Savvy Bargain Hunting Granny

It pays to shop for bargains.  In fact, sometimes the best bargains can be found at a garage sale.  I know, I know. Why should you spend time going from one garage to another, sifting through the junk of strangers? I had given up on garage sales years ago, except if I needed paperbacks.

I read fast and so I would go to garage sales to find paperbacks.  Not anymore though.  Now that I have my kindle, I am so in love with reading on it that I never read an actual book anymore. It is just so much easier to carry and lighter to hold.  I can prop it up at a table and pages don't turn.  Awesome.

When I got my kindle I assumed I would never go to a garage sale again.  Then I remembered that I am now a grandma.  Gideon will be taken care of by me five afternoons a week this fall so that I can write in the mornings.  And guess what?  Gideon is going to need toys.  Lots of toys.  I remember how I hated to go to someones home when they had one or two toys. ZZZZZZZZZZZ.  No doubt about it.  I did not want to be Gamma Boring.

One day in Target I stood gazing at a very cool keyboard for young kids.  Itwas in the shape of a cat head, and had several drumbeats it could play while operating the keyboard.  Not only that, you could press buttons to make it sound like a piano, organ, banjo, bells, or a kitty (yeah, God help me, songs come out as meows). It had a microphone that really worked! It also could play it's own music or have singing cats.

How I wanted that for Gideon!  You see, his parents both teach music and voice.  He LOVES to play on one of their keyboards.  This would be perfect for him.  The only problem was we are on one income.  And the cat head keyboards was $28.69.  When we had two incomes I would not have thought twice.  I have to think twice now.  Reluctantly, I left without it.

Later that week I went garage sale-ing.  Gideon's mom gave me money for some toys and I have also bought some out of our money.  I started out in the morning, and you know how it goes with garage sales.  It seems for every ten sales you find one with decent stuff at it.  The same was true that day.  I was getting frustrated with the dirty junk some people think others will pay money for.

Then, magic happened.  I walked into the next sale and there it was.  The same exact cat head keyboard!  It was in pristine condition and worked perfect.  I grabbed it and quickly paid.  I found other things that day and later, but nothing made me as happy.

What do you think I paid for that $28.69 keyboard?  Five dollars.  Yep.  Five green dollars.  That got this granny dancing a jig.  Heck, I'm even gonna dance when he plays the kitty sounds.  It will be music to my ears...because this granny really LOVES a true bargain!

Really??? Superheroes?

This indie author does not write fantasy novels or novels where people have special super powers, nor do I care for movies about such "people".  They just seem too redundant.  Same ol' same ol'.  Buildings blow up.  People get lasered. Yada yada yada.

I just don't get the excitement regarding a man climbing up the sides of tall buildings or flying through the air.  I could understand one movie, but not one million. I do believe, though, that my time is coming in regard to the world of superheroes.

I had commented on how those movies are  "yawn" at art class a couple of weeks ago and noticed a friend smiling to herself.  All of a sudden it dawned on me.  Oh my God.  My grandson, Gideon, will want to go to movies...and someday before I know it he will have outgrown Disney and want to pick a different kind.  What kind?  Well, I am betting it won't be independent art films!

I started to laugh when I realized that-if I am lucky enough that he is still around me-we will probably be going to several lasering, building jumping, car crashing movies in the future.  And you know what?  I won't tell him I don't like them.  Why spoil it for him?  Hey, if it makes him thrilled I don't want to say anything to take the happiness away.  So, someday I will be discussing the merits of using a laser over a magic rope, or the advantage of being invisible over crawling up sides of buildings.  Oh my.  Not to mention he will constantly want to kick my butt on video games.

You know, I can put up with the movies if it is for Gideon.  Making him smile is worth anything.  Well, almost.  I find it rubs me the wrong way to get my butt kicked by an eight-year-old kid on a video game.  Looks like I am gonna have to start playing some of those games and learning how to rack up the deaths. 

Look out, Sonny.  You ain't seen nothin' yet.