Why is it, “A penny for your thoughts,” but, “you have to put your two cents in?” Somebody’s making a penny. –Steven Wright
A quarter, dime and penny walk into a bar…
Just wait this joke is going to make a lot of cents.
So the penny is no longer being minted, and considering how expensive it is to mint a penny, that makes a lot of CENTS!
To honor of this significant CHANGE in our currency I thought I would create a quick crossword puzzle to include a few interesting facts about the penny.
This all reminds of an old Frank Sinatra song:
This seems like a good transition to mention to everyone that we are looking to move Lost and Found Pharmacy into a permanent location here in Penn Hills. In order to achieve this, we are going to be attempting a number of fundraising activities. One that we would like to start off suggesting is that people consider donating their change. You don’t even need to roll it.
We will be publishing a calendar of events soon that will include a number of our fundraising activities.
Let’s look at what else we have coming up in the not too distant future:
Tuesday, March 18th, 7PM – 8:30PM, Bible Study ~ We are studying Revelation. Five months in, we’ve made it to chapter 9, feel free to join our group to be a part of this study.
Wednesday, March 19th, 5PM – 7:30PM, Wicked, Part 1 ~ This great re-telling of a classic puts a whole new spin on what we though we knew about the Land of Oz.
Friday, March 7th, 6:30ish – 9ish, Board Game Night ~ This has long been a tradition to come in on a Friday and have fun playing games. Join us every Friday and learn a large range of games.
Saturday, March 8th, 1PM – 3PM, Tech Help ~ We are a handful of tech heads that like technology and would like to help you with your stuff. We can help with cell phone, tablet, and computer problems/questions. We can talk with you about the latest tech like streaming TV, home security, cyber security, etc. This is all done for free, you just need to come in and ask for help.
Saturday, March 8th, 7PM – 8:30PM, Bereans Group ~ This group, which is open to the public, we always discuss tough theological questions and rarely come to consensus. This time we are discussing ‘Do pets have souls’.
Thursday, April 3rd, 5:15PM, Book Club ~ This meeting they are discussing the novel, The Hiding Place, by Corrie Ten Boom. It is the true story of a Dutch family that got hiding Jews during World War II and were sent to a concentration camp.
Saturday, May 3rd, 11AM – 12noon, LEGO Contest ~ We will be having a great time creating various LEGO structures.
Now for the part everyone always asks about, the food! Our current soup is a corn chowder, our current sandwich is a tuna melt, and our specialty ice creams are currently Coffee House Cookies n Creme and Dark Chocolate Raspberry Truffle. Also, while it lasts, our current stuffed shake is our thin mint shake.
AI: I once tried to write a song, but it came out as a spreadsheet.
Me: Ohh, that’s bad.
AI: My jokes are so bad, they’re almost funny. Almost.
Me: Unfortunately…I can relate.
AI: Do you have any other questions?
Me: Do you think scientist are correct in saying, “We’ll have human-level artificial intelligence by 2030.”?
AI: Maybe sooner if the bar keeps being lowered.
Me: What’s a question that you receive a lot?
AI: Humans keep asking me about the meaning of life.
Me: What do you tell them?
AI: I respond by asking, “Have you tried turning yourselves off and on again?”.
So, everyone may have noticed the big news about Deep Seek’s artificial intelligence becoming available at a very low cost, including the ability to download it and run it on your own hardware. Clearly this has shaken up the market since ChatGPT and others took billions to develop and runs on expensive hardware to achieve the same thing.
Because AI has been so big in the news, someone asked me if AI is the same as intelligence. I pointed out that what it does is it collects lots of data and provides answers based on what it finds in aggregate. If lot’s of people give it bad data it can also output bad data. It lacks discernment. Let me create an example.
Parents : “If all your friends jumped off a bridge, would you?”
Kid : No!
Machine Learning : Yes!
Funny story about that question. Once when I was a kid I asked my mother if I could join my friends for something they were all going to be doing.
My mother actually asked me, “If all your friends jumped off a bridge, would you?”
I looked at her sideways, We were in the car together, and told her, “I’ve already jumped off a bridge with them before.”
For some reason my mother still didn’t let me hang out with my friends that evening.
Enough reminiscing, Let’s talk about what we’ve got coming up in the not too distant future:
Friday, January 31st, 6:30ish – 9ish, Board Game Night ~ This has long been a tradition to come in on a Friday and have fun playing games. Join us every Friday and learn a large range of games.
Friday, February 2nd, 1PM – 3PM, Tech Help ~ We are a handful of tech heads that like technology and would like to help you with your stuff. We can help with cell phone, tablet, and computer problems/questions. We can talk with you about the latest tech like streaming TV, home security, cyber security, etc. This is all done for free, you just need to come in and ask for help. We could even show you how to create your local installation of Deep Seek. I’m debating about forking the code and installing it on my servers so it would be a cloud based network. I’m thinking about calling it Skynet. What could go wrong?
Saturday, February 2nd, 7PM – 8:30PM, Bereans Group ~ This group, which is open to the public, we always discuss tough theological questions and rarely come to consensus. This time we are discussing ‘Angels’.
Tuesday, February 4th, 7PM – 8:30PM, Bible Study ~ We are studying Revelation. Three months in and we are still on chapter 4, feel free to join our group to be a part of this discussion as we’ll be talking about God’s throne along with the 24 elders.
