I Had a Great Christmas - Did You?

Did you survive Christmas? Did Santa Claus bring you what you wanted? Santa was quite generous for me, and I now have the next season of "Midsommer Murders" and "Maigret" on DVD. Since we were completely unable to watch "Maigret" because of technical issues with the feed, I'm delighted and can hardly wait to dive into it without the broadcasting issues we had been experiencing. 

We really liked what we were able to see of 
Maigret, but the feed was horrific, so we weren't 
really able to enjoy it. Now we have the DVD, 
so we'll have the fun of watching without the 
issues of the feed. 

Today starts our four-day END OF THE YEAR SALE. It's a huge sale, and we'll get a lot of people through. It goes Friday and Saturday this week, and Monday and Tuesday next week. We'll have Wednesday and Thursday off next week again, and that will be totally delightful (and absolutely necessary). I'm already looking forward to it, even though we'll have to attempt to print out our year-end reports and get the various State and Federal year-end forms filed. So even though we won't be open for sales, we'll still be at the shop for several hours. 

Today starts our Four-Day End of the Year Sale - our 
biggest sale of the year. I'm hoping we get the sales 
numbers, I think we will. 

Chickie gave the small watercolor painting she had purchased for her Mom to Claire yesterday and she adored it. Claire texted me that she wants the second one in the set, and she'll be in today to buy it. So, I'll reserve it for her. It is a set of two, and I'm pleased that she wants the second piece. Our year-end sale is the best sale we have, so she'll be getting a good price too. 

I was a bit disappointed in holiday cards this year. I received about half of the number that I usually get, and my mantle looks a bit sparse. Still, there are at least two overseas cards that I usually get that I know were sent and are probably somewhere between here and there - LOL. I don't pull the cards down until after the New Year, so there's still time for some holiday cheer. 

Both DH and Chickie gave me gift cards from Barnes & 
Noble - a guaranteed happy gift for me - the perennial 
bookworm. LOL 

Looking at my desk (which really needs a good year-end cleaning), I see that Santa was kind enough to give me $70 in Barnes & Noble gift cards, so I'll make sure to load those up on my account for the next e-books I want to get in the series I'm reading down. Getting books always makes me smile - it's one of my happy things. As I said above, DH hit it out of the park with the "Midsomer Murders" and "Maigret" DVD's. He also got me two sets of running shorts, and will buy me a new set of running shoes when we can get to the mall together. I desperately need a new pair - my current ones are falling apart. All in all, I'm calling it a successful Christmas. DH got lots of things that he wanted, and some things he didn't know he wanted, (but he actually did) - LOL

I hope you also had a lovely Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. I'm heading to the shop for what I hope will be a very busy first day of our "After Christmas Four-Day Sale". Enjoy your Friday and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini. 

Time - It's Not Really My Friend Today

I'm on time, but I'm running late. Have any of you ever had days like that? I was slightly delayed because I took a bit more time for my morning meditation, but also making the bed up took longer because the blankets were all messed up. Then I got onto the treadmill, about ten minutes later than usual, and thought, "Maybe I'll shorten my workout a bit because I'm running a little late". But, I also chose scenery that would keep me interested and feed my homesickness for the Southwest. I ran through Utah and Arizona this morning, and no, I didn't cut it short at all. 

Apparently rare earth metals have been found in the deserts 
of Utah. This fabulous landscape may become trash as 
developers and mining companies rush to purchase plots 
and start mining. We currently purchase our rare earth 
elements from China. But this large deposit may be the 
saving of our computers and the death of our landscapes. 

I took my usual length of shower, except DH came down while I was in there and I was slightly delayed getting out of the water. I dried off and got dressed, and my pants were fighting me - LOL. I finally got upstairs to make my tea and the teakettle (we have a new one - our old one died a week or so ago) took FOREVER to get the water even simmering. (I suspect we've been filling the new kettle a bit more than necessary. It's a much larger kettle than we used to own). 

DH destroyed our tea kettle when he was dealing with 
ice on the roof a couple of weeks ago. So, he bought 
us a new tea kettle at Wally World - a Mr Coffee 
brand. I like the teakettle, but it holds a LOT more water 
than the old one, and takes much longer to come to a 
boil (or even a simmer). It's going to take a while until 
I determine how much water to have it in for my morning tea. 

