Country Roads Big Ass Sale!

Okay, here's the deal! We've got a holiday week-end coming up! You know, we have the whole Valentine's thing going on, but hey, don't forget about George and Abe! It's their damn birthdays as well. So, here is what we do at Country Roads. Don't spend your week-end cleaning. Put DOWN the mop, it's time to shop till you drop!! Seriously! Come on down and join Country Roads & Old Towne Orange for our annual "Antique Affair" on February 14th, 15th, and the 16th too. When Country Roads has a sale, we go all out. I promise you, if you throw the mop down and come shop instead, you're going to find some awesome sales that you won't want to miss. I hope to see you all out shopping on this three day week-end. You can always clean, but you can't always find these great sales at Country Roads. You know, where we "mix the timely with the timeless".

Little Things

It was damn cold today! I speak in regards to the definition of SoCal cold. Let's put it this way. The inside of Country Roads today was 60 degrees! My lips and cheeks on my face are chapped. A week ago the temps were in the 80's, what the hell? I've been working with "my" public the past three days at Country Roads. So, when my oldest daughter, Brande, called earlier today offering to treat me to dinner after I got off work, I jumped at the opportunity. I love going down to Brande's apartment which is in Seal Beach, one of my most favorite places. You can walk every where, and the beach is right "there". The photo above is looking down the Seal Beach pier which actually has a Ruby's Diner at the end. From the pier we walked over to Walt's Wharf, an awesome little seafood restaurant. Their food is great and the Corona's are always cold. Brande had been to Mohab, Nevada over the week-end working on a documentary she is filming. So it was nice to hear about her week-end and spend time with her. I love how VERY different all three of my kids are. Very different,yet very much the same. I'm sure some of you understand what I mean. I'm not the best at photography, especially with the camera I have and especially at night. But if you look to the left in this picture, you can see Catalina that you can see a little bit of because of the full moon. It was really beautiful out tonight at the beach, even if it was pretty cold. You know, the older I get, the more I appreciate the little things in life. It's not about fancy vacations and all that kind of stuff. It's more about stuff like the pier and beach on a cold winter's night. Or getting to see Catalina in the distance in the dark because of the beauty of a full moon! But most of all, seriously, I'm so grateful to be spending time with my kids. They are all grown up, yet I'm still lucky enough to talk to them each day and be a part of their lives! Don't ever take those "little things" in life for granite, ever!

Work, Love, and Dance!

  There is a quote I heard the other day that pretty much relates to how I feel about life. It goes like this:
Work like you don't need the money, love like you've never been hurt, and dance like nobody is watching"
I love to dance, especially with my favorite dancing partner, Riley! After some quiet time in my office working (did you notice she's a lefty like her Gramma), I give her a loving hug, and then we go out into the family room and DANCE! I've danced with her since she was a newborn. And now that she is getting older, 2-1/2 years to be exact, she really has her dancing moves down! The other day when the song was over, she learned to "bow", one hand on her tummy, one and her back, and a gracious little bow! The best moments of my daily life!!

Another Craaazzzzy Saturday!

  We had another great Saturday at Country Roads today, but wow, it kicks your ass in the process. I'm so very grateful to be busy and I had some really great customers today sharing such kind words with me about the store. I thank all of you for that. And now for the "other side" of the day. First, it's been a full moon, have you noticed? And when it's a full moon "they" all come out. Then you throw in this crazy rain that would come down in buckets and then stop. It makes for a craaazzzzy Saturday! People are a trip, and there are times it is almost like watching a car crash on the freeway. You don't want to look, but you can't help yourself because some are just such freaks. Oh God, and then the bathroom issues again. I won't go into it but let's just say at least there were no "smashed peanut butter cups". Country Roads is housed in old, historic buildings. The floors are uneven, and the buildings are made of brick and block, not insulated, etc. I've noticed the past week or two, when it's rained, a little water has been coming in the back corner of the last building. So, I thought I would just check on it this afternoon right before we closed. When I went back there I found small pond in the back! I thought about decorating it with some vintage fishing poles, buckets, and maybe some park benches. You know, make it all about the "decorating". We rolled our jeans up, moved some furniture around and maybe I'll figure something out before I go back tomorrow morning. Of course, I have NO idea where our shop vac is, do you Bryce???? (my son who borrows my stuff). Anyway, as the last of the customers were leaving and I saw our awesome numbers for the day, I looked out the front door. And across the street in the sky, there it was. The most beautiful rainbow I've seen in a long time. It jumped out of the sky with such brillant colors. I just stared at it as I let the last of the customers out. Then I would point out the rainbow to some, "look, there is a rainbow". I probably sounded as goofy as Forest Gump, kind of like a simpleton. But you know, I didn't care. Some of the customers were just like me in awe of the rainbow, while others couldn't give a crap. I guess that's what life is about. I saw the rainbow as I saw my day of business. . .a sign that the world is really going to be a better place to live, we are all going to be okay. Especially if we pay attention to the moon, and stars, and especially rainbows!