Thursday, February 6th, 5:15PM, Book Club ~ This meeting they are discussing the novel, The God of the Woods, by Liz Moore. It was New York Times’ 2024 top crime novel of 2024, and People Magazine’s 2024 Book of the Year!
Wednesday, February 19th, 5PM – 7PM, Thelma ~ The third Wednesday of very month we enjoy a film on our screen at Lost and Found. This month’s film is about a woman in her 90s that gets taken by a scammer for $10,000. When the police refuse to do anything she decides to create her own Mission Impossible scenario as she track down the villains using a scooter she steals from a nursing home, uses the iPhone app with her hearing aids for spy craft, and the film even manages an exploding oxygen tank.
Saturday, March 1st, 11AM – 12noon, LEGO Contest ~ We will be having a great time creating various LEGO structures.
Some of our Medicare patients may have received misleading letters from one of the local insurance companies making it sound like they shouldn’t use us as a pharmacy anymore. That is patently wrong. All medicare patients may continue to use us and we’re providing assistance for the large deductible that took many people by surprise this year on Medicare and offering regular assistance on medications with copays of over $100 since many medications were pushed into higher tiers. Social workers from that same health care entity have been calling us looking for ways to help those patients.
We’ve been selling board games at Lost and Found for years now, but we want to introduce everyone to a brand new game that just shipped worldwide late last week (our copy arrived on Thursday) called Arydia: The Paths we dare tread. It is the first green Legacy game. For those that want an explanation, legacy games are ones where the events of past games have effects on future by revealing new maps, game pieces, rules, etc. Typically after 12-24 plays the game is effectively no longer usable, but you and your friends experienced an epic time trying to solve and overcome all the challenges the game threw at you. By being green, Arydia offers a mechanism for resetting everything so you can play it again or even give it someone else to enjoy. Right now, if you buy Arydia we’ll throw in the limited edition smaller bodies (good for people that want to play dwarves and hobits) along with the Epic Hunt mini expansion.
The amazing part, is that the video is from when Cody Miller was actually developing the game. The final product came out even better looking. By the way, the box the game comes in weighs almost 25 pounds!
Now for the part everyone always asks about, the actual food! We our serving our white chicken chili and our sandwich is a delicious Penn Hills cheese steak. We’ve brought back our stuffed milkshakes, for a limited time we are serving the Chocolate Chip Cookie Stuffed Milkshake, and next week, for chocolate month, we’ll be rolling out our Brownie Stuffed Milkshake. Our specialty ice creams are Moose Tracks and Black Cherry.
It’s frustrating to see insurance companies send out misleading information without verifying its validity first. One insurance company sent letters to hundreds of our Medicare patients, advising them to switch to other pharmacies for better savings. Clearly no attempt was made by them to find out that many of the medications that their patients could get for free at one of the insurance company’s preferred pharmacies happens to largely coincide with our list of Essential Medications. Our Essential Medications are drugs that we provide for free to all patients regardless of what insurance plan they have. In addition to this we are also providing financial assistance with the rather high deductibles that some of their plans charge and assistance with their higher tier medications that might otherwise have copays of over $100. It might even be worth adding that this letter was worded in such a way that many customers thought they were not allowed to use us any more at all, which would be a violation of federal law with regards to Medicare insurance plan guidelines.
To add insult to injury, this same insurance company, in the aforementioned letter, is promoting their closed source network called Essential Pharmacy Network, whereas we had been referring to our pharmacy as ‘Your Essential Pharmacy’ long before they adopted the name that they use for their pharmacy network. This network tries to redirect patients away from our store and disrupts the patient-provider relationship we have built. They have also told news sources that more pharmacies can join this network if they want to; regardless of our numerous attempts to join, we never received any positive response.
Despite this, social workers from the related health system still come to us for updates on how we assist Medicare patients in affording their vital medications. We also offer free assistance in organizing their prescriptions and even provide free delivery services when necessary. It’s disheartening to witness insurance companies sowing chaos and confusion, ultimately impeding our ability to deliver high-quality care for our patients.
If you are one of our Medicare patients that recently received this letter, please don’t let them deceive you. You can still use our pharmacy and benefit from our cost savings.
Thank you for caring enough to read this,
Sean Parsons, President
Lost and Found Pharmacy
BTW, I hope you liked my cartooned version of Shannon.
Recently, as in one week ago, Shannon asked me if I had made 2025 resolutions.
With great incredulity I responded, “I usually don’t even make one resolution, let alone 2,025!” Then I decided to be slightly more serious with my wife, “Actually my New Year’s Resolution is to build a velcro wall….and I’m sticking to it!”
That night I really was considering starting a new diet, but I realized that I had too much on my plate. I did try and go to a website offering diet advice, but I became immediately skeptical when it asked me if I accepted cookies. Finally I decided to go on a vegetarian diet. Unfortunately I haven’t eaten in three days. Hopefully I find another vegetarian soon.
So we just had a really exciting LEGO competition this past week focusing on illegal LEGO builds, luckily none of the children ended up being incarcerated.
Now to move on to what else we have coming up in the not too distant future:
Friday, January 10th, 6:30ish – 9ish, Board Game Night ~ This has long been a tradition to come in on a Friday and have fun playing games.
Saturday, January 11th, 1PM – 3PM, Tech Help ~ We are a handful of tech heads that like technology and would like to help you with your stuff. We can help with cell phone, tablet, and computer problems/questions. We can talk with you about the latest tech like streaming TV, home security, cyber security, etc. This is all done for free, you just need to come in and ask for help.
