and kept not doing anything because I'm three generations on the poor side of the family, and was hoping something would come up.

so I'm driving through one of the nicer townships, and what looked like a white kitchen trash can caught my eye.... turned around in the entrance to the fancy development (do not get the Mc Mansions- million dollar home on a half acre lot?) and came back...

nope, not a trash can. there, beside a full trash can and a stack of empty boxes are these four white tubes...3 feet tall, good foot across. some kind of heavy resin...

no idea what they were- but the dump did not get them. my station wagon ate them, and carried them off :)

:) patience really IS a virtue- they're bigger than anything I'd looked at, and you can't beat the price :)

gonna put trailing plants in one posthaste- then, I'm going to take my time and paint one, and the third I think I'm going to mosaic and make into a water tower...

:) I'm tempted to leave a thank you card in their mailbox, but I've noticed that people with gates that cost more than my house aren't often amused by me.

Yeah, it was large-item pick up day in Austin a week or so ago. I got an adirondack chair and a ton of plastic nursery pots and 5 terra cotta pots. Hoo-ray!

in fact, I stopped today, in the drizzle, to pick up a 6 ft long section of that wire shelving...

people throw out the damndest things!

In Deerwood, as no garage can face the street, all garages face the side. Which necessitates a curved driveway. Which almost always results in a privacy fence. Which is where the garbage is put.

One last thing - no, I DON'T live in Deerwood! Haha! (I WISH!)

I don't want to live in a country club. Been there, done that. I own my property, and I say what happens there. Well, of course, there are city laws about maintenance, etc., but at least I don't have to build a special driveway or wall because my garbage cannot face the street! How ludicrous! They're behind a wall, who can see it?

I recently had a group garage sale and some of the stuff my friends and I donated (and sold for pretty decent prices) were dumpster dives. At a garage sale I had 3 years ago, I made over $30 from books from a dumpster, alone.

I still need to paint that adirondak chair I posted about earlier...

The patio furniture got a good wash and is going to a neighbor, and the bathroom fixtures are going to the Habitat for Humanity store. Oh, and I got a cool wooden wine box for myself.

Not bad for a weekend when I wasn't even looking!

Adnama, you clever cat, you --selling your finds to a "garage" sales to make a little extra dough. Hmmm...I might have to consider doing that too!

Still, I get some great stuff sometimes! Around here, one of the best places to look isn't homes at all... it's around the college dorms and apartments when the students move out: they just toss any and everything. Furniture, desks, bookcases, books, linens, dishes, clothes- you name it! What fun!

This past week, my neighbors across the street were throwing out some white wire edging that they used to have around flower beds. I wanted to ask them about it (normally, I don't ask as long as it is obviously meant for the garbage- but these are neighbors), but they never came around, and the truck was on its way, and I was quite tempted, but I thought they might think it was strange to look at our house one day and see their old edging! [Besides, DH would've had a FIT.] So, I didn't take it. Maybe next time! :)

I also like our local freecycle group- like minded people who don't want to throw things out (and a few like me who also think that places like the Goodwill are getting a bit high price-wise). Well, anyhow. Good thread- maybe I can find some pots soon... you can never have too many containers!! =)