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The Annual Master Gardener’s Garden Tour

April 17th, 2011

Based on the current state of my lawn, one would never believe that I really do enjoy gardening and yard work, particularly at this time of year. I the past I have learned a lot from the experimentation process, seeing what grows best where, when and in what soil. Unfortunately, the busyness of my life as it currently stands makes it impossible for me to keep up with any major outdoor projects. For those like me, who enjoy a walk in the garden but don’t have the time to grow one for themselves, allow me to suggest a visit to the Smith County Master Gardener’s Home Garden Tour.

The Smith County Master Gardener’s Garden Tour is an annual event that features master gardeners displaying their own hard work and dispensing ideas and advise to visiting Tylerites. Each gardener has developed their own space in their own style. And their work is not limited to gardening. The yards on display are complete landscaping projects. The locations are spread around Tyler including; Mobile Dr., W. Sixth, FM 724, Harvey Rd, and the Cascades. Admission is ten dollars for advance tickets and ten dollars at the door. For more information on this beautiful and fascinating event, visit the following website: http://scmg.tamu.edu/mg-projects/home-garden-tour/ , or call Keith Hanson at (903) 590-2980.

Christmas shopping for her

December 8th, 2010

Woman Christmas Gift IdeasChristmas shopping for women is made so easy by stores like Wal-Mart. But women get tired of bath soaps and lotion. This Christmas get the women of you life something they will love. Hint to men out there: if the woman in your life never wears the heart shaped pendant that you gave her last year, do not get her another one. Women really want men to know what their likes and tastes are.

Jewelry is always a hit at Christmas, but you have to know where to go and what the women you are buying for likes. Kay Jewelers commercials flood the television this time of year. The open heart necklaces are one of their most advertised pieces of jewelry. People always say that you can not go wrong with getting jewelry, but you can. Kay has many different types of jewelry for all different women. The charm bracelets are a great gift idea; you can make them according to a women’s taste. The charm bracelets can be as extravagant or as plain as you would like.

If the women you are shopping for would rather be sitting in front of a sewing machine or a scrapbook than be decorated in diamonds, Hobby Lobby is the best craft store in Tyler. Their large selection of colorful and fun fabrics and patterns can make a great gift for women that love to sew and create clothing. Hobby Lobby has some of the greatest sales around. Many crafts that she enjoys can be found at Hobby Lobby. They are always having sales for 50%-75% off of many different products. You can completely decorate your home with the large selections of holiday and seasonal ornaments, and decorations. Young girls will love their many different craft ideas just for their age groups, such as jewelry design, kits for decorating rooms, and painting.

If the women you are shopping for would much rather enjoy time with you than a gift, you should buy her a date. Tyler has many great restaurants that can provide a romantic night on the town. Jake’s on the square has a great romantic setting on the roof of the restaurant. Many times Jake’s restaurant has live music. Another great restaurant to have a romantic date is the beautiful Viva Montez. The set up of the beautiful Spanish restaurant gives you and your love one the privacy and intimacy that you would want. One place I highly recommend is the KE Cellars. You can enjoy a great time with wine tasting, cheese and meat trays to compliment your wine and on certain night live music for your entertainment. Plan a date that she will love whether it is eating out, wine tasting, dancing or even shopping.

Kohl’s has only been in Tyler for the last few years but it has quickly become very popular. Kohl’s has many great sales. You can buy for all the women on your shopping list at Kohl’s large store. Get the women in your life a whole new selection of kitchen appliances with the best brand names, such as, the popular Food Network collections. There are many “as seen on TV” products, and many of the products are for sale for a better price than you have seen on television. Kohl’s is having one of there largest sales as a Christmas countdown. Kohl’s has all different products that are perfect for Christmas gifts. They have everything from clothing to frames and house décor.

While you are Christmas shopping for the women in your life this holiday season give a little more thought to what they would use and enjoy rather than running through the seasonal section at Wal-Mart and picking up the five dollar bath soaps and cheap Christmas chocolates.

Memories of Brookshires Grocery Store in Tyler Texas

December 7th, 2010
Downtown Tyler TX Brooksires Grocery Store

Brookshires Grocery in the 1920's

As a  child in the 1950’s, we used to spend the whole Summer with my Grandparents in Tyler.  My Mom grew up there.  I have wonderful memories of Tyler, but part of it is when my Grandparents or Parents would take me and my cousins to shop at Brookshire’s!

Having no air conditioning at their house, we LOVED the cold air and floors there!  Back then we used to go  barefooted, and the cold floor felt WONDERful!  (I don’t know if kids do that now)   Our special treat was to each be able to pick out a comic book if we were good, and my Grandma taught us to each pick out a DIFFERENT one so we could trade and read 3 different ones!

