Saturday with Kayla

I had a busy agenda on Saturday.  I was doing errands and then visiting with Kayla.  She lives two hours south and east of me.  It’s a do-able trip and every time I go I always kick myself for not going more often.  I love getting to see Kayla and having a day away.  When I can include a little shopping, a meal out and getting some errands done, all the better…and that’s exactly what I did.

I woke early and did a little of this before I even left.

Then I was off to Oelwein.  Sandra there is a charity quilter and I had fabric to give her!  Can you believe FIVE boxes full if charity quilt fabric??  I made it there right at 8:30 in the morning as I had hoped.

From there…next stop, Manchester Iowa Public Library.  I have been on a mission to get there for a LONG time.  The Manchester Library offers an alternative on line library called Hoopla.  Mary Jo, a blog reader, told me about it a long time ago.  I tried it through the Cedar Falls library when Karl was at UNI for college.  Well that card expired and with that so did my Hoopla access.  UGH.  I missed it.

After some investigation I found out that the Manchester Library offers it.  I called there and asked about getting a card.  They said it wouldn’t be a problem but I had to go in person to get a library card.  UGH.  I totally understand but that meant I had to wait….and wait I did…for a year.  Finally I got there…

…and I got my library card.  The WONDERFUL thing about Hoopla is that the books they have for check out are available IMMEDIATELY.  No long waiting.  Hooray!!  Another great feature is that no one is waiting for the book or audio book that I have.  I don’t feel rushed.  Again, a feature I love.  I am really excited to have it back.  Hoopla doesn’t see to off quite as many books as my regular online library but I’m okay with that.

Here’s a link to Hoopla if you want to check if it’s available in your area.

Kayla met me in Manchester.  From there we went to the quilt shop.  I took pictures for a shop tour and will do a blog post on that coming up.  Then we were off…visiting the Amish and hitting the thrift stores.

Here’s Kayla with part of our haul from the thrift store….  I got THREE bags of men’s shirts to cut up for quilts.  They were only $1 each!  I got a bag of clothes for Carver too.

We stopped at an Amish Bakery and the “bend and dent”.  If you haven’t been to a “bent and dent” it’s fun.  Dented cans of food are sold for a fraction of the price.  A box of mac and cheese was 45 cents.  Granola bars… 75 cents a box and if we bought three boxes we could get one free.  They are name brand granola bars too.  Prices are dirt cheap there.  We have to look to make sure a pack didn’t open or a date is bad but all in all…good food cheap!  I got refried beans for 20 cents a can.

After that- we stopped at a Chinese restaurant.  Kayla picked.  I don’t mind Chinese.

From there Kayla headed south and me north towards home.  I tried to hit the quilt shop in Strawberry Point but there were closed already.  But I did hit the Dollar General.  I got things to put together a small Easter basket for the childcare kids.

When I was there I found these….they are listed as being a “garland”.  The shapes are all felt so I risked $2 for a pack to see if they would work for a childcare activity.

I opened the bee package…they are in a garland.  My plans are to cut them apart and use the bees for childcare as a felt board set for circle time.
I googled “five little bees” and a few rhymes came up.  I plan on using one of those along with the felt pieces for a circle time activity.

I’m so happy to have a quick and easy idea for my kiddos.  I can’t putz around and make felt pieces for two dollars for a set.  Each set that I bought has two different items…in this case bees and flowers…there are seven of each item.  My kids are pretty little and we fine with that amount.  Other teachers might want two sets so they have 10 of each item.

I also got chicks with Easter eggs and Chicks and Rabbits with Carrots.  I’m sure there will be some fun rhymes for them too.

Anyway…I had a fun day away.  I really need to do it more often.  Sometimes I am too much of a homebody!

Watch for an upcoming blog post and I’ll tell you all about the quilt shop in Manchester!