As I mentioned last week, my brother and his family came to visit and we had a great time together.  We went several places we had not visited before:  Fallingwater, the National Coverlet Museum, and Laurel Caverns.  One of the fun things about exploring with new people is that they see things you don’t notice.  For instance, my sister-in-law, Kathy, wanted to visit the Christmas Shop in Chalk Hill.

Tom and I have driven by the Christmas Shop in Chalk Hill at least once a week since we got to Fort Necessity in May.  But we had never stopped there.  It isn’t Christmas and we figured we didn’t need anything in the shop.  But Kathy suggested stopping at the Christmas Shop so we decided we should stop and look around.

The Christmas Shop and Downer House Antiques is a fun, kitschy store with all kinds of country and Christmas things jammed into it.  Kathy wanted to pick out an ornament to remind her of her trip to visit us.  Unfortunately the selection of ornaments was so vast she couldn’t pick one out during our visit.  The Christmas Shop is laid out as a series of small rooms that invite you to explore deeper and deeper.  You never know what you will find around the next corner.

There was a selection of “Amish” foods – canned goods such as jellies, pickles, beets, and butters.  They also had some delicious looking chocolates and popcorn.  Room after room was filled with Christmas trees decorated in many different themes.  Christmas ornaments of every shape and color predominated.  Of course the sports team ornaments were geared toward Pittsburgh teams, so I wasn’t buying any of those.  We also found a selection of funny homemade soaps.  “The Middle Child:  Largely Invisible Scent.”

Surrounding the rooms of Christmas ornaments were rooms filled with “antiques” or vintage items.  Dolls, books, glassware, and even a large spinning wheel.  None of those things had any appeal for me.  Living in an RV doesn’t allow a lot of decorating options.  But it was interesting to see what was in the shop.

I did buy a couple of things Duda’s Farm Stand in the Christmas Shop parking lot.  Duda’s is the only farm market in the area and they have a small but delicious selection of locally grown fruits and vegetables.  I picked up some Chambersburg peaches – delicious!  And some yummy little yellow tomatoes.

I enjoyed exploring The Christmas Shop and Downer House Antiques with my sister-in-law.  I hope the shop continues to get lots of business, because it will never get rich from me!