are all doing well and enjoy being in front of my west-facing sliding door where they get lots of light.

I have plans for these plants – some special folks in my life will receive them eventually, as soon as I’ve ensured that they’ve taken root in their new homes.

What kind of plant or gardening things have you found at your thrift shop?

Confessions of a Stationery Nerd

I have a thing for stationery. There’s just something about new writing paper that gives me a thrill. I love having pretty paper to send to someone just as much as I love receiving letters written on pretty paper. I think it’s because it lets a person know that you care, that you took the time to choose something special to write on, that you chose to write slowly, by hand. It just makes me happy.

pretty paper and a lovely pen, it’s all i need to make me super happy!

Last year, I blogged about rediscovering slow mail and the letter writing I’ve done since the pandemic began. Since that blog I’ve written dozens and dozens of letters. Some folks write back, some don’t, but I don’t care. I don’t write in order to get a letter back, I write to let someone know that I’m thinking of them.

And since I’ve rediscovered this passion, I’ve been combing thrift shops for unique stationery and have not been disappointed. Here’s some finds from my local MCC Thrift Shop in Abbotsford.

i love that the cards come complete with a bow

This beautiful box set is so feminine and the cards have a lovely, Victorian quality to them. There are a few elders in my church who have been corresponding with me and I look forward to writing back on these pretty cards. The set was nearly complete and cost me only $1.25.

This set came in a plain plastic cover and cost me only 75 cents.

I love the petal detail on the paper and the smaller size means you don’t have to write a long letter, just a nice one.

the vivid colours on the folder caught my eye right away

But this one is my favourite so far. This sea-side themed set came in a folder and I just love the bright, vivid colours.

It’s cool how the writing area is screened back and I love the detail scroll on the paper bands that hold the envelopes together. There’s a lot more paper than envelopes but that’s okay. It only set me back a dollar.

In January, I’ve been writing to the young people in our church youth group. The pandemic has hit this generation hard in terms of mental health and I feel so sad for the challenges that our youth face. Hopefully, getting a cheerful letter in the mail will remind them that they are loved and valued and thought of.

Any other stationery nerds out there?

A Book Sent From Heaven

This is a story about two sisters, Jimmy Carter, and a book.

My mom, Susan (left) with her sister, Erna in Paraguay

This is my mom and her older sister Erna (my Aunt, or, as we say in German, “Tante”) when they were young girls living in Paraguay. They were born 18 months apart and they were always close, even when they lived far apart, which wasn’t very often or for very long. They were the oldest two of 12 children (9 of which survived to adulthood) and when my Tante Erna passed away suddenly last summer, it was devastating for my mom. She lost her closest relative, someone she loved dearly, and the person she had known longer than anyone else on the planet (think about that for a minute.)

All the sisters! Tante Erna is in the front with the cane, mom is second from the right (front). In the back from the left: Claudia, Christina, Alma, and Margaret. Aren’t they a fun bunch?

One of the interests that mom and Tante Erna shared was books, especially biographies or books written by famous people they admired. One person they both admired greatly was President Jimmy Carter. My mom deeply respects the ex-president for his deep Christian faith and his deep commitment to serving others – two things mom and Jimmy have in common. She’s scoured thrift shops and used book stores for his books, usually with success but one book eluded her: Living Faith, first published in 1996 and currently out of print.

A treasured book.

Mom remembered that she and her sister had discussed the book; she remembered that Erna had once owned it but Erna couldn’t remember nor could she find it. When Tante Erna’s daughter and granddaughter were cleaning out her suite after she passed, mom asked them to keep an eye out for it but it looked like either Erna never did own it, or it had already gone to the local MCC Thrift shop in boxes already sent there.

That was August.

Fast-forward to November. Mom and I visit The Bookman – the best used bookstore in the Lower Mainland, IMHO – and we check to see if she’s still on the wait list for Living Faith, a list she’d been on for two years. Yes, still there, still no book.

A couple of weeks later, she noticed Mr. Bookman at the MCC Thrift shop picking up books for resale in his shop (something all used book store owners do.) He left the store with a whole grocery box of books.

Happy Camper!

Last week, I get a phone call from The Bookman letting me know that the book we’ve been waiting for, Living Faith, has come in. Did we still want it? Yes! I went to pick it up. Bonus: I had enough points saved up that I got the book for free. I brought it to mom, who was thrilled.

The next morning, I get a call from my mom. “Are you sitting down?” When your 80+ mom starts a conversation with those words, you sit down. I could tell from her voice that she was happy, so I wondered what this was all about. “What’s up?”

That morning, mom sat down to finally look at the book she’d been searching for all these years. She opened up the cover and there, on the fly leaf was one word written in the corner: Erna.

“I knew right away this was my sister’s handwriting,” she says. “She always wrote her name in her books this way. I almost started crying.”

So, the book made its way from Tante Erna’s home, to the thrift shop where my mom volunteers, where it was bought by Mr. Bookman, who called to say it had arrived, so that I could go pick it up – for free – and bring it to my mom, who had asked her sister for it years ago.

Apparently, Tante Erna remembered about the book when she got to heaven and then made sure it got back to her sister. She even signed it to make sure that mom knew where it had come from.

Not sure what could make this story any better than that. It feels like a wee Christmas miracle, doesn’t it?