Author Topic: Cheap Things That Make You Happy  (Read 939009 times)

Just Joe

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Re: Cheap Things That Make You Happy
« Reply #2200 on: June 26, 2020, 09:57:42 AM »
finding things on the road while out for a bike ride. tools, money...

Nice watches, fancy smart phones... I found the phone's owner and returned it. The watch I still have.

OtherJen

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Re: Cheap Things That Make You Happy
« Reply #2201 on: June 26, 2020, 03:52:26 PM »
Surprise strawberries in today's CSA share!

okisok

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Re: Cheap Things That Make You Happy
« Reply #2202 on: June 28, 2020, 09:43:58 PM »
finding things on the road while out for a bike ride. tools, money...

I've found 8 cents over the past few days while out on my walks. Easy money!

AnnaGrowsAMustache

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Re: Cheap Things That Make You Happy
« Reply #2203 on: June 29, 2020, 12:24:07 AM »
Every evening I turn on a little radiant heater for the cat to bask in front of. Sue me, he's an old man with old bones! I've discovered that I can heat some socks next to the cat, and putting them on slightly chilly feet is bloody orgasmic.

Gremlin

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Re: Cheap Things That Make You Happy
« Reply #2204 on: June 29, 2020, 03:13:02 AM »
Every evening I turn on a little radiant heater for the cat to bask in front of. Sue me, he's an old man with old bones! I've discovered that I can heat some socks next to the cat, and putting them on slightly chilly feet is bloody orgasmic.

I'm just imagining this phrase in a thick NZ accent...

SailingOnASmallSailboat

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Re: Cheap Things That Make You Happy
« Reply #2205 on: June 29, 2020, 05:58:35 AM »
Lying in bed next to the open windows and listening to the loons call to each other across the lake.

Gerard

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Re: Cheap Things That Make You Happy
« Reply #2206 on: June 29, 2020, 08:37:11 AM »
+1 on smells: smelling things (flowering trees, mostly) that I've never noticed before. Locust and linden especially.

Also, Toronto is jam-packed with fruiting trees and nobody else picking. Chuckley pears (aka saskatoons), mulberries, red currants, sour cherries. Our evening walks are movable desserts.

Freedomin5

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Re: Cheap Things That Make You Happy
« Reply #2207 on: July 03, 2020, 07:53:18 AM »
Today, I felt happy walking to a friend’s apartment to hang out without wearing a mask, and not feeling worried about getting COVID. We haven’t had a local case here in months, and it’s delightful to see people sitting outside at cafes enjoying the hot, humid weather. We still avoid crowded public places and try not to walk in close proximity to anyone else, but life has started to return to a semblance of normalcy.

iris lily

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Re: Cheap Things That Make You Happy
« Reply #2208 on: July 03, 2020, 09:17:52 AM »
+1 on smells: smelling things (flowering trees, mostly) that I've never noticed before. Locust and linden especially.

Also, Toronto is jam-packed with fruiting trees and nobody else picking. Chuckley pears (aka saskatoons), mulberries, red currants, sour cherries. Our evening walks are movable desserts.
Linda the flowers are very special on a late spring evening. They are sickly sweet however.

okisok

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Re: Cheap Things That Make You Happy
« Reply #2209 on: July 03, 2020, 04:51:36 PM »
(for I, alas, am catless.)

I love this description of your cat status (not that you are without cat). I am currently catless as well, but have a dog that's very much a handful.

mspym

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Re: Cheap Things That Make You Happy
« Reply #2210 on: July 03, 2020, 06:25:22 PM »
Riding around the harbour with sunset blazing up the sky

OtherJen

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Re: Cheap Things That Make You Happy
« Reply #2211 on: July 04, 2020, 08:35:20 AM »
We salvaged seeds from a Roma tomato and spaghetti squash early this year and planted a few of each in seed starters. Now we have four tomato plants and two spaghetti squash that are growing vigorously. The squash plants are covered in buds and blossoms, and the tomatoes are starting to flower.

It’s been a great growing season so far. The local farmer who runs our CSA program has said that he can’t believe how much he’s been able to harvest already.

