Category Archives: classic movies

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The Grinch That Didn’t Steal My Christmas

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Often the Christmas Classics have an unscrupulous or “misfit”character that is central in the story. As the Christmas story unfolds, that unruly character evolves and begins to change over time, reaching a new level of understanding and empathy. The Grinch is no stranger to this scenario. The Grinch has a unique meaning for me this 2025 holiday season.

The Grinch… the neighbor North of Whoville who hated the entire Christmas season.

The Grinch…hated the thought of the people of Whoville experiencing joy on Christmas Day. He stole all of the Christmas presents, stockings, Christmas trees, feasting food and even the firewood logs!!!

The Grinch…hoped the joy of Christmas would be spoiled, every home had been emptied by him as he taken all of their possessions. But, it didn’t happen. The people of Whoville celebrated Christmas anyway.

The Grinch… eventually realized that Christmas had come without all the excitement of Christmas presents, toys, wrapping paper, and all the other components of how we often celebrate Christmas Day. Christmas was about something so much more.

The Grinch… Experiencing Cancer, sickness OR even the loss of a loved one during the holiday season. These life altering events can definitely steal the Joy of the Holiday Season and leave you feeling sad, stressed or “Grinchy”.

The Grinch…personally present for me this holiday season, but NOT stealing the hope for healing, or the joy of celebrating the holiday season with family and friends. Will the holiday look potentially different? Yes. But, so will the next few months. Meeting my care team, Surgery, radiation, and ❤️‍🩹 begin the process of healing and recovery.

The Grinch… learned that the Whoville community gathered together to celebrate what was wonderfully good about Christmas, ultimately making his heart grow bigger.

The Grinch… has nothing our own hardware community….We are blessed. I always look forward to your smiles, laughter, and conversations as you have continued to shop with us for the last 10 years. You have become a part of our family.

The Grinch… The arrival of Cancer within my own life has made me very thankful and grateful for my community of family and friends who are supporting me daily as I embark upon a journey to find wellness once again. My heart is full of strength, hope, and courage as I continue to live ONE day at a time.

The Grinch… Unable to steal Christmas away, because Christmas is so much more than the day itself. Christmas is more about tiny acts of kindness, compassion, community spirit, and finding Grace in second chance opportunities.

The Grinch… Often when sickness or grief comes, we don’t allow ourselves the opportunity to live in full grace. The daily mantra should be for us all, not just cancer patients to live ONE DAY AT A TIME. When experiencing grief, anxiety, sickness, or cancer, every single day can be challenge with ever changing health conditions, or emotions. Through God’s grace, tomorrow is a uniquely different day. Celebrate the positive days and allow ourselves to rest when we need to.

Foot Note: Earlier this month, I was officially diagnosed with Invasive Ductal Breast Cancer, my Grinch. This cancer was found after my regularly scheduled mammogram. I strongly encourage everyone to keep all medical screening appointments. It’s so easy to get “busy” in the moment and forget about or delay them months down the line.

My initial prognosis is good and surgery will be scheduled soon. I have two appointments this week in Winston Salem. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers over the next few months. I covet your prayers.

I know many of you that might be reading this today, have faced similar health challenges whether it was long term sickness, loss of a dear loved one, or a personal battle with cancer and can empathize with my personal situation.

Moving forward, we may find it necessary to alter our store hours to accommodate my appointments. Please be patient with us as we try to navigate this new “un-normal” phase of life for us.

Please also consider that if you reach out to our social media pages that a response might be delayed due to this new phase “unwellness” I am experiencing. That being said, If you need an immediate response to a specific product question, please call the hardware store for further assistance. We thank you for your support and understanding.

Wishing y’all a very Merry Christmas season! 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄

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Hometown Holidays, The “Old School Tradition” of Homemade Holidays-Blog Post 4

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Statistics show that a resurgence of baking takes place between Thanksgiving and New Year’s holidays. Over 73% of folks get excited about getting into the kitchen to either prepare meals for their family holiday meals or BAKE the holidays away. Speaking from personal experience, I do have a relative who begins baking cookies right after the Thanksgiving holiday concludes and he bakes cookies the entire month of December! He generously shares with his mailman, delivery drivers, friends, family, etc.

An “old school tradition”, homemade holidays.. sharing with neighbors and even the postal carrier

A trip into the grocery store will confirm these earlier facts… finding stacks of baking supplies which are definitely impulse purchases waiting for those who experience the urge for a making a sweet treat during Christmas.

Yes, there are a few holiday traditional foods that I always enjoy making each year. As you read this you are probably making a mental checklist as well, maybe even your finalizing the grocery shopping list to get started with your homemade holiday. I hope you enjoy this glimpse into a homemade holiday season. Happy Homemade Holidays!!!

