Skip to main content

Thursday Thrift Store Find

I'm spending this week in Oregon.  As you might remember, I spent some time in Oregon earlier this year when my dad had heart surgery.  I stayed in my parents' home with my grandma, so my mom could be with my dad while he was in the hospital recovering.  I realized a little bit better then just how much energy goes into being a full-time caregiver to a person with Alzheimer's.  I decided then that I should come to Oregon more frequently, to provide a bit of help, or at least distraction.
My parents' live out in the country, on several acres.  Although my dad's recovery is complete, my mom isn't able to spend as much time as she used to in her flower beds.  Someone needs to be with Grandma all the time, and Grandma isn't physically able to accompany Mom outside all over the property.  So, youngest daughter and I have getting our hands dirty, pulling weeds and gathering fallen tree branches.  We won't be able to accomplish everything in this trip, but we can at least help a bit. 

Yesterday, though, Grandma wanted to go to the local day program for Alzheimer's patients.  What a wonderful program that is!  A small group of clients gather together in a room at the senior center for several hours of planned activity.  Art, music, movement, food, and conversation are always on the schedule.  Grandma doesn't attend every day, but when she wants to go, Mom takes her.  

With Grandma at her program, Mom decided to spend part of the day just having fun.  We checked out a local farmer's market that she hadn't been to before, and visited The Fussy Duck, a store selling self-proclaimed "funky junk."  Before we did any of that, though, we stopped by the thrift store at the front of the senior center.  We noticed this unusual pin, but didn't purchase it then:



As we drove away, we joked about that pin would be a good one to take to Antiques Roadshow, and how we'd even have a good story to accompany it:  "Well, we saw it in a thrift store, and it was marked $1.00, but the clasp was broken, so we didn't purchase it then."  When we returned in the afternoon to pick up Grandma, I asked Mom if I could buy the pin for her (Mom), and she agreed.

When we got home, I removed the pin from the paper, and noticed some engraving on the back.  Youngest daughter (the only one of us with good-enough eyes) was able to read "Trifari" for us.  A quick internet search taught us that what we purchased was not a broken-clasped coat pin, but an intact "fur pin."  Trifari is a well-respected name in jewelry, and the pin was a Alfred Phillipe design from about 1940.  Mom asked me, "Do you want the pin back?"  I assured her, "No, this just goes to show that it's possible to give really nice gifts for not much money!"  (Now if we can just find Mom a fur, so she can wear her pin.  :-)  )

Have you ever been surprised by a purchase you've made?

 photo visiting2_zps6d4521f3.jpg

 photo ThankfulThought4_zps7d9599c2.jpg
Thanks for thrift store fun with Mom!

 photo signature3_zps16be6bca.jpg


Pin It

Comments

  1. That is a great find! I'm glad you were able to get up to visit with your parents and grandma again. I"m sure they appreciate the visit as much as you do.

    ReplyDelete
  2. that is a beautiful pin! have a wonderful week! tell your mom to wear it well! :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. It's gorgeous! I would have purchased it, too.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Well, how wonderful!!! I was looking for something like that, for the fur stole I found in my mom-in-law her stuff when we had to clear the house. Her mom (Henks Granny) wore the fur stole for her daughter's (my mom IL) wedding. She had a pin on it, but not quite as beautiful as this one! Couldn't find that anymore though. Or; I could send your mom the fur stole, so she can wear it!!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. It is really pretty but I have never even heard of a fur pin -- never had a fur either! What a wonderful find and for only $1.

    ReplyDelete
  6. That's just beautiful, Kristi! If the value doesn't matter, you could always add a regular pin backing and your mom could wear it on lots of things.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Conversations are so much nicer when more than one person does the talking. :-) Please leave a comment and let me know your thoughts; I'd love to hear from you!

Popular posts from this blog

Ten Things of Thankful: Autumn Edition

It's autumn time, one of my favorite times of year.  I just couldn't leave this weekend as a one-post weekend.  

Ten Things of Thankful: Last Two Weeks

  Grand Prismatic Spring in Yellowstone National Park, as viewed from an overlook I apologize for not commenting on your blog posts this past week; John and I took a vacation to Yellowstone National Park, leaving behind our computers and, to a large extent, cell phone service. We escaped the outside world and just spent time in nature. Though we have friends near Yellowstone (who we love to visit) we made this trip just about us, so please forgive us if we were nearby and didn't stop by. The crowds were minimal (though we did mask up whenever we passed someone on the trails) and we spent our days hiking, taking photos, and watching geysers erupt. Today, we are back home and back to work, and, in the case of my computer, back to old shenanigans like not letting me import my photos. (I was able to add the above photo by using blogger on my phone, but that isn't my preferred method.) I want to write about Yellowstone and have photos I want to share, but will leave that for another

Monday Mentions: Equate Crutches

Have you ever needed crutches? I hadn't, until a week ago.  I'm pretty sure I strained a muscle while running a half-marathon.  (That sounds kind of cool, doesn't it? I'm not actually that cool; the last time I strained a muscle it was from carrying too many shopping bags at once.) In any case, I found myself in need of some crutches. I sent my husband to the store to get some. Photo: A pair of crutches leans against a wall  Not that crutches are all that complex, but because I hadn't used any before, I wondered if I could figure out how to adjust them to fit me properly. I shouldn't have worried. John came home from Walmart with their generic store brand of crutches, complete with instructions. First, I needed to take out a long bolt that went through the hand grip. Then I needed to find my height range, push down two metal pieces, and slide the crutches until the little metal pieces came up in the hole near my height range. (Having two people for this