With it being Labor Day in Real Time Yesterday it was interesting that tho' the Roads seemed deserted of Traffic, I guess a lot of people had the Day off or had left Town for the Holiday, some Stores and Restaurants were insanely busy! Princess T doesn't work on Mondays but her Boyfriend took her by the Store and she said the line to get in was around the entire Mall before it was even Open!!! They have 50% Off on Mondays but with it being a Holiday too, it was even busier. The Man and I dropped by there later on in the day and it was still Mad busy there and at our Antique Mall too. All my Mannequins were Naked since I'd Sold what they'd been wearing, so I dressed them all again. *Smiles* We still had a 15% Off Sale going on, all Three Days of the Holiday Weekend, which was Helpful. I need the boost in Sales, my last Pay Period was abysmal again.
I had a lot of Youngsters shopping in our Showroom and Case, we are catering to that demographic of Customer on purpose, they're the ones still spending Money. Children and Young Adults without financial obligations yet are the only ones who now have Money for what they want rather than just what they need. And apparently they Needed Novelty or Vintage Band T-Shirts, Pokemon Plush Figures, and Rubber Art Stamps for Crafts? *LOL* Check, Check and Check... have plenty of all of that in Stock, on purpose too, loading up on what will still Sell. It's not preferable Merch I'd want to be known for Selling, but I'm no Purist either. I Love Antiques and Quality Primo Collectibles and Vintage Items of Value, but that Inventory ain't Selling and I'd be a Fool not to adapt and improvise accordingly if I want to not go under there and have to close Shop. The Young Shoppers Love our Spaces, so, I'm glad somebody does!
We just foofed our Spaces, visited with some Vendor Friends and Paid Staff, then left. Didn't look around, didn't Buy anything, didn't malinger in the Madness of how Crowded and Crazy it was. I'll save all that Energy for my Halloween Events this Month. *Winks* They are always the most popular Themed Events, even slightly more popular than the Christmas Themed Events now. I think folks like a good fake Scare and the Macabre Whimsey of it all. At "The Spirit Store" they always have a Major Vignette in the Center of the Store with their biggest and best Animatronics they're Selling, this Year it was a Haunted Subway Theme. Whoever Dreams Up their Theme is Brilliant, like a Hollywood Set Designer or a Major Haunted Attraction Decorator, perhaps they even are?
I see the Adult Shoppers having as much Fun as the Children, tho', the smaller Children do get Scared and Traumatized if they're too Young to understand it's all in Fun and not Real. I don't like it when Parents get too carried away with Scaring a Child, it can be overly Traumatic in a Bad way and it's not Funny. So, yeah, there were the few hysterical Babies and Younger Kids, but, overall, everyone was having a good time there and enjoying a respite into a Fantasy Holiday Environment. We kinda Need that as a Nation right now, some frivolous Fantasy Fun as an Escape temporarily. Perhaps the Holiday Season being stretched out will grant us that? I know The Man and I seemed to really Need it, he had as much Fun there as I did and usually he doesn't get "Into" the Holiday Vibe like I always do. I'm such a Big Kid when it comes to the Holidays. Bring it on early and keep it going... *Smiles*
Of coarse The Man and I have to stomp on the Footprint to Activate all of the Animatronic Figures just to see what they do or say. *LOL* Some are a good unexpected Scare and there are folks who Buy Up these very expensive Props to Decorate their own Homes with. Folks were carting off these larger pieces like Crazy and the Store just had it's Soft Opening, they're not even fully Stocked yet!!! I just bought that T-Shirt of a Cat Portal and Princess T always gets her Goth Stockings and Mini Skirts, her Makeup and Accessories every Year from "The Spirit Store". She will make Rusty take her to all of them this Year instead of me, tho' she and I do like doing anything Halloween together, she is my Wednesday Addams Grandchild. *Winks* Her Mama is enjoying having Halloween again tho' too, they don't have it in Mexico. So she missed a couple Decades of the Holiday, which always was a Fav of hers too.
