I Might Be On Radio Silence For A While

Our Going Out of Business Sale opens to the public on Wednesday the 8th. We'll be closed for business after today, for three days of preparation - hanging signs, doing interviews with newspapers and other media outlets, and rearranging product to maximize visibility and, hopefully, sales. It's going to be some long days, and it will be exhausting, but I'm hoping it will be worth while at the end of it all. What I do know is that all three of us are working super hard to make this happen. (I found it highly amusing when Travis was questioning the valuation we had placed on some items, DH came back to him with direct quotations from Travis' own book to hold up his position. Go DH!- LOL)

I've got a bunch of signage - not just the huge "Going 
Out of Business" sign for the exterior, but also lots 
of window signs, and signs to hang from ropes that 
I'll string for overhead. I'll have to make sure that those 
signs don't interfere with our alarm system which 
works on infrared light connections. 

We spent yesterday fielding questions from customers who had received cards for our opening day, or who had heard we were closing and wanted to confirm (while buying beads, of course). We're rearranged product display boards, consolidated products into more visible areas, I photographed all of the signage we've got from Travis, and we're still exchanging emails with him regarding specific points of potential contention. I'll be checking his book today to double-check time frames for signage and other important things, like when new discount levels kick in, etc. 

The difficulty with any business is "What is the business 
actually worth? What's the valuation?" A lot of different 
factors go into that - the actual physical merchandise, the 
settings - showcases, etc - and the customer base loyalty. 
One of the things is the displays, and we know the value of 
our displays - we've researched it heavily. We can support 
our valuation, and support the discount levels we've placed 
on them by directly referring to what he actually said in 
his book. We quoted the paragraph to him verbatim. 

I'm warning all of you ahead of time, that my posts may be shorter than usual - just a quick check-in to say "I'm still here", and "I care about each of you, but just can't chat right now". LOL Oh and talking about "chatting", Aearwen, I'm not really sure if we'll have the opportunity for our Wednesday chats until after we've shut the store down at the end of May! That's a long time away, so we'll have to play things by ear, but I suspect I'll be at the shop six days a week for the next six weeks or so. 

We're going to be playing a lot of this by ear and by 
feel. DH wants more $ out of the business than I do, but 
he's my money man. I want the customers to be happy/sad. 
Happy for the bargains, but sad to see us go. And I 
want them to still check out the last deals as we get 
towards the end of May and final closing. 

The only real negative to all of this is my sciatica. That's not going away. A good massage or maybe a chiropractor might help, but that takes time that I just don't have. I might get in touch with my oldest niece - she's a licensed massage therapist and may have some recommendations for me. Aside from that, I'll just have to live with the discomfort and hope that it can work itself out. 

I just can't seem to shake my sciatica pain. It's primarily 
at the bottom of my ass - so sitting is uncomfortable, and 
standing is a bit better, but not my favorite since I have 
a lot of computer work to do which requires sitting in 
most cases. Even just driving to and from work is painful. 
SUCKS! LOL

So, I've blathered on long enough. I'll be back on Monday and Tuesday mornings, for sure, but then we open for our invitational event on Wednesday and it might just be a quick check-in to say "I'm still here" from that point onward. (Aearwen - no Wednesday phone call this week for sure, and I'll be playing it by ear from that point until the sale ends.) Enjoy your weekend and Slava Ukraini. 

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

The signs and banners have arrived. They're top quality, which is good because we pack all of them up into their boxes again after we're finished with them, and return them to Travis. DH isn't happy with the banner which says "Going Out Of Business". He had wanted the shorter version - "Closing Sale", but we didn't have any say in that and it is what it is. Now to figure out how to get the damned thing up on the storefront. But there are other things taking a higher priority right now. 

Our Going Out of Business sign is all yellow, and 
doesn't have the red stripe below, but this is as close 
an image as I could find. Now to get the damned 
thing up on the storefront. We have SO much to do 
before we open the sale next week. 

DH realized, late yesterday, that we hadn't been updating a form that we had filled out in February. Looking the form over again, we realized we had completely misunderstood its' purpose when we had originally had it presented to us by Travis. We had thought it did A, but it actually does B and we had all of the wrong information in it as a result. He immediately started reworking it, and was deep into it when I went to sleep. 

 
I can't seem to get this centered, just par for the 
course right now. ARGH!!!

