Catchin' Up With Nub

I bet you all thought I fell off the face of the Earth, didn't you? Well...no....not exactly. Skip was unable to work for about a week & a half, so I had the store to myself for that time. I basically went to work, came home & forced myself to eat something (anything) & went to bed. It's not easy running a busy little store all on your own for a day or 2, but for an extended period it's....well.....draining, physically & emotionally. Skip has rallied beautifully, but I'm still feeling the effects. I'm just sort of blah & going through the motions right now. I don't blame Skip at all, please don't get me wrong! I'm just feeling how difficult running a retail store on your own can be. I need a vacation or at least a day off where I'm not running around to my own various doctor's appointments (I've got a lot going on there, but that's another story ~ I'm ok, but figuring out what's going on), trips to the vet (Stella the kitty either has a kidney infection, UTI, or her kidneys are failing because of her age ~ let's hope it's not the last), doing laundry, etc. I just plainly & simply need to re~group. Thank the powers above that next weekend is Memorial Day weekend & the store is closed on Saturday, Sunday & Monday. I'm thinking of doing a day trip up to the main Yankee Candle Company store in South Deerfield, MA (Lori....do you want to join me? I'll be calling you! Phinney...do you want to meet me there?)

Anywho...yesterday, my mom, aunt & I went to a young (or at least young to me, she was born in 1982 ~ LOL) cousin's bridal shower in Bethlehem, PA. It has gotten to that point where our cousins kids are now all getting married. They're all young enough to be my own kids, but old enough to be getting married ~ WOW! She's a cute little thing (as you can see by the picture below...that's the nicest bridal~shower~ribbon~bouquet I've ever seen made!), quite bubbly, has a great smile & just all around sweet. Her mom (also my cousin, obviously) is 1 of 8 kids (5 boys, 3 girls) & her 2 sisters & her mom (my great~aunt & the bride's grandmother) were there. The 3 girls I mentioned are so funny (especially Patty) & all are fabulously crafty & great at baking ~ look out Martha Stewart! Later on, my great~uncle Jack (the bride's grandfather & my grandmother's brother) showed up (he's in the other picture below with my great~aunt, my mom & my aunt). It was wonderful to see him, as he's now 87 & his health, unfortunately, is really starting to fail. My grandmother would be sooooo pleased that we got to spend some time with him.

That's enough rambling for me for now. I must now get off my butt & continue on with the 42bazillion things that need to get done. And if you're wondering about the picture above, that's taken from the deck behind my house & shows the view at night, down the valley to White Plains, NY. Hope all is well with you...if any of you are still out there reading my blog....I hope I haven't lost all of you! LOL