Covered Bridge Festival, the Ultimate Yard Sale

Have you ever heard of the Covered Bridge Festival? Millions of people trek to Park County, Indiana, to attend the event. It is scattered throughout several little villages, all complete with covered bridges. On the off season, you would not venture into most of the places or even see them as you sped by. But during the festival, people flock from many states away to attend the fall event. Food, junk, junk food, antiques, crafts, junk, knick-knacks, junk, "I can't believe they are selling THAT", spices, food, very old antiques, glass dishes, ice cream, jewelry, shoes, clothing, Christmas decorations, junk, food, junk food, sweatshirts, t-shirts, recycled items, repurposed items, food, junk, socks, purses, signs, equipment, and food are all for sale. On a good day, you can fill you car with your purchases. On a lucky day, you can come home empty-handed. It all depends on how you look at it. I'm going today to see people, eat foods I don't normally eat, and look for that rare item, probably something repurposed that becomes my trophy.

We Bought Games, Balls, Socks, Clothes...

The small group that we attend (people from our church) is sponsoring a child all year long. It was decided that we would also buy gifts for his siblings and other children living in his household. So the ladies of our group power shopped while the men cooked our dinner. After eating we mass wrapped the gifts to give to the children. It was so much fun. I never saw so many scissors, tape, and rolls of wrapping paper flying into action. The end result was awesome to see. Wish we could see the children open their gifts. Thank you, Corinna, for the idea to do this. You are such a great mission worker!

Yard Sale Without the Yard

I hate yard sales. Well, I'd best explain. I hate having my own yard sale. I always give away anything we might have sold in a yard sale, cause I don't want to be bothered with it. So what am I doing on my day off? Hosting a huge yard sale with all the other parents/kids in our Bible Bowl programs. We set up last night in the church's gym. Lots of STUFF, antiques, furniture, bathtub, clothes, shoes, longaberger baskets, craft supplies, etc. I will gladly go work this sale because it is not my responsibility and not at my house. Hope we make lots of money for the BB programs.

Have Dress

My girls and I went shopping for wedding clothes today. We were successful for each of us, finally. Now we can get on to other things to worry about.

Fun with the Girls

I had a great day yesterday! I took my sister, sister-in-law, and granddaughter out to eat at a quaint restaurant, then on to look at flowers in bloom in local garden stores. We talked, laughed, and shared the day away. And with Toots along, there was never a dull moment. Toots sat in the back with my sister and had a playful rough housing (like she has with her dad) while on the way to the eatery. My sis aimed to please and did not realize where the play was headed. Toots pinched my sister's cheek as if she were her daddy. I had to put a stop to it only to have Toots give me some excuse about how my sister liked it. Ha! Don't think that rosie cheek is from make-up. Just hope the cheek doesn't bruise. Maybe Sis should have turned the other cheek so she would have a matching pair.

7 Days to Shop

Only 7 days till Christmas! Here is a typical conversation at this time of the year. Friend/acquaintance/someone standing in the aisle: Do you have your Christmas shopping done? I've been done since September. Me: Congratulations! No, it's not Christmas yet. I still have plenty of time, 7 days. (God made the Universe in 6 days.) Besides, I enjoy the hustle and bustle, the rudeness, the standing in line, the really good bargains, and the pressure of the last-minute-shopping. F/A/S: Merry Christmas! Me: Happy New Year!

Let's Go Shopping

Happy Columbus Day! Many of you will have the day off, especially if you are a government worker. Well, I also have the day off because I have gone to 6 hours of inservice after school hours. I could go to the Covered Bridge Festival, along with 3 million other people. But instead, a friend and I are going shopping for Fall clothes for us. Betsy and I have similar tastes and could buy for each other, no doubts or questions. So, it is always fun to go shopping with her. Sure beats fighting the traffic and the crowds at the festival. Besides, who needs more trinkets?

To the Festival!

Have you ever heard of the Covered Bridge Festival? It begins its 10 day run today. We locals are able to avoid the major traffic backups for the most part, but at times our paths must cross one of the major thoroughfares to the festivities. We have to be creative in our thinking. We must plan ahead, think clearly or else be forever stuck in the line that goes nowhere. Sounds a little like life, when life gets so busy and jammed.

Field Trip to Education

Do you remember taking field trips when you were in elementary school? Do you remember the places you went, what the educational reasons for the trip were, or even the food you ate? Me neither. So why do we worry so much about whether our students had an educational trip this year? They will only remember that the horses pooped while giving wagon rides, the multi-flavored snow cones tasted like medicine, the cold wind made them wish for a coat, the mud was so much fun, they didn't have to sit and be quiet while someone else spoke, and the candy at the gift shop was so cheap. For a few years they will say that it was the best field trip they ever took.

Last Day on the Last Frontier

Our last day in Alaska was different. We were already tired from all the travel, but decided to try a few more things. We had to check out of our hotel because we were due to fly back at 11:35 p.m. on Tuesday. We decided to try to drive south again. Didn't go as far as we wanted due to snow. We decided we did not want to wait 45 minutes to pay $12 to drive through a tunnel to wait again and pay again to come back through, so we drove back to Anchorage. We drove around, looking at the sights, and searching for a wild moose. Never did see one. We ate at an expensive restaurant downtown and then shopped for souvies at the large downtown mall. All shopped out, we decided to go to the airport a little early since we were done. Too bad the airline baggage did not open up until 7:30. So we were stuck in the airport with our luggage and only a small bar for food. But that didn't stop us from eating pizza and bread sticks. Time passed ever so slowly until we finally boarded the plane for the 5 hour flight back to Denver. The best part of the flight was that it was over night. At least we didn't have to watch some dumb movie that we had already seen.

Save Big Money

The daughters and I went shopping today. Also took along Toots. She loves to shop, but is a little difficult to manage for a long period of time. We ate first, the most important thing, then started hitting the shops. Every store had discounts. The store where I ended up purchasing my jeans had huge savings plus additional 10, 15 or 20 % off the total. A long time ago I learned how to quickly figure the estimated final cost, but I know there must be many shoppers who do not have a clue until the cash registers displays the amount. Makes me wonder why stores don't just sell clothing for the stated amount without first hiking up the prices. Perhaps they figure people will be so confused that they will just buy the clothes no matter.

And So It Begins

We did some "window" shopping for suv vehicles yesterday. Actually, we sat in a few. It is interesting to hear the sales pitches of the two men from the two places we visited. We went to Saturn first. After my husband told Bob what we were looking for in a used vehicle for me, he showed us the correct ones. He unlocked the suv and invited me to sit. At one point, he even said he prefers the 2007s over the 2008s because of the non-dent (or whatever it is called) side panels. Bob was not pushy or demanding like some in the past. Next place was the Chevy lot. We drove across the huge place until we found the vehicles we wanted to look at. After a bit, Bill showed up to give us his sales pitch. I sat is several different makes and models. Bill was a bit more pushy, pushing his agenda and not ours. He talked only to hubby, even though the suv was for me. He took us to the 2008s and pushed those. He was oblivious or deaf to my husband's comments that his head touched the top of the car while in the back seat of the Santa Fe. And before we were completely done, he hands me his card and walks off. Guess our actions did not make him think he was going to make a sale. And he was right for once.