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. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

Monday is a Deadline - Sigh!

It's Saturday, which for many of you is the start of two days off. That's not been the case for me for almost 40 years, so I guess it will be a "new" experience, to have weekends back. The store is getting there - DH was in my face yesterday evening about how I was dealing with the photos, while I was trying to make sure that I had every photo needed, and in the correct format and size. I finally grouched at him enough that he went to bed early, which allowed me the time to go through the complete photo file of slightly less than 50 photos, make sure they were the sizes needed, and identified appropriately, and I now feel much more confident about uploading all of this on Monday morning. 

We have a LOT of photos that we'll need to upload to Travis. I 
sent him a quick message yesterday to find out if he had a 
preferred service for that. There are two I'm familiar with, 
one that we've used in the past, one that we're a bit less 
familiar with. But they both work well. Then it'll be up to 
him to resize things as needed. 

But, I also realized there are a few photos that still need to be taken - mostly on the main floor. The various displays we use for our beads might have some resale value ... or not. Hard to say on that since we made the displays that we use. There's also the main desk that DH and I share - it's old, probably purchased from the used office supplies company down the street - but it works just fine and I'm quite sure there is some resale value. I'd love for someone else to deal with getting it out of the place, in any case - LOL - it's REALLY heavy. There are a few other small things to add to the list, but in the main, we've caught everything and have them measured, photographed, described and ready for upload. 

The 9th is a hard deadline for us, and we've been working 
to have things ready for that date for the past six weeks. 
It's been a LOT of work, but without the deadline, we would 
still be running in place. At least I feel like we're starting 
to get somewhere now, and if the deadline tasks go smoothly, 
I'll be extremely grateful. 

Since I'm on a Monday deadline to get everything uploaded, and I don't have Chickie helping me in the store on Mondays, I'm trying my best to be ahead of the deadline, maybe uploading tomorrow instead, when I'll have time to fix things if they don't go smoothly. 

Once again there is war in the Middle East, and this 
time it was the USA who started it. WTH??? Why? 

And, of course, there is war in the Middle East once again. I know that contentiousness and territoriality is built into human DNA, but all too often it's an excuse, not a driving factor. Such and such an area is important to religious beliefs or a nation's history is often a good excuse in the Middle East. Also, the total lack of faith in each other over the decades. Add in that the fact that the USA bombed the Middle East ... well, I think we overstepped our bounds unless we were specifically asked to help Israel or another nation of the area. But I'm a "peacenik" from the days of Vietnam, and I don't see myself changing my internal guidance anytime soon. 

Deadlines - we need them, but they're not fun to have 
on the receiving end - LOL. 

So, have a really excellent weekend. I've got a TON of stuff to still get ready for uploading on Monday, and a few bills that I need to get paid. The tension/pressure of all of this is building a large and high fence between DH and myself for the time being. We'll see how we come out of all of this afterwards, but right now, deadlines loom. I'll be back on Monday, although it might be a quick post. Slava Ukraini. 

Shelves and Cellphones - A Double ARGH!

DH and I spent most of yesterday at the shop working on photos for Travis. At one time we had three full shelving units completely emptied for less-than-great photos (you can't really do a lot with photos in a four-foot wide aisle with 96" tall shelving"). We tried to assemble a new shelf downstairs to use for the photographs, but they're a total PITA to get together and it just wasn't working well. So we abandoned that idea and just emptied the shelves for poor photos. 

We have two different types of steel shelving - industrial 
and commercial. They're configured a bit differently, and 
each company who makes them makes them slightly 
differently. Some are as old as 50+ years - original to 
Jim's Dad's business way back when. It's a LOT of 
shelving. 

What a job, and what a mess! I'm quite certain things are out of their usual order now, and it will take some reshuffling of merchandise until I can find beads easily once again. We understand why Travis has us do the photography, but it would have been SO much easier to take a single good pic and say "Shelving like this in either 6, 7 or 8 shelves, 6-8 feet tall." But no, we're supposed to photograph EVERYTHING, and the deadline to submit all of these to Travis is Friday. We have a LOT of photos on DH's phone, and he still needs to send all of them to me so that I can send them to Travis. I'll be running that through with him today. 

I'm hoping that the photos are the last major hurdle that we'll need to go through. No guarantees, of course. But it's a dream - LOL. 

I forgot to recharge my cell phone overnight. It's next 
to me, plugged in now, and it's now up to 19% from 
a total 0%. *sigh* That was how exhausted I was last 
night. I was absolutely BEAT. 

And, just to make things even better ... I forgot to recharge my phone last night, so it died while I was on my final meditation (good thing that was a short one). I have it recharging now, and will plug it in to continue charging as soon as I get to the shop. It's very rare for me to forget to charge overnight, I must have been totally exhausted. So, have a great Monday and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini. 

Screwdrivers, Computers and Sugar Ants

So, the missing screwdriver (and a pair of heavy-duty ridged pliers) were found - actually next to where he sits when he's working on the computer. *sigh* Of course that doesn't solve everything, but we're moving ahead - step by step, photo by photo. 

