First of 2017 :)

Firstly, I’d like to wish you all a very happy New Year; I hope that you all had a wonderful festive season.

Secondly, apologies (once again) for my tardiness. I had all these great plans to keep this and the social media pages up together on a regular basis, yet time just seems to whizz by and I find once again, that I have lapsed in all manner of social departments – it’s not just work that’s affected either. My personal life falls by the wayside too, not that I am complaining because it means the shop is nice and busy, or is it just really bad time management on my part? That could be some of the reason too!! Great time management is most definitely why I am able to sit here and waffle away to you all right now for the shop has been exceptionally busy since the start of the year.

I don’t mind admitting that I was dreading Christmas now that Rebecca has found full-time employment elsewhere. Finding myself completely alone (many times I burst into my amazing rendition of “All by myself” in my best Celine Dion voice, of course). Knowing how busy it has been over the previous 9 Christmases that we’ve been here (has it really been that long?) and that with 2 of us we have struggled at times to keep up with the demand I thought being alone would mean that I would pretty much leave home at 7.30 on the Monday morning and arrive back there at 12.30 on organised if I put my mind to it. In fact at one point I found myself wondering what to do next. This then set off alarm bells that maybe I was finding myself with free time because I wasn’t busy enough Christmas Eve. However, that was not the case and I was able to prove to myself that I can get– thankfully working out the figures after proved my worries were unfounded. In fact we were up 37% on business in the same period last year, whilst being down on staff by 50%. Maths was never my strong point so I’ll let you work out how much extra I ended up doing on my own J. I’m still not entirely sure how I managed it all – I kept worrying over Christmas that I’d missed something or forgotten a book of orders somewhere, whilst knowing there was no way I would have done such a thing.

What got me through and kept me on top of everything? Lists, lots of lists which grew at an alarming rate each day. I was never one for lists in the past as I used to remember things so easily, however, these days with more things to remember I find when it comes to the shop, I can’t manage without them – I always put the things I don’t want to do at the very top too, that way they are over and done with first and don’t need to be thought about again. Who said I have to keep them because I’m getting older? Hush now, that’s not the reason at all J

Of course we couldn’t do anything and certainly wouldn’t be the business we are today without you, our customers, so once again, thank you, to each and every one of you that has helped me to make the shop the great little business it is. I know some of you were dreading going back to work, I’m so lucky I don’t have that dread and that is all down to you. Thank you. Here’s to 2017 being even better that 2016.