LJ Idol and Framing - Closing the Shop Meant Making Some Decisions

I'm not a quitter, and I love a challenge (and a great group of competitors and friends), but I'm pulling out of LJ Idol effective immediately. With our trying to close the store this year, and the amount of sheer hours I'm having to put into the shop to make this happen, I simply don't have the time to write a quality piece for submission. I refuse to post anything but my best. So, my post for this week was my withdrawal notification, and I'm quite sad about that on the one hand, and a bit relieved on the other. 

I'm both sad and happy at my decision to pull out of 
LJ Idol. I'm sad because I love the challenge of writing 
to Gary's themes (he's EVIL when it comes to his 
theme choices). I'm happy because I simply don't have 
the time for Idol this time around, and I can't feel 
guilty about that - it's purely a fact. 

I spent yesterday doing a bit of cooking, but then turned my eyes to clearing up the den so that I can set up my mat-cutter and get some of the prints that we have at the shop, matted and ready for framing and sale. I have more than 100 pieces that need a mat at the least, and for many of them I've already got the pre-cut framing purchased, just waiting to be assembled. It'll be fun to work with framing again - I was quite good at it when I had my original store and my Mall of America store. 

There are a lot of components that go into framing 
a piece of artwork for sale. Not every piece needs 
glazing, but many do. Not all require multiple 
mats, but they can make a piece extra special. The 
backing board and dust covers are essential. It's 
a multi-layer cake, in essence. 

Like most people, I had started out working with a local framer nearby, but quickly realized that wasn't cost-effective. At that time, Larson-Juhl, one of the major framing manufacturers, started offering framing classes through their Eden Prairie location. I signed up for that - a week of intensive framing lectures and hands-on practice. We then purchased some rather expensive equipment, and I was off and running. In the long run it saved us quite a bit of money - most artwork needs to be framed to look good on a wall, and I had half of the entire front wall of my Mall of America store dedicated to framed artwork for sale. We also had one room in our original St Paul location dedicated to framed artwork for sale. Both places looked great, and we sold a lot of artwork. 

Larson-Juhl is one of the largest frame manufacturers and 
distributors in the nation. They used to have a huge warehouse 
and factory in Eden Prairie, MN - one of the far Western 
suburbs of the Twin Cities. They offered a five-day 
professional framing course and I signed up for it. At that 
time we were just dipping our toes into selling fine art, 
and we hoped that framing it ourselves would
be a massive price saver. 

In our current location, however, display space fights with Navajo weavings and artifacts of various kinds, and our artwork area is quite a bit more limited. Out clientele is different as well. Here, we have become a craft supply store with beads being our major focus, not Native American art and collectibles. The beads pay the rent - we don't sell a lot of artwork, although we have some really great pieces. But I also have print drawers full of original artwork that needs to be framed (or at minimal - matted) before it can be sold. 

I have a top of the line mat cutting machine that I 
purchased at the time I took the class. It can handle 
pretty much any paper materials I feed into it. I 
also purchased a chop saw for wood if I wanted to 
make my own frames. 

So I'll be spending a lot of time with my mat cutter, my glass cutter, my sheet cutter and my various tools. It's going to take me a bit of time to get my hand back into cutting fancy mats and framing, but I always enjoyed it. So, for at least part of my "days off" I'll be working at home on cutting mats and assembling artwork for sale. Some will be framed, others just shrink-wrapped, but they'll all look great. I'll just have to join LJ Idol for their next time because writing, except in my head, is simply time I won't have until after I've locked the doors of Stormcloud for good. 

The other piece of equipment that I own is this - a glass 
and mat cutting machine. We've used it a lot! It's about 
one-two degrees out of true right now, so I'll need to 
do some adjusting. It's also in a difficult place to work with 
larger pieces of glass, so that may become an issue. 

Have an excellent weekend. We'll have thunderstorms on and off throughout the day and maybe into tomorrow. The current storm is passing both North and South of us, and we're in an island of calm, interrupted by rumbles of thunder. The afternoon will be a bit more active - LOL. Be kind, and Slava Ukraini. 

I Survive To Write Again , Cooking and Swimming - My Life in a Nutshell

I survived the first week of LJ Idol, and am progressing to week 2. I just got the assignment this morning. This one will take a bit of thought, and squeezing writing time out will (as always) be challenging, but I suppose that's part of the fun of the competition. And what a competition! I've got some truly stellar writers that I'm going against here. Everything has to click into place for me to get far this time. 