We own a lot of screwdrivers, but the one he was missing he was 
using to disassemble metal shelving to make them uniform in 
their type of shelves - either industrial or commercial. He was 
really upset that he couldn't find it (he obviously didn't look 
very well). 

Yesterday it was time to tackle my area of the back room - the credenza where we keep the printer and a back-up computer system, and the smaller credenza where we have old printers and/or copiers, and where Chickie sits. It was a job to get everything cleared off enough for the photos, but we got it done and everything is back in the appropriate place now. I'll probably toss the old printer, although keeping old printers is what saved us when our regular printer died a year or so ago. 

We're nowhere as bad as this. We only had three old printer, 
and one of those is our main printer right now. That leaves 
us with two old printers that possibly would work with our 
computer system. But, the printer only needs to work for 
another few months, so I'm hoping it hangs in there. 

I'm still fighting the good fight again sugar ants. We live in an old house, and there are cracks in the foundation that are plenty large enough for something smaller than 1/8" to crawl into. I saw a few in the downstairs bathroom about two weeks ago. Sprayed, and they were gone. But I also knew that when they were one place, they'd probably show up at another, so I've been watching. 

Sugar ants are TINY, and so they're able to get in through 
small cracks in the brickwork or the foundation. I keep my 
eyes peeled for the suckers. I'm on a mission to keep them 
out of my house! 

Sure enough, a few days ago they showed up in my bathroom (which is directly above the downstairs shower room), and my bathroom is directly next to the pantry. The last time we had these miserable little beasts, we ended up having to pull EVERYTHING out of the pantry. I decided to do a pantry check today, and did find a few of them, which I instantly sprayed with ant killer. I'll keep a sharp eye out. I might clean out the bottom levels next Wednesday on my "day off", but I really can't do anything until them. All our time is focused on the business, and I don't have any days off except Wednesday right now. 

So, on that note, I'm out of here. Have an excellent weekend and I'll be back Monday morning. Slava Ukraini. 

A Bit Longer Post than Yesterday - LOL

I have a bit more time today, so we're back in business. Although, the dental appointment I thought was scheduled for Tuesday actually is scheduled for Thursday (calendar mixup on my part). So, I'll be tight on time again tomorrow. Still, I finally get a day off today, and I really need it. I have NOTHING to eat in my refrigerator, so grocery shopping, etc is essential, as well as a day in the kitchen. 

It's going to be a VERY busy "Day Off" and it's the only 
day I get this week, so I'll grab it by the horns and make 
the most of it. 

The store is starting to look really good - cleaned up, spruced up, and almost ready for whatever Travis will assign to me next. The basement, where DH has worked exclusively for more than two weeks, is looking better than it did when we moved in. Shocking! That was a TON of work on his part, and I really appreciate his efforts. 

Although it's not the holidays any more, this 
still looked like a good photo to add here - LOL. 

But we still have a lot to accomplish, and a lot to get ready. I probably won't take much of a breath, but Travis is guiding us along through this process, step-by-step. Although almost everything is also available in his book, being in daily email contact with him (and he's good with responding quickly to questions), is working out quite well. We're sticking to the detailed timetable that he provided to us, and if I had any hair, I would certainly have gained a few grey ones from this process. 

I strongly suspect that Travis is a bit older 
than this photo (although it's a great photo). 
Still, if he can help us get the store closed, 
his fees will be more than worth it. And he's 
in contact with me every day, or responding 
to questions I have for him every day. So I'm 
taking advantage of his experience and advice. 

Of course, having our internet at home crash last week wasn't a great thing either, but we're back up and running. I had a wonderful technician who was sent out by Xfinity, and after he isolated that it wasn't inside the house, he started looking at the lines and connections outside. Apparently there were some issues with connections at the rooftop level, so he was on a ladder dealing with that. But it really didn't take long, and we were up and running once again. Thank goodness! 

It seems like all of my days recently mirror this 
crazy cartoon. Things will get better, but we 
still have a LONG way to come. 

So, I hope your day runs smoothly. I'm going to be doing my absolute best to make sure that MY day is smooth today because only one day off in the week means everything has to click in like clockwork. Be kind, smile, Slava Ukraine, and ICE out!. 

Our Clock is Ticking and We're Nowhere Near Ready

It was a very busy cleaning day yesterday. DH spent the entire day cleaning the storage and framing areas of the basement space. It probably hasn't had a serious clean since we first moved into the space almost 40 years ago. It's a lot of metal shelving and a LOT of boxes. We're still going to need boxes for items that people purchase that should be boxed up like pottery or katchinas, but we don't need hundreds of used boxes from this shipment or that one. We also don't need the rows and rows of empty product boxes for beads that we're clearing out and selling, but not reordering. We've been breaking down boxes for several weeks now and putting them into the recycling bins that are at the end of our parking lot. 

We have three 55 gallon and one HUGE metal 
recycling bin for the four tenants. We're using a 
lot of that space right now, and our landlord said 
if we needed to arrange for a non-scheduled 
pickup, he'd make it happen. I am apologizing 
to each of the other business owners for 
monopolizing the recycling bins as well. 
It's temporary, but absolutely necessary. 