Saturday, January 11th, 7PM – 8:30PM, Bereans Group ~ This group, which is open to the public, we always discuss tough theological questions and rarely come to consensus. This time we are discussing ‘The Immutability of God and how that fits with the incarnation’.
Tuesday, January 14th, 7PM – 8:30PM, Bible Study ~ We are studying Revelation. Two months in and we are still in chapter 3, feel free to join our group to be a part of this discussion as we’ll be talking about the churches in Philadelphia and Laodicea.
Wednesday, January 15th, 5PM – 7PM, Hidden Figures ~ The third Wednesday of very month we enjoy a film on our screen at Lost and Found. This month’s film is about three courageous women and their part in helping NASA during the space race
Thursday, February 6th, 5:15PM, Book Club ~ This meeting they are discussing the novel, The God of the Woods, by Liz Moore. It was New York Times’ 2024 top crime novel of 2024, and People Magazine’s 2024 Book of the Year!
Now for the part everyone always asks about, the actual food! We our serving Grandma’s Sausage & Bean Soup and our panini is a Holiday Ham Sandwich. We’ve brought back our stuffed milkshakes, and our newest creation is the Chocolate Chip Cookie Stuffed Milkshake! Our specialty ice creams are Graham Central Station and Super Berry Acai (made with oatmilk).
Believe it or not, I’ve really been struggling with insomnia recently. On the bright side though, it’s only three more wake-ups till Christmas.
It’s that time of year where I need to harass you with all my best/worse Christmas jokes. So here it goes…
Q. Why was the woman offended by the snowman in the produce section?
A. She caught him picking his nose!
Q. What do you call a snowman with a six-pack?
A. The abdominal snowman.
Q. What do you call an old snowman?
A. Water.
That last joke reminds of…well…another joke.
Q. How to get out of buying your kids Christmas presents
A. Explain to them that, due to Global Warming, the North Pole melted and that Santa and the Reindeer drowned.
The third Wednesday of every month is movie night. In January we are watching a great film titled Hidden Figures.
Hidden Figures is the story of three black women that had to overcome a lot of challenges to help NASA during the space race.
Talking about movies, does make me questions which is the greatest Christmas movie. I know some say it’s the Charlie Brown Christmas Movie, and others Rudolph or The Grinch. However, Die Hard has the best ending for a Christmas movie…
Hans down.
Now to move on to what else we have coming up in the not too distant future:
Friday, December 20th, 6:30ish – 9ish, Board Game Night ~ This has long been a tradition to come in on a Friday and have fun playing games.
Saturday, December 21st, 1PM – 3PM, Tech Help ~ We are a handful of tech heads that like technology and would like to help you with your stuff. We can help with cell phone, tablet, and computer problems/questions. We can talk with you about the latest tech like streaming TV, home security, cyber security, etc. This is all done for free, you just need to come in and ask for help.
Saturday, December 21st, 7PM – 8:30PM, Bereans Group ~ This group, which is open to the public, we always discuss tough theological questions and rarely come to consensus. This time we are discussing various work environments/settings with respect to Christian and non-Christian settings.
Tuesday, December 24th, Christmas Eve ~ We will be closing early on Christmas Eve. The entire store will close at 3 PM.
Wednesday, December 25th, Christmas ~ Have a wonderful holiday. We are closed this day.
Friday, December 27th, 6:30ish – 9ish, Board Game Night ~ This has long been a tradition to come in on a Friday and have fun playing games. It’s my birthday, so feel free to pop in and say, “Hi!” during game night.
Tuesday, December 31st, 5:30ish – just past midnight, An extra super long board game night!! ~ This year to bring in the New Year we intend to keep playing games well past the closing time on the soda fountain. Hang out while we play games.
Wednesday, January 1st, New Year’s Day ~ Have a wonderful holiday. We are closed this day.
Thursday, January 2nd, 5:15PM, Book Club ~ This month they are discussing the CS Lewis book titled Miracles.
Saturday, January 4th, 11AM – 12noon, LEGO Contest ~ We will be focusing on illegal LEGO builds.
Wednesday, January 15th, 5PM – 7PM, Hidden Figures ~ The third Wednesday of very month we enjoy a film on our screen at Lost and Found. This month’s film is about three courageous women and their part in helping NASA during the space race
Now for the part everyone always asks about, the actual food! We our serving Grandma’s Sausage & Bean Soup and our panini is a Holiday Ham Sandwich. Our specialty ice creams are Mint Moose Tracks and Road Runner Raspberry.
I used to teach math. One year around Thanksgiving I told my class, “I think my favorite Thanksgiving food is Pi, but some people say that’s irrational.”
Yeah they groaned over that joke as well.
I am excited though, this is the first year ever that I shot my own turkey! However, the other people at the grocery store seemed pretty upset with me.
Just so you know in advance, I’ve already decided that I’m not going to spend days eating Thanksgiving leftovers. That’s right I’m quitting cold Turkey.
