New Old Stuff

After our East Coast trip, Laurie returned to Payson with Mike's mom for the week.  We are planning on having her come up one week each month, to help give Mike's sister a break, and because his mom really enjoys going to Payson.  While they were there during the week, they visited some thrift stores and sales.  They found some items that Laurie wanted Mike to look at when he arrived for the weekend.

About 3 months ago we purchased a water softener system that was on sale at Home Depot. In reviewing Home Depot's daily deal, Laurie noticed that the same water softener was on sale for an even lower price than we had originally paid so she ordered it (at the reduced price) and returned the one we purchased in July. Water softeners are not small items and Mike felt she was nuts for going to the trouble to return and reorder to save $170, but, as Laurie reasoned, when you are saving for retirement, every little bit helps.

On Saturday, Laurie took Mike back to a church rummage sale where she was considering purchasing a sleeper couch, chair and ottoman set.  We had not been planning on replacing our current furniture, but the couch we have been using for a few years was getting a little worn and the extra chair will be good for guests.  By the time we showed up to look at it again (first time for Mike), they had reduced the price and we bought it.  After we got our trailer and loaded the items, we found there was quite a bit of cat hair embedded in the cushions.  We decided to take them to the car wash and use the high-powered vacuums to remove as much as possible.  After we ran out of cash, we got the rest of it off at the house using a shop vac and some pet hair removal tape.  The new furniture looked really nice in the room, but there was not enough room for our old sofa (we had hoped we had enough space to fit everything).  So we contacted Mike's niece and nephew who just bought a new house and offered it to them.  They were very excited as they needed the extra seating for guests who were coming for the holidays.

The final configuration will look different, but it fits for now

Before our vacation, our friend Bob, who runs the surplus store in Star Valley, told us he had a used table saw for $150.  Mike has a folding saw he uses, but not a regular one.  He ran over to take a look at it and it was in good shape and came with a caster base so it could be moved around easily.  Mike did not have time to pick up the saw that day, but told Bob we wanted it and would be back in November to purchase it.  So Mike went over to Bob's this weekend and picked up the saw.  Just as with the couch and chair, when Mike got to Bob's, he had reduced the price since the last time Mike was there (who says procrastinating doesn't pay off).  Hopefully it will be a great addition to Mike's current set of tools.

It runs, but needs a little work to make it level

Mike took the truck and trailer back to the Valley to deliver the sofa to his niece and nephew and took his mom back to his sister's place.  Not a highly productive weekend, but it was good to be back in town.

Stats: 1 Home Depot trip; 3 Walmart trips
Remodeling expense 10/21/15-11/09/15: $0
Remodeling expense to date: $51,749