Page 2 - Small Shops of Sonoma County 2016

2 - www.sonomacountygazette.com - SS-12/16
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Dear Readers,
Taking care of our home comes in all flavors. Ultimately, our home is the entire planet, so we take care of it by being conscious of our daily actions, like recycling, a simple act that keeps what we no longer need out of landfills. And we have learned that just as a global economy improves lives all over the planet, a local economy improves lives here at home.
What I love about doing this annual guide is that researching locally-owned stores, forces me to shop! I’m not a shopper by nature, so getting out to explore is like a vacation - an action out of the ordinary. Alan, my husband, loves to shop so when he comes along, I get the benefits of time with him as well. And he tends to buy me things....like clothes. “Hey Babe, try this on. I think it will look good on you.” OK! Talk about a win/win!
We also get hungry while we’re out there, so we find some place to eat that’s new. Why not! Then I get to tell you about it if I like it. That’s the beauty of these shopping excursions. Time with someone is precious, so take a friend - anyone you enjoy, and just play. It’s early enough in the season that pressure is light, weather is good, and if you picked this guide up before Thanksgiving, you have a whole weekend ahead of you to relax.
I focused on downtowns because each community is unique and the
flavor of that piece of Sonoma County is strong in these downtowns. Large communities, our small cities, try to make it easy for you to park and walk. So you find a lot near a shopping area and wander from there, up one side of a street and down another. Cross a block, find an alley to more stores, take a set of stairs to another street.
One of the best parts about shopping for presents is that we get to ponder the person we care about. What interests her or him? What colors does s/he like? How can we contribute to his/her life in some way that’s meaningful. Perhaps the best way is by sharing time. If someone is close, you might consider taking your friend WITH you to shop. You get two benefits - time shared and the perfect present.
So have fun - this is the perfect weather ~ Fall in Sonoma County. Recent rains cleared the air and if you look off in the distance you can see our hills turning green as our trees and vineyards turn brilliant yellow, orange and red. We live in paradise. Take the time to enjoy it.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
Holiday Shipping Deadlines:
United Parcel Service: www.ups.com - Holiday Shipping Dec 18 – Deadline for 3 Day Select shipments.
Dec 22 – Deadline for 2nd Day Air shipments.
Dec 23 – Deadline for Next Day Air shipments.
United State Postal Service: www.usps.com/holiday
Dec 15 – Deadline for Standard Parcel Post (Mail) shipments. Get your Christmas Cards off by today.
Dec 20 – Deadline for First Class Mail and Priority Mail shipments. Dec 23 – Deadline for Priority Express Mail shipments.
FedEx: fedex.com/us/service-guide/holiday-schedule
Dec 12 – Deadline for SmartPost shipments.
Dec 17 – Deadline for Home Delivery and Ground Delivery shipments.
Dec 20 – Deadline for Express Save shipments.
Dec 22 – Deadline for 2-Day and 2-Day A.M. shipments.
Dec 23 – Deadline for Standard Overnight, Priority Overnight, First Overnight shipments.
Dec 25 – Deadline for SameDay shipments.
International info: fedex.com
International infor @ ups.com
DHL International Courier: www.dhl-usa.com
Military Mail: APO/FPO/DPO AE ZIPs:
ZIP 090-092
ZIP 093
ZIPs 094-098
ZIP 340
ZIPs 962-966
INFO: http://militarybenefits.info/holiday-shipping-mailing- dates/#ixzz4PufpBPWj
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