TIMmmBbbERrrr!

Yup, it's "Timber" come Monday morning!
Hi there, after much debate and a tree trim, we have decided to remove the Cypress trees because they are:
Too close to the columns/pillars.
They were planted a long time ago (not by us) and should have been removed at least 20 years ago.
It makes it hard to paint the house right now.
They are so big they hide the house.
They are all dry inside and they are actually a fire hazard and these trees shouldn't be planted close to anyone's home.
The Umbrella plant invasive as it is is practically killing one of the trees and is lifting the cement.

But still, I don't want to KILL plants.

My job this afternoon and tomorrow is to dig up the surrounding plants and pot them and then save them to plant again after the trees are removed.  I need to get more potting soil and enlist the help of my son to make sure it gets done!

I rented the movie "The Social Network" last night and watched it and returned it this morning at a RedBox location.  I thought it was good and informative.  It left you with YOU being able to make up your own mind what happened.   That aspect makes it a good movie.  It lets you be a part of the movie similar to movies made years ago ya know, the ones without the sex blatantly in your face.  They'd kiss and the bedroom door would close and left the rest up to your own imagination.  Now it's all about seeing 'em naked and well, I'm not a prude but I never think that, THAT makes or breaks a movie.  I'm not on Facebook yet.  Maybe one of these days.  People say I should have my little shop on there and maybe I should.  Hmm.  Decisions, decisions.

I'm pleased with myself as I finally made the Chevron stitch work.  I just needed to be full awake to do it.  I kept messing up the counts.  Will have some pics to share next week.

When I went in the market this morning to return the movie I planned on getting a few things for the weekend and being in a kinda rush since I had to go to the bank before I opened the store, I rushed around picked out some food (mostly bread darn-it, good deals always win me over) and since I was rushing, I didn't make coffee so I picked up a cup and then they had some free donut holes so I ate a couple of those and a small hunk went down my sleeve of my sweatshirt and as I was leaving the store maneuvering the basket and coffee splashed onto my arm and inside onto the other sleeve.  Geez, I could snack on my sweatshirt messes.  Isn't it weird that, that kind of stupid stuff sometimes makes ya mad and sometimes ya just laugh at those things in life.  This morning, I laughed. 

Why I'm not thin!

I hope you have plenty to laugh at this weekend.

Cool, Blustery Day

Good day!  For So. Cal. it's a hat day.  Crisp cool air is blowing my door open a bit and it's blowing away any chance of rain.  Here's what it looks like facing north towards the San Gabriel Mountains this morning.

What I'm working on today is cleaning up the shop.  Time to vacuum, dust and make some keys for the mailboxes.  Also need to check the stock and order some cardboard boxes.

I've been waiting for a center piece for the curtain rod.  The rod supports finally gave away before the end of the year and I've hunted for the right hardware since then.  The valance is supposed to match the front window:

This is what it looks like now because the DHL sign sticks out too far from the window so I needed a 5 inch bracket on each side to hold the valance away from the sign and you'd think because were in such a big city that I could find it with no problem but it hasn't been easy!  When we put up the sign originally almost 2 years ago it made the valance stick out funny but since it stayed up, I never got to really fixing it but since it gave way, now I have to do something about it. 

I ordered a set of 5 inch brackets from a company in Florida and then when I rec'd it I needed a center bracket which I thought was common and went looking for it and had no such luck so I ordered it from a beautiful home fabrics shop called Calico Corners.  If you like home decorating you'd love this store.  Such stunning fabrics.  I called the store last Saturday to see if my part came in and they told me to expect it between March 18th thru the 25th!  Geeze, it'll be more than a month from when I ordered it to get the bracket.

After I clean up then I'll get back to organizing the back room.  Looks a little bit better than the last pictures, don't ya think?  Still have a ways to go though.

Hope you are having a lovely day!

Still Workin' On It But It's Coming Along...

I ONLY LIKE THE BUBBLES SCREEN SAVER!

The new Vista computer didn't want to see the weight scale.  Because of this, we had to manually enter the weight into the program.  Below is my son and Danny talking about how to fix a few of the issues we are still having with it.  I haven't tried to install some of the older software I have yet.  Vista may not allow any of it.  Time will tell. 

 

Here is the mess with all the cords everywhere.  Right now it is a tad more organized than this but it is still a mess since we have to keep working with it.

 

Last Friday we seemed to get it to work and see the scale, YEAH!!  Working today as well, YEAH!  Now to get to know Vista.  A different animal than XP.  I'll get to tackling the cords this week.