Even though I lived in Brooklyn, NY, and my cousins lived in LA, California, we loved that time of year when we would live as one Family together in my Grandparents’ house on the State Park Highway, and play with our Texas cousins for the whole Summer!!!  What a wonderful world it was for me…to this day, I feel that it was “therapeutic” as I was growing up, and I hope to go back one day.  Cheryl

Brookshires Grocery Store Olden Days

Brookshire's Tyler Texas 1940

It’s a Wonderful life at King’s Academy

December 4th, 2010

It’s that time of year again, Christmas trees, family gatherings, holiday blockbusters and school Christmas plays. Ok so it’s kind of an awkward lead in, but over the last few days the King’s Academy Christian School (KACS) drama department has been holding its annual Christmas play. This year the students are presenting the classic “It’s a Wonderful Life!” The play is being held on Campus at King’s Academy (a facility the school shares with Trinity Baptist Church). The setting is a dinner theatre / coffee and dessert, and the performance takes place with in a circle of table and chairs, for a sort of theater and the round experience.

The King’s drama department has had a very successful run since the schools inception almost seven years ago. Despite KACS smallish size they have successfully produced at least one, often two major productions every year (a fall and a spring presentation, obviously). The school has also worked closely with Tyler Civic Theatre and Roger’s Children’s Theatre over the years. Many King’s students have played roles in the community theatre’s various productions.

This fall’s project has been a great success. The staff and students have worked hard to put together a terrific adaptation of a Christmas classic. It’s a play I was surprised to see performed in a live action format but the class does a great job. The last performance will be held Saturday, the forth, at two in the afternoon. For last minute info, contact King’s Academy at (903) 534-9992. The school is located at 604 West Forth Street in Tyler.

For more on King’s Academy Christian School see any or all of the existing articles on this site. Simply look at the Business Categories section to the left of the page and scroll down to the education tab for a list of titles.

Holiday Reading

December 17th, 2009

Well, Christmas is upon us again and we’re all busy rushing around looking for those perfect gifts for the people in our lives. As someone who grew up in a family of teachers, books have always been a huge part of our holiday giving. For our family a welcome part of the holiday experience has always been taking the time to sit down crack open some new reading. I’ve written fairly extensively about Tyler’s area bookstores, but given the season I thought it might be advantageous to our readers to quickly revisit some of our better establishments for those looking for some seasonal literature.

Barnes and Noble

B & N in Tyler always has some great deals for Christmas. If you’re looking for the latest best sellers you can’t do much better the retail giant. They usually offer about a twenty or thirty percent discount on whatever happens to be hot at the time. They also have a huge selection of calendars, cards and other gifty items. Another advantage of shopping there is the café. The Starbucks franchise sells everything any coffee addict might want, from travel mugs to bags of coffee beans. The one disadvantage (if it bothers you), are the crowds. As with most retail stores; the Barnes and Noble does a large percentage of its business at this time of year. If you don’t mind the rush however, this is always a great place to check out.

Fireside Books

For those looking for literature on the more unique side I would suggest Checking out Fireside Books at 110 East Houston. This is a locally owned bookseller specializing in used and rare books. The store is not as trendy or seasonal as B & N, but for those on our Christmas lists who value those more obscure or hard to find titles this is good place to check out.

Pea Picker Books

I my opinion Pea Picker is not a store for those bigger gifts. The business carries largely paperback books of varying quality and is probably not the place for nicer purchases. If you’re looking for stocking stuffers or more last minute items you may have some success, but don’t expect to find too many gems.

Lifeway Christian Stores

Lifeway is another good seasonal store (not unlike B & N actually) with a Christian theme. The store carries the latest Christian literature, music and gifts. They also sell mugs and coffee. The new location is a beautiful store, and will undoubtedly be a busy place in Tyler this Christmas.

The Scroll

I must confess that the Scroll is one of my area Favs. It is a Christian bookstore with a wide variety of literature. They carry all kinds of music, gifts, mugs and other items with a religious theme. The staff is there to offer any assistance the customer may require. This area business has been a staple in Tyler for a lot of years so expect a busy store.

There are a few other Booksellers in town but these are probably the best ones to visit for the holiday shopping. For those who require a more detailed description of the stores listed above, visit the Tyler Blog section of this site and look for the following titles: A large bookseller with local appeal, Still think there are no are no old bookstores in Tyler, The Scroll Christian Bookstore in Tyler, Pea Picker Books in Tyler, and The New Lifeway in Tyler.