For six dollars!

This morning I (Julia) took part in a local (Sav-Mor on Wade Hampton across from K-Mart) sidewalk sale for the first time. And I got a LOT (maybe $75-$100 retail) of food for six dollars. Here's how it works: Everyone arrives before 9:00 and grabs one (or two or three or ten) banana boxes, lines up around the rows of food in the parking lot, and waits for the person in charge to yell "Go!" Then everyone (200 plus?) rushes in and starts filling his or her box. Yep, sounds like a game you played at camp! The food available comes from several area grocery stores (including at least one whole food/organic/health chain) and is comprised of scratch, dent, and past expiration date items (mostly dry goods). I got whole grain cereals, crackers, and granola bars, salad dressing, mustard, salsa, tahini, Manwich, fruit snacks (a.k.a. potty treats), salad Crispins, and more! Yep, everything in the picture. For six dollars. All you can fit in a banana box with the top level. (For potential shoppers: The sales seem to come about once a month and are posted on the marquee out front the previous week.)

January's highlights

In January, 3/4 of the Swillum family (friends in California) visited and we helped celebrate Rose Marie's third birthday. She and Abigial are still best buddies (like their mommies and daddies), despite the long distance and time between visits. It was such fun to see all four little girls together (Abigail - 2, Rose Marie and Autumn Swillum - 3 and 1, and Emmalein Merkle - 18 months. Mom/Grandmama Garner also came for a special weekend visit (while Dad Garner was in Kenya for a two week missions trip!). And "it" snowed! We got several inches. . . Abigail was delighted to see snowflakes falling and was eager to go out to play the next morning, but got nervous after the first crunchy step. Her snowman received most of his admiration from the safety of the back window. Abigail began sleeping in a "big girl bed" (no more crib) in January. Aunt Lydia (Julia's sister) came for a day to make preparations for the TWINS she's expecting this summer. And the our friends the Merkles welcomed a second daughter - Celia. We closed out the month celebrating Nathan/Daddy's [true] 29th birthday.

Christmas 2007 - coming later, maybe =)

Just reserving a spot in the hopes that I'll catch up one of these days!