I spent my Sunday, taking lotsa pics of stuff I'm gonna sell on ebay.  I have all the shipping capabilities anyone could want, so to take advantage of that, I sell stuff when I get inclined to do so now and then.  Check out my stuff on ebay (click here)

Hope your computer is having a good day and that you are having a great one!

My Other Helpers

Meet my business neighbor and friend, Tina.  She is the optometrist's office manager that works next door to my shop.  Since we both work alone allot of the time, we call each other occasionally to vent about something that happened and we just can't keep it to ourselves.  She's into Jazz music and men's volleyball and baking goodies for her friends.  She makes these yummy brownie cookies that she gives me at holiday time.  You can find her at Jazz clubs around LA.  She grew up in Los Angeles in what she calls "the hood".  She's a tough cookie with a heart of gold!

Here is my DHL Driver, Jose.

He mostly picks up and sometimes he delivers.  He's been with DHL a long time.  I miss DHL's domestic service they had here in America.  I think they did a good job and it's always good to have more competition to help keep costs down.  Maybe they'll be back when the economy recovers.  Right now, they continue to do their international services.  Got something to go far away to foreign lands?  DHL does a great job so come and ship with us!!!

Danny Man

Yup, that's what I call him.  He keeps my computers up and running.  He helps me build a new one when I need to upgrade or I should say, I help him build 'em because we go to Fry's and I pick out the stuff, I buy it and then feed him goodies while we (he) builds it in the back room.  Then we cross our fingers that all the components will talk to each other!  Please disregard the mess in the background of these pictures!!  It is my backroom.  Do you think I have enough cups for one person?  But I do share the cups; especially with Danny.  I'll have made tea for me and then in comes a customer and if I have the time, I'll make 'em a cup, too.

 

Here is our latest creation:

Pretty, Huh?  Brushed aluminum in silver and blue with white enamel paint over the metal sides and openings.  That is a piece of folded paper under the foot as the floor is not level where it sits.  Love the USB in the front. Remember when the USB connections were only in the back??  New computers are wonderful.  They don't have much on the desktop (yet) and they run faster since we haven't clogged them up (yet) with all the random stuff we think is so important to save.

When you come into the shop you will usually find me at this computer.  It's the one I use to post to my blog, browse the internet and has my fun creative software on it.  The front computer mostly has my shipping, mailbox and postal programs on it, the boring business one.  Have you hugged your computer person today?

My Fedex Buddies

Looks like Fedex is taking over!  Really, it's pix of delivery trucks early last Saturday morning (that is why there isn't as much traffic).  I often see them on my drive into work.  They are leaving from a terminal on San Fernando Road.  They go up to 2 Fwy and then branch off to where they have deliveries.  There are 5 trucks and look at how perfectly their distance is to one another in the second pic.  Looks like it was staged.  You do have to be a good driver to work for them!

Meet my delivery and pick-up Fedex drivers that help me send and receive important packages and letters to you and your loved ones:

This is Juan.  He's been my Express delivery and pick-up driver for more than 10 years.  He is a sweetie and ladies, he's not married yet!  He's into hunting and mountain bike riding.

This is Anthony.  He is my delivery and pick-up driver for Fedex Ground Service.  We've been working together for almost a year and ladies, he's also single.

This is Rick.  He helps Juan by making his pick-ups for him on his busiest days.  Geez, I've known him for years but not as long as I've known Juan.  Ricks happily married.

Come to think of it, my job isn't so bad, I get to hang out with these good-lookin' guys everyday for a few minutes!  Lucky me!  If you had a mailbox here, these are the men that would bring you packages!  Lucky you!

The Men in Brown

Come and meet the "Cream of the Crop" at United Parcel Service.  They help me make my business go 'round.  These guys work really hard and really long days.  When I think I'm working late, I'll be driving up the street and see a UPS truck still out delivering so I know they get home late and rarely eat dinner with their families. 

Here are my regular UPS helpers:

This is Danny.  He delivers the packages for my mailbox holders every afternoon.  On some days, I take packages off his hands that can't be delivered to my neighboring businesses because they are out to lunch.  This saves him from making a trip back.

This is Joel (he looks serious in this pic but he's friendly, really).  He picks up all my outgoing packages everyday about 4-4:30ish.  He just hurt his knee and he's taking a bit of time off.  I'll miss you, Get Well Soon, Joel!

All Wrapped Up, Gifts and Toys

Here at the shop, we can make your gifts pretty for you!

