Carole’s Country Store Blog

Good morning! I wanted to be sure and write in my blog this morning, cialis but I wasn’t sure what I wanted to write about. Then I started thinking about my Christmas dinner. I really wasn’t up to cooking a turkey dinner with all the fixings this year. To be honest, after seeing the video of Sarah Palin at the turkey processing plant, I lost my desire to eat one. I wanted to break with tradition, so I cooked Italian this year. In all the 45 Christmas dinners I have cooked over the years, this was the first time I didn’t have turkey. Maybe a prime rib, or a filet of beef, but turkey is the tradition in our house. For an Irish girl, I have to say that I can cook up some pretty good Italian food. I decided to have an antipasto, lasagna with meatballs, pork and sweet Italian sausage, that always gives the “gravy”, as my Italian mother in law used to call it, a really good flavor, and lots of garlic bread too. For dessert, a family favorite, Neapolitan. Lots of good red wine too. We had 7 around the Christmas table, my brother-in-law, my daughter, son, my granddaughter, my mother and Bill and I. When we picked up my mother, on the way to my house she said, are we having turkey and stuffing? I told her we were having something different this year, lasagna. She laughed and said, “oh, come on, you are kidding”. Right then and there I knew I was in trouble. LOL-As we sat down to eat, everyone seemed to be enjoying their dinner. Now you have to remember that my mother suffers from dementia. Out of the corner of my eye, I see her very quickly put her portion of lasagna back! I know she thought no one saw her.

At the end of the evening, as we sat around the fire talking, we all decided, lasagna sounds good, but does everyone REALLY like it that much? It’s ok, but we don’t love it. Next year, back to tradition, turkey with all the trimmings. Breaking with tradition is not easy. This week I’ll be cooking a chicken with stuffing, and all the trimmings, for my mother. It will make her happy and I’ll feel better too.
Happy day
Carole

This is such a busy time of the year for most of us. The big day is almost here. I wanted to take a moment this afternoon to wish all of my customers and blog readers, here a very happy holiday season, here but most of all I want to wish each and every one of you health and happiness for the new year, 2009. I wish I could personally meet each one of you and give you a hug to let you know how much you are appreciated. I have met, through the internet, just the nicest people. Many of you have taken the time to email me to let me know how much your are enjoying your purchases from Carole’s Country Store. Also, the beautiful emails that I have received about our DVD, “Early America”, have been overwhelming, and at times, brought tears to my eyes. It was our intention to create something that would warm your hearts and sooth your souls, and I take great pleasure in knowing that we have done that. So that’s about it. I just wanted you to know. Take good care and always have a-
HAPPY DAY!
Carole
Carole

Yesterday I drove to Salem, order New Jersey. It’s my second visit to this wonderful little historic town. Salem is rich in history, pharmacy much too much for me to tell you, rx but if you would like to read more here is a link you might find interesting.

As you drive down Market Street, you will see so many beautifully restored historic houses. Of course this time of the year, they look extra beautiful all decked out for Christmas.

Salem was first established by English families who came down from New Haven, Conn., to settle in Ferkin’s Creek, now known as the town of Salem. Around the same time the Swedes bought the town of Cape May to Raccoon Creek from the Indians, and in order to unite the Swedes with the English, the governor came over about a year later. He was expected to act kindly toward them, for hundreds more were expected and they were willing to be subjects of the Swedish government.

After all the picture taking, it was time to antique! It’s not often these days that you find an antique shop filled with primitives, but this one is. It’s owners Michael and Suzanne are just the nicest people, and they have a little boy named Sammy. He is just as cute as he can be.

The building is large with two floors filled to the brim. If you ever get a chance to go to Salem, your really have to stop by, and be sure to tell them I said hello.

So after lots of driving and antiquing it was time to leave, it was starting to get dark, and I don’t really like driving at night in an area that I am not that familiar with. I’ll be back for sure, there is so much to see in this area and Mullica Hill is not that far away. One day soon, I want to explore that town too.
Happy day
Carole

Every year I bring out a couple of my dolls from Christmas past. I guess I was about nine years old when Santa brought this one. She has always been my favorite and I guess that’s why I held on to her all these 57 years. Ouch, store did I say 57 years!!

I still love her. Her face always had a certain smell, pharmacy and, try unbelievably it still does. She brings back such wonderful memories of that Christmas morning. Remember how exciting it was getting up on Christmas morning, going down stairs, and seeing that, yes, Santa came! I’m so thankful that I still have them, so every Christmas I get them out and put them under the tree again. The little Oriental doll is special to me too, it was given to me by my dad.
I better get dressed now. I’m meeting a friend for lunch and some shopping.

HAPPY DAY
Carole

It’s been such a long time since our last visit. I don’t like letting my blog go this long without posting, sovaldi sale but sometimes life gets a bit too hectic, ambulance especially this time of the year. After all the hussle and bussle of the holidays wind down, there here is an easy project and one that I think adds a lot of charm to a country home. Painting a faux stairway runner, is an easy project. It’s inexpensive, and will give charming results. You can make it as intricate or as simple as you like.

