Stockings.... Why! What? When?? HOW!

Oh the stockings.   How they vex us.   No matter the situation,   we are always plagued by your very existence.   Too many sales,  Not enough sales,  Late sales, Early sales.  It doesn't matter.  We have never had a year where we had " the perfect amount of sales"

For Black Friday we sold 26 stockings.    Today we sold 36.   (A Full DAY of Sewing)   But Etsy tells us we are $7,000 Short of where we were last year at this time.   That is 7 days of 30+ stockings.( A LOT of Sewing!)     Apparently the Economy is good.   And when the Economy is good, people wait till the last second to make Christmas Purchases. ( all that  disposable Income, I guess...)  So there is the remote possibility that our sales will tick up dramatically now that Thanksgiving is finally  over..

However,  Allenbrite Studio is only a Two Person Gig!  (I'm not counting the cat... he does not help much at all!)    So there are limits to how many sales we can handle at any given year.   At the current pace,  we would have to either add an entire WEEK to the season,  OR Add 20-30 stockings every other day until we close the shop for the season. 

Or admit that this is a flawed business model and either we  need to start another business that does not have these flaws,  or try to fix this one.   Problem is ... Christmas is seasonal.   With a small window of opportunity to collect as many sales as we can. And the profits are just enough to keep us in, but not enough to allow us out.  ( if that even makes sense.)  Ah well,  we shall do our best.  What else is there on this rainy and cold Saturday.

The Des Moines Turkey Trot Complete! A VERY Happy Thanksgiving, Indeed!

Cheryl Gets a NEW PR for the 5K.   21:44

Did I mention in the last post that Cheryl was looking for a Possible new PR?   Kept it kinda vague...  but was half serious.   This year ( 2019)   Cheryl has bested all of her Previous PRs in every distance except the 5K.   And this Turkey Trot was the last ( and one of the only!) of the 5K's of the year. I was actually a fluke!  Since she had been running the 5 MILE Turkey Trot in Des Moines for the last several years.  But the people with Strollers and 5K walkers would get in her way.  Since there were no Age group awards,  no medals, no recognition of any kind aside from the time...  there was no reason to even do the 5 MILE over the 5K.    So Cheryl signed up for 5K without any advanced planning.

Finding the start. 

Keeping warm in the Subaru

Only afterwords did we notice that the 5K was the last missing distance for a new PR for 2019.    Cheryl told me she was not going to go for it, since there was no age group award, medal or recognition of any kind...  which is hidden code for :  She is going to try to get a PR tomorrow.  I tired to hide the fact that I knew..  I mean,  anything could happen after all.

Moving to the front to avoid the
strollers.

It was a  cold, but not terrible morning this morning.   Similar to the Marathon in Indiana. We visited the start line and then held up in the warm and toasty Subaru until about 15 minutes before the race was to star.  The festivities were as they always are:  Eat pie contest,  national anthem and then.. GO!

What the HECK?  Strollers in the
front? 

Children in strollers at
Dad's 5 Minute Mile Pace..

Cheryl moved to the front to avoid the strollers.  However,  there are always those people who think they can run a 5K with a stroller in the "Elite Front Section".   Who are these people?   Are they rude,  or just oblivious?  Or do they seriously think they can run a 5 minute mile with a kid in tow?   Imagine giving  their baby "Wind Tunnel Face!"

Start line is ready! 

Cheryl in the mix

Well,  Cheryl said those people usually "flame out" after 1/4 th a mile anyway.  So she had no problem getting around them.


She tore off and disappeared behind a pack of 4 tall people.  Good thing I nabbed at least one pic of her as she passed by.

Cheryl on the Horizon

At the finish,  Cheryl said the time to beat was 22 minutes.  I actually expected her around that time.   I was pleasantly pleased, but not surprised that she was coming in ahead of the clock time.    The Official time ( not captured on my camera or her Garmin. )  was 21:44!   A new PR and Full Sweep for 2019!   ( A "terrible" year for running, according to Cheryl)

And here is where the defining characteristic for Cheryl comes into play.... She does not BELIEVE IT?   Not like she is overjoyed with the performance... no, no, no....  She thinks that the course was "shorter"  than 5K and is not "official".   Talk about a Spoil Sport!   IS it always raining in her world?   Can she Never be happy with any of her achievements?

She can't believe her time. 

To be fair,  Garmin says that she was a little short.   However GARMIN told us that we were on a different street while driving in downtown Des Moines!  AND  GARMIN lost our signal ( and often DOES in cites with high buildings.) SEVERAL Times navigating the streets yesterday.   SO I don't trust Garmin very much in this scenario.   Besides,  GARMIN told Cheryl she ran 28 miles in Boston!  ( See a pattern here?   Garmin is not infallible!)

No medal,  just Chili and a  Cinnamon Roll. 

So YEAH!   New 5K PR at a Local Turkey Trot.  BE HAPPY!  Dang it!   And 2019 was a GREAT YEAR for running.   We have the PR's to prove it.  Maybe it was the shoes... or the Mushroom Power.   Or that she turned 45 and wanted to win all those age group awards. Whatever the reason,  her head was in the game...    And  this was a nice way to end the running season.   Be grateful!

