Thrift lunch

On Fridays, my friend Sarah and I often skip regular lunch and go to a thrift store instead.

Creatively, we call this "thrift lunch." She's written about this before.

This week, we went yesterday. Both of us had just finished writing long stories we'd worked on for what seemed like ages. We both felt drained, in need of a break. And there is something weirdly therapeutic about methocially sorting through racks of clothing, shelves of housewares, mountains of scarves and belts.

We started thrift lunch a few years ago when we both worked in Lincoln. We didn't know each other very well well then, but we both liked thrift stores. Our style is similar but not identical, we often wear the same size but we have different frames. These are good attributes for thrifting buddies.

We always started in the purse section. Then the tops and sweaters, then the skirts, then the shoes, then the housewares. We saved the jewelry and boutique items for last. We bought 1970s polyester tops, vintage shoes, Pyrex mixing bowls, countless Christmas decorations, and many, many vintage Coach bags.

We talked about mundane stuff -- weekend plans, work deadlines. We talked about bigger stuff, too. We became better friends.

She started working in Omaha, at the World-Herald, late last summer. I was still in Lincoln, sad to lose my thrifting friend. Six months later, I began working here, too. My very first week of work, thrift lunch returned.

At a Goodwill in Council Bluffs, we found brass bracelets, high-waisted red pants, a blazer with brass buttons. We talked each other into and out of assorted purchases. We returned to work high on our bargains. We again looked at the purses first, then the tops, then the skirts and shoes, housewares and jewelry.

This week we went to a Salvation Army. I found a bunch of great khaki skirts, all from the early 80s, two with pink Kleenex in the right pocket. They had to have belonged to the same person. Sarah suggested perhaps an elementary school librarian.

Next week, I shall look like a librarian all week long.