Here’s all you need:
Cream latex paint
Decorative craft paint for the stripes, or any other design you plan on doing
2 1/2 to 4 inch brush and 1 inch flat-tipped artist’s brush
1 inch painter’s tape or masking tape
Satin polyurethane
Tack cloth

1. Prep the surface of the stairs with a mild detergent. rinse when dry, sand all surface lightly and them town with a tack cloth.
2. Define area you are painting with painter’s tape.
3. Apply base coat. a quart of latex paint should be enough for a typical stairwell of 12 to 14 steps.
4. When base coat is completely dry, use inch wide tape to define the stripe widths, spacing strips of tape evenly from the top
of the stairs to the bottom. Using a flat-tipped artist’s brush, apply acrylic craft paint with a stippling (up and down pouncing) motion to simulate woven stripes.
5. When the stripes are dry, remove the tape. That’s the fun part!
6. Protect your entire surface with one or more coats of polyurethane.

I know this might be hard to do, if you have little ones running around and everyone wanting to use the stairs. If you have this problem, try doing one side and then the other. This way your family can still go up and down the stairs. Another idea would be, doing ever other step.
So that’s it. Easy.
Happy day!
Carole

Many of you have emailed me asking when I would have more pewter for my store. I went shopping the other day and bought some. My favorite piece was this early pewter sander.

Sanders were used in the 18th century to hasten the drying of ink. After writing, sick a sander was used to sprinkle sand onto the paper to absorb the ink. I remember seeing this done in a movie. It might have been a Jane Austin movie, but I am not sure. I also have a nice early pewter plate and a pitcher with initials on the front.

Pewter looks gorgeous with Christmas greens and red berries. Nothing looks more colonial around the holidays. If you have any interest in any of the pieces, please feel free to email me. They will be in the store as soon as my webmaster gets to it. I have a lot of new things coming, so be sure to take a look in the next few days. Love these old ice skates. They still have their original leather strap for carrying them. They will be in the store too. I have some photos I want to show you. Pictures I took while in Salem, N.J. and Mullica Hill, but I’ll save that for next time.

HAPPY DAY
Carole

I love this picture. It’s a reverse painting on glass. The weekend after Thanksgiving, tadalafil Bill and I went to stay in a lovely place called The Inn at Perry Cabin. It’s in St. Michaels, MD. The inn was so charming, and this was one of the pictures that hung in one of the sitting rooms. There were a lot of really wonderful antique paintings hanging in the inn. I’ll show you a couple more later. We were there to celebrate a special anniversary with old friends, and the setting couldn’t have been more beautiful. The inn sits along side of the Miles River.

I can’t imagine how beautiful it must be in the summer. There is a lot of history to this little town. Land grants in the early to mid 17th century established much of the outskirts of the town. The Miles River, and probably the town of St. Michaels, were known by those names before 1658. Later in 1813, during the revolutionary war, in the dark morning hours, the British planned an attack on the tiny town, but the residents being forwarned, hoisted lanterns on the tops masts of their ships and trees, causing the British to over shoot their cannons. The first “blackout” was effective and only one cannonball penetrated the roof of one home, and rolled down the staircase as Mrs. Merchant carried her infant daughter to safety downstairs. This house still exhists and is now a private residence. These are just a couple of things I learned about the town. There is lots more, but too much to write. If you would like to read a little more, here’s a link

The dining room was so pretty. I loved the way they decorated above the mantel. The flag on the right side is the Maryland flag. I took this before dinner, before anyone was around. I didn’t want to look like a tourist, and I wanted to hurry and get all my pictures taken. This photo shows the stairway to the second floor of the inn.

I love staying at an inn. They are so different then a hotel. It’s just a homier feeling. Doesn’t this look like a corner of someone’s living room? This was in the entryway as you came in the front door to the lobby.

After we checked, we went into town. The men stopped at the pub while the woman shopped.

Love the sign that says, jewelry takes people’s minds off your wrinkles.

Now I am going to bed! I went antiquing in New Jersey today. Lots of new shops, and I got some new things for Caroles Country Store. Wonderful shops, but that’s for another day.
Happy day
Carole

Fond memories of when my children were young, no rx was making them hot chocolate, viagra on cold wintery nights. We used Hershey cocoa, mixed it with sugar and milk, stirred over the hot stove. The preparation and the smell, added to the anticipation. Of course we topped it with whipped cream. Remembering, makes me smile. I had forgotten, until the other day when I was cleaning my corner cupboard in the dining room. It holds a collection of pewter, new and old. On the bottom shelf, sits a small pot, what I believe to be a 19th century chocolate pot. For years I thought it was a coffee pot. I bought it a long time ago, when I was in my twenties. It was an odd looking pot to me, and it is much smaller than a coffee or tea pot. It looked like pewter, so I bought it. I wanted to start a collection of pewter, and this was my first piece. It has no strainer inside near the spout, another characteristic of chocolate pots. A few years ago, I read an article about chocolate pots. I saw pictures of them. It was then that I realized, this must be one of those pots.

Chocolate pots have a long history. The first ones were used by the Mayans in Central America 500 B.C. Europeans started consuming hot chocolate in the 1600′s by boiling ground cocoa seeds with milk or water. By the early 1800′s, cocoa powder was used. At the end of the 19th century, these pots could be purchased to match with silver tea sets. I think this was made to do that. I am glad it’s not pewter, because I think I am going to use it to serve hot chocolate this winter in front of the fire. What fun.

HAPPY DAY
Carole