Tag Archives: journey in life

blogging, Creating Cozy in Winter Months, Fighting The Winter Blues, finding inspiration, hardware store, Hardware Store Life, Home, January, Life In Wilkes, old school hardware store, seaonal change, southern living, winter, Winter Photography

January Days

January 12, 2025 hardwarelifewife Leave a comment

The festivities of Christmas and New Year are complete. The decorations are boxed up for another year, and the cold, brisk winter weather looms ahead. Will we have snow to look forward to this month???

The answer is yes! Snow on January 10th, 2025!

January can be a bit of “let down” after the holidays. So how do we celebrate one of the all time coldest months of the year? January is like eating an elephant… you can’t tackle it at once, but you can manage it one bite at a time, as the old saying goes.. January, take it ONE day at a time!

Here’s to celebrating the long, cold, brisk, windy January days, one day at a time, breaking it down into manageable chunks, offering a bit of sunshine on an icy, bitter cold January Day. Have fun this January with a few trips and stops inside Wilkes County Hardware this January, warming by the old-fashioned wood stove. You never know what you might find that you need!

January Days

1st- New Year’s Day– a feast of cornbread, black-eyed peas, greens, and pork, and New Year’s Resolutions. Stop by Wilkes County Hardware to grab a new cast iron skillet this month!!

4th- National Spaghetti Day– make a big, heaping bowl of spaghetti today!

“Crocktober” Recipes Crockpot Spaghetti Sauce

5th- National Bird Day– Winter is the perfect time to watch and enjoy the birds feeding in your yard. Stop by to pick up a new bird feeder, suet, or bird food

Stop by Wilkes County Hardware to pick up your winter suet, feeders, feed and more!

6th- Epiphany (3 Kings Day)– Celebrating the arrival of the Wise Men, many observe this as the official end of the Christmas season

9th- Static Electricity Day… no one likes this problem during the winter! Bring more humidity into your home, add lotion to hands to help fight it. Carry a coin with you or even a bolt 🔩, pocket knife…. You get the gist to reduce the risk.

These lotions are selling fast during the winter months at Wilkes County Hardware

10th- Houseplant Appreciation Day. Winter is the perfect time to enjoy those green plants!

11th- International Thank You Day- send a note of thanks to someone today!

12th- National Sunday Supper Day– Gather around the table and enjoy family time. Make it a weekly tradition in 2025.

Handcrafted by Keegan… a beautiful piece to add as a centerpiece of your Sunday Supper celebrations… Supper vs. Dinner

13th- Clean Off Your Desk Day– Time to tackle your desk, or any other surface areas that need to be cleaned! Stop by Wilkes County Hardware for some cleaning essentials.

Did you know that Wilkes County Hardware has a great selection of cleaning products???

15th- Hat Day– it’s definitely time for a new Wilkes County Hardware Hat today!

17th- Ditch New Year’s Resolutions Day… Don’t give up! It takes time to create a habit (like a few months of consistent practice ) remember the phrase, eating an elephant one bite at a time…

19th- National Popcorn 🍿 Day- Go watch a movie today at our nearby Liberty Theater and eat the famous popcorn!

20th- Blue Monday/Take Walk Outdoors Day- it’s time to get outside and enjoy the sunshine! Check out the blog post for more ideas on how to beat the winter blues

23rd- National Pie Day- Make and eat your favorite pie

24th- National Peanut Butter Day- A lunch staple at Wilkes County Hardware for our staff… what’s your favorite way to eat peanut butter???

26th- Spouse Day- Do something special for your spouse today. Stop by Wilkes County Hardware to pick up something special for them today.

Old Fashioned Candy or picking up hardware essentials…

27th- Chocolate Cake Day- oh boy!

Baking essentials found inside Wilkes County Hardware!

29th- National Puzzle Day- sit down and do a puzzle with the family today

31st- Hot Chocolate Day- What a wonderful way to end the month! Roasting marshmallows for your steaming mug of hot chocolate!!! What could be better!

Need new mugs, try these beauties! Handmade mugs always in stock at Wilkes County Hardware!

blogging, Christmas, Christmas Eve, Christmas Memories, December, End of Year Reflection, finding inspiration, Foggy Morning, Hardware Store Life, Hometown Holidays, Life experiences, Life In Wilkes, memories, Natural World, photography favorites, seaonal change, southern living, winter, Winter Photography

December

December 31, 2024 hardwarelifewife Leave a comment

A brief dusting of snow began December 2024, making me long for a bit more.

December marks the beginnings of the winter season. Winter… a time of perseverance and optimism for spring will come.

December, Christmas is near.

Random Happenings

You never know what you will find in the middle of a grocery store parking lot!

Christmas at Home 2024

**Fresh Mistletoe for Christmas! Thanks to Kim Reid for the adventure!**

**New additions this year to my green plants to add a festive flare, pine cones and berries for the holiday season**

**Our Christmas clock is a family favorite**

This Christmas was the first year we put our inflatable back out in several years. Our sweet little neighbor has enjoyed it so much this year. Our original “Snowy” the polar bear was injured by heavy rain earlier this month. Santa was our quick find as a replacement.

**Cookie watching over her neighborhood**

Thank you to everyone who has followed along my year long photographic journey in 2024 exploring the everyday life of #thehardwarelife. I’m excited about new opportunities in 2025! Coming soon, the Favorites of 2024 revisited. Stay posted on the blog.

Wishing y’all a very happy New Year!

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.

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