Finally I got the kettle simmering enough for tea, made my cuppa and my travel mug, and headed down to write this blog for the day. It's 6:45 am now, and I need to leave no later than 7:30, and I still need to eat my breakfast. So, all of those small delays have made a short post a necessity today. 

They are on their way! My domestic holiday cards are 
being mailed on my way to work today. My internationals 
were mailed last week. I'm a bit late, but not TOO late - LOL. 

It's mid-December, my international holiday cards were mailed last week, and my domestic cards are going out today. I hope you have a wonderful Monday, and that your day isn't quite as rushed as mine is already trending. I'll be back tomorrow, hopefully with a post that has a bit more "meat" in it - LOL. Slava Ukraini. 

It's A Quick Post Today - The Pool is Calling to Me

I don't have a lot of time today to post. Because of the snow earlier this week, I pushed off my swimming schedule by one day while I dug the house and driveway out. So ... today is that make-up day. I'll be in the pool instead of on the treadmill today. That means I've got about 10 minutes to get this up before I need to get into the car. 

Sometimes it seems like my life is running around in 
circles - one after the other. But ... yesterday turned into 
a really good day after a somewhat rocky start. 

My international Holiday Cards went into the mail yesterday. I still need to do a bit of work on my domestic cards, so those will be sent early next week. DH has "requested" (more like ordered) me to work at the shop today, so my second "day off" of the week isn't happening. And, of course, we're working on Sundays for a few more weeks. Any "spare" time I had is quickly disappearing. But ... I'll get those cards into the mail ASAP. 

My international cards are now on their way. I'll have 
my USA cards in the mail, hopefully no later than early 
next week. I'm running late, and I apologize! 

I didn't make cards this year - time simply wasn't anywhere on my side. I went for beauty instead, and chose a card assortment of five views in each box. They're all lovely, and what you're getting from me was a totally random choice of which card came up in the pile next. I've already started receiving holiday cards from some of you, and I know that my mantle will look very festive within the next week or so. 

My Mind Matters group yesterday was a real joy to 
attend again, and with my friend Claire (Chickie Mama) 
alongside. I've made some friends in that group and I'm 
going to miss them after next week's final meeting. 

Yesterday's Mind Matters group was actually a very good back and forth of tips, techniques, and observations between all of us in the group. Sue was there again, and things are going much better for her Mom now - a really good development - but we were missing Becky. I suspect she thought it was just too difficult for her to maneuver through parking lots, etc with her walker. Next week will be the final meeting of the group and I'm finding that I'll really miss that give and take. They're really great people, every one of them. 

So, I'm out of here and heading for the swimming pool. Have an excellent Friday and I'll be back tomorrow to wrap up the week. Slava Ukraini. 

It's Monday - Hopefully I Can Be On Schedule This Week

In two hours (more or less), we'll be talking with Travis again, and hiring him to help us close the store. I'm terrified in many ways ... this is a HUGE decision, and it's a VERY costly one. We'll be paying him $1000's of dollars by the end of all of this, but I think he'll be able to run the sale the way I really wanted to - without the dog and pony show of my previous contacts. The downpayment alone is more than the cost of my first new car. *sigh* 

It's always a bit scary for me when we're making large 
financial commitments, and hiring Travis to oversee our 
End of Business Sale event is one of those expensive 
commitments. I'm hiring him because I think he can do 
the job better than anyone else I've investigated and/or 
interviewed. 

We're also open on Sundays now - two Sundays remaining. We rarely get customers on those days, and had nobody yesterday. It really all depends on the weather more than anything. Yesterday was clear, but it was damned COLD (and I suspect this Winter will be a cold one, based on our first few days of the current cold snap). I'm still trying to get my holiday cards sent. If you normally receive a card from me but have moved to a new address over the past year, please message me and update me ASAP. I'm hoping that all cards will hit the mail no later than the end of the week. 

I'm late getting my holiday cards into the mail, and I 
apologize for that. I'm hoping to get them into the mail 
this week. I'll be sure to let you know. 

