A Saturday Drive - Good Fences

Come along with me and we will go for a drive! 

We are meeting my future daughter in law, Jen, to do some fabric shopping 

for her and my son's upcoming August wedding. 

Off we go in my little gray Ford Ranger. 

Soon to be a classic as they don't make them anymore!

4 on the floor, 4 wheel drive - oh yea, I am a country gal! 

I love country roads and know every route the back way! 

We are traveling to the nearest small city, about 20 miles away. 

Can you see the top of Mt. Rainier behind the trees? 

We are leaving the mountain plateau behind. 

This beautiful cherry tree caught my eye in front of a pretty stone wall. 

Along with beautiful old farms, there are now residential housing developments going in everywhere. 

I am happy that they take great care to plant beautiful entrance gardens. 

There are also home association rules which keep these new developments lovely, 

No garish colors or junk cars..

Although I do love seeing old trucks rusting in the fields! 

..

I think this takes the prize for the most types of fencing in one place! 

The white rail fence is a long drive between two large fields. 

These tall privacy fences are very popular here. 

They rather look like prisons to me, 

but maybe we don't want to see the cluttered wood shed peeking out from the top. 

These fences can benefit both ways! 

An assortment of flowering trees bloom alongside a pretty farm 

with a lovely split rail pasture fence. 

We leave the quiet streets behind to enter the city where my favorite fabric store is. 

We meet sweet Jen for lunch and discuss our sewing projects. 

A beautiful tiered table covering for her wedding 

and fabric for a tea dress I hope to make from a 1910 pattern. 

But when we arrive at the fabric store, we find it is no longer there! 

In its place - a chain office store! 

I am so disappointed. 

This fabric store was so wonderful - stuffed full with every type of fabric you could imagine. 

So we travel down the road to the competition that sent it out of business, 

a major chain store - a glorified craft store. Again we are disappointed  and walk away empty handed. 

That's the way life is - constant change and we must ride along with it. 

So we part ways with plans to shop on-line. 

But there is something lost in doing so. 

The wonderful experience of seeing and touching. 

Of getting knowledgeable help. 

Of sharing the shopping experience with someone we care about. 

So many small privately owned businesses are forced out by large corporate stores. 

I've watched the family owned lumber stores close, one by one. 

And what ever happened to the neighborhood grocery store? 

Even the small Mom and Pop's are a rare thing indeed. 

Factory farms, corporate department stores, big box stores...

It makes me more determined to try and purchase as much as I can 

from those small, family owned businesses. 

But I suppose some on-line stores are just that! 

Etsy comes to mind! 

Well, that cheers me up! 

As I take the quiet country roads back to my mountain home, 

I think of how life is always moving forward, always changing. 

And how we must move forward along with it. 

As I drive along the sweet road to home, 

I make a vow. 

I will try my best to patronize small, family owned businesses. 

Farm stands, specialty shops, owner operated grocery and clothing stores. 

I might not be able to do all my shopping there, but I can try to make a small difference. 

Moving forward, but not too fast. 

xoxo

Out of this modern civilization economic royalists carved new dynasties...

The royalists of the economic order have conceded that political freedom was the business of the Government, but they have maintained that economic slavery was nobody's business. 

- Franklin D. Roosevelt-

Speech accepting renomination

[June 27, 1936]

 Today I am linking to:

Good Fences