Good times with Old Roommate

Spent a few days with Old Roommate and his very nice wife the Breath Healer (I may think of a better pseudonym later; that'll do for now). :)


(Note that I'm not chronicling each person I stayed with. In part, it has to do with having a photo to post...)


I like browsing around pawn shops and antique shops, looking for bargains. Old Roommate does, too -- so, that worked out well.

Old Roommate was impressed with how I was willing to haggle with folks. Generally, I'd be friendly while I browsed -- when I was ready to make my purchase, I'd say something along the lines of ''What can you do for a pleasant guy visiting from Australia who's paying cash?'' Except for a teacup and saucer that I bought for The Lady, I got some sort of discount.

My best discount was probably the neon green ''black light'' guitar strings with a sticker price of $11; I got it for $8.

I also got a bit of a discount on the cowbell (pictured; BTW, thx to Old Roommate for all the camera-phone pics!). Stickered at $25 (used); got it for $23). Also a handplane -- but I forget what I paid.


Oh! Great thing about Oregon? No sales tax! And this is in addition to things being slightly cheaper than in Australia (maybe due to the protective tariffs? Dunno).

I also picked up a face shield (like what you'd use when turning something on a lathe), as my usual safety goggles would steam up my glasses.

And, I picked up a Helm of Safety (see next post).


This thing below, I **didn't** buy. But I'm curious to know what it is. Saw it at a ''misc. used'' store -- not fancy-pants enough to be an ''antiques'' store (maybe ''collectable''?). It almost looks like a trammel point -- but it's not quite right.


And, here's another view..


A mystery.


--GG