A Weekend of Detours

Of course I have to work today, but tomorrow DH and I will attend the American Craft Council show and look at lots of beautiful things. It's road construction season in Minnesota because the snow is gone and therefore the frontloaders come out. Usually I'm peripherally affected. This year will be VERY different and I'll be in the center of the storm.

David Royce's amazing glasswork has been shown at the ACC Show in
past years. I wonder whose work will be exhibited this year? 

Bridges are being dropped both north and south of me on the main road where I drive every day to get from home to work and back. The road is being ripped up and redone, and this weekend a main portion of our central interstate highway is closed for electrical repositioning. This is the beginning of what might well be a nightmare for our customers trying to get to the shop.

Traffic jams like this on I-94 will become more common and
commutes through the center of the cities will increase up to an hour
in time while they drop and rebuild the Snelling Avenue bridge. 

Starting on Monday I'll have to go on back roads to a different trunk route to get to the gym. Since I leave the house at 4:45 am, I'm not necessarily the most awake person at that hour and I know I'll get caught by road construction and closures at least once before I learn my new route. Ugh! In the middle of the week, the I-94/Snelling Avenue bridge will be dropped and rebuilt. The project will be complete in late August. Since this is the main north/south/east/west intersection and route to the shop, it's going to impact my customers and my bottom line. Also, I don't know exactly when they will start work on the street in front of my shop, but they will be changing the street layout, narrowing the sidewalks, eliminating all of the on-street parking, repaving, and generally, making life a nightmare for my shop and my customers over the next six months.

This might be the most accurate map of my next few months. 

Somewhere and somehow, over the year, I actually have to sell product and make a living. It's a hard thing to do if people can't get to my shop. The only positive thing is two other area bead stores have gone or are going out of business now, so the field of competitiors has once again narrowed. Of course, if people can't get through my door ... *sigh*. Enjoy your weekend and I'll be back on Monday.