Merry Christmas To All

It's after noon on the Sunday after Christmas and I'm still in my nightshirt and fuzzy slippers, sitting at the dining table browsing cool backgrounds for this blog. The Cutest Blog on the Block has lots of great, colorful and fun backgrounds that are super simple to use. The biggest challenge is to figure out which one to use right now. I'm going for a New Year's theme, at least for a week and then I'll have the pleasure of picking a new one for January. I'll also play with a customized signature and if I am really ambitious, I might work on a new header. In summary, I am avoiding real work - the kind that pays the bills.

It's just too gloomy looking outside and I imagine it's cold in the shop. In order to perserve my excuse for lethargy I'm deliberately not checking the very easy to see thermometer. If it turns out to be above 50 degrees then I need to come up with another excuse. It may just be easier to put on sweats and go to work. There is a restaurant opening soon in Alameda, Shay's Cafe, that I need to get the signage done for. I could go over and install the window lettering and give the owners a sense that I really am going to get this done before their opening day. That would leave just (just!?!) the wall painting. For that I need to have a platform lift because the sign is above the entrance doors and tops out at about 16 feet from the sidewalk. I am just too old and too lame to attempt this on a ladder. My scaffold will only get my feet 6 feet off the ground, which puts my comfortable painting height at about 11 feet.

Tonight could be our last flocking of 2008. Other orders may come in early in the week but the phones are very quiet. There has been a slight pick up in business in the last 2 weeks but, considering what it had dropped to, a single call changes the statistics drastically. However, I have high hopes that 2009 will start off better than 2008 ended and the trend will continue to improve.

If I don't make it back before next year, Happy New Year to you all. Be safe, happy and healthy.

Thanks for Thanksgiving

Hoping everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving. We certainly did. We spent the day in Paradise, even Geraldine. No, really, we did. Paradise, California. My daughter, MsM decided that we should all gather at her parents'* place for the holiday. Six people came in from Utah and we came up from the Bay Area so it ended up as 14 for dinner. MsM took care of much of the food by enlisting Marie Callender's to do all the prep work. We picked up a big box of frozen goodies at the restaurant in Chico, then made a sharp right turn and headed up the hill to Paradise. There we were welcomed by our gracious host and hostess and made to feel right at home.

Geraldine was so excited to arrive that she rushed right in the house without making a pee stop first. As soon as the greetings slowed down that omission needed an immediate remedy - right on the living room rug. Such a nice first impression. Fortunately, she was soon able to charm her way out of exile in the back yard and rejoin the festivities. No more accidents.

All the activity; patrolling for dropped morsels, monitoring everybody's movements, playing king of the mountain in a recliner with CJ, getting chased out of the kitchen, getting underfoot (you know, standard dog duties) left her exhausted as you can see. It's a dogs life.

Dinner was delightful. There were so many of us that we needed two tables. Excellent food, lively conversation, delightful company. After we were able to stagger away from the table, we convened to watch Kung Fu Panda. During the movie almost everyone slipped off to bed. By 10pm not a creature was stirring, not even the dog.

The next morning started with a huge bowl of sausages, a prelude to the day-after eating. A quick run to a local beanery for coffee to get the heart started and I was ready to take on the day. After breakfast part 1 (I didn't realize there would be a part 2, silly me) a walk was suggested. Upon discovering that CJ makes his spending money walking dogs I handed over control of Geraldine to him and away they went. It was a glorious morning - cool, crisp, clear. Quiet streets, beautiful trees, stunning views - we had lovely stroll around the neighborhood.

After breakfast part 2, DBFA and I accepted an invitation to tour the neighbors' home and shop. In addition to a charming and roomy home, the large wooded lot also concealed a pool, a garage/kennel/workshop, and around a corner hidden from view is an amazing workshop. I walked in and my first words to DBFA were "Ooohh, I want one of these." All of the woodworking tools a reasonable person could wish for, and maybe a few more. And all of the room needed to use them. If DBFA and I lived there, we'd probably never go in the house.


Lunch was next on the schedule. After all, I hadn't eaten in almost an hour! Leftovers are the best part of the traditional Thanksgiving meal. Cold white meat turkey, stuffing, cranberries and mayo sandwiches - yum! Because all of the ingredients were out on the kitchen counter,I was able to introduce our host and hostess to one of my favorite snacks - peanut butter and barbecue potato chips on sour dough bread. In my opinion its best with all natural peanut butter but if all you have is Jif or the like, go with it. The chips must be barbecue flavor. Smear the bread with a generous coating of peanut butter. Cover with a solid layer of chips. Smash chips with your hand just enough to crush them. Eat open faced. Repeat as necessary. This is the main reason why I don't keep potato chips in the house. An alternative: substitute crisp fried bacon for the chips.

After lunch we decided another walk would be a good idea. This time around we detoured into Bille Park. Next time back in Paradise I want to spend more time exploring there. It was almost time to start home so that was going to have to wait.

We were packed up and on our way by a little after 3pm and home before 6pm. A whole vacation crammed into 36 hours. It was great.

* It's a complicated extended family, so just take my word for it.

Seeing Stars

Since my last whiny post things have picked up a little bit. We are still getting way too much uninterrupted sleep but that will change over the next few weeks. How do I know this? Flamingoing will be good because I have several meetings and appointments booked. It is a strange but reliable phenomenon that if I need to be up, dressed and able to relate intelligently with the general public before noon, we will be out creeping around in strange dark yards until 4:oo or 5:00 am. I am expecting at least one order for Thanksgiving simply because we are planning to be out of town. Our back up flockers are out of commission due to several severe health issues so it's either turn down work (gasp!) or creative scheduling best accomplished by offering extra days at no charge.

