TOYS R THEM!
  Little ones of all ages will simply love G. WILLIKER’S TOY SHOPPE (202 Oak St., 541-387-2229), where toddler-size versions of the cartoonlike Gee Bee Sport Racer Plane ($439) hang upside-down from the ceiling as if invisible pilots are engaged in a dogfight with the Red Baron. (Tell the budding historians in your family that pioneer aviatrix Maude Tait won the 1931 Cleveland National Air Race in a full-size Gee Bee flying some 187 miles per hour! The daredevil won a whopping $3,750!)
  “I sell a lot of classic toys, dolls, trucks, trains and crafts—but not so much plastic,” says shop owner Jennifer Wood, who was a manager at Eddie Bauer before opening her own store some  5 1/2 years ago.
  Crack up over your crazy reflection in the funhouse mirror, then pick out some alphabet-shaped gummies ($1 for a dozen) and hit the basement for a race with a couple of wooden Duck Runners ($19) that are handmade in Washington state. May the best webfoot win!  

    
A PATTERNED LANGUAGE SPOKEN HERE
“This is what I get to do all day: play with yarn!” says Nichole Reese, who helps avid knitters make their yarn and pattern selections at KNOT ANOTHER HAT (16 Oak St, Suite 202, 541-308-0002 or knotanotherhat.com), a three-year-old boutique for “everything hip and knitworthy.” Think specialty yarns, designer patterns, knitting needles, books, project totes and pretty baskets in which to keep your yarn twists and needles.
  Nonknitters will want to touch the not-for-sale pint-size sweaters and baby caps shaped like strawberry tops ($4 for the Ann Norling Design pattern), cutie-patootie wool “stems” included! You’ll find tens of pattern brands and ropes of yarns from 40 companies such as Imperial Stock Ranch Wool ($10 for a 50-yard skein of Lopi Osprey), made from sheep raised in Maupin, Ore.
“How would I describe our yarns,” asks Reese? “Yummy!”

FROM LUXE RUGS TO A WHALE OF A PLUG
Whether you need a set of Tempur-Pedic Swedish mattresses, a short stack of super-pile Abyss bath towels ($55) or a fun Blue Whale tub plug for the kids ($7.25), you’ll probably find it at PLUSH BED AND BATH (210 State Ave., 541-386-3036 or go to plushbedand-bath.com). This one-stop store sells Company C rugs (from 3 by 5s to a 10 by 14!) sheets, shams and quilts. Upstairs you’ll find a great chrome hamper ($58), bathroom hardware, Aroma European specialty soaps and rub-a-dub-dub ready loofas.

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