On Storms and Paying it Forward

Leonid Afremov on Etsy
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It's storming again as I write this. Yes, AGAIN! This has been a rough month storm and rain-wise. If you remember the bread and butter business is in Construction, rain makes for downtime lots of downtime. Downtime means the bills run late because you need to work to make money. Which actually brings me to todays topic believe it or not.

I’m sure I mentioned I’ve taken a part time job recently. Our expenses have increased just enough that it was becoming a strain on the hubs, especially with the weather we've been having, and I wanted to help take some of that stress off. I've also been going a little stir crazy cooped up on this hill all by myself for so much of the time.  So, I’m working as a cashier at our local Dollar General. 

My In-Laws insisted I was going to hate working there, but I am really falling in love with this job. It’s a lot of hard work I’ll admit. Stocking shelves between customers can get to be a heckuva  work out. I was working on sky boxes (we keep over stock on the top shelves) the other day and I joked it was the best leg work out I’d had in a long time - up and down the ladder all day long! 

My customers, though, are the reason I love this job. They are just amazing people. They make me smile on days I don’t want to. They make me laugh when I think there is no more laughter. They love one another and me. I get teased for being short and for no reason at all. I even have customers who will come along behind me and place things back up on the top shelf after I’ve pulled them down to restock shelves. Best of all I regularly get to see acts of kindness and pay it forwards that genuinely warm my heart. 

I have missed this so very much! What I see of the world lately on Facebook isn't so nice. It's political and personal, angry and sad, and that wears on you, it wears you down and I was feeling it. It took its toll on my marriage too. I can't tell you how much I needed to have my faith in humanity renewed and my customers have done that in a big way.

Be kind to one another, commit random acts of kindness and pay it forward. The love and compassion you share has an amazing ripple effect. Those acts touch many other people as well and that’s a VERY good thing. It's what makes my job a joy, thank you!

I haven’t made anything new lately, but that doesn’t mean I’m not making. Amazon sales have remained steady and I make to order most of those. Once I get my routine back in order I’ll get back to new goodies again I’m sure. Those “leg days” are kind of whooping me lol

Thanks so much for stopping by!

We'll see you next time!

Passion, Fun, and Storms It's All Messy

Thunderstorms woke me up this morning and a headache at the base of my skull kept me up. So I made coffee and took an Advil, then sat and read my e-mail until my neck loosened up enough to release the knot that was causing the headache. In my e-mail was my daily horoscope:  

What Ignites Your Passion

Virgo Daily Horoscope

You could notice that your passion for life may heighten your enthusiasm for your activities today. Your enthusiasm might be the result of your desire to engage fully in your life rather than letting things simply happen to you. Giving your undivided attention to everything you do today can help you infuse all of your activities with greater passion. While working, playing sports, or being with your partner, you might take a moment to stop and breathe. This lets you become aware of the present moment. As your awareness develops you can bring your focus to whatever you are doing or the person you are with and reflect upon what it is about that activity or person that energizes you. Understanding what excites you could ignite an even greater feeling of passion. 

Understanding what excites me, wow, twice in two days. I was just asked what I did for fun. For FUN. I couldn’t think of one darn thing I did for fun. I used to be fun all the time, what the heck happened to me?  I know, some of you might be thinking but you make such pretty things surely you consider that fun? I make to keep my sanity it’s a part of me just like breathing is but I haven’t created anything for the sheer joy of it in a long while, and that’s a shame. In fact I’ve been entirely too serious for at least a year, and I wonder why I’m facing storms in my life.

I used to dance, I used to play softball, I used to windsurf, I used to……..  

My life has become so wrapped up in everything around me I have forgotten me. AGAIN! I swore I wouldn’t do that again, and yet here we are. heavy sigh

So maybe I start dancing again, maybe belly dance. Or maybe I start date night and take advantage of $5 movie night at the theater. Or something else I don’t know the University has a rock climbing wall maybe I’ll learn to play on rocks or climb them, maybe my fingers still have enough strength in them to do that. Maybe I have enough strength in me to find fun and happiness again, just maybe I do. Wasn’t fun on my list of important things to do this year?  On my list or not I guess it’s about time.

Tell me in the comments what do you do for fun?

And hey! Thanks for stopping by!

ah! the storm that woke me up has passed and the sun has come out of hiding.

Week 19 Year of Jewelry Project

I made this pendant a few weeks back, posted it as an in progress piece on Instagram and then immediately dropped it and busted it in two pieces. sigh Alan bought a new torch for me a week or so ago and it works a charm! However the heat of the torch did darken the Ruby in Fuchsite a bit. .....Note to self invest in some Jool Cool if you think you might ever need to apply heat to a cab again......

I also make a crown ring using the same bezel wire, it's my second best seller on Amazon right now.  I've also sold several on Etsy.  I'm really starting to enjoy rings and may have to think about a bezel set ring or a saddle ring soon.

Short and sweet this week...... I've rejoined the workforce after 30 plus years of self employment and it seems to take up a lot more time than I remember, or maybe I was just a bit younger and had a lot more energy. 

Be kind to each other!

See ya next week!