The Perfect Farm Mailbox... and More...

Took a little country walk on a road we never walked on before...

 although just a short hop away.  Come along...

It is farmland here and this mailbox is so fitting I think...

But right next door is this wonderful property...

Discovered these old markers or county boundary lines.  

When whizzing by in a car - these kinds of things go unnoticed...

The sky is always fun to observe - it is truly God's handiwork.

And we returned via our rail trail.

I truly love our region in southcentral PA.

 Come visit!  ~Joyce

Shopping Online for Free! - Thrifty Thursday

I'm not a big online shopper.  Generally speaking - I feel I do 

much better with local discounts and hitting thrift shops, 

discount grocery stores and yard sales.

But - there is the occasional product that I use that is specific

 enough that I won't find it at a discounted price anywhere.

These items are worth checking out online.   

I checked Amazon for a supplement that I take and discovered

 some thrifty tips...

1.  Thanks so all the product promos that Amazon includes for

 anything you search for - I found another brand of my product that

 checked out to be just as good (easy enough to do online research)

 for much less monies.  

2.  I paid with my Discover card.  Turns out Amazon has the option

 of using your Cash Back Bonus monies at check-out.   Really?

  Awesome!  That is 'free' money to me... so thank you!

Of course there are many other ways to save with Amazon.   

Most of them I do not find to be really saving for me personally 

(in other words - I'd be shopping more than my normal - just to 'save').

But click this link for some truly good ways to save with Amazon.

And just a few more general 'shopping' thrifty tips...

3.  Always pay for purchases w/ a 'cash back' credit card when you can.  

Or use anairline mileage card if travel is a big happening in your life.

4.  As alluded to already - clubs and memberships are generally not

 the best savings and typically have you spending more than you 

would have without the 'plan'.   There are ways to shop cheaper!

  They may (but not necessarily) take more time though - and if time

truly equals money stress to you - then consider that.  

5.  Stress (see #4) can equal money!... it takes a toll on our health.

So check out the little extras Amazon has to offer.  (As always - 

I'm not getting any kickbacks - this is a non-money making blog!)
  Happy Savings!  ~Joyce

A Friend's Garden - Saturday Sightings...

 It is local garden tour time.   What a fun Saturday morning outing!

  But on this particular tour - my favorite garden was a 

friend's garden - not on the tour except for us!  

The idea for these little chicken wire succulent planters came to 

her in the middle of the night.  Aren't they neat?

Her covered patio area is filled with blue and white pottery, 

planters and baskets of all kinds...

Planters en masse make a statement for sure!

And a few other shots from the morning...

Now this coming week I will be out in my own gardens playing.

  Happy weekend everyone!  ~Joyce 

Thrifty Thursday & Friday Finds In One Post...

Today's thrifty tip? (from yesterday but never happened...)

Visit a book sale!  Better yet - volunteer at one...

I unexpectedly found myself part of a sorting crew the day before

 our community library book sale.  (Boxes of books are heavy!)  

I found it interesting to see the genre section that was largest. 

Can you guess?

Mystery and thriller!  This surprised me as it's the last thing I'd read.

I'd rather sleep at night :)

My favorite section was this one - 

all things crafty and home decor (it was a smaller section)...

Which brings me to my thrifty tip. Turns out when you volunteer - 

it may give an opportunity to buy a cheap book or 2 ahead of the actual sale!  

I found this one - right up my alley - for $1.

But attending a book sale will garner you some good cheap books too.

Now for a few other finds from my week...(it was slim).

Seems I'm continually adding to my greeting card stash...  

and at 5/$1 - why not?

The seahorse paperweight is available here and 

a sailboat butter stamp is available here.

Life has been full - but also very good.  We're enjoying the prospects

of some new things in our lives - and are so thankful to the Lord.

  Hope you are all doing well too!  ~Joyce

Some Local History, Garden Things and Great Friday Finds Haul...

I feel like I've been traveling far and wide lately to get goods - 

and its not always been worth the jaunt.  Yesterday was one of those 

'high mileage/low goods' days.  But I did pick up 4 old receipt tablets (right).  

They are for a local business that no longer exists - so I inquired.

Turns out Grove's Meat Market was owned by the garage sale

 lady's father.  I asked where it had been and she steered me in the

 direction of this building - built in the 50s.  I pass this place often

 and never knew it was once a meat market!  

Love little tidbits like that.  They help make up for the mileage thing.

But today was a great haul day.  First - I found several really

 cheaply priced garden things. These 4-packs of alyssum were 50 cents.  

And a climbing bean plant - been wanting one of those - was 25 cents.

(She even put them in this nice basket for me - no charge!)

And perfect for that bean plant - this trellis was 50 cents!

And one more garden thing... a large planter for this corner of 

my yard - also just 50 cents!

My vintage-goods haul looks like this and cost $29... 

It includes a whole pile of 'L' monogram linens, some early button-

 close shams and a lovely fringe edged candlewyck runner...

This composition Japan bobblehead caught my eye - 

so I'll give it a whirl on Etsy and see what happens... 

The chicken graphics cards are actually ink blotters.

I spent a little more than my norm to get 3 old ledgers - 

in excellent condition with old script writing... 

 Some porcelain things (Noritake and Limoges), an old tin game board 

and even some ruby glass & silver made it to my stash today.

I just love Fridays!  Thanks for following along ~Joyce