Christmas is here!

     It's getting real close to that time of year.  When presents are exchanged, as well as smiles.  Oh I just love Christmas time.  I had all of my lights up the day after Thanksgiving as usual, as well as all of the decorating and my favorite, the Christmas tree!!!  There is something about putting the tree up in my living room.  It's so warm and cozy just sitting by the Christmas tree, pondering this wonderful time of year.  If your like me and wait till the last second to get your Christmas gifts, don't be.  Stop in the Amana General Store today, and pick out all the wonderful gifts you need.  It's easy to find them at The Amana General Store!  Have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!


Amana House Mouse

Thanksgiving Day Adventure

     Once again I have eaten too much food on Thanksgiving.  This is nothing new, it happens every year, but this year it happened for a worthy cause.  Let me give you a little background.  Thanksgiving dinner was over at my mother's house in High Amana.  For a house mouse that trip is quite a long one, and since I do not have a sports car...yet, I have to walk, or catch the bus.  That morning as I was getting ready putting on my beautiful Thanksgiving apparel, and making sure I have everything that I need, the time was 9:36.  I had exactly fifty four minutes before the bus left for High.  Mother wanted me there at 11:00, so I had plenty of time to get there.  The bus leaves at 10:30 I need to arrive at 11:00.  "Perfect"I thought.  I will have plenty of time to make it there early.  On concluding my preparation for the visit, I made my way outside to wait for the bus.  I arrived three minutes early at the bus stop.  After waiting two and a half minutes I was getting a little uneasy.  Two and a half minutes later I knew something was wrong.  Apparently Thanksgiving is a holiday, and the bus driver does not work on holidays.......  Well to cut the rest of this story short I ended up running as fast as my little legs could carry me all the way over to my mother's house.  Due to the excessive exercise I was put through, I ended up eating way more food than usual for Thanksgiving dinner.  I had to replenish all of the energy that I lost from running all that way.  So that is my Thanksgiving adventure, and I also realized something I was very thankful for.......the bus!


Amana House Mouse

Making a bed

     What do you do when your bed breaks?  Buy a new one? NO!  I don't have that kind of money.... My favorite bed broke as I was taking a nap last week.  Either the bed was defective or I am putting on weight.  I think I know which one it is.  The bottom line is that I need a new bed, so I went to the wood store to pick up some materials. Finding good bed plans can sometimes be difficult, especially mouse size bed plans.  Well, I got my creative juices working, got out my tool belt and got to work.   Seven hours later I finally finished the bed, but something was still missing.  Oh yeah, it might be a good idea to get a new mattress.  After I put the new mattress on, there was STILL something missing. "What could possibly be missing?", I thought.  I finally figured it out.  I needed to stain the bed! Now it looks beautiful with some wood stain.  It feels so good to make something yourself and save some $$ in the process.


Amana House Mouse

Christmas List

     It is another rainy fall day in November, and the house mouse is sitting outside of his hole thinking of something fun to do.  "What a boring day" I thought.  Then it came to me,  I need to start making my Christmas list.  It's not that far away you know.  So I jumped up and went back in my hole, got out a piece of paper and my trusty pen, and started to make my list.  I thought for a few minutes, but I couldn't think of anything.  So, I decided to walk around the store and see if I saw anything that would be good presents for my family.  Well let's just say it didn't take long for my list to fill up with all kinds of wonderful things.  Any time you need to get some great ideas for your shopping list just stop by the Amana General Store and check all of our merchandise out.  That's all for now.


Amana House Mouse

Sports Car Fund

     Well as I mentioned earlier in the summer that I was trying to sell soap.  The goal was to make a little bit of cash to buy my sports car that I've always wanted.  If my calculator is right, which I am hoping it's not, I will need about 50,000 to pay for it.  After about two days of the soap business I realized that this was not going to work.  I hadn't sold one bar of soap.  I guess that a little cute mouse selling soap isn't much of a draw.  I don't know why??  Anyway, after discussing it with my closest advisers, I have decided to put a donation box outside of my hole, and one at the front desk, if the ladies will let me.  I am hoping that everyone will donate to the House Mouse's sports car fund!  I will let you know how it turns out.  Have a great week!