Week one is now behind me and I'm staring at the prompt 
for Week 2. *sigh* It's never easy to squeeze Idol into 
my schedule, but I at least have to give it my best attempt. 
My fellow writers and friends deserve a quality story 
from me. Now ... what to write???

I made a HUGE batch of my baked fruit yesterday. I bought eight pears and eight apples, and added a large bag of green grapes to the mix. I've never made a batch quite this large before. It took a while to get everything cut up and prepped, and my two professional-grade baking sheets were solidly heaped. I added an extra 10 minutes to the cook time to make sure everything got thoroughly baked through. I have a stuffed side on my side of the refrigerator now! Yippee - LOL. 

I love my baked fruit. I have one container's worth for 
my breakfast every day. This latest batch had 8 apples, 
8 pears, and a large bag of grapes, along with chopped 
nuts and, of course, maple syrup and spices. I adore my 
baked fruit, and usually make enough to take me through 
1-2 weeks. 

It was wonderful to catch up with Aearwen yesterday. Life circumstances sometimes get in the way of our usual Wednesday afternoon chat, but we finally managed to link up again. We don't talk about anything earthshaking - far from it. But it's a grounding for me - a chance to reach out to a friend and share a bit of this and that. Circumstances sometimes cause us to postpone a week, or sometimes two or three, but we always get back to our schedule again. We've been chatting every Wednesday afternoon for many years now and it's always one of the high points in my week. 

I had a lovely conversation with Aearwen yesterday 
afternoon. We've been chatting on Wednesday 
afternoons for several years now. We've gone through 
a lot of life together in those chats. We've never met 
in person, and I'm not sure we ever will. But I 
count her as one of my close friends. 

So, I've got a little actual, real, computer work that I still have to do before heading over to the pool. It's going to be a VERY cold dash in and out today - low 60's for our outside temps. Once I'm in the water and moving, it won't be as bad, but I'm already dreading the in/out. Out lifeguard, Beth, actually wears one of those computerized heated vests underneath her lifeguard jacket. I don't blame her at all. She's out there for hours at a stretch and if it's cold, that's not fun. 

We all love the length of the outdoor pool - that Olympic 
size makes for a great workout. But ... on days like today, 
we're not fans of the run to the water and the run out of the 
water back into the building. That hot shower after my swim 
will be VERY welcome today - LOL. 

Have a truly excellent Thursday. Tomorrow I'll be back on the treadmill and I'll be hoping that our outdoor temperatures are closer to what the end of June and early July actually should be. Enjoy your day, spread some joy wherever you go and Slava Ukraini. 

Today Is a Gift, How Will You Use It?

Back to the swimming pool today, and it's a perfect day for it. It's not super hot (although those are excellent days to get into the water), it's not storming, and I think it's a perfect day for the water. Of course, I always think it's a perfect day for the water on my swimming days. But being outside, watching the sun rise over the pool water ... that's a bonus that I truly love on my summer swimming days. It's getting toward the end of June, and our first month in the outdoor pool is ending in a few days. But, we'll have two more months ahead of us. Whoot! 

We all love our outdoor pool. When we have two lifeguards, 
the water aerobic people can meet in the diving well, where 
they chat for their time, while exercising. The rest of us can  
take the swimming lanes and pack those (on some days, it's 
really packed). Because I'm there at 5:00 am, I often only 
have to share my lane with one other swimmer. I don't circle 
very well - I'm a slower swimmer. 

I hope you enjoyed my LJ Idol story enough to vote for it. I'm up against some powerful writers this time around, some of whom have become good friends over the past two competitions. I always hope that my writing will speak for itself, but truly, you can never know. I got a lot of compliments on my tale of the Scottish brewery, but compliments don't always equate with votes, and it's the votes that really count. Still, I did the best I could and I'm pleased with the tale I wrote. 

There's nothing quite like thunderstorms on the 
Great Plains of the USA. In these areas, where you can 
see for miles and miles, you can also see the clouds 
and their dance with the winds. It's spectacular and 
quite frightening at times. Mother Nature at her most 
volatile. We get storms like this throughout the nation, 
but not in the open areas where you can see them for 
miles and miles ahead of you. 