LWYRUP

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Re: Cheap Things That Make You Happy
« Reply #2212 on: July 04, 2020, 11:44:15 AM »

Hand-washing dishes, oddly enough.  (With a dishwasher to carry part of the load).

Freedomin5

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Re: Cheap Things That Make You Happy
« Reply #2213 on: July 05, 2020, 11:43:08 PM »
A good umbrella that doesn't flip inside out in the wind.

It's rainy season, and the forecast is calling for rain and thunder storms for the next seven days.

AnnaGrowsAMustache

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Re: Cheap Things That Make You Happy
« Reply #2214 on: July 06, 2020, 12:23:56 AM »
Every evening I turn on a little radiant heater for the cat to bask in front of. Sue me, he's an old man with old bones! I've discovered that I can heat some socks next to the cat, and putting them on slightly chilly feet is bloody orgasmic.

I'm just imagining this phrase in a thick NZ accent...

Yeah, the kiwi accent sucks

lazycow

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Re: Cheap Things That Make You Happy
« Reply #2215 on: July 06, 2020, 01:24:44 AM »
Glorious rainbows on grey winter days.

RetiredAt63

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Re: Cheap Things That Make You Happy
« Reply #2216 on: July 06, 2020, 07:02:27 AM »
We salvaged seeds from a Roma tomato and spaghetti squash early this year and planted a few of each in seed starters. Now we have four tomato plants and two spaghetti squash that are growing vigorously. The squash plants are covered in buds and blossoms, and the tomatoes are starting to flower.

It’s been a great growing season so far. The local farmer who runs our CSA program has said that he can’t believe how much he’s been able to harvest already.

Roma is a hybrid so the genetics of your volunteers will be interesting.  Please post what the tomatoes are like once they fruit.  Some hybrid offspring are still similar to the hybrid parent and some are wildly different.

Poundwise

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Re: Cheap Things That Make You Happy
« Reply #2217 on: July 06, 2020, 07:48:25 AM »
Teaching my sullen, unmotivated teenage son to use a sewing machine, and seeing that he actually enjoys it.  He is making cloth masks for school credit.

Just Joe

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Re: Cheap Things That Make You Happy
« Reply #2218 on: July 06, 2020, 08:22:28 AM »
Mopping our floors (steam mop). Looking at the dirty mop head and seeing all the dirt there knowing it isn't on the floor.

With all the feet and paws in our house the floors take a beating. 

OtherJen

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Re: Cheap Things That Make You Happy
« Reply #2219 on: July 06, 2020, 06:32:45 PM »
Homemade corn tortillas.

lemanfan

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Re: Cheap Things That Make You Happy
« Reply #2220 on: July 07, 2020, 06:19:01 AM »
A slow walk in the sun. :)

AnnaGrowsAMustache

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Re: Cheap Things That Make You Happy
« Reply #2221 on: July 07, 2020, 07:03:11 AM »
Bloop Bloop getting his arse locked down for six weeks.

RetiredAt63

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Re: Cheap Things That Make You Happy
« Reply #2222 on: July 07, 2020, 01:16:19 PM »
Bloop Bloop getting his arse locked down for six weeks.

He did?  Where Is it posted?  Maybe he will learn something from it.

AnnaGrowsAMustache

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Re: Cheap Things That Make You Happy
« Reply #2223 on: July 07, 2020, 05:02:02 PM »
Bloop Bloop getting his arse locked down for six weeks.

He did?  Where Is it posted?  Maybe he will learn something from it.

Melbourne has been re-locked down for 6 weeks.

RetiredAt63

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Re: Cheap Things That Make You Happy
« Reply #2224 on: July 07, 2020, 06:04:37 PM »
Bloop Bloop getting his arse locked down for six weeks.

He did?  Where Is it posted?  Maybe he will learn something from it.

Melbourne has been re-locked down for 6 weeks.

LOL  I  thought you meant here. 

My cheap thing that makes me happy is that everyone in Eastern Ontario, including Ottawa, now has to wear a mask inside (stores, etc).  Some people went a bit overboard for Canada Day.
« Last Edit: July 07, 2020, 06:07:25 PM by RetiredAt63 »

Trudie

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Re: Cheap Things That Make You Happy
« Reply #2225 on: July 07, 2020, 09:38:37 PM »
Rescuing cheap or free stuff to upcycle for my community garden plot.  Gardeners tend to be generous people.

