June 11th!

On June 11th we will be hosting the Grand Opening of our HOME DECOR ROOM!

Please stop in and sign up for prizes, have a cup of home-made ice-cream and snack on a bag of hot Kettle Corn. Check out what our store has to offer, you just might be surprised at the extent of our inventory. And don't forget we can order any of 40,000 items out of our warehouse WITH free shipping.

We are really proud of the advances our store is making in taking a dark, dirty hole and turning into a sparkling new room. It is chock full of cabinets, appliances, light fixtures and more.

Look at, touch, and enjoy our granite counter tops, open and close those cabinets and run an eye over our flooring displays. Talk to our Decor lady Theresa and our appliance specialist Becky, about ordering yourself a new kitchen. Just bring in the measurements and they'll work up a plan to renew and refresh your home.

So mark your calendar for JUNE 11th! We are looking forward to seeing you.

How to grow vegetables in pots - Sunset.com

How to grow vegetables in pots - Sunset.com

How to build a raised bed for your garden - Sunset.com

How to build a raised bed for your garden - Sunset.com

Spring....

"Rise and put on your foliage, and be seen

To come forth, like the springtime fresh and green."

"Slowly time shifts, the earth revolves and snow melts. Spring is coming and with it the planting season, earth deep brown, waiting to be enriched with manure and tended by loving hands pulling from it the weeds and rocks. Tilled ridges lift thirsty faces to the sky waiting to be fed by seeds and water."

Whether you are concerned with the rising food prices, looking to eat things grown in your own ground or just love to garden now is the time to start thinking about it. Our winters stretch out for what seems like years, but in a split second your garden plot will spring into life and weeds two feet tall will close in and bunker down.

At least that is what happened in our garden last year, but this spring I have an idea that might prevent this scenario. I'm going to stretch out lumber wrap, and place rocks on it (after the two feet of snow are gone) to prevent them weeds from getting a head start. I'll pull it off right before planting commences. We shall see if this helps, I hope it does, as last spring many a bitter word was spoken by my sister and I as we slaved in the sun pulling weeds.

Also, if you are going to leave your ground to rest for the year, it is a good idea to plant a cover crop to keep the weeds in check and provide green manure. They also help retain the soil, lessen erosion, and decrease the impact pf precipitation on the garden by slowing the runoff of water. Some of the traditional cover crops are rye, hairy vetch, buckwheat, millet, mustard and sweet clover. It does depend some on whether you are planting in the spring or winter, so do a little research to discover the cover crop that will give you the most benefit. After the cover crop is grown, you need to cut it back (before it goes to seed) and till in the left over green bits. This will put nutrients back into the soil.

However IF you are going to use the ground this season, there are some simple things that will help enrich your soil. First take a soil test (we sell kits that can help you with this or you can take dirt sample to your local extension office) to check the pH levels. Now, most food crops prefer a neutral (pH 7) or slightly acidic soil (between pH 3.o or 5.0) however some (potatoes and strawberries) prefer a more acidic, or alkaline soil.

Once you know where your pH levels stand you will be able to make changes to it if need be, it would be best to read up on it as there are different ways to adjust the levels. Hydrated lime, manure, wood ash, sulfur and compost are all options in this area. It is best to start this process in early spring or the fall.

Also if you only have a small plot of land, a raised bed, or window boxes you can still grow food. I'm going to link a couple of articles from Sunset magazine that are very interesting and helpful for this style of gardening.

Please stop in and check out our potting soils, manures and seed starters. Also we have seeds, trays, pots and everything you need to begin the gardening season. Happy Gardening to you and may your crop be HUGE!

Have you ever?

Been interested in rocks? No? Yes? Maybe?

Perhaps you are enchanted (yes I am a girl and I use words like "enchanted") by diamonds, rubies, emeralds and the like. From their polished and cut surfaces light bounces, glitters and entices one to fall in love. People have killed to own certain jewels, lost fortunes and died scrabbling through mountains after elusive gems. But if you were to find one just laying on the ground out in the no-where, it wouldn't necessarily jump out at you as a precious stone. Most likely it would just look like....a rock...

Encased in the earth there are many beautiful things but it takes an eye, a skill and knowledge to release the beauty which lies hidden. And not all beautiful things come in small packages to be strung around a neck or clasped on an arm. Some of the most painfully lovely and pulchritudinous earth treasures come in packages of tons instead of carets.

If you are interested in seeing a sample of what the earth has to offer in the way of beauty, stop in and look at the granite counter tops. It just might astonish you to see what is buried right here in Boundary County, we have on display a island created out a local stone, it is creamy white swirled with black and grays. Also there is a Washington state green granite that is breathtaking! And if you are interested in something edgy check out that vanity in the picture above. It comes right out of the ground like that and is imported from Italy, it isn't epoxied together, even if it looks like it might be.

Coming soon!

We will be welcoming into our Pro X Home Center world a new Home Decore Room!

What was a dark, drab (and quite frankly creepy) back corner has been turned it into a beautiful show room. With the help of many contractors from around the county, this space will never look the same again.

Complete with our very own Home Interior Specialist. Her name is Melissa Shobe and she will be assisting, one on one, customers looking for cabinets (kitchen and bathroom), flooring, paint and other home decore needs. Are you remodeling? Building new? Need cabinets? She will be using a computer program which will take the dimensions of your room and design cabinets to fit it. And to help make the process even easier, there are many displays to show you exactly how items will look. From the granite countertops to the lighting, from the doors to the sinks we want to give you the best possible chance of choosing the right things for your home.

Drop in, look around and perhaps you'll be inspired to tackle that remodel that you've been putting off!

Ladies' Night

By my standards Ladies' Night went really well.....I didn't faint as the first women came in the door! That may have had something to do with the first person being my older sister and she hasn't managed to make me faint yet so.....

The food seemed to go over well, but who wouldn't love specialty cheeses and home-made brownies!

The goal of the evening was really to see if the ladies in our community would even enjoy an evening of demos and food at the hardware store. Our pilot programme seemed to please the fifty or so ladies who attended and we have received some very nice compliments on the evening.

The point of the Ladies' Night isn't just to sell things (although we enjoy doing that) but we want to open up the vistas of what this store has to offer, especially to the women shopper. As well as providing a helpful source of information and hands-on workshops geared towards providing beneficial information. We are looking forward to planning more of them and hope that they will continue to refresh and inspire any who attend. Thank you to all who came, we appriciate your support.

Here is an email I recived from Jacque Tanner, which expresses what she thought of the evening.

"Just wanted to pass on to you how successful I thought the Ladies' Night Out was. Very delightful, fun and educational! I know it was a lot of work, but I am excited to know how to clean windows in an efficient and satisfactory manner-Sherry did an excellent job in her demonstrations! And it was very helpful to see the newest products available for hanging items without putting huge holes in the sheet rock!! But I say, (besides the great goodies-brownies and cheese!!!) the highlight was the painting demonstration. Wow, did I learn a lot!! LOVE the suede look-and the endless possibilities with the glazing leaves much room for creativity. Very inspiring. Maybe if there is another Ladies' Night Out you could give a demonstration on how to make more hours fit into a day so we have the opportunity to DO all these things!!! (Wouldn't THAT be nice!) Seriously, you did a great job-well worth our time. Thanks!"