Travis really dropped the ball too. He did a press release and didn't run it by us first. Big problem - he used my full name in the press release. I'm not out there with that name associated with the business at all - I use my maiden name for the business. We're VERY unhappy at this one, because the release has already been picked up and published in several places. Great for the publicity, very BAD for the error. 

Can I just quit now? What a total mess. If 
I can make it through the next 6-8 weeks, it 
will be miraculous. 

I have no idea how late DH was up working on the inventory form. I gave up dealing with his bad mood shortly after 8:30 pm and went to sleep. At least I got a good night's sleep out of it. I'm not seeing papers and notes scattered all over, so I assume he accomplished something with the task and I'll be hearing about it today. We're under the gun, and this extra task which took almost all of yesterday, really wasn't welcome. 

So, on that note, the good and the bad, I'm out of here. I'm going to have breakfast, and then head to the shop. It's going to be a LONG day and my sciatica still is acting up, which isn't helping at all. I'll update as I can, but my posts might be short for a few days while we start the sale in the middle of next week. I'm not sure how much "spare time" I'll have. I'll at least say "Hi", but it might not be much more than that. LOL

A Day of Accomplishment and Frustration Combined

I started yesterday out driving to the licensing division to get the license for our Going Out of Business sign. It wasn't a problem to find, and parking was no charge (a rarity for downtown St Paul). Although the website said their hours started at 7:30 am, their doors actually didn't open until 8:00 am, so I waited for about 15 minutes. No problem. 

The banner license is given by these people. It 
has to be within certain dimensions, and placed 
in a way that it's not impeding traffic or other things. 
That's fine, but if their computers are down for 
the week, they'll need to send it to me by hand. 

When I spoke to the young woman about my signage license, she directed me to fill out the information on their on-line system ... PROBLEM! Their on-line system is actually down for the week while they download the past 20 years of records into their new system. When I pointed that out to the young woman, she consulted with another person, and sent me to the zoning department at the other end of their very large room with lots of desks. (Of course, since it's a governmental thing - the desks are on one side of a barrier, the public on the other - LOL). 

I'm not sure exactly what my sign says - DH didn't 
even unfold it when the box arrived yesterday. It 
should be something similar to this, though, and 
measures three feet high and 8-1/2 feet long. 

At Zoning, I spoke with an older woman - very friendly. She told me the same thing, I again pointed out that their computer system is down for the week, and she gave me a paper form to fill out. I did that, she double-checked that I had everything there for their guy, and then we bonded over the store closing, and how she loved Native American art and crafts, and is moving from her place to a different place. She noted my address and said she'd try and drop by during our sale. She's more than welcome. We chatted for a bit, and when I left she said she would personally take my paperwork to the appropriate person when they arrived for the day. If I don't have the appropriate permit for my sign, I did everything that I could. 

My baked fruit - which varies from batch to batch - is my 
normal daily breakfast, along with a couple of slices of 
gluten-free toast. 

I spent the rest of the day in the kitchen. I have no idea when I'll have any chance to cook again with the sale starting soon, so I made my next batch of fruit which will take me through a couple of weeks, and also made my "Ogre Juice" for the next week. I didn't get a chance to make the soup I had wanted to get cooked, but that's actually something I can do at night. If necessary, I can put it into the crock pot overnight and pack it up when I wake in the morning. Since my pulled sciatica muscle still isn't allowing me to treadmill, I'd have time in the morning to get the soup packed up and put into the refrigerator. I'll probably get that going tonight. 

I'm sure that in some ways, Travis is regretting 
taking us on as clients. However, we're picky 
about what's happening, and we've paid him 
a LOT of money, so he can gripe all he wants, 
but he'd better come through. 

So, plans are made. I spent several hours exchanging grumbly texts with Travis. They set up a website for us specifically for the sale, StormcloudTrading dot Net. When I pull it up, I get the store closing information , but I'm also getting a subheading that says "Ann Crittenden Hallmark". If you have a chance, could you go on to stormcloudtrading.net and see what the splash page looks like to you? I'd love some additional input from people not directly connected with either Travis or STC. 

If you have a chance to check out the website, I'd appreciate 
it. There's a ghost website coming up in the header when 
I check here, and I want that eliminated and the correct 
web address inserted. 

On that note, I'm wrapping this up and hoping to make it to the pool. We had a possibility of icy stuff overnight, and if it's a skating rink out there on the roads, I'll skip the swim today and try for tomorrow instead. Have an excellent Thursday and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini. 

DH Dropped The Ball and a Piece of Coral - ARGH!

