Goodbye Google Reader - Hello Bloglovin'

Help me!!!   I don't want to lose any of my readers - I value each and every one of you and love when you visit.  I'm sure most of you have heard that Google Reader is shutting down on JULY 1st. Hey - that's MONDAY you know!!

I like to follow my favorite blogs thru a reader and I used Google Reader since I started blogging.  Since I needed to find an alternative, I chose Bloglovin'.   And guess what?? So far, so good.  I really like them and the switch was easy and painless.

• It’s easy to get an account on Bloglovin'.  This just took a few minutes. I recommend filling out your profile as completely as possible, though. If you have a blog, others can find and follow your blog from your profile.

• It isn’t hard to claim your blog on bloglovin’. To add a blog and get a bloglovin’ button for your site, you just need to add a bit of code to your site to “claim” your blog. Some add it to the sidebar. I just added it to the bottom of an already-existing post in the “text” view. You don’t need to publish a new post to add it unless you want to announce bloglovin’ through your post.

• It’s easy to follow blogs through bloglovin’. For blogs that have a bloglovin’ button, you just have to click the button and then click “Follow.” You can search for any blogs within the bloglovin’ site and follow them even if they don’t have a bloglovin’ button.

• You can move all your blogs on Google Reader to bloglovin’. THIS IS IMPORTANT!   It’s also amazingly simple.  I just followed the directions on bloglovin’ when I signed up. They were clear and easy to follow. Just go here if you aren’t automatically directed: Import Your Favorite Blogs from Google Reader. Be sure to check that you follow me and your other favorite blogs when you do move your blogs.

• You can organize all the blogs you follow into categories.  How cool is that?

• You can discover new blogs easily within bloglovin’. I love this feature! I set my emails to notify me whenever someone follows my blog. Then I can follow them if I wish as well as check who they follow and find new blogs to follow.

• You can get a free app to follow bloglovin’ on mobile devices such as your iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad: Free Bloglovin’ App.

HERE'S THE LINK TO BLOGLOVIN: http://www.bloglovin.com/
(That's cris for pointing that out)

So please be sure to follow me through BlogLovin'.  I'll follow you too.  I don't want to lose track of any of you.  Go transfer over your whole blog list right now!  You can still find me on my Snug Harbor FB page.  Don't wait until it's too late.

The All American Soda Showdown

We recently had the opportunity to participate in a Soda Showdown and let me tell you - it was fun!  I had never heard of a Soda Showdown and you know me, I'm up for anything.  The scene of the party was The Hitching Post and Old Country Store, located in Aurora, Kentucky.

For $ 4.95 you get to sample 20 different soda's and then you get to keep your tasting glass as a souvenir...

 

The Hitching Post currently has over 160 different flavors and brands of soda.  Check out this extensive collection...

Each week they change up the soda's for the tasting.  Here are a few of the 20 samples we got to taste the day we were there....

You get your shot glass, line up at the counter and the soda ladies give you a little history on each brand of soda....

They are extremely knowledgeable about each brand, tell you where it's made and a juicy tidbit.  I was really impressed with the things they knew.

....and then they pour you a sample.....

Chug a lug!

 



These 2 definitely had no problem throwing back the shots... hmmm.....

It was a great opportunity to taste soda pops that we'd never heard of.  The nice thing about it is that you can sample them and not have to buy a whole bottle in case you didn't care for it.  I also thought it was interesting to see which soda's everybody liked the best and I was surprised  at the wide variety of answers.  It seems like everyone had a different favorite flavor. 

The soda tastings are held every Thursday from 4 pm to 7 pm from May through August.  No reservations needed, just come as you are and join in on the fun.  And get this - after you do it the first time, you can go back again on any Thursday, bring your original shot glass with you, and get to taste 20 new soda's for only a dollar!  You can't beat that!  I'm all in for that.

After the soda tasting we wandered around the stores and the property, looking at the large collection of gifts, hand made jewelry, crafts, T shirts and antiques.  The Old Country Store has the look and feel of an olde time country store and is filled with historical memorabilia.  Some of their specialties are fresh roasted coffee beans, local honey and sorghum, home-made canned goods, jellies and syrups and even old time remedies.  They have an incredible variety of goods.  We poked around every nook and cranny.

