Janet's Smiles

I did okay at the boutique on Sunday, managing to sell enough to cover what I paid to rent the space and then about $55 more. I did not think I was going to have a good day when the first customer picked up one of my cards and asked how much they cost. When I told her the card she was holding was $4.50 she dropped it like a hot potato and said, “Well, okay.” and walked off in a huff. Now I know that my cards are a lot nicer than the ones you can get at the dollar store and I also know that they are a lot cheaper than the ones you get at Hallmark but it is still a little disconcerting to get that kind of reaction on the first encounter of the day. Later on I had a friend come by and she bought two cards but I gave her the friends and family discount so I broke even there. That was my first sale of the day. I sold some more here and there and finally had another friend buy 10 cards. I gave her a discount too but the volume helped.

The day ended about an hour early and the number of shoppers at any one time was sporadic. I think it was because it was at a church and so people would come in after mass. I don’t know how much it was actually promoted because several people I talked to said they hadn’t heard about it until I posted on Facebook and Instagram. As usual, I got some ideas for more things to make. I am seriously lacking items for animal lovers and not quite politically correct since I don’t have any Hanukkah items. I am going to try to rectify that in time for Saturday’s show but I’m not sure if I’ll make it as it is Thanksgiving week and I do have some typing to do.

The display (see my last post about challenges) took me a couple of hours to do. I was trying to make some new arrangements and I just didn’t seem to get it right at first. Finally I decided not to put out some items that I had brought but were out of season like Mother’s Day and Father’s Day and some older mini-albums that were spring-themed. Then I had a little more room on the table. The next show the table is smaller I believe so I’m really going to need to be organized. You can see that even my banner is a little off because by that time people were coming in to shop and I was feeling crunched.

But the big news here is that I LOST MY WEDDING/ENGAGEMENT RING!!! It was soldered to an enhancer and it cracked off somewhere. I can’t believe that I lost it at the boutique because the hole on my finger is so big I’m sure that I’d have noticed it. I use/look at my hands a lot and always look at the ring because I love it so much.

I was hysterical when I noticed it and my husband put his arms around me and told me that it’s just a ring and that it didn’t mean that he was leaving me or that our marriage was over. Of course I knew that but still, when you’ve had something on your hand for almost 40 years! And I still remember the day we went to pick it out so clearly. Like I said, I love it. I put another ring in the center so I won’t have to look at that empty space. I did all the usual, contacted the church, went through all my stuff from the boutique, checked all over the house, retraced my steps from our morning walk because I noticed it when we got home. I mean, really, don’t you think I would have seen that big hole if it had happened on Sunday? For the number of times that I had to reach to show someone a card or explain how the mini-albums work, get a bag, make change, etc. I was using my hands to cut out little embellishments too as I waited for the next customer. Honestly though, I can’t say for sure when the last time I saw it intact. We haven’t talked about replacing it yet. I’m still hoping that St. Anthony, the patron saint of lost things, will help me find it. Appreciate you sending a thought to him for me too!