So, I happened to be in the back of the shop yesterday afternoon, and noticed a copy of a handwritten list that DH had put near the television. I assume he did that because he's the one who always has the TV on all day (set to CNN because I refuse to listen to the financial station all day). BUT ... if it was him who had put the list there, he taped it up and then forgot about it. And we're screwed. So his assignment today is to get this taken care of. I'll just have to work on my "day off" - a day that I sorely needed because my refrigerator is BARE. 

I really didn't need this additional stress. And if we 
can't get the City license, we can't hold the sale! 

But, apparently,  the City needs to issue us a license to hold our Closing Sale, and that should have been issued to us a week ago (2 weeks before the sale commences and it's scheduled for April 8th). I'm so pissed I can just scream! We have to have a physical inspection, and a close out affidavit. I think some of this was taken care of when he was last over at that office several weeks ago, but this was HIS area of responsibility, and if he dropped the ball on it. ... well. GRRRRRR

The last thing I needed was for DH to drop the 
ball for the one item he was responsible for 
in the outside world. GRRRRR

The postcards announcing the sale have started arriving at places because we've already had a phone call or two about the sale. The ideal time for the postcards to arrive would be in another day or two, but it's close enough, and no-one controls the US Post Office - not even the US Post Office. 

So, my stress levels are through the roof, and I really don't have time for shop BS today because I won't have my "day off" for the next seven weeks and I really needed cooking time today. Maybe I'll get some - but I'm not counting on it. Oh, and of course, DH has been working on jewelry repairs, and managed to fling the final piece of pink coral inlay up into the air at his repair desk, losing it. Totally. He spent a half-hour or so looking, without success,. and I spent a bit of time this morning looking again, also without success. Of course, the desk is a total mess - containers and piles of materials everywhere. It would be really nice to find it within the next week or two - I'd love to sell the damned bracelet. 

I'm both angry AND frustrated. This was the one thing that 
DH needed to take care of for us. He apparently really hit 
it off with the head of the department when he was downtown 
a few weeks ago. BUT, I'm not sure that will save us now. 

So, I'm off to swim off some of my anger and frustration. GRRRRR I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini. 

I'm Overtime and Have to Get Going RIGHT NOW

After having finally rescued my Dremel from the shop, I'm taking it back with me today because I actually need it in the framing area. I'll be taking it back and forth with me, however. I don't trust DH to not grab it and use it and have it disappear for a month or two, and I can't take that chance. I need it at hand while I'm framing items. 

This is a bit more modern than my Dremel and case, but it's 
similar enough. The tool changes over the years, but the 
accessories pretty much stay the same, and the case is 
super convenient to keep everything together. 

I also have an attack of sciatica down my right side. I've never had this before, and I'm NOT very happy about it now. Sitting is painful, lying down is painful, and standing isn't too great either. *sigh* I don't have a lot of choice - it is what it is. My clock keeps on running down and time is most definitely NOT my friend. 

I have never had sciatica pain before, and have no idea 
why it suddenly decided to crop up now. I suppose I might 
be leaning differently while working on framing, but that's 
really the only different thing that's going on in my life right 
now. It hurts, and I don't recommend it to any of you! 

But, I'm off to the swimming pool today, and hopeful that I can get my usual workout. Yesterday's treadmill didn't happen because of pain, and I can't stand not exercising. It makes me feel like a bump on a log if I'm not active. 

I have a lot of picture frame chops that I purchased for artwork 
many years ago, but didn't use. When I find a piece that will work 
with what I already have, it's great! It saves us some $, and I 
can work on it without having to drive back and forth to my 
picture supply company. 

I have one frame in the process of being assembled at the shop. I got two sides glued properly yesterday and I'll drill and nail them today, then I'll glue the other two sides and get those drilled and nailed on Thursday (or maybe I'll take a quick run to the shop before opening on Wednesday to wrap up the frame and bring it home for mats and assembly). It's going to be on my King Kuka original gouche, which is a stunning piece and retails for a LOT of money. He was a good friend, and I was happy to support his artistic skills. 

Again, this isn't the piece I'm framing, but it's 
actually close in viewpoint. I adore his work. 

So, I'm off to the pool. Hopefully I can swim without issue and get a good workout in. I need it - when I'm in pain, I actually feel my age and I have NO intention of giving in to that myth! LOL Have an excellent day and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini. 

