Thrifty and a flower

I think by now you know, I really love craigslist and goodwill. I love buying something most of all that has no packaging. I love knowing that resources weren't used to make this just FOR ME. Especially baby stuff that gets used only for a few months and then becomes worthless. I love a bargain, no foolin'. We've purchased most of our furniture from estate sales are incredibly happy with the quality of older furniture, for *much* less than the price of new stuff. We have other priorities for our money - particularly travel and our child. Don't get me wrong though, we have some really beautiful stuff. This attitude has grown in me, especially since meeting Charley, who is the most recycling person I know - he recycles buildings, for goodness sake! If something can be fixed, it should be - not replaced. He goes to great lengths to fix instead of replace, and has suprised me by fixing things I thought were disposable. And he has a very strong inner junk man. I swear, he would be a regular junk dealer if I wasn't around to say "please don't buy another foreclosed storage space at auction just for the fun of what you might find"

However, I am learning a lot about the economy of reselling babystuff on craigslist lately. What astonishes me are the people who try to resell their used babystuff - albeit in very gently used condition - for 90% of the retail they paid for it. I think what happens is that over zealous consumers buy all the stuff they think they need to keep a baby happy, use half of it for about 20 minutes, and then feel ripped off. AND THEN they expect you - or some hapless second hand buyer - to help them recoup the money they spent on all of this frivolous crap they ended up with. I routinely offer less than what people are asking for on craigslist. (uh oh, giving away my secrets!) Let's face it - used babystuff isn't rare, and therefore can't really command a blood price. Most of the stuff I'm only willing to spend what I offer them, or I'll go without it because its quite frivolous stuff, anyway. What really gets me is the people who WHINE back at you. Real quote: "It really hurts to get so little for these after I paid so much for them!" I am sorely tempted to respond by asking who forced them to purchase brand new, expensive, frivolous, extra convienient items for their baby, and when, exactly, did I become responsible for helping them recoup the money they spent on said stuff? But, I usually do restrain myself (suprised?) in order to not quash a potential deal. I really think these people ought to start being more realistic - who wants to pay more than 50% of the cost of something new to get something used? I don't. But most of all, I don't want them to whine at me, because I'm not really feeling it. I lack the drive for brand shiny new stuff, and I lack sympathy for your overzealous consumption. ouch. Maybe I am a bit harsh - but - overall, I estimate that we've saved about $2000 on "essentials" and ended up with some extra fun stuff for really cheap. I love it! Yay me!

Now that my rant is over, I can get to the news from the ranch. We've had some good days of rain, thankfully. We're still down for the year, but every drop helps. It is still quite hot, but we're experiencing more managable high 90's than low 100's - and trust me, there is a big difference. Still not much life to speak of - the major change noted around here is the mesquite trees have popped out with millions of pods filled with seeds hanging heavy on the trees, and each rain storm fells more and more of them to the ground. Mesquite can eventually make for some nice trees, but is considered for the most part, a scourge. The small trees are spiny and insidious - a three inch tall sprout can have three times as large a root system anchoring it down below. They are notoriously hard to get rid of. The worst part is the little buggers pop your tires and gouge your feet - and if allowed to take hold, require blood, sweat, and tears to remove. We rely on several of the damned things for shade for our house at this point, while we await some friendlier trees to grow to shade-giving proportions. They do a good job, and they are pretty - feathery leaves that stay green in the most Texas-like heat and drought conditions. But we sure do grumble about those pods, and they havoc they wreak.
The good news is that one of our large cactus - oh I forget the name of it now, but it is a pretty standard upright log of a cactus - is about to bloom. It has put off a large, hairy projection that has grown incredibly over the last 4 days. I suppose it would measure around 7 inches long, about 2 - 3 inches in diameter where the flower will open. The last time it bloomed, I procrastinated and missed photographing the glorious florescence completely. The flower is ginormous and has a strong purfume - for about 24 hours. Such an amazing thing, and it lasts for the blnk of an eye. This time, we're determined to document it. So stay tuned...