The original house at Paradise Lane is referred to by our family as the “old house.”

We don’t know exactly how old it was but it was built sometime before the Civil War. Part of the house was added at a later date but somebody got into the foundation when they were drilling a well or something so part of the house was unsafe to live in. We called it “the unfinished part” (so many original names)

Anyhow all that preamble to bring you up to speed on one of our favorite games. Julia and I had rollerblades and we set up a racetrack that went across the back porch, down into the unfinished part, sharp 180° turn, back past the deep freezer, and burst into the kitchen around the kitchen table.

It was amazing- if we got into the right flight patterns we could meet at the widest spots in the trail and never slow down. Clomping, gliding, sailing along for hours. I’m sure Em and Deb were involved too once they grew up a bit. Sometimes I wonder how my mom kept her sanity with the dull roar that such activities produced.

But anyhow we weren’t quite world class rollerblade champions-but we sure put in the hours and in our own humble opinions……

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Last month I discovered a new store in Missouri and my only regret is that I’ve spent weeks in that community looking for ways to entertain myself and somehow I’m just now discovering County Road Surplus.

Amazon sells off their returns and idk-what-all-else in lots and this store was made up of bins full of Amazon lots.

They restock every Friday night and the first customers show up to wait outside hours in advance before the doors open Saturday morning at 8.

Each consecutive day, the price per item decreases until Friday night and it starts all over.

I discovered this place on a .50 day and since I had hours to kill, I methodically pawed thru everything and came away ecstatic with my treasures.

Somebody else thought my .50 outfits were pretty cool too.

Since I had a little extra time first thing on Saturday, I decided to sneak over there to see what the new shipments of bargains were.

By 8:15 there were people with shopping carts STACKED full standing off to the side sorting to see what they wanted to keep and what got returned to the bins 🧐 but they’d graciously/accidentally left me a few things-like a pair of binoculars for down at the cabin.

My most impressive purchase was a set of girls skates. I couldn’t figure out what size they were in the middle of the mayhem, but I assumed they were a candidate for a Christmas gift for some of my mom friends with pre-teen daughters, so I happily paid $5 and hurried to my van.

Upon further investigation, I discovered that they are adjustable in line adult roller blades ($61 on Amazon) and guess what-they fit me.

Someone on the back of the van said “my grandad always said it’s not a bargain if you don’t need it” but I just assumed that meant that she wasn’t a career roller blader like some others of us (lol).

Last week, Em came over to see my new purchases and encouraged me to take them for a spin.

Let’s just say that I’m not a skilled at rollerblading as I once was.

Em was impressed with the fact that my fancy wheels even had lights in them (an even better deal), but she went on to report to the rest of the family that she thought I was having a midlife crisis and that if they hear that I’m in the ER with a broken tailbone- she knows what bargain caused it.

So in other news, if you don’t hear from me for awhile, it’ll probably be because I’m down here in the basement proving that I NEED this $5 bargain and frantically attempting to dust off a skill from my youth.

Hopefully it won’t be because I’ve skated over an obstacle and broke an arm 😅🙏🏼

Kendra a.k.a Bargain Queen

Bonus Pics:

Spent a very enjoyable/leisure 2 day shopping trip in Lancaster last week- it’s sure beautiful up there this time of year

My passengers included this guy which made it even more fun. 2 days of shopping and he’s still smiling 😂💪🏼 what a champ ❤️