We are a Macabre Family Naturally and a Clan of Costume Loving Fools when it comes to Holiday Wardrobe and Channeling our Addams Family Values Year-Long, not just for Halloween. So, this IS OUR Holiday! *Bwahahaha* We Live it 24-7 and 365, so it's always Fun if someone visits our Home for the first time in Fall and assumes we did all this just for Halloween in how our Home is Decorated! *LMAOROTF* Workmen especially J'Adore our Home, if it's a Man and he's under 40, we know he's gonna ask if he can have a Guided Tour to see it ALL before he leaves? And say it's the Coolest House they've ever been in, well, not using that vernacular, "Coolest" is my Era, they'll now tell me our place is "Lit" and "On Fire", we've been thru all the Slang changes in a previous Post. *Winks and Smiles* We've often had some ask if they can take a Pix or Two with their Phone of my Pimped Out Taxidermy especially? *LOL*
The Warthog wearing a Monocle and Napoleon Oddfellows Vintage Hat is a particular Favorite to be asked if they can Photograph him? *Smiles* He needs a good Dusting but is in the Guest Bedroom that The Son occupies so I try to respect his Privacy and rarely go in there without an Invitation to... and... he does not Dust. *LOL* I don't Care coz I'm not in there and it's up to him now to Maintain that Space he's occupying even if it holds a lot of my stuff. Unlike The Young Prince and Allen, he doesn't mind living around my stuff and didn't try to change much when he moved in. Knowing it would Freak me Out not to have Climate Controlled Space for my most Cherished Collectibles in my own Home. I know Sharing is Caring, but when all your Kids and some of your Grandkids are still living in your Home with all their Cargo, it becomes challenging to find placement for your own things and Decorate your own Home as you see fit!!! I wanted my Retirement Years to be all about me. *Winks*
Listen, before I had Kids I often had Roommates to compromise Sharing Living Space with, then I had Kids I made similar Self-Sacrifices for, then Grandkids I was Raising to make similar Self-Sacrifices for. So I always Imagined, I'd someday be an Empty Nester in my Old Age and not have to Share Space. It was The Fantasy that The Man and I Shared. *Eye Roll and Le Sigh* Well, forget about it, they're never leaving, none of them can afford to and they don't wanna either, which is Fine, except, that, now we're all still Sharing Space and it's limited Space for everyone's Cargo combined. And as long as they don't displace my shit I can make it Work, but I do Spazz Out, if they displace me in my own Home... well, my Stuff that is. *Winks* The Young Prince is notorious about doing that so whenever he does return I've got to ease into a mutual compromise we both can Live with. He likes to Gay Up and Art Up the entire Space and remove all of my possessions, which then, I have no Place for!!!
I literally Lost my Shit when he and Allen first Move In before, occupying The Guest Bedroom, which, I'd just finished Decorating exactly the way I wanted it. One day I walks by and the Door to the Room was Open and... all my Stuff was GONE and Allen had set most of it out on the Back Porch in the Weather... or just dumped into The RV Garage Mahal, which isn't Climate Controlled, and I Lost It! I had a complete Meltdown and the rest of the Family thought perhaps I might have a complete Breakdown before I could get a Grip and Calm Down. So, that can never happen again. *LOL* It's still our Home so I had to explain that tho' we'd allowed them to move back in when they lost their Apartment, so they wouldn't be Homeless, you can't Take Over OUR Home.
