GOODBYE FEBRUARY....and none too soon...

I am so done with February.....the shortest but longest month for me. Next week we will turn our clocks back and more daylight is just what I need right now.

I will admit I get alittle "overwhelmed" when Open House is just around the corner AND there is so much to do yet.... then I start asking myself if I will have enough to sell ...and then I wonder if I have too much....what if nobody comes....yi yi yi....the life of a storekeeper in tough economic times! (taking a deep breath and counting to 12 ) ! I still have lots of items to get priced and somehow have to figure where all the new goodies are going to be displayed. Some furniture sold that were good display pieces and it leaves me in a bit of a bind - Tony has some pieces to work on but the weather has to be warmer as he has to refinish most pieces outside. Improvising will be the deal of the day Monday and Tuesday when I set up for our SPRINGTHYME OPEN HOUSE....( I love to write SPRINGTHYME.... - it can't come soon enough)

I made the little "peep" pillow today while customers browsed.... made from an olde wool Navy blanket - it is small and would sit nicely on a shelf.

Have a nice weekend - March is going to "come in like a LION" here so it seems from the weather reports....but doesn't that mean "out like a LAMB" ???

OLDE FRIENDS, NEW FRIENDS....

Yesterday was such a fun day. The store was busy (woohoo!!) and we had our Covered Box class in the evening. Three of the gals were "repeats"....(fuzzy feeling inside when the gals enjoyed the class they took previously that they come back for more)...and three of the gals were brand new friends. Two coming from an hour away (Donna and Deb) for their very first visit to the store. The weather behaved and I think everyone had a fun time...I always do !!

Now I am VERY anxious to really get the store filled with the spring goods.....yesterday two boxes of florals and baskets came in - and my NEW spring sacks and tissue paper!! ( I only had "snowman" bags and am glad to put them away) I have all my Turkey Hollow treasures to get priced and displayed....(and I had to cage those bunnies waiting in the basement as they were hopping all over the place) Sharon is still busy busy busy making her treasures!

I found some "fairy dust" sprinkled here and there in the store (the fairies are back - yippee) and I just KNOW this is going to be the best SPRING SEASON ever. We hope you can visit us soon - maybe join in on our next class or just come and have a cup of tea and chat !!

The skies are very "dark" this morning but that can't take away my "cheerful" mood today!

You can check our PT if you want to see more pictures of the class....
We have some wonderful names for our Leprechan.....Saturday is the deadline to enter - it will be fun to see what name he ends up with !!! Have a good day today no matter what !!!

COLORED EGGS FOR SALE...

I am not sure why....must be something in my past...but each year I make, and purchase, more Easter Eggs for the store than I would ever be able to sell.....in every medium...paper mache, wood, plastic covered with paper, wool....(lots of really cool wooley eggs), hand dyed muslin, calico - big - small and inbetween. Just maybe it is because I was a "greedy" little girl who wanted to find "all" the eggs at the Easter Egg hunts my parents took us too...I would run and run and run till I filled my basket full. AND, here I am all these years later still having to "have them all" and filling my baskets full !!

Here is one of the BIG eggs for decorating the porch... ....and here are the eggs that grew in my "Egg Garden" last year....

NEW GOODIES ARRIVED ...

