Sweet Dreams, Little Store!

My Sweet Dreams store on Jackson Street in my hometown of Moscow, Idaho, needed to move to make room for a parking lot. I kid you not. We owned the building but leased the land, and when our landlord passed away, the new owner wouldn’t budge in his decision to clear the entire block. But remember my post about doubling the size of my Coeur d’Alene store recently and the huge parking lot outside our door that’s being converted to a park? Win some, lose some. All the work we’d put into the grounds weren’t lost entirely. Every single bush, tree, bulb, and plant was lovingly dug up and replanted somewhere else. Our landscaping endeavors had won awards! Sigh.

And do you remember the colors from my Winnie the Pooh poster? Well, guess what? I had painted my little store the exact same colors. After trying to sell the building (backyard mother-in-law quarters anyone?), we decided to move it to the farm to occupy the spot where my Winnie the Pooh tree stood … without bees. A new kind of swarm was about to happen.

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We readied a spot by cutting down our one tree and then pulling out a thicket of small plum trees with the tractor. We brought in truckloads of gravel and poured a concrete pad.

Here’s my SIL, Lucas, knee deep in the muck of it.

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As each tree we pulled out with the tractor was then pulled down the road to our debris pile, my little farm was bathed in a dust storm.

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Walker had a free pass to lounge the day away.

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Still lounging. Guard dog? At least he’s regal looking.

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Sweaty and dirty, but happy.

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Looking good, Pa said!

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Tomorrow, we head to town to lift the building onto a flatbed. Stay tuned.

  1. Laurie Dimino says:

    I am sad to hear that your store in Moscow is no more, but thrilled that you are able to move the building to the farm and use it! It is just so darn cute! Love the colors.
    Good luck with the flat bedding. I had a flatbed adventure of my own yesterday…I found a 14′ 1975 Dutchman trailer, which I had flatbedded home. It was quite the process, but she is home in one piece and now my journey begins in getting to glamp her all up!
    Looking forward to pictures of your store/building once its at the farm.
    Big Hugs,

  2. Winnie Nielsen says:

    Wowza!!! This is going to be a fabulous ending!What’s not to love with this plan to “save” the Sweet Dreams store? And, what will the store do? Be a dwelling? Be a store again? Be a training center? Lucille is a hero here along with skilled and passionate workers. “They paved paradise and put up a parking lot”. Remember that tune? I still remember the song wafting at top volume in the spring of 1970 through the dorm halls! Well, decades later, our Mary Jane defied the odds and said , “We will just pick up and leave the sandbox and play in a more hospitable spot!” Paradise just got relocated. Take that you ill advised land owner!! Never, ever, try to muscle past a Framgirl! We WILL come out on top!Hahahaha! I am staying tuned……

    • MaryJane says:

      Your comments are so wonderful Winnie. They compose a separate blog–yours!

      • Winnie Nielsen says:

        That was so sweet to say!!! I bet your head is swirling with new ideas for this relocation structure. I know I would enjoy the process of figuring out what the next “life” of Sweet Dreams will be. The possibilities are probably numerous. How about a new B&B option? Or apprenticeship lodging for a new program? Or weekend small group learning event? Your own entrepreneur training school for people who are looking to start their own small business? Some of your talented Farmgirls could teach classes and present how they started their own businesses? With the job situation these days being so challenging for 24-35 year olds, starting new small businesses has really caught on nationally. The biggest step forward is some training on how to get started and what is needed. Branding, website, advertising, finances, and more are the building blocks to the idea the person may have but clueless about what to do next. Whatever you decide, I know it will be purposeful! You have a very long legacy of doing projects that reach beyond just having fun! That is why you deserve the title, Queen Bee!!

  3. Jenny Williams says:

    Oh man that bites! I agree with Winnie and she does have such a wonderful way with words. That adorable little store will have a much better place on the farm where it is truelly loved and appreciated. As for the land owner, sometimes there are much better uses for land than parking lots.

  4. CJ Armstrong says:

    You got it Winnie! Well said! More than once I’ve told people, I’m a farmgirl, I can handle it . . and more!
    Robin and I had the wonderful privilege of visiting your little store in 2011 and we’re so glad we did. I’m glad Sweet Dreams will have a new home . . . looking forward to the story as it unfolds!
    We totally enjoyed your CDA store, Patsy and Jordan! The expansion is wonderful! Wishing you the best!

  5. Jennifer Memolo says:

    Awesome!

  6. Lora Rosencrans says:

    Well, shucks. I am glad I was able to visit the little store in 2008. I had such a great time meeting farmgirls and staying with Teresa Sue. I think I still have most of the pictures we posed for in front of the building. Glad you were able to save the building and ‘recycle’ it!

  7. lynnia says:

    I continually wonder how peoples can treat Mother Earth with concrete after all She has given us…..another topic for another day!!!…..the GOOD, is that you were able to keep part of what we all have fallen in love with….huummm….dare I mention, maybe a room for birth lessons???…..peace and love from my heart……

  8. lynnia says:

    P.S.

    thanks for sharing the pics…much enjoyed them!!!

  9. Barbara says:

    Sorry to hear about your store location..as my friend in Natural Resources says, once it’s paved, it’s gone. Glad to hear that you were able to save and move the trees and that your “Winnie the Pooh” house will have new life on your farm. B.

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