Today I spent most of the day shopping. The difference? Everywhere I went, I saw the owner of the business there. I didn’t set foot in one chain or big box place, but I had a great day.
Then tonight, I finally finished updating all the links on my HoCoBiz page, but no, I’m not finished there yet. I do need to get to Old Town EC and add a few more once I finish Christmas shopping.
What did I do today? First, we hit The Cover Uph in Columbia to drop off our 31 year old dining room chairs, to get them redone. Tom Vaughn has been in business there since 1977. My dining room chairs will be my present to myself for this Christmas.
Then, off to Iron Bridge to pick up wine, and for me to have lunch. It is one of the two restaurants that get the majority of our business. If you are looking for a great gift, get a gift certificate from them. For us, we just picked up our third “red envelope” with this visit. You never know if you might have gotten one of those big prizes to be revealed at a visit in January.
I did say we, but today I meant me, as my husband headed off to Lisbon to the Town Grill to have his monthly Glenwood Amateur Radio group meeting.
For me, I headed off to Greenway to pick up my poinsettias. I will be getting my tree closer to Christmas but with all the publicity about Greenways’ poinsettias, I didn’t want to miss getting my favorite colors. They also had large rosemary bushes, so I got two of those.
My old ones died last winter. These two will stay inside in pots this winter. Next year, I will remember to wrap them in burlap once they are permanently planted. Healthy looking, aren’t they?
On the way home, I stopped in Casual Gourmet to pick up some pasta and some pepper jelly for gifts. Suzanne’s pepper jelly is another locally owned product.
I got mild this time. Also called heaven. They have purgatory and hell. And, one called ghost, which I will not be trying. I am too much of a wimp for that heat.
All in all, a very productive day. Thanks to people like Tom, Steve, Mike, Kristen, and Alexandra, I can shop with people I know. Isn’t that a great way to get into the Christmas spirit?
AnnieRie Unplugged 