I'm hoping DH will allow himself a day in the garden today. No guarantees, he might come in to the shop and work in the art storage area instead. But, I think it's going to be an excellent gardening day and we don't get a lot of those. Usually they're broken up by thunderstorms, wind, or horrid heat. The heat is down a bit, we're not expecting storms today, it might be a perfect garden day for him. I'm already turning over recipes in my head since tomorrow is a house day for me, and except for feeding my hummingbirds, I'm not really coming up with a concrete plan for tomorrow. I'd better do some thinking on that - LOL. 

Every day we awaken to experience another 24 hours 
on this planet is a gift. Enjoy your gift today, and spread 
some joy among those with whom you interact. 

So, not a lot to say today. Not every day is monumental, but every day is a gift. I'm grateful to share the gift of this Tuesday with all of you - my readers and friends. Spread some love and friendship today, and let's leave small bits of happiness and friendship in our wake. I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini. 

It's Monday, It's Muggy and It's Hot - What Else is New? LJ Idol?

Happy Monday. It's the start of a new week of trials and tribulations. Guaranteed. I need to get going on getting items matted and shrink wrapped, but the time available for this is minimal, at best. I may have to start going in for several hours on Sunday mornings just to get everything moving. That won't make me super happy, but it might be exactly what it needs to be. 

I'm feeling crunched for time and time is most 
definitely NOT on my side. There's too much to 
do and too little time in which to do it. 

Chickie brought me a Denver Broncos horsehair woven keychain. It's fabulous. I've never seen one like it and it took some serious skills to get the emblem onto it. I'm seriously impressed. I'll try and take a photo of it to share with all of you. It was crafted by Don Town at the Montana State Prison. Many of the Native Americans in that region of the country work in horsehair, But this took some serious skill. 

The Denver Broncos logo is tricky, and the fact that this 
horsehair artist was able to put it onto the keychain 
twice is exceptional. I'm totally in love with this gift 
that Chickie found for me. Truly excellent! 

The weekend was hot and muggy and horrid. I don't like it when we have humidity that's as high as yesterday was. It's a never ending sweat fest when the temps are high and the humidity is high. It's what I don't like about Florida, Georgia and the other Southern states. It's not fun putting on clothes after your morning shower and feeling like you should be right back into the shower in an hour. 

I'm not really much of a fan of hot and muggy 
weather. My plants, I suspect, were quite pleased, 
however. My tomatoes are growing like weeds. 
My peppers are a bit slower. 

My LJ Idol story is up and I'd appreciate a read and a vote if you're so inclined. It's a crowded field right now - a lot of extremely talented people. I read through everyone's entry and cast my votes over the weekend, but I was sparing with those votes. I graded each piece as I read it, and only voted for those which received my highest grade. It will be quite a culling, we have a LOT of writers (there are 37 of us this time around) who ended up joining us for this go-round - some of whom I've competed with in the past. There are some super talented writers in the group. I've got to bring my "A" game for each challenge. (The story is here - https://erulissedances.dreamwidth.org/1118554.html and the voting is here https://therealljidol.dreamwidth.org/1185269.html. I hope I merit your vote if you enjoyed my story, and there are some other magnificent entries as well, if you're down for reading through the list of competitors. 

So, I'm out of here. Breakfast, work, home, dinner, sleep and tomorrow ... the pool! Much cooler than the treadmill was this morning - LOL. Enjoy your day! Slava Ukraini. 

My LJ Idol Story is Up and a Bit of This and That

I succeeded in writing, editing (always the most time-consuming part) and posting my first entry into the newest LJ Idol competition. I don't quite know how I was able to steal the time to write it, and I can only hope that I can continue stealing time as needed to continue in the competition. I do love writing to a theme, and I'm always challenged, which is what makes it so much fun. When voting opens I'll give all of you a link, whether it's just to read or (if allowable) also to vote. 

I love the challenge of writing to an arbitrary theme, and 
our Dungeon Master chooses some really good ones. The 
theme this time was "Quality". If you're interested in reading 
what I wrote, check out
https://erulissedances.dreamwidth.org/1118554.html

I made a mash-up of two recipes yesterday, totally by mistake. I needed to add two pounds of ground beef to my cabbage recipe and I knew I had cooked that in advance. I thought it was in two containers, but it was actually in a plastic bag set off to the side in the refrigerator. So, I made my second recipe with the first one (a multi-bean chili) that I had made on Wednesday. No matter, it actually tastes pretty good. I added some of my powdered chili peppers from last year's crop, and it has just the right amount of *zing*. 

