Today we were in Iron River again doing some shopping. There are some places we simply have to visit whenever we are in town.
Bigari's Ace Hardware is a must see for any guy who thinks of himself as an expert do-it-himself-er. For starters it is huge. I took this photo from the center of the store, facing north.
This second photo faces south. Because the store is so enormous, the clerks tear around on scooters. It's the only practical way for the staff to get around.
It was love at first sight for Gary. We can't visit Iron River without looking for some necessary or unnecessary item. To make things even more interesting, it is one of two hardware stores, the second being adjacent to Angeli's downtown.
Why so many? Gary says that just about anyone that lives in the area has to do home maintenance, plus these stores service Crystal Falls, Amstrong Creek, Florence and any homeowners between Iron River and Iron Mountain to the east and to Bessemer to the west.
Even I find it fascinating. Is there anything Bisari's doesn't carry?
Another essential stop is the St. Vincent de Paul store. This week was their annual $2 bag sale. I found four jackets and two shirts today, all like new. Three of my buys were name brand items. The Eddie Bauer jacket originally sold for around $99. The L.L.Bean shirt was $20. The C.J. Banks jacket retailed at $49.99. I figured I had over $150 worth of clothing for $2. Everything will be used, replacing worn out clothing I also bought at St. Vinnie's. My annual clothing budget is about $50 and that includes two pairs of shoes.
Finally, we stopped at Family Dollar and Dollar General. We were looking for crossword puzzle books. I do sudoku puzzles every day to work my brain but Gary said I should also consider crossword puzzles. When Chris had a paper route over twenty years ago, I took the Appleton paper and did the crossword puzzles every day but when he went on to other jobs, I stopped the paper and started getting my news on line.
I knew that it is important to exercise our brains as we age, so I agreed. Family Dollar had the puzzle books, but they were $2.99 each and marked "easy" which I thought defeated the purpose. Dollar General had two books that looked right for $1 each.
I have been working those puzzles all afternoon. Gary was right. I am getting good mental workout. This is harder than I thought it would be. So now my daily workout will include a dictionary, a pen and those darned books.
Bigari's Ace Hardware is a must see for any guy who thinks of himself as an expert do-it-himself-er. For starters it is huge. I took this photo from the center of the store, facing north.
Why so many? Gary says that just about anyone that lives in the area has to do home maintenance, plus these stores service Crystal Falls, Amstrong Creek, Florence and any homeowners between Iron River and Iron Mountain to the east and to Bessemer to the west.
Even I find it fascinating. Is there anything Bisari's doesn't carry?
Another essential stop is the St. Vincent de Paul store. This week was their annual $2 bag sale. I found four jackets and two shirts today, all like new. Three of my buys were name brand items. The Eddie Bauer jacket originally sold for around $99. The L.L.Bean shirt was $20. The C.J. Banks jacket retailed at $49.99. I figured I had over $150 worth of clothing for $2. Everything will be used, replacing worn out clothing I also bought at St. Vinnie's. My annual clothing budget is about $50 and that includes two pairs of shoes.
Finally, we stopped at Family Dollar and Dollar General. We were looking for crossword puzzle books. I do sudoku puzzles every day to work my brain but Gary said I should also consider crossword puzzles. When Chris had a paper route over twenty years ago, I took the Appleton paper and did the crossword puzzles every day but when he went on to other jobs, I stopped the paper and started getting my news on line.
I knew that it is important to exercise our brains as we age, so I agreed. Family Dollar had the puzzle books, but they were $2.99 each and marked "easy" which I thought defeated the purpose. Dollar General had two books that looked right for $1 each.
I have been working those puzzles all afternoon. Gary was right. I am getting good mental workout. This is harder than I thought it would be. So now my daily workout will include a dictionary, a pen and those darned books.
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