Category Archives: Life In Wilkes

blogging, Christmas, Christmas Memories, community, December, family, Hardware Store Life, Hometown Holidays, Life experiences, Life In Wilkes, memories, southern living

Hometown Holidays: Blog Post 2

December 6, 2024 hardwarelifewife Leave a comment

November 1st hit me hard this year. October is a very, very busy month in our world… two festivals occur each year in Downtown North Wilkesboro. Apple Festival begins the month of October and Spooktacular concludes the month.

As I began to put the Halloween decorations away, it occurred to me that Light Up Downtown was 21 days away. Literally, as a downtown merchant we are moving from Halloween into Christmas season as quickly as possible 😬.

Always a fun time when Santa drops in for a visit!

Wow! So much prep work gets underway between each holiday season and festival… BUT that would require a different day and blog post!

If you missed the first blog post in this series, use the link here to read the full story Home for the Holidays… Gathering Around the Table: Hometown Holidays Series #1

My mind wandering, task in hand, Halloween decorations being packed away and beginning to think about the upcoming Christmas season ahead… Light Up Downtown North Wilkesboro marks the official beginning of our “Hometown Holidays” here in Wilkes. I began to reminisce about my personal experiences of Christmases past in our hometown.

Time flooded my memories… the ultimate focus, making memories with our son by recalling upon the Christmas experiences that we shared together here in our hometown.

All of these Christmas memories were a core holiday remembrance that I have coined as a “Hometown Holiday” Memory.

I can vividly recall taking “B” to Light Up Downtown to view all the lights in the Downtown corridor, seeing Santa at Talia, or even snacking on a homemade cookie as we wandered through the Christmas Open House at the old Wilkes Courthouse.

And it simply wasn’t a Hometown Holiday without heading down to Memorial Park to select a Christmas tree.

Our Hometown holiday experiences continued with The Annual Christmas parade sponsored by the Wilkes County Chamber of Commerce. The ultimate celebration of the parade each year, was the final view of Santa as he waved to all, boasting a joyful Merry Christmas !!!!

We always enjoyed the togetherness and loyally participated every year. We gathered with friends to enjoy the moments of Hometown Holidays that seemed to happened seamlessly every year. To those who put these events together, I say Thank You! The Christmas memories are precious and very special to not only my family, but to many families who participate in these local holiday celebrations and events every year!

Another part of Hometown Holidays: Christmas plays, and church on Christmas Eve

My personal reflections went even deeper. The Gifts we give at Christmas will often be forgotten years down the road, but these “Hometown Holidays” memories will stay with us and will be remembered always.

That thought put a bit a perspective into Hometown Holidays Season that is now upcoming for 2024. So my personal goal for this Christmas is to explore and experience new Christmas hometown holiday events.

All the Christmas lights are on! Light Up Downtown 2024

Will you also accept this opportunity??? What new memories will we all make this Christmas 2024 by experiencing something new in our hometown??? After all, Christmas is a special time with family and what could be better than by establishing new traditions and memories.

Looking at the list below, our hometown is full of opportunities for families to gather and create hometown Christmas traditions and memories. Christmas Memories are simply timeless treasures of the heart. Go make some new Hometown memories this holiday season!

I’m looking forward to new Hometown Holiday Memories, and a return trip to the Gingerbread Festival this year! Last year was our first time seeing the talent of all of our local gingerbread makers, and can’t wait to see what’s in store for this year!

***Coming Soon: Look for the next edition on the blog, Handmade for the Holidays.***

What special hometown holidays events do you always look forward to each year???

Hometown Holiday Events in Wilkes at a Glance! (Definitely not a complete list but gets you started)

Light Up Downtown North Wilkesboro- November 22, 2024
Reindeer Games- Wilkes Playmakers December 5-8
Wilkes Literacy Gingerbread Festival- December 6-7, 2024 at The 1915 Event Venue
Christmas in the Commons- in Downtown Wilkesboro December 7, 2024 3:30-8pm
Holly Jolly Christmas Party- Wilkes Art Gallery- December 6th
Wilkes Chamber Singers- Performance of The 12 Days of Christmas – December 8th St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 3pm, Tuesday December 10th North Wilkesboro Presbyterian 7:30pm.
Community Lovefeast- Candlelight Service in the Moravian Tradition, North Wilkesboro Baptist Church Sunday December 8, 2024 7pm.
Sip and Shop Holiday Market- Wilkes Art Gallery December 9, 2024 5pm-6:30pm
Annual Holiday Market- Wilkes Art Gallery December 10-21
A Storybook Christmas Parade- Saturday December 7th 3pm
Wilkes Heritage Museum Christmas Open House- December 7th 10am-4pm
Christmas Carriage Rides-in Downtown North Wilkesboro December 5, 7, 19, 20,21
Santa And Mrs. Claus visits Tripp Mercantile- December 7, 20,21 (4-7pm) during carriage rides
Christmas at the Cross- Candlelight service at Faithfest Thursday December 12th 6pm.
Friends of the Library Holiday Book Sale- December 12 5-7pm, December 13-14 9am-5pm. 611 Cherry Street North Wilkesboro (buy one get one holiday books on Friday and Saturday!)
Santa at Liberty Theater and FREE movie-Polar Express Friday December 13 6pm. FREE movie runs from December 13-19, 2024.
Breakfast with Santa- Wilkes Playmakers Saturday December 14 9am-12pm
Santa at Dom’s Bakery- Saturday December 14th 2-4pm
Grand Ole Christmas Show- JAWC- December 19th 7:30 pm
Festival of Tables- Benton Hall Thursday December 19th, 2024 6pm.
Santa at Cook’s Sporting Goods-Saturday December 21, 2024 1-4pm
AND Don’t forget your memory making Annual shopping trips to Wilkes County Hardware for handmade Christmas gifts, stocking stuffers, picking up a Santa key for the kids, and warming by the stove.