I've always been against paying dues to a lobbying 
organization, but getting it for free ... well, that's another 
thing entirely. I went ahead and joined, and I'll see if 
it was worth the $0 after my first year - LOL. 

My friend Claire (Chickie Mama) is always telling me that I should become a member of AARP. I'm not fond of paying dues to them, but AOL, )my old and dependable AOL which I still use after more than 30 years), offered me that benefit at no charge for two people. So, JTAP and I are now members of AARP - LOL.  I'll have to read through the paperwork and find out exactly what they will do for me besides lobby Congress (a hopeless task for any organization these days).   

It took a ridiculously long amount of time to get the 
"smaller" watermelon cut up and ready to eat, but at 
least I've got that mess out of the way and can enjoy the 
fruit. I do love watermelon, but it takes a lot of time to 
get it prepped for eating (unless you are eating slices, 
and we rarely do that). 

DH had brought home a "smaller" whole watermelon on Wednesday and it was taking up valuable countertop space. So I also took the time yesterday to get that cut up and into the refrigerator. I'm relieved to have my counters empty once again - I only have two very small ones and having a huge green fruit taking up one of them wasn't making me super happy - LOL. 

I'm totally relieved that the large shipment of crystal 
beads arrived in good condition into the hands of my 
customer. Now I can breathe for a bit - until she decides 
she wants some more colors, that is! LOL

Oh, and the large Swarovski Crystals shipment I was sending to California? It arrived earlier this week and all is well. Dana's got her crystals to play with, and I can breathe a little easier. We learned a lot with that order, and I'll be much better prepared if I get another customer who wants large quantities and a lot of subtotals. Life is a learning experience, after all - LOL. Have an excellent weekend and I'll be back on Monday. Slava Ukraini. 

LJ Idol and Closing the Store - Deadlines Loom

My first story for this new season of LJ Idol is due no later than Saturday. I have stuff written, I have the bones of what could be solid, but I've no time to work on it and when I look ahead, my "spare" time will simply disappear as we get the store ready to close down. I'll try to whip this tale into shape, and I'll write for as long as I can fit it into my incredibly crowded life, but my writing may have to be my blog, not LJ Idol this time around. That's not making me happy. I enjoy the competition and the challenge. But I've got a bigger challenge for my next six months - finally closing the store and getting my life back. 

It's always something else in life - one more thing that 
you need to accomplish, one more goal that you have 
to reach. I don't think anyone actually reaches all of 
their goals and desires by the time they die. It's rather 
contrary to human nature and the progression of time. 

But, I'm a stubborn person. Even though I know I can't have it all, I still reach for the full cake instead of being happy with the piece on the plate in front of me. I'm an eternal optimist, generally, and I'm a stubborn fighter. Still, I can't really do without more sleep - I only get 4-5 hours a night as it is. I'm walking perilously close to the precipice, and falling, although invigorating, isn't healthy. 

Happiness is the journey, not the finish line. There are 
times when I need to collect my small happiness things 
and look at them. They're actually pretty special, and 
when looked at, they're uplifting the way happiness 
should be. 

The pool calls to me today, for the final swim of the week. It's looking like we'll have excellent weather for swimming today, so I'll enjoy it. I'll continue listening to my book, just swimming back and forth for as long as I feel I can get away with it. In the outdoor pool I'm generally averaging 45-50 minutes, indoors I'm usually a bit shorter than that (because I can see the large wall clock easily in the indoor pool). Either way and either pool, however, I'm getting exercise that I absolutely need; one positive thing in my life right now. 

Swimming laps is boring, but since I listen to books 
while I'm swimming, the time just flows by. I get into 
the story and swim on "auto pilot". 

I'm going to wrap this up and start my day. I'm rather determined that it will be a good day. I guess Chickie came back with a cough, so that might be interesting. I guess I'd better sterilize the telephone receiver when I get into the shop. If it's a cold, I really do NOT want to catch it. LOL Enjoy your Thursday and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini. 

LJ Idol is Starting and Framing - It Will Become My Nightmare

LJ Idol is starting up again, and I've got the first prompt working. I really don't have time for Idol right now, but I'm still going to try, because it feeds a creative spark within me. It's challenging, but it's also time-consuming and it's time that's my enemy right now. There simply isn't enough of it available if we're going to be out of business later this year. 

