Goodbye

Goodbye Wally, I love you and will miss you greatly. I think I was in shock today when Jim called me, then the wonderful memories started flooding me and that made the tears start flooding me too. I think you are one of my first "old guys", I've loved you from the beginning.  It really is the simple things in life that matter and make the best memories. I remember following you and Margaret to town when the road was closed and you knew a short cut, only to have us both turning around on a dead end road. How about the time you and Margaret got separated at Walmart and the kids and I searched around to get you both found again. It depended on which one of you was asked who it was that was lost 😉 The very special memory of eating lunch with you on the ship last year at one of our friends memorial service. Then when you walked into the museum and you said "I heard your laugh and knew you were to find you". I will never in my life see a pair of OshKosh bib overalls and not think of you. I promise to always pass the needed info on to anyone else that may need them.  I loved sneaking over to you in the Memorial Day parade in your Jeep and sneaking a hug every year. Speaking of hugs, those will always be my most cherished memories from the parade, to the lobby, to that occasional meeting at McDonald's. When you turned 90 in January you said that was enough, I guess you meant it. My dear friend may you rest in peace knowing you were loved by many and will be missed my so many. I love you!!!

Missing Miss Manners

She's been on my mind a lot lately, I work with the public, I get to see the lack of manners all day long. Too be fair I do also see some superb manners as well, but that is less common. I can remember looking forward to reading Miss Manners columns when ever I could get the chance over the years. I don't read the paper at all anymore, so I don't even know if she still has a column or not. This morning at work I asked the one lady at work, "I wonder if Miss Manners is still alive?" She said "who?" I said "oh you city people". And wondered if it does make a difference if you are raised on the back roads in rural America?

Reason for all my manners questioned lately, what else, but who holds the door open? I'm sure it's against what Miss Manners teaches, but I don't believe it is gender related anymore. In the general sense I believe if you are with others or have other people near you, first one there holds the door. Please for the love of shear politeness, say "thank you" though.  However my rules change for the elderly. I think with them you make a point to hold the door no matter who gets there first, I will walk fast to make sure I'm first. See someone struggling with a walker or cane, be grateful you aren't and take the extra minute or two to help hold the door(s). My opinion of people has changed after seeing how they approach the whole who opens the door thing, not usually for the better 😒

If I have to pass in front of you in the store isle while you are looking something, I will politely say "excuse me". I have had people say it to me as well, but it's rare!!! Everyone is in a damn hurry and has a sense of entitlement, they aren't going to say "excuse me" when they feel they have the right to be there. Last night I was at the drug store looking at one of the shelves for something. A man and his teenage son came in, they walked in front of me, nothing, no "excuse me" nothing!!! Make it worse, they stop in front of me to look at something!!! WTF? Really, what are you teaching your son? Shame on you for not setting a better example of not only how to be a man, but a decent human being. I did say, "excuse me, please feel free to cut me off" Still no acknowledgement. I felt invisible like Michael Richards character on Night Court. (Yeah I've been YouTubing)

Look what I found, so cool and now I can say I learned something. 😍

Maybe if we can all just try just a smidgen to be a little nicer and practice good manners, maybe we can all get along better. Now I'm off in search of Miss Manners, is she still around? 

Halloween Yet?

No it's still not, but I really do seem to be in the Halloween mode. Just finished listing some Halloween Wood Signs in my shop today. I made one of the "The Neighbors have the Good Candy" sign for myself to put up at the Post Office pointing to the wine shop next door. I love it and can't wait to put it up. I showed it to the owner of the wine shop today and he loved it too. I'm thinking I'll put it up Oct. 1, if I can wait that long 😉 Here's the signs I added to the shop, stop in and check them and the rest of my signs out. Michelle's Variety Shop Signs

 Eat, Drink and Be Scary!

Dead & Breakfast 

 Blood Donors Needed!

Welcome to Spookville 

 

 Double Sided Shelf Sitter Sign

Welcome! The Witch is in.

I'm really not a fan of cool weather, 80+ is my favorite temp. Which makes it off that I'm looking forward to the fall and winter holidays. Must be a getting old thing 😉 Wait until I get started on the Christmas items, that would be my favorite holiday for decorating, so not for the weather though!!! 

