It's Going To Be a Busy Day and Lost Items!

It's a trash day and a recycling day, a "home" day and a shopping day, a kitchen day and a laundry day, and let's just start the whole thing out by swimming. I'm going crazy - I'm not finding the certificates that DH wrote out for this past holiday season. Every year he gives me handwritten certificates - something as simple as a bottle of my favorite rum, or something more complex like a night out. It's something I look forward to every year, and I know this year was/is no exception. EXCEPT ... I can't find them. I had them organized, and for some reason or other, I didn't put them in the usual place. Now I need one for this weekend (a new set of running shoes from FootLocker - desperately needed), and I can't find them at all. I'm practically in tears, looking everywhere, and I'll continue the hunt between errands, laundry, trash, recycling, etc today. But I'm simply not finding them. ARGH doesn't even come close. 

It's going to be a very busy day today. If I make myself some 
soup or stew, that'll be easy and I won't have to spend a lot 
of time in the kitchen. 

I have my first load of laundry in the wash (yes, I checked all pockets before putting things into the wash). I'm hoping that the roads are a bit less icy today. Yesterday's drive to the YMCA was dicey - it was very slippery out. A road that I'm normally doing 55-60 on at 4:30 am, I was creeping along at 35. Walking into and out of the YMCA was also a slippery experience. And the pool was just me and the lifeguard for the first half hour. Rosemary is off on her annual get-away with her family, I knew Meg wouldn't be there since she's still in her wheelchair, but I've never been solo - LOL. By the time I ended, Mary was in the lane to my right, and an unknown swimmer was in the lane to my left, so it wasn't just me any more, but since there weren't any others, I actually swam 10 minutes longer than I usually would have. That was a very good thing since I'm trying to drop my holiday weight down by about 10 pounds. 

The scale is not really my friend just now. It's the end 
of the holiday season, and I need to drop a couple of 
pounds back down to where I want to be. Getting back 
to the pool is a real plus. I don't lose weight as well 
if I'm just on the treadmill. 

Today is grocery shopping and cooking. My cupboards are bare (relatively speaking). I have food to eat, but nothing cooked that I can just grab and reheat. Maybe I'll make a stew if I can find decent, inexpensive stew meat for one. I'll also continue my hunt for my certificates. It's really driving me up the wall. They're SUPER important for me, and I never lose them ... except maybe I have done so this time. I went through all of the trash last night before bagging it and putting it into the bin. They weren't in any of the trash containers. That gives me hope that I put them someplace "safe", or forgot them in my robe or something silly. I'll be looking today. 

Putting something into a "safe" place is working a bit 
too well this time. I can't find the certificates at ALL. 
What Saint is it who helps find lost items? Maybe I should 
send up some prayers. 

So, I'm off to the pool. Have an excellent Wednesday and I'll be back for my final swim of the week tomorrow. Slava Ukraini. 

DAMN - Another REALLY Short Post

I've managed to misplace something very important to me and I'm posting, but I'm going right back to hunting for it for every minute I have until I leave for the swimming pool. Have a great Tuesday and I'll be back tomorrow - hopefully with the lost item recovered. Slava Ukraini. 

24 Hours of Personal Time

I'm not really in a good or chatty mood today. DH and I had a blow-out argument last night, and I'm just running things over in my head and contemplating. So, I'm just posting because I'm still here, but I'm giving myself 24 hours of personal time. I'll be back tomorrow. 

A Bit of Here and A Bit of There With A Few Vintage Photos From Prior Blog Posts

Schedules are still messed up, of course, but I'm getting back into my normal groove. I worked out on the treadmill this morning - time to get some of my two pound holiday weight back off - LOL. Two pounds isn't much, but I'd like to eliminate it before it grows. 

I'm choosing random images from prior years to 
populate today's blog. This is a Zia - a four-directional 
symbol associated with the Native Americans in the 
New Mexico area of the USA. It's a favorite of mine. 

It's also January, and we're focused on getting things ready for selling out and closing the shop. That's a massive amount of work, but it has to be done. No choice. So, there's every possibility that over the next five months, I'll have days that I'll miss posting here and there. I'll still try to pop in my usual six days a week, just to say "Hi" to all of you, but no guarantees. 

In 2015 I had to pull over and take a photo of my 
mileage - 12345 - LOL. Currently, my dear car 
is over 80,000 and still working well. She's absolutely 
FILTHY from the snow chemicals now, so desperately 
needs a good wash. She also needs new wipers. 
I have it on next week's mental schedule. 

I'm still getting holiday cards. I got one yesterday from my dear friend in the Netherlands. It was beautiful, as I would expect from Hans. He's another on-line friend whom I've never met face-to-face, and we've known each other for more than 20 years now. He's an extremely talented jeweler, and we met on one of the jewelry websites when he was still living in St Martin in the Caribbean.  He subsequently married and moved back to his home country of the Netherlands, opening up a custom jewelry shop in his town. It's always a joy to hear from him. 

This photo of abstract circles from 2020 still appeals to 
me and my artistic side. I just loved how the colors, 
shades and placement really worked in it. 

I also got a card from my "sister" in Washington state. She doesn't celebrate Christmas, but does celebrate Yule and the changing of the year. It's always a joy to catch up with her and her family. I miss our Saturday morning meet-up's with a cup of coffee at the coffee shop next door to my shop. 

I have a very high mountain to climb over the next few 
months. If I can get through that, I can have a feeling of 
accomplishment and a freedom to move onward to the 
next stage of my life. I'll feel much like this person did 
from 2020. 

So, as we close down another week, and begin a new year, I hope as you look back on 2025 that you were happy with most of it. Given our world politics, I doubt any of us are happy with everything, but if your personal life and surroundings are giving you happiness and peace, that's really what counts. Have an excellent weekend and I'll be back on Monday. (At least, that's the plan - LOL). Slava Ukraini. 

Happy New Year to ALL!

I had a quick post written, but the computer ate it while I was searching for a good photo. *sigh* I really hope that's not the way this year will be going - LOL. I hope all of you had a happy New Year spent with loved ones near and far, and that this year of 2026 will be fulfilling dreams for many of you. I'll be trying to get together with the family for our celebration - a week late, but without the massive blizzard we would have been dealing with last week. Have an excellent day to start your excellent year! Slava Ukraini. 

Nothing brightens my day more than Minions! Happy New 
Year to All and may 2026 be the year you'll happily look back 
on in later years to come. 

Catching Up - It's Been VERY Snowy and Happy New Year (Early)

Since we're closed tomorrow and Thursday, although I will be posting quick Happy New Year posts, this is really my final post of substance for the year. We were dumped on for snow on the 28th-29th, so when I awakened, I did 1/2 hour on the treadmill, then got dressed for shoveling and started moving a mountain of snow. I cleared the walkways, then started on the driveway, and I had half of it cleared before DH came out and tackled the remainder with the snow blower. I was quite grateful for that, since that included the snowplow scree from the plows running back and forth along my street. 

Although my street is urban, the amount of snow on each 
side of this photo is just about what we were dealing with 
yesterday morning. Thank goodness Kevin had been kind 
enough to snowblow our front out. It made things much 
easier for me to deal with when I got into the shop yesterday. 

My acquaintance at the shop, Kevin, the Anishnabe guy who clears snow for the coffeeshop next door on the corner, had cleared his single pass that he does in front of my store as a kindness. I'm always grateful to Kevin, it means I have less that I have to clear, and people have a safe way to walk by my shop to get to the bus stop and the coffee shop. I still had plenty of snow that needed to be shoveled, but it wasn't solid  and didn't take me long. The drift that the snowplows had cast up in front of the shop were easily more than 4 feet high, so I now have an impressive barrier to the street snowplows. They'll be cleaning up for a day or two more, so I'll have to do touch-up shoveling, but I think my castle walls are in place for the remainder of this winter (unless we get an unusual warm snap that causes some serious melt-down). 

We had nice numbers from our sale on the first two 
days, but yesterday was a real disappointment. The 
snowstorm really kept people away (and I couldn't 
blame them for not wanting to drive through although 
the roads were mostly cleared). 

It was the third day of our four-day END OF THE YEAR SALE, and, as sales go, it was a disappointment. Of course, just getting from Point A to Point B in the snowstorm seemed to be a serious issue - there were at least two cars stuck in the drifts alongside the road during the day. One, they had to call a tow truck out for, the other borrowed my shovel to get himself extricated. I'm sure my little corner wasn't the only one affected along my street, the snowplows had cleared the driving lanes, but hadn't cleared edge-to-edge yet. 

I'm extremely grateful for Kevin who is hired to snowblow 
the walkways around the corner coffeehouse, but extends his 
path past my store for a single up and back sweep. It's a 
kindness he does for me and I'm very thankful for it. 

I have to start today out by going to the bank for our final deposit of the year. We're closed tomorrow and Thursday, so it's my last chance to get money into our account. It's a bit nerve-wracking - it's a LOT of cash to be carrying around. Still, it's not like I'm wearing a placard stating "Rob Me". LOL I'm sure I'll be fine, it's not the first time I've had to do a deposit like this. 

We're a legacy customer of Deerwood Bank. Our original 
bank, which had been less than a mile from the shop, now 
is the location for the spectacular metal loon sculpture on 
the northwest corner of a redevelopment of green space for 
the urban scene. I adore the loon, but on days like today with 
roads the way they are, I would really prefer my old bank. LOL

But I'm starting the day out at the swimming pool. I won't be swimming the remainder of the week, so I absolutely need to get my one day in. I'm going to catch up on some sleep over the next couple of days, and we'll have to go into the shop for at least a short time for reports. We also have the rescheduled family get-together on Wednesday afternoon. So I won't be housebound. My posts will be short, however, for the 31st and the 1st. I wish all of you a safe and happy New Year and I look forward to sharing with all of you in 2026. Slava Ukraini. 

Running Late, So Just a Quick Post About the Minnesota Blizzard

Just a really quick post. We got a blizzard yesterday, so the family get-together has been rescheduled for Wednesday instead. We ended up with 6"-7" of snow here at the house, and I just got in from shoveling most of it (DH actually got the snowblower started and did the last third of the driveway for me). We have the third day of our four-day End of the Year Blowout Sale going on today. The roads should all be plowed, and we shouldn't have any access issues, so I'm hoping for good sales today. Saturday was a good day, Friday was a bit slow, but still OK. We have today and tomorrow, and then we're done for the year. 

This could easily be DH - our snowblower is yellow like this, 
and he often wears a red parka (although he's usually wearing 
a blue one when he's working on the roof or snowblowing). We 
were clearing just about that much snow away this morning 
from yesterday's blizzard that dumped 6"-8" over the Metro 
area. 

I hope all of you are safe, sound, bundled up (if appropriate for your weather and temperatures) and able to spend some time with friends and/or loved ones over this holiday season. I'll be back tomorrow, but I've got to get going. Shoveling the driveway took a serious chunk of time (before DH finally came out and snowblowed the final 1/3 which included the plow scree, so I was happy for the mechanical assistance). Enjoy your Monday. Slava Ukraini.