My Friend

My long time friend lives in a Group Home because she is unable to live by herself.  We met a long time ago when she became part of the church music group.  We have been friends since, although there was a period of three years when I lost touch with her.  She was in a nursing home and it took me some time to catch up with her.  Every couple months I treat her to lunch and then we wander over to the grocery store.  She buys chips and soda.  I treat her as she has a cash flow problem.  I have to set limits on how much money I spend, as she has no natural inhibitions.  Lunch is not enough.  Pop and chips are not enough.  She wants to add  a word search book.  It's very frustrating for me, because no matter what I say, the conversation comes back to haunt me.  Once, I told her before lunch my day's budget, and the entire conversation was about if she had  an inexpensive lunch that she could then buy the chips and soda.  Yesterday, she talked about how she needed a word search book as she is supposed to rest her knee more.  She will tell me that she is depressed and that we should go out.  She is a good manipulator.  I don't want to hurt her feelings but I don't want to feel used either.  I need to stand firm and once she has spent the budget for the day, not buy her anything else....even if she is disappointed.

Not Feeling Well

On Saturday, my husband started coughing, spiked a fever and felt weak.  He has been suffering with the flu ever since.  I had bronchitis and and an ear infection in November and though the antibiotics changed the characteristics of the cough, I have been bothered by a very deep cough since and pressure in my ears.  My boss heard the cough and said, "That does not sound good, Miss Healthy."  So on Sunday, when the cough escalated, I figured that I was getting the flu too.  I worked on Monday, but as the day progressed got sicker and had a temperature of 102 degrees.  I felt like death warmed over.  I saw the doctor who diagnosed a virus and gave me a prescription for a cough suppresant, which wouldn't you know, I left at the clinic.  I've been sleeping all the time and popping ibuprofen.  My daughter has a sore throat and cold symptoms.  

The "New Normal"

So you are not confused, I will explain about the flower shops.  There is the main store which includes the gift and card floor, a flower cooler, design room, delivery service and greenhouse, and then a smaller satellite store (8 miles away from the main store to the west), which has a flower cooler, cards and gifts.  The store is small, 1000 square feet.  I work at both stores....Sunday and Monday at the main store and Thursday, Friday and Saturday (alone) at the branch store.   Now one day, while I was at the branch store, I met a woman and her daughter.  She had brought a dishgarden to have some fresh flowers added.  Unfortunately, I couldn't help her, because the store was in the process of being refitted (from a photo shop) and we did not have the cooler installed yet.  Hence we had no fresh flowers.  She told me that her mother's wake had been the previous day, and that she and her daughter were getting into the "new normal"...that meeting me was part of the process.  I am not waiting for my life to get back to normal, but I am trying to adjust to the "new normal."  I miss my daughter since she has moved to Florida.  My husband has a cough and is coming down with a cold.  Even when he feels well, he is not inclined to do much.  Consequently the work will fall on me.  My old dog is getting more arthritic and won't be around much longer.  I will have to consider putting him down.  Clothes are piling into huge mountains as the part for the washer won't be in until Tuesday or possibly Wednesday.  And the situation with my parents...my father's test is on Wednesday.  I am dealing with my circumstances as "it is what it is" and getting upset about it or ranting and raving will serve no useful purpose.  If my  mood gets too dire, my son will say, "Here Mom! Have some chocolate!"  You can tell the kind of day I've had by the amount of chocolate I eat.

The Greenhouse at the Main Store

Main Store...Here I come!

I added and re-added and to the best of my knowledge, I counted 4500 cards.  After completing the inventory sheets, I needed to refresh the cooler.  Replace the medium stem rose bouquets, clean long stem peach roses, change the water in the spray roses and gerbera daisies, and switch out the statice.  I made several trips to the dumpster and swept and vacuumed the store.  I washed out vases and flower buckets.  I sold two bags of red rose petals.  A young man is proposing this evening.  My first purchase of the day was by a woman who bought bracelets to ward off the "evil eye" in Turkey and wanted one from our store.  I sold two planters and took three orders.  One was going to Clearwater, Florida, and wouldn't you know the order got truncated and the shop called to clarify.  I sold two dozen roses and some lilies.  I sent an arrangement of carnations and a rose to my mother and dad and I bought 2 candy bars....Godiva solid chocolate.  And happily tomorrow and Monday, I will be at the main store!

Flower Shop and Ali Who types by walking on the keyboard

Keeping Busy at Work

This morning, I still had three huge boxes of greeting cards to count.  But before I could tally them, I needed to make space to move the boxes out from under the shelves in the closet that serves as an office.  This meant I needed to assemble a card rack that rotates. Thankfully,  the card display came with seven pages of directions.  I really don't like the screws with hexagonal heads that tighten with a wrench.  Trying to get a grip hurt my fingers.  And even though I read that the three plastic sheets should be fitted together with the bigger hole on top, I somehow managed to put the thumb tacks into the smaller hole first.  It seems sturdy enough and provided 72 card pockets--enough to almost empty the box.  This display contains birthday cards for specific family members, thank you cards, wedding, anniversary and retirement cards.  And after getting that box out of the way, I had room to count.  I was glad that I didn't have to get up from the floor to make an arrangement or answer the phone as it would have taken a while.  I put that box away and started on the next.  By the time I finished, I knew I needed another method.  So I positioned the last box on the counter, stood on a mat, and counted away. I don't have the final tally, but would guess I counted 2000 cards or more.  Tomorrow I will total the figures for each price point.  During the inventory, I decided to make a hot cup of cocoa.  Imagine my surprise when I discovered that I had disolved mini marshmallows in hot water!  No wonder It tasted terrible.rt5555555etyggv This last is my petite gray cat saying hello!