I'm already looking forward to the pool tomorrow. Rumor has it that Meg might be able to return to swimming soon. I'm hoping that's the case - we usually share Lane 2 until Rosemary finishes her workout, when Meg moves over to her lane and my lane-mate is open for the next swimmer - usually Joleen. We're a little family, in a way, gathering at the doors before they're unlocked, swimming together, then getting dressed and heading out for work or whatever. We run into each other at the grocery store or the local discount shopping store (usually Target), and it's a bit like an extended family, in a way. Sisters of the water, or maybe, Sisters of the Sweat - LOL. Ir's hard to tell that you're sweating while you're in the pool, but I'm quite sure I do.  

Even if we're swimming, I'm pretty sure we're still 
sweating at the same time - it's a workout! LOL

So, I'm wrapping this up. It's going to be a busy day and I'll be relieved/terrified when we've agreed to pay Travis his fee and get this "Closing the Store" show on the road. It's going to be a hell of a next six months. LOL

 

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. 

Christmas is Almost Here and I STILL Have Cards to Mail Today *sigh*

I didn't get enough done yesterday, and I'm still running in place. It seems to be quite common recently. Several of you will be getting your holiday cards late - I'm sending most of the final ones out today. I think I've finally managed to update my address list with the correct addresses, and everything should arrive correctly. Not promptly, but correctly. It's the best I can do this year. 

I'm sending the final holiday cards out today. It took 
a bit of time to get all of the address changes into 
my system and updated. A lot of you moved over the 
past year (a lot being more than five people). 

I spent yesterday working out the final sort of the Holiday Cards addresses and filling out the database appropriately, and I shoveled the small amount of snow we had on our walkways and driveway, groaned over bills to be paid and knew I needed to hit DH up for money (since I don't actually get paid, it's really his responsibility, but he complains mightily every time), and I cooked. I made baked fruit, I made a lovely vegetable soup, and I made my "Ogre Juice" for the upcoming week. 

I made a batch of Bob's Vegetable Soup yesterday, and 
it turned out lovely. I forgot to add the turkey kielbasa 
I had purchased to add to it, so I'll just add that one 
portion at a time. It'll be just fine - very taste on these 
cold Minnesota days. 

I took a short time to go to my local Barnes & Noble, looking for a specific book that DH wants, but the checkout line was HUGE and I decided to flee and order the book from B&N online instead. They didn't have exactly what I wanted in stock in any case, so standing in line would have been a worthless event. I've been wrapping DH gifts for several days now - every day or two something else appears in his pile. I hope his curiosity is piqued, but you can't ever tell for sure. I know my own area has remained pristine except for my wrapped mixer box. He tends to populate my area quite late. 

DH loves getting his current Almanac, but 
last year was a bust - they didn't have the 
correct year, and this year they were sold out 
again. So I ordered it online instead. It might 
come late, but it'll be the correct volume. 

I also have a shopping bag with wrapped gifts for Chickie and Chickie Mama. Sharon's items have already been mailed, so except for the last few holiday cards (which are always welcome, whether they arrive for a specific holiday or not), I'm actually somewhat on time. Somewhat - LOL. But when I look around me, I'm saddened. My life is a mess right now. I like order and specific locations for items, and I can't seem to keep things orderly or neat, no matter what season lately. The gift I need more than anything is time, and that's one gift I very much doubt will be given to me. Oh well, I just had to kvetch, you know? LOL Have an excellent weekend and I'll be back on Monday. 

The Time is Flying By - Too Much Still To Do

We're down to the final three in LJ Idol now, and one of those three is my friend ChasingSilver. They are all very talented writers, and they have a longer than usual time for their final prompt, giving them time to celebrate the Christmas holiday before the final story is due. I can hardly wait to see what they have written for the last prompt, and once again I'm so very happy to have shared this competition with all three of you. 

The prompt has now been assigned to the final 
three writers. They're all so very talented, and 
I'm looking forward to reading what they come up 
with. I'm also grateful that I pulled out when I did. 
It's a very hectic time of the year for anyone 
working in retail. 

