Good things are in the works. I've secured several lines of income (all small but very very flexible) and those will start in January. Not many of my blog friends are also Facebook friends, but do want to let you know that our brick & mortar will be closing for the last time on Christmas Eve. It simply didn't get enough traffic to pay its own utilities and rent, much less re-stocking it. We're suffering the same fate of most small businesses--just not enough people willing to pay a little more and keep the money in their own community.
But my three stores that sell my handspun, and one that sells my wool quilts, are willing to be forgiving and take me back into their arms. I am booking a sci-fi con for April, and if I pass the jurying I'll have a merchant table there for my handspun and lots of geeky knitting kits and supplies. I'm fifty years old now, which qualifies me for selling my crafts at the Golden Hobby Shop in German Village, down in Columbus. I'll reopen my Etsy store, Apronsrecycled, and stock it with aprons, tea cozies, anti-paper-towels, washable swiffer covers, and other kitchen and home goodness.
I'm not only finishing up another box of 100 art-o-mats, but have two new products I will send to be juried in January, which if both are accepted by my friends there, I'll be boxing up three times as many products to send.
My home is a disaster, you can't have two masters, and it's difficult indeed to have two places to keep up when both have frequent use--I am looking forward to commanding my own schedule again, so I can fix home made meals, shop more efficiently, take a few minutes in the middle of the day for prayer when I feel the need to do so. The library is across the street; volunteer opportunities have been recommended nearby enough to walk to them.
So I'm looking forward to returning to the wonderful life I had before we opened the store, and now I'm armed with better business skills and more appreciation for all the blessings I receive day to day. Faith, Marriage, Home and Community can be front-burner priorities again starting in January, and I am very grateful for that. Peace.