Anyway - last week ended pretty well. One display out during Hallowe'en was 100% unmolested
even though it was set up right along the sidewalk. We were very pleased. We had hearts and stars out for two celebrations, and everything came home from both jobs.

Too bad the same can't be said of the dinosaurs we picked up this morning. The pack was one raptor short.

The most obvious difference between the situations: the dinosaurs were in a high priced neighborhood. Hearts and stars were in less affluent areas. The more expensive the home, the more likely that someone feels entitled to help themselves to a "souvenir." I'm not saying that it's always someone from the target household, but what decorating niche in a $5 million home cries out for a slightly worn plastic t-rex? If it's the neighborhood kids, don't the parents wonder about the coincidence of a yard full of penguins across the street and the sudden appearance of a penguin in their offspring's environment?

Enough pondering the vagaries of human behavior. I think I'll go mix myself a little adult refreshment and spend the remainder of the weekend doing some intense goofing off. Did I mention, we don't work tonight?

Business Sucks!!

I'm sure everyone has their own story about how the current economic meltdown is adversely effecting their life and livelihood. That isn't going to stop me from whining about how it's effecting mine. If it wasn't for telemarketers, politicians, and wrong numbers I'd be picking up the telephone just to make sure I still had dial tone. We got one new order last week - count 'em: one, 1, uno. The dust is starting to build up on the flamingos and while I appreciate that its the season for ghosts and goblins, I don't really appreciate the spider webs that are accumulating in my critter bins.

I do have to admit however that the quality of business that is coming in is pretty good. For example, I took an order from out of town. She wanted a herd of cows delivered to her best friend, but the friend lives in a huge complex and on the second floor. The question was whether there would be a place to plant the herd where they would be appreciated by the birthday girl. Google Maps to the rescue. I entered the address and called up the satellite picture of the complex. Lots of green areas were visible. A look at the street view pictures were also promising. We struck a deal - if it turned out that we couldn't find a good spot, she would get a 50% refund. Luck was with us. A perfect spot right at the base of her stairs, and a short haul from the flamingomobile. The icing on this birthday cake - every one of the cows was still there when we returned to herd them back to the barn. Whoo hoo!! That was 2 weeks ago.

Last week only the flamingos had an outing on an emergency flocking The caller has been sending flamingos to this person every year for his birthday but lost track of the date until the day before. We were warned that if the birthday boy detected us, he was likely to chase us down to extract the identity of the sender. I am pleased to say that the flocking tradition has been upheld and unless there has been a confession, the sender remains anonymous, and the recipient remains puzzled. I love these stories.

Flocking for the Cure

The Susan B. Koman Foundation held a 3-day, 60-mile "walk for the cure" event in San Francisco last weekend. Two members of a networking group I am involved with (the Women's Business Exchange) participated. The Flamingess decided to show her support by taking a small flock of flamingos and a sign out to set up along the course.

On Friday, day 1, we parked with doors of the flamingo-mobile wide open to blast Jimmy Buffett music. We joined other on-lookers and supporters to cheer, clap and wave to the hundreds of intrepid walkers along the streets through Golden Gate Park. It was a perfect San Francisco summer day - clear and warm. Warm like it only gets in September and October - summer comes late to the City. After about 3 hours of cheering for everyone the Boob Brigade ("my" team) appeared and had their picture taken with the flock.

The flock decided it should go out again on Sunday to add its energy to the final day. We started out for the first cheering station but we had been out doing our surprise work until the wee early hours of the morning and so overslept that time slot. The second designated cheering area was full. No place to park and unload the birds. Not to be discouraged, we cruised along the walking route to find our own place but since this day's route was through downtown SanFrancisco grassy areas were hard to find. Finally we found the perfect location - right at the end of the walk just before the participants crossed the finish line at Fort Mason. Many many photos were taken of walkers posing with the sign and the flock. It was a great way to spend the day.

Yay!! SARK's new book arrived!

Juicy Pens Thirsty Paper arrived on my doorstep yesterday evening. I got the package open but all I managed to do was admire the cover art until just about 10 minutes ago.

In spite of giving us the night off by leaving a display of hearts and stars to languish an extra night I still ended up staying up until 2:00 am watching the men's all-round gymnastics competition. Then it was up at 5:30am so I could wash down enough coffee to let me make it to the golf course safely by 6:30. This is the first time all year that my golf buddies and I didn't put the first footprints on the dewy greens. One twosome ahead of us - hmmph! I played pretty good (for me) although my putter wasn't overly cooperative. We finished just in time to make it to the WBE networking meeting.

After the meeting, it was back to the warehouse to change vehicles, pick up DBFA and head up the hill to retrieve the delayed display. Then down the hill with a stop at the grocery store and then back home again. Put away the groceries, sort through the mail and (TMI moment coming) I had a chance to grab the book and spend a few minutes reading in the bathroom. I am going to love it.

How can anyone resist the colors, the open style and pure flowing joy on every page. It's even fun to read the table of contents. Now I have to put it down, finish this post, eat my lunch salad (with walnuts, almonds and craisins - yum!) and get myself down to the shop to finish painting the last of four 190" long banners for the Santa Cruz Port District. Work before pleasure. Not really, work is a pleasure but I have a new book and I want to play with that.

Anticipation

Yesterday I received the notification that my copy of Sark's newest book, Juicy Pens Thirsty Paper is finally on its way. I'm so excited to be getting my hands on her latest outpouring of colorful optimism. Once I have it in my hands I'm sure you'll notice that my posts get more colorful and less structured. Left to my own devices, I suffer from a low grade fever of perfectionism. Sark is the perfect cure.