WE WON!!!

Well we did..but not the big prize. One of many cities who won some money prize from the Reader’s Digest contest..Cheer for your town.. It took a lot of citizens voting every day to get us to the top of the  poll and win $10,000. We came close to number one several times but in the last few days  several cities rose ahead of us.  The citizens were called out to meet and greet the guys who were coming to give us the money. There was quite a crowd. JAYSON (right) told me that in several cities no one showed up at all to receive a check from them. I found that surprising. They had arrived at the city hall to find one person waiting for them. This was only part of the crowd that  showed up. Young and old celebrating their town’s achievement. The bands played and the choir sang and the check was presented. The guys were so impressed they video taped the it so that their company could see what we did.     Now that we won.. we can not participate again, but many cities near us are trying their hand at it. The contest still runs as they are traveling across the country ..100 cities in 100 days.  It sure was a boost for our town as it is small and have many that are poor and unemployed. It was something that doesn’t happen everyday and was a nice change of pace for our little town. Eight thousand of the money will go to the local renovation updating of our movie theatre and two thousand will go to the local youth in town.

THANKS READER’S DIGEST!!!

HAPPY EASTER??

Today it doesn’t seem like April or EASTER.. it seems like maybe November and we are getting our first snowfall. We had record-breaking heat last weekend.. nearly 90. It felt wonderful after such a long winter. This past week the crocus and the daffodils popped up and the tree buds began to show their colors. The grass was greening up after so much rain and warmth that spring usually brings to us.

 

Before

After the snow and it is still falling as I type. Slippery roads and ice pellets are making things pretty interesting around our neighborhood.  Maybe by the weekend all this white will be gone and the green will come back again. I am sure there are some birds and squirrels around who would really appreciate it. The robins are probably pretty confused over it all.

HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A SAFE AND HAPPY EASTER WEEK.

STILL WORKING..

Several things I found lately that I never thought would ever work actually did. To my amazement an old Maytag wringer washer sat in the corner of our basement for 50 some years. When Sis and I plugged it in, it never hesitated.. started agitating right away. Good old Maytag..no wonder the service guy is never busy. I have a person who is interested in it, they are STILL being used by the Amish community  and they know how to fix them when they breakdown.

On our porch mom had stashed away her old stand mixer that she used a lot “back in the day” before we bought many portable mixers. When I cleaned it off and plugged it in..you  guessed it.. it worked just fine. Long ago appliances were built to work for a long time. Now, you can replace one almost every year if you find one on sale.

I decided to make banana bread with it and see how it worked.. Yummy.. the bread turned out great.

 

Well..hope you all are having a wonderful spring week, the ground is warmer and the grass is turning green, trees are budding and I am sneezing..all signs that spring is finally here.

TREASURES…

 

The things you find when you are going through the endless
boxes and drawers is just amazing. Yes..they are sometimes
special and sometimes shocking.I came across an old metal
trunk with 5 old quilts in it. I remembered them from days
gone by,but really had no idea mom had saved them.It was quite
a surprise. 

 

The large blue one had something that I thought was a dog on
it but when I looked closer, it resembled a donkey or horse.
I know my grandmother made it because it was pretty heavy.
Mom told her to make them heavier because it was so cold here.
The other quilts mom told us they were used in between the mattress
and the inner springs in the beds back in the 30′s.You can see some
damage to them,so they are really well-worn.

  

 

 These will be kept
in the family as keepsakes. In mom’s old sewing machine drawers
we found skeleton keys that went to our front door before the
new locks were put on. In our basement I looked under the pile
of old boxes and junk and found the drop leaf table that mom
and dad had in our home when they first moved in. Well worn doesn’t
really describe it,neglected and in need of TLC does.
I cleaned and sanded it and put on a spray coat of white paint. 
It looks like new!! The old chair I found also looked great
with a new shine.It was fun making them come alive again, ready
to be used everyday. People pay big bucks, they tell me, for antique drop-leaf tables if they are in good condition. Wish that mine had the original wood instead of being painted though. I will use it proudly as my parents did. The packing has settled down now, and the process of leaving the home place behind and moving on is upon me. I ‘ve had luck so far with many contacts with job offers so I hope to get busy once I get settled in a new place. I will pick up my flyers and business cards next week and start the expansion into another city to open up as many opportunities as possible. Time seems to be flying for me, Spring is trying so hard to come here and getting smacked back by the chilly air. We may just get one of the coolest May’s on record this year the weatherman said. Yes indeed..as long as there is NO SNOW involved I will be happy. I sold the snowblower and the lawnmower…. good riddance I will no longer be needing them!

HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!!