Another large contract has ended, so I’m going to have a lot less to juggle in the next few weeks. The clients I have right now appear capable of filling any gaps in my schedule, so I’m happy to slack off a bit as I enter into August (August already!) and not look for anything else.
But yesterday was a pretty full day and I was looking at working late into the early evening when I got a message from a lady on the local garage sale group I belong to. She is an ex-ex-ex-expat in that she’s a Mexican who moved to Canada then back to Mexico and is finally returning to Canada for good. She’s doing some major downsizing ahead of return north and is pricing things to sell quickly.
Some weeks ago, she was selling a bunch of Pyrex dishes for very little and I unfortunately was too far down the line to score any of it, which was on my wanted list for ages. My kitchen has been very well equipped in Miranda, but one can never have enough mixing bowls that can go in the oven and the microwave and Pyrex is the best. It’s also super expensive and savvy thrift shops price it accordingly. She was practically giving it away, but was vetting her buyers to make sure she got some that would appreciate and use the Pyrex rather than turn around and resell it for a profit.
Yesterday’s message to me was that she had three more pieces that she’d decided to part with since they don’t fit in her luggage and I could have first dibs on them! I couldn’t believe it because they were three of the exact pieces I wanted — a large bowl with handles and two medium-sized bowls! The colours, blue and orange, were a bonus!
Even though I really didn’t have time to go out yesterday, she was in Progreso and I needed some groceries. So it made sense to take an hour and a half or so to go pick up the loot. Well, not only did I drive into a major storm, but there was a huge accident right around Bodega Aurrerá, so traffic was veeeeeeeery slow and there were no detour signs, resulting in a lot of confused people. I finally made it through the mess and across town to the seller’s home, which I found with no trouble using a combination of Google Maps and my GPS.
When I showed up, she asked if I’d be interested in a fourth bowl for a token sum, and it was another piece on my wish list, a small bowl I could use to heat up a bowl of soup or serve salsa in, and in a cute yellow! Yes, of course! Here’s my haul (which nests perfectly), for just $320 (about 24CAD or 18USD):
I only have one more type of Pyrex dish on my wish list now. I’m inordinately pleased with my treasures. 🙂
I then made my way to Bodega as best I could considering the one way roads and closures. I really needed to get home, so I got through my shopping list quickly. Just as I was heading for the till, I remembered that they sell roasted chickens, which would make a super quick dinner when I got home. I went to the chicken counter and there was just one left, but there was a time stamp on it that showed that it hadn’t been sitting long (only about 20 minutes) so I was pleased. However, there was also a man waiting for service… An attendant finally came out to serve us and started with me so I said that the man was ahead of me. He said, “Oh, I just want that chicken, but you can serve this lady first.”
Eep.
I said that I wanted the chicken, but, obviously, the man had first dibs on it. The attendant said she’d have more in about 15 minutes. I thanked her but said I couldn’t wait so I’d pass. The man told me not worry, his wife always takes forever to do her shopping and he could wait for a fresh one so, please, really, have the chicken that’s there.
I could have kissed him. 😀
Then came a very long wait at the till to pay. Bodega is affiliated with Walmart and has the same problem of not enough cashiers for the volume so I’m used waiting. It’s a good time to read trashy magazines. 🙂
To get home, I had to detour literally halfway to Mérida, so I didn’t get in till well past seven. I bolted down some dinner, gave Puppy some love and attention, and went back to work. The job wound up being shockingly difficult and I didn’t finish till 11:30 (I thought I’d be done by 10:00!). I really hope that’s my last time having a job that finishes that late; it just messes up my sleep schedule too much!
I used to have those bowls! Well, not the one with handles but the mixing bowls. They are another of those things I’m sorry I got rid of. You lucky thing, you!
I am SO GLAD I hung onto all my kitchen stuff! I did get rid of some things that i can barely remember, so I really have no regrets.
I love Pyrex and corningware. I have a cupboard full of the blue cornflower corningware pots, bowls etc. They are the only thing I cook in. They go in a convection oven and microwave and on top of the stove. Very convenient! Got them all at garage sales.
Good luck, hope you find more.
Corningware is also lovely! I really don’t want to start collecting Pyrex (how much does one person need), but I hope I can find the little bowls with lids I’m looking for!
I’ve settled into Analon, Pyrex, Corning, Magnalite – and most of all – the old Corning Visions Amber set.
So glad I packed them up those long years ago, and paid storage fees for all my treasures! It’s amazing at the better quality of the kitchen items of my own that I unpacked, as opposed to the things I had purchased in the meantime.
The new stuff all went to a new home! The thirty-year old items nestled happily right into my kitchen cabinets, glad to be liberated and working again after twenty years in the dark. ;->
Most of the things in my kitchen are really good quality items I received as gifts for my “hope chest” ahead (pots and pans, knives, cutlery) of moving our or that I inherited (serving platters, mixing bowls, serving utensils). I’ve had to buy very little for myself over the years and it’s really hard to find good quality, even with something so basic as a cheese grater. I’m blessed with having found some really good cast iron!
Last time my mother saw my kitchen, she was shocked by how much I retained when I moved into the RV and that I’ve taken such good care of it (my pots and pans are 20 years old and have been used daily for most of that time and still look great).
It’s hard to find good quality kitchen stuff in Mexico and so starting from scratch was not an option. My kitchen things were going to get here one way or another!