The holidays aren't creeping up any more, they're off to the races. Sharon's package got shipped via Priority Mail yesterday - keep your eyes open, my dear friend. Chickie and Chickie Mama's gifts are in a bag waiting for our shop Xmas party. DH's gifts have been populating his chair by bits and pieces - a little bit every day for several days now. It's a bit of a tease, and I'm not sure he's been paying any attention, but hi might be. 

All of my packages have now been mailed, and I still 
have two cards yet to mail (sorry but I needed the 
correct addresses and therefore they were delayed). 

I still have two cards to send - I'm quite sure at least one of them will arrive after the date, but nothing to be done about it. I did the best I could this year, and I'm pretty pleased that I managed to get almost everything together in time. Almost. I didn't manage everything I wanted to do, but almost will have to do. 

There are so many different ways to display holiday 
cards. I usually just have mine displayed along my fireplace mantle. 
They make a lovely and festive sight. I just received a card 
from Sea Ivy yesterday - lovely and unique and so very 
welcome. 

I'm getting cards in the mail almost every day now, and my mantle is starting to look quite festive. We have snow on the ground so that it actually looks appropriate for a Christmas, and I've shoveled - the entire driveway and the front and back sidewalks at the shop. I can tell already, it's going to be a LONG, snowy winter. Since last year winter took a vacation from the Frozen Northlands, we're most definitely due for more normal weather. DH has already pulled snow from the roof, and used the snow blower to even up the driveway from my shoveling. 

This is all too true. I am always sorry that sometime 
got scrimped, or forgotten, or maybe not done as 
well as I had wanted. It happens to all of us at this 
time of the year. But we've all done the very best 
that we can, and that's really all that's important. 

I'm cutting this off here, because I'm just thinking about how much I still have to do before I finally get my Christmas holidays off. It's been a very disappointing season so far. I suspect our sales numbers will be in the toilet, but there's nothing to do about that. Hopefully our End of the Year sale will help make up for that. I'd better get moving on finalizing that email to our customers and getting my customers who signed up recently into my database. Have an excellent Friday, I'm off to the pool to get my third swim of the week in. I'll be back tomorrow to wrap up the week. Slava Ukraini! 

OMG It's COLD

For some of you who live WAAAAY North, my -7 F temp currently is a yawn. But for me, up here in the Frozen Northlands, where Winter didn't come last year, it's a shock to my system. The main level of my house is frigid. Normally that wouldn't really make much difference. The kitchen, dining room, guest bathroom and living room are all of the rooms on that level. Except ... I sleep in the living room (because I get up at 3:00 am and DH is often up watching TV in the bedroom until after midnight). So ... my part of the house is darned chilly. It was a relief to come down to the computer room, which is nice and cozy and has a small space heater for those truly frigid days yet to come. 

I'm already looking forward to soup for dinner! I can 
tell it's cold when I want that internal warming already - LOL. 

I actually got quite a lot done on my holiday cards yesterday. I've got my insert completely composed and printed out, and I'm just waiting on a couple of mailing label corrections before I send the whole lot on their way. I'm late this year, but better late than not. It's just been one of those years for me, in many respects. As I had mentioned, it's not a hand-made card this year, but whichever of the two designs I'm sending out, it's unique and totally me. Sometimes I just have to go with the flow and do what seems right. This year, this sounds right. 

This is one way of looking at things. Sometimes 
this is the best way. Other times ...

It's my final swimming day of the week. Although I'm looking forward to being in the water (and it will seem truly warm after standing outdoors waiting for the front doors to be unlocked), I'm going to be VERY cold while I wait outside with Rosemary and the other crazy 5:00 am people. Meg is at the White Bear Lake Y on Thursdays for a spin class instead of swimming, so it might just be two of the oldest people standing outdoors today. Lucky me! LOL

On the other hand, there's a lot of truth in this also. 
Which way will YOU go today? 

When I get addresses onto the envelopes, the cards will be on their way. I'm working on that today. SO ... if you had an address change within the past year - make sure to message me with an updated address just in case. I want my late card to still reach you by Solstice or Christmas, if at all possible. I'm off to the pool. Maybe I'll have a quick cup of hot tea before I leave. (That actually sounds REALLY good - LOL.) Have an excellent Thursday and I'll be back tomorrow for a treadmill day (and the treadmill's room is quite cozy - LOL). Slava Ukraini. 

