Bargain Shopping

JC Penneys has no idea what they do when they send three $10.00 coupons to this address. The girls don't use theirs so pass them off to me. I can make a ten dollar coupon go a very long way. I did very well yesterday. There were many items that were originally fifty dollars marked down to twenty and then a ten dollar coupon and I have a fifty dollar gift for ten bucks. Works for me. When I came home and shared my finds with the girls they just smiled and shook their heads. They know that God gave good clearance sense to this woman. Scarlen's comment was, "If I had known that is the kind of shopping you planned to do, I would have gone with you." I had invited her but she didn't bite the bait. Now she wishes she had gone. She tells people she can get a whole lot more for her money when she shops with Mom. Mom had a really good time today.

I love driving the countryside this time of year when the combines have done their work in the fields and one can see for miles. During the growing season when the corn lines the ditches next to the road, the visibility is so limited. My favorite harvested fields are the soybean fields. The combine grinds up the stalk and distributes it in a fine layer on top of the ground. The fields looks clean as a whip. It is a beautiful thing. Corn fields are left with some residue from stalks that are bent over and left visible.

When I was a teenager, the combines were not nearly as proficient as they are today. Some grain was skipped and was left lying in the corn rows. For fund raisers, farmers would offer to classes of students to come and glean. We would walk the rows and kick at husks that seemed to have grain left in it. We would then pick it up and put it in small piles. A pick up truck would ride the rows and someone would pick up the ears of corn and place them in baskets. As we walked up and down the rows, I envisioned Ruth and Naomi gleaning in Boaz's fields. The corn would then be brought to the elevator and we would exchange the grain for cash. The cash was used for class trips, etc. The best part of the process was the hot chocolate and donuts we received as a reward for our hard work.

The crowning event of my day, yesterday, was my visit to the hospital to see a friend from church who had surgery last Monday. She is excitedly anticipating home going tomorrow. She is doing well and though she has a way to go she is on her way to better health. Her son and his girlfriend came to visit while I was there. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know those young people better.