Showing posts with label end of the year sale. Show all posts
Showing posts with label end of the year sale. Show all posts

Tuesday, December 30, 2025

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. 



Friday, December 26, 2025

I Had a Great Christmas - Did You?

Did you survive Christmas? Did Santa Claus bring you what you wanted? Santa was quite generous for me, and I now have the next season of "Midsommer Murders" and "Maigret" on DVD. Since we were completely unable to watch "Maigret" because of technical issues with the feed, I'm delighted and can hardly wait to dive into it without the broadcasting issues we had been experiencing. 




We really liked what we were able to see of 
Maigret, but the feed was horrific, so we weren't 
really able to enjoy it. Now we have the DVD, 
so we'll have the fun of watching without the 
issues of the feed. 



Today starts our four-day END OF THE YEAR SALE. It's a huge sale, and we'll get a lot of people through. It goes Friday and Saturday this week, and Monday and Tuesday next week. We'll have Wednesday and Thursday off next week again, and that will be totally delightful (and absolutely necessary). I'm already looking forward to it, even though we'll have to attempt to print out our year-end reports and get the various State and Federal year-end forms filed. So even though we won't be open for sales, we'll still be at the shop for several hours. 




Today starts our Four-Day End of the Year Sale - our 
biggest sale of the year. I'm hoping we get the sales 
numbers, I think we will. 



Chickie gave the small watercolor painting she had purchased for her Mom to Claire yesterday and she adored it. Claire texted me that she wants the second one in the set, and she'll be in today to buy it. So, I'll reserve it for her. It is a set of two, and I'm pleased that she wants the second piece. Our year-end sale is the best sale we have, so she'll be getting a good price too. 


I was a bit disappointed in holiday cards this year. I received about half of the number that I usually get, and my mantle looks a bit sparse. Still, there are at least two overseas cards that I usually get that I know were sent and are probably somewhere between here and there - LOL. I don't pull the cards down until after the New Year, so there's still time for some holiday cheer. 




Both DH and Chickie gave me gift cards from Barnes & 
Noble - a guaranteed happy gift for me - the perennial 
bookworm. LOL 



Looking at my desk (which really needs a good year-end cleaning), I see that Santa was kind enough to give me $70 in Barnes & Noble gift cards, so I'll make sure to load those up on my account for the next e-books I want to get in the series I'm reading down. Getting books always makes me smile - it's one of my happy things. As I said above, DH hit it out of the park with the "Midsomer Murders" and "Maigret" DVD's. He also got me two sets of running shorts, and will buy me a new set of running shoes when we can get to the mall together. I desperately need a new pair - my current ones are falling apart. All in all, I'm calling it a successful Christmas. DH got lots of things that he wanted, and some things he didn't know he wanted, (but he actually did) - LOL


I hope you also had a lovely Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. I'm heading to the shop for what I hope will be a very busy first day of our "After Christmas Four-Day Sale". Enjoy your Friday and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini.