steady as she goes

Good morning.
It's been a steady week at work. Kinda nice not being so busy.  :-)
We've had fairly mild weather this week, so mostly rain. Should hold through the holiday weekend.
Liking the new fridge. It's so nice and clean inside!
I'm also liking the new comforter. It's really light weight, but very warm. I think I'm even sleeping better.  :-)
I've got another steady day today and tomorrow, though tomorrow we close at 1pm for New Years Eve. Looking forward to a long, hopefully uneventful, weekend.  :-)
Have a fun, safe holiday!

to answer a couple of questions....

Good morning.
Our mild temps have left, it snowed yesterday, just enough to coat the ground, and it's back in the 20's.
Glad it waited until after we got our new fridge delivered.  ;-)
It was a pretty mundane day yesterday with us doing our usual Monday running around. back home, I got the new fridge stocked back up and the mo-ho fridge turned off. I like the new fridge. We seem to have most of the extra space in the freezer, which is good since we stock up on things when they're on sale.
The ice cube are larger too. Don't melt as fast in our drinks.  :-)
To answer a couple of comments from previous posts.....
Garret said in my post about me having customers on Christmas Eve and Craig none, "So people don't like Craig as much as you?"
It's not that Garret,  :-) It's mainly because I have a much larger clientele than Craig. I'm very good at multitasking, so I may have anywhere from 1 yo 4 customers going at a time, which means I may have a customer under the dryer drying, one with color processing while I'm cutting another. Craig will only work on one customer at a time. He's not good under pressure.  :-) I do usually at least twice the number of customers during the day than him. And yes, that means I bring in twice the money he does. But that's okay, he does all the bookkeeping. I think I'm still ahead on that one.  :-)
Arch guy commented, "so who runs the Salon when neither of you are there?"
No one needs to 'run' the Salon. Our staff is a group of independent stylists. Which means each stylist is a separate business. They each rent a station from us, the owners. We are not their bosses, just landlords. They each have a key to the salon. They set their own hours, prices, and have their own phone extension, and make they're own appointments. They use their own products and supplies. Their customers pay them for their services and the stylists are responsible for their own taxes and such. We basically have 7 individual businesses sharing common areas to make it more profitable for each person. Their rent includes common area supplies such as magazines, coffee, and such. It has worked well for 14 years now. Each stylist knows what to do to 'open' and 'close' the Salon.
Okay, I hope that clarifies a couple of things.  :-) If you have more questions, I'd be more than happy to answer them.
Now, it's time for another work week. Not sure if it'll be busy or not. Can never tell about the week between Christmas and New Years. Right now, it's looking so-so. But that's okay, I have year end inventory to do.  :-\

It fits like a glove

Good morning.
Well, we survived our Christmas without a fridge, at least in the house.  :-) And fortunately, the weather was quite mild for Christmas, no snow and mid 30's, so trekking back and forth to the mo-ho was no big deal. 
Monday morning, I prepared to receive our new fridge. I cleaned out the old one, disconnected the water line, and put down floor covers to protect the carpet. Then I needed to move the Honda out of the garage. The door to the garage is 3 ft wide, wider than the entry door, and a straight shot to the kitchen. Well, it was dead. It's only been sitting for a month. I didn't think the battery would go that soon. But called Northside towing, and sure enough, just a dead battery. He jumped it and I was good to go. After of course, a $50 fee.
I had Craig take it out on the highway to charge up the battery. The delivery guy said they'd be here between 1 and 3. I got the dolly, and with Craig's help, got the old fridge out to the garage. I figured the more I got done, the quicker the delivery would be. To our surprise, they arrived right at 1pm.
Now this fridge was 2 inches higher, and 2 inches wider than the old one, but I measured and figured it'd be tight, but would fit. They got the fridge in the kitchen, hooked up the water line and made sure it worked, and proceeded to put the fridge in place. It wouldn't go in. I hadn't realized, the upper cabinets apparently were a fraction of an inch farther right, than the lower cabinets. The delivery guy said removing the quarter round from the baseboard should do the trick. I got some tools, removed the quarter round, and sure enough, it slid right in. Fits like a glove as you can see in these pics.