Framing Continues, and a Super Glue Saga

Yesterday was one of those semi-frustrating days - a lot of wasted mats while trying to frame several pieces, and a few tossed razor blades which were causing the wasted mats. But, I also had myself to blame - sometimes my measuring skills just aren't up to the job. I did finally get a smaller piece done to my satisfaction, only two mats instead of the three I had wanted, but I'm happy with the piece. I also wanted to get the mats cut for a very expensive original artwork by an old friend - King Kuka. 

King Kuka was a Blackfoot artist working in watercolors 
and acrylics, as well as handmade paper. His wife, Sandra, 
was from the Twin Cities, so he was familiar with my area 
of the Cities. We always got along really well. I love this 
larger piece of his and want to frame it properly so that 
it really sparks the love. 

King was a Blackfoot artist, who actually lived in the Twin Cities for quite a while. His wife, Sandra, was from the Cities. I loved his smaller works of softly colored pressed paper pieces, but I have a large gouache of his that retails for $1200, and I want to get it properly matted and framed. That didn't turn out well - I couldn't seem to cut a straight cut, or measure properly, for anything. I finally gave up for the day, took a quick run to Michael's for a frame for the smaller piece, stopped by Chipotle to pick up our dinner, and called it a day. One of those "OK Great/Not OK Ick" days. 

King's bread and butter items were these smaller 
pressed paper, hand painted pieces, just flat matted, 
or framed. I sold a BUNCH of these, as did other 
dealers I knew. They were priced right, really attractive, 
and very distinct. King used heavy watercolor paper 
for the base on these. They were marvelous. 

Between everything in the framing area, DH came up to me mid-afternoon with his tube of super glue attached to his finger. We hunted for a small can of acetone, but only had half-gallon tins. So, off we went to the garden with a huge amount of acetone to get the glue and DH separated. Fortunately the acetone did exactly what was needed, and the tube of glue was separated from his finger quite quickly. He's been working on a lot of small repairs for various items that we sell at the shop. It's already the end of March, and it's not very much longer before we start our official Going Out of Business Sale. I'm petrified. 

Super Glue is great stuff, but it can be touchy to use on 
very small items. I guess DH was working on gluing at 
his workbench yesterday afternoon, with an almost empty 
tube of glue. He managed to glue his finger to the tube. 
NOT good. Acetone removed the two, but a new tube 
of glue was purchased while I was getting a picture frame 
at Michael's. After all of that stress, we decided on 
Chipotle's for dinner. 

On that note, I'm wrapping this up. My largest challenge over the next months will be keeping my stress levels under control. I just need to reach the finish line and close the door behind me. But until I can get there, there is SO much that still needs to fall into place. I just keep reminding myself to stay positive and trust in the system and the people that I've hired to help us. Our signs should arrive this week, and we'll be one step closer to removing my wrought iron gratings and locking the doors behind me. Scary! 

It Was a Here and There, This and That Kind of Day

I had two prints to frame yesterday morning, The first one was no problem and looks great with a triple nested mat around the print. But, the second one required a quick trip to my mat supply store around 10:30 am because I had completely miscut the twin mats for this one. OOPS. So, $26 later, I had two new matboards in the same colors in my car, heading homeward again. I had worked out a schedule with DH where I could work on my framing in the morning, and come into the shop about 2:00 pm when he could go home and work on his repairs. 

The first piece, which I chose a triple mat for, turned out 
great. 

It actually worked out pretty well, except he stayed at the shop until about 4:00 pm. But I was in the framing room in the basement, and we weren't very busy, so Chickie didn't need to call me upstairs. I put one piece together and it's stunning. I'm very pleased. The second piece, however, I had cut too short on the width opening. The actual full size of the mats was perfect, but the cutout was incorrect. *sigh* I was back at my detail cutter at home at 6:00 am this morning, and by 6:30 am I had those mat cutouts lengthened, smoothed, and the completed items back in their bag ready for transport to the shop. I'll assemble them today, get the frame onto them, and I'll be ready to put in the nails and attach the hanging wires. 

The first picture, that turned out great, was this one - "Evening 
on the Washita" by Donald Vann. I chose a triple mat with a 
gradience from the peach to the light blue, and then black  
for the mats. The frame is almost a driftwood color/feel. I really 
like how this one turned out. 
 

The clock, of course, is ticking towards our big sale. On one hand I'm grateful that we're on a schedule, on the other hand I'm frightened to death. It's rather like "What if we hold a sale and nobody comes?" on the right hand, while the left hand is screaming "What if we have too many people to actually be able to handle things on our end?" It's the same nightmares I had when we ran our big Swarovski crystal sell-down sale last year. That ended up manageable (barely), but this one ... well, we've never had a sale like this before, and won't have one again. It's virgin territory for us and we're all petrified in our own ways. 