Mean Old Men Rock!

So, I had to go to the bank today, and for some reason it was pretty quiet inside. At the head of the line was this old guy. He was dressed pretty cool: shorts, a Hawaiian shirt, tennis shoes and two canes. Yep, two canes, one in each hand. I noticed one of the younger bank women going his way to ask him a question. Immediately, the old guy started swinging both canes in the air at her yelling, "go away, go away", to which the younger bank woman immediately did just that. Before she did though, she said "something" to the old guy which really pissed him off. We all heard him yell again, "get away from me". The older woman that must have been the "boss lady" at the bank walked up to the younger bank girl and said, "you just have to be positive with him, upbeat". At this point, I just think the younger bank girl just wanted to get the hell out of the bank all together. The older bank lady walked up to the old guy and started a conversation like, "how are you today, Mr. Old Guy". I don't remember his name but he seemed to calm down and must have been a regular there. As he walked up to the teller (and you know all the tellers are praying, "please don't let him come to me") he was demanding to know his bank balance. The poor young bank guy said he needed the old guy's "pin number", and then it started ALL over again. "I don't know what the hell a pin number is, I just want to know my damn bank balance" as the old guy yelled at the top of his lungs again. At that point, the whole bank heard the old guy's balance and his demand for $1500 of it. Then, the old guy just calmly took his money and left with his two canes! At least waiting in line wasn't boring. My dad use to get pretty nasty before he died. I guess when you get really old you can be an a ass because people just don't want to mess with you. One time Katie and I had to take my dad to the bank. He had screwed up his account. For some reason he had to have his window down in my car. As we pulled up to the bank and parked, at the top of his lungs, my dad YELLED, "hey Katie, look at that black lady, her ass is HUGE"! You gotta give 'em credit, mean old men just rock, don't they?

The Most Asked Question at Country Roads

Without a doubt, the most asked question asked at Country Roads is, "do you have a bathroom"! The sign above is right across from the counter which explains "yes we have a bathroom, with directions how to get to it" and the key is on the red stick below the fire extinguisher. People are desperate at times to find a bathroom, they interrupt customers, they do a pee-pee dance, they have to tell you what they just drank, all in just wanting to know if we have a bathroom. Then starts the directions, "the key is right behind you, under the fire extinguisher, and the bathroom is at the end of the last aisle (as we point) at the base of the stairs on your right". Then we start again, "no, it's on your other left, no it's not physically "under" the fire extinguisher, yes the red stick,with the key hanging on it" and then some wander off never to be seen again, while others run like hell fearing anal leakage as they've just told us, "I've been squeezing my butt cheeks together, I really gotta go". Thanks for sharing! This is the "warning sign" that is posted on the outside of the bathroom door, and two more copies of this sign are inside. The reason for "bathroom rules" is that several years ago there was a disgusting incident. A person, with amazing balance, managed to spray their stinky bodily function ALL over the walls, the back of the toilet, and on the sink. Outside of being disgusting, it was amazing the flexibility they must have had to do this. I cleaned it up, since I don't pay anyone nearly enough to be asked to do a job like that, and closed the bathroom for several years. I rented a portable outhouse and stuck it in the garden. When customers would ask, "do you have a restroom" I would smile and say, "yes, it's in the garden to your right". And they would wander off with visions of a lovely sweet smelling restroom in the garden. Of course no one expected a portable toilet that sometimes wasn't the most pleasant of bathroom experiences! So after the City got mad at me a couple of years ago and made me get rid of the portable (let's remember this is the City that has NO public restrooms) we got a brand new super flushing toilet, fresh paint, and stuck up warning signs all over. In other words, if we had another episode of "poop on the wall", we would close the bathroom forever!! You would think because of the popularity of our bathroom, we had this beautifully furnished restroom like Macy's or Nordstroms. Nope, ours is the size of a closet with a "fart fan". Nothing fancy at Country Roads. We always seem to have to make new signs or rules when something happens more than just a few times. This sign is for all the customers that go to the bathroom and then decide to shop while carrying the nasty bathroom key with them. In other words, they "tour" Country Roads with the bathroom key preventing all the others that are squeezing their butt cheeks together from using our lovely restroom facility! The other day we "almost" had to close the bathroom for good again. We had an incident. A customer came to the counter, sort of holding the back of her pants, reporting that she had sat on a, what word shall I use, let's say she had sat on a turd on the toilet seat! Doesn't it makes you wonder, wouldn't you sort of glance at a public bathroom toilet seat before you place your butt on it? The woman insisted that Katie and Pam go see what she was talking about. Of course NO one wants to go see THAT. I was thankfully off that day and Katie had called me to "report" the incident. I asked her how big the turd was, to which she asked Pam who reported "it was about the size of a smashed Reece's Peanut Butter Cup", to which I started laughing hysterically! I could laugh because I wasn't there and didn't have to clean it up. And again, how can you not see a smashed peanut butter cup sized turd on a white toilet seat???? And I'm sure you figured out it was "smashed" because the lady sat on it! So, Katie and Pam were both gagging and refusing to remove the said "smashed peanut butter sized turd". Someone had to do the deed. Good ole Darcy, took on the role of the adult and removed the said turd from the toilet seat! Thanks Darc, you're a real trooper! Now when when customers ask us, "do you have a bathroom" we glance over the counter to see just how "tight" they are holding those butt cheeks of theirs together before we answer them! People share far tooooo much information. You know, Country Roads isn't just a job, it's a non-stop adventure daily!!

