It's My "Day Off" and an Unexpected Meeting With a Friend

Today, Jake should be coming around to fix one part on my treadmill and he'll also show me how to lubricate the belt (and maybe do it for me this time - LOL). I'm pleased that I can piggy-back onto his visit with the belt lubrication. If we had actually managed to link up earlier, I would have had to rely on video instructions for that process, and they're not very clear. 

I love my treadmill, but I want it to be 100% correct, 
properly lubed and without a part coming loose. So, 
Jake and I will finally be able to mesh our schedules 
today and I'll get my treadmill back up to 100%. 

I made an executive decision that we will close the store at 2:00 pm on Saturday the 24th, instead of 3:00 pm which was what DH wanted. I want to go to the "Ceremony of Life" for my oldest nephew a bit earlier than he had planned. I'd like to spend some time with the family and not feel rushed at all, but be able to circulate and spend some time with these people. I only get to see them at holidays, and those times are always a bit of a zoo. This might not be an exception - all those kids do tend to "liven things up" a bit - LOL. 

There is nothing like the sparkle of a Swarovski crystal 
bead, and we still have a HUGE amount of them since we 
were one of the largest sellers of that type of bead in 
the five-state area. I only have the cube shape listed on 
Etsy, and I've been getting some nice sales through that 
lately. Yippee! 

I had a large Etsy order yesterday afternoon, so I was kept busy. But I got it all done, invoiced, packed and shipped. One more thing done, and more Swarovski crystals out my door. Whoot! I know my prices on these are insanely low, and I should probably raise them, but it doesn't make sense to me to do that. I'm making what I need to and getting product I rarely sell out of my door and into the hands of crafters who will use them. That's a win for me. 

I'm not really sure why I started calling the desk 
monitors "Gate Gargoyles", except they are the people 
who unlock the doors in the morning and let all of us 
into the YMCA. I've known some really wonderful 
Gate Gargoyles in my years of attendance, many of 
whom I still run into now and again. Our current gate 
gargoyle is Sabrina - she's awesome! 

Yesterday I dropped by the grocery store to pick up my "birthday cupcake". My store gives you a cupcake of your choice from the case as a birthday gift. I haven't taken advantage of it for several years - their cupcakes are anything BUT sugar, dairy and gluten free - LOL. But I decided I would walk on the wild side and allow myself the treat. While in line to check out, I heard a familiar voice call my name and felt myself getting hugged by the guy behind me in line. It was Brian! Brian used to be our "Gate Guardian" at the YMCA years ago (he was a sweet guy to have behind the door). Then he married Dave, they moved around the Twin Cities a bit, then moved to Atlanta, Ga. Then Brian was diagnosed with brain cancer, and after surgery and recovery, they decided to move back up here because the Mayo Clinic is so close and he can get his treatment there from the best doctors in the nation. It was absolutely wonderful to see him again, and he looked great! Hopefully we'll run into one another again when we both have a bit more time to catch up. 

As a "Rewards Member" at my local grocery store, 
I was issued a certificate for a free cupcake of my 
choice (there is a time frame in which this coupon 
can be used). I had skipped it the past few years, 
but decided to indulge this year. It was wonderful 
and very delicious, and I can easily set it aside again 
for another year. Back to my usual food choices - 
NO sugar, NO dairy and NO gluten - LOL. 

So, I'm off to the pool. Have an excellent Wednesday and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini.