About Erie County, OH

Finally……

I can almost hear the drum beats now.

After sitting empty for several years, Maui Sands is ready for a new beginning.

The Hawaiian themed motel will have a soft opening this summer with 136 luxury rooms available just in time for the CedarPointAmusement Park season.

Although the water park section will not yet be up and running, a Grand Opening scheduled for 2013 promises to include even more amenities and the reopening of the onsite water park.

The new owner, Kiritsinh “Kirit” Parmar, president of MKSP, LLC of Maryland, promises competitive rates, a great location and great service. He says he thinks “it will be one of the best values you can find”.

Welcome Back Maui Sands.

The pleasure is ours.

Sandusky Library---Where Good Things Happen

There is so much more to the Sandusky Library than books. Of course there are books, lots of them,.....but there is sooo much more.

Take a look at this weeks offerings at the Sandusky Library.

Tuesday, February 7 at 1:00 PM

Tech Talk Tuesday—is a one hour discussion on various forms of social media being used in today’s society. This month’s topic is Facebook

Tuesday, February 7—3:30-5:00 PM

Tween Book Club—For grades 3-6. This month will be discussion and fun activities about Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Dork Diaries

Tuesday, February 7—6:30 PM

Dickens in Ohio

Actor and historical impersonator, Roger Jerome, will present a program to mark the 200^th birthday of Charles Dickens.

Wednesday, February 8—6:30-7:30 PM

Get Fit at the Library: A Touch of Yoga

A one hour vacation for your body. Instructed by Lori Schlessman

Saturday, February 11—10:30 AM

Paws to Read

Children in Grades K-5 can interact and read their favorite stories to some warm-blooded furry friends. A program to help improve reading skills and foster kindness and good animal interaction skills.

Saturday, February 11—11:00 AM

Beginning Spanish (for grades 1-5)

An introduction to the art of learning Spanish. The class will continue on February 18, 25 and March 3.

February 11—2:30 PM

A Family Trip to Candy Land

A magical journey for the entire family where players become the game pieces that adds a new twist to this classic board game.

Holiday Happenings at the Huron Soup Kitchen

I have to start by saying the name of this post is somewhat of a misnomer.

A common definition of a Soup Kitchen is: an establishment dispensing minimum dietary essentials (such as soup and bread) to the needy.

While we do make soup,……. sometime,…….. it is the exception, rather than the rule.

We serve such a wide variety of foods, that if you come to eat and go home hungry,…. it is your own fault.

Through the generosity of Second Harvest Food Bank and the folks at GFS, we are able to serve a variety of meats and treats at every meal.

I just wanted to share some of my favorite photos from the 2011 Holiday meals at the Huron Soup Kitchen.

We have such a wonderful crew of workers that pull together and turn out a feast each and every time.

To our guests I would like to say: We are Blessed by each one of you that come to enjoy the fruits of our labors. We thank you for allowing us the pleasure...

Look what’s happening in the BerlinHeights, Milan Housing Market

We have had a nice recovery going on here…..

The average sale price in the first quarter, saw a whopping 20% increase over the average sale price in the last quarter of 2010.

The second quarter saw a modest 5% increase in the sale prices.

The third quarter saw a gain of 12%

We are only half way through this quarter, but we are on track to do well again.

Time will tell whether the market is stabilizing in our little neck of the woods……or not.

I’m betting on a strong finish to the year and a great start to the next.

October 1, 2010 – December 31, 2010 13 Houses Sold

Average

3

2.00

1,625

$115,000

$112,808

109

January 1, 2011 – March 31, 2011 14 Houses Sold

Average

4

2.09

2,176

$155,664

$139,718

264

April 1, 2011 – June 30, 2011 12 Houses Sold

Average

3

2.33

2,048

$149,652

$144,092

133

July 1, 2011 – September 30, 2011 15 Houses Sold

Average

3

2.00

1,815

$178,467

$163,460

166

Oct 1, 2011 – November 7, 2011 8 Houses Sold

Average

3

2.00

1,865

$153,925

$141,813

181

FALL SEASON OF MIRACLES IN THE SOUP KITCHEN

The POSITIVE ATTITUDE for the Weary Soul group gives you the opportunity to share the miracles in your life during this fall season with a creative writing challenge . Join in on the challenge with the FALL SEASON OF MIRACLES CONTEST | Positive Attitude for the Weary Soul Group

As some of you know, I volunteer as a prep cook in a soup kitchen in my community of Huron, OH. We primarily rely on donated food from a number of different sources. We keep two large freezers for perishable donations.

We are often reminded at our meetings that our needs will be met and our prayers will be answered with enough food to feed those that come to our meal. It may not always be what we wish for, (the glut of green peppers or the broccoflower are cases in point), but then we are blessed with someone who knows what to do with the “gift”.

Time and time again, our needs have been met and come from unexpected sources or circumstances.

The main course for next months menu was supposed to be a “Johnny Marzetti” or some kind of combination of ground meat, tomato sauce, veggies and pasta. It would have required approx. 60 pounds of ground beef to prepare.

At our planning meeting, we learned that we only had 33 pounds of ground meat available in the freezer.

What to do, what to do……..

Ideas started to swirl.

We talked about grinding roasts and other beef we had in the freezer to add to the supply we already had.

We talked about changing the menu completely.

We discussed having to come up with a second main course idea.

We discussed taking up a collection between us to buy more ground meat.

Just when a generous couple on our committee offered to donate $50 toward the purchase……….

The back door opened……..

The chef from our 2^nd Wednesday meal popped his head in the door and said, “Hey, I just wanted to let you know that I just put 30 pounds of ground beef in the freezer!” The great folks at GFS, where he works, had generously donated the ground meat in the exact amount that we needed.

We all just looked at each other and a collective whoop went up.

The good Lord knew what we needed. And once again, and time after time, His goodness and abundance took us by surprise.

We need only to look toward John 16:23…..Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it to you……and learn to trust that all our needs will be met.