LOWE'S, LANCASTER AND RITE AID

OK, where is the time going?  Welcome, August and your hot dog days of summer.  I do like August even though it is usually very hot.

Do you like to shop?  Do you window shop?  How about looking at the shopping of others?  I window shop a lot more than I actually buy.  But I did get a few things, so let me show you my purchases.

Last Saturday Joe and I had to run to Lowe's.  While Joe did what he needed to do, I looked around my favorite part of the store -- the seasonal section.

Pillows everywhere and in every description.  I love pillows because they are easy to use to change the entire look of a piece of furniture.

Lots of tropical prints.  And the flamingos are still there.  I will probably get a couple when they go on sale in a few weeks.  I don't think people will be thinking summer when fall starts.

I like these too.  They look like needlepoint, but they're not.

This seating looked so cozy.  Too bad I don't have room in my yard for it.

I was thinking of buying this metal rooster.  I really liked him.  But there was no price.  The lanterns were close to $25 so I figured he was in that price range too.

My hydrangea is not doing well in front of the house.  Nothing ever does.  So Joe put it in the back for me and I bought a hibiscus.  But it's so hot that isn't doing well either.  We have had a lot of rain and more is predicted so maybe that will help.  I did get a tray of coleus to plant along the wall though.  I have to wait until I get back from Elaine's house to get my yard together.

Here are some of the things I got in Lancaster County.  You saw I had a lot of fun at Lenox.  But I didn't buy much.  I bought only a pretty Christmas bowl (I'm a sucker for little bowls) and a silver snowflake ornament.

I went a little crazier at Reading China and Glass.  Because I was taking so many pictures in there, I told the saleslady that I was a blogger and was always bragging on them.  She was so excited about that.  She told me to give you the website for other locations of their stores.  They are a part of Kitchen and Company.  Here is the site for their locations:  www.kitchenandcompany.com/store-locations.  You can also buy from them online at www.kitchenandcompany.com.  

So here's some of what I got.  Candied ginger, Moravian lemon cookies, a mushroom slicer, a small scoop to make cookies (which is the only thing I went in there to buy!), and a dough blender which I desperately needed.  The handle literally fell off of mine.  I also got Joe some Amish pretzels which he had already eaten.

I hadn't gotten paid yet so I didn't have a lot of money.  I would have gotten quite a few things at Christmas Tree Hill.  Probably it was a good thing that I was broke.  The only thing I got was this cute little snow bird tealight candle holder which I will use all winter.

Hershey Farm was another place that I could have bought a lot.  So it was good that I was reined in.  I got a loaf of honey wheat bread, some whoopie pies (which are not in the picture) for Joe and some friends, mini animal crackers, a bag of snack mix which was eaten before I took this shot, and Elaine bought me my favorite peppermints.

I took Joe down to the Veteran's Hospital yesterday for one of his appointments.  It was surreal to see the same things I had seen just a few days ago with Elaine.  At one point Joe said to me, "Look, that's what you took a picture of on Monday."  Yes, it was.  I left him off (he makes his own way home on the train) and then headed home.  I was hungry so I stopped in Rite Aid to get an iced tea and chips to have with lunch.  But then I saw their end of the summer and back to school sales.  So you know I spent some money.

In the Summer Sale section I found this cute little divided tray.  Also I need dish cloths and these were pretty.  Six of them for $3.  They even coordinate.

In the Back to School sale I got a new planner (I get this type every year), a box of crayons and a cute crayon box.  I use crayons for everything!  Crayola is best.

Today I head for Elaine's house for a couple of days.  I know we are going to have a great time.  The only thing we really have planned is to go to Barnes and Noble since Elaine has a gift card.  There is a book I saw in Lancaster that I was going to get but didn't have the money.  Maybe I can find it there.

CLEANING CHALLENGE
Yesterday I began a cleaning challenge.  If I follow it, I should have my entire house cleaned and cleaned out in 9 months.  Let's see how I do.  I often start things like this, but they fall by the wayside.  I am going to do my best to actually complete this.  There is so much I need to just get rid of.  As I get older, I find there is less I want to hold on to.  Today the challenge was the kitchen sink and the area around it.  I took everything off the counter and scrubbed it really well.  I'm so short I couldn't reach behind the sink so Joe scrubbed it for me.  He's such a good husband.  It looks great and I am so happy with it.  I threw out several bottles of condiments that were old, some packages of Kool-Aid that were really old, and a tray that I hadn't used in 10 years.  Some things I wanted to keep, I found other homes for.  Some I put in a bag I started for Salvation Army.  Look how pretty it is now.

Still a long way to go, but I've started.

And now I have to pack my bags and get things ready to go.  I'll be seeing you soon.

Until later...

Kathy