Martha I am not!

Orris root iris

The most important thing that happened this week is that I am going to be a granny again! Cody and Mel's second will be here around Ryan's birthday in November. We don't know whether Oliver will have a brother or sister yet but it's very exciting :)

Well, this pr and marketing push that wicked-pr is doing is very exciting and interesting! 

The funniest, to me anyway, but so far the most exciting, is interest by Martha Stewart Living Magazine! I mean really! If Martha could see where the wonderful mixes are coming from, she'd want to redecorate! And I am so not a fan of hers! But if we get a mention there, it's worth a huge amount. The only thing better I think would be to get on Oprah!

What's even more interesting is that they are pitching my story to other magazines and tv and radio stations! You know, the old gray mare may not be what she used to be, but she's still got a lot of get up and go sort of thing. What a laugh! So who knows where this will lead. They are calling it a second career! I look at it as a clutching at straws endeavor in the beginning, but now I feel so much more confident about what I can do. It's like I have, in the last seven months, been in a crash course in start up business, yet sometimes I feel like I've barely scratched the surface. 

But I think if more women and men who are retiring know what we really are capable of, when are feet are to the flames, maybe you'd see more of us gray hairs out doing something that is so far from our comfort zone that we might as well be on the moon. And loving it!

It's long days of everything from vetting the web site and hounding the developers to mixing and packing nuts to bookkeeping - and whatever else pops up. But the days are never boring, that's for sure.

But I am keeping perspective and not letting the work suck me in to where that is all I do. Yoga is becoming more and more important to me. It's quite amazing, really. It's about the only activity I know of where my mind doesn't wander from the physical; it is a totally whole body/mind experience. And even though I am just a beginner, I know it is making a huge difference in the way I feel. Now I just have to be more disciplined to practice at home. 

I am so enjoying my orris irises. They are corms I got from a house Susan had listed about three years ago and I planted them out in the bed against the bulkhead. This is the first year they have bloomed and I had no idea what color they would be - and they are gray! Apparently, the root is used in perfume and gin! But you have to have acres and acres and dry the roots for five years before they are ground and then distilled. My tulips are finally over, sad but they lasted almost a month and were a very welcome splash of color and spring rolls in. Next are the other irises, then lilies. We are going to put pots on top of the pilings with hanging plants which should look really pretty - probably petunias, geraniums and lobelia. Possibly nasturtiums too. The poppies are all about to pop too, which really is a surprise as it is about a month earlier than last year. But I love it, they take over the side of the sunroom so I don't have to weed.

It's hard to believe it is almost May and that in seven weeks, it will be the longest day of the year! Even now, the evenings are stretching out, but it really isn't warm enough yet to fire up the weber, but soooooon.... And the early sunrise is messing up the kitty schedule! Buddy thinks that because it is getting light - now at around 4:30 am it's time to go outside! I might have to get him a sleep mask!

Saturday is a Kangen Water Super Saturday in Seattle - well worth the trek over there. Lots of information from doctors and naturopaths, and lots other testimonials about the magic the water is bringing to so many people's lives, both health-wise and financially. So am looking forward to that, and looking forward to being more knowledgeable about it too so I can spread the word.

Major Milestone

Well, after what seems to be forever, the site will go beta over the weekend!


I actually hope it will be a slow ramp up, or I am going to be swamped. Over the past week, I have been getting all the inventory and supplies here at the house and in the garage. The initial main load of nuts came last Monday, and that was an experience in itself! For those of you who haven't been here, the road in and out of here is narrow, windy and down hill with nowhere to turn around. So the driver of the delivery rig - 57 feet of it (17+/- m) backed down and I didn't think he was such a good driver but I sure as hell wouldn't have wanted to attempt it! But he made it, after almost getting stuck in the slippery maple leaves on the really sharp bend. This morning, I will meet him in the parking lot down the road and transfer the balance of the order into my car! People will think I have a drug deal going! High on nuts! and not even betel nuts.


Getting the site to this spot has been a mission. I wondered why things were so slow this last couple of weeks and then found out that the project manager, Manish had gone on holiday! But he is back now and things are under control again. It is far more complicated than I ever thought it would be but boy, I tell you, the next one I do will be a snap! And I think there will be another.


So the garage has boxes and boxes of stuff as I wait for the containers to arrive so I can decant and store all the goods. But ordering all the goodies was the easy part. It's all the peripheral stuff that I really didn't think of until I sat down and thought about, for instance the gift baskets. Deciding what goes in them is easy - but then they have to be packed and shipped. So there is the first bag, weighed and measured, labeled, then packed in the container, decorative stuffing around it, shrink wrapped, (don't forget to order the dispenser for the shrink wrap and the heat gun) then add ribbons, pack in shipping box with stuffing (cornstarch biodegradable peanuts) taped closed with industrial taper and tap, then weighed again, postage labels calculated and applied, notify postal service through the online account that there is a pickup, record the pickup so it can be tracked and off it goes. Whew. And that was just one, a simple one. There is a sampler with two ounce cellophane packets of a variety that each are twist tied (oh yes, had to track those down too, it's amazing what you can find on the internet) arranged etc. The actual single mixes are going to be a breeze compared to the baskets!


So today, I will get the garage organized as much as I can without the containers, get rid of some of the boxes and it will look more manageable. And hopefully, I will be able to sort out a work flow and not get too buried!