Amana House Mouse

Cold Weather is Here

     Well the cold weather is finally here.  When I walk outside I instantly feel the chill.  Brrrrr.  That just means that we are that much closer to CHRISTMAS!, and snow.  What I love best about the fall weather is the leaves.  I love jumping in them, raking them, and best all, driving around and looking at all the wonderful colors.  Speaking of Christmas, that will be here soon enough, but as I always say, "You cannot play Christmas music until after Thanksgiving".  Thanksgiving has got to be one of the best holidays because it revolves around two things, being thankful, and eating!  Have I mentioned I love to eat? Some of you may not know that the coffee and tea room now has cappuccino!  That is one of my favorite drinks.  So stop in at the Amana General Store to check out all our wonderful gifts, and don't forget to make a trip downstairs and taste some of our fresh coffee in this cold weather.


Amana House Mouse

Oktoberfest Recap

     I am still in confusion from all the festivities that took place here in Amana on Oktoberfest weekend.  So many people, so many cars, so many sacks.....I mean a lot of sacks!  There were so many people squashed into the store I was afraid that I would get stepped on, and I almost did.  Having events every year like Maifeast and Oktoberfest, (and my favorite, Prelude to Christmas!), are wonderful times, traditions in fact, that should be carried on for generations.  However, it is next to impossible to beat the still, quiet homey feel of the Amana Colonies.  Anyway, back to Oktoberfest....So I was sitting outside the store eating my favorite roasted nuts, and watching the parade go by, when a certain float caught my eye.  It was a semi with some kind of fountain of water on it.  On the side of it said things about the different colonies.  It was so cool that I was left awestruck after it went by.  I later found out that it was the Middle Amana float.  I saw in the bulletin the next week that this float won the prize for best float.  Then I saw that Middle won the prize for the best car too!  WHAT IS IT ABOUT MIDDLE???  Is it really the best colony in the Amanas??


Amana House Mouse

Octoberfest is Here!

     Oktoberfest is coming this weekend!  I am so excited!  There is so much to do to get ready.  New merchandise is all over the store, and I can't keep track of it all.  It seems like every day we get a new load of boxes in with all kinds of cool stuff.  We are all hoping for a big weekend. The sounds, the sights, the smells,  I can't wait!  The nut stand will be open outside all weekend selling our delicious roasted nuts.  I know I will be making at least a few trips out there to get some nuts, and don't forget the parade!!!  It starts at 10:00 AM.  So clear your schedule, and don't miss Oktoberfest 2013 at the Amana Colonies. (Oct. 4th, 5th, and 6th.)  See you there!

P.S. Don't forget to visit me at the Amana General Store!


Amana House Mouse

House Mouse of Sales

     I was reading on the Internet the other day, and I came across this interesting article that explained about marketing and selling an item.  As I read I got very interested about trying to sell my own item.   As you well know I don't make very much money as the House Mouse.  So selling something on my own would help with my income!!  I looked around the store for an item to try to sell.  I finally found something worthy of my market.....bars of soap and jars of liquid soap. I knew this would work........I would just set up my stand right next to the soap, and anytime anyone wants to get some soap I will just let them know that the House Mouse is selling the soap.  Naturally I will make millions......tons of people buy soap.  I will try it for a while and see how I do.  Soon I will be able to buy that sports car I have always wanted!

 Amana House Mouse

Mouse with a Mission

     I Think it's time for the mouse to get out of the house and see what else is going on in the village.  So I am taking this week to visit a different store each day.  Stop by the blog each day and see where I have been!

My first stop!