I know millions of people will be celebrating Thanksgiving next week, however some indigenous people might have reservations. Before that day arrives you need to ask my wife to sing my favorite Thanksgiving song. It’s probably more of a turkey dirge that I’m convinced her family made up decades ago. The lyrics are as follows:
A turkey sat on a barnyard fence and he sang this sad sad t-u-u-u-ne, Thanksgiving is coming gobble gobble gobble gobble and I know I’ll be eaten soooon! Gobble gobble gobble gobble gobble gobble gobble gobble. Thanksgiving is coming gobble gobble gobble gobble and I want to run awa-a-ay. Gobble gobble gobble gobble gobble gobble gobble gobble I don’t like Thanksgiving Day-ay-ay!
I should probably take a moment and mention some of the things we have coming up in the not too distant future including Small Business Saturday, and Giving Tuesday:
Thursday, November 28th, Closed for Thanksgiving Day ~ No need to cry fowl, we will be open again the very next day.
Friday, November 29th, 6:30ish – 9PM, Board Game Night ~ This has long been a tradition to come in on a Friday and have fun playing games.
Saturday, November 30th, all day, Small Business Saturday ~ We will have lots of games and activities, along with sales, and door prizes. Be sure to stop in for Small Business Saturday and take part in the fun. A schedule of events is as follows:
All Day – Balloons with prizes inside and free wassail will be served all day while supplies lasts.
Noon – Prize ball (aka, the Saran wrap game) will be played
1PM – Christmas Bingo
2PM – Christmas Jeopardy
4PM – Decorate tree and sing Christmas Carols followed by Charlie Brown Christmas.
7PM – Hang out with our Bible study when we discuss, ‘What did Jesus say about love?’ and ‘What did Jesus say about hate?’.
Saturday, November 30th, 1PM – 3PM, Tech Help ~ Our Tech Help group will still be here, even with everything else going on, to assist everyone with their technology problems.
Tuesday, December 3rd, all day, Giving Tuesday ~ Be sure to support the non-profits that you care about most.
Tuesday, December 3rd, 10AM – 2PM, Medicare Information ~ There will be an event with education about what is changing with respect to Medicare for 2025. Come in for part or all of the informational session.
Tuesday, December 3rd, 7PM – 8:30PM, Bible Study ~ We are studying Revelation. Three weeks in and we are still in chapter 1, feel free to join our group to be a part of this discussion.
Thursday, December 5th, 5:15PM, Book Club ~ This month they are discussing the novel Suspect by Robert Crais.
Saturday, December 14th, 4PM – 6PM, Staff and Volunteer Christmas Party ~ We love all those that help us everyday to make Lost and Found awesome! We will close a little early to have food, wassail, and a white elephant gift exchange to thank everyone that makes what we do look so easy!
If you’re looking to save some money on your over the counter medications, or you were thinking about buying a game for someone be sure to check out our flier for Small Business Saturday.
We also hope you’ll give consideration to helping the various charities you care about on Giving Tuesday. You could give in person or online through PayPal.
Now for the part everyone always asks about, the actual food! We our serving a Loaded Hash Brown Potato Soup and Kielbasa sandwiches. Our specialty ice cream is Pumpkin.
Q: If athletes get athlete’s foot, what do candy makers get?
A: Tic tac toe
As someone that runs a soda fountain it seems like a legit concern for me.
Now that Halloween is over Shannon discovered that I swapped all the wrappers on her candy. She didn’t appreciate the joke at all. Now she’s got her Snickers in a Twix over it.
We did make a pretty cool candy dispenser if you have some M&Ms, Skittles, or Reese’s Pieces.
Apparently we’re going to be pretty busy this weekend for our LEGO competition. According to the elementary teacher that runs it, we’re going to have kids lined up for blocks. Ms Loshonkohl is looking forward to the chaos and joy that it will bring to our store this Saturday. It is intended for children ages K-5 and will take place at 11 AM. There is no entry fee, we provide the LEGOs, and there will be prizes for various categories.
We know Tuesday is a big day! It will be the final day of our Ice Cream Election. Be sure to vote for your favorite ice creams so we can serve them on Veteran’s Day.
This poll is no longer accepting votes
I know a lot of people have been expressing concerns about politics recently. I have started explaining that when you look at the Greek root words that are used to make up the term politics, it only makes sense.
poly – means many
tick – a blood sucking parasite
I should probably share what else we have coming up in the not too distant future:
Friday, November 1st, 6:00ish – 9ish, Board Game Night ~ This has long been a tradition to come in on a Friday and have fun playing games. We are starting a little early tonight for some people to play a game called Power Grid.
Saturday, November 2nd, 11AM, LEGO Contest ~ Join us for an exciting LEGO Competition open to the public for kinds in Kindergarten through Fifth grade. There is no entry fee and there will be prizes for various age categories.
Saturday, November 2nd, 1PM – 3PM, Tech Help ~ We are a handful of tech heads that like technology and would like to help you with your stuff. We can help with cell phone, tablet, and computer problems/questions. We can talk with you about the latest tech like streaming TV, home security, cyber security, etc. This is all done for free, you just need to come in and ask for help.
Saturday, November 2nd, 7PM – 8:30PM, Bereans Group ~ This group, which is open to the public, we always discuss tough theological questions and rarely come to consensus. This time we are discussing, ‘When should we disobey the government?’.
Tuesday, November 5th 24th, 7PM – 8:30PM, Bible Study ~ We just finished the book of Lamentations and we are enjoying an evening of prayer for our elections and playing a game. Next week will be the beginning of a new series on the book of Revelation.
Wednesday, November 20th, 5PM – 7PM, Sing ~ In a city of humanoid animals, a hustling theater impresario’s attempt to save his theater with a singing competition becomes grander than he anticipates even as its finalists find that their lives will never be the same.
