What a great weekend to be out and about! There was a parade on MLK, square dancers in huge swishy skirts all over the Lloyd District, and folks out enjoying their neighborhoods.

Always was a girl with an eye for a bargain
When it comes to trawling vintage, antique, thrift, consignment, recycle, and junk shops, I’m a seasoned amateur. The pros are out earlier than I am and have already bought what they consider to be the best stuff. Fortunately, since they are often in a hurry to cherry-pick and my tastes are not always mainstream, I’m still able to find some pretty amazing stuff. Decent knick-knack and clothing finds are possible at most shops, but for furniture I’ve always been more impressed with the Salvation Army on MLK than any of the Goodwill shops for one reason: Particleboard pieces are rare, and I’ve seen some pretty amazing pieces of vintage furniture going for a song. (Okay, that wound up being two reasons.)

SCRAP held their free stuff giveaway to clean out their storage space this morning, and I am very glad that I showed up early. It was the most orderly descending of vultures I’ve ever seen! No fighting, and everyone was pretty polite while elbowing their way into the fray. There was tons of terrific stuff, but I kept my limited storage space in mind and only picked up half a grocery bag of stuff. The free stuff giveaway is continuing throughout the weekend, so if you want to check out what’s left get going! Lots of fabric and paper supplies still available when I left.

Summer at the cinema
We checked out Batman Begins at The Roseway last weekend. It was my first trip there, and I want to see all of my first-run movies there from now on! Gorgeous locally-owned theatre with reasonable ticket prices. No advertising. Few if any previews. I think I was in high school the last time I could buy a first-run movie ticket for $6.50. Maybe even junior high. It’s the only place where I don’t mind the concession prices because that is where they make the money to keep the theatre alive, and they collect popcorn and candy boxes for paper recycling after every film. Tickets over at the mega-multiplex are $8.25 and I’m forced to wait through the most obnoxious commercial crap if I want to arrive at the theatre in time to get a decent seat. Support the locally-owned theater alternatives!
Clinton Street Theatre (home of the longest running showing of Rocky Horror Picture Show) has just opened their theatre pub, featuring pub food, an assortment of microbrews, and a different house-brewed beer each week. The official grand opening party will take place on Friday, July 1st.