Mendota’s Katie Harris made this patriotic apron for some lucky little girl to wear.   If you’d like a chance to win this apron, just leave a comment to this post sharing your plans for Independence Day.  Simple!   Your comment must be submitted by 10 pm on Tuesday, July 3.  I’m downloading a little gizmo that will randomly pick one comment which will be the lucky winner.  I’ll notify the winner by email and on the post which will be placed online after 10 pm on Tuesday, July 3.  I’ll mail the apron to the winner.  Easy.  And fun!

On Saturday, Katie had her store open from 9:30 am until 5:00 pm.   The building has  been in her family for over 40 years.   I believe she is calling the store…”The Store.”    Here’s a picture…

I hope that at some time the store will be open on a regular basis, but at present, Katie opens it when she can…when she has some extra time.  When she’s there and the store is open, she occasionally provides refreshments.  Lemonade.  Muffins.  Beans and cornbread.  It feels like you are visiting someone in their home but you handle all of their furnishings and accessories!

I have history tied to the store.  When Katie’s father operated the store, he called it Benfield’s Store, and my mother worked there.  It sold sodas, bread, milk, gas…all of the things that a country story sold in the 1970’s.   The Benfield girls, Katie and Lisa, and I got off the  school bus at the store.   Mom would give me a bag of chips and a Ginger Ale which was in a small glass bottle at that time.   She’d ring me up with the old-fashioned cash register that went “Cha-Ching!”      After our snack, we girls would head to the back of the store and play Rook with our friends.   What memories!

Going back many years further, my father helped make the block for the original store site.  He was paid 10 cents per block.  I can imagine his hands…young at that time…working.    Here’s a picture.

Inside the store, there’s little vignettes of things Katie loves.   She’s uncomfortable charging her friends,  but I’ve assured her she’ll get used to it.  We want the store to be open, so we want to be customers as well as friends.

Getting ready for July 4…

Katie has an eye for making things pretty.  This kerosene lamp is a good example.  In Mendota, we all have kerosene lamps as our power goes off frequently.  As I write this, thousands are without power in Virginia following the June 29 storm.  I wonder…do they have kerosene lamps?

Here’s something that Katie and her grandson made.  It’s a birdbath made from a plate and a vase.  Very clever and a good project for little hands.

Also on Saturday, I continued working on my dining room.  It’s going nightmarishly slow…

Here’s another.  Looks like the Charles Manson murders took place here.

We are anxious to get this room done and put back together.  We had a delay because Mike went out of town this weekend to see the Atlanta Braves with his son and grandson.  He had a great time, and it was worth it, but it’s back to work!

Hope you enjoyed visiting The Store.  I also hope I have a new/old dining room tomorrow evening when I post.

Thank you for reading my blog.  I had over 50 views on one of the posts last week.   Many thanks!  Please forward this to anyone you think might be interested and keep it growing.  You have my appreciation.

Eva