blogging, Fall, Fall photography, finding inspiration, Hardware Store Life, Home, Life In Wilkes, Natural World, NC Mountains, November, photography favorites, seaonal change, southern living, sunrise photography, Time change, Western North Carolina

November

December 3, 2024 hardwarelifewife Leave a comment

This November has been a month of contrasts. Warm weather marked the beginning of the month and ended the month with colder than normal temperatures.

I think you will see some definite contrast in some of the photos captured this month. The leaves are beginning to fade away as compared to the glorious autumn colors of last month’s photo gallery. November brings us a time to reflect on our blessings.

My joy this year has been found in finding Blessings in the simple things we have in our lives, like capturing a sunrise moment. Each day brings unique moments and experiences.

May you be blessed this holiday season with Thanksgiving in your heart each & every day. Happy Holidays!

First Fire of the season! About month later than usual.

**Glorious Beauty**: this old, majestic and mature tree is one of the last ones to lose leaves in our neighborhood.

**Golden Hour:** I must admit I’m not a fan of the time change but the Sunsets have been glorious at Wilkes County Hardware this month.

**Blooming Beauties** Hard to believe that flowers were still blooming in early November

**Jack Frost:** Heavy frosts set in finally in later November, the sun quickly melts it away

**Sunshine Seeker:** Joy enjoys a nap in the morning sun

**Hometown Holidays:** November kicks off the holiday season with Light Up Downtown.

Autumn, blogging, Blue Ridge Mountains, Fall, Fall photography, finding inspiration, Life In Wilkes, memories, Natural World, NC Mountains, October, photography favorites, retreat, seaonal change, southern living

October

November 4, 2024 hardwarelifewife Leave a comment

Morning fogs, and vibrant colors… the best way to introduce my photography finds for October. The colors of Autumn are majestic, melding together as a kaleidoscope for the camera lens.

Foggy Mornings

Northern Lights: Aurora Borealis

The unique colors are determined by the gases in the Earth’s atmosphere, the altitude of the collision of the gases, and the amount of energy in the particles… different colors are created. Just a few pictures of what I witnessed during this rare capture this month.

Pink/purple: Produced by nitrogen particles

Green: One of the most common colors at the lowest levels of the atmosphere, interaction of oxygen molecules

Red: Oxygen molecules interact at a higher level in the atmosphere.

Hello Indy!

Waiting for my nephews band to arrive to begin their routine uniform pickup before their performance in Bands of America competition. They placed 5th out of 91 bands in this super regional competition!!! So very proud!!! Go Wando!!!

The Colors of Autumn

“Nature’s first green is gold. Her hardest hue to hold.” – Robert Frost

blogging, community, customer service, entrepreneurship, hardware store, Hardware Store Hours, Hardware Store Life, keys, Life In Wilkes, nuts and bolts, old hardware stores, old school hardware store, service oriented hardware store, Shop Local, southern living

Service Oriented Hardware Store

October 16, 2024 hardwarelifewife Leave a comment

Most folks know to stop by Wilkes County Hardware for a key that works… but did y’all know that we do all of the following things each and every single day as services???

Hundreds of key blanks available for duplication!!!!

Key duplication- need an extra key or lost the extra key to your car. Bring your original key 🔑 into Wilkes County Hardware and get a new one made.

Chip keys are also available and coming soon, Sidewinder keys!!!

2. Rekey door locks- sometimes for safety reasons you need your door lock rekeyed or would like to have your NEWLY purchased door lock keyed to your current key. We rekey in the store with locks in hand. You must call the locksmith for on site services with rekeying door locks. Ask for assistance inside Wilkes County Hardware for this service in store and pricing information.

Deadbolts and door locks can be keyed to the same 🔑 key

3. Padlocks keyed the same- want to use the same key 🔑 for multiple padlocks??? We have options for you to key padlock to your key.

4. Pool Water Testing- Summer splashing fun requires a bit of maintenance… bring a sample of your pool water to Richard for a quick test (for free) to see what needs to be addressed, chemicals added, etc.