The House Mouse

Under appreciated mouse

     There are times when a mouse is hungry, and when a mouse is hungry strange things sometimes happen.  Last night I was sitting in my easy chair reading a book on "How Mice Conquer the World" when all of a sudden I felt a rumble in my stomach.  Now this was not the ordinary hungry feeling that everyone gets.  This was much worse.  So I put my book down and walked over to my refrigerator, and looked for something to eat.  The fridge was empty!  What, "how could I forget to replenish my food this week?", I thought.  Well, I told myself that I must have something to eat or I won't be able to sleep tonight. I searched and searched and searched, but I could find absolutely nothing.  Then a thought occured to me, I shouldn't have to replenish my fridge, the problem is, the staff here at the store does not feed me at all.  That was the problem.  Well I'll just have to fix that, I thought, so I went up to the main floor.  The store had long since been closed for the day. I'll just withdraw what is rightfully mine.  If they won't feed me I'll just feed myself....the free way.  I hopped up on the food cooler and snagged some of the best cheese and meat, and then I moved over to the shelves and found the yummy brownie mixes. I did disrupt the shelves a little bit as a friendly present to the staff the next morning.  Nothing better than a mouse making a mess, I thought.  Nobody appreciates me anymore, well maybe some day they will.  Very soon my hunger was gone, and I was sound asleep.


Amana House Mouse

Scavenger Hunt

So I mentioned last week about a scavenger hunt.  Well I decided to make a list for my friend Wilbur the Pig at the Meat Shop.  Here is what I got so far.

Wilbur must find something….

 

Sweet

Salty

Pleasant aroma

Soft

Orange

 

     What do you think? Wilbur will be so surprised when he finds out I made a scavenger hunt for him. There are so many things in the store, it is hard to narrow it down to only a few things.  I think Wilbur will get a kick out of it.

 

A few days later…

 

     Okay so when Wilbur went through the store he told me that he was offended by some of the items we had at the store.  I asked him which ones he didn’t like.  He said “First off what is up with that Maple Bacon Taffy?  I kind of chuckled a little bit because I knew he would find that first.  For the salty item, he found the bacon salt…..I think he is beginning to wonder if this is a prank….well it sort of is.  However, he did love the candles and the soft multipurpose towels.  Yes, the last one was a pumpkin, and the only reason I threw that in there, was because we got a lot of new Halloween merchandise in, and I thought Wilbur would like to check out some of the new stuff.  Overall I think it was a success!

 

 

Amana House Mouse

            The House Mouse is back from vacation!!! I can't wait to tell you about all the wonderful adventures that I had in the past week. First of all it was wonderful to have a week off of blogging and working. Camping was a great success. We road on boats at the lake, went fishing, swimming, and played lots of games. The most enjoyable part was just relaxing. Now that I am back I am trying to think of something fun that I can do in the weeks to come. I just haven't figured out what that is yet. So tell me, what happened while I was gone? Did anything change? What's new? I will have to catch up with all of my friends later. For now I want to tell you that I am planning a scavenger hunt! What do you think of that! I haven't quite punched out all the details but I will keep thinking about it. Right now I am just trying to get back into the flow of things again. I hope to see you at the store soon. We have lots of new merchandise and it's coming in like crazy too. See you soon!!!


Amana House Mouse

Vacation

     So I mentioned last week about vacation.  I am pleased to announce that I will be taking a week off of blogging and join my family for vacation at the lakeside.  Doesn't that sound like fun?  From past experience I know that when you go on vacation you usually end up bringing half of your house....that's not the way it's supposed to work right?  So to avoid that kind of catastrophe I am looking for some advice on what to pack.  Sound like a good idea?  Well I'll list to you the items I am packing for sure...Just the necessity's right?  Let me see....

Pillow
Blankets
Clothes
Shoes
Sandals
Swim shorts
Towels
Camping gear
Marshmallow roaster
Marshmallows
Cheese
Food....Lot's of food!
Games
Flashlight
Fan
Books
Bicycle
Jet ski
Wake board
Canoe
Reading glasses
Sun glasses
Sun screen
Bug spray
Golf clubs
Frisbee
Baseball glove
Football
Basketball
MMMMMM.......Did I forget anything? 