I have to keep reminding myself of this, even though we 
are actually on a rather strict time schedule. But, there are 
times, like now, when we're just hanging in there until 
the next surge. 

So I'm going to end this here and hope that maybe I'll get a "day off" tomorrow (although I doubt that - there's still a LOT that has to get done at the shop, so I'm sure I'll be there for a few hours, no matter what). Have an excellent weekend and I'll be back on Monday morning. Be kind and enjoy life. It's the only one you get, after all. Slava Ukraini. 

Catching Up a Bit - Full Steam Ahead

Remember that huge snow storm we had a couple of weeks ago? The one where I was shoveling the driveway for almost 90 minutes until I finally got to the point where my wonderful next door neighbor had snow blown the bottom quarter section out for me? I totally tore up my upper right thigh muscle moving the snow that morning, and it STILL hurts. Today was the first day I was brave enough to use the treadmill, and I only made it for 30 minutes. Still, that's better than nothing. But I'm achy, and can't believe that my thigh is still in a lot of pain after almost two weeks. 

Basically, that middle red spot is pretty much 
where I'm hurting. The rest of it has nothing 
happening, and the front of the leg is also fine. 
I just really tore that muscle while shoveling the 
snow a bit more than a week ago. 

Although I'm supposed to be at the shop today, I'm probably going to stay home for a lot of the day, working on two pictures I'm in the middle of framing. I got the glass cut for them at the shop yesterday morning. I have the triple mat for one cut out on the exterior. I still have to do the cut outs for each piece, then get everything assembled. The second one hasn't had the mats cut at all for it, but that one is only a double mat, so not quite as complex or time-consuming. It's inconvenient working from two different locations, but that's how it is right now. A lot of back and forth. 

Our various store signage is on its way to us. We 
are required to return these when we're finished 
using them, so we'll have to unpack carefully so that 
we can repack things properly. 

Our store signage for "Going Out of Business" is on its' way. Travis emailed the dimensions of the exterior sign to me because we need to get a license for that one. I'll be sending DH downtown early next week to get that taken care of. Then I need to double-check and triple-check the dates he's got our sale scheduled for and make sure I have them written on the main calendar that we all refer to. It'll be "All Hands on Deck" once that starts. 

It'll be "All Hands on Deck" for us once the sale 
actually starts. We're not quite there yet, but it's 
getting closer and closer. 

So, that's about all I have for news and chit-chat today. I'm going to have breakfast and plan how I can most efficiently use my day. I have frames that I need to match up with artwork so that I don't waste either one. That takes more time than you would suspect since the frames were made for different pieces, so they're all playing substitutes in a square dance that's becoming a bit crazy. Have a great Friday and I'll be back tomorrow to wrap up the week. Slava Ukraini. 

Rusty Skills But At Least I Still Have Them

I received a quick note yesterday afternoon that a fellow Tolkien-based fiction author and good friend had passed. Dreamflower was a friend of many years, a talented author, and a fellow enthusiast who was an active member in the Tolkien fan-fiction community. She read other's writings avidly, commented when she felt moved, always was positive, and she'll be missed. Travel safely to the West, my friend. I hope to meet you again someday on that far shore. 

Another friend is sailing into the unknown - heading to the 
Western seas. Travel safely, my dear. You'll be missed. 

Yesterday was also a very busy day in the kitchen, and I even got an hour to spend cutting mats for two pictures I need to get into their frames. I wish I had gotten a bit more completed, but it was a good start and I'll try to get some more work done on them on Sunday. My workspace for framing at home isn't the greatest space. It's small, it's crowded, and it doesn't work super well for the larger cuts. It's fine for the finer detail work, but the big stuff is a bit of a PITA. But, it's what I have available, so I'll just have to make do. No choices. 

My Fletcher glass cutting equipment takes quite a bit 
of space. And the sheets of glass are often quite large 
too. Tiny shards of glass also accumulate beneath it, 
so if I bring this home, I'll have to be very careful about 
where I mount it. 

I will have to take interior measurements for these also - I need to get glass cut for them, and my glass cutter is on the wall at the shop. I've been running through possibilities of where I could get it set up here at home, and I haven't come up with a decent location for the cutter yet. I'm running out of time - I'll have to get it pulled and mounted somewhere here ... but where??? 

