Garage Sale Happiness

Good Things Come to Those Who Wait

Last year I salivated when a family member added a Cuisinart food processor to her kitchen.  Just looking at the video on it (yes, there is a video) would make anyone envious.  Oh the wonderful delicacies that would be coming out of her kitchen.  That video caught my attention and made me dream about the one day I would be able to justify a similar purchase.  I gave it 24 hours, well maybe 48 or 72 and then I decided that I was just caught up in the moment and I really could do without it in the short term.  In reality, I just needed a chopper/slicer contraption since my previous chopper bit the dust about 4 months earlier.  What I really wanted was to make my kitchen slicing and dicing more efficient.  To my benefit, Black Friday was just around the corner so I scoured the papers and found a great mini chopper and slicer offered for a mere $22 dollars with a $10 rebate.  It doesn’t get much better than that so I made sure I was up early to get this gem.  My life improved immediately after this purchase and in my own little way I felt I had it all (and I blocked that Cuisinart video out of my memory).  I managed to love what I had even if it meant it wasn’t a contraption that did everything imaginable while holding large amounts of delicious creations its bowl eliminating the step of emptying the container and starting over to finish a job. 

I have reflected on how content I was and have managed to be after the purchase of my own little food processor purchase.  Nothing extravagant but it managed to help me create many of wonderful dishes.  The only thing was that it would not julienne carrots so I started a quest of what I needed to accomplish this.  A mandolin they say.  Of course I immediately put it on a wish list and for mother’s day, I was the proud owner of a mandolin that was sure to make my life even better.

Fast forward……….Three months later,

Gas prices are killing me……or are they?

There is definitely an upside to gas prices.  They have reached a point where one thinks before hopping in the car for any one trip.  Some people carpool, some decide not to take vacations as far away or as often.  Many trips are delayed and combined with another planned trip.  We may decide to stop on our way home from work at a store that is in the route instead of making a special trip.  Our household has started encouraging the use of bikes on a regular basis or walking to places close by.  These ideas were not part of our everyday vocabulary before rise in gas prices.  Upside number 1 is we have learned to be greener due to our awareness of how dependent we are on our gas guzzling cars.

I am a walker and have been for years.  I regularly take 3 to 5 mile walks with our dog Sammy.  Rarely, however, did I walk out of necessity.  It was for my health and to get Sammy out of our house which always makes for a better dog.  With gas prices, I started to rethink this.  Can I find common ground in getting in my exercise and running errands and sometimes take the dog as well to satisfy that requirement?  The answer is YES! 

Of course there are times that having a dog with you can be a problem.  Like going to the store for an item or the library without someone to wait outside with the dog for a minute or two.  After a little thought, I learned to be creative.  Is anyone in the family going that way for anything else?  I grab the dog, hop in the car and get dropped off.   I return my books, grab the ones waiting on the shelf for me, grab the dog from the car and walk home.  My family goes on their merry way and I have saved the earth and walked 3 extra miles in the process. (and on a new route that keeps things interesting)  If my car needs an oil change, I just drop off the car and walk home.  When done, I walk back and pick it up.  All of a sudden I am ashamed to think of all the times I felt like I had to have a car.   We are fortunate enough to live within 1-3 miles of a fair number of grocery and department stores as well as the post office.   This is truly a gift that should not be overlooked!