Shiny Things and a Walk Through My Past

Yesterday's "day off" didn't work quite the way I wanted/needed, but it was still productive. Not a single box was opened or dragged away from it's current location for a more in-depth look. Not a shelf was dusted, not a stone or setting was put away. Instead, I concentrated on product for the shop that we really needed, and my lack of forward cleaning progress as well as my swollen and abraded hands on the keyboard this morning are bearing testament to my choice of task. 

Yesterday's cleaning goals were accompanied by a singular
lack of forward progress. Still, I was successful in one way.
Here's the Tale of my Day Off ...

My history as a shopkeeper goes back into the mid-1980's when, after years of office work as an Administrative Assistant, I was fired. I tossed my stuff into a box, shed less than 20 tears, and headed to the local hangout bar with several co-workers for a final drink. I didn't miss the job - still don't after all these years - but the people I worked with were friends. (Some remained friends for decades afterward.)  

I was thirty-five years old when I lost my Administrative Assistant position
for the CPA firm, and I didn't shed a lot of tears for this one. It was
time to move on and start a new phase of my life. 

I was at loose ends, so DH suggested we do something we had been kicking around for a while - open a shop selling Native American art and products from the Southwestern US. It took a while to gather product and build out our space in the huge warehouse-like structure where DH's business was already located, but we managed and soon became known as a place to go for authentic Native American artwork and crafts. 

DH's building was located in the northern end of a huge warren of
hallways and a maze of corridors in the northern part of this
old building. He had a large warehouse space on the third floor where
he operated his own business, started by his father. Our first ads
featured the tag line "Hard to Find But Worth the Hunt". 

It was a bumpy road, but an interesting one. It led to my family in Pine Ridge, South Dakota, and to my second store at the Mall of America (the maw of hell - truly, an ugly place but an interesting experiment on my part). DH ended up closing his business while I was still at MOA, and we moved the St Paul store to a new, on-the-street location where we are still at today. Our ties with a business partner in New Mexico gave us a nominal third location - a trading post in the Four Corners area of the US. These were fun, but exhausting times. 

Mall of America sucked away my soul in so many ways. I had a lease
there and I left the day my lease ended. I think I've been back twice
since then, so that's two times through these doors since 1996. The best
thing was my staff, and Chickie still works with me after a few breaks
for life. So, I also got a great friend and co-worker from MOA. But
generally, if you're looking for hell on earth, wander the sterile
halls of Mall of America. 

Why bring all of this up today? Yesterday's choice to polish chain instead of desecrate boxes in search of appropriate locations for the contents was a walk down memory lane. The sterling silver neck chains were all from my MOA store, and VERY tarnished. I spent hours dipping, scrubbing, rinsing, drying, hanging, and finally bagging chains that we need at the shop. Today I'll price them and we'll finally have some shorter chains available for pendants. Our customers will be pleased, and my hands will heal. No boxes emptied yesterday, but still a winning situation (and a chance to share some back-story of my life with all of you). Have a wonderful Thursday and I'll be back tomorrow.