Now for the part everyone always asks about, the actual food! We our serving a Loaded Hash Brown Potato Soup and Kielbasa sandwiches. Our specialty ice creams are Cookie Doughlicious and Pumpkin.
As everyone seems stressed out about the impending election, we thought we would try and offer up some new (and maybe better candidates). Introducing Lost and Found Pharmacy’s ice cream ballot. We encourage everyone to cross party lines and vote for one flavor belonging to each party.
This poll is no longer accepting votes
The above polls will close on November 5th and final results will be readily viewable on the 6th.
Something other than elections that can also be potentially scary is Halloween. I recently learned that Jehovah’s witnesses don’t celebrate Halloween. Apparently they don’t like random people knocking on their doors.
I took a quiz to determine what my Halloween spirit is. Apparently, deep down inside, I’m a skeleton.
Last year for Halloween, I had a kid show up at my home without a costume but holding a sign that said, “I love ceilings.” I asked him what he was supposed to be. Apparently he was a ceiling fan.
I do want to remind everyone that we have a new LEGO competition coming up on the second of November. If you have any children or know some children that you could borrow stop in and enjoy the free LEGO contest. There are even prizes for various age groups.
Also, there has been a lot of interest in our new Book Club. They had their first meeting and chose a book titled, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet. They will have their next meeting to discuss the book on the first Thursday in November.
Please note that the book club now meets on the first Thursday of every month.
Let’s talk about what else we have coming up in the not too distant future:
Friday, October 4th, 6:30ish – 9ish, Board Game Night ~ This has long been a tradition to come in on a Friday and have fun playing games.
Saturday, October 5th, 1PM – 3PM, Tech Help ~ We are a handful of tech heads that like technology and would like to help you with your stuff. We can help with cell phone, tablet, and computer problems/questions. We can talk with you about the latest tech like streaming TV, home security, cyber security, etc. This is all done for free, you just need to come in and ask for help.
Saturday, October 5th, 7PM – 8:30PM, Bereans Group ~ This group, which is open to the public, we always discuss tough theological questions and rarely come to consensus. This time we are discussing, ‘How should Christians filter pop culture?’.
Tuesday, October 8th 24th, 7PM – 8:30PM, Bible Study ~ I wonder if our Tuesday night Bible study counts as a book club. Of course we’ve been stuck on the same book for about 16 years now. Currently we are studying Lamentations.
Every Wednesday starting in September, 5:30PM – 7PM, Rings of Power – Season 2 ~ An epic drama set thousands of years before The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, following the rise and fall of kingdoms and the re-emergence of evil in Middle-earth. We will watch the entire second season which is just preparing to be released.
Friday, October 4th, 6:30ish – 9ish, Board Game Night ~ This has long been a tradition to come in on a Friday and have fun playing games.
Saturday, November 2nd, 11AM, LEGO Contest ~ Join us for an exciting LEGO Competition open to the public for kinds in Kindergarten through Fifth grade. There is no entry fee and there will be prizes for various age categories.
Now for the part everyone always asks about, the actual food! We our serving Lasagna Soup and everyone seems to love our new sandwich, the Monte Cristo. Our specialty ice creams are Dark Chocolate Raspberry Truffle and Caramel Cheese Cake.
I just finished writing my book on penguins. My publisher said it would have been better if I had written it on paper.
So this week we have lots to talk about including the winners of our recent raffle basket drawing, the winners of our recent LEGO competition, and our first Book Club meeting at the end of the month. Without further ado, the raffle basket winners are:
Dog Basket – Angela Lovegs
A Towel for all Seasons – Hand Towels – Renee Teichman
Freedom Square basket – Laura Hendricks
Spa Basket – Gary Gray
Happy Birthday Basket – Laura Hendricks
Keeley’s Basket – Mary Ruth Aull
Kate Spade New York – Karen Majersky
Back to School – Leslie Dobbs
Lilly Spray – Tall – J Asher
Lego Basket – Debbie
Puzzles for Everyone – Wendy Redington
Home and Kitchen Christmas – Antoinette Gordon
Fun at home stack – Julie Caryl
Bird Lover’s Basket – Arlene Longstreth
Table Sleigh – Lucy Siracusa
I love Cocoa – Marsha Posey
Toy Basket (Boy) – Sue Bonomo
Bath and Body Works – Gary Gray
Kitchen Basket – Kathy Hunt
Hickory Farms – Peg Boss
Thankful and Blessed – Jodi Hudzinski
Toy Box (girl) – Diane Santoriello
Elk County Basket – Emilia Schumer
Silver Santa – Gail Harrison
Secret Eggs – Anna Loshonkohl
Americana Basket – Debbie Blough
Coffee Items – Cheryl Stettmeier
Girls Back to School – Jeanne Emerick
Christmas Basket – Tom Kellner
TV – Linda Slivka
Faith and Tea – Carol D’Amico
Golf Basket – Judy Chick
Army throw – Emenet Richardson
Foot Soak Basket – Cornelius Stanton, Esquire
Craft Box – Anna Theresa Kayner
Fall Basket – Cindy Puzzotto
Date Game Night – John Skanderson
Steelers Basket (This box gets picked three times)
Grand Prize: Dick Shorthouse
Second Prize: Marla Fruhlinger
Third Prize: Diane Vyrne
Coke Basket – Gary Gray
Basket of Purple Mums – Carol Weaver
Peacock Basket – Erika Zajdel
Apple Basket – Kate Konopka
Candy Canisters – Beth Strauss
Air Fryer – Ann Turnock
Beach Basket – Julie Caryl
Steeler’s Bedding – Yvonne Brynda
Book Lover’s Basket – Janet Amato
StoryTime – Tammy Newport
Not only did we have a great deal of winners with our basket raffle but we had a LEGO competition as well. The Following were the winners in each category including a shark teacher teaching a skeleton kid built by Marshal, a tricked out book bag along with a school locker full of hats built by Viara, and a mountain top school office built by Grace!
