Finding Time

This is turning out to be one of those rare weekends where there’s more going on in Indiana than I’m going to be able to attend.  Kind of nice, actually, although a bit sad that I’ve been running all morning and there’s still things that aren’t going to get checked off the that-looks-like-fun list.  The local festival started today with a parade (that we skipped because taking an uninterested baby to watch a parade in the rain sounded a bit pointless), lots of downtown church garage sales (can’t miss those!) and a flea market (stopped by, but left before finding anything–might have to go back).

I’ve been all about the garage sales lately.  It started as a way to pick up clothes and a few toys for the Turtle.  And I’ve been pretty successful at that.  But then I started noticing all the other, um, junk that people have for me to look through.  Oh, it’s addicting.  Just looking through the piles, imagining the stories behind each piece, lusting over vintage kitchenware or wondering how I could improve on some old T-shirt/basket/toy/etc.  My favorite finds today have been (notice the tense, leaving open the possibility of more finding before the day ends) two full rolls of Japanese toweling (really?!) shown above, found at a church sale for a dollar a piece, and the great flowery print below on some completely synthetic knit.  The stuff is almost slimy in its slickness (love the polyester), but I was a sucker for the design.

I used to see thrifted finds on other blogs and wonder why I always saw only junk when garage saling.  Now, with a baby who loves long walks, I’ve learned that it really is about putting in the time–there are a lot of duds for every good find.  It’s a fun hobby as long as Turtle and I are both enjoying it, but when he gets more independent we probably won’t find as much time for the searching and wandering.  Until then I’m loving the hunt, and squirling away little treasures to play with in the thriftless months of wintertime.

Still up is a walk through the craft vendors and the chalk walk, and a trip to the new stadium where there’s some sort of bicycle racing with concerts going on.  And somehow I had it in my head that we should go berry picking this weekend, too.  Not so sure that’s going to happen.

And why am I sitting at the computer with all this excitement?  Because the Turtle is napping.  Funny how having a baby makes everything more hectic, but also forces you to slow down.  So I am resting at the computer, and next up is a bit of knitting.  A nice little siesta in the middle of a busy day.  Oh, and I know I promised pictures of the sweater, but I seem to have started a hat instead.  My excuse is that it is for the shop.

Also, there are a lot of people out this weekend, in a downtown that is, well, possibly on the verge of being alive.  One of the joys of living downtown is that I can sit on the porch and knit and watch all the extra foot traffic (and count the cars parked illegally on my street).  It’s fun seeing families walking along, strollers and wagons and lawn chairs and coolers in tow.  I can pretend that I live somewhere where there is always this much activitity.