The Great Pumpkin Pie Hunt

Enjoyed turkey and Thanksgiving fun with my family yesterday.  On the way to dinner, Mom and I stopped at Zerhs to pick up a pumpkin pie and dinner rolls.  And so did the rest of Barrie apparently.  There were no pumpkin pies on any display table, no dinner rolls on any shelf.  We saw someone asking the guys in the bakery, and they still had a few pumpkin pies in the back.  We scored the third last one.  A few minutes later a man successfully got the very last pumpkin pie in all of the store.  All smiles, he held up his winnings and said: "Twenty bucks! Who wants it?"  He wasn't really trying to sell, but he did make price gouging hilarious!

A little later we asked the bakery guys if they had any dinner rolls in the back.  Not only did they have them, they were fresh and still warm from the oven.  The major bonus of our pie and dinner roll hunt was how happy the guys working in the bakery department were.  They were in their late teens or early twenties, and they seemed to genuinely enjoy so many people asking them for help and then being able to provide what was sought after.  One of the guys even chased down a customer with a pie he found.  What a delight to interact with people who actually like their jobs!

Another bonus? Pumpkin pie tastes amazing.  Happy Thanksgiving everybody!

Red Sky at Night

Beautiful sunset out there tonight.

Oro World's Fair Photo Round Up

Here's some highlights of the sights at the 2010 Oro World's Fair.  If you notice slight blurriness on the right side of some of the photos, that is compliments of my five year old nephew who put his adorable little fingers right on the lens.  Good thing he's cute.

The midway.

Caramel Popcorn was purchased here!

Local farmer's tractors on display.

Demonstrating how they used to saw logs back in the day.

My nephew Earl checks out a calf.

My sister-in-law won first prize for her 'Hungry Man Lunch' display.

The parade begins with a police escort and the fire department!

Oro-Medonte fire truck.

At this point the parade went to the dogs.

The crowd watches as the tractors join the parade. 

My brother driving my uncle's tractor.

The finale of the parade is the march of all the elementary school students.

W.R. Best was my school and I got to carry the banner in grade 7.  Represent!

The parade ends with the clumping of school children (a.k.a chaos)

Whose Service??

The Mayoral and Council elections are quickly approaching and I took notice of this sign that is posted all over the township.

I know I live in a small town, but isn't a giant Jesus fish on an election sign wildly inappropriate?  Also does the slogan "in your service" refer to me (a constituent) or is he referring to being in God's service?  I don't even know what this candidate's platform is, but based on his sign, he is really into his religious beliefs.  Maybe that is all I need to know...

Kitten Needs Her Shots

Recently we adopted a sweet little kitten for our Grandma.  We adopted her at about 8 weeks, so she still needed her shots and would eventually need spaying.  I have never had a kitten before where I was responsible for the veterinary care (that was always something adults had to do -- just another reminder that I am indeed a grown up).  I understood that Vet visits cost money, but I was really out of touch with how much money it actually costs to get a new baby kitten into optimal cat condition.

The first place I called seemed reasonable; $103 for the first check up/shot/deworming and then $17 each for two additional shots.  When I called back to confirm and set an appointment, I was informed that yes the additional two shots were $17 each, but there was also a mandatory exam that went along with them; the exam cost $63.  So instead of the second and third shot being only $17 each, in real life they were $80.  That is a big difference in my eyes, especially since altogether, the kitten shots were now going to be $263.  So the frugal shopper in me decided to shop around.  I called ten places and to my amazement, $263 for kitten shots was actually the second cheapest price I found.

I called ten Animal Hospitals located in Midland, Penetanguishene, Elmvale, Wasaga Beach, and Barrie.  Here is what I found out.

Kitten Shots/Check up/deworm
Lowest price: $164.48 (incl. complimentary nail trim).
Highest price: $484.77 (incl. complimentary microchip... I should hope so for that price!)
Average price: $300 (though the average may be inflated by the higher priced ones. Most were in the $270 range).

Spaying
Lowest price: $169.50 (with the option of getting IV fluids and blood work done for an additional charge).
Highest price: $488.16 (the IV fluids and blood work were mandatory).
Average price: $245 (all but one [the highest] gave the option for IV fluids and blood work as an add on).

What I find most interesting about the prices I was quoted, is that the extremes vary by hundreds of dollars.  I wonder what the services are like at the highest priced animal hospital vs. the lowest priced one?  Maybe they have giant HD tvs and massage chairs in the waiting room or something!

I'm taking the kitten in for her check-up/first shot this afternoon.  We're going to the lowest priced Animal Hospital from the ten I called.  Not only did they have the best price, but also the nicest person to talk to on the phone.  I actually called the office three times to double check the price and eventually book the appointment.  Each time the assistant was helpful, friendly, and never tried to pressure me into making an appointment (two of the people I called were trying to make a sale).  I look forward to meeting the veterinarian this afternoon.  I hope Cindy isn't too upset about getting her needles!

Good luck today, Cindy!