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Coke is it! Sweets it isn’t!

Time for a confession. I am addicted to Coca-Cola. There I said it forever to be recorded on the internet. So, to feed this addiction I visit a LOT of McDonald’s restaurants. I’m somewhat of a Coke snob and have determined the best fast food Coke is at McDonald’s. Period. In my travels I visit many many McD’s and have the chance to see how homogenous their service and products are. The Coke varies slightly by restaurant. Something to do with the particular mix of syrup and carbonated water. I can tell. Anyway, something I have noticed recently is what you see in the pic above. The “Be Back Soon” on the ice cream choices.

I feel the need to post about this because I can’t believe how often I am seeing this “Be Back Soon” label for the ice cream on the ordering screens. I know there is a popular meme out there in internet land about the squirelliness of McD’s ice cream machines. Here is proof positive it is really ‘a thing.’ My mind is blown however by how a corporation the size of McDonald’s would allow this to happen, never mind continue like this for years on end. It’s a big black mark and whoever decided to advertise the problem by marking the screen “Be Back Soon” has done McD’s a big disservice in my opinion. I think it’s a mistake even though I can see the thinking that notifying the customer is a good thing. It really sticks out. I don’t ever order the ice cream at McD’s and evenso it sticks out like a sore thumb to me.

Here’s hoping they can get this massive problem under control sooner than later.

Now if I see a “Be Back Soon” over the Coca-Cola on the ordering screen there’s gonna be a real problem!!!

I Ain’t Worried

“time is running out, so spend it like it’s gold”

One Republic Lyrics from ‘I Ain’t Worried.’

This lyric really struck me as I listened to this song recently. All of us have our ‘time’ running out. It’s part of life. Spending our minutes like they are gold was so profound to me in that moment. It keeps running through my mind even days after hearing it. I think it has changed the way I think.

Restoration Road – Idaho bnb trip

Michelle and I took a little October Idaho getaway and stayed in 2 of the most delightful awe inspiring places I’ve ever visited.

A little backstory first. Many of you are surely familiar with Fixer Upper the Discovery Channel (Magnolia Network) show featuring Chip and Joanna Gaines. During that shows’ run we were introduced to Clint Harp, a woodworker, who was recruited by Joanna to build furniture for the Fixer Upper renovations on several occasions. Since that shows’ success Clint has spawned two of his own shows. One of which, Restoration Road, takes its viewers on a journey of the restoration of very old barns and a few other restoration projects of old structures. Two of those restoration projects ended up being moved and rebuilt in Western Idaho near the woodsy town of Deary. Clint worked with Kevin Durkin on these two projects. Kevin is the founder of Heritage Restorations. They have restored well over 300 structures like these.

After watching the “Augustus Peck House” episode my wife began searching the bed and breakfast sites to find this gem and see if we could plan a trip. We found it and began our trip plans. But there was more! We were surprised to learn that another Restoration Road project had been moved to Deary and was placed literally right next door to the Peck House. Restoration Road Season 2 episode 4, “Off Grid Idaho Home“. A barn from Gloversville, New York. Restored into a lovely cabin home. We couldn’t pass that up and made arrangements to stay part of our trip in both homes. NOTE: The ‘Off grid home’ is not available on a bed and breakfast site at this writing.

First we stayed in the ‘Off Grid Idaho Home’. Originally a barn built in Gloversville, New York in circa 1830. Watching the transformation/restoration of this centuries old barn into a modern home and then having the opportunity to stay a couple of nights there was a very special experience for my wife and I.

Let’s look at some pictures!

Off Grid Idaho Home

In the episode the finished cabin was not painted but you can see they have come back and painted it a nice green color.

Standing inside the front door you can see into the kitchen and the staircase leading to the loft bedroom. The beams you are seeing are what was kept from the original barn. They are made of hand hewn Hemlock. It was sobering to touch these strong beams that were handworked over 200 years ago.

You can see the mortise and trunnell holes that were used to tie the original structure together.

Some of the original hardware is still there. I can imagine a cow being tied off at this ring.

You can easily see how the beams were hand hewn.

Mortise, tenon and trunnels easily seen from the bedroom loft.

This rug was woven in 1854. The preservation is remarkable.

View from the bedroom loft.

This iron strap was placed on this beam to repair a split. The split was caused by Clint Harp when tearing down the original barn structure.

Modern kitchen and bathrooms complete the restoration.

What a great pleasure and honor it was to spend a couple of nights in this unique home.

Augustus Peck House

The second two nights we stayed in the ‘Augustus Peck House‘. Originally built in Middlebury Connecticut in 1750 by Augustus Peck a revolutionary war soldier.

This is the front parlor. Originally it was 2 rooms but the restorers chose to make it one large open living room/dining room.

Originally the main room was not open to the 2nd floor like shown here. The restorers chose to ‘open’ things up and the view of the rafters from the 1st floor is awe inspiring. Especially that far upper window. Truly beautiful.

One of 2 working fireplaces. The stone seen here was the original stone. Taken apart in Connecticut meticulously restored to its original look.

The chimney is almost all original brick. The restorers made some additional brick on their own to fill in what was lost or unusable. You can see the brick at the very top by the ceiling that is a slightly different color. That is the new brick. In this picture you can see into the bedroom loft area.

A modern kitchen but in the same place as the original kitchen. You can see the stairs to the 2nd floor to the left. The rafters are original beams but the floor boars are new. Harvested from the Tamarack pines indigenous to Western Idaho.

The kitchen fireplace. It is in working order and the arched ‘oven’ is now used as a pizza oven. We weren’t brave enough to adventure into lighting a fire and cooking pizza in it. Maybe if we return 😉

Original door hardware on one of the doors.

Original strap hinge.

Looking into the main living room from the upstairs loft bedroom.

A better view of the upstairs window.

We enjoyed our two nights in Augustus’ house. It was special to lay in bed at night and think of the history that was lived in this house.

So that sums up our 4 night stay in Deary Idaho. BTW, Deary is a very small town with a couple of places to eat and a corner gas station. Not much else. The ‘Pie Safe‘ is a must see and in addition to the great fresh food they offer handmade foods and other goods made by a local group.

First Letter: Follow Me

I thought it would be fun to test your sleuthing skills. If you were to follow me through a typical day you would see the following signs for the places I visit. I’m providing you with the first letter of each sign. Let’s see if you can come up with the rest! 1st winner gets a candy bar!

This might be the easiest one (above)

Much harder. No hints!

Another easy one? I could have made this one a LOT easier 😉

This one is fun to say.

One of my fav places.

Genius ‘bubbles up’

Saw this today and I really really like these words. I think I may take this advice:

“Most good material is forgotten. 

Write down the funniest or most interesting thing that happens to you each day. Most days will be boring, but if you write something each day, then you’ll have 5 to 10 entertaining stories within a year or two. People are sitting on more funny stories than they realize because they do not have a habit of capturing humorous things as they happen. 

Write down one idea each day. Most ideas will be simple and uninteresting, but within a year you’ll have a handful that are compelling and useful. Little bits of genius are bubbling up all the time, but you need a habit of recording your ideas in order to capture the good ones. 

It’s a myth that great storytellers only think of great stories or that insightful people only have brilliant ideas. But they do have a habit of capturing their experiences and insights, and the patience to filter the majority until the best remain.”

James Clear
​Author of the #1 worldwide bestseller, Atomic Habits