I only lost 1 machine location after nearly a month’s delay.
The upside was that every piece of candy was donated out and all honor boxes did very well. On behalf of critters helped, Thanku!
Even tho I’m not able to make a full living from the route, I still hope to add a few more locations soon!
~
Back online 🤞
Car repaired, health, peace and balance restored, and back on the road!
Cautiously, so very carefully, I returned to delivery work Friday for a few hours, and everything held up okay! All I have to worry about now is the ever-present weather, that fickleness of fate.
Took my regular day off, read and relaxed some more. Am scheduled to return to full day of work tomorrow, then what does it do? It decides to start storming. Into tomorrow. So I reduced delivery hours for tomorrow. Can’t tempt the fickle finger of fate, can’t chance it!
With any luck, and a lot of blessing, I hope to return to my route next week on Tuesday or Thursday.
All the Halloween candies will be gone, but the ones I got for this month will be ready for refills.
Wow, what a rough Halloween this year..! 🎃🧟🧟♀️🎃
The good news is that, not only did I figure out how to re-post pics here, my favorite Little Library was fully repaired! The wonderful person even made sure to attach an adorable flag to deter anyone from messing with it. It’s supposed to be there for us to enjoy!
Thanku so much for your awesome patience ❤️ You’re the best!
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Thanksgiving Vacay/Staycay
Since my car was on crutches, I was stuck way up north, and shops are closed the entire 4-day weekend, I thought I’d had enuf of the stress, and gave myself a holiday from the road.
Since the nearest hostel was over 70 miles south, I searched for the cheapest and nearest motel. There were plenty, thank goodness!
Fun fact; Motel6 is called Motel6 because it used to be $6 a night.
Now it’s pricier than most motels, so I continued searching.
Found several that weren’t advertised, only took reservations by phone. Before I reserved, I did one last search. Reviews. The prices went up a bit.
Hmmm. Most reviews were okay, not the greatest, but definitely expected for the prices.
I was okay with smoking, coffee stains, no towels, fine.
Then I filtered them down to one word. Bugs. Oops, there were plenty. And pics. Not good. As I continued searching, the prices went up of course.
And here I am, not one single b review. And it’s true to form.
Clean, hot water, cable TV, plush bedding, not 1 stain, I looked everywhere, not one stain anywhere!
Oh, and hot and cold continental breakfast. Yes! I immediately became a member, got a tiny discount, and am dug in for the week.
I must say to the customers on my route, you’re the best. Have an awesome holiday, I’ll keep posting here…
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Next to Christmas, Thanksgiving is the best!
Both holidays are full of blessings.
Even with car repairs pending, holiday season upon us, and bundling up for the cold, never underestimate the power of God’s Grace to count our blessings, no matter how wonderful and plentiful our lives may be!
Have a warm and Happy Thanksgiving week!
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It’s always something…
I stocked up on fresh candies, both individual and bulk, ready to hit the road. Then the car died. Sort of. It’s in some sort of limp mode with crutches and I couldn’t chance it, so am having to sit out the next couple of weeks while the parts are being ordered.
It’s the most delayed I’ve ever been, over a month late and I hope it’s okay.
~
The harvest of Halloween is over and Thanksgiving is upon us.
All the new packages of candies are stocked and ready to go.
See u soon! 🍬
~
To my customers, everything seems to happen at once, and it tends to slow things down a bit, but I didn’t forget u, not even for a second!
There’s supposed to be storms this upcoming week which I hope to avoid as best I can.
More holidays coming up! A busy, busy time of year. See u soon!
~
Okay, the 20 foot giant skeleton was the best, until I saw a giant witch flying thru the air..!?!
Of course I slowed down to take a look, and she was indeed giant, as tall as that other skeleton who was no slouch! Except she was flying thru the air without a broom!
Wait, she was holding onto her broom 🧹 so that’s what supported her, and if u looked real carefully, u could see the thinnest of wires attaching her skirt to the chimney, she was that big! The wire wouldn’t be visible at all at night.
