It's Been a Huge Project at Work

My muscles are feeling better today, which is good, because today is a swimming day and I don't want to miss my pool. Last week I had to miss my Tuesday swim because of the locker room issue, but I really enjoy getting my three days a week in the pool going, even if it is horrible for my skin. The perils of growing old, my friends! Your body decides it's going to self-destruct - usually in little ways that just stack up over time. 

Isn't this the case? When we were kids, it was like 
we had boundless energy. I'm quite sure we drove 
our parents and other adults a bit crazy. Now we're 
the parents and adults, and we're exhausted. LOL

We've been busy like crazy at the shop, bringing our precious metal prices up to a reasonable dollar amount with today's metal markets. It's a HUGE chore and has been taking DH the better part of the last two weeks. He's changing pricing and we're doing new price tags for everything and getting items back out for sale. We probably hadn't done this for more than a decade, and you all know that precious metals have gone through the roof! I simply can't afford to sell an item for 1.25 when it should actually be much closer to $10. Welcome to the world of commodities. 

Getting our precious metals repriced has been a 
Major Project that DH has been working on for 
more than two weeks now. 

Precious metals are one of the items that are considered a commodity - something that has value in itself, not necessarily in its' shape. Of course, a silver coin is worth more than a brass one, but a silver bead is also worth more than a brass one because the silver costs more. At least in today's world. Mankind's history is "Oooooh! Shiny" directed. Is there a silver mine over the next hill, or a gold mine across the river? Well, let's conquer them and have an easy source of trade and a foundation of wealth for the state. 

There's nothing quite like the shine of precious metals. We 
never had a lot of gold (fortunately) but we have a LOT of 
silver that needs to be repriced to current pricing. It's probably 
been more than 10-15 years since we last did more than spot 
changes. 

But, it's been a huge task and has been DH's focus for the past two weeks. We're getting to the bottom of it now, but there's still quite a lot of bins left to be priced and re-tagged. It basically comes down to facing reality - the items that we are selling should be appropriately priced for the current markets. That includes our jewelry, and our Native American-made goods. It all needs to happen, and it's all on DH to do. He feels a bit overwhelmed, and is taking it out on Chickie and me - not purposefully (most of the time), but because he needs a release and we're convenient. 

There's nothing much better than swimming my stress 
away. I couldn't treadmill yesterday, my muscles were 
too strained, but today I feel much better and I'm ready 
to tackle the water. 

So, I'm off to the swimming pool to get some of my own frustration out of the way. All in all, things are actually working out quite well, and with good luck, we should wrap this project up by the end of the week. But it's been three weeks or a bit more of steady, non-stop pricing work. A PITA, to be sure. Have an excellent Tuesday and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini. 

Too Bad None of You Are Close Enough To Be My Masseuse

It was a busy Sunday, but at least the weather was good and it wasn't super cold. DH went to the shop to work on some stuff and he was gone until mid-late afternoon when he went out to rake. I raked leaves for about three hours until my back gave out. I've been in pain ever since. Nothing much to be done about that, just let things be and it will calm down again. But I didn't get as much raked as I wanted. I should have looked for the leaf blower in the garage, but I'm not really sure how to use it and what, specific, engine it attaches to - it could be one of two different lawn systems that DH owns. 

We've got a leaf blower that fits onto one of the two possible 
motor sets we own, but I don't know which one it fits, nor 
how it operates. So I'm stuck using manual labor - a rake. I'm 
good with a rake, but I wrenched my left lower back while 
raking yesterday and I hurt. The last few loads were really 
difficult for me to get down to our dumping ground. 

But, I did what I could. I tried the treadmill this morning, but only managed about 15 minutes before my back twinged again, so I stopped right then and there and I'll try to borrow one of the high stools that we have at the shop for the day so that I can perch a bit instead of stand all day. 

We have several high stools at the shop, I'll 
have to grab one of them for perching or I 
won't make it through the day. DH will be at 
the computer for the day, so I won't be able to 
sit at that chair, and there aren't any other 
seating arrangements I can use. 