You can stay, but, please ask Permission to Change everything or do whatever to what doesn't belong to you. The Son is like his Dad, he doesn't Care about Decorating... but, they're not Gay Men... The Grandsons are... so... they went on a Decorating Binge when they Moved In! *Argh!* I had Rainbow shit everywhere, which clashed with my Macabre Sensibilities, there were Fairie Wings hanging from the Ceiling and Male Stripper Style Banana Hammocks and Wet Towels on the Floor of the Guest Bathroom. So, Princess T and The Daughter then began refusing to use that Bathroom and Migrated to our Master Bathroom. So, now The Man was Sharing it with Three Females. *LOL* Yeah, it was a delicate Balancing Act of Cooperative Harmony so everyone could feel this was Home for them too. I try, I really do, and they know how I am about my Stuff, and that I'm Old and set in my ways, so, they do try too. It was easier learning to Share Space with their Pit Bull Tyson! *Smiles*
So, after I went Demonic they did Tone it Down so I could Maintain my Calm enuf not to always be in Meltdown Mode. But, after they Moved Out, I was glad to reclaim my Spaces and get them Redecorated again. So, I don't want it Undone again, I really don't, but, I know I'll somewhat have to in order to accommodate The Grandson's Cargo he'll be bringing from New Mexico back here. Most of their Stuff was his and not Allen's and I know he's as attached to his Stuff as I am to mine and I want to respect that too. Both The Son and The Daughter had been Homeless for a prolonged period of time when they Moved In so they came with very little Stuff. Princess T has always lived here and contains her Stuff to her Room and she's Respectful that it's Grandma and Grandpa's Forever Home and we Sacrificed a lot for Two Generations so now want Our Time.
LATER: We went to a different "Spirit Store" Location Today, it was larger and had more selection. I got Two Ceramic Creepy Doll Head Votive Candle Holders that match the Creepy Ceramic Doll Head Candelabra I got last Halloween at "Spirit Store". I got a "Spirit Store Monopoly" Game. A Halloween Leather bound Book of Pagan Stickers. And a pair of Snake Earrings. They had the same Creepy Subway Theme at that one, but had some different large Animatronics than the other one. I took loads more Pixs coz this time I'd brought my Old School Camera. We also went to the TARGET next door and they were just putting out their Halloween Merch. I'd taken The Man out for Breakfast too at "Snooze" and had their new Whipped Cottage Cheese Bowl
{Below}, it was delicious and New on their Menu. So was the Biscuits & Gravy that The Man ordered {Above}.
This had Toasted Ciabatta, which was as light as Air, Whipped Cottage Cheese, Roasted Cherry Tomatoes, Avocado, Herbed Cucumber, Arugula, Roasted Prosciutto and Everything Spice. I also had their Bacon But Different and Fresh Fruit Bowl, with a Lavender Iced Latte. Their Presentation of everything always looks exactly like their Pictures of it and the Flavor Profiles are Sublime. They had called me from the Antique Mall while we were having Breakfast to Work to cover for someone Tonight from 5-9 and I agreed, coz Tuesday Nights are dead, so, it won't be busy or hard. Plus, in case Sales are flat for this Pay Period, it will comp some Space Rent. I had previously agreed to Work on Sunday, the 7th, to cover for someone who gave advance notice that they'd be out that Shift. This Shift I'm covering Tonight I think they got a last Minute Call-Out on.
This Dish was as Editorial as it was Tasty, I'd definitely Order it again tho' I'd of never thought to Whip Cottage Cheese or couple it with things like Cucumber, Avocado, Roasted Tomatoes, Prosciutto or Arugula! I've coupled Cottage Cheese with Fruit before, especially Pineapple Chunks. But not anything Savory. And their Bacon But Different is like eating a Spicy Maple infused Candy!!! The Man said their New Biscuits & Gravy were really good too, but he thought it would be only one Big Biscuit cut in Half, not Two Big Biscuits, so he took One Home and half his Scrambled Eggs too. I'm just gonna eat a Potato Samosa before Work, which will be enuf for me, the Ozempic we both are on really inhibits your Appetite and you literally can't eat much or you don't feel good.
Work on Tuesday Night was busier than I expected, slow at first but picked up considerably and people were buying, not just looking. I was working with Two other Fill-Ins, my Friends Patrick and Tina, coz the whole Tuesday Night Shift had Called In. My Friend Crazy Ed was one who'd Called In, but he did come in to Work his Spaces, he said he just had too much to do in his Spaces after the Sale, he'd Sold Furniture and needed to bring in more so his Showroom and Booths weren't empty. That made sense, I don't know why the other Two didn't show up tho'? Anyway, they asked me if I'd work Thursday Night too, I agreed, didn't have anything on the Calendar and my Sales over the Labor Day Weekend Sale had been robustly Strong, a huge Surprise! Mostly it was Rubber Art Stamps, but Hundreds of Dollars worth of them, go figure!