The best Halloween Female, not sure why the skeleton would necessarily be male, but the 20 foot giant skeleton was the best Halloween male! 🧟♀️🧟🥉
I still can’t attach pics to the blogger right now. Maybe next year…
Happy Halloween 👻 and stay safe all u spooks and scoops!
Boys and girls,
ghosts and goblins,
boys and bats,
capes and hats,
bars and bats,
bats and ghouls,
Did I leave anyone out? Be safe all, and drive safely around, too!
~
I still love Halloween!
The inflatable moving black cats with fangs, boo-ghosts, goblins rising out of pumpkins 🎃 only to retreat again, and over-sized skeletons, lots and LOTS of skeletons taller than their houses! Awesome!
I don’t know how the Halloween candy popcorn balls went yet, will stay posted here. They were huge, tho, couldn’t even wrap your hand around one, really big, and they took up quite a bit of space in the honor boxes so I couldn’t fit much other candy in them except I enjoy treating stores back, sort of like giving back for their time, energy, goods, and services that we get to enjoy!
The weather is perfect, clear and cool skies, making it a pleasure to be on the road.
And a shout-out to the lady taking a pic of the LittleLibrary at the park. I automatically assumed she was picking a book from the rather beaten up Little Library there or leaving clothes or food, and didn’t want to bother her. After she left, I went to see if there was any new damage that I might be able to tape up or repair and to my shock, the beautiful little red library was not only fully repaired, it was painted and protected with all new hardware, just lovely!
I’m not able to upload pics here, and will try later…
Thanku..!
~
M&M's are not suitable for a Halal diet. We use additives that come from animal products when we're making M&M's and traces of these can be found in the sweets. Jul 21, 2014
• https://www.quora.com
Are M&M's halal? - Quora
A: M&M'S® Milk Chocolate, Peanut, and Peanut Butter in the US are Halal Certified.
https://www.amazon.com
Mostly, M&Ms are kosher. It depends on what facility they are made in. If they are kosher, then there will be a symbol on the label from the certifying agency
(usually the Orthodox Union - their symbol is a U in a circle (aka 'circle U')
M&Ms are okay at Christmas. Personalize your M&Ms chocolate or mix the colors of M&M Peanut for a delicious Christmas gift to remember!
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All locations did awesome this month !
Thanku to my wonderful stores!
A couple of them are occasionally very generous and the critters u get to help and I are grateful, thanku!
Since I’m servicing the machines or honor boxes on a regular basis as much as possible, all customers see are clean boxes and refilled machines.
I’m guessing stores occasionally visit the blog and get to see work done, updates, and availability for communication and questions.
Thanku!
~
Halloween 👻
It’s the only other time of year when we get tricks or treats and can laugh at our troubles and have fun.
So I splurged on my honor boxes with big bags of popcorn balls.
I wanted to include a pic of them here but blogger is having a tough time with pics.
They’re simple popcorn balls with a sweet tasty glaze, that’s kinda it. Of course I taste-tested a few, and they’re fresh fresh fresh ✔️
~
Okay, its not officially Autumn until October when leaves turn all those beautiful Fall colors during the balmy-cool season of harvest before ice storms start, yay 😕 Weather can be so difficult!
A package of miniature Kit-Kat bars melted before I could even get them to their honor boxes. Once inside the nice cool stores, they will firm up again. The Hot Tamales are still vending okay, and am keeping an eye on them.
That’s the latest!
~
Late service went well. I try to service each location every 4-6 weeks.
A busy, busy month gearing up for the holidays, Halloween candy to be found everywhere!
Do honor boxes and Halloween go together? I hope so..!
~
Ugh, I guess Googel doesn’t host years of pics anymore.
Sentient: having the ability to feel or perceive sensations, such as sight, hearing, touch, taste, or smell.