It's a left, lower back twinge, below the waist but above the pelvic bone, and it hurts. It hurts to sit, it hurts to stand and I assume it was hurting while I slept, but I was too exhausted to pay any attention - LOL. Just one more thing in my life - LOL. I'm sure I'll be fine in another week or so. 

My lower back pain is on my left side, around 
the waist area and doesn't extend farther 
down (fortunately). Of course, at the waist 
level, it gets affected by every movement. GRRRR

For those of you who picked up playing "Arrows" on your phones, did yours turn to a black background with colored arrows over the weekend? My world is suddenly much more than black and white - LOL. I'm totally addicted to this game - it's challenging, and it doesn't take forever to do a round. I've always been attracted to puzzles like this, so I'm very pleased I found it when I was looking for a new phone game. The colored version, I think, is a bit easier in some aspects. You can follow an arrow through its' shape with greater ease. All I know is I'm on level 718 and I've only been playing it for a bit more than a week. *sigh* Addictions! LOL 

Arrows switched to a black background with neon colored 
arrows over the weekend. I don't mind it, and in some ways 
it makes things a bit easier, but it was quite a shift from 
the B/W version I'd been used to playing. I still recommend 
it, though. It's keeping my interest and I'm into the 700 levels 
now. LOL

I'm going to wrap this up, grab breakfast and head to the shop. Have a really excellent Monday and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini. 

It Was a Fun Cooking Day, Now Reality is Knocking Again

I spent most of yesterday in the kitchen. My refrigerator looks much happier now - prepared meals and morning fruit are stacked on my side. I always enjoy a good day of cooking, and one of the best things about yesterday is the roast beef that I made. It turned out glorious - perfectly medium-rare, and my slicer still works well. I ended up with 30 slices of roast beef for sandwiches for about $16. A steal of a deal. 

The roast beef I had purchased on Wednesday cooked up 
wonderfully and I was able to slice it super thin, so even 
though it's a tough cut of meat, it's still very tasty and easy 
to eat. Lunch! LOL

We had been waiting for a reply from Travis regarding our next steps for our business liquidation, but frankly, I wasn't super happy with what we got back. We're supposed to schedule another phone meeting. I'm fine with a lot of that, but at some point I'm going to need more assistance and I'm hoping against hope that he'll be able to actually provide that. I'll also have to do some searching for firms we'll need to hire for publicity, mailings and website advertising. More things on my plate "sigh". 

It's so easy to start a business - a minimum of muss 
and fuss and a single piece of paper filed with the 
city you're operating in. Closing a business, on the other 
hand, is a nightmare of regulations, governments (city, 
state and local) and procedures. ARGH! 

I took a bit of time last night to contact a friend about a gift for another friend. Since at least one of these people reads my blog semi-regularly, I'm not going into specifics, but I do hope that Friend #1 can do what I'm asking (I'm perfectly willing to pay a good rate for the job), and that Friend #2 will be pleased with the result. I'll have to wait and see, but I have high hopes on this one. 

Next Thursday is looking like a train wreck already. I have my virtual court hearing scheduled for 11:50 am, and as soon as I'm finished with that, Claire and I will head to the MCI course I'm taking at my local health center. I'll have to tell them we might be slightly late, but we should be there on time, if everything clicks. I'll have to do the Zoom call from the shop, so I'll have to gather whatever paperwork I think might be relevant and take it to the shop with me. My documentation is shit - my birth certificate is almost a joke it's so bad. But, I do have my naturalization papers and other things that back me up as being who I'm claiming I am. If the Judge asks for something I forgot, however, it's not going to go well. 

It's been a while since I was last on Zoom, and both 
Claire and I will be in the same room for the hearing, since 
we need to leave for our MCI group as soon as it wraps up. 
I'm just hoping it will be cut and dried without any speed 
bumps. 

So, stress upon stress for the upcoming week. I'm going to wrap this up and try and enjoy a busy Saturday and a Sunday raking leaves (ick!). Have a great weekend, I'll be back on Monday. Slava Ukraini. 

It Was a Good Kitchen Day - VERY Busy

Yesterday turned into a fabulous kitchen day. I started the day out with a lot of almost empty shelves, and ended it up with a full side. I did a large batch of my fruit, I cooked another batch of cranberries (they're so easy - they practically cook themselves), and at least two other things were cooked. My kitchen was a very busy place for several hours. Of course I also did three loads of laundry, and had a nice but focused shop at the grocery store. But, since I was doing cranberries, I started the day out at my co-op. 

My Co-Op isn't close to my house or, for that 
matter, to my business. But I love going there 
anyway. They have awesome produce, and sometimes 
I just want that quality. My regular grocer also has 
good produce, but the Market has the odd thing, 
like the specific raw cranberries I crave at this 
time of the year. 

They've been doing a major re-do at my Co-op, and it's turned out fantastic. Everything is upgraded, nice, clean, refreshed, repainted, with new shelving, new signage, new everything. It's fabulous! They're finally finished with the actual construction work, and are busy putting new product on the shelves. Another week or two and they'll be complete with this make-over which has taken the better part of two months. I think it was well worth the inconvenience. 

There's something rather wonderful about raw cranberries. 
They practically cook themselves, and they're so very 
tasty. I started using raw cranberries a few years ago and 
have been in love with them ever since. 

I found my cranberries and bought a lot, I also fell in love with a bag of small sweet potatoes that I roasted into fingers later in the day. I bought some other fruits too, they just looked so tempting. After a quick stop at my regular local grocery store, I was ready to dive in. I didn't get everything done, but I got a lot done. I

I like sweet potatoes, and one of the easiest ways 
to cook them is to cut them into spears and put 
them into the oven. So tasty! 

I roasted the sweet potatoes, I made a batch of four pork chops for dinners, I did my cranberry relish again because it's SO tasty and easy, I made another batch of my BBQ sauce since I used the last of the old batch on the pork chops, and I also got a "steal of a deal" at my local grocer for an Eye of Round Roast that was sticker offered at $10 off. I got a great piece of beef for a little more than $10. I'll roast that tomorrow and slice it into thin roast beef for sandwiches. Yummy! 

I want to cook the roast tomorrow. I ran 
out of kitchen time yesterday. I'm looking 
forward to it. 

I topped my day off with my weekly conversation with Aearwen. We've been chatting on Wednesday afternoons for years now. We've never met in person, but I consider her one of my best friends. Somehow things just click between us. It's wonderful when you meet a person like that - in person or virtually. I'm very fortunate in my friends - physical and virtual. So, on that note, have an excellent Thursday. I'm off to swim and then dive into a busy day at work and my MCD meeting at the clinic in the afternoon. I can give Claire her "Comfort Chicken" - LOL. Enjoy your day, I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini. 

Hopefully Today Will Be a Bit Smoother Than Yesterday

I have a bit more breathing room today, but yesterday was a bit of a train wreck. I was very rushed for my blog (although better than Monday), and when I got to the YMCA, I found out that the showers in the women's locker room were being worked on and hadn't been available on Monday. When we entered the building on Tuesday, we were informed that they still weren't finished. Although I could have used the family room, I decided to skip my swim and get on with what would prove to be a very busy day at the shop. 

This train wreck from 1910 had 41 fatalities. In those 
days, the train was what you took to get from Point A 
to Point B. Airplanes hadn't taken off yet (sorry for the pun). 

It wasn't that we had so many customers - we did have quite a few, but they were well spaced out and we had plenty of time to deal with them. It was the inventory that we're in the middle of - getting things appropriately counted, and also appropriately labeled and put away. That kept me busy all day, I didn't even have time for lunch. Oh well, that batch of Ogre Juice needs to be remade in any case - LOL. (It's on today's agenda along with cooking a few things for dinners.) 

