Summer Satchels are lookin' good!

Yesterday's efforts to secure items for the summer satchels got off to a rocky start. Working the phones is clearly not my forte.

So I headed out to look for books, thinking books to fit my budget would be hard to find. I was right. But I hit the jackpot at the Project Safe Thrift Store, where I scored about 25 books. Paperbacks were $.25 each and hardbacks were $.50 each. My mom snuck me a $10 bill on the way out the door that morning, and that's just about what the books cost - thanks Mom!

When I returned home I had a message that my long-time friends, the Niolons, had taken it upon themselves to purchase art supplies AND were exploring options for the bags themselves. My backup plan has always been to hand each kid a plastic grocery bag if I couldn't come up with something else. The "Niolon Touch" will ensure the kids get something better than that!

Things got even better when my sweet sister Bird informed me that books were coming out of the woodwork at Foodbuy, where she works. She'd sent out an email to her co-workers, and the books have been pouring in. She has close to 80 already, and it's only day 2.

So I'm starting today full of gratitude for friends and family, and I'm heading out to scour every thrift store in Athens. More later....