New Things are Coming

The office was bustling this morning with people getting their ideas, papers, and themselves ready for our meeting.  We have big plans for the upcoming year, and we want to keep our customers and readers informed as well as involved in some of these plans.  Here are the top things that were on our discussion table this morning:

1. We discussed the revamping of Red Hill General Store's website, as well as some of our sister sites, and what direction we would like to take with them while staying true to our original goals with these sites.
2. Sales, events, specials.  We talked about what sales, specials, and events that would be possible for us to do this coming year.  We definitely have some ideas going for some of these, and will keep you informed.  
3. Blogs.  We discussed our blog, and the two blogs we have for two of our sister sites, and what direction we want to take with them and what our readers may or may not want to see.  We are hoping to do more with videos, how-to articles, product reviews and more on our blogs this coming year.
4. Local info & events.  We know that many people are curious about our main location.  Hillsville, VA and we want to share information with our customers about what our area is about, and what there is to do in Hillsville.  So we are going to try to stay on top of events and other happenings in our area that you, our customer, might be interested in knowing about.  

To stay updated on these things, and the many other things we discussed today, you can follow our blog, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.  

New Starts this New Year

We've been getting a few things done at Red Hill General Store already this year, one of those things being starting blogs for two of our Sister Sites.  We are very excited to introduce these blogs to you and to get them up and running.  We would love feedback on them about what direction YOU would like to see these two blogs take.  So click the links below and leave us some comments so that we can make these blogs about what our customer/reader wants. 

Blog Mentions

We noticed that we've had a blogger writing about us, and we just wanted to send them a thank you for supporting Red Hill General Store.


Sunny Morning Farm mentioned us in their Beans, Beans...... blog, they blogged about our Tiffin Set The Classic Portable Food Carrier.  Check it out and see what they think of this great item!  (They also have great photos of the item!)  Thanks Sunny Morning Farm!

Photo by Sunny Morning Farm

 If you have blogged about us, or know of a blog that has mentioned us, please let us know!  Just leave the blog address in our comments!

Hope everyone is having a great start to 2011!

What are you fixing for Thanksgiving?

Here at Red Hill General Store we are getting ready for our Black Friday Sale!  Also we have been doing some gabbing on the side about our plans for Thanksgiving the day.  Everyone has a special dish they are fixing for that huge get together later this week.  But we want to hear from you!  Our customer and our reader, what are YOU fixing this holiday?  Did you blog about it?  Share your blog link if so, if not just share in the comments.  We look forward to seeing what your plans are for this Thanksgiving.

Halloween Safety

There are so many exciting things for Halloween and so much going on this time of year, it is sometimes easy to overlook little safety measures to keep everyone happy, healthy, and safe.

• Make sure your children know not to go into a stranger's house.
• Be careful crossing streets, and be sure to watch out for people crossing while you are driving.
• Know all activities your children are attending, even older children.
• Do not use a cell phone while driving on Halloween.

Last minute costume idea?

Go as a farmer, you can stop by Red Hill General Store and pick up some bib overalls and a flannel shirt, just add some boots, a straw hat, and voila instant farmer.  Step it up a notch and add some face paint and hay at the cuffs and collar and you can be an easy quick scarecrow.

We hope you have a great safe Halloween!  What are your plans?  How are you keeping it safe?

Cool Afternoons & The Sniffles

The evenings have a nice cool feeling to them, but unfortunately with all the leaves falling, some people are having sinus issues.  So I decided to cook a nice big pot of chili for the family.  I always have to double my recipe to feed everyone, as it is definitely a popular dish at home this time of the year:

 

It is especially delicious with shredded cheese and sour cream on top.  For my double recipe chili I have to use a big pot to fit all the ingredients in.  I currently use an 8 quart stockpot for my chili:

I do wish I had thought and bought the ingredients for cornbread. Cornbread is my favorite side to go with my chili. It always tastes perfect when baked in my cast iron skillet. I love cooking with cast iron.

But without the cornbread the chili is a little healthier. My chili is half lean ground beef, and half lean ground turkey. So far no one has complained about this mixture. I also go half and half on the beans, half kidney beans, half pinto beans.

Autumn Has Set In

The chill was definitely in the air in little Hillsville, VA today.  The leaves were being blown around and while they look beautiful they do tend to create a mess in the yard.  But as with every year, the falling leaves bring back memories of being a child and playing with my Childrens Fan Rake, and Childrens Wheelbarrow in the back yard, gathering up all the leaves into one huge pile, just to jump into it repeatedly.  I'm sure as a child most people spent hours doing just that during those cool crisp fall days.

Another great memory, is the delicious pinto beans that were cooked all day long, so that they were nice, warm, and tender at dinner time.  Now, that is a memory easy to replicate, I'll just be sure to buy some beans from our store tomorrow and bring them home to cook this weekend.  You should stop by Red Hill General Store and replicate some memories of your childhood fall.

What are your favorite memories of your childhood autumns?  Have you blogged about them, feel free to link back to your autumn blog in our comments.

Halloween

Halloween is just around the corner.  I'm sure some of you are scrambling for some last minute ideas on creepy crawly decor.  We have come across a fellow blogger who was so kind as to feature one of our items in their blog entitled: The zombies are here (insert scream!)

They used our 1/2 pint milk bottles

1/2 pint is the 3rd from the left.

And turned them into:

Photo from cupcakesandcutlery.

Have you used any of our products in your Halloween decor?  If so tell us about it in our comments!