Some Things

I'm in my 4th week as book wrangler at SVDP, which I'm loving.
As the store's Social Media Wrangler, two days ago I stepped up my role (and sort of freaked myself out)  by BUYING AN IPHONE 8!
(A 2-for-1, bink got the other one.)

It's my first-ever mobile phone of any kind---never even had a flip cell phone or anything before.

I got the iphone largely because of my work--especially so I can post photos on Instagram--but also because I've been frustrated with how many things require a phone nowadays, especially when traveling (not that I travel much, but it brought the point home).

But I very much want to keep up here on the blog--to quiet down, if nothing else, from the peep-peep-peep of social media, and from the constant buzz of donated thrift.

This morning, I only have time before work to do a desktop round-up.

Here are some of the things I've been meaning to write more about---but just get a brief mention. 

I LOVED THIS BOOK!
The Toaster Project is the book I've read in ages---had me laughing out loud. It truly is about a guy who makes his own toaster from scratch---or as close as he can get (realizes you can't turn petroleum into plastic in your kitchen, the way you can smelt iron in your parking lot).
Skip the final chapter, where he seems to feel he has to spell out some obvious environmental points to justify his project. Felt like he was completing assignment, compared to the wacky rawness of his project itself.

Below. Waving good-bye. Sold on the store's ebay.
1. Dollhouse figures, 1960s, by MPC--getting bathed. Part of a set of  dollhouse furniture---beat up but cool. Sold for $13.

2. Sterling silver reticulated openwork bowl, by Reed & Barton (1928?). I pulled this, tarnished, from the metal recycle bin where some coworker had put it. Sold for $149.

3.  Four tin ashtray from a defunct bar in Minnesota, with hunting and fishing scenes. 1950s-60s?  Sold to a guy in norther MN for $12

4. Cloth tobacco pouch for "cut plug", c. 1911. Sold, $10.
The buyer told me she was going to frame it, along with some other tobbaciana. 

5. WWII life vest preserver, stamped 1945. Nicknamed "Mae West", such a preserver inflated when you pulled the cords, triggering those little canisters of liquid CO2 ( turns to gas).
Sold to a WWII reenactor for $99.

Selling for the store is fun, because there's so much interesting donated stuff---and it's no skin off my nose whether it sells or not. 
I get 10% of the sale in store credit (my suggestion--since I'm always spending a few bucks at the store, it works out well for both of us), but that's not enough to feel very financially invested.

I do it because it's fun, and it's good for the store, and for the things, that they get cared for.
Most of the things above would have been overlooked or thrown out, or simply do not sell in the store. The WW2 vest, for instance, was on the sales floor for a month, where it just took up space.
And small stuff tends to get trammeled, or stolen. 

Off I go. Have a lovely day, everyone!