*sigh*

A few of the things I'm thankful for:

The (hopeful) certainty of a new home at 309 E. Fourth. David left paperwork for the loan officer at the bank today, so the ball is officially rolling.

The opportunity to help a friend in need, and another friend in need, and maybe another.

For a home and a body that is whole, that I may use to help those in need. –Today my quadraplegic client and I drove by a house that had just couple hours earlier been wiped out by a fire (you might’ve seen it on the news).

A thick wool sweater and a hot cup of tea.

Earlier this week I wanted to post a response to Charity’s “A Crash Course in Thrifty Shopping”, a reminence about the evolution of my shopping habits.

I got this far earlier:
My high school days were laden with Eddie Bauer, Gap , JCREW, and AE clothing (thanks to my mom) and an abhorence of the thought of stepping into a goodwill, except to buy props/costumes for a school play. I remember the first time I went to goodwill to buy something for myself (David and I were friendly aquantainces by this time): Gusty, Rachael and I charged in with a mission- clothes for a concert, a cute-grungy look. We took so long dressing we missed the opening band. My next experience was a thrift store in Chicago on our senior trip where my love for used clothing began to blossom, along with a crush on the only boy in our class, who just happened to think girls in grungy, ill-fitted old clothes were “the BOMB”! I dedicated myself to that trend for the rest of our dating/engaged years and through our first or so of marriage, until nursing school created a demand to look "professional". I enjoy an occasional relapse.

In recent years my taste for more tailored clothes has been renewed and I regularly drool over name brands, particularly those that sell my inseam in pants or jeans. The quest for acceptable length pants is an eternal one, and an ever more consuming challenge when I refuse to pay more than $30/pr unless it was gift money. Anyone who has known me very long will at some point hear this as a mainstream complaint about my height (for which I am otherwise thankful b/c it is an evidence that God answers prayers). I have dropped my ban on the Gap clothing line and have rarely, but occasionally been known to buy items from there or Old Navy when we find exceptional deals. Other great places to find new clothes for cheap are: Steve and Barry’s, WalMart, TJMax, Kohls and Target. However, for conscience sake, I still believe in the value of buying clothes secondhand whenever possible, to, perhaps in some small way, protect the people working in sweat shops. But, really, I’m not educated enough about the subject to make a soapbox of it.

My romance with thrift stores is somewhat drafty since my luck at finding pants that fit my exacting requirements has been NON-irish. However, I expect my relationship with those thrifty places to bloom vibrantly once I’m attempting to furnish clothes for a little sprout(s)...

Off to bed to read...
I am also thankful for M. LeEngle's writings, soothing to the mind and soul.