Baking for the holidays for gift giving purposes is an “old school” tradition of Christmas. In our Agricultural rooted traditions, folks harvested their abundance, and at Christmas offering a time to share in holiday joy by sharing a homemade treats with friends and neighbors.

Cakes are often shared around the table over Christmas, if you haven’t read this previous blog: Pound Cake, A Southern Staple

Even in 2024, I must admit, nothing is better than homemade for the holidays. I feel very honored to receive the homemade gifts that we have been given. These are homemade gifts took a considerable amount of time and effort for the gift to be completed prior to giving. That can’t be purchased online either!

The gift of homemade can be found inside Wilkes County Hardware!

I know that I don’t necessarily fit neatly into that category of homemade gift giving, but there are other ways we can observe the “old school” tradition of homemade holidays.

Gathering together around the table to “break bread” and celebrate the season with those traditional homemade holiday foods that we all know and love can make our time together memorable. All pitching in…sharing the load of preparing the family favorite foods, what could be better!!!

And yes, I’ll say we had the best biscuits on the holiday table when we gathered at Granny’s house on Christmas Eve. Those little buttery, golden treats, literally melting in my mouth and warming my full stomach into a blissful holiday slumber as we awaited Santa’s arrival made for some delicious homemade memories of Christmas that I still recall fondly.

Granny used an old, vintage metal dishpan smaller than this one to make her homemade biscuits. I used to sit and watch her make them. She would create a “well” in the middle for the milk after she worked the shortening into the flour. Granny did this effortlessly every single time. I’m thankful that she taught me how to recreate them. I don’t think mine are quite as tasty as Granny’s were. Wilkes County Hardware offers these dishpans for sale year round.
Apple Butter and a biscuit… homemade goodness!
Or honey and a pat of butter???

The homemade holiday… Offering all, a time to reconnect, laugh, share the joy of the holiday. Traditional homemade holiday meals AND desserts bring a sense of nostalgia, comfort and belonging to those gathered together, a sense of HOME.

Gingerbread buttercream! Oh my!!! (See recipe below)

Looking back, the first time I ever gathered with Richard’s family at Christmas, their homemade holiday looked slightly different from what I experienced growing up. His grandmother made fresh coconut cake every single year as well as Ambrosia. Let’s just say, she loved coconut and fresh oranges for the homemade holidays.

Fresh oranges 🍊 an “old school” homemade holiday tradition. Oranges were a staple treat found inside Christmas stockings for many years. Fresh orange slices were always on the Christmas breakfast table at home. I always looked forward to Christmas breakfast with my family, featuring…fresh biscuits, country ham, and fresh orange slices

Besides the love of oranges, one other shared homemade food that Richard and I both enjoyed each Christmas, Sausage Balls. I still make them every year around the holidays to honor our combined family homemade holiday traditions.

Christmas mornings are made for these yummy treats! Benjamin now helps me make these each time as a tradition that we started many years ago when he was younger.

And let’s not forget about those great snacking foods and warm cozy drinks! Chex Party Mix takes me back to the Christmas memories of my parents making the mix in the kitchen, while my sister and I were busy eating the Chex Mix at the table as they finished it up. I also love the white chocolate version with M&M’s.

Whatever you may call this version of heavenly Chex Mix… Reindeer Food, Christmas Chex… it’s a definite keeper for Christmas (recipe below)
Sipping on a hot mug of mulling spices, Russian Tea, or a cup of hot cocoa overflowing with melting marshmallows, all the while munching on a homemade holiday cookie, Christmas homemade holidays are definitely underway.

New memories can made each year around all these shared homemade meals or treats. Homemade holidays, such as Thanksgiving and Christmas are the perfect opportunity to get back into the kitchen and celebrate the holiday with a bit of homemade goodness. And the opportunity for Christmas nostalgia reigns supreme as we reconnect with these special homemade holidays memories. Happy Homemade Holidays!

Essential ingredient for Gingerbread Buttercream (see below)

Gingerbread Buttercream

Recipe Ingredients (perfect for 13×9 cake pan) Please double recipe for a layer cake.

1/2 unsalted butter (softened)

2 1/2 c confectioners sugar

1/4 t ground ginger

1/8 t ground cinnamon

1/8 t ground cloves

1 t vanilla

1 T molasses

3 T maple syrup

2 T Heavy cream

Step by Step Process for success:

  1. Place softened butter and sugar into mixer and beat until blended.
  2. Add all other ingredients and beat on high for 3 minutes, stopping to scrape sides, blend until smooth, light, fluffy buttercream texture forms.
  3. Icing cake after cooling down completely and enjoy!