RetiredAt63

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Re: Cheap Things That Make You Happy
« Reply #2226 on: July 08, 2020, 06:02:47 PM »
Rescuing cheap or free stuff to upcycle for my community garden plot.  Gardeners tend to be generous people.

And good at repurposing.

lemanfan

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Re: Cheap Things That Make You Happy
« Reply #2227 on: July 11, 2020, 01:48:21 PM »
When you discover a very geeky, but very low key Youtube channel with interesting information.

Here about the English language evolution, comparing Southern US accents to what Shakespeare would have spoken:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rb0HPDnc8Y

The whole channel is worth watching. :)

lazycow

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Re: Cheap Things That Make You Happy
« Reply #2228 on: July 11, 2020, 09:23:49 PM »
So many things...
Flannelette sheets on my bed in winter.
Hanging washing outside in the sun to get that delicious air-dried smell.
Listening to Beethoven's Top 100 on ABC FM Classic radio, on repeat.
Baking a lemon cake with home grown lemons.

Freedomin5

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Re: Cheap Things That Make You Happy
« Reply #2229 on: July 12, 2020, 02:00:35 AM »
Many expats are leaving China...I scored a free set of ice cream dishes and a couple child-size plates.

Trifle

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Re: Cheap Things That Make You Happy
« Reply #2230 on: July 12, 2020, 07:08:54 AM »
I had short hair for many years.  I stopped getting my hair cut last year, part laziness and part mustachianism.  It just got long enough to try French braiding it, and I did it!  Somehow (after 25 years) my fingers remembered how.  Fun and practical.   

Linea_Norway

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Re: Cheap Things That Make You Happy
« Reply #2231 on: July 12, 2020, 10:59:06 AM »
DH found this season's first edible mushroom at our mountain cabin. I put it on the pizza.

zolotiyeruki

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Re: Cheap Things That Make You Happy
« Reply #2232 on: July 12, 2020, 02:08:36 PM »
DH found this season's first edible mushroom at our mountain cabin. I put it on the pizza.
Braiding DW's hair.  It's super thick and wavy, and a couple years without a haircut means it's nice and long, and looks super cute in two braids.

A mom

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Re: Cheap Things That Make You Happy
« Reply #2233 on: July 12, 2020, 03:30:54 PM »
Growing my own vegetables.

mspym

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Re: Cheap Things That Make You Happy
« Reply #2234 on: July 12, 2020, 05:52:54 PM »
Embroidery. It's dirt cheap, occupies your hands, and it builds up in a series of tangible steps - it's a leaf, it's a branch, it's a tree, here is a night sky. Oh and you can use it to cover up clothing repairs and make them look good.

OtherJen

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Re: Cheap Things That Make You Happy
« Reply #2235 on: July 12, 2020, 05:57:34 PM »
After-dinner bike ride down a local trail. And ice cream for dessert.

TheFrenchCat

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Re: Cheap Things That Make You Happy
« Reply #2236 on: July 13, 2020, 06:31:37 AM »
Embroidery. It's dirt cheap, occupies your hands, and it builds up in a series of tangible steps - it's a leaf, it's a branch, it's a tree, here is a night sky. Oh and you can use it to cover up clothing repairs and make them look good.
How hard is this to get into?  I've been looking for a hobby like that, but I'm not very artistic and have had a hard time with crochet and knitting. 

On topic, I love making bread.  Mostly the process of kneading, so people think I'm crazy for not using my stand mixer to make it. 

mspym

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Re: Cheap Things That Make You Happy
« Reply #2237 on: July 13, 2020, 02:43:26 PM »
@scrunchythief it's super easy - I basically taught myself using machine sewing thread and an idea I had to sew a rainbow on a jacket. I can't manage tension for knitting or crochet but embroidery doesn't have those problems since you have the materal as the base. If you are interested there are heaps of books at the library to teach you how to do it, most handcraft/sewing stores sell little kits if you want to try it out, also there is a whole revival on the internet. A lot of people like cross-stitch, I tend to be more free-form making patterns mostly with splitstitch. Embroidery thread is worth buying - it's less than a dollar and is pretty and won't knot up as easily.