I love the challenge of LJ Idol, but I also know that I'm 
squeezing it into a very small amount of "free" time that 
I'll have over these next few months. I might not be able 
to participate with the focus that I really would need for 
success, but I at least have to try and hang out with my 
fellow writers for another round. 

For most people, leaving a job is just that. You turn in your notice (or storm out the door), clear out your desk or workspace, go to the bar for a couple of drinks (optional, of course), and head home with the knowledge that everything in your life has shifted once again. The surface upon which you stood has become icy and steep; the paycheck with which you were paying your household expenses is no longer a guarantee. It's scary - I've been there several times. 

I've quit a few jobs in my life. Let me tell you ... it's 
a LOT easier to quit a job that to get out of business 
if you're a business owner. It's a bit of a 
nightmare (actually, a LOT of a nightmare). 

In many ways it's even more frightening when you're closing down a business that you've run for more than thirty years. DH is working extremely hard - looking in all the odd corners to make sure we're finding everything that can be sold, making sure it's in condition to be sold, and lining up tasks that I need to do which will allow other items, (a bit less close to salable condition), to be brought to that state. 

There are a lot of components that go into 
framing some pieces of artwork. I have well over 
100 pieces that need to be backed, and many of 
them also need to be framed. *sigh*

For instance - artwork. Our store was heavily into art. I sold a lot of it at my Mall of American store, and most of my Native American friends were graphic artists. We've accumulated a lot of artwork for sale - both originals and prints of various kinds. Many of these need to be mounted and shrink wrapped for sale. DH is photographing everything - we'll probably drive a truckload of items down to our auction house (if this upcoming auction goes well). There are a lot of "if's" and "when's" and "how's" in our lives right now. But I'll be spending days in the framing room working with loose art, as well as working at home with my mat cutter. 

I have two huge racks of mat corner samples 
that DH will start looking through to find what 
colors should go with what art pieces. I'll let 
him do that. He's got a decent eye, and I have 
other things I'll need to be doing. 

I professionally trained as an art framer and I've framed a lot of artwork, but not in the past 10-15 years. I'll be getting my feet back under me once again. I'll start with some of the smaller pieces, just to get my hands back into the process. There were a couple of supplies we were short on, but our local art supply company had what we needed, so I'm set to go now. I may have to give up my Fridays to work on shrink wrapping and framing. It won't make me happy, but that's a real possibility. And, of course, that leaves little time for LJ Idol, but ... I'm going to try anyway. What's one more thing on my plate, after all! Right? LOL Have an excellent Tuesday, I'm off to the pool to work off some of this stress. Slava Ukraini. 

Hide and Seek - Sometimes It Pays to be Patient

I found my missing eyeglasses. I'm not sure if I had spoken about them, but I misplaced a set of my eyeglasses towards the end of last week. I looked here and there, but simply moved to the next set in my rotation to wear those until I found the missing pair. Today I found them - in the well of the treadmill. I had been going to run on Friday, but decided to skip it and get over to the shop so that I could get a shipment out to California. I'm glad I did, despite a few more bumps in the road, the shipment went out and should be delivered any day now. But, I misplaced my eyeglasses. 

I spent a fair amount of time looking for my eyeglasses, but 
I do have four sets that I rotate through - one week at a 
time. I just moved to the next set and trusted in the Spirits 
that I would find my missing set soon. And I DID! 

So ... FOUND THEM! LOL

I am pleased that I found my missing eyeglasses in the 
treadmill well this morning. The treadmill has a well on 
each side where you can put earphones and various other 
items for storage until the next workout. I don't wear my 
glasses when I run/walk, but usually put them there. They 
weren't sticking out, so I didn't see them until I pulled out 
my earbuds this morning. Voila! 

LJ Idol is starting up again. I've got to get my head in the game, despite everything else that pulls on me. We're getting a bit of extra time (which is nice and appreciated), but I'd really like to have my entry signed, sealed and delivered by mid-week. I've got scenes curling in my head for this one - the prompt is "Quality". Lots of directions open for that one. 

LJ Idol is starting up again. After a rocky start (I'm really 
stupid sometimes with sign-up instructions), friends of 
mine steered me correctly and I think I finally joined 
properly. *sigh* Sometimes these electronic things just 
defeat me - LOL. 

I have no idea how many of us will be signing up for writing challenge/torture this time around. But it's through this challenge that I've made some really great online friends and I enjoy the process. It's a bit nerve-wracking, but I've always enjoyed tailoring my vision to meet a prompt. 

Chickie and Chickie Mama are on the road again, heading 
back to the Twin Cities. They spent quite a bit of time in 
Montana, then took a quick trip down to Salt Lake City to 
visit another cousin, and now they're crossing the Rockies 
to get back to the Land of Lakes. Safe travels! 

So, I'm going to have my breakfast and get moving. Lots to do this Monday morning. Chickie should be on the road again soon. She's due back at the shop on Wednesday morning. It looks like she's had a great time from her Facebook photos and posts. But ... on that note, I'm out of here. See you tomorrow. Slava Ukraini. 

LJ Idol Starts Again and Chickie Is Heading to Montana - Monday Blues

My writing competition is starting up once again, and yes, I signed up, even though I'm working for the next 8 days straight and have little time. Still, I love the competition, I've made several friends through it over the times I've joined, and I like a challenge. It just might be a bit MORE of a challenge than I really need at this point in my life. But ... LOL

The Rocky Mountains of Montana are stunning, and 
I really miss mountains. But, I traded mountains for 
lakes and rivers, and really don't regret the decision. 

Chickie and Chickie Mama left yesterday for Montana. It's not a major family reunion - they've had those in the past and it's a total zoo. This one is really just visiting family who live out there - no people flying in from here and there to join in the dance. I know Chickie is really looking forward to this. She'll have back surgery later this year and that will leave her flat on her back for up to six months. Obviously, she's trying to hold off until after we've closed, but her health may not permit it. We're working it day by day. 

The days will still pass, although it will be a 
bit harder to get everything done without 
Chickie's help. Still, we will persevere. 

Chickie being gone means I'm working with DH for all of the next few days. We have a challenging work relationship - we don't work together very well, although we have the same goals. I can count on Chickie to help people coming into the store before I have to get involved. I'm now the front person, and that limits the amount of actual work behind the counters that I can get done. *sigh*

So, a short post today. I have to get moving. I'm already running a little late and it's only 6:15 am! *sigh* Have an excellent day and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini. 

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! 

I'm Totally Into the Holiday Season Now

So I made it through our first Sunday of working, and we actually did make a few sales, so it wasn't a total loss. I've been head-deep in the latest of DH's project. He decided he needed to update the pricing on our most popular bead style. It's not out of place - but it's probably something that should have been done in the summer when we had more time to spend on it. As it is, my board for Delica beads looks a bit desolate and I'm pushing things through as quickly as possible to return the sample tubes to the board and have up-to-date pricing on the sample as well as the tubes that would be purchased. It's a huge job, and of course, I don't have Chickie to help out until tomorrow. With luck, however, I'll finish up the task today. 

Do you remember the episode from the "I Love Lucy" show 
entitled "Lucy and Ethel Wrap Chocolates"? That's rather like 
I feel with this latest repricing project. It's almost overwhelming, 
but it can't be because it has to be done. Still, it does seem 
never-ending and brought this old TV episode to mind. If you're 
too young to have seen it, it's worth the hunt. 

Of course, that "luck" runs both ways. If I'm lucky and can finish the project today, then we probably didn't have very many customers and our sales, during the time of year when we count on good sales, will be crappy. If, however, I can't get the project finished because I'm working with customers all day. that also will be bad because I still have a LOT of beads off the boards. *sigh* It's a total LOSE/LOSE situation all around, but I don't have any real say in it. I'm just trying to get the repricing done ASAP so that I can go back to actually selling product to customers instead of slicing, dicing, labeling and hanging. 

Luck is a two-edged sword. It can be good, or bad, but 
it's luck no matter what. Right now I'm walking the edge, 
and it's damned sharp! 

I'm not seeing the Broncos score, so I think they were on a "bye" this week, but the Vikings did beautifully, victorious over Atlanta with a score of 42-21. That was great. I think DH might have watched some of it, I had it on in the back room. I, however, was too busy with "The Project" to spend any time at all. In fact, I was so wrapped up in the whole thing that I forgot my "coffee" cup at the shop. (I actually only drink herbal tea, but tea cup sounds so demure for a honking big thermal travel mug). I'm using my secondary travel mug today to get to the shop. Then I'll deal with my normal mug and hopefully remember to bring BOTH of them home with me tonight. 

