Our trip to the U.S.A (9)- At the thrift store and the dump.

What I really loved about the States is that there are thrift stores everywhere.
"What's a thrift store" my local readers might wonder as we don't have them in Greece.
It's a shop where people go and donate things they don't want any more and then the people at the store, many volunteers themselves, sell them cheaply usually for charity. There are of course thrift stores operated by private owners who buy your things cheaply and sell them back with a small increase on the price. So still you buy things very cheap.They are second-hand of course.
My friend Marabeth many a time had talked about the thrift stores in her area and how she found beautiful little things cheaply there and I so much wanted to go to one of them.
So the next day July 3rd just before embarking for our daily adventure of sightseeing we went to the local thrift store.

 The moment we arrived this couple were donating this lovely armchair!

 Inside everything was arranged in aisles and shelves.
There were lots of porcelain sets.

 Shelves filled with lovely little home decor.

 Even Christmas ornaments in July!

 I loved this little wooden chest.

 And that framed art! But they were too big and heavy for my suitcase!

 There were lots of things for the crafter, old patterns and embroidery thread and wool.

 There were lots of clothes and they were very cheap!

 And pieces of furniture I adored.

 I was almost ready to buy this silk set of jacket and skirt!

 There were even wedding gowns.

 This thrift store was next to a senior citizens' Recreation Centre and all the earnings go to them and the volunteers were people who go to that place too. So we went upstairs and visited a little craft exhibition they had!

 I so loved this quilt they had on the wall with buildings of the area.

 I bought a couple of things from the thrift store.
Some round frames and some oval ones Marabeth had found for me,too.

 This Christmas ornament just for 30 cents. I found similar ones at the casino for more that 10 dollars!

 This lovely little porcelain thing that said Davenport for just 20 cents!

 Which after washing ended up like this but I still love it.

This little Norman Rockwell miniature dish for 50 cents.

 These tiny wooden boxes I am planning to alter.

Can you believe that all those cost me just about 4 dollars? Yes these are the prices in a thrift store.
And then we went to the dump. This is a place where people go to leave their garbage. But not the usual garbage that is collected from the bins outside your house by a special truck. No, these places are for you to take other garbage like the cuttings from your lawn, or the ashes from your fireplace, or the oil from the frying, or old clothes, old furniture, recycling items etc. So it does not look like a landfill really.

 But the best part in the dump was the "One man's trash is another man's treasure" table. There you could find lots of things and take for free. You can't really believe what people throw away. Unfortunately in Greece things like that are thrown in the garbage bins and get wasted. Whereas in this place you leave them and others take them.

 Of course I took all the books I found.

Isn't that armchair beautiful?

And those glass lamp replacements too?

I found those there. They are lovely for school, I couldn't just leave them there!

The moment I was there a lady brought about ten big cookbooks! I was amazed! Those books would cost a fortune to buy them and they were in excellent condition! I took them all but none reached Greece.They were too heavy anyway. I gave them away to people who wanted them in the States and the rest I donated to the thrift store. I am glad I took them though because the next day it rained and they would get spoiled. Unfortunately I didn't take a photo!

(to be continued)