Happy Birthday Mom

  Today would have been my Mom's 82nd birthday. I wish the quality of the photo above was better. this was one of my mom's favorite photos. Her dad use to drive an oil truck in Temple,Texas. That's my mom, Johnnye Merle Durham, on top of the truck and her dad is the guy leaning on the truck up by the cab. She loved Temple and growing up there. As kids she would tell my sister and I all kinds of stories about growing up in Texas, and then she would tell the same stories to my kids. Days like today are kind of bittersweet,you know. I wish she would have lived long enough to hold Riley. But she did get to see a photo of her, and then five days after Riley was born, she asked for chapstick (she was obsessed with chapstick),smiled and died. That was my mom, not much for the big dramas in life, always preferred simple. I have to say I was kind of pissed off over that one, but of course I knew she fought the pain she was in until after Riley's birth but it seemed so unfair at the time. So this afternoon, Riley and I started dancing with the Backyardians. Kind of in Gramma Johnnye's memory! Riley is becoming quite the dancer these days. She makes me smile, she makes me laugh. As my dad always said, "your mom would have loved this baby". I DO love this baby, more than words can say. So, "Happy Birthday" mom and I'm still not going to creepy Forest Lawn. Riley and I are dancing instead!!

Our Baby is Growing!

  Modern technology never ceases to amaze me. This is the latest picture of my new little granddaughter, Morgan, that is due in June. It is amazing to me to see her little face, her little nose, eyes, and mouth! And it sort of looks like she already has hair on her tiny head. Although we all know that I don't really have a clue. I have to say, one of my best roles in life is being Riley's gramma! I can't wait to expand that role to include little Morgan as well.

Someone Stop Me, Please!

  These really cool, metal baskets/lockers arrived at Country Roads this morning. The picture doesn't do them justice! They were also priced really good! Lately, I've been doing my home office more in kind of an "industrial" office kind of look. I like the old metals, rusty stuff. I couldn't stop myself, these baskets will be coming home with me. That is probably the worse thing about working at a store you own. It is like you have the opportunity to shop everyday you work! And if one of us, meaning our staff or me, is not there, and we see something we know one of us collectos or will like, we put a "hold" on the item. The good part about this though, at least for me, is when something comes home, it means something at my house has to go back to the store to sell. So that sort of justifies this crazy shopping addiction. But I still think, someone needs to stop me, please!

The Mercantile Move, Almost Complete!

A few days ago, I posted some photos of our third building at Country Roads, known as the Mercantile. We decided to do some major moving around that involved Ginny DeRosa, Christina Nicol-Biggerstaff, Gay Anderson, Pam Richardson, and are brand new Country Roads family member, Cheryl Smith. Above is the porch that Christina has almost finished decorating! As you can see, Christina has finished this Easter display. We are always ready for all our holidays at Country Roads! This romantic Valentine display belongs to Gay who is known for awesome display abilities! Another one of Gay's great displays. This is only a small portion of Cheryl's beautiful new space. She's only just begun! Here's another small peek at more of Cheryl's work. In the background you can barely see Pam's display, and the signs above belong to Ginny. I love Ginny's new displays as much as I love her country, primitive antiques! More of Ginny's great country displays. I have to say, if you love the really "good" orginal stuff, Ginny has it! And this, well it's the kind of artsy, metal flying pig I bought at the store today. Not sure why and you should have seen the big ass artsy, metal rooster a customer bought, it was really cool. Just goes to show you, Country Roads has a little bit of everything for everyone!