Reindeer Food

Key ingredients: (add what you love, this what I put into my Reindeer Food)

Rice or corn Chex (one box)

Cheerios (half box)

Pretzels (half bag)

M&M’s (one bag or more of Christmas colors)

Confectioners Sugar

White Chocolate Chips (2 bags- melted)

Mix all ingredients together (excluding M&M’s) in a very large bowl while white chocolate chips are melting. Pour the mixture onto sheet pans covered with parchment paper (prevent sticking) and adding M&M’s into mixture. Pour melted white chocolate evenly over the cereal mixture, allow to cool. I melted my white chocolate chips in microwave in glass bowl and added a small amount of vegetable oil and stir well until melted. Sprinkle confectioners sugar over top of Reindeer Food.

Christmas is a fantastic time to watch an old movie…. Start a new homemade tradition with this recipe: Hearty Slumgullion Stew: From a recipe adapted from the Classic Christmas movie, It Happened on 5th Avenue (1947)

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year
Christmas, classic movies, Hardware Store Life, Home, recipe, winter

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

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December 21st, Winter Solstice… no snow today but the cold temperatures are coming by the end of this week! Brrr 🥶

Today marks the first day of the winter season. Soup and stew season has already begun at our house and is a regular feature in our weekly menu.

There is simply nothing better than a hot bowl of soup and a melted, gooey grilled cheese to take the winter chill off after a long day at the hardware store.

Christmas is almost here… a wonderful time of the year!

During the Christmas season, I love to curl up on the couch and enjoy my favorite Christmas classic movies. This past weekend I stumbled upon a recipe from one of my favorite vintage movies, It Happened on 5th Avenue(1947).

Thankful for TCM and my small collection of Christmas classics that I have on DVD

Richard & I have watched this movie countless number of times, but as our conversation took a turn about the stew featured in the movie, I decided to do a quick internet search to find out more about the intriguing dish. Slumgullion Stew, an Irish stew, mentioned in the 5th Avenue movie, was easy enough to find a few different variations of the recipe. I settled on my favorite and then decided to give it a try and see if it will make the cut on our menu board for our family favorites.

It looks like I’ll be adding Slumgullion Stew to our menu board favorites soon!

One of the central characters in the movie, Mike, enters the room and instantly smells the fragrance of Slumgullion Stew cooking in the kitchen, which transports him to a memory of a better time in his life. This stew scene will ultimately mark the beginning of change for him.

Upon further reflection, many of those old, classic black and white movies have the theme of transformation for the main character in the movie. An iconic example is, It’s a Wonderful Life(1946). The central actor, George Bailey is transformed into a more appreciative person by the end of the movie.

Many of our Christmas favorites we have on DVD

Regardless if you love those old movies or not, I’ve decided to share my version of Slumgullion Stew with y’all today. I believe the original intention with the recipe/movie version is to use what you have. I did conclude that one unique feature of the stew is black eyed peas and pasta from my research.

A full crockpot of Slumgullion

There are different versions of Slumgullion are out there when you check the internet, but I’m sharing my take on the original movie stew pictured on the big screen.

Recipe for Slumgullion Stew

⁃ 1 to 2 lbs. of stew beef (cooked)

I used my leftovers from earlier in week

⁃ 2 cans of black eyed peas

⁃ Cubed carrots (add as many as you like)

⁃ Potato chunks (I added approximately 3-4 red potatoes)

⁃ 1 15 oz. can tomato sauce

⁃ 1 32 oz. Beef broth

⁃ 1 beef bullion cube with 1 cup water

⁃ Salt and pepper to taste

⁃ 1 tsp. Italian seasoning

⁃ 1 bay leaf

⁃ Pasta (macaroni noodles would be the traditional favorite)

⁃ Add all ingredients into a large crock pot for simmer on low for 8 hours or until vegetables are tender. Add pasta hour before serving.

Slumgullion, holds an earthy flavor profile

Special note: The recipe I found online added cabbage, and chopped red peppers. I opted to leave them out. The consistency of my final stew was soup like, which is what I intended since I added the pasta into the recipe. For a thicker stew like consistency add a flour roux.

Lastly, sharing my Classic Christmas Movies Favorites… in no particular order

1. White Christmas (1954)

2. It Happened on 5th Avenue (1947)

3. Going My Way (1944)

4. Shop Around the Corner (1940)

5. Bishop’s Wife (1948)

6. Holiday Inn (1942)

7. Christmas in Connecticut (1945)

8. Remember the Night (1940)

9. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)

10. Holiday Affair (1949)

11. The Thin Man (1934)

Wishing everyone a fantastic holiday season and hoping that you will enjoy the most wonderful time of the year whether it is spent trying new recipes, establishing new Christmas traditions, gathering with friends and family, or even watching a few new classic Christmas movies .