"Surprise Day: Revealed"

Well, I guess you might say it was a “working surprise day.” After tying up some loose ends on the offer we are making on our first home — yep, I said new home, that’s a whole ‘nother three or four blog entries, there! — Craig made us a quick sandwich, and we were off to our first surprise destination.

We end up at Cracker Barrel, of all places, where we priced the rocking chairs which had caught our eyes the last time we met Craig’s parents there. We found out we could purchase chairs from their “scratch ‘n’ dent” category for half price. The worst wear we found on most of them was that the paint was scratched off at the end of the armrests. Craig summed it up by saying; “I would do that over the summer with my beer, anyway.” BINGO!!! They’ve got new shipments coming in regularly. We’ll find out when’s the one closest to our closing date and snatch them up then.

Next stop, Clark’s Appliances in Fleetwood, PA — the heart of Mennonite country. Clark’s is a small, family-run business where we got very careful informative service from one of the daughters. We went through all the various features of washers, dryers and refrigerators. We definitely made some informed decisions, but after over an hour of this, both of our heads were turning faster than an ultra-efficient spin-cycle. As we drove away and mulled over the items we picked, I realized that I never thought I would be this excited over appliances!

So, we relaxed for a bit, browsing at a home and garden center, daydreaming about what would look good at our new house, and then quickly reminding ourselves and each other that it’s not a done deal yet… we can’t get our hopes up until we have the keys. =)

And then we were off to beat closing time at the local dry goods store, where we stocked up on grains and beans and healthy snacks. So, a working surprise day. I’ll take it.
A girl can’t have diamonds every day.