Page 43 - Sonoma County Gazette December 2017

Why would you shop anywhere this season but groovy Guerneville? Our town is no longer limited to just our fabulous restaurants, wine and art galleries...have you been inside our local merchandise stores recently? If not, take a stroll down Main
Street... there is something for everyone! Sonoma Nesting is my favorite place to shop for the person who has everything! Dax and Smitty are very creative and resourceful; if you cannot find it, they will hunt it down for you! Forest
to the Sea Nature Store, which benefits Stewards of the Coast & Redwoods, has such a variety of merchandise; whether it be a coffee mug from Pond Farm Pottery, children’s books and games that are all about nature and animals, puzzles and stuffed animals, jewelry or even walking sticks. Right next door is Pamper Me Bath, Body Boutique, selling not only bath salts, lotions, aromatic products, but also picnic baskets, beautiful scarves, jewelry, sunglasses and Swell bottles, socks, slippers and candles. And what child doesn’t want a Gallop & Go Pony (stick horse) for Christmas? Lark’s Drug has the Gallop & Go Pony that makes the sound of a horse! You can also find there xmas cards, decorations, stuffed animals, jewelry, candles, beautiful scarves, prayer flags and Sister fans! Over at Kings Sport and Tackle they have 18,000 different kinds of rubber boots and socks! (really, the do!) Slippers for adults and kids, jackets, backpacks...and a groovy deal on in stock kayaks: 20% off & a free floatie with every kayak purchase. And right next door of course, we have the
5 & 10 with every toy & candy imaginable, from the past, present and future. Don’t forget Shakedown gifts & clothing over on the Plaza and June Bug Skin & Body care over on Armstrong Woods Road, with Mockingbird Books right across the street! But wait...there’s more for you groovy Santa’s out there! Head down towards the Village Shops and you will find River Queen Clothing Store, Seconds First, Glass Images (beautiful soap dishes, plates and stained glass), River Queen Collectibles, along with numerous art galleries. Speaking of the Village Shops, did you know that HR Bookeeping is now located in the same space as WithyWindle Gallery? Congratulations Holly and Robin on your new location!
The 16th Annual Parade of Lights/Holiday Extravaganza is coming soon...Thursday, November 30th is the Merchant Open House from 4-7pm and the Tree Lighting & Holiday Celebration at the Plaza begins at 5 pm. Friday, December 1st is the Prince & Princess Crowning Awards Ceremony & Dinner, being held at Trio’s Restaurant, beginning at 6pm. Community First Credit Union will be presenting the winner with a $500 Savings Bond. Contact the Chamber for more information about the dinner & how to purchase tickets. Then the big groovy finale, Saturday, December 2nd is the Parade of Lights! This year’s theme is Storybook Holiday...the Chamber has parade entry forms available at the office on the Plaza. We will have a groovy Celebrity Judge joining in the fun this year: Alison Arngrim! You may remember her as Nellie, from Little House on the Prairie. Come out for a festive time at the best Parade of Lights in all of Sonoma County!
This has been a rough couple of months for all of us and our neighbors; let’s do what we do best and pull together STRONG this holiday season! Community First Credit Union and WestAmerica Bank will have the Giving/Gingerbread Trees in their lobbies, for you to choose a local child from the River to Coast Children’s Services, to purchase Christmas gifts for. How it works is you choose a gingerbread name tag from the tree, go purchase your choice of gift(s) from their wish list, wrap it up, attach the gingerbread name tag, then you place the gift under the tree from which you chose the
tag. All children will receive their gifts on Christmas morning! Don’t forget the Community Christmas Dinner at the Vet’s Hall this year either; they will be needing donated turkeys and hams, so keep an eye out for these and other opportunities for you to give generously!
Have a groovy holiday! Thank you Sister Scarlet for sitting in last month and writing this column; we appreciate you!
This year has gone by so fast, but not fast enough. As I’m sure most of you are, I’m ready to forget 2017 and move on to 2018.
What will 2018 bring? Mid-term elections! We’ve already seen some encouraging election results recently. Hopefully in Alabama on
12/12/17 we’ll see another one with Roy Moore defeated in the Special Ala- bama election for Senate.
In early December I’m going to Cuba. Unlike under Obama, this trip will be under Trump. We rst booked our trip with a travel agent/tour operator that had been in business over 30 years and did many trips to Cuba. They are now out of business thanks in part due to employee theft, but more importantly also due to State Department advisories against Americans traveling to Cuba, recent hurricanes, worldwide terrorism, and Trump’s new restrictive policies on travel to Cuba. Making America Great Again apparently doesn’t include Freedom to travel for Americans.
Locally this year has been disastrous with our res. Although the media coverage was excellent, you don’t get the real perspective until you’ve personally seen the neighborhoods obliterated and talked to people that have lost their homes. I am impressed with the speed at which the cleanup and rebuilding process is beginning. Also impressive is the uniting and coming together of people to help. Locally our community held “Guerneville Cares” over Veterans Day weekend and raised $16,299 for re victims. Kudos to Rodger Jensen, r3, Timberline, Rainbow Cattle, and Trio for organizing and providing the venues for the fundraising events, and to our River community for donating, coming out, and supporting this great e ort. Let’s hope as we move from Fire to Flood season, that the worst remains behind us.
Rebuilding involves more than just structures. It involves learning from mistakes, demanding change, and improving the way we do things going forward. I see this happening at our local level, at our county level, and next will be at our national level. Let’s rebuild our county and our country. 2018 is the year to do it.
Locally, the River should continue to do well as a safe staycation destination. Our natural beauty has not been impacted by the res, and our hamlets are looking up physically and economically. Be grateful we live here, and that we have people working to make it better every day. When shopping for the holidays, shop local. One place to do that is the Holidays Craft Fair December 2nd & 3rd at the Monte Rio Community Center. Our local businesses need your help and we must get the word out that wine country is still open for business, and more than ever, the Russian River is the perfect place to shop and visit.
Newly opened is The Farmhand. A market, deli, and espresso bar located
in the same building as Riverside Wellness. The owners are Chris and Stacey Cogan from Forestville and Jason and Lisa Flint from Santa Rosa. The manager and chef is Autumn Barber, former owner and chef of Aioli in Forestville. This is a great concept with everything from co ee and pastries to take home dinners. Beer and wine should be available soon and there is huge deck overlooking the river. I had the vegetarian lasagna and loved it. Good selection of vegetarian, vegan, and gluten free too. Winter hours are 7am to 6pm.
Latest update on Sonoma Clean Power Go Green EV promotion: 380 vehicles have been sold through November 15th and of these 69% have been leased versus purchased. This very successful promotion ends November 30th. Speaking of helping the environment, remember to burn cleanly this winter. If you use a wood burning stove, use dry wood and give it plenty of air intake, especially during startup. You’ll get a hotter, cleaner burn with little or no visible smoke. You’ll also be getting more heat for your money, and your neighbors will appreciate it as well.
Whatever holidays you observe, remember the best gift is sharing time with family and friends. Here’s to brighter days ahead in the New Year. Happy Solstice everyone.
Vacation Wonderland. We just keep getting better.
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