Everything kicks into high gear on Monday. I have another phone call scheduled with Travis. I'll have to double-check the multi-page document that he sent to me. We've been working our way down the instructions in that document, pushing to get everything completed. I suspect we'll be spending Sunday at the shop as well, my plan is cleaning my front windows and the front window display. It's filthy and needs some serious love. The hard part about washing the front windows is two-fold" (1) They're BIG and very tall. It's a lot of cleaning, and (2) they are protected by decorative rod iron work that we commissioned when we first moved into the space. The ironwork features our Stormcloud logo and it's beautiful. We're bringing the iron home with us when we leave. We'll put it into our front garden area. 

Our storefront is pretty basic. It's the inside that's 
the fun part of the store. I need to clean the right-side 
window desperately. It's absolutely filthy. 

I have to film my walk-through which I need to submit to Travis no later than the 2nd. That means starting outside for a view from the street, then moving inside for a detailed look at the sales floor and finally moving downstairs to the warehouse area. The total length should be about 7 minutes, I figure about 30 seconds on the outside, 5 minutes on the main floor and 1 minute on the basement. I'll need to keep a close eye on the time, and make sure I provide a good view of everything - the artwork on the walls, the jewelry in the cases, and the beads everywhere on display cases and on shelving. We're an eclectic store, to say the least. 

I'm very grateful that Super Bowl isn't until next weekend. 
We'll be working and cleaning the shop this Sunday and 
wouldn't have any time to watch the game. Hopefully next 
Sunday will give us some time, although we'll still be at the 
shop for a while, I'm sure. 

I'm grateful that Super Bowl isn't until next week, because I'm quite sure we'll be working at the shop tomorrow as well. There's always something else that needs to be done, and we're giving this our best effort. But we're only two people (three if you count Chickie, but she's not cleaning, she's spending her time with customers and she hasn't been at her best, physically, so that's also not a good thing). 

OK, these AREN'T MY bulbs because I couldn't get the 
photo I took this morning to my computer in time to 
share it. But, both of my amaryllis bulbs from Sharon 
are blooming, and they have second blossoms almost 
ready to burst and third ones still coming. There's also a 
third stem sprouting from each bulb. BEST HOLIDAY 
GIFT EVER!!! DH is still astounded about how the waxed 
bulb can be enough food and water for the bulb, but he's 
very impressed. 

All in all, time progresses. If I have some short posts over the next couple of weeks, I hope you'll understand and cut me some slack. My immediate future is terrifying, my long term future is wonderful. I just need to get from one thing to the other. *Hugs* to all. Slava Ukraini and Melt the ICE. 

ICE Continues and So Do Our Closing Preparations

Today I'll take the headshot that is required (I really hate having my picture taken at the best of times, taking a "selfie" is most certainly NOT in my general wheelhouse). Nonetheless, despite my hatred of self-photos, it's required so I'll get that done. I'll also do a walkthrough for the store video, or maybe two if I have the time. Meanwhile, DH is busy at work in the warehouse, bringing up empty boxes for me to take flat, and waiting, impatiently, for our trash and recycling bins at the rear of the parking lot to be emptied so that we can use them again. I already have several boxes of flattened cardboard waiting for an open recycling bin. 

Sure, we could have been flattening boxes for months, or 
years now, but we didn't. So, we're packing it all into a 
quick decimation of shelves and shelves full of cardboard 
boxes that need to be flattened and recycled. It's a lot of 
work, but we're getting there. 

Of course, this is all stuff that we could have done more gradually over the past ten or so years, but we're not that forward looking in general. It will be a relief when I can walk into the basement and see all of the STC detritus gone. We still won't be cleaned up and ready to move out, but we'll be MUCH closer to that reality. All three of us are working extremely hard to make this possible. We know it's essential and that right now, time is NOT on our side. 

Time is not our friend right now. We're working on a very 
tight schedule to get things done on the list that Travis 
provided. We've spent a LOT of money to hire him, and I'm 
just hoping and praying that this turns out OK. 

As I recall, this weekend is a dead weekend for football, with the Super Bowl being held next weekend. That will make it much easier to spend another Sunday at the shop working hard. We actually can get a lot accomplished if we don't have to help customers. We love our customers - they pay our rent - LOL. But ... they can be very time-heavy and even though we love them, time is not our friend right now. 

This clever sign that's been making the rounds 
takes our standard "Snowplow Route" signs, 
but changes the text and the bottom to reflect 
our current reality. 

So I hope all of you have a fabulous Friday. We'll continue fighting our battle against ICE here in the Twin Cities, and continue to publicize the many illegal activities that Trump has acknowledged and allowed under his name. Those of you interested might be able to replay Mayor Jacob Fry's speech to the US Mayor's assembly yesterday. It was a phenomenal speech about exactly what's happening in his city, Minneapolis, right now - the fight that we are fighting against fascism. I'm quite sure it's out in the www somewhere now. Slava Ukraini & ICE Out!