When you are a storekeeper it is like having Christmas ALL the time - especially when you are lucky enough to have some of the BEST handcrafters making treasures for your store. Yesterday my "treasure box" arrived from Turkey Hollow, Washington and I can't wait to show you all the wonderful items Barb made for The Cinnamon Stick's very lucky customers!! I will try to do that sometime today on our Picture Trial - meanwhile I have tons of work to get done as our Covered Box class is tomorrow evening and we have just about filled it ....yippee!! (so the bad weather last week was a "good thing???) LOL!! I always make a special sack for the gals to take their "creation" home in and now I must make more... Yippee!! And rebake some goodies to snack on, and make name tags...etc.
Tony has cut out "3" very, very large Easter Eggs and painted them as signs for the store (two PINK and one YELLOW). The front of the store (long porch) always looks quite bare with only a table and bench on it - BUT we sit very close to the road and everything always gets so "dirty" with the traffic (and lots of it) on this little country road (might have something to do with the "ski lodge" at the top of the mountain (we are at the bottom) !! Anyway, today I will paint "Colored Eggs 4 Sale" on them and hang one out front and the others will be for sale...cutesy? YES - but there is alittle bit of "cutesy" in every country girl !! Hopefully it will brighten the front up a bit - I will hang some olde baskets on a wooden pole that we have hanging from the porch ceiling ( it was an olde handmade clothes prop) and make it look at "springy" as I can. It is very windy on this little plot of land here in Hereford, so I have to be cautious what we hang out there - AND the SNOWMAN MUST come off the outhouse. We have a 6 ft. plus tin snowman ( Made by Jean of New Jersey) that stands guard on the outhouse door all winter. He is ready to get "off" duty!!! ( I keep trying to remind myself it is still February - but I need spring !! ) Maybe I can get a picture of those big eggs later on......have a fun day everyone...it is sunny but very cold and windy here !

I HAVE A WINNER.....

But it is not what you think - a "special gift" is going to my sweet grandson....the 4 year olde - Today, while I was babysitting, I showed him the "leprechan"....and he said....LUCKY CHARMS guy...now tell me that isn't just the BEST !!! Of course when I mentioned the name to the "leprechan" he just raised those eyebrows a tad and I don't think he wanted to go around the rest of his life being called "LUCKY CHARMS"....there have been a few suggestions of "LUCKY" ...and the name is most befitting I must admit....
All the names being posted are great.....so I will let the "Luck of the Irish" be the decider and put all the names into a tin box and let someone do the honors of choosing....Get all your suggestions in by this Friday the 27th and I will announce the winner Saturday!! AND you can suggest more than one name if you have another to add.
Some days are just meant to have fun !!

GIVEAWAY RABBIT....

The picture above is the rabbit I will give as a small token for naming my dear sweet leprechan....keep the names coming in - trouble is I am liking ALL of the names....may have to put them all in a tin box and pick a winner !! I made the rabbit's eye the way Miss Barbara of Turkey Hollow does ...well...I TRIED to make his eye that way !!!... I am pleased and hope the "winner" will be too !!

Can you believe it....??? That sneaky little bunny crept up the basement stairs and I found him in front of a "peppermint" plant - trowel in hand he told me that he was just "fluffing" the soil and making sure someone was saying "sweet nothings" to the plant.....hmmmmm.....I am thinking he is tired of being in the basement and got nosy to see what the rest of the world looked like......I think whoever purchases him just might have their hands full !!!

Be sure to scroll down to the next post and see my Johnny-jump-ups !!!

I WANNA BE AS TOUGH AS MY "JOHNNIES"...

I was just sweeping the front porch of the store this morning and glanced down into the front garden and there they were...still blooming....unbelievable but true. It has been so very cold here with lots of freezing rain, snow and ice - but they prevail.....I need to be that tough!!

DECORATING....

Each day - little by little - I have been introducing new "Springthyme" goodies into the store...without compromising our Open House that will be March 4th. I am just putting items in that can be replaced quickly if (lately that is a BIG if) we should sell out !! (those bunnies in the basement started towards the stairs today and it was all I could do to hold them back...whew!!) We certainly don't want them showing their sweet little faces until open house!!

Spring candle rings in different sizes, some vintage postcard pillows and Easter Egg pillows made by me were some of the goodies displayed today. I drew a new rabbit and am making it into a pillow - just a cookie cutter shape - very plain and simple - I have to decide on what kind of eyes he is going to have - eyes are always a problem with me. I do not like the new ones that are painted to look real...pieces of art I will admit, but they just give me the "willies" as they look like paintings and too real!! I realize I am in the minority with this just by looking at how many sell on websites but still.....I am olde school and just like the very plain and simple...Now after saying that today a sweet little guy came in and wanted to be part of the store....his eyes are painted but what I call "prim painted" and not all "real" looking. He had such a good "soul" I couldn't help but tell him to stay.....BUT he has no name and I was thinking maybe it would be a fun thing to have a giveaway for finding the perfect name for him!!! Just leave a comment with your suggestion and I will in turn give all the names for him to choose.....hey...maybe that new rabbit pillow I am working on will be a good giveaway.... I will post a picture as soon as I come up with some eyes for him!!

WOOHOO - I AM BACK ONLINE...

Withdrawal hurts.....especially in the mornings when I am ever so ready to get lots of work done....like pay the bills and check up on everyone and what they were up to the night before! Tony laughed at me as I all I could do was sit and "stuff eggs"....my arm hurts from all that stuffing! I am a morning person....and really missed this sweet machine (I am talking very nicely to it just in case it gets testy with me again) !! It was the power source thingy.....cost of $28. and a lot of nerves and worries on my part. I am ever so blessed to have a computer "EXPERT" living next door to us....and he enjoys the "challenges" I give him ....LOL!! All info is safe and I am going out to get an external modem so everything will be saved IF anything really bad happens.

I have the store all ready to display the Easter items - open house begins March 4th but I am adding things everyday....I ordered rabbits from ESC...an import company...I really liked these - rabbits - made countryish and out of paper mache - they are all on the basement floor standing like little children waiting in line...... too cute!!! Easter goodies are like fairytales...very magical!! The handmades from the "girls" won't be shown until our open house (except maybe a sneak preview on here as they come in)....Miss Barbara from Turkey Hollow has sent me a box full of goodies that I am just dying to get my hands on....the picture below is a sweet doll she has sent me and if she looks this wonderful in a picture you can only imagine how wonderful she looks in person.....(check out her hat!! - I love it) I will wait till I hug her to give her a "proper" name. There is something about hugging a handmade doll that makes a "connection to your heart" and you know right then and there who "she" is and all about her adventures.Crossroads came out with some new scents in their diffusers and they came in today....I put Fresh Rain in the bathroom at the store and it smells divine. Sharon made me get it when we were "sniff" testing at the trade show....I wasn't going to as I am more into the spicy scents and not flowery.....but I do listen....as I am not always right ...(did I really just admit to that??) I am certainly glad I did as the scent is just perfect and not sickening like I thought it would be....so now everyone has to go in the bathroom to see how wonderful it is!!

Now I am off to fix the color background on my PT as when I was on my son's computer it was so dark you couldn't read the writing....yuck....it is not that dark on mine but I am going to go fix that right now......toodle-loo !!!

HORRORS.....HORRORS...HORRORS....

My life is on HOLD......how crappy is this...my computer went down yesterday when the power went off at our home. My dear computer "smart" neighbor thinks it might just be the power source and ordered a new part - it may take a couple days to come in - until them I will be going into withdrawal and not sure if I will survive - wish me the best!! Worse case scenerio a new PC will have to be purchased....and I will have lost ALL my info - hubby keeps saying "go get an external modem for your computer"....duh....I should have listened. Anyway.....I am at my son's house and using one of the grandkids computers....I am sitting here looking at "4" so I know they will share with me....LOL!!
I spent the past two days cleaning and redoing the store....all the spring/Easter fabric has replaced the Valentine's fabric and I will start to decorate with all the goodies that have come in so far....I am so very anxious to have SPRING....and I love the way the store turned out after "redoing".....so at least some things are going right....
Hope to talk to you soon.....Judy

JUST A FEW PICTURES...

Some pictures of the goodies we served during the social.....and some friendly faces enjoying the treats.

