If you could only shop at one department store for the rest of your life…which one would you choose?

Zogby International, a marketing research and polling firm asked this question to 24,964 people, and this is the result:

Wal-Mart…..26%

Target……….22%

Macys……….9%

Costco………..8%

Sears,
JCPenney,
Kohl’s………..5% each

Neiman Marcus,
Bloomingdales…..2% each

Marshall’s…………1%
*******************************************************************
Interesting, isn’t it? I would have to ask one question before I could answer their question. I would need to know if that is ONLY STORE I could shop at or just the only DEPARTMENT STORE I could shop at.

If it was the ONLY STORE I could shop at, my answer would be Target. Because they have a pharmacy and food and garden center. And, I have been really impressed with the selection and quality of their merchandise since they opened here.

But, if it was the only DEPARTMENT STORE, I am not really sure. Our town doesn’t really have much to offer as far as major department stores in other cities. We have a Belk, Dillards, Kohls, Sears, and JCP. I really enjoy shopping at Macy’s when I shop out of town, but I also have been pretty impressed with Kohl’s since they opened here recently.

Interesting survey, and it was taken over a 2 year time period. But, it would make me very sad to have to limit myself to one store from now on. What about you? What would you choose? And I’ll make it easier for you…I’m speaking ONLY of department stores…you can still go to any drug store or grocery store you want to.
*****************************************************************************
(Information on poll from Wallet Pop)

A few weeks ago I got a lovely e-mail from a lady named Rachel. She was apologizing to me for using the name ‘Gatherings’ for her blog. Even though she didn’t intend to name it that…it’s just these darned computers that sometimes tend to go their own way instead of following our lead. She was baffled as to why she could not change the name to her intended name. And, I understand that so well. How many times have I asked this computer to please do the right thing…to please obey me…to just make sense of the craziness I typed in and read my mind and do what I want. I KNOW some of you have been down that same street.

Anyway, today, I went back to her blog and began reading her stories. Friends, you have to go there and read. BEWARE! You will stay a long time because her writing is so captivating. And, as I told her, when I asked her permission to send you there, I know these people she writes about…you probably know them too. If you have had any dealing with folk from the ‘country’… or if you grew up there or even visited there, you will relate to her well. This is a quote from one of her first posts:

“And that is where my voice is—the South, in the old days and old ways, with visits to older kinfolks, one with his own still, another who ran a gristmill and supplied several counties with meal and grits. Years of Church suppers and small town showers and gatherings and preacher poundings and weddings and funeral feasts and looking after the new mothers by supplying their families with three meals a day til they were “back on their feet” have sealed my voice into a time and place that is mostly memory, mostly centered around kitchen and table, and all about Family. I’m the Peas and Cornbread voice, mostly, upholding the plain and the simple, because that’s who I am and what I know.”

So, you will find Rachel’s blog here. The name of her blog is Lawn Tea. I will send you off with one piece of advice…start at the very beginning. I did yesterday, and I laughed, and remembered things so similar to her experiences. You will not want to miss any of her posts!

I got up this morning
And what did I see?
A fence with a gate
Waiting for me!

I jumped up with joy
I cavorted with glee
Cause when Scooter goes out
I know where he’ll be.
**********************************
Look! It is finished. There is a gate. And the fence completely encloses the back yard. The only problem is that on one side of the house, the gate is off the ground high enough for Scooter to go under it. So, we must do something about that. But, it is so much easier now to let him out. He was so excited to be off leash, he just ran all over the yard. He kept coming back and looking up at me like,”Are you sure this is OK?” He has much to explore.



That is my little potting shed in the middle picture.
**********************************************************
There is one more area to finish up with fencing. Only 1 buddy showed up this morning to finish…don’t know how that will work out.

Several years ago, Don, Alex, Ian, and I took a trip through California. We went to San Francisco, and Monterey, to Carmel and to Sonoma. We stayed in bed and breakfasts in each place. It was delightful! Every one of the places was owned by the same family, and each was unique in its own way. The one we stayed at in Monterey had a neat feature in the bedroom. You could walk out of French doors to a tiny secret garden. It was completely enclosed by brick walls about 12 feet high, and of course, no roof. It was only big enough for a small bistro table and chair, and a lounge chair. The ground was covered with a ground cover, and there was ivy climbing up all the walls. Several big pots sat in the corners, just brimming over with colorful blooms. It was such a peaceful place. There was no other door, so the only way to enter was through the bedroom.

Don and I remembered this and when we started building, one of the things we told our architect we wanted was a secret garden. And that is what we will have…when the fence is finished and some planting gets underway. You can enter it through our bathroom, and it is completely enclosed with cedar fencing. We even have a rainfall shower in it. Ours did have to have another door in it, but it can only be opened from the inside. Just a little peaceful retreat area. I will show you pics as it actually becomes a garden…right now, it is just dirt, and an almost finished fence!