Happy Halloween

Not really, but it feels like it should be out. It's August and currently it's only 63 out!!! Where is my 90's at??? I guess the chilly weather has be thinking about fall and Halloween. I have been painting signs all week, hope to get some pics of them to share tomorrow if the sun comes out. Tonight I decided I would work on a few glass block decals for Halloween. I cut one and some how lost the little dot for the top of the i. As I sat there frustrated I thought about the saying I had just cut: Home of the Wicked Witch and all her little Monsters. It made me think of this new lady in town and her 2 boys. She has such an awesome personality and the older of the 2 boys is the one that says "I love Stamp". 

I decided I would give this to her, but how. I don't have any spare glass blocks here. Maybe a regular glass something or other, I have lots of that. 😉 As I was walking around looking I spotted a piece of wood I had painted the wood, but not the sign. Light bulb moment. just put the decal on that, so I did. Did some staining and sealing and have a little gift I can give Erica tomorrow when she comes to get her mail. Here's a pic of her little sign. 

Stop and get your own decal to start getting yourself ready for Halloween.

 

Wicked Witch Decal

Now since Fonzie and Apolo have already headed to bed, I better follow along or I won't have and space in the bed at all for myself. Good night and Sweet Dreams!!!

Happy Birthday Apolo

My sweet Apolo turned 3 today, love my big boy to pieces.  We took some selfies on our walk today, he needs to work on his camera angles 😉

On a side note, I have a new admirer at work. He's 3 and everyday when he comes in his Mom asks him "Do you want to go say Hi to Stamp?" and he says "I love Stamp".  Makes me melt every time. 😍 ~ Stamp is a nickname from my Ex almost Brother in Law, only a few people use it.

Stop in and check out the new website and see what you can find.   Michelle's Variety Shop

Pen Pals going, going....

not quite gone. I was talking to one of my customers (85) today when she came to mail her son a package. She also bought some stamps and said part of them were to send to her Pen Pal. I told her just last night I was thinking about her Pen Pals and wondered how long she had them and how she got them. She said she had had them since the early 70's. I said "Wow, basically as long as I have been alive". She said "my Mother took a paper back then, it was just in black and white print, no pictures. (If you said she took a paper now a days it would something different) There was an ad in there from a lady saying she could match you with Pen Pals that shared the same birthday as you, so my customer mailed in her info in. She received back a list of Pan Pals who shared the same birthday as her, some even the same year. She wrote all, didn't here back from a couple, but heard back from 5, all were from different states and 2 were even from different countries. She said in the beginning they wrote at least once a month, except around Christmas, then they would just send a note saying talk to you after Christmas. As the years went by they aged, their eye sight faded, writing became harder to do and the letters aren't quite as regular anymore. A few times now she has sent letters only to receive an obituary notice back. I asked if she had ever met any of them in person and she had. Some just once, a few she has went to visit more then once and they had also come to visit her a time or two. I could have listened to her much longer and asked more questions, but another customer came in. How cool is that to have made friends that way and to still be friends after all these years? It really is sad that such simple things in life are going to the way side. Oh the joy of receiving a hand written letter in the mail and the joy of writing one back. As the saying goes "It's been a long time since the morning mail could be considered correspondence." How many years before no one knows what a Pen Pal is?

Lucky or Unlucky?

Yesterday I stopped over to my friends Larry & Deb's to discuss something with them. Deb said to me "if it weren't for bad luck you wouldn't have any luck at all" I totally agreed with her. Today I got home from work only to find my floor wet and I knew right away that it wasn't a wet spot you could blame on the dogs. I changed my clothes and got down on the floor to drag everything out from under the kitchen sink. ( Where did I get all that stuff?)  While I was wiping up the water I bumped the garbage disposal and down it came. Really, how unlucky can I be, part of it has broke and that is why I had the water all over the floor. First lucky moment: this is an easy fix and doesn't require a plumber. Off to Menard's to get parts to fix it. We are driving in the driveway and they have their 11% rebate sign out, lucky me I get a rebate for fixing my disposal. Turns out they didn't have the parts I needed, but new ones aren't too terrible expensive and I can use my new card that earns me points. Back home to get it installed. I did swear a few times, I won't lie about that. The luckiest part of all of it: I can now say I put in my own garbage disposal in, how many other women can say that? So maybe now no matter what the situation is there is always a lucky side to it? Do you consider yourself lucky or unlucky? Maybe you don't believe in luck at all.