This week at the free store

I found the perfect bag for all of my flight attendant training books. It's a sturdy maroon Samsonite in pristine condition. Unfortunately my flight attendant training is now over. However, due to my slight obsession with all things bag related, I s… — I found the perfect bag for all of my flight attendant training books. It's a sturdy maroon Samsonite in pristine condition. Unfortunately my flight attendant training is now over. However, due to my slight obsession with all things bag related, I still picked it up. I am planning on taking a Herbalism course at some point, so it will come in handy. Photo by Christa Galloway.

Rich found this Italian single cup coffee maker. I gave it a good clean and it turned out pretty well. This find is very fortuitous because our $9 french press just broke and it looks this "new" coffee maker will last generations. The world in which… — Rich found this Italian single cup coffee maker. I gave it a good clean and it turned out pretty well. This find is very fortuitous because our $9 french press just broke and it looks this "new" coffee maker will last generations. The world in which I do not have to go without coffee is a better place. Photo by Christa Galloway.

This week at the free store

One of a set of three easels from the free store.

In all the excitement of cool skies, northern lights and car purchasing, I have neglected to post this weeks free store photos. We got to the free store late Sunday after the dog sled race and it was pretty picked over, but I did manage to snag a set of three easels.

I absolutely love when people put notes on their donations to the store. The train table which is now our coffee table had a cute note. The fact that people will put in the effort for the benefit of other when they get nothing in return, warms the cockles of my heart.

I wasn't sure if "cockles of my heart" was a real saying so I just looked it up and there is a theory it comes from the resemblance of a cockle to the heart. Cockles were the bivalve mulluscs that sweet Molly Malone pedalled and were a staple of British diet at the time the saying originated.

This week there was a great note selling a toilet, one of three choices including a rare vintage green commode.

A fantasy becomes a reality

At long last we found the Mile 9 Dump, a.k.a. The Robinson Dump, a.k.a. The Mt. Lorne Dump, and also the location of the fabled Free Store. Rich had spotted it earlier on his commute and we went on a family visit to plunder it's treasure, visions of sofas bouncing in my head. I almost grabbed some cash on the the way out, and then I remembered, it's free.

It's also not as fantastic as I envisioned it.

You may not be surprised by this.

I guess I had a vision of a used but nice living room set, staged kind of like you might see at ikea, with a friendly free store manager to help us make our selections and hold our choices until we could get back with the trailer. Then he would kindly help us load it and make some suggestions for colourful accents.

It wasn't quite like that. There were no sofas. There were two pieces of furniture, a broken down desk of the plastic variety and a heavily chipped veneer drawer unit. Not the weathered solid wood gem that a little elbow grease could restore to it's former glory. Not the living room set that house guests would crow over and marvel at our cleverness for getting for free. Alas, I think it might take more than one trip to the free store, some kijiji trolling and hopefully some furniture clearance sales to make our place more comfortable.