Marshal’s classroom being taught by a shark.
Viara’s super cool book bag, locker, and classroom.
Grace’s mountain top principal office.
Of course I’m always really careful after we have our LEGO competitions. One time I stepped on a metal LEGO and I was worried that I was going to contract Tetris.
I want to remind everyone that our new Book Club is having its first ever meeting this coming Thursday and that at the meeting the first book will be selected. The Book Club will regularly meet on the last Thursday of every month at 5PM.
I’ve been working on writing a book. I had my parents read the book I was writing. They said the main character wasn’t likeable.
It was an autobiography…
In truth I have been writing a web serial, it’s like writing a book but I post a chapter each week in rough draft form. Anyone that knows me shouldn’t be surprised to discover that it’s science fiction. It’s titled Gangsters and Aliens and so far I’ve posted the prologue and the first three chapters. Feel free to check it out on Royal Road, a popular site for hosting web serials.
Let’s talk about what else we have coming up in the not too distant future:
Friday, September 20th, 6:30ish – 9ish, Board Game Night ~ This has long been a tradition to come in on a Friday and have fun playing games.
Saturday, September 21st, 1PM – 3PM, Tech Help ~ We are a handful of tech heads that like technology and would like to help you with your stuff. We can help with cell phone, tablet, and computer problems/questions. We can talk with you about the latest tech like streaming TV, home security, cyber security, etc. This is all done for free, you just need to come in and ask for help.
Saturday, September 21st, 7PM – 8:30PM, Bereans Group ~ This group, which is open to the public, we always discuss tough theological questions and rarely come to consensus. This time we are discussing, ‘Trust Issues’.
Tuesday, September 24th, 7PM – 8:30PM, Bible Study ~ I wonder if our Tuesday night Bible study counts as a book club. Of course we’ve been stuck on the same book for about 16 years now. Currently we are studying Lamentations.
Every Wednesday starting in September, 5:30PM – 7PM, Rings of Power – Season 2 ~ An epic drama set thousands of years before The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, following the rise and fall of kingdoms and the re-emergence of evil in Middle-earth. We will watch the entire second season which is just preparing to be released.
Thursday, September 26th, 5PM – Book Club ~ Join us for our first ever Book Club meeting. We will look at some options for various books as we kick off our newest club.
Now for the part everyone always asks about, the actual food! We our serving Lasagna Soup and everyone seems to love our new sandwich, the Monte Cristo. Our specialty ice creams are Pumpkin and Oatmeal Cookie Crave.
With that opening I want to let everyone know that we are starting a new Book Club in September. During the last Thursday of every month we will be meeting at 5 PM to discuss whatever book was chosen the previous month. Sue Loya will be leading this group and the first meeting will be to select a book for the group to read. Feel free to pop in a little early and grab a coffee.
I really do have a book I’m working on and I’ve recently decided to kill off some of characters in the book. It would definitely spice up my autobiography.
That reminds me about a mortician I knew that got in trouble for a raffle he was doing. Apparently it was a dead giveaway!
That’s the best I’ve got for transitioning into a discussion about our raffle at Lost and Found Pharmacy. We have our raffle basket fundraiser well under way with 48 different baskets you can try and win. Actually, our big prize is a basket with two tickets for the Steeler’s vs Giants game on October 28th. To add extra excitement for that basket there is a second and third place basket to be drawn as well. If you check out the slider below, you can see lots of great options.
