Our Very Own Bear

Well, here it is  -  our very own bear!  This is the purchase I mentioned yesterday.  Last week we went to the chainsaw festival in Ridgway and we found this to buy.  I knew I wanted a bear when we first decided to go but never thought we'd have such a selection to pick from.  This seems to be the most popular item to carve.  I didn't expect the prices though.  I think it makes a very nice addition to our front porch.  It was a fascinating display to watch, what with all the chainsaws and other tools that they use.  Some of the detail was amazing as was the size of some of the carvings.  I never realized they had permanent carvings right in town along the main street.  I'd love to have the elk!

My Road Trip

Well, I finally did the Goodwill road trip with a friend and we had a great time.  It started off a little rocky when, the night before, my hubby noticed an outside light on in my car.  He tried everything to turn it off but it stayed on until he pulled the cable on the battery.  He said I could still take it but would have to pull the battery cable whenever it was idle for any length of time.  There were too many ifs in that option so I decided to take his car.  That worked out ok with just a few minor adjustments like attaching the gps to the windshield instead of my dashboard and moving some other stuff around.  He also volunteered to clean it before I left.  I had a ton of places we could stop, both Goodwills and Quilt Shops, but the first snag came when the quilt shop in Hermitage wasn't open on Monday.  We made up for it with a nice size Goodwill and a Salvation Army Thrift Store where I found a quilt rack.  The car was filling up quick at that point. We stopped at a Goodwill in Grove City and then back on 80 to the next stop in Knox.  Unfortunately, we were about a half hour too late for the quilt store but manged to go to the Sharp Shopper for dinner and dessert.  My friend came very well prepared for our trip with some material squares to show me a neat trick in making a bowtie pattern.   Tuesday proved to be our best day all around.  First we hit DuBois Goodwills and took advantage of the yellow half off  and .29 sales.  I think we really hit the jackpot at those stores!  From there we went to Brookville where we went to our first quilt shop of the trip and another Goodwill.  The weather was perfect both days, Mandy was very helpful, we both found great bargains, ate some tasty food, and enjoyed wonderful company along the way.  We both feel the same way about saving money  -  what a rush!

My Two Mile Walk

This a visual tour of my 2 mile walk at our cabin. Here's our cabin nestled in the woods of Moshannon State Forest. There's a sharp incline right at the end of our driveway so things get hoppin right out of the gate.

As I walk along there's alot of interesting things to see and if I'm lucky I may see a deer running away from me.

This is the CCC Camp that was built in the 1930's. The following sign is located across from it and there are other personal camps down that road.

Across from the camp is a very unique outhouse with stained glass windows. It's even a two-seater!

This is a picture of me at the intersection of Fourmile Rd. I travel a bit further to make up my 2 mile walk and then I head back home.

P.S. That was my 200th blog posting!

Giant Eagle Fuelperks

This is just another reason it's been good being in DuBois so much lately. They just opened a new Giant Eagle in town and they've had some good specials going on. They are specific to that area such as boneless pork loins for 1.77lb and eggs for .99 doz. Anyway, the last couple times we were down there they had a number to call to exchange your fuelperks for cash in the store. At first it didn't mean much to me since I use them but before we went to my son's for New Year's, I was faced with a dilemma. I had .20 of fuelperks that were due to expire at the end of Dec. and almost a full tank of gas. It just happened we had been in Cleveland the week or so before and got some cheap gas over there. Of course, I wouldn't use it unless I got at least 10 gal. of gas so I had to pass. Then when I saw the number again, I called and they put the cash on my card (it has to be in increments of .50 or $5.00 cash). That took care of my problem. Then when I was on empty, I got the other .20 in fuelperks. I guess they are doing that down there because, as of yet, they have no GetGo's. I think it's great and have been telling everyone I know. Of course at my retirees lunch this week, they didn't seem to be that impressed because they usually give their perks to their kids. I've never seen it advertised up here at all. We probably won't be travelling much for a couple months so I might have to use it again. We'll see.

Las Vegas

I've been to Las Vegas three times now and each time I saw and did different things. What a place! I've gone with different people each time so it just stands to reason we would choose to see other sites. My daughter had us looking for each casino's special attraction such as the coaster at New York, New York, the gondola ride at the Venetian, Eiffel Tower at Paris, Shark Reef Aquarium at Mandalay Bay, the top of the Stratosphere, Madame Tousand's Wax Museum at the Venetian, lion habitat at MGM, pirate ship at Treasure Island, fountain at Bellagio, midway at Circus Circus, and the Bodies Exhibit at the Luxor. I'm sure there are still more but in two days that was all we could accomplish (quite a bit I'd say). That's what's so great about Vegas - you can experience so many countries from just one place, and they're still building more. I'm sure the next time I go, I'll see completely different things. Even when you don't "win big" you still feel like you've won.