A day late and a dollar short and a heartfelt THANK YOU!

Yesterday morning I woke up and remembered to count my blessings.  Not only did I have a roof over my head, coffee in my pot, toast in my toaster and warm (hand knit) socks, but I had the 3 F's:

Faith, Family and Freedom!

I practiced my faith by saying a prayer of thanks for my family and freedom and decided to get dressed and go to town and pay homage to those who secured our freedom for us...at the Veteran's Day Parade!

My adopted home town is small in stature and population, 2.7 square miles and only 15,000 people, but we take our parades seriously!

ALL the county high school marching bands participate...

  

Scout troups and other organizations take time to march and honor our veterans:

Did I ever tell you that Butler is the REAL home of the Jeep?  Yes, the Jeep was invented here!

Of course, no local parade would be complete with the Shriners in their funny cars!

They are so funny, doing figure 8's.  I love to hear the kids squeal when it looks like they will crash into each other.

Here comes the county treasurer!

Usually the guy who walks behind these horses with a snow shovel and a garbage can gets a lot of applause,  this year was no exception!

The kids standing next to me were so impressed with these guys.  They had real swords!

Don't know who this guy is, but he sure wins hands down for the best sweater:

~sigh~

Don't you just love parades?  I do!

Hey, even though Veteran's Day is gone, it's never too late to say thanks when you have a chance.

God Bless America!

Love you guys,

JAN

Main Street!

Butler, PA, our home town, is rapidly becoming a bicycling town.  Not only do we have designated bike routes, we have Friday night community rides, easy access to Rails-to-Trails, and bike racks in front of businesses on Main Street where you can lock your bike while eating or shopping.

Andy and some of his friends (mostly fellow unicyclists) were commissioned to make three bike racks out of recycled bike parts.  After working hard, they were ready to install!  Mark and I went downtown (in his car, not on bikes) so Mark could help if he could and I could take photos, of course!

The greatest thing about the installation is that the workers showed up ON BIKES!

Dave brought the tools on his transporter,

Jon came via pedal power,

Isaac came on one wheel,

and Andy came on 'Big Dumb Bill' a tall bike with an air compresser on the back.

What do you say when you see a kid pedaling a five foot tall bike with an air compressor on the back?  You say, "Hi Andy!"

They did attract a crowd of well wishers, nosey people and advice givers, but it was an upbeat atmosphere. 

It was hard work drilling into the sidewalk, but there was lots of people there to give a hand...

They even put Mark to work!

At the end of the evening, Pizza Joe's had three great bike racks.  Kudos to the guys!