Craig dug out the old paper work, and the old fridge was 21 cu ft. and the new one is 25 cu ft. Didn't really need more room, but this one was cheaper than the 21 cu ft they had at the store by over $150, so we went with the larger one. At least it fits.  :-)  Interestingly, Craig had in the old papers, the first fridge was bought in 2000, and cost more than this fridge. We also bought that one from Lowe's, and back then, they charged for delivery, and removal of the old one. This time, it was all included.  :-)
I spent the rest of the afternoon, getting everything back to the way it was. 
By dinner time, the freezer was already at 0 and making ice, but the fridge section was only at 55.
This morning, the fridge is at 40, so I can move the stuff from the mo-ho back. It'll be nice to have some order again.  :-)

Merry Christmas!

Good morning, and Merry Christmas!
I've just returned from cleaning the salon. I know, it's Christmas, and I shouldn't be working, but Sunday is the best day to clean.  :-)
Saturday ended on a light note with me getting out of the Salon early. We spent part of the afternoon appliance shopping, and the rest of the afternoon relaxing, and watching movies. We saw Chipwrecked with Alvin and the chipmunks, which Craig thought was good, I thought it was stupid boring. And we watched Aurthur Christmas, which we both liked. Had a light dinner of roast beef sandwiches and guacamole and chips. Wanted to make sure we're good and hungry for our turkey dinner on Christmas.
Normally, Craig and I don't exchange presents on Christmas. Haven't done that in quite a few years. But this year is different. This is what we got.....

Yep. A new refrigerator. Not because we wanted one, but because we had to get one. Craig had noticed a few days ago, the ice cubes weren't freezing solid. I figured the ice maker was going bad. Then we noticed some items in the freezer weren't frozen solid. I got the thermometers out of the mo-ho and discovered the freezer was only at about 33, and the fridge was at 55. Just a bit higher than the recommended 5 and 40.
  I pulled out the fridge and vacuumed the back and underneath, hoping it was just dust clogging up the condenser. I went out and turned on the mo-ho fridge, and transferred the thawing turkey and and as much stuff as I could get into the small mo-ho fridge. I took out all the semi-frozen stuff and put it in our chest freezer. I waited overnight, and still no improvement.  Soooo, on Christmas eve, we went out to Lowe's, who was having an appliance sale, lucky us, and bought another fridge. They have next day delivery, except, of course, on Christmas day, so it'll be delivered on Monday.
So today, we'll have to run back and forth to the mo-ho to fix our turkey dinner. At least we have the mo-ho here to help out.  :-)
Now it's time to wake up Craig and get our Christmas day going!

Merry Christmas Eve

Good morning. And a merry Christmas Eve.
It was another busy day in the Salon. Ended up working 2 hours longer than expected due to a few more phone calls. Don't want to turn a way customers near Christmas.  :-)
After work, I went over to Meijer's for a few groceries for the weekend. Where did all these people come from? The place was packed! The store is never this busy the rest of the year! Don't these people eat the rest of the year! But I managed to work through the crowds, get what I needed, and to the check-outs. They had every one of there 30 + registers open, and they were 4-5 people deep. It took longer in the check-out lanes than shopping. But made it through, and made it home.
Now just one more short day today. With Christmas Eve on a Saturday, we never know how busy it might be, and this year, it's not busy at all. I've got just 2 customers this morning, so unless the phone starts ringing early, which I doubt it will, I'll be out of there by 10am.  :-) Craig has no customers, so he'll probably still be sleeping when I get home.  :-)
And with the very busy past 3 days, it'll still be a very good week money wise.
And with that, I'm off to get ready for work.

whew!

