I think it is time to welcome the fine folks of the lakes area to my art gallery located in Carlos.  It has been 3 years in the making after the purchase of the Carlos Grocery Store.  It has been a very hands-on experience for me as well as a physical workout.  Who needs a gym if you're stripping floors, tearing down sheet rock, mudding, taping, siding, painting and tinning? 

http://www.rubyhillgallery.com

Traffic has been low since the opening in October, and fuel prices have been high, so it has been a chilly quiet winter.  I have sat at my drawing table and watched the snow plows, snow flakes, and changing weather through the large picture windows. 

It is warmer now, today, and I had a few visitors.  Good conversations and shared ideas reflected the long awaited thaw of Douglas County.

Ruby Hill Gallery is open Wed-Sat, 10 am to 5 pm, 320-852-9900.

Downtown Alexandria once again looked beautiful as it was adorned with brilliantly beautiful flower baskets.  Through the initiative of the Downtown Merchants Association, those flower baskets were in bright bloom adding to our charming downtown area.

The Downtown Merchants Association would like to thank the following individuals and businesses for their generous donations to keep Alexandria looking beautiful in the summertime:

AAAA             Alex Chamber of Commerce        Alex Senator Baseball Club      Alexandria Classic Clippers     Alexson & Belmont Apartments       American National Bank  Anderson, Paul  Billmark's Lakes Area   Bon Jo's        Bremer Bank     Bursch Travel   Carlos Creek Winery     Cedar Rose Inn  Charlie's Bazaar        Coldwell Banker Colorful Seasons        Computer Specialists    Cornerstone Chiropractic        Counselor Realty        Cowing Robards  Creative Touch Gallery  Diekman Jewelry Donald C. Johnson LTD   Douglas County Abstract       Echo Press      First State Bank of Alexandria  From The Heart  Fuchs, Carol & Gary     Greeting Cards Plus     Hedine Jewelry / Mary's Daily Grind

Hovda, Clayton & Judy   Integrity Title, Inc.   Johnson Chiropractic & Sports/Dahlquist Chiropractic Clinic     Joy, June & Sam Karrow's Jewelry        KIKV    KXRA    Kyle's Barber Shop      Lee, Kathryn & Bumper   Lerfald, Sandi  Lillehaugen, Mike & Kathie      Magpie  Martinson Insurance     Master Gardeners        Mustard Seed    Myron Larson Insurance  Old Broadway    Partington Zimny Insurance      Pugh, Charles & Donna Rae       Runestone Museum        Scandinavian Gift Shop      Scrapbooking Up North   Sweet Seasons   Swenson Lervick      Unicel RCC      US Bank Viking Pawn     Wadsworth, Ed   Wells Fargo     Yesterday's

Special thanks to Sandy Sailor for watering those flowers, daily!

If you would like to learn more about The Downtown Alexandria Flower Project or about The Downtown Alexandria Merchants Association please click through to their website: www.downtownalexandria.com.

To See More Beautiful Flower Baskets click on this Text.

In the Alan Jackson song, Little Man, he talks about how our choices to shop at large national stores are driving, essentially, our neighbors out of their small, locally-owned, businesses.

             Now they are lined up in a concrete strip
You can buy the world with just one trip
And save a penny cause it’s jumbo size
They don’t even realize
They’er killin’ the little man
Oh the little man     

At BluebirdToday, we will honor the "Little Man" with our series of small business features.  Alexandria has a vibrant economy and downtown area, let's keep it that way!

If you know of any business that you would like to have featured, we would be more than happy to do so for FREE!  Simply call our office 320-763-4185 and say you would like to help support the "Little Man" with a story on BluebirdToday.