The Factory

The soap factory is buzzing over here and it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. I know. I know! It's not even Halloween yet. But this racetrack called "retail" won't slow down.

I'm one of those people who doesn't shop for Christmas until the last week or so. But to be honest, I don't really buy much. I pretty much craft and do handmade stuff for the holidays. But even if I was a shopper, I'm last minute. The stores, however, have to catch the early worms. I know there are folks who do all their holiday shopping in August and are long done. That's just crazy (tho' impressive). Everyone else falls in between and if they see something cool, they buy. So the shelves have to be filled with gizmos and doo dads, hoopla and fal-de-ral, trying to entice whatever sales they can muster. You know the saying, "gotta make hay while the sun shines." Holiday sales are make or break a business.

Around here the piles are taller than me of boxes and bins. Mostly pieces of things to still be put together or packaged up somehow. But a small and growing pile or two of finished things for shows next week. We're getting close to the next big round of holiday craft sales.

Next week: Red Ribbons and Reindeer at the Hollywood Schoolhouse, Pickering Barn, and Eastlake High School on Saturday only. Plus, at some point next week the mailing will go out. I'm just putting finishing touches on it, and it will head over to the printer by the weekend. So timing depends a little on how fast they can finish my job and we can stuff it into envelopes. I'm expecting it mid-week. And need to squeeze in time to update the website with the loads of new items too.

Gifts galore. Start making your lists. Yipes, I'm spinning just thinking about how much still needs to be done and how few days there are in a week. The heart-palpitating crunch time is starting right now, and as always it's nightmarish yet exciting, dreaded and anticipated in equal measure. Gentlemen, start your engines.