Good morning.
Just a quickie this morning as I'm just about to run off to work.
Yesterday was just about the busiest day of the year for me. I started at 7:30am an and left work a 6:45pm. Just over 11 hours and 17 customers. I was exhausted when I got home, But a couple of glasses of sherry, and I slept like a rock. The holiday season has been generous to us this year. Lot's of Christmas tips/gifts. Looks like the best year in a while. The economy must be looking up.  :-)
Today is another busy day, but a lot shorter. I start at 7:30 again, but have just 12 customer over a period of about 6 hours. It's feel like a half day compared to yesterday.  :-)
And now, I've got to go.....

I don't know what got into me!

Good morning.
Our temps have been mild for this time of year. Highs in the upper 30's to near 40. That means no snow.  :-) They are expecting rain for the next couple of days. Remnants of the massive snow storm from the lower plains. Monday was a lazy day. Played on the puter, surfed and read blogs. Tuesday was another story. After grocery shopping for the week, I had printed out a 25% off coupon for Dennis Trailer Center that they e-mailed me. They were having an inventory reduction sale. I thought it would be a good time to stock up on lap sealant. With a couple of leaks this past year, I want to do a real good job of resealing the roof next spring. We stopped there on the way home.
Back home, I went on a cleaning frenzy! I  Don't know what got into me, but I acted like I was on some mission. I spent hours going through the house. Cleaned the kitchen from top to bottom, cabinets, the toaster oven, microwave oven, stove, floors, moved to the living room, dusted, vacuumed, picked up and put away a ton of stuff. Things sure get cluttered  easily around here. Then the laundry room, TV room, put away piles of DVDs that were laying on the floor and TV stand.  I just kept going and going! Maybe Craig slipped something into my coffee.  :-)
After all that, I relaxed with a cocktail, admiring how nice the house looked. To bad it won't stay this way. I do tend to be more lazy than motivated.  :-)
Craig made our spicy pork cutlets for dinner, with a slew of roasted veggies, that included potatoes, carrots, summer squash, onions, and peppers. It was good.
And now, it's time for another work week, although a shorter one. We work just a half day on Christmas Eve.

Christmas with Mom

Good morning.
Yesterday after I got Craig up, I made us coffee, and we were off to Muskegon to see my Mom. This was to be my Christmas with her, as on Christmas day, she'll be spending it with one of my brothers in Holland. We arrived there a little before 10am. Did a few chores for her, cut her hair, and then it was to Braunn's for lunch. We haven't been to a Braunn's before and thought we'd try it.  It's quite a large restaurant with a bar/lounge area and a dining area. All the walls have video screens along the top. Must of been a hundred screens. Well, maybe not a hundred, but a lot! There were even small screens at every table, although they were for lotto games like keno. We didn't play any. We all ordered their signature dish, the sizzling steaks. Mom had a 6 oz. sirloin, and Craig and I had the 8oz.  I had steamed broccoli and a baked potato, Craig had his with fires and broccoli cheddar soup, and Mom had just a baked potato with hers. The steaks were moist and tender with just the right amount of seasonings.
After lunch, it was off to the club. (the VFW) It was fairly busy and we got a table for 5 as my brother Brian and his wife Ruth were to meet us there. They arrived shortly after us, and we had a nice afternoon visit. Then it was time to take Mom back to her apartment, with a stop first at the store to pick up a list of things she needed.
Back at the apartment, we said our goodbyes and headed back to Lansing. We arrived safe as the roads were nice and dry.
Today of course, is our usual running to the bank, P.O. and groceries. And right now, I've got to put in an internet order for Salon supplies, so see ya!