I Have to Shovel, Cooking and Etsy (and Other Things)

We got a little bit of snow overnight, which means building shoveling into my morning. Thus, when I awakened at 2:00 am, I wasn't inclined to go back to sleep for the final hour. Instead, I turned on my lights, did my meditation, and am starting my day with a little bit of room to breathe, So, it's 3:20 am, my first load of laundry is in the washer, I'm scheduling my day in my head (a LOT to do, and I forgot one thing at the shop, so I'll have to pop over there to collect it on my way to the co-op this morning). After the co-op, then on to the regular grocery store. On the way home, get the car washed (I have an annual pass for the car wash - I love it - it's new, quite close to the grocer so VERY convenient, and they do a great job). Finally home to do some cooking, and I'll work on Xmas cards for the rest of the day. I can do holiday shopping on Friday. 

We got a light dusting of snow overnight, so I'd like 
to get out and shovel the driveway and the walk before 
I leave for the gym. If we keep a handle on it, we won't 
have a driveway of solid ice. I hate it when we have 
ruts in the ice to get into the driveway, and I want my 
newspaper guy safe when he runs up to put the paper 
at the front steps (I bribe him well to do that, plus 
he's a really nice guy). 

I've received cards from Tinnean (thank you my dear, it's awesome as always. Since you injured yourself, I wasn't expecting one from you this year *hugs), and Shirebound. Shirebound's lovely card is on one side of Shruti's magnificent card, with a card from a high school friend - Pam - on the other side. It's early days yet, though. I'm focused on getting my cards out into the mail ASAP. I'm running really late this year and apologize to each and every one of you. Time has NOT been my friend. 

I am running late with my holiday cards this 
year. I apologize in advance. I'll have them out 
within a few days, but for me ... well, I'm late! 

I also have to cook today, or at least figure out what I'm going to make on Friday (more likely). I'm thinking a nice batch of stuffed peppers for Friday. That sounds lovely right now. I have to finish up last week's soup first, though, and tonight is chicken night, so I don't really have to worry about a "cook" until Friday this week. 

I love making stuffed peppers over the colder months. 
They cook up fairly quickly, are easy for portion 
control, and taste EVER so good! One of my absolute 
favorite Fall/Winter meals. 

I had two Etsy sales that I pushed out the door yesterday. At least one of them was a good amount, making the time spent worthwhile. I've actually got Etsy down, but they keep changing their interface, and I can't find everything I need to alter anything on my posting. I'll have to find a bit of time next week on the laptop to push a lot of buttons and find how to edit things on my product pages. It used to be easy, but now everything is buried under a new something - I don't even know what to click on to access my pages for editing. *sigh* Still, I printed out the monthly sales reports and was a bit surprised to realize that I'd sold something off Etsy almost every month this year. 

Etsy certainly isn't a barn-burner for sales for us, but 
it is moving product that sells quite slowly in the 
store, so every sale is a plus. It gets a little convoluted 
regarding our sales books, but that's DH's problem. 
I did print him out the monthly summaries for this year, 
so that might help at year-end. Maybe - LOL. 

I'm dressed for the pool, and grateful that I'm not part of LJ Idol any more - at least as far as writing goes. I really don't have the time to devote and they only deserve my best efforts. Hell, if I didn't do my blog at 3:30 am, it wouldn't happen at all because the time simply wouldn't be there. The story of my life - living a full life in bits and pieces - LOL. Have an excellent Wednesday and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini. 

I'm Stressed - Pure and Simply Stressed ARGH!

Well, it's looking like I'll be stuck in a write-off in LJ Idol. Two of us are currently tied for last place with 11 votes each. If I do end up in a write-off, although that's not the end of the world, it hits at a time when I'm totally crunched for time. It's a week before Thanksgiving, I have to determine what my After-Thanksgiving Day Sale will comprise of, and write the email for my customers, as well as any sales sheets my people will need to refer to at the cash register. Just kill me now! OY! Too much going on in my life right now. I'll have to see what happens when the poll closes early tonight, but it doesn't look positive. 

