Wednesday, May 19, 2010

to-do lists

Hello, gentle reader. Thanks for stopping by. Since my last post, I've been on one grand adventure after another, and though, yes, I was that girl Saturday night, the one who got up and drunkenly sang with the band at Miss Karen's party, I reformed into the best DD ever for Zoe's 'inappropriate t-shirt' party last night. I even mostly ignored the Patron (ok. I had a few tequilas... and beers... and some jello that wasn't, and her drunken cherries and watermelon were yummy, too) but I avoided the beer pong tourney out in the garage. Herr Becher didn't fare so well. Speak above a whisper today and he winces and turns green. Oh, the amateur. I brought him some donuts and coffee. A full recovery is underway.

A good many of you have been asking me... daily, and without ceasing, what I intend to do with myself once I close Clementine's. The general consensus seems to be that without regular contact with the general public my brain will shrivel and I'll have to be fitted with one of those fashionably tight white jackets with the buckles in the back. So, I looked around Becher Haus and came to a few conclusions about what that gin-soaked British witch Clementine has been keeping me from, besides regular and emotionally cleansing blogging (these are in no particular order):

-organized closets
-freshly ironed linen kitchen towels
-mopped and polished floors
-books on actual bookshelves, not stacked in piles all over the haus
-having a cleared-for-use island in the kitchen
-using my fountain pen collection to write actual letters to actual humans on actual paper
-knitting naughty lingerie... a fetching cashmere garter belt, to put a name on it
-finishing up five... or possibly twelve (excavation unearths more every day) quilt tops
-playing with silk and vintage velvet-it was going to be Christmas ornaments, once upon a time
-learning Japanese so I'll know what my kids are saying about me behind my back
-spending time with said children, and teaching my 15yr old to drive a stick (daddy's Jeep, NOT my car!)
-hanging out with my knittahs in coffee houses, and getting back to knit group
-publishing my first quilt book, unless it kills me. this is a real hazard... there's no alcohol involved... yet
-jiu jitsu lessons with the family
-more belly dancing
-parties on the front lawn
-finally getting the dayum dawg to come when she's summoned
-getting the cat to stop sleeping on the dining room table and drinking out of the bidet
-setting up patrols around the perimeter of the bed to keep dust buffaloes out from underneath
-finally getting enough sleep because I won't have the financial burden of the shop slowly eating away at my guts

See? I won't die of boredom. With as slow as things have been lately, especially these past few months, it's not like I'm leaving a huge hole in the fabric of society. A brick and mortar store is far more maintenance than a simple online shop, but the idea of making Clementine's a pack-and-ship shop makes me gag a little, so, no. Just no. You mean well, but I have precious few good years left in me. I sure as shit ain't spending them stuffing boxes and taping them shut. I was in love with my little store. It felt good to walk in and soak up all the happy, but sometime last year it became a chore. I'll miss my fabulous customers, but I'll also have one helluva stash to play in here at home. One door closes, another one opens, blah, blah, blah...
you get the picture.




6 comments:

Nicholas said...

I will admit, I'm a little heartbroken that Clementine's is shuttering, but I completely understand the insanity of the capitalist system. I will have to arrange a trip to Franklin to hit up Clementine's and the Salvage Sister to enjoy the store just one more time!

Croucher said...

Its just going to take you so much longer for you to get to franklin to meet me after work when I am in dire need of "counseling"... yep that's what I decided to call it.

Mrs. H said...

Just wanted to lend my full and unfettered support to your decision. As a stay at home mom of four and homeschooling, the fact that you've kept all this going as long as you have is, frankly, a miracle. I get fairly annoyed when asked the "What do you DO all day?" question by women who are gainfully employed. If you do it right, it takes all stinking day, every day, especially if you have a boatload of kids like we do. If you get bored being an at home mom, you must not be paying attention to everything that needs to be done. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Sarah Pead said...

I'm still sad. Heartbroken...And feeling a bit hopeless. Now I'll have to pay shipping for all of the fabric I want to add to my stash. Why Cami, why?!

Jaye said...

I am sorry to hear that you will be closing Clementine's. I am especially sad because I never made it to Indiana to have a look. Doing all that you do plus having a shop does seem like a lot! Hope your next adventures are wonderful!

Wilson said...

Hunting for appliances can be a very daunting task. Naturally, everyone would like to get the best quality products at the lowest process possible. And in order for one to do this, this would mean jumping from one appliance store to the next. This may have been true in the past, but it not so today! Why? Because with the power of the Internet in our hands, we can now do online shopping for home furniture right at the comfort of our own homes! Thats right! Jumping from one appliance store to another is as simple as a click of a button. Effective management of the warehouse and stored materials is the specific job of the warehouse worker. In speaking with a mid-sized distribution company CEO about this subject, he told me that prior to the implementation of his new computer system, they always found excess inventory of his most successful selling items when the physical inventory was taken. When asked why this happened he said: before we installed our new computer system, we did not have accurate information about our inventory level. Worrying that we would run out of stock, we ordered additional quantities of the fast moving items, not wanting to be caught short and knowing they would sell. At physical inventory time, we were surprised to find the excess inventory of the fast moving items. (Neutralized - "Merge with Caution")