Sunday post

Good morning.
I've just returned from cleaning the Salon, again.  :-)
Our daytime temps are hovering around the mid 30's, so even though we've had a little snow, the streets are staying fairly clear.
And after 2 days in the Salon, the reviews are in. 90% of the customers like the new dryer chairs.  :-)
The main downside is the seats are a couple of inches higher than the old ones, so customers with short legs end up dangling from the seats.  And with the seats higher, the hood of the dryer isn't high enough for taller customers. I can fix both those issues with a small stool for the short customers, and I'll put wood 'lifts' under 2 of the hood units,  so they'll be higher. All in all, happy with them.  :-)
Saturday ended up my busiest day of the week, so when I got home, I relaxed and played on the puter. The comforter I'd been watching had come down in price some more. It was now down to $54 for a king. I had cashed in points from one of my credit cards for a Kohl's gift card. It was $50. So the final charge for the comforter, $7.42. I think that's a good buy.  :-)
I couldn't figure out how to copy the pic of the comforter, so here's a link to it.
 And Craig made tasty barbecue turkey sandwiches for dinner, and we watched the first 2 episodes of this seasons Hot in Cleveland I got off the net.
Now time for my shower and to get Craig up.

our new dryers

Good evening.
I got out of work a bit earlier than usual, so I had some extra time to do a post.  :-)
We didn't get our new dryer chairs on Wednesday as promised. The scheduled time for delivery came and went. I didn't think to take the freight companies number to work, so I couldn't call them to find out what was going on. I dug out the invoice from the company I ordered it form 5 weeks ago, to find my contact info was only my home phone #, so if they had trouble finding us, they couldn't get a hold of us.  When i arrived home, sure enough, there was a message on my answering machine from them stating they couldn't find our address and to call them. I'm thinking, with bing maps on the Internet, and GPS devices, how can a shipping company not be able to locate an address?
So I called them back and fortunately they was someone still in the office. I gave them my business phone and simple directions to find the Salon.  They said I'd receive the chairs today.
And they did arrive around noon. This big truck pulls up, a guy comes in and asks where we wanted them. I said right in the reception area would be fine. He said there was an indoor delivery fee. I just stood there looking at him thinking he's joking. He wasn't. I said put them outside the door. I didn't even ask him how much the fee was. I wasn't paying a dime since I already paid $140.00 for shipping to begin with. It ended out working fine. During my breaks, I opened each one and brought them inside, swapped the dryers out of the old chairs, and put the new chairs in place. Here's the before and after .....

The new dryer chairs are a bit larger, and more comfy. We're very happy with them. The rounded base sits farther under the seat, so they should get kicked less from peoples heels.
And to answer John's comment. We did look into having the swapped dryers reupholstered, but each quote came in nearly as high as new chairs. That was because of the extra labor involved. The old dryer chairs had separate pads on the arms, a separate back, the seat, and the base, which was getting scuffed and ripped and needed to be recovered also. It's a shame, because structurally, they were in good shape.
Anyway, that's done and behind us now.
And we gave the Salon staff a little Christmas happiness. Beside their weekly rent, (yes, our stylists are self employed, and rent their stations from us) there's a $4 a week fee that goes into a Salon fund. The money from there goes to pay for things everyone uses such as coffee supplies, magazines, shampoo for the back bar, laundry detergent, etc. This year, as the year comes to a close, we have to zero out the fund. We had enough surplus to let everyone get a weeks rent free.
And with that, I'm off to get me some dinner. Nothing fancy tonight. No leftovers from last weekend. So it's frozen dinners, which I actually like.  :-)

and back to work I go

Good morning.
Well, yesterday was another day off, and another day I accomplished little.  :-)
Mailed out a few Christmas cards, and spent a good part of the day loafing.  :-)
I received a call from the freight company, stating our new dryer chairs are to be delivered today. They were supposed to be delivered next Monday. That would have been better, since we only have 2 people working on Mondays. But today, there will be 5, maybe 6 of us there. I'll have to figure out where to put them so it doesn't disrupt the Salon too much until I have time to work on them.
You see, we have 7 styling chairs and 4 dryer chairs. We have 2 styling chairs where the seats are cracking and need to be replaced. They don't make this style of chair anymore. 4 dryer chairs are cheaper to buy than 7 styling chairs. The dryer chairs have the same 'seat' that the styling chairs have. So I need to have time to 'swap' the seats from the dryer chairs to the styling chairs.

There's 4 bolts that hold the styling chair to it's base, and 2 bolts that hold the foot rest.
I'll figure it out somehow.  :-)
I wanted to wait until after the busy holiday season, but Craig said we need to have them purchased before the end of the year for bookkeeping and tax purposes.
It'll work out. Somehow.
And that's all I've got for now. It's looking to be another busy week, so time to go...

a short post

Good evening.
I know, an unusual evening post.  :-)
I just finished a game on the puter, and dinner isn't ready yet, so I thought I'd do a quickie post.  :-)
Sunday was an easy lazy day. I managed to clean the bathroom, but not much else. Craig did his usual bookwork and laundry. We ate ham steaks with boxed potatoes and butternut squash for dinner, while watching the movie Critters. I got the DVD from a customer who likes sci-fi. He knows we like sci-fi also, so he occasionally brings in movies for us. This was definitely a b movie if not a c movie. It was that bad. Right up there with attack of the killer tomatoes.  But mildly entertaining.
There are 4 sequels altogether on the DVD's. Craig said watching the first one was enough.  :-)
Today, I did a little more. I turned off the water to the outside faucets, put the Styrofoam thingies over the outside faucets, put the hose cart in the shed, spread moth balls around the tires of the mo-ho, and did a little more dusting. Craig thinks the moth balls help keep varmints away from the mo-ho. I don't argue, just do it.  :-)
And Craig just called me for dinner, red beans and rice with chicken sausage and mushrooms and onions, so I gotta go!

another post

Good morning.
I've just returned from cleaning the Salon, as per my usual Sunday morning routine.
Winter like weather has settled over mid Michigan. We had a dusting of snow a couple of nights ago, and the temps have been low 30's.
I ended my work week as one of this years busiest. The phone rang and rang, and I ended up working late Friday and Saturday. That's good because Craig just got the winter taxes, and he had not budgeted for them. That's not like Craig. He's always so good at having everything planned for. Must be he's slipping in his old age.  :-) He will be 61 in a few weeks.
For dinner, he made home made wet burritos. They were yummy!
And while Craig gets his beauty rest, I'm off to read blogs and surf.  :-)

Friday

Good morning.
I awoke to a fresh coating of snow on the ground. Should make for a fun drive to work this morning.  :-\
The Salon has been very busy this week. The phones been ringing, I ended up completely booked, and I'm also working later than normal today.
I've also been sleeping real good. Not sure if I'm just completely tuckered from work, or it's the nice new flannel sheets.  :-)
Not much else to report, and besides, it's time to get ready for work.

another weekend over

Good morning.
Yesterday was a fluff day for us. Pretty much stayed inside form the cloudy, windy, cold day.
I did manage to decorate our  artificial Christmas tree.
I also did my yearly back-up of my bookmarks, pics, and other assorted stuff I didn't want to lose if my puter dies. That really saved my butt the last time my puter died. I had all my favorites saved to disc, so I didn't lose any of my sites or blogs.  :-) It was soo easy setting up the new puter and just transferring my stuff back on.
If you don't back up, you should.  :-)
And the weekend is over all ready! And I get a 3 day weekend! I don't know how you people survive on just 2.  :-)
It looks to be another busy week in the Salon. That's good money wise, and makes the days go by faster also.
And since we only work 4 days, it doesn't make sense to take a 'lunch hour', so instead, I take snacks for us to munch on during the day between customers.

This week, we have bananas, celery, oranges, cottage cheese separated, canned salmon separated, and canned chicken. I know it looks like a lot, but it's for all 4 days.  :-)
And speaking of work, it's time to get going!

sneaky stores and yard damage

Good morning.
Yesterday was a busy day.
We did our usual banking, P.O. and groceries, but also stopped at Kohl's. If you remember a few posts back, I ordered these sheets from Kohl's.com. They were on sale for 60% off and they sent me an e-mail for an additional 20% off plus free shipping. Well, yesterday, I had another e-mail for another 20% off, plus they had mailed me a card for $10 cash on anything in the store. I had my eye on a comforter, so we stopped in to take advantage of the good deal. Well, in the store, they were $89. I told Craig I was pretty sure they were only $69 online. So we decided to skip the comforter, and looked to see what to spend the $10 on. After much looking, I settled on some cozy 'wear around the house' socks for $10.80. Which of course ended up costing me zip with 20% off and the $10 card. A good buy.  :-)
When we returned home, I checked online and indeed, they were $89. Now when I checked again this morning, they were $69. The 20% off sale ended Monday. So they jacked the price up for the sale. You really got to watch the prices! I remember many years ago when I was a kid working at Kmart, they would do the same thing. About 2 weeks before a sale, a price increase went into effect, so the 'sale' price ended up the old regular price. Sneaky stores!
Back home, with the snow gone for the time being, I went out to check on the yard. This is what I found....

A section in 2 different arborvitaes broke from the weight of that heavy snow storm we got last week.

Each one was a good 15 ft long, with this one also taking out a large Rose of Sharon bush.

So, I spent a good part of the afternoon, cleaning up the mess. Good thing we burned a couple of weeks ago because I've got another big pile now. Surprisingly, there was little other damage in the yard.
I spent the late afternoon on the puter, while Craig made a tasty beef stew for dinner.
Our short mild streak of weather is gone with the temp this morning of 30 and a high forecast of only 32. The rest of the week looks the same, but at least, no snow forecast.  :-)
And while Craig sleeps this early morning, I'll exercise and surf.   :-)

poor Craig

Good morning.
I"ve just returned from cleaning the Salon.
The last 2 days have been very mild. Low 40's. It's rained all night and into this morning, and almost all of the snow we got Tuesday night, is gone.  :-)
We ended the salon week on a busy note, and the books for the next few weeks look to be busy also. It is the holiday season. ho ho ho.
For dinner, we had a delicious taco salad, and watched the movie, Our Idiot Brother. Not as good as I thought it would be. 
I'm letting Craig sleep in  today. He had a rough evening. His Spartans lost the big Ten Championship game. It was a heart breaker. They were so close to winning.
So while Craig sleeps in, I'll go to Sam,s Club for Salon supplies, and to another beauty supply business  that's running a 20% off sale today only. Sam's opens at 10, the other place, 11. Craig should be up when I return. We'll see.  :-)
Oh, and in response to more comments about the beautiful snow pic. I see most of the 'isn't it beautiful' comments are from you southern folk which probably almost never see the stuff. And yes, wet clingy snow does make for a beautiful winter wonder land picture. Only if you can just sit and look at it. For me, it's more work in the morning clearing the drive before I go to regular work, it's scary driving amongst people who don't respect the snow, and it's more work at the Salon having to clean the floors more often. And this will go on for the better part of 4 months. So no, I don't really care for the stuff.   :-)

in response....

Good morning.
This is what the back yard looked like when it finally got daylight yesterday before I left for work.

Lansing officially got 8 inches. Many trees were down, and 2 of our stylists and several customers lost power.
And in response to a few of the many comments I got......
Mike, yes, it is pretty, until you have to look at it for 4+ months.
Randy, I wish I could send this all down to you, we'll get plenty more.
Mark, I'd pack up and come, but there's this thing called bills. And to pay the bills, there this thing called work. So I'm kinda stuck here right now. But keep that invite open.  :-)
Garret, yes, ick!

And now it's time for work. The phone's been ringing, and I'm pretty much booked the rest of the week.  :-)