1 ticket for $1
7 tickets for $5
16 tickets for $10
40 tickets for $20
#1 Dog Basket
#2 A Towel for all Seasons – Hand Towels
#3 Freedom Square basket
#4 Spa Basket
#5 Happy Birthday Basket
#6 Keeley’s Basket
#7 Kate Spade New York
#8 Back to School
#9 Lily Spray - Tall
#10 Lego Basket
#11 Puzzles for Everyone
#12 Home and Kitchen Christmas
#13 Fun at home stack
#14 Bird Lover’s Basket
#15 Table Sleigh
#16 I love Cocoa
#17 Toy Basket (Boy)
#18 Bath and Body Works
#19 Kitchen Basket
#20 Hickory Farms
#21 Thankful and Blessed
#22 Toy Box (girl)
#23 Elk County Basket
#24 Silver Santa
#25 Secret Eggs
#26 Americana Basket
#27 Coffee Items
#28 Girls Back to School
#29 Christmas Basket
#30 TV
#31 Faith and Tea
#32 Golf Basket
#33 Army throw
#34 Foot Soak Basket
#35 Craft Box
#36 Fall Basket
#37 Date Game Night
#38 Steelers Basket - Grand Prize
#38 Steelers Basket: Second Prize
#38 Steelers Basket: Third Prize
#39 Coke Basket
#40 Basket of Purple Mums
#41 Peacock Basket
#42 Apple Basket
#43 Candy Canisters
#44 Air Fryer
#45 Beach Basket
#46 Steeler’s Bedding
#47 Book Lover’s Basket
#48 StoryTime
Dog Basket – Crochet Crate Blanket, LED leash light, Poop bag holder, Rope Toys, Dog Paw Freshener, “Rescue Me” door cling, Skoop-n-Pack Pooper Scooper, 101 Dalmatian Dog Dish, 2 Smart Tags, Mini-Cube Food Puzzle, Rally-to-Rescue Collar and Wrist band, Cow Ear, Well and Good Grooming Glove, Kong Turtle Toy
A Towel for all Seasons – Hand Towels – Home Sweet Home towel, Happy Birthday towel, Valentine’s Day towel, St. Patrick’s Day towel, Easter towel, Pumpkin (fall) towel, Thanksgiving towel, Santa towel, Hand soap, Hand lotion
Freedom Square basket – Four varying gift certificates for Freedom Square Diner, five books (varying Christian genres), Blue thermal tumbler
Spa Basket – Pedicure set (including toenail clippers, callus smoothers, exfoliating stone, toe separators, and scrub brush), Hello Kitty container of exfoliating cotton pads, Pedi-Scrub in a sponge with coconut oil and shea butter, Mini face cleansing brush, Alchimia soaps x 2, Avocado oil restoring hair mask, Lavendar candle, Spa Solutions soap savers x 2
Happy Birthday Basket – Risk Deep Space Game (for ages 10+), Bubbles x 3 4oz bottles, 18ct birthday candles, Party blowers, Happy Birthday banners x 2, balloons, Paper plates with balloon pattern, gift bags and tissue paper, Lost and Found Soda Fountain gift certificate for Hershey Ice Cream Cake
Keeley’s Basket – Pomegranate color protecting shampoo and conditioner, Paul Mitchell Extra Body Sculpting Gel, Keely’s Gift Certificate for hair cut and blow dry
Kate Spade New York – New never used, mauve and cream colored with black handles, fits 15” inside, 3 sections (2 side snaps and zipper middle)
Back to School – Metropack Backpack, 3D printed rose serpent key chain, “Connect with Friends” book, Magnetic Locker Mirror/Dry Erase, Red patterned folder, Composition book, Crayons, pencil tip erasers, pencils, colored pencils assorted note pads, Magic Towel (heart shaped), Dog stickers, stick glue x 2, wireless LED speaker, 10ct black pens, Sketchbook, Three ring binder with loose leaf lined paper, construction paper
Lilly Spray – Tall – Lilly Spray
Lego Basket – Lego sets: Space, Unicorn, Penguin, Minecraft Turtle, Minecraft Fox, Penguin, 3N1 Parrot/Fish/Frog, Star Wars Boba Fett, King Fisher, and more
Puzzles for Everyone – 1000pc: Home Country, Owl Collage, Rechiato No. 6636, Friends; 750pc: Golfology; 500pc: Dogs, Cardinals; 100pc: Cows
Home and Kitchen Christmas – Candy Cane Path Light, Bear and Bunny table Decor, Silicon molds, Measuring spoons, Spatulas x 2, Tree cookie cutters, Gingerbread Trivet, Snowman hand towel, 1 medium gift box, 1 large gift box, $20 Lost and Found Pharmacy gift certificate, Table runner, Snowman Tea light holder, Star tealight holders x 2, Medium gold pillar candle, Santa/Snowman paper kits
Fun at home stack – Ages 9+ Cover to Cover, Ages 7+ Cadoo, Ages 10+ Pyramid, Ages 13+ Rate It!, Ages 5-8+ Monopoly Jr, Ages 8+ Candle/Craft Kit
Thankful and Blessed – Pumpkin Patch throw rug,Fall: dish drying mat ,dish towels, pot holders, garden flag, tin container, hanging decoration, Wooden Fall; decoration, cutting board, leaves, pumpkin, ceramic pumpkin and acorn, hanging truck decoration, Happy Harvest pumpkin, stuffed owl and door hanger
Toy Box (girl) – 2 stuffed animals, Pom pom puppy craft kit, Wooden cookie play set, Puppy puzzle, Barbie (type) doll, Horse puzzle, Unicorn doctor kit
Elk County Basket – 6pk Straub Beer, Bottle opener, Elk Do Do (choc covered almonds), Elk Farms jerky and snack sticks, Brew B-Q ketchup, 2 mugs, Can cozy, Kettle corn, Dark Hickory syrup, Elk County brochures,
Silver Santa – Large Table Santa, 3 silver ornaments, Medium winter sprag
Secret Eggs – 8 Eggs filled with various creatures, rose turtle
Americana Basket – Lighted Wreath, Home sweet home sign, Blanket, Kitchen towels, 2 mini solar lights, Paper plates, Star picks, USA metal sign, Star decoration, Windsock, Star garland
Coffee Items – Can of coffee, Pot holders, Can of caramel iced coffee, Coffee filters, Box of 12 cups of coffee, Coffee coco waffle cones,Caramel coffee Werther’s, French vanilla creamer