We had a little something for the person who picked the names from our Valentine Box....a Valentine Sack filled with "cinnamon heart candies" and and olde ice cream spoon to serve them with. We tied each purchase with Valentine ribbon and a silhouette of a heart made from a tinsel pipe cleaner (another GREAT idea given to me from my friend Barbara of Turkey Hollow...she makes me look so good in front of our customers with all her fun ideas she shares with me!!) I hope your Valentine's Day was as much fun as ours!!!


AND THEN IT WAS SPRING....WOOHOO!!!

THE MENU...

"VALENTINE SOCIAL AT THE CINNAMON STICK"

Spicy Orange Tea - warmed

Rose Geranium Tea Bread

Brownies with cream cheese icing and Strawberry

Heart shaped sugar cookies - dipped in chocolate

Coconut Raspberry Cookie Bars

Rose Geranium Cheesespread with Butterfly Crackers

Herbal Spinach Dip with Pretzels

Assorted Chocolate Candies and Conversation Hearts

You are invited to join the festivities from 10 am to 5 pm

Saturday, February 14th....

WE LOVE OUR CUSTOMERS!!!

ALL READY FOR THE "SOCIAL" !!

Well since the store was very quiet today I was able to get ahead of schedule and have the gifts for our Valentine Social all finished and wrapped. There are eight gifts....and we will have customers each hour pick a name from our Valentine Box to give away (see how full it is - woohoo!!) We even have a small gift for each "picker" !!! So tomorrow I will go in early and CLEAN.....I do make such messes when I work.....of course I am usually working on TOO many things at the same time....AND then UPS came this afternoon - after 2 pm...(he usually comes early morning) and had 8 boxes for us.....so I had to get them emptied as they were too big to get down the cellar steps where I usually undo - (we have outside cellar steps but the door is covered with a tarp and bricks as the snow would come right in and the cold air)...So what a mess I had with the crappy popcorn and styrofoam......ugh.....hate it!! It always sticks to me and I get so frustrated. However....inside the boxes were the sweetest bunnies - I am getting so excited to start decorating for spring and Easter.... oops...there I go getting off subject again.

Tomorrow night I will get all the goodies for the "social" together....all SWEET TREATS.....I love to play !!! Hope you can join us.....

LONG DAY...

Hershey Kisses....New York Cheesecake flavor.......enough said !!!!!

BUSY DAYS OFF...

Well....Monday's shopping trip....though FUN...did not yield any UNBELIEVABLE treasures. I always manage to find goodies but it was hard this day. Prices were high - and I was hoping with the economy maybe prices would be lower. However, Tony went to auction and did quite well....new treasures are going in the store today.
Yesterday we went to the premiere of the National Country & Crafts trade show....it was small - but I did find a couple new vendors that I ordered from. Most who were there had already set up at Market Square and I had already ordered with them....lots is going on in the Trade Show biz and hopefully it will all get straightened out soon. Makes it very hard for shopkeepers to attend all the different shows.
TODAY it is suppose to get in the 60's.....I will have spring fever real bad after today.....AND Saturday SNOW ???? Just in time for our Valentine Social....yegads....does it ever fail !!!
I am working on Easter eggs and rabbits....and prizes for our "Social"..... it will be a busy couple days but I like to be busy!! Enjoy your day.....

ALL ABOUT STRAWBERRIES....oh dear!!

Okay...so I forgot my camera yesterday at work but really wanted to talk about strawberries so I post a picture of LAST year's berries from Miss Barbara of Turkey Hollow....and FOUR customers either came in or called today to purchase those STRAWBERRIES...oh dear is right! I don't have any Turkey Hollow strawberries and hopefully Miss Barbara is reading this and will make a few in between the rabbit ears and birds of fancy!!

I do have the strawberry make-do (pictured) and those sweet little mice in the shoe with their berry gift, for sale...Now I will have to dig deep in the summerthyme bin and see if I have some other strawberries left from last year. I LOVE STRAWBERRIES....they are a fun summer decoration - but HEY they work pretty darn good for Valentine's Day too....wonder why I didn't think of that before??

