Day 2 After The Feast!

 It has been two days since thanksgiving, and we continue to slave away at stockings.   And as far as the Thanksgiving food... Looks like it is up to me to finish it all off.   Ever since Cheryl had one of her "Oh My GOD! I Ate That Much!"  Moments,  She has now sworn off all food that is not Apple pie.  Yes...  Pretty much all she ate WAS apple pie for Thanksgiving.   She had a small sliver of Turkey, No stuffing, No gravy, and No cranberries!  ( So... Yeah!  WAY out of bounds on the food chart.)  But I think she beat me in the Pie eating area.... Not that we were having a competition.  So I am now "duty bound" to finish off all of the Turkey AND stuffing... and gravy...  and cranberries. 

But,  As luck would have it..  The Entire meal seems to taste better the second day.   Who would have ever thought that going Cold Turkey on "Cold Turkey" was actually a GOOD thing!  Even the stuffing managed to taste better.   I added several Mushrooms from the "Mushroom bin" and perhaps a little too much of the Turkey drippings.    Cheryl wanted nothing to do with it since it was "too watery."  ( So picky!) 

But now,  After two days,  the flavors have mingled and the water has fully absorbed into the stuffing.   Similar to Next Day Potato Salad.  ( I believe Potato Salad ALWAYS tastes better the next day after it is made... am I wrong?   I figure I have at least one more day of Fixin's left for my Turkey Leftover Dinner Combo.  

 Cheryl will continue to eat her Apple pie for Breakfast, lunch and dinner.   And then BOTH of us will attempt to lose the extra pounds AFTER the stocking season....  That is the game plan, anyway...

We got a lovely text from Cheryl's Family alerting us that they managed to have a  Great Holiday Gathering without us being there. ( Which Cheryl and I both have a difficult time in Believing.. Since we are the Life of ANY gathering.)  There are a number of way to interpret this information.    We could view it as they were actually Happy we Weren't There!   I guess that should make us feel disappointed that our presence is no longer required for a completely Joyous and Happy event.    On the other hand... We could understand it as there is no real reason for us to drop everything and head to Michigan during a busy Stocking season, just to visit and eat Turkey. The Loss in wages and the Travel expense alone....  Not to mention driving through Chicago!    Nope!  I think that if all parties are happier with Cheryl and Ethan NOT being present... Well, why would we want to ruin that for everyone?  

Today was a "light" stocking day... Only 20.  (Leaving 60 stockings for tomorrow. )   We had to make a supply run and Cheryl wanted to run in Muscatine at least one more time before the total collapse of society.  It was a good day.   The temps were supposed to rise up into the 50's, but they stayed in the mid 30's for pretty much the entire run.   

The river was a busy place.  Lost of Boats running up and down the Mississippi.   Guess they have lots of soybeans and corn to move on a Saturday.    I always love watching the riverboats pass by.  

"Stayin' Alive!"  In Muscatine....

Cheryl did some calculations and figured we will need to buy at least 4 more bolts of Red Felt for the season.  (It could be worth as much as $7000!)    The bad news is that we have to purchase the Felt from a Retailer.   ( Full Price!)  The Good news is that the Felt is on SALE this week! (40% off!)   

And the Good-er news is that Cheryl has a 20% off Coupon for your total order...  So.. in the end, we might actually have saved some money?  By buying retail?   At just the right Black Friday Moment? And it will arrive in less than 4 weeks?   Well, the only thing we need now is to actually sell $7000 worth of stockings from Dec 5 -18th!  ( No problem!) 

Time to relax with Cats!  2 are not ours!

So now... I have to deal with the Convos...  Cheryl is making all the requested designs and it is my job to "sell them."  Which I seem to be very good at doing. ( almost to a flaw!)   Thanks for stopping in!  And After reading many of the blogs I follow, It appears many of you broke the law and had a fun and relaxing Thanksgiving Holiday Despite the government's Mandate of Sadness.  I love American Rebels!    Even the most insignificant victory is  a way of resisting tyranny.   Big Hugs!   Stay Safe!  And Live Free!

The 2020 Des Moines Turkey Trot in West Chester Iowa.

 Happy Thanksgiving!   Hopefully everyone has had at least a "somewhat" normal Thanksgiving this year.  Thanksgiving is never easy for us as it arrives smack dab in the middle of the Christmas Stocking season rush!  And this year is an even BIGGER rush than normal. 

Another full day of Stocking fun. 