Time for Pie!

All that being said,  and with No Medal or Trophy other than self pride and satisfaction...  the only thing to do now is celebrate by eating stuff.   Cheryl has been "celebrating" all the way home and now on the living room floor.   I guess she does deserve it.   Even if she thinks she doesn't.  It is a day of feasting, after all.  And that is saying a Lot in America..  (Where everyday is a day of feasting.) But only on these days do we get to eat an entire roasted Turkey... with all the fixin's 

Greetings From A Windy Des Moines!

Today is the Turkey Trot Packet Pick up.   And it has been so windy pretty much all over Iowa since the beginning of last night.  The weather says it will calm down tomorrow.  And it changes it's prediction for the race ever 20 minutes or so.   First it was rain, then snow, then rain mixed with snow... Now it will be sunny!   Who knows!?

But we arrived alive and are resting in the Hotel room.  Our packet pickup was in yet another spot.  Again!  It changes every year it seems.  But this was at least roomy enough to maneuver around.

We followed the signs to the second floor.  Seems like they had shirts but no Hat this year.

  Rumor has it that the Hats were held up in Customs from their destination in China.  No wonder people are getting fed up with the "made in China" label.

It's a Laaamp!

They had an "awkward family photo" set up for us.   Cheryl wanted to make some memories...  So we decided to play along.   I wonder what was so awkward about this?

Afterwords we had some food at the HyVee downtown.  A rather fancy place.   Last year we were able to enjoy an entire Thanksgiving dinner there.   Turkey, mashed potatoes,  pie...  it was all there.   We were planning on enjoying another "pre-turkey turkey meal" before the big day, but HyVee changed the menu again this year.
 It appears they have different plans year after year...  so it is just dumb luck if we ever get what we planned on .    Before,  you could pay $15 and get a huge buffet!   Last year,  it was an Ala cart.   This year... cold chicken and biscuits.   Well, they did have veggies and mashed potatoes..  and they were good.  so not a total loss.

But now Cheryl wants to go out for McDonald's.  Nothing says Holiday festivities and food like the Golden Arches.   Maybe we can get McDonalds Gift Certificates  for stocking stufferes..  and really bring in the Holidays in style.

Or get some Crispy Creme Donuts.   That actually sounds better.  But we shall see what Cheryl is up for.  She has to run tomorrow, after all.   This will be her first race after her ground breaking Marathon Finish. (3:24:24 in case anyone has forgotten...) IT may be her last chance to set  a new PR for 2019.   We shall see.

Thanks for stopping in.

As Thanksgiving Nears...

 Cheryl continues to run,  Stockings continue to trickle in, and our stress levels are beginning
to rise.   Sales are slow...  slower than last year according to Etsy.   And in previous Blog postings, I complain about the same hing every year at this time. 

And then the "surge" hits us and we are swamped...Making us wonder if we will ever do stockings again!   But we DO...  repeat the same process year after year.

But in the mean time,  the extra time will be spent running and answering questions.    The weather has been almost "nice" here the last couple days.   IT is predicted to change to rain and sleet along with colder temps.   Best to get the runs in now and hope the Turkey Trott remains dry this Thursday.



With the economy "booming" and Thanksgiving waiting much later than usual,   there is the potential for a serious wave after the Turkey Trott is over.  We shall brace ourselves.

Side note,  for months, there have been "white birds" out on the lake by Terry Trueblood trail.  Cheryl thought they were seagulls, but when searching for a picture of a "flock of seagulls"  she could not find one....  Leading her to believe that they do not "flock together."   But yesterday...  that was proven wrong.

Too bad my camera is not the best. (FAR better than anything I ever owned in the '80's, though.)  I was not able to focus sharply on the birds, but they were, in fact,  seagulls.    Just a little proof.

Hope everyone is enjoying the last good day we are predicted to have for a while.  I think it got up in the 50's today!   Time flies when you are trying to enjoy the weather in Iowa.   Thanks for stopping in.

The Problem Is That Greenie Virtue Does Not Pay The Bills..

Outside Magazine.  A Magazine filled with equipment and articles,  both political and non-political.   It's a pleasant read if you can stand the occasional shaming and preaching...   But I thought it was Ironic the placement of this Subaru Ad.

A little Preachy, don't you think?  

The Magazine's Passive Agressive response.   I LOVE IT!   

Other than that,   Stockings continue.  Slower than normal for this time of year.   I blame the late Thanksgiving for the lack of Christmas Thinking.    But at least the Cats are enjoying themselves.

Subaru, Now Official Cat Approval.

The Temps have dropped back below freezing.   Wind and cold make for challenging morning bike rides.   Sure glad I have a Subaru that warms me up and keeps me safe as I arrive in town in a timely manner....  In other words:  Sure glad I don't have to commute exclusively by bike  in this weather.  Go Go Subaru!