We Needed A Little Thrifting, Right That Very Minute

      Last Friday morning the carpet steam-cleaner that I bought from Sears 30 years ago finally gave up the ghost.  

     A big old hulk that weighed a ton, two tons when filled with cleaning solution and water,  and was a mess of wires, hoses, and latches, each of which had to be connected and/or fitted just so to the correct terminus,

...still for over three decades it was a dependable workhorse of a machine that did a nice job on our carpets,

...especially during those years when the carpets were at the mercy of four children

...or five for a while ( see posts from 7/9/2014, 7/10/2014 and 7/11/2014))

...and, of course, the feet or many friends.

      "Gee, you've had that steam cleaner since before I was born,"  my daughter Theresa sighed when I told her about its demise. 
      Each of my children sounded a little sad after I mentioned to them  that  our old steam cleaner  which, despite its weight and complexity they all knew how to assemble and use, had finally died.
     Tom wanted to look for some place in town that might be able to repair it.  I knew how he was feeling, still I proposed we let it rest in peace and just buy a new one.
      In truth I know that last Friday it wasn't  the loss of an old steam cleaner that had us all feeling kind of down.  In truth we, like many of our fellow Americans, were just coming off a hard week and might not have felt any better even if our carpet cleaner hadn't plotzed.
       But life was going on and Tom and I  were now faced with the first-world micro-dilemma of either buying a new carpet cleaner or not buying a new carpet cleaner. 
         We decided to buy a new one.  We decided we wanted a new one exactly like the old one, in other words, one that weighed a ton,  was complicated to figure out, and was a chore to use.
         Shows how clearly we two 65-year-olds were thinking last week.
         Anyway, on Saturday morning it was cold, overcast and sprinkling snow when we headed out to the Sears where we bought our first cleaner,
       

...the Sears at Eastland Mall, an older,  rather down-at-the heels mall out on the far east side of Columbus. 

      As we turned into the service road leading to the mall Tom gestured towards the row of thrift stores across from the mall.  "Let's check out the thrift stores first.  I need a new overcoat."
      And I knew at that moment that, more than a new steam cleaner, what we really needed on that grey, gloomy November Saturday morning was a little thrifting to cheer us up.
      I don't know what it is about thrift stores that makes them so appealing to us aficionados.    

     I guess it's the fun of scavenging up and down the aisles,

...in the company of our fellow thrifters,

...seeking out some treasure,

...for pennies on the dollar.

     And this day, Eureka, after some digging around we hit thrift store pay dirt.

     Tom found a dashing overcoat, like new,  that makes him look like Benedict Cumberbatch in Sherlock .

     Don't you think?

     And I found some nice warm jammies for my grandbabies to wear when they come to visit from California over Christmas.

       Long story short, we never did acquire a new steam cleaner that day, but chose instead to spend the day visiting another thrift store, allegedly  to seek out a few more items, in truth just for the fun of it.

    We did swing by the Eastland Mall food court for lunch,

...where we opted to dine from a Mexican eatery called Don Paco,  basing our choice on the cute,  friendly little kid working the counter for his parents, who did the cooking and owned the place.

      We split a huge yummy chicken and steak fajita cooked up fresh on the grill and served with generous sides of  rice and beans.

    After lunch we did a once around the mall, all decked out for Christmas already,

...with a train for the children to ride,

...and Santa Clause already arrived.

      Then we headed back out to the thrift superstore across the highway from the mall,

...where we spent a leisurely hour or so perusing the wealth of varied, interesting, and inexpensive  pre-owned wares,

...including these two bridal veils which I  knew my grand-
daughters would love,

...so I added them to the cart along with our other finds. (By happy chance they were having a special on Christmas cards).

      And so, though we came home without a new carpet cleaner, our souls felt soothed by our successful day of thrifting.  Those of you who love this past-time will understand.  For those who are down and troubled and have never tried thrifting, I say give it a try.     

    It may be the very tonic for these turbulent times.