Weekend Fun

We took Mom/Grandma home on Saturday and it was sad to see her go. I hoped to convince Hubby to let me take her home by myself so we could stop at yard sales along the way, and as I predicted, we all went together. There weren't a lot of yard sales but we did stop at a few. We purposely stopped for lunch at a place that sits next to a thrift store. After we ate, we all marched over there for some bargain hunting.

The three of us make a good team: we spread out, casing the joint-- Hubby goes to the toys, Mom goes to the dishes, and I went to the linens. Then we shifted-- electronics, furniture, clothing. We hit a nice jackpot! Mom spotted a nice baby playpen fence that was marked for only $4 and I sold one this past Spring for $45. This one was a larger one so I could easily sell it for over $50. Hubby spotted a barely used fireplace set, also $4. We had been looking for one since we put the wood stove to work this past winter and we stole the girls' toy shovel to scoop out the ashes. I also found a pair of large curtain panels, made from a heavy fabric, that I can re-purpose and use to make a cover for a rocking chair cushion. A cat that we babysat, for an Aunt, used the old cushion as a litter box. The fabric was $5. We picked up a few other items and with Mom's senior citizen discount, we paid a total of $22 for two shopping carts worth of stuff. A pretty good haul!

Yesterday, we decided to go for a drive to a nearby town where we know there is an indoor flea market. We hoped to continue our good luck in finding bargains at the thrift store to the flea market. I packed a picnic lunch and planned to stop at the local park that had a natural spring and you are allowed to fill your own containers with fresh spring water. But Hubby suggested we check out another park in the mountains instead. I am so glad he did, because what we found there was so exciting! The park has a beach!!! A large spring fed lake with a beautiful natural sand beach that was NOT very busy on a HOT Sunday afternoon! Must be a secret place! There was a lovely park with a great playground for the kids, lots of picnic tables and gazebos, cabins to rent, and a large soccer field.

Once the girls saw the beach, they wanted to go and swim, but we had to tell them that we had no swimsuits and would come back another time. Lots of pouts and foot stomping ensued. But they quickly forgot as they played on the swings and merry-go-round. On out way out of the park, we drove by the beach and there is a small fee to enter the beach area, and once again the girls, especially Oldest, wanted to go to the beach. I told her that we would come back next weekend and her reply was, "No. Let's come back tomorrow!" I told her that Daddy had to work tomorrow and counted off the days until Saturday--5 days. Then in her most pitiful voice, she asked Daddy, "Can you please not go to work tomorrow so we can go to the beach?" Any more pitiful and Daddy would have surely melted and wrapped around her little finger, blubbering, "Yes, let's go to the beach."

We had lots of fun yesterday, discovering new places and we never did go to the indoor flea market. We came home and pretended we were at the beach: spread a blanket on the ground, chairs set up close to the water so we could dip our toes in the water and when the cat came near, we laughed and pointed at the catfish in the water! It was a great day and after the girls were tucked in their beds, we ended it by watching 'Casino Royale' on DVD. It was a pretty good movie, takes some getting used to, seeing a blond James Bond, but by the end, I thought he did quite well. Looking forward to the next installment of the 007 franchise.

I must tell my Dad a belated 'Happy Birthday!!' His birthday was on Saturday and I hope he had a good day!