They also sell old fashioned candy and home made fudge.  The fudge is absolutely delicious!  The flavors we bought were peanut butter, sea salt caramel, heath bar and vanilla.  The sea salt caramel was my absolute favorite, and truth be told, none of it lasted long - it's that good!

There was no way we were leaving The Hitching Post without a bottle of soda to take with us.  Up north, in Chicago, we call it pop.  What do you call it?  Do you call it soda?   Anyway, here are the selections we chose and check out the cute 6 pack container we got....

 

My personal winning choice was the Americana Black Cherry.  Let me just say this - out of this world!!!  By far the best pop I've ever had.  I may just have to drive back to The Hitching Post so I can pick up a 6 pack of the Black Cherry and half a pound of the sea salt caramel fudge.  Talk about pure bliss!

If you're in the Kentucky Lake area, it will be well worth your time to stop in Aurora at The Hitching Post and Old Country Store.  It's hidden gems like this that are delightful to stumble upon.  The stores here are charming and quaint, packed from floor to rafters with great gifts and antiques, and don't forget about the pop and fudge.  You cannot go wrong.  Stop by their FB page and say hi as well.  Tell them Kim from Chicago sent ya'll. 

The Hitching Post & Old Country Store 16474 US Hwy. 68E
Aurora, KY 42048
270-474-2266

Hours:
Summer hours (Memorial day – Labor day):
Closed Mondays
Tuesday – Saturday  9:00 – 6:00
Sunday 10:00 – 4:00
Hours change seasonally, please call for spring and fall hours.

Cache Crazy Tuesday 06-25-13

Join me today over at Cache Crazy and read about our adventures as we hiked to the top of St. Mary's Glacier in Colorado.

Geocaching June 2013

This month we haven't had as much time as I'd like to go geocaching, but we have squeezed in a few here and there.  Here's dad, aka Captain Ron, finding a cache on Goose Poop Island....

Aye Cappy, thar lies ye treasure....

This was a nice sized cache hidden in an easy to access location....

We found a micro hidden someplace on this fencing....

This cache took a little work as it was firmly wedged into its hidey hole....

In between caching we made a quick stop at Henson's Brooms to pick up some homemade canned beets.  This is a favorite stop for us when we're in Kentucky.  The brooms from this shop are frequently used for movie and television props, such as "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman" "The Martha Stewart Show" and the "Conan O'Brien Show".  Next up - watch for one of Richards brooms in the soon to be released "The Lone Ranger."  Check out their website and if you're in the neighborhood, stop in for a visit.  Richard is great fun to sit and talk to and can tell you the most interesting stories.  Tell him Kim from Chicago sent you!

One of my favorite caches this month was "Fallen from the Sky."  The history behind this cache is unusual because it's placed near a memorial for a WW2 Bomber plane.  Now, I never expected a WW2 bomber plane to crash in Kentucky, so I had to visit and find out how this could possibly have happened. 

The cache container was placed nearby, but at a respectable distance from the memorial.  I had to tip toe around the poison ivy to get to it tho...

It was fun to walk around the old church.  I wish it would have been open because I'd have loved to go inside...

 Check this website for more information and history on the bomber crash.

Another fun cache was this one hidden inside an old cook stove....

I don't know about you but I'd expect to pull a loaf of freshly baked bread from that oven instead of a cache box!

 

 

We still have a few days left in the month.  I sure hope we get a chance to get out and find a few more.



400 Mile - Repurposed Treasures

Part of the fun when buying yard sale items is deciding what to do with them once you get your junk treasures home.

I wanted to do something with the 3 old canes I bought, other than prop them up in a corner of the room.  Remember when we repainted the bathroom a couple of week ago?  Well, I decided that the canes would be perfect hanging in there....

Then I took one of the picture frames I bought and painted and distressed it.  I put the Norman Rockwell picture back in the frame and that went into the bathroom as well...

 

 

The ugly napkin holder with the pears on it also got painted and distressed.  It now sits on the kitchen table and holds napkins and the remote controls.....

The Coke crate just got washed and now sits in the front room with books and magazines in it....

But the piece I love the most is the table I bought.  First I washed it up...

I removed the drawer which kept sticking and I sanded the entire table and the drawer until it didn't stick any longer....

Finally I applied a single coat of stain....

And placed it in the front room at the lake house.  I am in love with this table....

So that's what I ended up doing with my 400 mile yard sale treasures.  I can't wait until next year!