It's looking as though I'll be in a write-off with one other 
author. Hard to say for sure, the poll doesn't close until 
tonight, but that seems likely. I don't necessarily have a 
problem with that, except life is starting to seriously 
get in my way. THAT's a problem. *sigh*

I did convince DH to hire our accountant for a Federal form that we have to file before the end of the year. He was stressing over it, and I told him that if our accountant could do it (and it's a borderline accountant thing - not really money related), and if Paul was charging a reasonable amount, then we should hire him. After stressing out for another day or so, DH finally agreed with me. Our accountant is charging a flat $100 for the form, and that's SO worth it. I dropped my information at the accountant's office yesterday, and DH can drop his by today. Then, it's problem solved. 

There's a new form that businesses have to fill 
out and file with the US Treasury Department. The 
fines for doing it incorrectly are NOT fun, and 
DH and I were not 100% sure we could do it 
correctly. So, we're hired our accountant to 
do this for us. ARGH! 

I'm already stressing out about Thanksgiving. Not the preparation of the bird - I know how I like to do that. I'm stressing out over the next few weeks until we reach the end of the year. We've gotten our last shipments of product in and processed (although I'm sure I have a lot of things for price tags waiting at the shop for me today), but everything has to click. We need a good holiday season, and if this year's sales are any indication, that's going to be hard to achieve. It's been a slow year - one more reason why DH is resigned to leaving the business next year. Will we do it easily? Hell no. I'm sure my stress levels will be through the roof. But that's next year and I have to get through this year first. 

We're almost ready to move into our busiest time of 
the year, and we're nowhere close to being ready 
for it. Nope ... not anywhere close to being ready. 
STRESSED! 

I've received one of the two holiday cards I'm having made for me, but the other one is still pending. Once I get those, I can start working on putting addresses and postage onto them. This year's handmade card simply didn't work. I had absolutely NO time for personal projects at all. It was one crisis followed by another one throughout the year. So, I apologized to my recipients in general, and I ordered cards from two different custom vendors. I still wanted something uniquely me, and the first ones are pretty fun. But, sending holiday cards is just one more thing to manage between now and early December. Time is at a premium. I think I need to swim off some of this stress, so I'm off to the pool. Have an excellent Thursday and I'll be back tomorrow. Be kind, and thanks for being there - every one of my readers is a lifeline for my sanity. *hugs* Slava Ukraini. 

Pushing Boundaries and Voting - LJ Idol and Presidential

I had a wonderful run this morning, a good 15-minute mile pace with a 4 elevation. Made me happy, and made my right hip sore by the end of my 45 minutes. *sigh* I'll be walking a bit slower today and I'm quite sure I'll twinge now and again reminding me that I overdid it a little bit. But, to get anywhere, you have to push boundaries. That's true on the treadmill, in the swimming pool, and in life. I'm sure I'll be fine by the time I'm back on the treadmill tomorrow morning. 

After my main 30 minute run, I started a second run, this 
time through the northern mountains of Italy. Lots of 
fun tunnels and narrow roadways. 

It's a "day off" for me today, and I have bills to pay, "Ogre Juice" (alkagizers) to make for the coming week, and a desk full of paperwork that has to be taken care of. Oh joy! LOL We had a quiet Halloween, as I had anticipated. We didn't have any goblins or ghouls come to the door, and were able to settle down and watch "Miss Marple" without interruption. So much fun! 

I need to get a batch of Alkagizers made today, but that's 
all of the kitchen work I need to do. I did find a new soup 
recipe I want to try, but not for another week or so. I'm 
totally stocked because I cooked ahead for Chickie's 
jury duty schedule. 

Because we had anticipated a possible two weeks of jury duty for Chickie, my refrigerator is full of lovely soups and stews, so I don't even need to do any cooking today. It's a day of luxury. So unexpected, and very welcome. 

I'm so sorry, but I think hand-made holiday cards will 
be impossible for me this year. I will take a serious 
hunt to find the nicest fun cards I can for all of you, 
my dear friends, and hope you can forgive me. 