It can also mean to be consciously aware. The word sentient comes from the Latin verbs sentire, which means ‘to feel’ or ‘to perceive’
HSUS, PetFinder, American Humane, K9sForWarriors
Please also see the Rescues tab of this blog for more listings.
Shelters are over-crowded, over-worked, and underfunded. Please adopt if u can ☑️
~
Labor Day at the Lake is a must and a tradition.
What an incredibly inspiring weekend ❤️🇺🇸❤️
Here’s hoping u get to have an awesome Labor Day Weekend your way.
~
I found a product that I used to fill my candy machines.
They are essentially SweetTarts coated with an incredibly solid candy coating.
Have been looking for these for years! These, and the uncoated baby sweet/tart pacifiers, kids loved them!
I started my first route in college and always got my bulk candy from Javier’s warehouse. He was informal, reluctantly accepted credit cards, and knew all about vending bells and whistles. He carried every tiny thing, including stickers, tattoos, realistic looking jewelry, toys, and of course, gumballs.
The coated sweettarts lasted forever, vended clean, and adults liked them, too.
Was astonished to finally see just one style of SweetTarts finally become available in the form of Bonz, they would be perfect for a nearby pet store!
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I guess my blog manager has short-circuited again.
Not sure how long nor if permanent (?)
It seems I can continue to post but pics aren’t uploading correctly, so will keep u posted here.
(Some pics decided to upload and 1 came thru, yay! Included here from an awesome Towne Lake)
As such, no new news. Okay, a bit of candy news. I’ve changed out a canister of the delicious but overly-delicate jelly beans for the much sturdier Hot Tamales (cinnamon). Am anxious to see how they vend.
In the meantime, have an awesome weekend!
🍬
This day today and in history;
Athletics Mens 20km RaceWalk
ECUADOR 🇪🇨
Brian Daniel PINTADO
BRAZIL 🇧🇷
Caio BONFIM
ESPANA 🇪🇸
Alvaro MARTIN
In 1876, Colorado was admitted as the 38th state in the Union, less than a month after the US Centennial (earning it the nickname “the Centennial State”).
In 1907, a week-long boys’ camping event began on Brownsea Island in southern England, organized by Robert Baden-Powell; the event is now marked as the beginning of the Scout Movement.
In 1971, The Concert for Bangladesh, an all-star benefit organized by George Harrison of The Beatles and sitar player Ravi Shankar, was held at Madison Square Garden in New York.
In 1975, a 35-nation summit in Finland concluded with the signing of a declaration known as the Helsinki Accords dealing with European security, human rights and East-West contacts.
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Summer Skittles?
Jelly Bellies are popular and hold their flavors like nobody’s business and they are yummy, gummy, and delicious, but they stick so much to their canisters, the wheels, and to each other, so I gotta change them out to either chiclets or skittles, maybe M&Ms.
The Red Hots have much thicker glaze coatings, but only still stick occasionally, so will try those instead.
Everybody loves Hot Tamales candies 🍬
~
One of the most well-known patriotic songs in the USA was first actually written as a poem called, “Pikes Peak.”
It was set to music and published as “America” for the Fourth of July 1895 edition of The Congregationalist. The poem continued to evolve for the next 16 years, and the version we know today was written in 1911.
Oh, beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea.
Oh, beautiful for pilgrim feet,
Whose stern, impassioned stress
A thoroughfare for freedom beat
Across the wilderness!
America! America!
God mend thine every flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control,
Thy liberty in law.
Oh, beautiful for heroes proved
In liberating strife,
Who more than self their country loved,
And mercy more than life!
America! America!
May God they gold refine,
Till all success be nobleness,
And every gain divine.
Oh, beautiful for patriot dream
That sees beyond the years
Thine alabaster cities gleam,
Undimmed by human tears!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea.
More trees please
More trees please 🙏
>Too many trees are bad for u.
=But the sun is scorching the blacktop and it’s actually melting in spots.