My framing skills are a bit rusty, and the space I have available 
for my equipment isn't the best. Nonetheless, as the saying 
goes ... I'll persevere. No real choices here - LOL. 

But, at least it was a day when I did get something accomplished for framing. I didn't get nearly as far as I had wanted, but anything is an improvement over nothing. Part of the problem is I simply haven't done a lot of framing over the past few years, and my skills are rusty. They are still there, but everything takes a bit longer - it's less intuitive. On that note, I'm going to the swimming pool to work out some of my basic frustration. Have an excellent day and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini. 

Etsy, Framing and Cooking - It's a Wednesday, So It's a Busy Day

Yesterday was crickets at the shop. The weather was beautiful, and I guess people just didn't want to think about indoor activities, so we had minimal sales. It allowed me to get a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff done, but not everything I needed. One of the things we wanted to do was pull all of the African trade beads from our Etsy listings. I tried at the shop with the laptop, but since the laptop doesn't talk with Etsy on my shop name, only my personal name, I gave up and quickly did it this morning before starting this post. I didn't have a lot of trade beads still listed, but we'd rather have them at the shop for final sale instead of on-line. Etsy, as an experiment, has been OK, but nothing spectacular. 

These are NOT the trade beads I had listed, but I've had 
this type in the shop. DH had quite a while there where he 
was a bit crazy about them, and bought them whenever he 
saw them. We had African traders coming in to the shop 
to unload their vans and show us some truly marvelous 
things. They're gorgeous, they're antique, and they're 
copied these days, so buyers do need to be careful. 

I awakened about an hour early before my 3:00 am alarm, and decided I might just as well be relaxed and not in a rush today, so I took time for an extra long meditation, got the first load of laundry started, pulled those items off the Etsy listing, and got a few other things managed. I'm right on time for my daily blog, and ahead of the game in other aspects. Hopefully I can get some framing done today. I have two prints that need their mats cut and fit into their frames. I can't cut the glass until I'm at the shop, but I can do everything else, so they'll be almost complete by the end of today if I can get this done. 

I've got two pieces that I need to get into their frames. I've 
got the mats (at least for one of them, I do), so I just need 
to make sure I set aside an hour or two to get them cut and 
fitted. 

It's also a cooking day and I need Ogre Juice. I've pretty much given up on getting any time for lunch at the shop - it's not that we don't have the time, it's that DH NEVER thinks about me getting any time off the sales floor for my lunch. He never forgets Chickie's lunch - will even come to the sales floor to remind her that it's time for her meal. He just never thinks about me. So, I started eating my Ogre Juice with my breakfast (since I find if I don't eat it, I really feel that lack). That's been working out quite well, so I might just stick to that schedule. As I recall, when I first started WildFit so many years ago, it was two alkagizers a day (although I might be mistaken about that). My body most definitely is happier if I have one a day for most days - at least four a week. 

I find when I don't have my alkagizers, I simply don't feel 
on my game. I don't have one every day, but I do have 
them four days a week. When I first started the WildFit 
program, it was a minimum of one alkagizer a day, sometimes 
more. I've learned how to make them pretty tasty over 
the years - LOL. 

So, I'll take a quick run across the street from the YMCA to pick up vegetables at my local store before returning home today. It's so convenient, and even though they're not 24/7 any more, they open at 6:00 am and I'm usually not out of the gym until 6:15 am or so. It works out very well. So, have an excellent day and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini. 

Etsy and Travis - My Stress Boils Over *sigh*

I got a notification from Etsy about a sale yesterday, so I went on with my home computer last night. (Apparently the only way I can access my Etsy sales is through my desktop, not my laptop.) Anyway, the order was for a strand of antique beads that I had sold a few months ago - and it was marked SOLD. So I attempted to contact the purchaser and let them know that it was unavailable and that we did have two other strands that might interest her, but I couldn't contact her. *sigh* I suspect it was a feeler order in any case, not a real person, but it was frustrating to not be able to actually get in touch with her. But I also can't sell what's owned by someone else already, so it's simply not happening. 

Etsy usually isn't a problem, but I have no 
idea how this person was able to even place 
an order for the item she did. It was sold 
several months ago, and it's marked as "Sold" 
on the website. Weird. 