I've come to the conclusion that hand-made holiday cards will be impossible for me this year. That causes me sorrow - I adore making my cards for all of you. But here it is November, and when I'm making cards, I usually start them in the summer months. Time simply hasn't been there this year. So I'm going to start a hunt to find something commercial, but incredible for all of my friends. I can't spend a total fortune, after all, I just bought a treadmill for several thousand dollars. But, I'm sure I can find something I'll be happy to send, and I hope all of you will understand that sometimes (rarely) life simply gets in the way. This will be one of those rare times. 

I'm delighted that I live to write again. I don't think I've 
ever made it this long/far in LJ Idol in the past, and 
I'm totally thrilled. I couldn't have gotten this far without 
all of your votes, and I hope that you will continue 
reading and voting for as long as I can participate. 
New prompt will be released later today. 

So I'm going to wrap this up and get moving again. Thank you to all of you who voted for my Prayer this time around. I'm honored that you thought enough of my thoughts to put in your vote. I didn't win, but I certainly didn't lose either. Instead, Xeena won with a VERY well deserved win for a beautiful composition, and we have a write-off between two others for who gets "kicked off the island" this week. The new prompt will be posted later today. I'll have to make sure to check in and find out what malicious idea our moderator has in his head this time - LOL. 

No matter who you vote for (or have already voted for), 
someone else will have a different opinion and will have 
voted the opposite. It's called democracy, and it actually 
works, despite the stumbles. Someone will be happy, 
someone else will not be. But, we need to keep the 
anger out of it. Be disappointed, but don't be angry. 
It's the way democracy works - someone wins and 
someone loses. 

Have an excellent Friday and I'll be back tomorrow to wrap up the week. Please be kind to people - emotions are running a bit high right now with the election only a few days away. No matter who wins, someone will be happy and someone else will be disappointed - even angered. I'm looking ahead to Thanksgiving, by which time I hope all of the pent-up emotions will be laid to rest with the roasting of a very large bird. Enjoy your day - Slava Ukraini. 

I'm Operating on Only Five Hours of Sleep Today - ARGH

For some reason I awakened at 2:00 am, unable to return to sleep for the additional hour I could get. That'll toss my day into the toilet, but there's nothing I can do about it. I did my morning meditations without feeling rushed, and now it's 90 minutes later - here I am in front of my computer, I'm dressed in my skin suit ready for swimming, and I'm writing my blog. Oy! LOL

Today I'm wearing this skin suit - 
called "Power Skin". It's a bit more 
futuristic in pattern. My other two 
are a jellyfish one and a watery 
one in a green tone. I adore these 
suits. I wear them year-round, even 
though I only need their coverage 
when I'm swimming outdoors in the 
summer months. 

We're still almost without snow - such a rare thing. Yesterday's snow was so light I used a broom to clear the driveway instead of a shovel! I'm rather enjoying this because I really hate shoveling snow, and have to shovel the driveway at home and the front and back entrance areas for the shop. That can be a lot of shoveling. But I'm at bare concrete so far this year. I suspect that won't last for much longer. The weather pattern is predicted to dump on us within the next 24-48 hours. We're heading for a spring/summer drought, however, if we don't get some snow, so Snow Baby! Snow! 

Yesterday's snow was so light, it seemed a bit of overkill 
to actually shovel the driveway. So I grabbed our big 
broom, and swept it clear instead - LOL. What a hoot! It 
actually worked pretty well. I suspect that will be a 
rare occurrence, we do live in the Frozen Northlands, 
after all, and Winter won't stay away forever. 

A quick note to my friend in Peru - I think your holiday card has been returned to me, but I have to go to the Post Office tomorrow to sign for it and pick it up. Since the majority of my holiday cards for non-US recipients seem to have gotten serious damage in shipping, I have no idea if it will be in condition to resend it, but I'll let you know. 

I'd like to tie up my loose ends. I have received some really 
wonderful holiday cards from many of you over the season, 
and I'd like to share before taking them down from the mantle. 
Thanks to all of you who have colored your cards from me 
and sent me photos in emails and FB posts. I've loved 
seeing each and every one of them. They're fabulous! 

So I'm focused on wrapping things up for 2023 and moving fully into 2024. I'd like to share the cards I've received with all of you - I'll look into doing that tomorrow if I have the time. I'll also see about collecting the Christmas Gnome colored cards I've gotten sent to me in emails and FaceBook shout-outs. These may not be as easy to share, but I LOVE the imagination that you've put into coloring my little guys. Having you send photos to me has really made my last 30 days very special. 