I'd come in early to cover for someone, about an Hour before she had, and she tried to yank the Cart I was using out of my Hands and threw a hissy fit about it like a Child having a Tantrum! In front of Co-Workers and Customers, so shockingly embarrassing and unprofessional, like she'd lost her fucking Mind! She was acting Mental and it's the only reason I didn't go full Ham on her Ass. I thought perhaps, mebbe she IS Mentally Unwell, I dunno, and Two of us going Mental would be very bad, and I wasn't there yet to be sufficiently Triggered. So, I just made it clear she'd really fucked up, got very Calm, which is always a Bad Sign that you REALLY fucked up in a confrontation with me, and told her she'd have the Cart, and she'd also be doing all of MY Work AND hers now, I was going to go drink Coffee for the rest of my Shift, so it would Suck to be her and everyone else on Shift now. *Evil Cackle* I walked off to get me some Coffee and now watch the Show unfold, as I knew it would. *Winks*
It was a Mad Busy Sale, which is why I'd been Called in that day in the first place. So everyone was then shitting Kittens and run ragged covering the Void left in my Wake and becoz of her. Steven, the Manager, had to ask me what was Wrong, as I just looked at the rest of them losing their Minds and being completely overwhelmed, Cases going to Last Call and all, as I sipped Coffee and didn't Work, while on the Clock. *LOL* I told him exactly WHY, he'd seen it play out anyway, so I didn't have to explain, he just hadn't addressed it and so I did, big Mistake on his part coz I will Handle someone whose become a Problem with me, no hesitation whatsoever. *Winks* I just said he could either have someone now pull a Cart for me out of their Ass, or send me Home, his Choice... it's his Ship, so either Sail it or Sink it. Steven knows me and respects me, I knew he didn't wanna dare to send me Home, but, he could have, no hard feelings, coz I wasn't gonna Work without a Cart, that's for damned sure. And everyone knew it. But, I was gonna MAKE them send me Home, or, Pay me to just drink Coffee for 3 more Hours?! *LOL*
And I made it crystal clear that she better never come at me again like that or we'd have an Elevated "Situation" he definitely didn't want on his Sales Floor! It would be Dinner and a Whole Show, so, sort that Bitch out fast or I'll have to!!! *Bwahahahaha* So, Jackson, another Co-Worker, who doesn't like to work hard, helluva nice Guy, but a notorious Slacker, somehow pulled a Cart out of his Ass so that I'd go back to working and not be sent Home or just drink Coffee. *Bwahahahaha* And she went out of her way to make REAL Nice with me and make amends, everyone had Witnessed her stepping into my Waters foolishly without being a Strong enuf Swimmer to. So, I'm sure a lot of Gossip ensued about how badly it had gone between us for her. Tina's Husband is probably the biggest Man you've ever seen, Green Mile Sized. He stands up for her a lot and I think that gives her Bravery sometimes, knowing if she fucks up and goes Mental, he might step in FOR her?
I am not only NOT afraid of him, or any Man, I Bow Down to no-one and will go on the Warpath if YOU Choose that Path with me to go Toe to Toe with Dark Dawn? And I can go real Dark, even if I stay out of the Sun. *Winks, me Above, if and when I get into the Sun and can no longer Pass for being a White Girl, LOL* But, should he be foolish enuf to have even said anything to me to try to be intimidating or threatening, he wouldn't ONLY be Dealing with me, he would have been Dealing with The Man. And everyone knows what my Old Man used to do for a Living, he's got significant Body Count and is fiercely Protective of his Family too. He knows I can Handle myself, but, being my Husband, he said I will never HAVE to, he'll Deal with anyone on my behalf if I let him. And, I don't Trust he wouldn't go full on PTSD and Kill a Fool, so, I Handle my own shit if at all possible not to engage him in any "Incidents". *Smiles* I doubt her Husband, as big as he is, has ever had to Kill anyone.
