F is for Fredonia

This is the sign we saw when we left Pipe Springs National Monument.

The most important thing about Fredonia is that is the last drop of civilization before the Grand Canyon.

And that is important if you are a Grand Canyon River Guide.

There are several different companies that have warehouses in Fredonia as well as Kanab.

One of them is Tour West which is the company that Rick worked for when he was a river guide.

So, we had to take the long way through Fredonia to check out the warehouse:

Pretty impressive, yes?  the kids certainly thought so...not.

As we circled back through Fredonia on our way to St. George this sign caught our (my) eye:

So, we made a quick U-Turn (which was probably illegal)

(Which was OK, because we later found out that the reason Kanab and Fredonia both looked like ghost towns--many of the shops had hand made signs that said, "closed.  sorry for the inconvenience."--was because there was a big fire over by Cedar City and everyone in town was out fighting fires.  Sadly, with the water situation, this will probably be the case most of the summer.)

We pulled up in front of this little house.

Don't let the picture fool you.  It was jam packed full of awesome antique goodness.

The cute little owner was an encyclopedia of antique knowledge. 

She had a story, statistic, or fact for every single item in that little tiny house.

And if that we're enough, the building to the side of the house (on the right in the above photo) was also full of antiques.  She had to get the keys and take us over for a tour of that house, too.

If we would have had more time, she would have taken us on a tour of the 2 shipping containers out back that were full of antique furniture.

She doesn't have room in the house for all of the furniture, so if she sells something big out of the house...no problem.  She can just go out back and find just the right item to fill its space.

We totally recommend this little antique store in Fredonia if you are ever in the neighborhood.

You can't miss it.

It's right in the center of town where the highway makes a "T" intersection.

Look for the big ANTIQUE sign!

We did manage to make it out with just a couple of items...

I got this fantastic enamel pot.

And Rick chose this cool, old 7-up crate to go with his vintage drink machine collection.

This is how they look on the shelves in St. George

I'm a hermit

We ventured out to the big city (that would be PROVO) on Saturday.  We saw a movie...Puss in Boots.  It was good.  Good enough.  Good enough that I almost didn't fall asleep.  Ran some errands.  got some gas.     Then we ended up at Sam's Club.  We needed milk.  And vegetables.  And samples.  Oh, the people.  People everywhere.  Traffic everywhere.  I came home.  Took some ibuprofen.  And checked my Amazon Prime Account.  I discovered that my account was to expire that very day.  So, I renewed my Amazon Prime Membership and vowed to never leave the house again until some time in January.  Maybe February if the weather is bad.
I'm serious about the Amazon Prime thing.

Here is the Scoop...it costs like $79 ish.

I do all of my shopping on Amazon.  Mostly.  In the past year I have bought such things as books, emergency kit thermal sleeping bags, flax seed, zone bars, 1 gallon of Elmer's glue for $7.00, bakers twine, and the list goes on.

If I purchase something that is "Prime" then I get free 2-day shipping with most products and no minimum purchase.

Every time I go to make a purchase, I always "Price Check" against Amazon.  9 times out 10, Amazon is the better deal.

And I can preorder new releases and they will arrive on my door step the very day that they come out.    And they will charge the lowest price available from the time I preorder until the time it ships.  I got a .01 credit for the last book I preordered because the price dropped a penny from when I placed my order.  So totally worth it.

Rick bought my Christmas present last year from Amazon.  (Camera).  The lens cover wasn't opening very well and with time, it kept getting worse.  I went to the amazon page, printed a copy of my receipt, a copy of the warranty, and a shipping label.  I took my camera to the Post Office and a couple of weeks later my camera came back.  All fixed and good as new.  All I had to pay was the $9 postage.

I'm pretty sure that I got my money's worth in the past 12 months for the Amazon Prime membership.  Although I'm sure some people purchase way more than I did and really take advantage of that 2-day shipping.  You can sign up for automatic shipments (diaper delivery) and all sorts of fun stuff.

