Fill The World With Some Joy Today

Yesterday's sales numbers were excellent, and we have three days of our year-end sale still remaining. We were all kept quite busy helping customers or getting them rung out and sent on their way, merchandise clutched to them. It helps that we're having good weather. It's cold, but it's the end of December. It's supposed to be cold. But the roadways are clear and there's no snow, rain or sleet happening or expected in the immediate future. I'm relieved. 

Things are going well. We still have three days remaining 
in our year-end clearance sale, and I'm hoping the numbers 
will be strong for all four days. Then we can collapse. LOL

I've always believed that we have the BEST customers in the world. They're polite, they help others find what they're looking for, they're not pushy, and they know that beads are one of the sure ways to happiness. Beads are rather extraordinary - they're good forever. Beads are found with prehistoric burials, or clutched in the hands of a five-year-old as a charm against bad things. Beads are magic, they're portable, and they create bonds between people. I love beads, and I love selling them to people who make extraordinary items with them. It's been my task for more than 30 years, and I love it. 

These stone beads date from the Neolithic, and there have 
been beads far older than that also discovered and cherished. 
Beads seem to have been with mankind for as long as 
we've walked the earth. 

I finally had a chance to get to the grocery store yesterday, and picked up all of the ingredients necessary to make a nice hearty soup tomorrow that will take me through dinners for much of next week. Tonight's dinner might be a bit scant, but I have some stuff in my freezer that I can add to my usual salad. I certainly won't starve - LOL. 

I'll be making a vegetable soup of some kind tomorrow. 
I got all of the ingredients yesterday morning on the 
way to the shop - just need to pull out the stock pot, 
load it up with all the good stuff, and start it cooking. 
I do love soups during the Winter months. 

And I finally got a good night's sleep. Yesterday night's sleep was fussy and stressed, I don't think I managed more than two hours all-told. But last night I crashed until my alarm went off this morning. I feel MUCH more human. It's rather amazing what sleep can do as a restorative - probably why sleep deprivation is used as a torture device by some regimes. 

What a difference a good night's sleep can make. Today 
I actually feel human and ready for Day Two of our 
Four-Day End of the Year Sale. Yippee! 

So we go on. The month and the year are almost complete. Look back at your year, a few days early. Look back and see what positive things you have done that has made the world slightly better for everyone. It doesn't have to been anything major - how about being friendly, smiling at everyone? That can leave so many good feelings behind you as you progress through your day. Why not try it today? If you like the results, make it part of your daily regime from this point forward. The world will benefit from a bit more joy. I'll be back on Monday, so have a safe and joy-filled weekend. Slava Ukraini. 

Starting "The Wave" of Smiles Today and a Big "Thank You"

Hello one and all, I hope you had an excellent weekend. Mine was filled with a lot of food, some conversation, excellent ice hockey and beautiful weather. It was above 60 F yesterday! In MARCH! Our weather this year is absolutely insane. The Winter Weather Gods decided we needed a break after last year's record-setting and extra long winter, and we've got it this year. I don't think we've even seen a total of six inches of snow TOTAL all winter here in the Twin Cities. CRAZY! But I like it! LOL We'll have to keep a very close eye on our trees and plants this year - we'll have to make sure they get enough water since they haven't had much from any snow melt. 

It turned out quite nicely, and was a fun project to do. 
I used EXACTLY the number of brown beads available - 
in fact, was two brown beads short. It was the brown 
beads that dictated the end size of the piece, since 
I had more of all other colors remaining. I hope she 
likes what I did, and that she uses it for many more years. 

To bring those of you who are contributing towards the beaded trivet up to date, I hadn't heart from her, although I had left her several messages, so I settled down on Saturday afternoon and phoned her instead of emailing her. It turns out she's been down with COVID, and is starting to recover. I told her what my on-line friends have done for her - THANKS AGAIN, TO THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE CONTRIBUTING TO HER REPAIR COSTS - and by the time I was finished telling her, she was in tears of joy. She said that in her long life, no-one has ever done something so nice for her before! I was a bit shocked, but delighted that my online friends have contributed to her absolute happiness. I told her to relax and get better, that it will be waiting for her when she gets well. 

I like this - "Doing a Good Deed Brightens a Dark 
World". I sincerely believe in that, and today's world 
is becoming darker by the day. I don't like where the 
world is going right now, and I'm grateful that I'm an 
old lady and won't have to deal with where the world 
is headed for more than a few more decades. 

So, you'all have done a good deed for an old lady, and she's extremely grateful. Chickie deemed it "excellent", but DH said I should just have given it to her. That I had plenty of money. I tried to explain that the money wasn't the issue as much as the payment for a skillset honed over decades of practice, but he just didn't understand. Of course, there's not a charitable bone in his body. I have far less funds than he does, but all of our charitable donations come from me. I donate a lot to a number of charities every year - monthly donations that I examine and either continue the next year, or I find a different charity that I feel helps more people to donate to instead. I truly believe in extending a helping hand - not giving everything carte blanche, but putting out assistance to help people (and animals) get back onto their feet with dignity. DH just doesn't get that. 

There are a lot of different ways to donate - not 
just financially. I choose to donate money because 
I don't have the time to actually help physically. But 
I'm hoping that after I retire, I can help out at the 
Humane Society or maybe at a care center 
near me. It doesn't take much to brighten the life 
of another living being. Just being there is 
sometimes all that's needed. 

I wanted to share that small victory with all of you, though. Sure, the total cost for the repair wasn't a huge amount, and it's not going to stock her cupboards with goods to get her through the next few months. But it will brighten her heart every time she sees and uses her beaded trivet, and isn't that what money is supposed to do? To make life just a little easier and filled with a bit more sunshine? Maybe that's not what the stock market things money should do, but in my personal book, that's EXACTLY what money should do. Spread joy and happiness, help out a little here and there, and more than anything, do things that will improve the lives of individuals - people. 

Spread some joy today. It doesn't take much - a smile, a 
listening ear, a friendly hug, a pat on the head and scritch 
behind the ears (for a dog, it's heaven - LOL). It takes such 
a minimum amount of time and effort, it amazes me how 
rarely people actually try to do it. 

So go out and spread a bit of sunshine today among people. You don't have to give money, just give a smile, and a wave, and a cheerful "Good Morning" or "Good Afternoon". Smiles are contagious, so let's see how many we can spread through our circles today. Let's start "The Wave" of smiles today, one smile at a time. I'll be back tomorrow, Slava Ukraini and חיים למען ישראל.