Fred the Shed - Buying Used and Donated Books from The Library

Well, I stopped by "Fred the Shed" at the local library not long ago. I was there picking up a book that I had reserved, and I just had to go into Fred the Shed and see what I could find. Fred the Shed is a great place to find books and movies for $.50 to $1. Actually, they just wanted any kind of donation, so I just gave them what they usually charge for the books. While their selection was lower than normal for the kind of books I was looking for, I was able to find three useful books. Two of which had never been read.  

The first book that I picked up was new with yellowing pages. It was only 14 years old, but for some reason this kind of paper always tends to turn yellow. It is still readable, and the contents still apply for ages to come, but whoever donated it never turned a page in it. There was a page torn out of another book by the same author in it with a very sweet note written on it inside the dust cover. It seems that it was a gift. But why would someone tear out a page from another book to write a note on it? I guess they didn't have any other paper available to them before they gifted the book. I find a lot of handwritten notes, thoughts and even bookmarks inside used books. I just leave them in there. It's fun to think about the people who read the books before me. 

The second book was a spiral bound book called "Pressure Cooking in the New Millennium". It had a few paperclips marking some pages, but other than that it is in near mint condition for being nearly 20 years old. It has a wealth of knowledge and recipes for pressure cookers. It also has recipes for something called a "Super Cooker" that can be adapted for use in a regular pressure cooker or an electric pressure cooker. Whatever this super cooker is, it was able to pressure fry foods in oil. I couldn't find any information on it, but I know that this cannot be done in the pressure cookers available now. In fact, it is very dangerous to attempt to do such a thing. This might be the reason that Super Cookers no longer exist. I am glad that this cookbook exists though and that I can use nearly all the recipes in my cookers. The recipes are very simple and basic. Step aside Wolfgang Puck and take your 10-step pressure cooker recipes with you. 

 

The third book and the one that I am really excited about is 31 Days of Living Well and Spending Zero by Ruth Soukup. This book is brand new. It is an older book, so the free printables are no longer available on the website, but there are plenty of free printables out there that can be used instead. I started taking notes on a legal pad, so using printables is optional. There are examples of inventory sheets, meal planning sheets and reflection questions in the book that can be used as a guide or enlarged and copied. 

The "Freeze Your Spending and Change Your Life" promise intrigues me, so we are getting ready to start the 31-Days of Living Well & Spending Zero Challenge. This challenge isn't just about not spending money, it is about so much more. I look forward to sharing our adventures with you.

Take care,

Mrs. Smith