So, if you are not sure about doing the amazon thing, ask me.  I'll convince you.  Or you can try it for 30 days for free.  Just don't forget to cancel, that's how they get ya!

And if you do shop on Amazon, could you do me a favor and click through from the Mapleton Elementary School Website.  The PTA will get 4 to 7 % of all of the sales that click through from their page.  Awesome.  Thanks.

Here is the link to the Mapleton Elementary PTA.  Then just look for the Amazon arrow...

At least I'm not begging you all to buy stupid wrapping paper, right?

So, no Black Friday shopping for me.  I will be in my PJ's.  Eating pumpkin pie leftovers.  Or whatever.  But, I will not be at a mall.  or Walmart.  or anywhere crazy.  thanks amazon.

Our schedule for the week...

Sierra was wondering about practicing the piano if she didn't have a lesson this week.  WE had a little conversation that went like this:

sierra:  do I have piano lessons tomorrow:

me: no

cole: do I have nursery class today?

me:  no

Cole:  do I have music class today?

me:  not today

Cole: is today a Sam's club day?

me:  not today, tomorrow

hum, me thinks we go to sam's too much.

Is it just me...

or do all blogaholics walk through Sam's Club composing their next blog post?

Well, this is what was going through my mind this afternoon:

Rice.

Seriously People.  Are you really going to eat all of this rice?  Every person in Sam's Club had bags of rice in their carts (buggies if you're from the South).  There was a bit on the news the past few days about the price of rice, rice shortages, blah, blah, blah.  There was even a sign up on the shelves above the rice area that said something about expecting rice shortages in the near future and to be prepared for the rice to be unavailable for several days at a time while shipments catch up with the demand.  It was hilarious.  People were standing around talking about storing rice, and how much they should be buying, and what's a good price for rice, etc.  One man grabbed a bag of rice and said, "It's gonna take me at least a year to eat all of this rice."  I mentioned that we should all buy beans because there isn't a shortage on beans yet and they're still pretty cheap.  All of the old people laughed.  I was expecting some of them to pull up some lawn chairs and order a cup of coffee while they gathered around discussing the price of rice.

As for the question as to whether or not people are going to eat all of this rice--we will.  Within just a few weeks, I'm sure.  Rice is one of Cole favorite foods.  Along with beans, chips, and salsa.  And sometimes he eats Oatmeal.  And I bought some of that today, too.

 

and then there was flour.  Or not.  There was no flour to be found in Sam's Club today.  Which is ok.  Because my bread making is going so well that I am going through flour like crazy.  Which is not good.  We love our carbs at this house.  Sierra walked in the door from school the other day and exclaimed, "Oh mom it smells so good, did you make bread?"  And we sat down and ate a loaf.  I made 2 loaves last night and Rick and I had a midnight snack, leaving only 1 loaf for the kids to have sandwiches for the rest of the week.  Not good.  So, I took it as a sign that because there was no flour to buy, I should stop making bread.  I bought my 2 loaves of nasty dry sandwich wheat bread for 2.74.  Sam--you win.  But, I figure in the long run in will be better this way.  I was worried that I had made entirely too much freezer jam this past month but I can see now that it will not go to waste at this house.  In the future if it looks like it's been in the freezer too long I will just whip out the mixer and make some bread and the freezer jam will disappear in no time.  As will the nutella.  Which we bought for special occasions, but at our house these days every day is a special occasion.   

I'm sure a few other things went through my mind at Sam's Club, but those are the highlights.

If you're bored over the next few days, go to Sam's or Costco and hang out in the rice aisle (or the wheat).  Let me know how it goes.  If you're really hard up for entertainment take a lawn chair.  Or get one of those flatbed carts and pretend like you're going to buy all of the rice left in the store and then watch people panic.   Take a camera.  Post pictures.     

Happy to me

I did something wild and crazy today. I went to Old Navy. I bought a shirt. It wasn't on sale. It was a medium. I almost didn't buy it. I was certain that when I got home it would decide not to fit me. I like Old Navy.