The business sale is moving along and I'm starting to become really frightened about how this is all going to happen and come through. It's just the three of us (and only two on Mondays and Wednesdays), and I'm not at all sure how well this is going to happen. Will we actually be able to sell to the bare walls? That's my goal, and I have absolutely NO idea if that's going to happen. I've spent a BUNCH of money with my RetailSalesPro guy, and I'm counting on him to bring the people through the door. But we're still just three people on the sales floor and if the people flood in, we're sunk. We want and need sales, but I don't need "After Christmas Sale" panic in our customers. I think closing the business is more stressful than treating my cancer was. 

I'm putting my faith in Travis - someone I've 
never met, and may never meet. I've paid 
him a LOT of $, and followed his instructions to 
the letter. We're getting as ready to clear things 
out as possible, and it's absolutely frightening. 
It's really all on us - Chickie, DH and I - to make 
this sale work and clear things out. ARGH!

So swimming today will be a relief. I need to work out some of this stress. It's a good thing that I lost my hair years ago, I'd be tearing it out (or it would be falling out on its' own) from the stress. Have a wonderful Tuesday and I'm off to the swimming pool. Slava Ukraini. 

Good Intentions Meet Reality - LOL

I had every intention of being on the treadmill this morning, but my thigh muscle is still bothering me, so I'll give it until Friday, swim my usual Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday, and give myself this one additional day to recover and heal. It's a LOT better, but I think that being on the treadmill might set me back in my healing. Friday gives me a few more days to heal, and my swimming exercises my muscles quite differently than the treadmill does. 

I always have my hands on the side bars when I'm 
using my treadmill. I'm also fast-walking, not 
actually running. I'm not allowed to have that much 
impact on my crappy bones, but getting some is 
actually a good thing, so we thread the needle for 
what's good and what's too much. 

I wanted to re-do the master for a reporting sheet that we use daily at the shop, so I brought a copy home to reproduce. I was certain that I had a type-font ruler here. But, I was mistaken. So, I'm taking the form back to the shop with me, and I'll have to see what I can do off the cuff on my laptop instead. I had a clean master copy of the form that we used for years, but it's disappeared *sigh*. It's not the end of the world to reproduce the form, but it's a lot harder to do without the font-size ruler at hand. If I can find one that doesn't cost a lot, I might buy it on Wednesday. 

I used to have a typefont ruler. The fact that I can't find 
it isn't a surprise - I haven't needed it for many years. 
But ... I need it now. So, I'll end up buying a new one 
because it's rather essential for what it does. 

I made one of our favorite dinners last night - a request from DH who wanted my pork loin. It's easy enough to do, although I do have to be careful when basting the roast in the last hour of cooking - the glaze that I baste with is sugar based, and if that falls onto the oven door, it can be a total PITA to get scrubbed off. So I always use a sheet of foil that I pull under the baking pan when I'm applying the glaze every 10 minutes during the final stages of the roast. The one time I didn't do that took a LONG time to get the drippings cleaned off my oven door and base. I learned quickly. LOL

I love making my braised pork loin recipe. It's 
easy - it starts out in the crock pot for several 
hours and then finishes in the oven where the 
glaze is applied. It cleans up quickly, it tastes 
fabulous, it's a total winner. 

So, not a lot else to discuss. I'll be pulling our trade beads off our Etsy sales offerings at DH's request. He wants to have them available back in the store again, and I'm absolutely fine with that. We'll leave the Swarovski crystals up for the time being, but eventually we will pull those listings also. 

So, not much else to chat about today. I hope all of you have a wonderful Monday and I'll be back tomorrow - hopefully with a bit more to say on my way to the swimming pool. Slava Ukraini. 

Progress, My Attacking Loon & A Book

I finally got my Dremel back from DH yesterday. He "borrowed" it from me several years ago and took it to the shop for repairs, etc. He doesn't take great care of his tools, and he has a Dremel of his own, but no ... mine was nicely packaged with all of the various bits and wrenches, and it was convenient for him to just reach into the drawer where I kept it and grab it. So, I haven't had my Dremel for quite a while, several years, and I haven't been pleased about it. 

My Dremel is older than this, and not everything pictured 
here came with mine, but it's as close as I could find. 
I love the hard-shell case. Everything is in one place and 
that's what I needed when I was taking it with me to 
various jewelry workshops. 

Yesterday he came up from cleaning the basement and deposited a mess on my desk. My Dremel, and the various tools, drill bits and other assorted things. Apparently I could take it back now. Whoot! I carefully got everything back in order, wrapped the cording around properly, and viola! Everything fits beautifully and it is now back at my craft desk where it belongs. 

