A visit from a Kansan!

A friend of mine from my high school days has been working as a singing entertainer on a cruise ship this summer. He has been in port on Sundays, so we've been playing tour director those afternoons after church. Today, we swapped, and he got us guest passes on his ship, the Seven Seas Mariner, and we got to be the tourists, for once!

Here we are with him in the theater. It's quite a nice, intimate theatre--and it made me itch to stand at a microphone again. Oh, I have to admit I miss those days.

Ella as a future performer in lights? Perhaps...

Overlooking Skagway in the distance...(too bad we couldn't just float away...)

And the two of us, overlooking our home together for the past 8 summers.

Girls will be girls!

Ella has some seriously brilliant ideas at the store. For example, she decided this belt tied around them would be a perfect way to make sure they "don't get lost!"

Keeping the girls entertained at the store on Saturdays can be very difficult. Sure, I usually have a 3 feet distance rule from the TV, but when they're happy...I try not to interrupt...

We've been kid-swapping with some friends from the ward on Friday nights. Air popped popcorn in my 80's popcorn popper (and you think I'm kidding?) is a must on these nights.

Oh, the joy of friends! We will miss them when they move, and we do, too!

My first...

Broken Polish Pottery dish!



As you know, I am very vertically challenged. That means that my cupboards' LOWEST shelf is BARELY within my reach. Dumb me...I knocked this bowl out of the cabinet as I was reaching for a nearby plate. The bowl fell onto a hard metal pan underneath it (in the dryer rack), and split it in two! So sad! Unfortunately, this is my FAVORITE size bowl, and it is veeerry unlikely that I'll ever be able to find a matching shape again (this pattern was limited edition). Now I am down to just 2 others this same size (it's a good thing I like their pattern better, anyhow!).

Now it will join the box of other broken dishes that I don't have the heart to throw away. I have quite a stash of pottery that has been damaged in shipment over the last 5 summers. I've never broken a piece at home...this was a first. It's too pretty to toss, and I swear that SOMEDAY I will have to do something creative with all of it.

Old Underwear and Socks...

A conversation we had with some customers at our register today:

Husband: "Good thing we're throwing out our underwear so that we can pack this in our suitcase"
Wife: "Yes, we packed all of our old underwear and socks on our trip, so after we wear them, we're just throwing them out! They're disposables!"

Now, it's one thing to do that...and another thing to TELL people you're doing that! ;-)

CLASSIC!

( P.S. I wonder what their room steward is thinking each day as he takes out the trash?!)

A Customer Service job...

makes you lose faith in people.

Seriously, I think it's created a bit of a cynic out of me. For example, when a lady today brought up a children's hat without a tag and asked for the lower price of some of the other hats on the rack, I immediately doubted her honestly. I went and grabbed a matching hat priced at $3 more, and explained to her that was the price. Sure, perhaps she might have just picked up the hat and brought it to me, not knowing the actual price. But the cynic in me (who no longer trusts people) immediately thought that she must have pulled the tag off, and specifically requested the lower price, so that she could "fool" me.

And a week or so ago a man brought up 2 funky wire necklaces packaged in the same plastic packaging, priced as only 1. I honestly wouldn't have noticed this man was about to sneak 2 of the necklaces out (instead of the 1 he was buying), unless Jared happened to open the package and catch the difference. Could it have been a mistake? Or did he put that extra necklace in, tear off its tag, and try to pass it as one? My question, exactly...

So, what I'm saying is...

I don't trust customers.

And anyone who asks for further discounts might as well just be stabbing me with a knife. Ouch! I even told a guy yesterday, "It's people like you that are putting me out of business!" And, we both laughed about it--but I have to admit it's the honest truth.

People want "Alaska Made" or "US Made," which I have often tried to give them. They also SAY they want "quality" and "useful" products...but the truth is that they'd rather buy a $5 piece of junk that says "Alaska" on it (that will shortly after go in a garage sale back at home), than buy a nice quality souvenir that may actually have a useful function for years to come. And I feel that turning my business into a souvenir knickknack shop, or "fine" jewelry store, is akin to sleeping with the enemy. No interest. No thank you!

