It's Christmas Week - I Shouldn't Complain *sigh*

It's 6:20 am and I'm already running late. I need to get to the grocery store for some essentials, then to the shop to drop them off (we have a small refrigerator at the shop) and then on to the Post Office to send my final greeting card - unfortunately to my dear friend of many years Cecelia who is located in Peru. There's NO WAY she's getting her card by Christmas. *sigh* 

Peru has some exceptional locations, including this one. 
I would love to visit the nation some time, but I doubt 
I'll ever be able to actually manage it. Still, having a good 
friend of many years there, I can think of her traveling 
around her nation, seeing the many sites to visit, and 
I can enjoy it through her eyes. 

It's been an incredibly difficult Christmas season. Not that we're overrun with customers. No - we're hearing crickets more often than "Hello" these days, and that's NOT what we want to be hearing. But I'm well aware that we deal in items that are cyclical in nature - our Native American items will always have a market, but that market ebbs and flows and right now we're at an ebb point. Our craft supplies are always something that sells, but crafts rotate also. Right now, yarn crafts are quite popular again - knitting, crocheting, and needlepoint. Beadwork will always have its' crafters, but is not as popular today as it was ten years ago, or might be ten years from now. It's ebb tide, and that's just what we didn't need to end up the year. 

Beaded sports medallions have always been 
a popular item to make. We have a treatment 
center nearby whose Native American residents 
are always beading a variety of sports medallions 
and other custom work. They're some of the 
nicest people we've met over the years. They're 
not there for lont - 6 weeks to 6 months - but 
while there, they are frequent shoppers. 

But we hang in there. It's not easy, and it tends to set all of us on edge with each other, so work time can be "challenging" not just to help customers, but to interact with each other. Right now the Grinch has nothing on us. We're all in the mood to swoop down on Whoville and ruin their Christmas. Not good. I usually really enjoy Christmas. A bit less this year. Having it fall in the middle of the week as it is, well, that's also a challenge. I'll get days off, but my psyche needs more than that. I need a serious break, and I don't see that happening for quite a while yet. 

We don't live in Whoville, singing carols and gathering 
together to eat Roast Beast. But we try - every one of us - 
we try to have a good holiday season, no matter what aspect 
of the season we celebrate. As long as we are kind to 
each other and look out for one another, we'll be 
fine. 

Still, I shouldn't complain. I have it a lot better than many in this nation - I have a roof over my head, money in the bank, heat that works and a companion who usually loves me (and probably does even when he's crabby at me). Life could be SO much worse. I've been fortunate in my life, so I need to shift my point of view and focus on the positive. DH focuses on the negative quite enough for both of us. LOL Have an excellent Monday and a good start to your Christmas week. I'll be posting on Tuesday, but taking Wednesday and Thursday off from posting for my holiday time. Enjoy your day. Slava Ukraini.