I spent this past weekend in the yard getting things ready for the winter. The garden was still full of Summer plants, but the last week of cooler weather had pretty much shut production down. Pulling up the tomatoes, beans, peppers and the last of the squash is always a melancholy task as you know that Winter is getting closer every passing day. All in all it was a pretty good year for gardening. I put in lettuce, peas and spinach in early April and planted some more in mid September for a Fall crop. As long as we don’t get a really hard freeze, I am hopeful that the lettuce and spinach might make it to Thanksgiving! Every gardening year is different, and each crop performs accordingly. My favorite thing to plant and watch it as it progresses through the season are the pumpkins. Years ago, when I was using my Mom’s garden I planted some of those Atlantic Giant pumpkin seeds and one pumpkin weighed in at 98 pounds! This year was not a good pumpkin year at Bill’s Punkin’ Patch though. The biggest was a little larger than a volley ball, just big enough to carve a jack-o lantern.

Closing down the garden and having Halloween come and go always signals the “official” start of the Holiday season to me. While we started receiving Fall and Christmas merchandise in June, it is now fully displayed all over the store. Our gift buyer Alecia has done another phenomenal job selecting some truly beautiful items to help you decorate and celebrate the holidays. We have the old standbys such as Old World Christmas glass ornaments, Willow Tree and Wood Wick Candles. New this year we have Stoney Creek, a line of crackle glaze light up glass décor in Fall and Christmas designs. The Robin Reed Christmas cracker line has also expanded to include a Thanksgiving design. No, it’s not a cracker you eat, but a traditional English party favor that pops or “cracks” when it is pulled open. Inside are prizes, trinkets, games and a tissue party hat. On the game side of the store we have Who’s the Dude. It’s a fun new spin on charades that includes a five-foot inflatable “Dude” that you use in your effort to get your team to guess your charade. In toys we have new Lego and Playmobil sets and a really fun new line of plush called Squishables. They are super soft stuffed characters that are shaped like food and desserts. Everything from a peanut butter and jelly sandwich to an avocado! Stop in soon and take a look.

Lastly, and most importantly with Thanksgiving coming up in four short weeks, I would like to thank all of you – our wonderful customers for your loyalty and support throughout the years! Happy Thanksgiving everybody!