Still,  even during a Pandemic of Insanity,  Cheryl wanted to try to make believe this Thanksgiving was somewhat normal.    Since 2015, we have been running in various Turkey Trots across America on the Morning of Thanksgiving.   Cheryl feels that by running a 5K, She is allowed to stuff herself with food for the rest of the day guilt free.   I'm sure that is pretty much what everyone else things about those Turkey Trots  as well.   Not to mention you get to wear a crazy turkey outfit for one day of the year that is NOT Halloween.  

What's in the Box?

So,  Cheryl got her Race In A  Box, a few days ago and we have been waiting for this moment to open it up and see what we get.   

Look at all the goodies!   Normally, Turkey Trots do not offer a finisher's Medal for the Shor 5 or 10 K runs.   Typically, it is just a shirt, hat or some other thing that is useless and quickly discarded at the end of the race.   But this year... Des Moines went all out with a Medal.   I guess all of those other races being cancelled has allowed them to sweeten the deal for the virtual runners. 

Neck warmer... Or Turkey mask? 

Des Moines, looks a lot like Westchester.

So off we headed to West Chester to run on the Kewash trail... again.    We ran all 7 miles that we normally do for a training run.   I guess you could say this is the first 7 mile Turkey Trot she has ever done.   

The Entire race looked a lot like The  2020 Kentucky Blue Grass race,  The 2020  4th of July run, And the 2020 Hot Dash race.    In fact,  I believe all but one of the 2020 races will look like the Kewash trail in Iowa.   Rather disappointing.  

Unknowns fall Mushroom. 

But she finished it.   And we found a handful of late fall Mushrooms in the process. I think they might be a member of the Oyster Family, but we did not take them home.   There was much work to be done. 

Hiro inspects todays Batch. 

We managed to finish 32 stockings today.  32!  That HAS to be some sort of record.   In between cutting stockings and sewing buttons, I managed to roast the turkey and eat some pumpkin pie.   Cheryl and I engaged in a "pie eating contest" and so far,  Cheryl is winning.   She has consumed half of her Sara Lee Apple pie while I have only eaten three pieces of my Sara Lee Pumpkin pie.   But the night is not yet over!

Wait..  She just informed me she is now up by two pieces.  I better finish this blog and catch up!

What is there to say about the food.   Not as good as some years...  Not as bad as others?   After only one plate, I managed to eat enough to make me full.   And all we had was turkey, stuffing and a little gravy.  I'm the only one who eats Cranberries, but I only had one slice and I'm already full.  This will make the pie eating competition even more challenging... ( Where does Cheryl put it all?) 

Oreo Loves the Subaru. 

Otherwise,  we are currently the only ones in our apartment complex at the moment.  A rather peaceful ordeal.   That also must mean the other people are spending their holiday with their families...   Which is a good thing despite the lockdowns and mouth coverings.  And although the food was not the best, it was "good enough: after a long day of sewing up stockings.     And eating turkey on Thanksgiving must mean that at least something is going right in 2020.

None of the cats are ours...

Moon rises on Thanksgiving. 

So, it is late,  I am tired, and I have to post this before I can finally relax.   Mostly Cheryl wanted me to post pictures of her with her Turkey Bling  from the Trot. ( It is always all about her, after all. )  But I do believe that there are better things to come, even if this entire year's holidays have been a huge bust.  I should also note that the Turkey we purchased and cooked came with its WISHBONE already broken!   I think this is a good thing, as both Cheryl and I have had the same wish for the majority of the year.   And if the wishbone has already been spent, that means we now just have to put in the time and energy to get it done.   We shall see how things go after the stocking season concludes.  

Cheryl's Hat Head.

Add Curls to your hair! 

Happy Thanksgiving!  And thanks for stopping in.   We hope everyone is having a fine, fun and relaxing. holiday. 

Deer and Stockings.

 We are now running out of buttons!   Thankfully, I have a number of "backup" versions but the sales continue to roll in.  We finished off around 40 today.  I say "around" because we don't actually know.   We did manage to get the number down from 65 to 51 open orders.   Tomorrow is going to be rough... again!

We did run 7 miles this morning though.  Cheryl has to burn off that stress somehow.   While out,  we noticed two deer in the same place where mister "one Antler" usually hangs out.   We did not see any antlers on any,  but they did look like big deer.   I think it is too early for the bucks to lose their antlers..  Especially since it has not been very cold outside.  ( compared to Iowa a month from now)  

 But it was fun watching the two prong across the field.  Cheryl said it looked like they were showing off.  

