Life at a "Swell's" pace

This past month we finally got a chance to ride on the infamous Albany, Oregon, Carousel. This carousel has quite a history to it. The original carousel started in New Jersey and worked its way to Albany, Oregon, where it was restored and brought back to life. The ride animals are all hand carved and with donations and sponsorships from individuals and businesses it's able to provide this wonderful attraction to the general public. It's been in operation since 2017 as the Albany Carousel Project.

As part of keeping the magic alive with the carousel the Albany Carousel Project has volunteers that give you a tour of the building and the work that goes into the carousel going. The tour takes visitors in the workshop of the carousel building where all the hand carving takes place. This is that area and we got a firsthand look at the future animals soon to be added to the carousel.

In the gift shop they have hand carved animals and other carousel items for sale and The Bean purchased this menagerie. The profits go toward keeping the carousel going and keeping the magic alive.

Hello.

We are in the middle of yard sale weekend right now and rounding out the four days with Sunday. We are selling a lot of our home furnishings and odds and ends that we no longer can justify having. We are hoping to downsize a lot more later on, but right now is a great start in the process. I even sold our old treadmill to an 91 year old woman looking to keep moving every day. She really gave us some sound advice and said, "Movement is life." Amen to that, and cheers to her for being a great role model in the game of live.

Here are five simple things that made this week great.

1. This eco-dough...

Because it's better all the way around.

2. This fork...

Sometimes the Willamette Valley has some unusual stops along the way. This picture was taken when The Bean headed out for the day with his grandma and took in some of these unusual places.

3. This sign...

More and more farms are in cooperation with Organic Valley and more people are realizing that organic is better for your health and the environment. This particular farm is located in Scio, Oregon.

4. These hops...