PICK UP MY TAB, WATER IS EXPENSIVE

It has been years since I drank diet soda pop to quench my thirst. But I have tried a variety of other things to fill the void. Lemonade was too sweet and tart causing my heartburn or diabetes to flare. In very small doses I can handle it. Unsweetened Ice Tea is my go to drink on a hot spring or summer day. I use four pink SWEET and LOW'S. And lemon. I have found this to be comforting, and problem free. 

But... to supplement it I also drink lots of water. When I first got on this kick, I gave up tap water with ice and started buying bottled Dasani because it was supposed to be better for you. But it got too expensive. So I went to sparkling waters, instead.  I could get three for $1.09.  I really got into the GRAPEFRUIT flavor, Faygo. I drank this for a year or two. Now it's almost a dollar a piece.

Then... I tried the Meijer's store brand called Quenchers. It was sweeter. I liked it. I got the green GRAPE or RASPBERRY flavor and would toss fresh fruit inside my glass. Made drinking water something special. It was affordable but too sugary. 

So after a while I got bored with just the two flavors, I liked and discovered another water drink called IZZE. But it was $5-$7.50 for a 4 pack. That is kind of costly too, so I only had it on special occasions. 

Then I found a cheap imitation of it. A Canadian Water product called ICE. It was also a dollar a bottle, and came in a variety of flavors. I drank that until I went in the hospital a couple years ago.

 There at the hospital,  everyday with my meal, came a vitamin water called PROPEL, ZERO. I was hooked by the Cranberry Lime flavor. I LOVED it. Plus it was healthy for you.  But it too is getting expensive. It goes for $1.15 or more a bottle. I try to buy it on sale when it gets down to $.69 a bottle. But that is rare, so I limit my intake of how many bottles I drink per week.

 So when my hubby's job ends in the next  month or so.... it looks like I'm going to be doing cheap, again. No more LUXURY WATER for me. It's back to FREE tap water with ice and fresh lemon. And plenty of homemade ice tea. Do you like to drink soda pop or something else???

DECORATION DAY

DON'T FORGET THE REAL MEANING
FOR THIS MEMORIAL DAY

HOLIDAY WEEKEND-

BE SAFE, HAVE FUN

WHATEVER YOUR PLANS.

NEED A LIFT?

We love looking at old houses wherever we go. There are quite a few on Market Street, near here. During the holidays all the houses there are decked out in style on that two mile run. There is one particular house that is ninety years old. We like it because of it's angular roof. Riding past this house at the beginning of the year... we noticed it looked out of place. Literally. It was up on jacks, at least five to six feet off the ground. We stopped to have a closer look. Amazingly none of the windows cracked when they lifted it. The contractor told us the basement walls had caved in and the house was in danger of collapsing had they not jacked it up off the foundation. First step in repairing it is to remove the old foundation. Then... they have to build a new one. To do that they made a trench and partial tunnel from the front yard to under where the house is currently sitting. This allows them to re-pour new walls. Then... they have to wait for the concrete to cure, before lowering the house, back in place. The family was staying somewhere else while the work was being done. It took almost four months to complete. We thought this was fascinating. Have you ever seen a house lifted off it's foundation? 

(CLICK ON PHOTOS TO ENLARGE)

FOR A BETTER LOOK

TIMES THEY ARE A CHANGING

Something fishy is afoot these days. Money is money and it all spends the same. But it seems folks don't value a certain denomination of coin like they used to. Anytime I pay with cash and there is change due that involves pennies, I get the same question from the cashiers. Do you want the penny? Or pennies? Duh. YES, I do. Why wouldn't I? If the item ends in ninety nine cents, they'll round it up to next dollar, rather than give you back the penny. This drives me crazy. Apparently they also put the pennies in a little container by the register so that customers can take from it if they are short. I guess that is an interesting concept. If you help your customers make change, so that you do not have to deal with too many pennies,yourself... then you don't have to count them at the day's end when cashing out the register. In the old days... one penny would buy you a pretzel stick, bubble gum, an assortment of candy, a stamp, a postcard... just to name a few things. Nowadays, children can get a mechanical pony ride for just a penny at MEIJER'S.  Yet... folks today want to do away with the penny just like they did with the two dollar bill. I think that's a shame. I LIKE pennies. In addition to spending them, I've been collecting pennies in a big glass jar. Don't know how many I have, but out of habit I put my extras in there. That old adage applies... "A penny saved is a penny earned." If you saw a penny lying on the ground, would you walk past it or pocket it like a treasure?

HEAD GEAR FOR THE DERBY

It's that time of year. I'm off to the races on Saturday, May 3rd... complete with a new Kentucky Derby Hat. I had a bit of fun finding the right one as you can see in the pictures below. I think I did a great job of picking it... considering what I had to work with here in town. And because I was able to improvise a bit, I can change the look of the one I bought by adding or not adding flowers of various colors. Do you like hats? Do you ever wear one?

I THINK THIS IS PERFECT

YOU CAN ADD ACCESSORIES

AND HERE I AM, READY TO GO