Thrift Store, and a Math Lesson

If you've been reading my blog for a while, you may have noticed that I haven't been talking about my thrift stores adventures nearly as much as I was.  I have indeed cut way back on thrifting, although I do still enjoy a trip now and then.

Last week I was out by the Salvation Army, which is far enough away that I do make a special stop if I happen to be in the area.  My total came to about $7, and can you believe that I had second thoughts as I handed over the cash?  I was thinking "why am I spending $7 on a bunch of stuff I don't need?".  Clearly, I'm out of practice!

The "cashew" jar was $1.39, and I buy these types of jars for pantry storage.  They don't all match; some are cracker jars with the screw-on lids, some are the latch-top canning jars, but I think they look good together anyway.  And since I've found them all at thrift stores for around $1 each, they're a bargain.

I also finally found an old aqua pint-size Ball jar for my soap dispenser.  Since all the lids fit all the jars, I just switched it out.  It was pretty cute before, but I really love it now!

Now the Speed-o-Weave really caught my eye!  I had never seen the loom before, but I sure remembered the the placemats and other things that were made with it from the '70s.  Dig that crazy vest!  I think my older sister may have had one of those.

Still, the main reason I bought it was because I thought it was nine cents; this store often has odd pricing so it didn't seem too strange.  It turned out to be 99 cents, but can you see what I saw?  The second 9 looked like a cent sign when I first looked at it, and since incorrect decimal placement is common these days, I didn't think anything of it.

That's a pet peeve of mine, actually.  I see it all the time.  {Decimal-nine-cent sign} actually means nine-tenths of one cent, not 9 cents.  {Decimal-75-cent sign} means 75 one-hundredths of a penny, not 75 cents.  If you are going to use the cent sign, you should not use the decimal.

Look:

• 99c (99 cents)
• $.99 (also 99 cents, or 99 one-hundredths of a dollar)
• .99c (means 99 one-hundredths of a penny, because the cent sign is used.  Unless someone is going to give you change for your penny, this is incorrect)

But I digress.

I thought it would be fun for Pinkerbelle and I to try the loom.  I'll be sure to show you our creations if it works out.  Tomorrow, I plan to hit another thrift store to look for that red purse.  Thanks for all your kind words the other day about my mid-life crisis.  If I were a man, I'd be looking for a red convertible!