>And that’s my problem how?
=People are suffering in this heat!
>That’s why air-conditioning was invented.
=It’s not even August yet, the hottest month of the year!
>Try throwing shade, maybe that will help.
=Wait a sec, who is this….?
~
Compasses
Why do some compasses work and others don’t?
If it’s not a matter of expense? What could it be? 🤔
~
Powerball
Mega Millions
A note about trees…
During the heated days of summer, a request, More Trees Please!
When I go into stores for supplies and/or goodies, my car bakes in the wonderful sun, and it’s a double-edged sword.
The city decided in its infinite wisdom to plant lots and lots and LOTS of trees, and it’s awesome 🌳
Yes, the birds in the trees are pleasant and keep the parking areas clean, good design plans for that.
The trees get fed our CO2 carbon dioxide and, in exchange, work tirelessly to scrub the air day and night. This keeps the air clean and the sky clear, which lets even more sun thru! This is an easy fix, more trees! More shade, more clean air, it’s a win-win Win :-)
As a side note, get-away cars can hide from helicopters which was amusing to see once because the helicopter lost the getaway car in the mini manicured forests 🌳 🌳 🌳 🌳
When the getaway car emerged from the trees, the air was so clean and clear, they could see the car license plate details with their eyes!
More trees please 🙏
~
To be honest, in junior high school (yes, it was called junior high back then) I collected signatures to end clubbing of baby seals in Canada for their beautiful white fur.
More recently, I collected signatures electronically to end the Yulin dog and cat meat "festival" in China.
To this day, they are apparently still clubbing baby seals for their fur in Canada, and they’ve added some sort of strawberries to the dog-meat in China.
Maybe signatures can help with rescues;
-‘Please ask China to ban this cruel "festival" and put an end to the dog and cat meat trade for good!
https://hsus.ms/325/28efhz
-Lauren@HSUS’-
~
The Weather..!
I love a good cozy rainstorm, thunder, lightning, the works, even sleet/hail can be fun,
but not for driving!
I dream of constructing a classic snowman, carrot for the nose, 🥕, pieces of coal for the eyes, a pipe and a scarf,
but not for driving!
Sunbathing by the pool, on a beach, on a roof during a heatwave is luscious,
but not for driving!
Wind is okay, just okay.
A Perfect Day?
Spring, cool, no sweat, a warm sunny day, or real light overcast with no rain, every driver on the road is courteous, aware of their surroundings, no one is late to anywhere, everyone is well-fed and happy.
I’ve had a few of these days and hope to again!
Drive Safe. Thanku. 🚗
~
Can u see him?
Lower right side on the grass by the water’s edge.
Here he is, caught in mid-flight/walk;
And here he is in his element, on the road taking off, they really are fast!
They run so level that you’d swear they were standing still, but the minute u try to adjust the lens on the camera, he had just ran several yards!
~
I’ll post this 1st to get it over with;
The Lychee and Dog Meat Festival is an annual festival held in Yulin, Guangxi, China, during the summer solstice in which festival goers eat dog meat and lychees.
Apparently lychees are like strawberries. I don’t want to judge and I can’t.
I used to sign petitions every year to stop the Yulin dog meat festival because they steal pets and no one stops them and the gov’t can’t. I can’t find petitions for 2024. Feel free to post link here if u find one and sign it, thanks!
Good news is that I found a rescue, by sight. I saw a beautiful tiger there who glanced at me as I rolled down the window to say hello. He went right back to his cat-nap and I drove on because how do u communicate with a tiger for pete’s sake..?
I found their website;
https://www.carerescuetexas.com/meet-the-animals/overview.html
I’m not sure what type of rescue it is, but it was easy to find with beautiful open grounds.
~
I can’t help it, I see these colors popping thru the brilliant green as I try to pass them by and can’t, so I stop to share them here. Oh, and I included a pic of a giant rock because, well, just because! :-)