He's actually a Nice Guy and I like him and was fairly certain he didn't want Trouble with me and mine on account of his Dear Wifey. Coz I think the general consensus is, we're Not Well People, and it would be a very Bad Idea to have Beef with us as a Collective, let alone Individually. You can take the Girls out of Da Hood, but you can never take Da Hood out of the Girls. *Snicker* So, now, no Trouble in Paradise with her at all, and that's all I ever want when being around anyone... don't even Smell like Drama and a fucking Headache. Definitely don't get confrontational with me and think it will go well for you. And NEVER do it at Work!!! I do not NEED to Work anymore, but even when I did, I didn't put up with anyone's nonsense. I'm a True Old Hippie, all about Peace, Love, Harmony and Kindness towards anyone and everyone.. until YOU decide to Create a Disturbance in The Force, then I can Switch on the Turn of a Dime and let The Games Begin.
So, anyway, no more Troubles with Tina, we're completely copacetic now with one another and that is Good, coz I actually do Like her. I just think she is a bit Mental too and neither of us Needs to find out whose Craziest, Right? And mebbe she's on Medication, but she KNOWS I'm NOT. And that I have no Problem going back to Psyche Lockdown for a mini Vacation... it's very Restful. *Bwahahahaha* Moving On... Above is one of our Granddaughters and her Husband, they were Childhood Sweethearts and only ever Dated each other, a True Sweet Love Story, they're good Kids, only now, they're Middle Aged, how does that happen... they get Older and drag you along with them?! *Smiles* They Married right out of High School, one of her Graduation Pixs Below. The Son used to be jealous of this Niece coz she's not much Younger than he is. And when he was 7 he didn't like us being called Grandma and Grandpa already. Both his Sisters were Teen Moms tho'.
Below is Princess T with her Gay Boy Posse, Timmy and Matthew. For New Dear Readers who might not already have Faces with The Usual Suspects I Blog about. *Winks* Matthew is now away at NAU and Timmy is living with a Boyfriend, so, she will be without both of them and she misses them terribly. She does spend more time with her Boyfriend Rusty now, who has never been Photographed as of yet, even tho' they've been together over a Year now, he's very Shy. But, I will get a Photo of him, I'm very persuasive about Pathological Picture Taking. According to her, she doesn't even have any Pixs of him!!! What, is he in the Witness Protection Program, a Wanted Man, or something? *LOL*
Below is The Son with Two Childhood Friends he still knows. The Man at our Oldest Daughter's Wedding, she's the only one of our Kiddos that ever Married, most of our Grandkids will get Married before either one of those Two ever do. *Smiles* The Daughter and The Son have been in many long term Relationships where I called their Partner a DIL or SIL, but in actuality, no Ceremony, just a Common Law arrangement and Arizona is not a Common Law State so here it's not recognized as a Legal Union no matter how long you've been together. And, if it doesn't work out, it is easier to split when you don't have to go thru the Legalities, but, you also don't have the Legal Protections offered to Spouses either. I seriously Doubt the Two who've never Married ever want to be and that's Okay.
Princess T is Home Sick again Today. I'm going to have to get her Set Up at our Primary Doctor's Office and get her in to have a Gut Check, I think she may have other Food Allergies she's not aware of? She's had Gut Issues since Infancy, but, there may be other Foods now that Trigger a violent Stomach response that we aren't Aware of? I don't want her feeling this Sick all the time, it's very Painful and Miserable for her, she misses a lot of Work due to it too and she Hates to have to call in Sick all the time, it's embarrassing to her. Her Employer has been gracious about it coz they knew before Hiring her, and asking me if she would work for them, that she has Fragile Health and Special Needs. They wanted her to come work for them anyway, so, they've been accommodating thus far. Attendance is her own downside to Employment and she can't help that Fact that sometimes she's too ill to go to Work. She likes Working tho' and is a valuable asset to any Employer coz she is efficient, conscientious and accurate.
So, we've got a Sick Kid at Home again... Dawn... The Bohemian
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