visit to a childhood store.

I thought you and I would take a trip today, to my hometown of Grand Island, NY. Are you ready? Our destination is Kelly's Country Store, an old favorite of locals and tourists alike. It's a magical place, full of candy and treasures. Let's go inside.

What have we here? Mmmmmm. The very best part of the store, the main attraction, the deliverer of cellulite. Who's worried about fat anyway, it's the holidays & it's fantastic! I remember being a little girl and trying to decide which candy I wanted...just too much to choose from! It was always a treat going in there. Back and forth in front of the candy, with the friendly salesperson waiting to scoop up your selection and put it on the scale to weigh. If I recall correctly, my 3 brothers and I shared the bag of candy with our individual selections all mixed together. Did we fight? You bet we did! "That was mine, no, it's mine! " I don't know if we really argued over the candy, I'm just taking literary liberties here. It makes the story more interesting.

There were several unique antique pieces in the store. I remember an old washing machine complete with washboard sitting outside at the front entrance. There was also a picture show machine inside, where you insert a coin and watch an old-fashioned picture show. I wonder if those old goodies are still there. Hello, anyone from Grand Island reading this, an update please. There's a big wonderful room that is used for special holidays, such as Christmas and Easter. At Easter, it's full of chocolate Easter Bunnies and chocolate eggs and jelly beans and other yummy chocolate confections. I do believe the Easter Bunny makes an appearance in the spring. During Christmas, the room is transformed to welcome the holiday season for all the children who want to see........

SANTA! Hello, Santa! My friend and I just stopped by to get a peek at the store. How're things going with you? Are my Christmas presents almost ready? What? Why you know I will, silly Santa! Don't I every year? What's that? Yes, I'm going to sit on your lap and tell you how naughty, I mean good, I've been. Santa, you just crack me up! My friend here? I don't know, just a minute, I'll ask. "Are you going to sit on Santa's lap this year?" Ho, ho, ho!