So What do you think of my packing list?  I know that I am going to have a blast just relaxing for a whole week with all of my family.  I will make sure to fill you all in when I return.  In the meantime I will look over my list and see if I missed anything.

Come and see me when I return!

Amana House Mouse

     We all know how much fun it is to visit some one's house, so while I was sitting in my living room chair just about to read the newspaper the phone rang.  I got out of my favorite rocking chair and picked up the phone.  It was my mother.  She was calling to see if I wanted to come over to her house for tea and cakes tomorrow.  Well you know me anything with food involved I'm all for it.  I told her I would love to visit her.  She was thrilled.  I didn't want to just show up empty handed so I decided to get her a small gift from the store.  Since she was going to be doing some baking, I thought I could give her some new hot pads.  My little visit went very well and my mother just loved the gift.  With summer coming to an end my vacation is coming up soon!  I will tell you more next week.

 

  

My Mom just loved these potholders!

Check out our facebook page for all the other great hostess gift ideas I found!

Amana House Mouse

Sending a Card

With all the wonderful cards that we have here at the store, I decided to send a beautiful birthday card to my friend Claus.  Mice love getting things in the mail you know.  So, I know who I am going to send it to…but I don’t know which one to get.  There are so many different cards, I thought and thought and thought…what kind of birthday card would I like to get.  I like ones that make me feel warm inside and make me feel loved, not some of these goofy ones.......if you know what I mean.  Knowing how much Claus would love getting a birthday card that would make him feel special on his special day I put a lot of thought into just the right one.  I chose one that fit his personality just wonderfully, and I can’t wait to send it.  So if you ever need any kind of card stop at the store and check them all out!  There are so many I just know you’ll find everything you need.  That’s all for now, see you soon!

Amana House Mouse

Fourth of July Picnic

     With the Fourth of July happening yesterday, I decided in honor of Independence Day I should organize a Fourth of July picnic.  What a wonderful idea, I thought to myself. So I invited all of my mouse friends to celebrate with me.  Now the only thing left to do was to prepare for it.  I must get the proper supplies for this special event.  So when you are going to have a picnic, you have to have a picnic basket for one thing, and for another, you have to have food supplies.  So I got my picnic basket out and started filling it with all the necessary things.  After a few trips upstairs I had everything I needed.  First I packed a blanket to sit on, then plates and cups, bug spray....you never know when you'll need that, and most importantly the food........FOOD! I live for food.  So I packed Cheese of course, crackers,corn nuts, popcorn, chips, and meat too....But there was something missing....mmmmmm....I know!  The best root beer known to mousekind...Millstream!  Oh yeah! That topped everything I need to enjoy this wonderful holiday.  I just can't wait for the fireworks!!!

Amana House Mouse 

New Furniture

     Check out this wonderful new home warming furniture!!!  We just got it in the store a few weeks ago.  This stuff is some of the coolest vintage looking pieces that I have seen.  I could not wait to check it all out.  I think some of this beautiful merchandise needs to be located down in the basement were I can enjoy it, what do you think?  I know how great I look in pictures, so I decided to pose for a few on my blog.  My favorite piece by far would have to be the tractor seat.  I just look so stellar in it, and it's very comfortable! This furniture would look way cool in any one's house, including mine =)  I love the way the pictures turned out too.  So if you're looking for some new stuff to add to your home you better stop by the store and see it before I decide I need it!


Amana House Mouse

LIGHTS! CAMERA! ACTION!

