Cheapskate good karma/ Computer room redecoration

I have been smiled upon by the cheapskate gods, who look after the newly unemployed and their relatives. I wanted to convert my computer room/junk room to a real workspace.  I didn't want to spend very much money.  This project began last summer, when I moved my desk in there, but got derailed by my troubles/breakup with T and then by the windows remodel, and then by the house painting and then by the work troubles. You get the picture.  Anyway, now that all that is done I'm back on track, and needed a useable workspace now that I no longer have my work office.
The first order of business was storage.  I got rid of a lot of books to accommodate my chemistry books but stil needed space for my files. I got a massive wooden file cabinet, in good condition, for $25 at Salvation Army, along with a end table for my printer for $10. They even match my desk pretty well.
Having acquired most of what I needed for my home office, I took my old furniture (weird-ass junk cabinet salvaged from the side of the road* and mini end cabinet) out to the garage.  While I was doing that I saw  my neighbors moving a tall cabinet to the side of the road.  It had a 'FREE' sign on it*.  If it had been a bookshelf my life would've been complete, but the cabinet would've been a bit much for the room.  As I was walking back to my house, my mom showed up.  She wanted to go take a look at it, and decided she wanted it. So I got the dolly and we wheeled it over to my garage.  I don't think it was out for more than 5 minutes.

Having tackled the file cabinet issue and my mom's ongoing book storage issue, I decided to go get some cellular shades for the windows.  I like my living room ones so much that I wanted to do the same thing in the computer room.  I stopped off at Home Depot.  They didn't have the cellular shades, but they did have some sliding panel shades on sale.  I've been wanting to get some for the sliding glass door, but it was pretty low priority and they are normally pricy.  The rail was 60% off, and the panels were marked about 30% off.  When I paid, the panels rang up at $0.01/each instead of $18/ each.  The clerk called the manager over, and the manager said to let me have them at that price.  Score!  So instead of paying $165 (full price), or $100 (sale price), I paid $22. Then I went to Lowe's and bought the cellular shades.  Because these windows are a non-standard size, I had to get the Levelor trimmable kind.  There were more expensive and not as soft than the ones I used in the living room, but other than that they are pretty similar.
The cellular shades were easier to install than the living room ones.  Levelor gets an A+ for simplicity of installation.  The only hard part was the awkward angle at which I was working.
The sliding panel shades were entirely another matter, however.  They were the biggest pain in the ass of any mini-blinds or curtains that I've ever installed, and I've installed a lot.  They were hugely fussy.  Lots of screws, moving parts, chiral centers, and things to trim.  Not good. I'm starting to understand why they were marked down so much. I won't even tell you how long it took.  I give them a F for ease of installation. I'm really glad I didn't pay full price.

Anyway, it's done and it looks nice. Now I have a nice area to work and can finally have some privacy at the back door.

* My parents and I are apparently in not the only cheapskates in Sunnyvale. I don't think people here need to bother with Freecycle.   The laziest way to get rid of something is to put it out in your front yard with a 'free' sign on it.  It usually disappears within a few hours.  I have used this to get rid of stuff and have also acquired stuff this way.  Sometimes I've gotten something this way, used it for a few years, and then gotten rid of it the same way.

Sunnyvale Farmers' Market

I went to the Sunnyvale Farmers' Market yesterday. I needed some strawberries, and around here you can find them from early March until late October. During that time, I probably buy a half flat of strawberries at least every other week.
The Sunnyvale Farmers' Market is one of the medium sized ones in the area. It's usually extremely crowded. I think it's due to a combination of the prices, the funky street vibe, the food vendors, and the fact that it's Saturday morning. I'm not entirely sure, but I think the vendors change their prices according to the location of the farmers' market, especially for the produce. This is based on my unscientific observations at other local farmer's markets. Friends who live in pricier areas complain that stuff is too expensive at their farmers' markets, but at the Sunnyvale one it's usually comparable or cheaper than the supermarket. In any case, it's close by so I can walk to it if I want. Yesterday I didn't, although I did have to be gently reminded by T that walking too much might not be a good idea just yet, was lugging larger amounts of produce.
There are a ton of hot food vendors. Due to the fact that I have usually just had breakfast, I never eat there. I should, sometime. Depending on the day, there may be a crepe vendor, someone selling oysters on the half shell, mexican food, indian food, middle eastern food, various types of asian food, and of course, the corn-on-a-stick place, which is extremely popular. There are also a lot of places selling baked goods, cheese, meat, eggs, etc, as well as some places selling jewelry, crafts, soaps, etc. I like to look at all the variety, but in terms of what I spend it's all about produce and plants.
I bought my strawberries and some carrots and kohl rabi. The orchid guy was there and I was sorely tempted. He has really nice orchids at really good prices. Orchid maniacs of both genders were snapping them up in multiple quantities. Now I know why there are usually only a few orchids left if I get there late. I resisted the orchids and the little tomato plants, but succumbed and bought a massive fuschia plant for $13. It's hard to resist anything with that much purple in it. When I got home I rigged up the pot so I could hang it from a hook on my patio.

Cherry Trees

I grew up (and currently live) in Sunnyvale, CA, which is in the heart of Silicon Valley, home of many cycles of economic bubbles, which was formerly known as the Valley of Hearts' Delight, home of some of the most excellent cherries, apricots and plums in the world. Many of the orchards had disappeared by the time I was a kid, but there were still a lot of Bing cherry trees around. For those of you who haven't tried them, Bing cherries are incredible - big, sweet, tart, flavorful and firm-textured, and Sunnyvale Bings are the best. When I used to walk to elementary school, I passed a number of houses with big cherry trees in the front yards. With the perspective of childhood, I remember them as being gigantic trees, almost like giant redwoods, but now that I'm older I suspect they were merely medium sized. Every June, they would be covered with cherries. Like my memory of the size of the trees, this memory may be somewhat exaggerated . I used to sneak a cherry or two from each tree that I passed. I remember the soft calm June morning air and the excitement that came from only having a few days of school left, but mostly I remember the cherry trees.
I was not the only one who noticed the cherry trees. My mom, who's a bigger cherry maniac than me, dreamed of having some massive cherry trees of her own. I've lost track of how many she's planted over the years. They never yielded many cherries. Either they didn't bloom at the same time and couldn't cross pollinate, or they bloomed at the same time as the orange tree and none of the bees even went to the cherry trees since the orange tree was so sweet smelling. The birds would then get a lot of the cherries that were produced. Occasionally a tree would die and she'd replace it.
I drive on the same street when I go visit my mom. Most of the cherry trees are gone. Nonetheless, I still have my dreams of cherry trees. A few weeks ago I went to the garden store to buy some fertilizer. I came home with a cherry tree. It had a Bing and a Ranier grafted onto it. That combination should do the trick for cross pollination. Nonetheless, the next day I went out and bought another cherry tree. I planted them in my front yard alongside my driveway. Somewhat painfully, I dug out massive holes for them and rearranged rose bushes. I also planted a grapefruit tree, and though I'm pretty sure it will be more productive than the cherry trees, it just doesn't quite have the same magic. I fantasize that they will be as big and productive as the cherry trees of my childhood memories, and I might even begrudgingly let the neighborhood kids steal some on their way to school.