Pumpkin Kitty has squeezed herself into the little ditch beside the sidewalk…waiting for Dad to come by.
I worked all day Friday and all day yesterday on my shop. I’ve been a little behind in getting the fall stuff our and now its time to start on the Christmas stuff. I have a deeper empathy for those who not only run their own small businesses but also have the time crunch of being ready for the holidays.
When I had Needles & Pins my little needlework shop in Glenwood Springs, I didn’t really have distinct seasons. Most of my supplies were for counted cross stitchers and some of those beautiful Santas and Snowmen and Angels take a LONG time to work. There were small projects that could be finished in a reasonable timeframe, but I sold all seasons, all the time.
This shop is different. You have to start planning for the holidays months in advance and if you get behind, you could miss the opportunity to make some good sales. If I could get this up and running steady, I could make it a steady side hustle that would really help us out in our “fixed income years.” There are certain things you can’t say in posts or the algorithms will kick you down the ladder of engagement. Words like s.h.a.r.e and c.o.m.m.e.n.t are no-nos, so asking you to do those things is counter productive. But if you’re feeling generous and would like to expose more of your friends to what I’m doing here…I would be ever so grateful.
So, back to yesterday. As I was coming home, I passed my cousin’s place down the road and they were gathered for a cookout. I went down the road to the turnaround in front of their house and circled back. In order to get over to the bunkhouse where the fire pit is located, you need to down a steep and narrow driveway then drive through the creek at the bottom and back up the other side. I just flip my truck into 4WD and she handles it like a champ.
I couldn’t sit around for very long because Mr. FixIt was expecting me and there’s no cell service at the bunkhouse so I couldn’t call him. It was fun to catch up a little. My cousin and his wife are both retired now so ostensibly we could see each other more often. It just hasn’t turned out that way this summer. You know how it is after you retire…you’re busier than you ever were when you were working!
I have everything ready to put the pork roast in early this morning. I’ve got the dry rub mixed up. I have the crudités just about ready to go in the container I’ll take with us to the picnic. I need to mix up a batch of homemade Roasted Red Pepper Hummus. I have several kinds of crackers. I had to laugh when I stopped a the deli at the Piggly Wiggly. I wanted to get some hard salami and have it sliced thin enough to make little roses to decorate my tray.
Deli Clerk: “How thick do you want this?”
Me: “Oh, well thin enough to form into roses for my charcuterie board, but not so thick as they would break.”
Deli Clerk:
Me:
Deli Clerk:
Me: “Thin. But not too thin, or too thick.”
Deli Clerk: “Ok. How ‘bout I cut a slice and you tell me which direction to go…deal?”
Sure ‘nuff, that’s a deal. Sometimes I forget where I am and that I’m a logophile in the smallest county in the state. We don’t even have a stop light. There are a lot of well educated West Virginians who are worldly and erudite. But the majority, I would have to say, are linguistically challenged. So I try not to come off as pedant, but I do love words. I like to challenge people a little to expand their vocabulary, but I never mean it in a showy way. I just don’t always “read the room” accurately. That’s actually an autistic trait.
Off for a fun day of family fun, food, and….cornhole!
?
“But those who won’t care for their relatives, especially those in their own household, have denied the true faith. Such people are worse than unbelievers.”
1 Timothy 5:8 NLT
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
No ad today…it’s the Lord’s Day. I hope you have a wonderful Sunday!