And that ends my rant today...

My fun new kitchen toys...

Amidst the craziness of this summer, I have acquired 3 new kitchen tools that I wonder how I ever lived without?

It all began when I found this nifty tool at the hardware store (yes, that is the 2nd most valuable store in small-town Alaska...after the grocery store).

An avocado slicer!

I managed to get 6 edible avacados ordered in from Costco (well, not edible to me--but Maiya loved them). It really slices avacados this perfectly! Of course, I won't be using it in Skagway (which is funny that I found it here), but I look forward to taking it south to Mexico!

Next, I ordered this breadmaker from Amazon with free shipping (even to Alaska), and it is a POWER HOUSE! I have been baking a fresh load of bread every 2 days for the last 3 months, and every loaf is perfect! No more buying $5 loafs of bread from the grocery store! We get real whole wheat bread without the preservatives and sugar!

And last, but not least...

Have you ever heard of a Vita-Mix?

We only heard about them last month, when a friend was telling us how amazing they are. They are TURBO POWER blenders that can absolutely pulverize anything (including an avocado pit, if you so desire). They can cook soups (yes, IN the machine), you can make your own soy milk, fresh peanut butter, and when you're done--they even clean themselves!

My employee, Bev, also started drooling over the blender, and asked if I was going to get one. With a price tag of $400 plus (at best), I said there was no way I could!

Well, low and behold, Bev and her husband, Charlie, gifted us a VITA MIX a few weeks later!! Can you BELIEVE THAT?!!! She got herself one, as well, and we have both been having fun blending away! I can make soups SO fast, now (try 10 minutes for potato soup), and I have used it to make SO many healthy meals in the past two weeks! I am in HEAVEN!!
How did I EVER live without these things?
;-)

The Truth

The whole truth, and nothing but the truth...

So, we've decided to close our doors because it has proven to not be financially viable, particularly in the upcoming downturn of Alaska Cruise tourism that is headed our way next year (and perhaps beyond). In addition, it is a ton of work for little or no (financial) reward. Granted, it has had it's reward...we have obtained amazing on-the-job business training and experience, and we have watched ourselves grow and learn in the process.

To think we started like this:

And ended more like this!

It is a really neat experience to grow a business, and learn so many new things.

Our summer workdays are certainly more than a normal workload should be. While most people work 9-5 jobs year-round with a few weeks vacation, we put in approximately the same hours, but squeeze them into 6 months, instead. Not to mention the additional work required the remainder of the year (accounting, orders, etc). It doesn't allow for a very good family life in the summers, and without extra time off, we haven't been able to truly enjoy Alaska in years!!

So, you're wondering what the new plan is?

If we are blessed enough to sell off our business displays, all of our product, an extra car, and TWO TRAILERS (including our beautiful new home!), then we will head out of Alaska with our van, cargo trailer, and just what we need to live comfortably.

We have agreed to be sales reps for the Wood Watch company line that we currently carry (see our website http://www.northstar-treasures.com/wood-watches-c-336.html) in Southeast Alaska, and the states of Montana, Utah, and Hawaii. This means that we must travel to all of these areas and find stores like ours that might be able to successfully display and sell these wood watches. They are the best sellers in our store, so we are very confident of the product line, and the comission is very promising.

We plan to travel to all of these states by mid November, and then we will drive East to Atlanta. My sister, Lara, lives just south of there in Peach Tree City, and has generously extended us an invitation to stay with her for an undetermined amount of time. When we have all of our ducks in a row, we have the end goal of living in Mexico in our sweet town that we found. We will likely have to come to the states for 6-8 weeks each year to check on wood watch accounts, and also hopefully start a wholesale business with some products we have found in Mexico that look promising. The trick is learning enough Spanish so that we can track down the sources, and communicate our needs well enough!

So, that's us in a nut shell. Your prayers would be much appreciated, because this month will be very overwhelming. But there is something very refreshing about knowing that this is the last month of working ourselves to death!

Alas, there is a time and season for all things, and we are now excited about the unavoidable change of scene. An ad popped up on the Facebook last week, and struck me. It said:

"Because change drives opportunity."

Wow. Perfectly put!