Finding the Needle in the Haystack

Our new verbs like googling, Craigslisting, Ebaying, MapQuesting, facebooking, and freecycling, represent incredibly useful functions for the flow both of information and actual stuff. They connect PROVIDERS to SEEKERS in ways that could not have been imagined even a few years ago. Embracing these techniques provides surprising solutions to heretofore unsolvable problems.

Case in point: my digital camera which dropped from my bag and I unknowingly drove over. Dead. However, I love the camera. Knowing that its parts alone were costly, I set out to replace just the casing. And wouldn’t you know, the same model was being offered on Ebay, carefully warning the camera did not include memory card, battery, or manual…. Bringing that exact provider with this precise seeker – is that not a miracle? We can now find the needle in the haystack!

Fast forward. Today said camera stopped working; instead, a nasty “lens error, restart camera” message appeared. Neither trying that nor taking out and putting the battery back in did the trick. I was all set to just buy a new camera, knowing that repairs cost more than replacements, when I thought to google the camera model + “lens error message”. What popped up was MyBiggestComplaint.com, a blog that collects contributor gvetches.

There were no less than 159 complaints about just this problem. Many of the people had already done the research and reported standard camera site advice was useless. What does work, however, is to bang the camera hard. That didn’t work for mine, so I scrolled through the comments until a different fix was reported: adjust the lens itself, in case it is infinitesimally off-center. Eureka! Thirty seconds later my camera worked, and I’d saved $100. I added my method, so the next person has 160 people chiming in the fix-your-damn-camera chorus. Yup. This is miraculous.

PS - My laser printer stopped working - the paper LED blinked red and all the jiggling and bangin didn't work like it usually does. Thinking I'd need to buy a replacement tomorrow anyway, I googled "Brother HL2040 printer light blinking" and a site full of people's fixes came up. Third suggestion was the charm....

New Homes for Mom's Damask Tablecloths

I've been on a decluttering tear, anticipating that the bid we have in on a short sale might, might, might be accepted by the mystery bank. Let's hear it for helping them detoxify their assets!
Looking around my home, I am eager to land my eye on things that are so much a part of my life that I never see them. The damask banquet tablecloths are a perfect example. I think they're from my parents, maybe from my in-laws. They are beautiful, formal, and require either professional laundering and pressing, or a chunk of time with an iron and starch. Forget it. I switched to non-wrinkle a few decades ago. I held the line for the seder, though. My cousin and I used to iron the tablecloth a day or two later, making a brief visit to the early 20th century. Gave up on that when I bought faux-damask wash and wear cloths and no one noticed the difference.
OK. I know I will never use these cloths. However, my mother prized them. She died 15 years ago, so I can't just call and ask her if she's OK with this. I was surprised at how aware I was of giving away something that was at one time a sort of family dowry item.
Enter freecycle. Several people expressed interest, and each now has a lovely tablecloth. I doubt I will ever think of the tablecloths again. However! There was a third table cloth, from an aunt. It is cutwork, yellow with white applique, exquisite. I used it once and it was a royal pain to clean, more suited for Versaille than a 21st century home. Way too obscure to put up on Ebay. Instinct said "Keep it", but for what?
Inspiration hit. Repurposed, the cloth could become beautiful window treatments for that mythic new house. On a window, instead of a table, we can enjoy the beautiful handiwork every day. So you don't have to give EVERYTHING away. When you edit, the treasures become more apparent.

PS Gave the fancy cutwork cloth to my sister.

What is the Opposite of Frugal?

Reading all the media on the New Frugality, I am bemused. The presumption is that the opposite of frugal is luxurious. I disagree with that premise. For me, and many others, the opposite of frugal is wasteful. Why be wasteful, no matter what the economy looks like? Especially given environmental issues and overconsumption of resources.
I also disagree with another common idea - that the opposite of frugal is generous. I maintain that one can be frugal AND generous - in fact, frugality empowers generosity. Being sensibly frugal allows one to allot resources wisely - and generously. And makes splurging for an occasional luxury possible. Frugality is not about deprivation. It's about judgment.