It was in the 40's today outside - yesterday morning 13 degrees.....this weather is sure strange lately....I like the 40's and maybe tomorrow the 50's...Monday is suppose to be nice too and Sharon and I are going on a buying trip .... far away....well....about 3 hours one way... it never seems long when we travel as we talk and talk and talk and all of a sudden we are at our destination! Fingers crossed we find lots of good olde treasures!

Hope everyone is having a terrific weekend.....

SRAWBERRIES FOR VALENTINE'S DAY....

Yummy red ripe strawberries...dipped in chocolate...and gobbled up one by one....oh my....how inticing does that sound!!! Strawberries are perfect for Valentine's Day gifts.....even if they are stuffed with cotton !! I am so very disappointed in me tonight as I left my camera sitting on the counter - I am such a "dork" sometimes - too much in a hurry to check everything twice ! Oh well, tomorrow I will show you the pictures of our strawberries...

Sharon brought in a wonderful strawberry make-do - and the SWEETEST little MICE ...the mice are sitting inside a high button shoe (repro) and holding a big red berry to give to their sweetheart (or you could give to your sweetheart)!!!!! Check back tomorrow...if you want to take a gander.

:*:HERBS SWEET HERBS:*:

I went anyway....inspite of the falling snow....inspite of the roads being slushy...I just went !! I had an agenda today and I was NOT going to let some snow flurries ruin it. Aren't I talking tough...the gal who refuses to drive in snow! My herb lady said the roads in Lancaster were clear and the flurries had stopped....so off I go to pick up Sharon - both of us live off the main highways - it got alittle "hairy"....but once we were on the main roads all was just fine. I got 24 herb plants to bring to the store tomorrow. The car smelled so wonderful. I can't wait to get them all display in olde boxes and drawers - olde tins and whatever else I can find. Scrounging for goodies to display in is fun! EXCEPT...those gals from Colorado bought most of the olde boxes and olde drawers when they were in for the Market last week....BUT hey Sandi and Laurie...THANKS FOR THE BUSINESS !! XOXO !!

We also went to the Hayloft Fabric store and found TOO MANY wonderful fabrics...we chose a nice black on tan for the covered box class. I really have to be "held back" when I go in a fabric store - I just love fabric....My "find" of the day was this really neat "pewter" color fabric in a small paisley print....I don't have a clue what I am going to make with it but I had to own 2 yards of it and a few yards of 5 other fabrics...yi yi yi yi !!! Fabric shopping is lots of FUN!

Here's my herbs and here's our covered box.....hope some of you can come to the classes....they are always so much fun too !!!

ONE OF THOSE DAYS...

I sit here troubled that I left all my "running around" to be done tomorrow - as I listen to the weather forecast - NOT GOOD !! I am hoping that if I get a real early start I can avoid most of the bad weather. Sharon and I are headed out to pick fabric for our next class - covering a paper mache box - plus we wanted to get the sample done so I could post it and put the sample in the store for Wednesday. AND - I have made arrangements to meet with my HERB LADY to pick up some herbs to sell in the store....NEVER EVER too early to seek out wonderful herb plants. Just walking into her greenhouses is the most sensual feeling of "springthyme" you can ever imagine. I never want to leave once I am there. The humid air...the breathtaking scents...it is just - well, undescribable !!! I will be disappointed if the snow keeps me away.

I did my usual Monday paperwork, laundry (still doing that as I slacked off this week), and grocery shopping. I am thinking Easter and spring and must get a flyer printed to hand out and I must start working on some new items. The store looks quite empty right now...we have sold some BIG items and have none to replace them with. My sweet olde cookstove (green and cream porcelain) is gone....makes me sad and happy at the same time...more happy today as I put the check in the bank! Aren't I horrid....LOL!!

Best get started on some dinner...this is hubby's Board of Commissioner's meeting tonight and my night to watch THE BATCHELOR !! I have picked my favorite Batchelorette....anyone else out there with a favorite???