Christmas Open House

Merry Merry,

It's Open House time at Today's Country Store in Sumner.  Tonight from 5 till 8.  Yummy's to eat and drink and beautiful, fun and frolicky items to see.  So, come and shop and say HI to us.  We'll see you there!!

Today's Country Store moves to Blogspot

Hey Ya'll

Today's Country Store is moving to Blogspot. So it's Today's Country Store.blogspot.com.
Come visit the site. Lot's of beautiful pics and fun things to look at. Christmas is well under way at the store and our OPEN HOUSE is Dec. 9th from 5 to 8.

AUTUMN LEAVES ARE A FALLING

Holy Moly,

I've got Maple Leaves knee deep in the front yard. Mowed yesterday and the rain today has brought them all down. They smell really good. Let's make a big pile and jump in.

REMINDER THAT I'LL BE AT 2ND SATURDAY NEXT SATURDAY (Nov. 13th) SO IF YOUR GOIN NORTH COME BY. IF YOUR GOIN SOUTH, HIT THE GIRLFRIENDS AT HERITAGE HALL. IF YOUR
STAYING IN THE MIDDLE HIT "Today's Country Store in Sumner" It's the Holiday open house. The Store is decked out, as usual!!!

TODAY'S COUNTRY STORE
TAG SALE
SATURDAY, JUNE 26TH
OPEN EARLY AT 9AM

Don't miss this sale. It's the best
of the year. Ton's of new stuff. Pile's
of good deals.

Can't wait to see ya!!!

Wendy

Garden Party at Today's Country Store

Please join us for a big ol' GARDEN PARTY. Vintage goods planted and ready to go into your garden. Fun stuff to add to your home and garden. APRIL 30th, MAY lst and 2nd. Today's Country Store in SUMNER, WA

Spring "Picking":

No, this isn't about a rite of spring - the picking of spring flowers.

And it isn't about the fun new show on the History Channel - "American Pickers" (which if you haven't seen it - look for it; it's about two guys driving around middle America buying stuff to resell).

It's about our 17 year old son and a banjo. He is an "old soul" who appreciates things made with care and that have patina (which makes his mother, Wendy, very proud). He first taught himself to play the guitar; and has now taught himself the banjo. He recently acquired his third banjo, by trading the first electric guitar he ever owned for it. This banjo is almost 40 years old and was perfect (according to him) for a DIY project he had in mind. So Dad and he tackled the removing of the first seven frets and replacing those with a piece of solid brass - which will allow him to create tones on the banjo almost like a "slide" guitar. You know you are in a house of collectors when we came to the realization that we had all the parts necessary for this project, with the exception of a 55 cent tuning peg we had to purchase and rework to replace one which was cracked. We even had the needed piece of brass stuck away (a cover plate for a particular door knob never installed). The payoff of this project was two fold - the acknowledgement from this great young man that "this turned out pretty good, and we didn't even get mad at each other"; and the look of joy on his soon to be 98 year old great grandma's face today when he played that banjo for her.

Here's hoping you will have the opportunity to "pick" some special spring moments soon.

Wendy's Husband

These birdhouses are all made by me. You can order something similar by emailing me at primbirdhs@aol.com This one goes for $35.00

This guy has a spot to throw some seed at the bottom

Red church

Pink, White and the long 3 hole blue one. So cute!!

I made this little green birdie house yesterday. Let me know if your interested in these. I'm selling them at very reasonable prices!!!

A little bit of SPRING poppin out of the clay pot

One of my birdie houses just waitin for Mr & Mrs. Birdie

Just a combo of cute stuff on and old ironing board. Love it!!!

Come to me SPRING

Warmth is all I ask!! I'm totally sick of the cold. Don't mind the rain so much if it's a little warmer out. I spent yesterday afternoon in my workshed building birdhouses. The dog (Cosmo) was with me digging holes and getting that spring dirt smell all over him. Can't wait for more sunshine.

Here's some garden pics.

Enjoy!!!

The Farm - New Foals

This time of year reminds me of "foaling time" - when spring arrived and the mares would begin to give birth. My Dad was always concerned that "his girls" might have trouble with the birth of their foals (foal is the generic term for either boys or girls). So, for some years, he would sleep out with the mares when they were close to foaling; and I would get to join him sometimes out in the barn - sleeping in the stall with the mare. It's a wonderful thing to see a newborn foal try to stand for the first time, wobbling while trying to find where to nurse. My Dad would always place his hand over the foal's muzzle as quickly as possible, so that it would relate his smell to it's mother's - and then be easier to train when older. The first awkward attempts to run and kick - while still not having full control of their long legs - was a sight to see. Spring is a time of renewal and rebirth - and our childhood memories can enhance that feeling each year. Hope you can take the time to feel some of that "renewal" soon. Wendy's husband.

The Farm - Winter Breakfast

Hi - I'm Wendy's husband (that's how I identify myself when meeting people she knows) - because it's just easier. She's the more outgoing partner in our marriage.

I grew up on an 80 acre horse farm in Spokane, Washington and it was such a wonderful experience - full of so many "stories" - that I asked her if I could share some on her blog.

We had a little bit of snow today here in Gig Harbor; and it reminded me of winters on the farm, and a particular breakfast my Mom made me.

My Mom was an old fashion cook. Full farm breakfast, clean up those dishes and then immediately start on lunch. After lunch dishes, on to dinner preparation. And we are talking multiple offerings of dishes at each meal. And my Mom was, and is an outstanding cook.

But this one morning, I remember it was a more simple breakfast.

It was cold and had snowed; and Mom had baked homemade bread the previous day. She offered to make hot cocoa for me and I immediately agreed. Because this wasn't the out of the box cocoa mix that you added water. This was from the Hershey's Cocoa tin, with milk - heated and blended in a saucepan over the stove. And this was during a time that we still would buy raw milk from the farmers (remember the huge glass gallon jars with the white tin lids - we would seal ours tight with wax paper). So, as it would heat - a "skin" of milk would rise to the top that she would remove before pouring it to drink.

I cut a big slice of homemade bread (probably bigger than I should have because I had trouble
getting it in the toaster) and once toasted - slathered margarine over it. Yes, not butter - because I grew up thinking margarine was butter. And to this day, there are certain dishes that I prefer the taste of margarine over butter - because my memories of that dish associate with the margarine flavor.

Then, I began to dip the bread in the hot cocoa and eat it that way. I had obviously put too much margarine on the bread, because I looked down and saw that I had a bit pad of butter floating on the top of my cocoa. And I would like to think that added to the flavor of the hot cocoa. But what a breakfast; and what a memory! The sounds, smells and flavors of childhood trigger such wonderful memories - and this is one of the most memorable breakfasts I can remember.

Thanks for allowing me to share this memory, and I hope to offer a few more stories as time goes on.

Wendy's husband

This black suitcase has the most beautiful deep green inside. The black tin cash boxes are always fun to collect and the two pics are the raised kind. Really cool in flower patterns. That's an old blanket in there too!!

Beautiful old platter, blueish sap can, a couple of perfume bottles and a pin cushion, how sweet!!

SPRING HAS SPRUNG

SPRING HAS SPRUNG and I'm digging like a mad women in my flower garden. All kinds of flowers are sprouting including my many clematis. Daffodils are blooming and the tulips are poking their heads out of the soil. I got so excited I worked for a whole day straight and couldn't stand up straight the next day. Oh well.

I took some pics of my booth at TODAY'S COUNTRY STORE. Lot's of fun and beautiful things for sale.

Take a look and HAPPY DIGGING!!!!!!