Cookies, Flour, and Mattresses

By now, you all know I'm a fan of Big Lots for basically two reasons, bargains goes without saying, however, my most favorite part is finding new products. It's like shopping in Missouri or something. Earlier today I made the awesome sugar cookies, this time without the coconut and lime. The sugar police would definitely arrest me for these!

My flour canister was nearly empty so out came a new bag of flour, in this case Gold Medal. Here's a tiny synopsis about Gold Medal flour that I bet you did not know.

• 1866 C.C Washburn began his flour mill
• He made way too much flour prompting name calling--Washburn's Folly to be exact.
• 1880 he entered his flour at the Millers' International Exhibition (I'm presuming this kind of thing was a precursor of conventions)
• He won the GOLD MEDAL
• The bag claims it is America's best selling flour

There's more, but for our purposes that will be enough. This afternoon, while picking up a few things from BL, I came across a flour brand from Kansas I'd never heard of.

Perhaps a reader from the Midwest has heard of this brand? The best flour in America, period? Now I know about White Lily, King Arthur, Gold Medal and Pillsbury. Any other brands that you know of? What most interests me is the longevity of these companies. In today's marketplace, it is hard to imagine a new food stuff company that will survive 125 years or more. Do you agree?

I was a busy girl today, even vacuuming before my bike ride. It is the strangest thing; in the last few weeks I've seen more mattresses out for the trash than I've seen in a year. Today was no exception,

not just one house but two.

Actually there was a third today that I didn't even stop to photograph! What do you suppose is happening? People getting ready for holiday company? 

I finished my sewing project for the party, and after lunch I looked at more windows, followed by a trip to Roger and Trish's house to pick up my prints. By golly, the canvases looked so good I knew something was different. Messaging Roger, he told me the canvas brand was new. Nice. They recently had their house painted lilac which I was a little skeptical of to begin with but now I really like it.

Driving to BL afterwards I stopped at Dickson Azalea Gardens for a moment to check out the spot where I took a photograph that has sold well. Once upon a time there was some cool "street art" on this storm drain, but now I see it has nearly vanished.

It was one of those times when I went to look at one thing and something entirely different came to fore. Today all I saw new was this:

Seeing something like this always makes me wonder what 1335 means, and why someone chose to climb into Ferncreek to stencil love on it......

Can I just mention right here how excited I am to be about $120 away from my yearly sales goal???? The rest of the year will be gravy. :)

My goodness, it's a cardinal photo...

The last time I posted a cardinal photo was when they were molting. In other words, not very pretty. Now they are in their resplendent best! 

Yesterday afternoon I messaged Matt who messaged me back about having a little chat when he was done with work. Uh oh. Ever the optimist, or maybe I should say most of the time, I thought something was up and I tried to imagine it was good. Well my friends, it was something exciting. Now that Illinois has signed gay marriage into law, Matt and Tom are making plans to marry in Chicago. A June wedding no less. Why you might wonder Chicago? Most of you know that Matt was a PhD candidate at Northwestern until deciding he wanted to pursue a different career path. So Chicago makes sense. Plus, he's already found accommodations at this awesome looking hotel. I can hardly wait! As details fall into place, you'll be the first to know, well, sort of.

Props to my darling husband who tonight is in Houston during the grand opening of The Capital Grille. Talking to him this morning, there were only a few minor details to finish, making me very happy for his success. What makes me even happier is that he changed out my under counter lights Sunday while I was at the market, allowing me to actually see all this cooking

going on around here. I still remember my Mom complaining about how dark my kitchen was. to which I replied, I work in a darkroom Mom, I'm used to it. Now, as I get older. I feel bad about my cavalier attitude because I couldn't see either before he fixed my lights! 

Actually it has been eight years since I worked in radiology, and I'm contemplating letting my license lapse. At my age, with all these years of not working, finding a radiology job would be next to impossible. That said, I've held it since I was 19 years old, so it is a hard decision to make. What to do, what to do?

Let's end today with something from the newspaper, something so silly,  I just burst out laughing while reading. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. The story concerns an older couple who have lived together for 14 years, having met at a funeral by chance. Numbers are very important to them, so after the man suffered a debilitating heart attack last year, making their union official gained new urgency. When she realized the upcoming number combination of 11-12-13, she was sure it was meant to be. The couple arrived at the courthouse at 9, and married at 10, on, 11-12-13, the second couple of the twenty to do so on that date. "The groom wore a ponytail and a Bluetooth in his right ear. The bride was dressed in blue slacks and a silvery-gray flower print blouse which, by coincidence, matched the upholstery of the wedding chapel chairs." Looking at the supplied photograph, I can only hope Jonathan and Alissa's setting at the courthouse in Austin was a wee bit nicer.