I love my Minnesota We Stand United Sweatshirt. It's 
super attractive, light enough weight that I can wear it 
for several seasons, and it's our attacking Loon - the 
symbol of our resistance to Trump and his immigration 
policies. It's perfect! 

I'm wearing my Minnesota Loon - We Stand United sweatshirt to the shop today. It's a beautiful hoodie, and I'm very pleased with it. Chickie has a t-shirt that proclaims her solidarity with Minnesota, but I think my hoodie is much prettier. It's lightweight, so no problems wearing it through the day, and I can always layer if we have serious cold (which isn't the case right now). I'm pleased with the purchase, and I'm quite sure DH will grumble about it. But there's no text, just a wonderful, beautiful Minnesota loon, wings spread - a quiet statement of resistance. 

When I first spoke to Travis, several years ago, he sent me 
a copy of his book to read. (I certainly didn't just purchase it - 
it sells for MUCH more $ than I could spend at that time, or 
even now). I've poured over it several times, and it's coming to 
work with me again today because I want to check out some 
timelines and prep details. 

So, it's Saturday. Maybe I'll be lucky and able to take tomorrow off from work. I'm bringing Travis' book along with me to the shop today so that I can read ahead and get a better idea of whether we're on track for our closing schedule. The dates are coming up quickly, and there's still a BUNCH of things we have to get done before the licence is obtained, the banner and signs go up, and we're ready to go into the final stages of closing out the store. It's nerve wracking. It's so much easier to just turn in your notice or, in some cases, simply declare "I Quit" and walk out the door. It's much harder when you actually own the business. Have a wonderful weekend and I'll be back on Monday morning. Slava Ukraini. 

Checking In - Friends Would Worry *hugs*

Just a very quick check-in. I'm running really late today - no special reason, just am. So, I'm checking in because I have friends who would worry if I didn't post on a regular day, and I don't want to cause anyone to worry on my behalf. Have an excellent weekend, one and all, and I'll be back on Monday - hopefully back on schedule and on timing. *hugs* and Slava Ukraini. 

Death and Taxes - Predictably, I Forgot One Piece of Paper

DH did point out to me yesterday that May 31st isn't a hard deadline, that, if needed, our closing can move into the first part of June. That's going to impact the plans that Chickie has been making, so I texted her last night that she might end up having to work those first two weeks of June. I suspect she wasn't very happy about that - she's already been planning a trip out West with some family members and I might have just stomped on those plans, requiring some shifting. I know I wouldn't be happy to get a text like that, so I suspect she'll be quite crabby today. Nothing to be done about it, though. DH is correct. The close date isn't set in concrete, it's moveable depending on what remains to be sold. 

I suspect Chickie is not happy with me right now. 
She's been busy planning this trip out West for 
a couple of weeks now, and I completely forgot 
that we might still be open into June. My bad, but 
I'm going to need her help to get things locked down 
and closed. 

We met with out accountant last night for our personal taxes. I had everything together, except for a single 1099 which I forgot to print out. I've quickly done that and will have DH drop it off on his way in to the shop today. Then we'll be set. I asked my accountant if he knew any good attorneys he could recommend to help me with this whole identity issue I'm having, and he recommended a firm he does business with. He said they have about 25 lawyers on staff, so hopefully someone there will be able to assist me. I'll give them a phone call today. 

Our accountant is great, and very close to where we live 
so he's also very convenient. I usually forget at least one 
piece of paper, and this was no exception. I'll have 
DH drop the papers off on his way in to the shop today. 

Except for the usual - death and taxes (LOL) - everything seems to be moving along - a bit slowly, but steadily. I got everything done that I needed to yesterday, and even had a bit of time to relax - something rare on my Wednesdays. I got my next batch of fruit baked, and did six boneless pork chops for my upcoming dinners. Yummy! I still have a bit of leftovers that need to be eaten first, but I'm set up. I also had 10 audio book credits that needed to be used by the end of the month, so I bought the next ten in the next series I'll be listening to. It takes a LOT longer to listen to a book than to read it, so I'm probably set for the next year now. 

I've been listening to audio books while exercising for more 
than 25 years now. I can't imagine being in the pool without 
my books to listen to. I sometimes listen on the treadmill 
too, but often will stick to rock music on that equipment. 

So I'm heading out to the pool for my final swim of the week. I hope you have an excellent Thursday and I'll be back tomorrow. May life be kind to you today. Slava Ukraini.