Early Morning Rockford

 

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas in our neck of the woods. This morning’s drive to take Joe to work (6:40am) was full of Christmas cheer. The photo above is from downtown Rockford next to the community park. In the park itself there are small trees lit up during the night. By the time I could get a photo the lights had been turned off. Maybe I can get a photo this evening.

It is quiet in town at 6:40am. Until you get to Hwy 55 where one meets up with commuters heading into the metropolitan Minneapolis area. We take side streets to avoid the morning rush.

There was a full moon this morning and ice glistening on the green lawns. The Crow River which runs parallel to Main Street has begun to freeze over. It is quite stunning to see the weather changing in a spectacular way. I spent the summer admiring the green everywhere. The autumn and winter-like scenery are proving to be equally beautiful.

Granted, I have the luxury of staying in the house during the harshest weather days.

Today is supposed to be 14 degrees warmer than yesterday, with a high of 31 degrees and tomorrow it is supposed to be as warm as 44 degrees. Joe says anything above 40 degrees feels balmy. Yesterday morning at 6:30am it was 12 degrees, this morning at 6:40am it was 13 degrees. The car starts easily as we installed a battery warmer which gets plugged in the night before. The car usually has ice droplets on the windshield, hood, and top of the car. So far, the driveway has not been icy, it is a sloping driveway, and my fear is I will take a tumble and roll down the driveway and then must try to walk back up the icy driveway. Lots of caution being practiced on my part!

Later this afternoon, I am heading over to the thrift store to volunteer. Usually there are three to six volunteers on any given day, today we are expecting ten to twelve people. Our goal is to finish processing all the donated Christmas merchandise, get it on the sale floor, and do some decorating of the store. On Black Friday the store had $6000 in sales and that was at 50% off everything.

One of the things I enjoy about thrift store sorting is seeing repurposing in action. Many of the adult clothes we receive are name brand, good quality, and look barely worn. They are stylish items as well. I am one to wear a piece of clothing until it becomes threadbare, so it comes as a surprise to see how close to new so many of the items look.

We also get ‘hard’ donations. Books, games, kitchenware, small appliances, furniture, you name it we get it. Each item is inspected and tested before it is put up for sale. We currently have loads of Christmas tree decorations ($1.00/each), lights for trees, and ugly Christmas sweaters ($10). Ugly Christmas sweaters go for a premium price for some reason.

Last week I re-donated an ugly sweater while sorting as we don’t have an X-rated section. It was a naked Santa lounging on his sleigh and the words “Naughty Santa” emblazoned at the top.

I signed up to help the Rockford Girl Scouts wrap presents at the Crow River Christmas Sale this coming Saturday. I am not a talented wrapper though I know a few of the tricks. All Girl Scout volunteers go through a background check, even parents of troop members, before they can volunteer with the girls. Good thing they don’t check out my gift-wrapping background!