We keep getting done later and later each day.   Currently is is 7:45 and I just finally got done with the last conversation.   Cheryl did not even tackle any new custom orders today.   Perhaps custom orders will have to be put on hold for the remainder of the season.  Especially if the orders are going to keep pouring in as they currently are.   Wish us luck!  

Thanks for stopping in. 

The Weekend Pile Up!

Dike Work on the Mississippi.

Cheryl in Muscatine.

 Yesterday, we took a small break from stockings and visited Muscatine.  Mostly to get Groceries and supplies.  I think we ran a short 2 miles because we had to get back home so we could tackle the next batch of stockings.   We even  limited it to 20 stockings so we could finish at a decent hour.  

Today, we just finished 30 stockings and there are over 50 waiting for us for tomorrow!   We are running out of Aqua Blue felt now.   30 of the 50 orders are for Red felt.   Supplies of buttons are beginning to run low and we are not even to Thanksgiving yet!   This was not supposed to happen this year as Cheryl had already ordered enough felt and Buttons for the entire  year weeks ago!

But sales seem to be outpacing last year's run.  Both Cheryl and I are beginning to panic just a little.  

Rocket the New Shop Cat.

And Keyboard Distraction. 

But once the supplies are gone, we will be forced to be done.  What else is there to say.   The sooner we get there the sooner we can kick back and relax.   We have to tell ourselves that we are in control. ( that is why we work for ourselves, after all)   Even when it seems like we are NOT in control from time to time. 

So,  it is dark out side.  6 PM and we are still working.  I'm answering Convos while having three cats on my keyboard.  I don't know why they choose to lay on me while I am working, but there it is...   It does make for difficult typing though. 

Thanks for stopping in.  It is late.  We are Tired.  Time for Beer and Cookies.

Stockings In A Mad World.

   We have done 30 stockings every day this week.   And there are always left overs... meaning we Should have done more if we wanted to stay on top of things.   I'm hoping he payout will be huge at the end of the season.   However,  we know that we will be limited by the amount of felt Cheryl has ordered.   She has already ordered enough for the year... ( based on our average sales from the past several years)   We ordered well in advance and  quantities we had doubts about!   Thinking that he pandemic would effect the shipping and delivery time.   Also we did not know if people would order the same amount as previous years.    It was a risk!

But now it looks like we should have risked more.   We have already run out of Nautical Blue.   ( the felt color)   We have lots of red and green... for now.  But we sell 20 or more red stockings every day!  That is half a bolt!  And if Cheryl was to order more bolts of felt at this moment... it would not arrive in time for this Christmas.   So...  Maybe we will be limited not on the amount of sales,  ( or energy and will on our part)   but rather on the amount of felt he had to order for the season.     Fingers crossed that we maybe break a record this year?   Wouldn't that be a hoot!  2020... The Disaster year that proved to be our most profitable.    It would figure...

I was going to rant on the world being turned upside down...  It is funny how the little things hit you wrong and boil your blood.   But I will sign off with,  I'm ready for the Pandemic to be over.   For Sanity to return.  For America to be Free again..  And other stuff... 

but I'm really too tired to even care about that now.   Hope everyone else is surviving this crazy year.  I guess life never gets easier, so cramming all of the world problems in a single year is not too strange.    Thanks for stopping in.

More Stockings than Last year?

 I just did the research... By reading last year's blog post... And discovered that we are getting hit by the Stocking trail HARD this year.   We have done thirty stockings every day  for the last three days!    No wonder Cheryl is exhausted!   Last year, we had a bit of a spike on the weekned, but that was followed by 11 stockings and then hovered around 20-25.  Maybe this year will actually be  a "good " year for the Allenbrite Studio.  We shall see.   

I'm too tired to mess with the blog much tonight.  But I wanted to catalog the days earnings.   30 stockings!   Lots of "R's"   That's ARRRRRrrrr!  As in Pirate.   ( See, I'm making jokes that make no sense!)   I like alliteration as much as the next guy, but the number of names beginning with "R" was noticeable today.   Another strange curiosity to point out.   

I wonder if this trend will continue.  We could certainly use the money.. and a New place with more room to assemble these things. At this point, I'm not sure what to wish for as both possibilities have their down side.  Guess we will make things up as we move along.   Thanks for stopping in.