The Stillroom

I can’t believe how fast the days fly past and how quickly items disappeared from the shelves at Lowe’s by December 9th.  I took my dear mother to buy a  wreath and they were solid gone.  The shelves were packed last week with all of those obnoxious blow up yard decorations along with shelf after shelf of miniature houses, lights, tinsel, stockings, greenery and animated creatures.  (When my mom feels well enough to shop, we roll).  This is where ma wanted to go so go we did only to find every shelf pretty much empty.  I was stunned.  It was only December 9th! I was there just a few days before and it looked like a big box store full of sparkle.   We had time and ma had the energy so we ventured over to Michael’s where they had a well stocked store full of greenery to choose from.  I don’t know if we just got lucky or what but everything was a super sale.  My mom is in her late 80’s and is very particular and it sometimes takes her a while to make decisions.  This wreath that she wanted was to hang outside of the second floor of her house so it had to be a certain size.  We roamed the isles and found the perfect basic plain wreath.  We decided it shouldn’t be too hard to decorate it with some ribbons and bows.  The woman at the floral counter heard us talking about how we have never decorated a wreath before and weren’t sure what to put on it.  She stepped right in and basically gave us a quick lesson in wreath decorating that was so simple we were like, duhhh.

This was a successful shopping trip.  On the way home ma asked if she could see the inside of Diamond Antiques where I have my space full of tea and gifts.  Mom had not been inside of that building in many years and when she walked through the doors, she could not get over how much it had changed since it was a wall paper store.  It is truly a wonderful space and it has so much to see. Mom talked about memories of her youth as she looked and touched odds and ends of knick knacks, antiques and jewelry.  She walks slow and with a cane but we covered every inch of that place including the steps to the loft.  She always says, “Vicki, walk behind me in case I lose my balance”.  (I do as I’m told, even at my age)  I always have a vision of us both going down like a couple of bowling pins should the unthinkable happen.

I have to say, that afternoon of holiday shopping with my mom while she was feeling really good was one of the best Christmas gifts I could hope for.  The second best gift will be if I don’t have to return all of her purchases;-)

Diamond Antiques is open Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 10-5.  Sunday’s from 12-5.  Extended holiday shopping hours are on Thursday when the hours are 10-7.

The Stillroom in Saxonburg is ready to go, I have not been able to get out there yet.  I’m working on it.