I hear you about kneading dough - that's the part I enjoy!

TheFrenchCat

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Re: Cheap Things That Make You Happy
« Reply #2238 on: July 13, 2020, 07:23:37 PM »
@scrunchythief it's super easy - I basically taught myself using machine sewing thread and an idea I had to sew a rainbow on a jacket. I can't manage tension for knitting or crochet but embroidery doesn't have those problems since you have the materal as the base. If you are interested there are heaps of books at the library to teach you how to do it, most handcraft/sewing stores sell little kits if you want to try it out, also there is a whole revival on the internet. A lot of people like cross-stitch, I tend to be more free-form making patterns mostly with splitstitch. Embroidery thread is worth buying - it's less than a dollar and is pretty and won't knot up as easily.

I hear you about kneading dough - that's the part I enjoy!
Thanks @mspym!  I'll give that a try.  I have some embroidery thread and a hoop somewhere that I picked up cheap from yardsales thinking they might be good for crafts some day. 

Trudie

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Re: Cheap Things That Make You Happy
« Reply #2239 on: July 13, 2020, 10:35:05 PM »
Growing a garden.

And also going to my favorite garden store and discovering that all seed packets were a quarter.  I now have a robust seed vault.

mspym

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Re: Cheap Things That Make You Happy
« Reply #2240 on: July 13, 2020, 11:03:43 PM »
@scrunchythief I have definitely picked up bags of craft supplies on the supercheap from secondhand shops. It's nice to get 50 skeins of embroidery floss for 50 cents!

lazycow

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Re: Cheap Things That Make You Happy
« Reply #2241 on: July 14, 2020, 12:49:42 AM »
Lemon and blueberry muffins, made by my daughter.
With a pot of strong English Breakfast tea. Who needs cafes?!

John Galt incarnate!

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Re: Cheap Things That Make You Happy
« Reply #2242 on: July 14, 2020, 10:45:18 AM »
I wanted a yo-yo that sleeps longer than my Duncan yo-yo so I bought one  that has a bearing on its axle.

My new yo-yo is made from aluminum, is lighter, and  does sleep longer.

And the way it is formed gives it a nicer feel in my hand than my Duncan.

I thoroughly enjoy my cheap new toy.

It's fun!
« Last Edit: July 14, 2020, 11:41:06 AM by John Galt incarnate! »

MudPuppy

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Re: Cheap Things That Make You Happy
« Reply #2243 on: July 15, 2020, 09:03:47 AM »
Morning “exercise” by hauling one of the dogs off the ground by the tug toys. We call them canine overhead extensions. The dogs are delighted and jostle for the next turn.

Just Joe

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Re: Cheap Things That Make You Happy
« Reply #2244 on: July 16, 2020, 10:39:10 AM »
A moment of coolness early in the morning before hot July weather arrives for the day.

Doing ANYTHING enough that you're good at it.

John Galt incarnate!

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Re: Cheap Things That Make You Happy
« Reply #2245 on: July 16, 2020, 05:22:54 PM »
A moment of coolness early in the morning before hot July weather arrives for the day.



+1.

Right now it's 92F in my house.

mspym

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Re: Cheap Things That Make You Happy
« Reply #2246 on: July 16, 2020, 05:27:03 PM »
A nice cup of tea.

TheFrenchCat

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Re: Cheap Things That Make You Happy
« Reply #2247 on: July 16, 2020, 06:56:22 PM »
Blueberry picking with my daughter and cousin in the fields behind our houses.  We got enough for pancakes tomorrow.

OtherJen

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Re: Cheap Things That Make You Happy
« Reply #2248 on: July 17, 2020, 05:29:55 AM »
I just put library holds on “Mexican Gothic” by Silvia Moreno-Garcia and “Blackout” by Sarah Hepola. I couldn’t get either through the electronic library resources without huge wait times (months) but should be able to pick up hard copies of both in a few days!

Frugal Lizard

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Re: Cheap Things That Make You Happy
« Reply #2249 on: July 17, 2020, 07:01:11 AM »
A moment of coolness early in the morning before hot July weather arrives for the day.



+1.

Right now it's 92F in my house.
that's damned hot