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THfc HERALD Wednesday November Page Main street offers plenty for Christmas shoppers One afternoon recently I went to Mam Street to see how the downtown merchants have prepared themselves and their street for the Christmas shopping season It was a bright cold day with some snow on the ground Seen from the sidewalk in front of McCarthys Tea Room the street was a splendid sight with gold and red decorations around every lamp post and innumerable lights twinkling in the many trees dropped in at Oxbow Books where a book signing session was going strong The book that was signed was Plain Noodles a wonderfully amusing story for children by Betty with superlative illustrations by Joanne Fitzgerald Ms Fitzgerald hap pens to live in Georgetown and here she was quite young herself surrounded by eager children and their parents signing one book after the other in distinctive handwriting that Iooks as good on the page as her fresh and buoyant illustrations She told me that she was born in Montreal that she studied art at Mount Allison University in New Brunswick that she has worked for seven years as a freelance lustrator for magazines and and that she and her family came to Georgetown from four years ago One day the designer of the Douglas and publishing firm noticed a spread of illustrations she had done for Chickadee magazine and brought them to the attention of his publisher Soon after she was selected to illustrate Ms Water ton s manuscript She worked on the illustrations day and night from November to March Plain Noodles came out Canadian book shops this month Right now she is illustrating her se cond book a story by Niko Scharer due to come out a year I bought two copies of Plain Noodles Next I went to Cachet the best gift shop town I am always on the lookout for things that are not massproduced Cachet has signed a kind pieces by Canadian glass blowers like Andrew Kuntz minutely detailed wildlife sculpture by Christopher Gosset mouse dolls by and decorative cats by Linda two ladies of this region From other countries Cachet has fine Staffordshire dinner ware Kashmir boxes and bracelets crystal and a not of objects too numerous to mention For wrapp ing you can spend as much as for the gift you want wrapped by the specially designed papers boxes and bags available at Cachet My next stop was at Foodstuffs a store where you are engulfed by the appetizing scents of dried fruit and honey and spice the moment you enter The store Is run by Ms Margaret Dye and her daughter Marcie Dye I asked about the ex colored pottery in one of their windows and was told that Ms Dye sister in law Janet Dye of Ottawa is the creator of these at tractive and inexpensive pieces On went past many eye catching shop windows with seasonal decorations seduced more than once by striking goods offered for sale Chnstiane for in stance has knitted tops displayed in her window that I find irresisti ble At The Final Touch baskets of Niagara grapevines and filled with bunches of red and pink and white and yellow freezedned roses the whole glorious arrangement the work of Andrea Nadherny Borutin caught my eyes And a few houses further I found myself in Victoria Lane admiring children s outfits by Aunty Norah of Georgetown smocked little girls dresse by Jacqueline very sophisticated party dresses for girls around ten years of age by Elen Henderson and sweatshirts that come with tubes of color in eluded so you can paint them yourself All of these wares are by Canadian designers Also at Vic tona Lane the softest baby shoes I have ever encountered from Spam Save Up To On Selected Items DRESSES SPORTSWEAR JACKETS COATS smith 133WyndhamSt Downtown 8217490 And since these just mentioned items belong to the category of wearable art let me name you two more designers that belong to this field One is of Georgetown who cuts and paints wooden figures and fastens them to tops for grown and children Whole scenes and landscapes ap pear on her garments attached in such a way that everything can be taken off when the garment is washed and afterwards replaced again The other is Ann Suzuki a artist who works with silk ex She has designed stupen dresses that together with wearable art are ex at House Sol on Charles Street to Dec 10 of this year Seasonal suggestions The Annual Bookish Alphabet from Downtown Georgetowns OXBOW BOOKS Here are a few gift ideas for seasonal gifts Thousands of titles In stock Announcing Jake The Kid W 0 Mitchell After The Applause Colleen Howe Atl My Beit George Burns An liquet Collectors Price Baby Sitters Club Beano Bridesmaid Ruth RendeP Rosemary Brown Being Brown A Very Public Life Business Cor porato Affairs Calendars including Advent Calvin Canadian Living flush hour Cookbook Canadian Classics Dandy Day in the Life of China Spy Line Desk Calendars Diaries Drawing of the Three Stephen King David Eddlngs Ellle the Ivy Allen Morgan Embroidery Empire of the Bay Peter Newman Fantasy Dick Francis Straight French language Childrens books Friendship Book Frigates of the Gardeners Encyclopedia of Garden Plants Bowers Gift Stationery Grand Hotels of North America Catherine Dome Martha Grimes Old Silent Harrowsmllh Cookbooks Ronnie Hawkins Last of the Good 01 Boys Sherman Canadian Landscape Portfolio House Is not a Home Eric Nielsen In a Canadian Garden Nicole Eaton Inventing the Future David Suzuki Italian Phrase Books Dictionaries Interior Decorating Joy of Life Jaguar Woman Meianie Watt Joey SmaDwood Harold Horwood Joy of Curling Ed Lukovlch Art of the Portrait Tracy Kidder Among Schoolchildren Stephen King Dark Half Knitting Gordon Korman Hadlo Fifth Grade Latest Papers Peter Margaret Laurence Dan on the Earth Les Miserable Victor Hugo dean McMichael Canadian art collection James McNair Pie Cookbook Roland Mfchener Last Victory Robert Munich Mulkoka Judy Ross Natural Curiosity Margaret Drabble Nature Night of the Mary Kay Com Bloom County Norman Snowball Haiti Hutchtns Margaret Oliver Cookbook for Seniors Onley Arctic Ottawa In side Out Stevie Cameron Out of print Books Ozone Crisis Sharon Roan Pal Hal Dick Beddoes Paper Photography Plain Noodles Janet Waterton Picture Frames Quick meal Cookbooks Quiet time Activity Books for Children Quit Smoking Books Radical Mandarin Memoirs of Escolt Reid Mordecal Solomon Gursky was Here Royal Family Running West James Houston Second World War Annlver Self help Cameron Smith Un finished Journey Sweel Valley High and Twins Stationery Teenage Mutant Hints Turtles That Ok Black Magic Arthur Black Thomas the Tank Engine Times Atlas of 2nd World War Towards a Juil Society Pierre Tnideau Ultimate Prizes Susan Under the Sun and Over the Moon Kevin Holland Peter Ustinov The La Varenrn Pratique Cookbook Vegetarian Cookbooks Voyaging with the Whales Cynthia DVIn cent Waldo Eric Wilton Wooden Toys Woodworking Max Dance Canada An Illustrated victory 30 Certificate for the first correct answer Which comedian came out with Outside of a dog a book Is s best friend Inside of dog it too dark to read Paul Yee Tales from Gofd Moun tain Scott Young Home for Christmas Youngest 6oafte Brian McFartane Or Zed Science Surprises And put in your with a good book DICK BEDDOES AT OXBOW Dick Beddoes will be at Oxbow Books lor a chat and to sign copies of Pal Hal his new book about Hal Ballard COME ALONG AND MEET HIM 2 pm SATURDAY DECEMBER 9 BOOKS FOR EVERYBODY COLOURFUL FREE HANDBOOK Hundreds excellent Ideas or book gilts Drop by for a copy or phone and we will mall you one GIFT CERTIFICATES FOR ANY VALUE YOU WISH ALSO GIFT STATIONERY CALENDARS DIARIES EXTENDED HOURS NOVEMBER Mon Tues Wad Thurday Friday pm Saturday 930530 DECEMBER Open Until 9 Weekday Evenings Sat incl Dec 23 930530 pm It OXBOW BOOKS 8778861 102 Main St S Downtown Georgetown