I know this isn’t really about crafting or working on the Internet but hey, it’s my blog so get over it. Yes, indeed, I am feeling a bit grouchy today. If you’ll indulge me, I’ll share the reason for my un-merry mood.
We went last minute Christmas shopping between the 20th and 23rd. Most of the stores already had everything related to Christmas at 50% off and we found some small odds and ends to give each other. We laughed about even looking at Christmas decorations when we already have so many but there’s always something prettier, cuter or newer to find.
But, being the thrift store fanatics that we are, we thought we would wait until after Christmas. Surely if it’s at 50% off before Christmas it will be 60 or 75% after Christmas. We always dig through the stragglers and even broken bits after the holidays looking for crafting materials or pieces to adorn existing decorations.
We set off in search of something we just couldn’t live without at what we expected to be fire sale prices. We planned to shop ’till we dropped. Well, that was the plan anyway.
Bah humbug. Stuff was either still 50% off or actually selling for more than it did before Christmas! So much for all the great deals we keep hearing about on the evening news. I don’t know about anyone else but the so-called after Christmas sales left us feeling flat and even a bit insulted.
Feeling unfulfilled over the ho-hum clearance sales, we decided to go furniture hunting instead. Now that I’ve been working from home for 2 years, I think it’s about time I treat myself to an actual desk or table to work on. A nice chair would be a pleasant change as well. So, being the natural cheapskate that I am, we visited one of those scratch, dent and damaged freight places.
At least we thought it was one of those scratch and dent discount paradises. Oh, how times have changed. Instead of a dusty warehouse with stuff still in cartons or in need of repair we found a pristine showroom. They even had fabric and wood finish swatches and special orders! Huh? The furniture was lovely and the selection was far greater than what would normally be found at one of those types of stores. The prices seemed good to our uneducated eyes and we would tell anyone searching for furniture to try there. But, it just wasn’t what we expected to find based on their name.
I loved the place I used to go to in San Antonio. It was in warehouse row and was truly a hit or miss place with all kinds of treasures that were over-ordered, misrouted or slightly damaged. If there were fabric swatches, it was only because they were selling the actual swatches. I found two matching coffee tables there for only $25 a piece. Those tables are made of real wood and are strong enough that I could probably do a jig on them. The only defect is that a decorative cross piece is cut too small. So what, it stays in place without being screwed on and is not really needed anyway. Once the tables are in place it’s not an issue; it simply lays in place.
Unfortunately, it seems nothing like that exists around here. With so many of the textiles and furniture no longer being made in North Carolina, their wonderful outlet stores seem to be something of the past as well. No more super bargain priced curtains and bedding. No more super cheap pillows. And apparently no more true scratch and dent furniture bargains. 🙁
Even though it’s New Year’s Eve, there will be no dancing around my new desk and chair for me. No celebratory toasts about our post-Christmas shopping treasures either. Bah humbug!
Here I still sit typing this blog post at a table that will not hold my laptop and an open spiral notebook at the same time and using a chair that is older than I am. An FYI for anyone finding themselves with an ancient piece of furniture, 60 year old silk upholstery sometimes suffers from dry rot and so does foam rubber. My floor is littered with small, hard bits of crumbly orange stuff that used to be the padding on the arms of the chair. Even better than stepping on a hard bit of crunchy rubber with bare feet is finding strange looking things on the floor that look like lizards or massive spiders that were once pretty silk fabric. The frame of the chair would probably last another 100 years but the rest of it is a mess. It has to be the most bedraggled piece of furniture to ever be housed under our roof.
OK, I’m stepping down off my soap box and getting settled back in my chair that is literally falling apart and wishing San Antonio wasn’t so very far away.
Anyone finding any great sales worth sharing? Surely, somewhere out there is a place to get real after Christmas bargains?