The "When?" Question

I wanted to post this because I was inspired by my friend, Becca, who also lives a student life, with a hubby in med school and a darling little boy. She is so eloquent and thoughtful.

I, too, have questioned, pondered, wondered and whined, "When?"
As in: When will I actually own furniture that is new? When will I have a washer and dryer in my apartment? When will Marc and I buy nice car? When will I buy a shirt at full price and not feel guilty or return it?

If you check out the link above, you'll find some musings that mimic my own, but with the added benefit of pictures. I won't add pictures, but I will make a short list of the durable goods and the grateful gadgets in my life:

*pillows/cushions from the "as is" section of IKEA
*dining table hand-me-down from a friend in New Haven
*a cheap car that has treated us well, even though I complain that it's stick shift
*a free Jeep from my parents; interior is superb, but it's old old old - but thank goodness it really HAS lasted us; and who can complain about having 2 vehicles?
*a can opener from my mother-in-law
*huge mammoth old school TVs from my aunt
*3 trusty chairs that the Reeders brought us when we moved in to Philly; we had neither a dining table nor chairs our first year of marriage (we ate Japanese-style on the floor at our coffee table)
*a second-hand microwave that has no display panel; we warm up pretty much everything at one temperature and I guess on the defrost option: I know I press 'defrost' then '1' then '2'... whatever that does

Thanks for a thoughtful reminder of gratitude and necessity vs. luxury, Becca!

What are the simple, durable, trusty-dusty, resourceful, long-lived, make-do necessities for which you are grateful?