Smiles, Speeches and Sales

Sunday, on our way home from church, Gerald had to suddenly slam on the brakes to avoid hitting a deer. From the back of the van Thomas exclaimed, "My tummy did a flop-a-wheelie!"
Yesterday Leah, Meghan and Emily participated in their first speech meet. It was not a competition, just an opportunity for the kids to experience public speaking. They all did really well and are SO glad it's over. I was hoping to share a video clip with you but it is too big of a file to upload here. And that after all the work we did to get the videos done. Poor Emily. I made her do hers so often. On the first several attempts we had bloopers. At last we had a good one, only to find that the camera had not been recording. Next try the phone rang in the next room and the conversation got recorded. Then the smoke alarm went off. No, the house was not on fire. The girls were baking. No, they weren't burning anything. We just have a very sensitive alarm. Really!!
Have a look at some of the treasures we uncovered at Value Village's 50% off sale yesterday:
I love the colours. So warm and pretty. This time we got there at 7 a.m. and the line-up to get in was actually quite short. We didn't even have to use self-defense to get a cart. :) A few things I have to keep in mind when I'm shopping there:
1. Check zippers!!
2.Don't buy things in the size I think I should be in. It won't fit - not now, not when I get home and probably not this season. I can shop for that size when, no if, the weight comes off.
3. Only buy what I know someone needs or will wear. Their prices keep climbing, and even at half price, it sure adds up fast. Kind of pathetic to think that it's getting unaffordable to shop at thrift stores unless they are having a sale. :(
Do you know what makes me grin foolishly every time I walk through the garage? I'll show you:
I did not do a quick clean-up before taking the picture. This is nothing short of amazing. For years I had despaired of ever having a neat garage for more than half a day. Just imagine four pairs of footwear each for 12 people (do the math - that's 48 pairs!), just left wherever the person took them off. Not good. A few weeks ago we cleaned the garage out completely and Gerald set up some more shelves. I labelled them specifically for each pair of footwear and owner. Very simple. The rule is that if anyone leaves something on the floor, someone else can hide them. It's been very effective.