5. Chain ⛓️‍💥 Cutting- chain cut to exact length, by the foot. Please note: once the chain is cut and purchased it is not returnable!

6. Pipe threading- Galvanized and black pipe cut to size. Threading is also available if needed.

Wilkes County Hardware has a good selection of Galvanized and Black Iron pipe that are available for cutting and threading. Fittings also available in store.

7. Window screen repair – old screen doors or window screens looking a little bit worn out? Bring them by for a quick update.

8. Roll pipe cut to length – this stuff is a bulky beast to cut and many other hardware stores now will NOT cut it to length. Instead, you are forced to buy the huge roll 😳. But at Wilkes County Hardware, we cut it by the foot for our customers. Thanks for supporting local!

9. Glass cutting- Glass cut up to 36 inches long, bring exact dimensions. Glass expert on staff, thankful to have Tim Billings experience and expertise!

10. Tool Handle Replacement- old wooden handle all busted up? Stop by to pick up a replacement tool handle or leave it with us and we will do the work.

This oldie goldie tool is used during tool handle repair… shaving off the excess

11. Kerosene heater repair- Wick replacement available with many popular styles in stock.

12. Knife and scissors sharpening- if those knives seemed to be a little bit dull, drop them off and we can give them a sharpen for you. Scissors need a bit of TLC??? Fabric scissors require more time and effort to sharpen- bring a piece of small fabric with you so we can test them as we work on them to make sure they are perfectly sharpened.

13. Free Assembly- Purchase a large item from Wilkes County Hardware like a Traeger grill, wheelbarrow, etc and we will assemble it for you prior to pick up.

14. Special Orders- We order new or needed products for our customers every week! Sometimes you find the hardware store product in stock but you might need a larger quantity, ask us to order it for you!

Gallons are common in store but we have the capacity to order 5 gallon bucket for a much larger job!

15. Carry Out- We carry out packages, or bulky large items to the vehicle for our customers all the time!

Pool chemicals, large bags of bird seed, and potting soils tend to be bulky and heavy and carry out is standard in store.

Someone shared this thought with us not long ago, it is definitely worth sharing… “We all make choices as a consumer, so choose to support your favorite small businesses so that they can continue be open. If we choose not to support small businesses they cannot thrive and survive. “

Thank you for supporting local businesses in our community!

August, blogging, Dog Days of Summer, finding inspiration, flowers, Foggy Morning, gardening, Hardware Store Life, Home, journey in life, Life experiences, Life In Wilkes, memories, Natural World, photography favorites, rescue pups, southern living, Summer, Summer Photography, sunrise photography

August

September 1, 2024 hardwarelifewife 1 Comment

August… the sizzling summer heat lingers, foggy mornings equate to snowy days in the winter, rolling thunderstorms, and the quest for those cooler days and nights will slowly become our reality. August IS the “Sunday of Summer”. Once it arrives, it seems to go by quickly and a new month is upon you. Sharing a few of my everyday photo favorites to summarize a small portion of this “Sunday of Summer”, August 2024. I hope you will enjoy. Thanks for sharing my blog with friends and family and sending your comments to me. Looking forward to September!

Sky Watch

**Fog Hug…** August Mornings can bring fog and it is hanging in the trees tightly this morning

After The Storm

Tree Study

I love to photograph a good tree, so when the opportunity presents itself, I will stop and take a moment to take a few pictures. Sometimes they turn out pretty well, sometimes not so much. But, I have learned that multiple shots of the image can make all the difference. Here’s a few of my favorites from this month …

Hand building projects completed

Instant gratification isn’t the goal with hand building pottery. Slow and gradual progress is what you see when you begin with raw clay. The processes of creating with clay from shaping/making your piece, which could could take hours or even days… to the first bisque fire, then glazing, going through the kiln again… all take time but the end result is worth the wait! These pieces have been in the works for a while, glad to see them finally finished and grateful for an amazing teacher!!

**Bird Bath Complete!! The absolute largest piece made to date! A HUGE thank you to Kim Anderson Reid for her guidance and patience in making this large piece and excellent advice on how to glaze!**

**Aug-tober begins!** That’s right, I heard this phrase for the first time this month. I didn’t know it was an actual thing, but it is! All the fall feels in August! Longing for Autumn… well in the world of pottery, the processes of hand building takes a bit of time, and producing fall pieces begins in August and September.

A Pup Interlude

Our son has been traveling for work over the last month or so. When he’s gone from home for an extended period of time, I always try to send him a few pictures of his two favorite pups everyday. He really enjoys seeing them in all of their quirky little daily adventures. Here’s two captured moments from August.

The Greenway

Sweet Surprises and Finds

This next group of pictures are interesting finds from August… from trimming bushes and finding a little bird nest inside, to a long walk around the neighborhood at Mom and Dad’s house… you just never know what you will encounter!

Ahoy Mate!

The Hardware Life – A wife's journey into the hardware business