A TRIP TO HARBOR FREIGHT...

Today was my first trip to Harbor Freight.  I was really impressed with their prices and selection.  Dear Hubby and I went there to purchase two battery charging thingies (don't you just love my technical jargon?).  Since the cold snap of this winter, both J and Dear Hubby have had dead batteries.  J has had to wait as long as 1.5 hours for AAA to arrive.  Not bad if you have a flat and can sit in a warm car while you wait, but COLD if you have to sit for 1.5 hours while waiting to have your dead battery jumped!  So we purchased one gadget for each of their cars.  J's also has a tire pump attachment.  He has had a tire pump in his car since 2005 and has used it more times than you can imagine.  Just last week a coworker's car had a flat and when he went to pump it up for her he found his pump was dead as a doornail.  Since he is able to get down on the ground and pump up a low tire, or change one if needed, we felt that model was best for him.  Dear Hubby and I will call AAA if we have a low or flat tire, lol.  Neither one of us can get down on the ground to do it ourselves.

I have read on numerous blogs how quilters can find so many useful things at Harbor Freight!  I did see a suction handle (for lifting quilt rulers) for the low price of $7.99, but held off on purchasing it because, while I am sure I would love to own it, I question whether I will really use it enough to justify the storage space it will take up!  Now, if I had my DREAM quilting space there would be no question, lol.  I am EXTREMELY fortunate to even have a dedicated space to create in my home and I don't want to fill it with things that may not make my life a whole lot easier. 

That said, I saw these picks for $1.99 and decided they may be good to have on hand if there comes a time when my wooden skewer won't quite fit the bill.  I felt that $.50 for each tool was a small price to pay, and a small footprint to take up, on the chance that they will prove beneficial. 

Recently online I also read a suggestion to purchase carpet cutter blades to use as replacement rotary cutter blades.  Well, for $1.99 for 2, I am more than willing to spend the money to find out for myself.  They sure LOOK exactly the same!  Can you imagine the money we quilters will save if we truly can use these blades to fit our rotary cutters?  Shhhh....let's not shout it from the rooftops or the price of carpet cutter blades will suddenly skyrocket, lol. 

So all in all it was a really worthwhile trip...and we were able to use a coupon for each of the chargers, making it an even better deal.  Yes, I definitely like Harbor Freight and am sure I will be heading back there again in the future.