     I was thinking the other day that my little house is quite dark.  So the only thing to do was to go pick out some lights.  I didn't have to walk in the store very far to find light fixtures, and all kinds of lights, lamps, even chandeliers.  The only question was how would I get the light that I wanted down into my house.....mmmm I decided that I should pick out the one that I wanted first and then recruit some help to move it.  It sounded like a good idea to me.  Deciding on which light seemed almost as hard as trying to move it.  The one that would best fit my home was the chandelier.  It was the biggest one, so I decided to call one of my good friends to help me move it.  I whipped out my phone book and called the High Amana Store Mouse, he is always very helpful.  I caught him while he was just on his way out to visit Wilbur at the Meat Shop, this was ideal, he was already making a trip over to Amana anyway.  Naturally he offered his help and was over in a jiffy.  On reaching the top of the chandelier we loved the view that it brought. We could see everything in the store.  It was lots of fun swinging around on it too.  Like I said in a jiff we had it down, and it was on the way to my hole.  The only problem was, we could not fit it into the hole.  I was sooooooooooo disappointed.  Well not all was lost.  We both thought it would be a good idea to hang it outside of my hole, and it would still light up my house just as well.  So that is just what we did.  Don't forget there are still lots more lights here at the store and I'm sure you would be able to find the right fit just like I did!


Amana House Mouse

Father's Day

     So Father's Day is this weekend and I could not decide what to get my father for a gift.  I thought that it might be a good idea to look around the store and see what manly things we have.  Starting in the basement sounded like a good idea, so I hopped out of my hole and started browsing around.  The first thing that caught my eye was the dual marshmellow roaster.....mmmmmmm I kind of wanted that for myself but I have to think of what my dad would like...Right, because it's Father's Day.  So I moved on the the cabin stuff.  We have cool cabin signs as well as furniture, bedding and all sorts of odds and ends.  I really like the log fans....but I would not be able to fit that into my house.  So I thought that a coffee mug and coasters would be just the thing...I don't know, shoot me some idea's on Facebook for what I should get!  I have my own page there, it is under "The House Mouse".  In the meantime I will just keep looking.  Talk to you soon!


Amana House Mouse

Lots of Stuff!

    

     Sometimes as a house mouse I like to get out of my hole and venture around the store, even at night.  However, the other day I noticed something that I never noticed before. There is a lot of stuff in this store. I don't know how in the world those workers keep track of all that stuff. People are always moving things to different places, and once I figure out where things are, I come back and they are gone.  So I decided to move some things around and see if they notice.  One night I came to the conclusion that it was time.  I moved Christmas items, Spring items, Fall items, Summer items, and just about everything except the food, and guess what happened.....no one seemed to notice, unbelievable.  I guess that just means we have a lot of things in our store-----Good things though, and people know it because now that it is summer there are people everywhere, and sometimes I can't leave my hole because it get's too crowded.  Anyway summer is finally here and business is picking up fast, so don't forget to come and visit me! See you soon!!


Amana House Mouse   

Maifest 2013

     Hello, House Mouse here.  Just wanted to drop in on my very special blog, and announce that Maifest last weekend was a success, even though it was kind of raining.  I, as a house mouse, am much like my name "House Mouse", which means that I stay in the house, so the rain didn't really affect me.  However, the rain did bring many people into the General Store.  I make my way around the store quite easily in my adventures, withdrawing what is rightfully mine in the store.  My favorite target is the cheese, naturally, so last weekend when I went for my afternoon snack I made my way up to the main floor, hopped on the food cooler, and decided what kind of cheese I would like best.  I usually take cheddar, but on this special occasion I decided to try something different.  As I hopped into the cooler I forgot how many cheese selections we have at our store, so I realized this would be a very tough decision. We have Colby, Farmers, Havarti, Havarti Dill, Cheddar, Swiss, Garden Vegetable, Sharp Cheddar, Pepper Jack, and Calico Cheese.  Can you believe that!  So as you can see this was a very difficult choice. In the end I decided to take a pinch of them all! Stop in at the Amana General Store and check them all out.  That's all for now.......I can smell the nuts roasting up stairs.  See you next time!!

                       Me in my lederhosen surrounded by cheese!


Amana House Mouse.