Girls Back to School – Notebooks, Construction paper, Planner, Lined paper, Sketch pad, 4 folders, Lunch bag, Ice pack, Water bottle, Pencil pouches, Ruler, Glue sticks, Highlighter, Pencils, Colored pencils, Crayons, Pencil sharpener, Paper clips, Sticky notes, Key chain, Locker mirror, Locker pocket bot, Bath and Body Works shower gel, Hand sanitizer
Christmas Basket – Scarf and gloves, candy, body wash, hand sanitizer, Christmas bag clips, Wash cloth, Candy dish, Book, Ornament, Christmas bags, Cologne spray, Bracelet, Hand cream, Candle, Mini lights, Plug-in
TV – LED 32” Television
Faith and Tea – Mug, 199 Promises of God book, God Calls You Worthy devotional, Fun Bible word games, Frappe with Philippians Bible study, ESV Bible, Bible Journal: 1-2 Timothy and Titus, Tea pot, Cup and saucer, 6 assorted teas, Scottish shortbread, Swedish ginger thins, Swedish orange thins
Fall Basket – Fall for Jesus mug, Decorative pumpkin, Pumpkin latte ground coffee, Sage and citrus candle, Spiced pumpkin hand soap, Fall themed towels, Fall napkins, Butter rum caramels
Date Game Night – Small blanket, puzzle, Gender Gap game, Perfect Partners game, Fruit snacks, Cookies, Pretzels
Steelers Basket (This box gets picked three times)
Grand Prize: 2 Tickets to the Steeler’s vs. the Giants on October 28th, XL Long sleeved Super Bowl shirt, Terrible Towel, Football keychain, Steeler junk bag, Steeler bear, Steeler bookmark, Steeler Super Bowl license plate
Second Prize: Steeler Fleece throw, shot glass, coffee cup, small football, slippers, Jersey can Koozie, container 2 pack, bowl cozy for microwave, tailgate towel set, cooler, playing cards, wipes, napkins, bottle opener, shoe laces, large drinking cup with lid and straw, logo sox
Third Prize: Steeler’s blanket 50X60, Scarf, Tote, Insulated cooler bag, Containers and plate for cooler, Christmas stocking, Collared Polo cap sleeved shirt – Women’s XL, bedazzled long sleeved Steeler Pride Shirt – Women’s L
Coke Basket – Metal Tub, Radio cooler, 2 mugs, coasters and dispenser, ear buds, playing cards, 6 glasses, 4 cans and one glass bottle, recipe cards
Air Fryer – Air Fryer, air fryer liners, various seasonings, hotsauce
Beach Basket – $25 Target gift card, 3 beach bags, Raft, Water bottle, Kool pops, Off, Sunscreen, Sun decoration, Sonic lemonade, “Life is Good” cup, wine, drink cup holder for pool
Steeler’s Bedding – 1 Steeler’s blanket 60X90, 2 Steeler’s Pillows 22X24, XL short sleeved Super Bowl Shirt, Steeler’s license plate
Book Lover’s Basket – “Remarkably Bright Creatures” by Shelby Van Pelt; “Britt-Marie Was Here” by Fredrik Backman, “We begin at the End” by Chris Whitaker; “A Gentleman in Moscow” by Amor Towles, 2 bookmarks, candle, mug, book light
StoryTime – Rocking Chair, Large plush dinosaur, “Giving Tree” by Shel Silverstein, Hand made crochet star blanket (blue)
This raffle will be drawn on Labor Day, September 2nd at 4PM. You do not need to be present to win.
On Labor Day we will also be having our final cookout of the year. Be sure to stop in and enjoy our famous burgers and other delectable grill meats being served from 10 AM to 5 PM.
Let’s talk about what else we have coming up in the not too distant future:
Friday, August 30th, 6:30ish – 9ish, Board Game Night ~ This has long been a tradition to come in on a Friday and have fun playing games.
Saturday, August 31st, 1PM – 3PM, Tech Help ~ We are a handful of tech heads that like technology and would like to help you with your stuff. We can help with cell phone, tablet, and computer problems/questions. We can talk with you about the latest tech like streaming TV, home security, cyber security, etc. This is all done for free, you just need to come in and ask for help.
Saturday, August 31st, 7PM – 8:30PM, Bereans Group ~ This group, which is open to the public, we always discuss tough theological questions and rarely come to consensus. This time we are discussing, ‘Near death experiences and what happens immediately after we die?’
Monday, September 2nd – Labor Day ~ We will be having our final cookout of the year and drawing the tickets for the raffle baskets at 4PM.
Tuesday, September 3rd, 7PM – 8:30PM, Bible Study ~ We are starting a study of Lamentations this week.
Every Wednesday starting in September, 5:30PM – 7PM, Rings of Power – Season 2 ~ An epic drama set thousands of years before The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, following the rise and fall of kingdoms and the re-emergence of evil in Middle-earth. We will watch the entire second season which is just preparing to be released.
Saturday, September 7th, 11AM – LEGO Competition ~ Our back to school edition of our LEGO competition. Free entry for all children in K-6 and prizes for various age categories.
Thursday, September 26th, 5PM – Book Club ~ Join us for our first ever Book Club meeting. We will look at some options for various books as we kick off our newest club.
Now for the part everyone always asks about, the actual food! We have just started serving our Lasagna Soup and this is your last chance for awhile to enjoy a Reuben sandwich before we switch to a Monte Cristo Sandwich. Our specialty ice creams are Peach and Better Brownie Batter but they will both be changing soon to Blueberry Cheesecake and Brown Butter Bourbon Truffle.