I made a large stewpot full of chile con carne yesterday - 
lots of beans and a package of "Real Rice" added to it, and 
a jalapeno pepper and other spices. It's now in three large 
containers in my refrigerator. I'm looking forward to a 
bowl of it for dinner tonight. 

I'm wrapping this up, catching up on some computer work, and heading to the gym for my last swim of the week. I made a HUGE batch of chili con carne yesterday, and baked multi portions of baked pears. I'm set for at least a week of food now.. I was too worn out by all of that to bake my butternut squash, so I'm postponing that until Friday. It doesn't take long, but I just wasn't up to any more prep work. Chili takes over my stove and countertop areas. Have an excellent Thursday and I'll be back tomorrow. Be safe, be well, and be kind. Slava Ukraini and חיים לישראל.

It's Cold, I'm Slightly Overweight, and My Orthodontist is Happy - Two Out of Three Isn't Bad

My swimming friend Meg is off with her extended family for a "vacation" to a nice, warm spot today, so I won't be seeing her at the swimming pool for a bit. She's leaving just at the right time because we're about to dive into the deep freeze of a January up here in the Frozen Northlands. Still, I certainly can't complain, because I can always bundle up to be warmer, and so far (as of this morning's quick peek outside) the only snow is on the yards, not on the sidewalks. A total win'win. 

My driveway faces north, and I've always told DH that 
if we buy a different house, I want a south-facing driveway 
next time. I always have to check whether we've had 
snow and get it shoveled up ASAP because it will turn 
to ice on my driveway if I don't. We have an extra long 
and double-wide driveway, so it'a a chore to get it 
shoveled before I leave for the pool. So far, however, 
this winter has been a dream. 

I managed to get my stuffed peppers made yesterday, as well as our usual Wednesday night baked chicken. DH is starting to get on my case about his website again *sigh* so I'll have to try and build that back into my schedule. But it's very low priority for me and much higher priority for him. He's got the time, however, and I don't. Maybe I'll get a chance to deal with it tomorrow ... or not. 

I managed to get my stuffed peppers made and into the 
refrigerator, one pepper in each small container. I'm set 
for meals for the next week or so. Whoot! 

I need to purchase one more thing from the office supply store, and then I can start re-sending the missing holiday cards to several people. It seems my international cards have either gone missing or have arrived in shreds, so I think I'll make those my priority. I'll also make copies of this year's cards for those who got replacement cards, so you'll either get the "real thing" or a replacement sent within a week or so. It won't take me long to get the replacements put together, I just need some dimensions before I can move ahead. I should be able to get somewhere with that tomorrow. 

I think the only shot I'm going to have of getting my 
holiday cards to my international friends in one 
piece is to put them inside a different envelope that 
can (perhaps) survive the shipping process. This year's 
cards were most definitely a learning experience in 
many ways. It's a good thing - LOL. 

My Orthodontist is quite pleased with how my teeth are behaving and responded "Early Summer" to me when I asked when I would be finished with the program. I can live with that, DH will want things completed sooner. I'm pretty happy with my new mouth, and I would love to get rid of the hardware. I'll have a retainer to wear from that point on, every night without fail, but I can most definitely handle that. Getting my teeth done has been a dream come true - a dream I've had for more than 50 years. 

I'm comfortably in the green since I started WildFit years 
ago, I'll be starting my 4th year of WildFit in a month 
or so. When I started, I was solidly in the orange zone, 
so I've improved a lot, and I've kept an eye on things. Right 
now I'm about two pounds over where I'm comfortable, 
so I'll carefully watch what I eat today, and I'll have an 
alkagizer for my lunch, which always helps my weight 
and how I feel. They're SO important to my health. 

I'm off to the pool. I need to work off some of the weight I put on yesterday - working in the kitchen I ended up munching a bit more than I should have and put on a bit more weight. Still, it's never around for long, and swimming always helps. So, onward to chlorinated water - LOL. Have an excellent Thursday and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini and חיים למען ישראל.