I need to make a new batch of "Ogre Juice" for myself. I can 
tell I haven't had a chance to actually take a lunch for a few 
days at the shop. My body is screaming for my green juice. 

I've got a collection of items sitting on my computer desk that I need to wrap and send off to Sharon for her holiday gift. I found the perfect things at the craft show last week, and just need to get them wrapped and packed and off of my desk. And tomorrow, of course, will be my weekly MCD class with Claire. I purchased what I'm calling a "comfort chicken" at the craft fair for her. It's this knit, stuffed chicken that's large enough to hug well. I simply couldn't resist getting it for her. 

The knitted chicken I purchased for Claire is quite 
similar to this one and it's wonderfully hug-able. LOL 
You never know when hugging a chicken might be the 
perfect thing to do - LOL. I'll give it to her at MCD class 
tomorrow. 

But today will be a busy day - a laundry day and household day and if I don't get some things cooked, I'll be out of meals after I finish the last of my home-made soup from last week (which is, as always, super tasty). So, I've got to get my head in the game and start today out right with a swim, even if I have to use the Family Room for my locker and changing area. I missed my swim yesterday, and might take one on Friday so that I get my three days in this week ... maybe. I haven't made up my mind, and probably won't until Friday gets here. Have an excellent Wednesday and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini. 

I'm Almost On Time Today - LOL

I got to the bank on time, and got everything done in my very busy early morning. I apologize for running out of time yesterday. It's rare that I'll mess things up like that, especially on a non-swim day. But ... life happens - LOL. Today I at least have 15 minutes to post. 

Having that extra 15 minutes is SO important. 

It's winter dry now here in the Frozen Northlands. It's odd how winter can be so dry because we're in the snow belt, and we generally end up with a lot of moisture by the end of Spring. But, right now, we're fully into Autumn, and that's a drying out season. The trees shed their leaves (my yard is a carpet of chestnut brown in the front, and golden oak leaves in the back), and raking them becomes a priority. DH will have to start doing that, but he's so busy at the shop working on the inventory, etc., I don't know when/how he'll find the time. We've tried blowing them before, but we have a LOT of leaves - well more than 20 trees worth in the actual yard area, and more bordering the edges that we don't bother with. 

Most of our trees are maple trees - not sugar maples, just 
regular ones. But their Fall foliage is always spectacular - 
reds and golds - just stunning. Almost worth the work it 
takes to rake them up and get them into our compost pile. 

We've had a hard freeze now, so I'll have to check my herbs. Sometimes they can actually pass through a couple of hard frosts before dying down. If so, I'll get the last of the rosemary and thyme harvested and into the dehydrator. The last of the peppers got harvested and dried late last week. I'm very pleased with the crop I managed to get this year. Just wonderful - like sunshine in a container when I add some to my meals. 

I tend to powder my peppers instead of just grind them into 
flakes, but both are useable. It's lovely to have an assortment 
of them to take me through the snowy months. 

So, I'm off to the pool for my first swim of the week. I always look forward to being in the pool, even though it's total hell on my skin. Still, in my mind, it's well worth it. I need the workout, and I don't want to be on the treadmill six days a week. Plus, I have friends there that I've had for several years now (in some cases), and it's always a pleasure to catch up with them. So ... I'm out of here. I hope you have a wonderful Tuesday and I'll be back tomorrow for a shopping, cooking and cleaning day. Be safe, be kind and Slava Ukraini. 

Whoops! I'm Out of Time

I thought I was doing fine on time, but forgot that I have to put a deposit into the bank today, and that cuts my time down by 1/2 hour. So, you get this quick note to say I'm fine, I had a nice weekend, and I'll be back tomorrow with a more normal posting because it's a swimming day. I had a great run on the treadmill this morning, though, so even though I'm running late, it's going to be a good day. Enjoy your Monday, I'll be back tomorrow.  Slava Ukraini.