I've tried the pickle juice thing and thought there wasn't much flavor, even after letting them sit quite a while. I cut down the recipe I use for canned pickles instead and just make a couple quarts at a time. That works much better for me and it still saves a lot over buying Klaussen pickles, our favorites when we can't have homemade.
We're not doing so well doing without lately, but it's all good. A week ago Saturday we found the perfect entertainment center that will hold up to a 60" flat screen on the top. It's the right height and has a section originally intended for stereo components that will fit the Dish receiver, DVR, and the other boxes we've never been able to quite figure out what to do with, and has a glass door so the electronic eyes will work with the remotes without having to have the door open. It was $30 at SA and luckily we had the van along instead of the truck, so we could get it home from the store seventy miles away. I'll be adding shelves, which, sadly I had to pay $20 for from Menards, to the old TV area which is behind doors. That will hold a ton of things like DVDs, Wii stuff, etc. I also splurged on new door/drawer handles which I will do some beading on. They were cheap on eBay and will be worth much, much more when they're beaded. They should dress up the cabinet nicely. All told we'll have less than $60 in that cabinet, so we still consider it a bargain.
Then Saturday I found, at a garage sale, the perfect cabinet to use for a linen cabinet in our master bath, which has needed such a cabinet for about twenty years now. It's even a good match for the rest of the woodwork in the house, made of solid oak plywood (no particle board! :cheer4
by a local craftsman. I'm still amazed. We happily paid $125 for it and would have just as happily paid more because it's almost exactly what I would have designed for that space. I was planning to build something myself for that space because I hadn't been able to find anything, and that would not have been as nice since I'm no master craftsman, and building it wouldn't have been free either. I could not have even bought the materials for the cost of the cabinet, so I feel we did well. That was very much a need in that space and has been for a very long time.
Today, Husby ran down to GW to be there when the door opened this morning because he knew the NIB micro-shredder he's been eying would be half price. That's been a need, too. He scored that for a measly $12.50, instead of the $90-$150 he had expected to have to pay retail. He's shredded so much stuff cleaning out his office that he's killed two shredders already, so we weren't that excited about spending that much on a new one. We do love a good score!
I also picked up a vintage Presto Wee Fry electric skillet my mom has been looking for for several years now. That was $5 from the same sale as the bathroom cabinet, and will make a nice, inexpensive Mother's Day gift. Another need, since my mom deserves a nice gift and it's always fun to give her something we know she wants.