bittersweet

got some really bad news today - our favorite local toy shop - tookie's toys - is closing its doors.  this is sad in two ways - not only are they truly the ONLY good toy store around, but also it is where my sister works.  so, she'll be back on the job market.  hopefully she'll find another job as awesome as the one at tookie's pretty quickly! 

ok, so that is all the bitter side. 

the sweet side is that since they are closing, they are selling everything.  this INCLUDES the train table that my kids have loved since the first day we discovered the store.  fortunately, we already have a nilo and a ton of trains, so, katherine (the owner) is letting me buy just the train tracks and the flat to which they are attached (nailed down)!!!  how awesome is that?  not in a million years could we be able to build a train set as awesome as this one. 

i'd really rather the table stay at tookie's and the store stay open.  but, in the mean time, i'm glad i get to keep a piece of a local legend - right in my very own home!  the table will stay there until they close completely so we'll not pick it up until july.  i wonder if she'll be able to tell me who built it - and maybe a little history about it!  this is something i hope to hang on to for a very long time.  i know i'm not sentimental, but this table just seems like a treasure to me!