I couldn't have done it without you. I'm sorry I had 
to bow out early, but time really wasn't on my 
side. I have to be focused on the business right now, 
we rely on this season to pull us into the new year 
with a positive bank balance - no guarantee if we 
don't get the sales numbers. 

I'm also sending a HUGE thank you once more to all of you who voted for my stories in LJ Idol. I really hated to pull out early - I don't know if I would have won the write-off or not, but I didn't stay to find out. At this time of the year, I don't HAVE time. Any time. I've already received my first holiday card (from my dear friend Shruti in India), and mine haven't even hit the mail yet. That's going to be a HIGH PRIORITY item for my Wednesday because I need to get these out to my friends both near and far. I've also accepted an invitation to the family get-together which will be held in early January (a very sensible schedule). 

Don't lose sight of the fact that it's a season 
of joy, shared with strangers, friends, and 
family (your choice). Enjoy it to the best 
of your ability, and turn the Christmas carols 
off on the 26th - LOL. 

But, the Season is upon us. No time to waste. I'm going to grab a quick breakfast and get moving. I have a LOT of work still waiting for me at the shop, and little time in which to deal with it. Have an excellent Monday, I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini. 

LJ Idol, Phone Hell and an Early Christmas Gift

It was a real disappointment to pull out of LJ Idol. I might have not had the votes, but I think it was very close. But ... I looked at the time schedule, my own schedule, and the fact that I'm still dealing with minor/major irritations such as getting our new phone system completely up and operational and a small health issue, and I decided to lower my stress a notch or two. Not that writing is necessarily stressful, just that to write in LJ Idol, I have to bring my "A Game" to every entry. 

I loved writing for LJ Idol again this time. There's 
something wonderful about writing to a prompt 
that comes out of nowhere. I'm not sure where 
Gary finds all of these prompts, but damn ... he 
finds some really good ones. 

Looking back on the season, however, I'm very happy with what I produced. There was some solid writing in some of those tales, and I got farther this time than EVER before. In the top six! I'll continue reading and voting, of course. I have friends in the group of five that remain, but I always base my votes on the actual writing offered, not alliances or friendships. It's the only fair thing to do. 

We have two new digital phones from Nextiva. 
The phone on DH's desk is connected and 
can be used. The phone at the cash register, 
however, is an attractive paperweight, right 
now. *sigh* 

I spent an hour or more on the phone with customer service yesterday. We're trying to figure out why one of our phones is connected, but the other phone number (the main line to the shop) is still on copper wiring instead of WiFi. *sigh* I resubmitted some contracts to the customer service department at their request, and spoke to a couple of the agents there. Really lovely people, with the same goals that I have - getting everything up and running properly and switched over from our old phone service to the new one. I have a much better feeling about things after yesterday's calls. We'll see if things are better when I'm back at the shop tomorrow. 

I love having a container of baked fruit with my 
breakfast. I only eat fruit at breakfast, per WildFit 
recommendations. It works for me, and I love 
living my WildFit life. It's been several years now, 
and it just works for me. 

Meanwhile, back in the mundane, I need to do a batch of baked fruit today. A container of baked fruit is part of my usual breakfast, and I ate the last of my current batch a day or so ago. I didn't have the time to deal with fruit on Wednesday - I did a large crock pot soup and my alkagizers that day. So, today I shop and I bake fruit. 

Happy Holidays to me! I've wanted one of these for 
a long time, and I think I will use it enough to justify 
the cost. Black Friday savings dropped $100 off the 
cost, so I felt it was do-able. 

I'm also going to take a nice, careful look at my Christmas gift - LOL. My postal person (who probably hates me forever more now because the box is HEAVY) delivered my new Kitchen Aid Artisan Mini 3.5 qt Tilt Head mixer to the shop. I've wanted one for a long time. I THINK I have the cabinet space for it. That's a requirement in my kitchen - I must have the room for my appliances. I'm figuring DH actually bought this for me. He usually gives me holiday cash and I've been saving up for this for a few years now. I'm very much looking forward to trying some gluten-free bread recipes. 

So, that's the news from my end. I hope you have a lovely Friday and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini.