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Published Thursday, November 19, 2009 in Local

Annual holiday sale Friday, Saturday

By Winston Skinner

The Newnan Times-Herald

One afternoon this week, Genet Barron, Frances Goodson and Joyce Hollis sat around one of the tables in the commons -- which is named for Barron -- at Wesley Woods of Newnan-Peachtree City.

The trio talked, laughed -- and planned -- as they placed pairs of festive red orbs into small bags with a bit of ribbon attached. The red objects turned out to be delectable chocolates, giant malted milk balls from an Indiana chocolatier.

The bags of candy will be given to each shopper -- as long as they last -- at the Wedgewood Boutique at Wesley Woods on Friday and Saturday. The volunteers who run the boutique -- and through it raise money for a wide variety of projects at the senior citizen community -- will be busy today getting ready for the annual holiday sale.

The boutique is tucked into a large room just inside the main entrance. For the sale on Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m.-5 p.m., there will be holiday decor and other items outside the boutique itself.

"We'll have tables all out through here," Goodson said, motioning with one hand to the adjacent area.

Goodson, a retired educator, is the prime mover behind the boutique. The shop is run entirely by volunteers, and others involved in the process say Goodson is an expert at getting the rock-bottom price for items from the AmericasMart in Atlanta.

The shop carries a wide range of clothing, jewelry and gifts. A popular offering right now probably has a name, but no one seems to know what it is officially called. Long, thin and metallic, it can be twisted and used as a belt, a necklace, a bracelet -- and probably for other uses in the hands of a creative person. "That's something new this time," Goodson said.

There will be a half-price sale on Russian Blue Luster diamonds, synthetic diamonds. "We've got rings. We've got earrings. We've got necklaces -- a good selection," Goodson said.

One wall features handbags "of all kinds, colors and sizes," Goodson said. Decorative china, music boxes and "a large selection of jewelry of all prices" can be found, she said.

Women's jackets hang in one area -- many of them made of silk.

One of the new items this time is a cloth basket that can be used for shopping or to keep sewing materials -- even for a small picnic. The baskets come in several bright colors, and one model has a zip top.

The shop always carries gifts for weddings and for babies. There also are some college themed T-shirts, boxers and lounge pants. "The majority of it is Georgia and Auburn," Goodson noted.

Since the Christmas season is drawing near, there will be a wide range of Christmas merchandise which has been stored in preparation for the sale. In addition to a diverse spread of decorative items, there will be inexpensive stocking stuffers.

Volunteers are a key to the ongoing fundraising project, but Goodson said the maintenance, housekeeping and office staff at Wesley Woods all offer assistance in many ways. "They're very good to help us," she said.

Goodson and the other volunteers obviously enjoy the camaraderie, but they also like helping make life better for everyone at Wesley Woods. "Everything comes back to Wesley Woods," Goodson said. "Everybody works free."

In the past, the boutique's funds have helped with the purchase of a new bus to take residents to various events and activities. There was a $3,000 outlay to help with planting trees and other greenery on the grounds.

It is "the little things" funded by the boutique that go a long way toward "making life a little more fun," Goodson said, noting that a golf trophy was one smaller purchase. "It's whatever comes up," Goodson said.

"And it comes up," Barron quipped, putting two more malted milk balls into a bag.

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