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At the office this morning I was talking with one of the county commissioners. His wife is a quilter. He does not mind (except when she mentioned purchasing machine #3) and goes with her on buying trips. He patiently waits in the car and listens to the radio.

His complaint:
Why don't the stores who cater to women have Men Only Areas? A few good sitting chairs, some sports magazines, television set to ESPN sports...

Sounds like a great idea. But my question is why don't auto supply stores, lumber yards, sporting goods stores have the same setup for us women?! In addition to women oriented magazines, television set to HGTV or FoodTV - why not have a few sewing machines too?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: KeepYouInStitches,

LOL...my sentiments to a T....Sherry...lol...

One lqs before closing had chairs and magazines for me. Chairs weren't that comfortable, but at least a sitting area. Also toys for kids. When she reopened at another location, doesn't have those.

I think it would be a good idea. Of course I would rather shop without dh.

Don't think I have ever been to a repair shop, car wash etc. that had ladies magazines in the waiting area.

Most of the LQS's around here have a sofa or chairs for waiting. No ESPN, but at least somewhere to plop down. One former store had rockers on the front porch, and I'd often see men out there. I can think of another LQS that has a coffee shop in the same strip of shops. That's where my husband would disappear to, if I ever took him along (but why??).

I had to laugh -- I recently had to pick up DH @ the shop that was doing some work on his truck & putting some special tires on it. When I walked in, it was Testosterone City in there! All sorts of Boy Toys on display, lots of black & chrome, and it even smelled like tires. I was the only hen in the rooster house for sure! When we went to leave, I told him I was going to stop at McD's to use the ladies' room. He said, "There's a restroom here..." I said NO WAY was I going in there! LOL!!

Huh uh. No way. DH does NOT go shopping with me if I can help it!!!! And I'll let him do the auto runs, thank you.

Fabric Depot has a waiting area with a table, lots of chairs, magazines and a tv. When we were there Saturday I didn't notice what was on the tv but the area had men only in it.

DH waits for me...he enjoys listening to the radio. He never says a word about how long it takes or anything...except once while I was in Hobby Lobby...in the middle of a hot Texas August...I'm talking 100+ temps. Even with the a/c running. He has been in Hancock's and Joann's with me before, but he does not like the stinky stuff in Hobby Lobby - candles, potpourri, eucalyptus, etc.

We were with BIL and SIL one day in Houston so that they could pick out some floor tile. (For some reason DH was driving.) As we turned into that shopping center, I turned to SIL and asked if she'd been in that Joann's. She looked like a hoot owl turning her head on her neck asking WHERE? LOL She'd never noticed it. I asked DH if he minded letting us check it out. BIL immediately vetoed it. DH asked, What's it going to hurt? as he wheeled into a parking slot in front of Joann's. We both thanked him profusely and hopped out.

along with sewing machines a bit of fabric and a few quilting tools would be nice.

Sherry, did BIL have a hissy fit when his wife came out with Joann's purchase?

I'm with you on having something decent to read (and footstools for the chairs) at the tire store. It does make sense to take the Ipad along with the books on it! Guess I better go make a bag to hold it with the check book---oh, I have already done that.

I was at a doctor's office not too long ago, and all they had were golf magazines or medical ones. Obviously Dr. Male Doctor is the one who decorates his waiting room. I was very tempted to go back with a stack of old issues of Family Circle & Woman's Day to deposit them there!

I know of one car dealership in my town that has a quilting magazine....'cause I left mine there. lolll

These are some great suggestions.

My ex and I once were in a store up North about 20 yrs ago and for once we were both happy! On one side of the store it was a sewing and craft store and on the other side it was a bait and tackle shop, lol. We both thought it would make the ideal retirement business and keep us both happy.

Once before SIL and I left the house together, BIL issued the edict (I think that's the word I'm looking for), Don't bring another piece of fabric to this house.

I told him that she was actually saving money for every piece of fabric she bought and he wanted to know how I came to that conclusion.

She's saved lots of money: He hasn't had to bail her out of jail for street-walking, shop-lifting, any of those horrible crimes.

SIL grabbed her purse, toss it over her shoulder, and out the door we went.

The tire shop I frequent has some ladies magazines for me. They will even change the TV channel. But the best part of going there is they don't treat me like a "stupid" person who doesn't know anything about cars. One time I took my truck to a muffler shop for a new muffler (there was no muffler on it - thanks to ex's try at repair) and the "mechanic" asked me how I knew it needed a muffler. I have never gone back to that muffler shop since and it has been over 30 years.

One LQS has lets anyone sit in the classroom and wait if there is no class. The other one encourages her husband to "hang" around - he is a talker and keeps everyone entertained plus he runs the shop when she is out of town. The quilters checked him out the first time he was in charge. I think she did a little extra business that week.

There's a hardware store in town that's been in business about 80 years (until recently family owned) that had a "ladies" area...cooking utensils and doodads... I have 43 years of good memories of going with my dad and husband to Fresno Ag. We'd split off into our "areas" and have a great time. Lots of both men and women employees, experts in their areas. It holds its own with the big boys. A small town feel and lots of oldtimers. Still love going there.

Nancy, we had one of those hardware stores in the area. The owner died a few years ago sitting in his chair near the pot bellied stove. His son-in-law took over and it is still the same. I can go there and tell him what I need and he has it, even had to blow the dust off a few times. I love going there. Even had an old time cash register with the crank well into the 90s.

There was one of those hardware/general mercantile stores in my home town until the infamous bully store came to town. After only a few years, the old store simply couldn't stay open any longer. Sad, cause they had been there for around 100 years. It was a drug store, mercantile/fabric store and hardware store all in one. And all the other clothing stores and such are gone, too. Now just your typical strip mall with poor quality everything.

Hardware store: One in Lake Jackson TX did survive the "big-box" store...two as a matter of fact. I think it's called Lake Hardware on Oyster Creek Drive. Still family owned as far as I know. When I moved to LJ in 1997, The Home Depot had opened and already closed! Lowe's came in, but still did not cause Lake Hardware to close. For one-on-one service, LH just couldn't be beat!