These are for Donna my long time customer; it's her son's birthday next week.  You should see what she brings me over the holidays to wrap up for her!

A couple weeks ago I painted a box red to hold these soccer balls:

Let me know if you want to purchase one!

Being Constructive

Here's a few pix of what's going on around here.  This is my sis' husband JD who is helping to fix up the not so lovely parts of our house.  This is him this morning in our basement.  It is partially underground.  Most houses in Southern California do not have basements as it doesn't freeze here and so our foundations don't crack.  But they will crack with those darn earthquakes we have.  We are fixing the wall because of some water damage.  Water is wonderful until it goes where you don't want it.  This house was built in 1948 and is in need of lotsa repairs.  The ceiling opening is where we had the kitchen pipes repaired awhile ago and so this room (which was originally {supposedly} maids quarters) is getting fixed and will finally look nice! 

JD's trade is electrician and he is great at it.  He keeps the Orange County Hospitals up and running, especially the ICU backup generators and all that good stuff.  But he is very handy and knowledgeable when it comes to fixing things.  Ya wanta have him fix your electricity problems? Then he's the MAN for you.  Leave me a comment or email me and I will get back to you!

Finally finished with the new brochures.  These are the chosen ones.  The paper choice was easy since I had it on hand and I really needed to use up what I have and not be wasteful.  But the format and design went through some changes.  I printed some up yesterday and now they are ready for customers to grab.  Now to complete folding all of them and where in the heck did I put the 3 tier clear plastic brochure holder??? *sigh*  I just looked in my storage room and what a SCARY place that is.  Totally in need of organizing (again, she sighs).  Use the back up plan and use some other brochure holders until I find the other one, ughhh!  I'm off to locate those, see ya...

Mr. Bill

Cool and crisp morning here and it's gonna be a lovely day.  When I was doing some yard and garden clean-up this weekend, I realized that autumn here means it gets so hot it fries the leaves off the trees and bushes unlike where it gets cold and the leaves actually turn color, look pretty and then fall off.  Sometimes we get a cool fall and the leaves do change a bit before they fall off.  I don't think that is gonna happen this time.  One thing though is that we can have roses blooming much through the end of the year and a Christmas rose is really a treat.  Here are some photos of the shop taken last week.

The red door to the right is our entrance and you can see the DHL signs in the window. 

This is looking south on Temple City Blvd.  See the Fedex sign?  We also ship UPS.

This is the shop looking at both windows.  Now you know where we are and you can come visit!  We'd love to have you stop in and say hi.  Next up is a picture of the BEST MAILMAN on the planet.  I could not do my job without him.  He brings the mail to me and then I sort it into the correct mailboxes.  He's a sweet, lovable guy and he delivers the mail with a cheerful smile all the time.  He's really the best!

His name is Bill but sometimes I call him Billy Bob just for fun.  Over time I will be posting pix of all the people that help me in my business and make my world go 'round.  Hope you all have a terrific week!

My Little Shop

Gonna be a warm one again today, it's bright and sunny with a totally blue sky.  One thing about these hot dry days (as long as there is no fires burning nearby) is less smog and the seemingly endless robin's egg colored sky.  If you want to check out my shop here's a link  http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=temple+city+postal+centre&fb=1&gl=us&hq=postal+centre&hnear=temple+city&view=text&latlng=11621872630565453589 this is to the google maps page and tells a bit about our store.  We don't have a website (yet).   There's a couple pics there of the outside of the shop and I need to update them since my neighbor, Dr. Hom recently painted his building and hung a new awning.  I'll post a few more pics of the shop here tomorrow.

I should get going as I have allot of stuff to do today.  Some boring paperwork and such to get done in between the customers.  The un-fun part of having a business.  Don't get me wrong, I love to organize and straighten up, it's the actual paperwork and filing that's a drag.  Now, add to my list to get the camera go outside and take pics of the store while it is so nice and bright out.

Good Morning Hot Day

Wow, it's gonna be a hot one today, thankfully it's dry heat.  Now if everyone will just not start any more fires we can all relax a bit especially our wonderful firemen and women.  Enough acreage burned already...end of story.  

I love to people watch, do you?  This morning on my way to work, a nice looking gray haired man was sitting waiting for the bus as I was waiting for the light to change and he had a bag from the 99 cent store and was eating chips with a bottle of salsa and he looked like he needed a drink because the expression on his face said it was a bit hot.  Wished I'd had a bottle of water to chuck out the window for him. 

I stopped into my fav store, Whole Foods Market in East Pasadena, to get a bite to eat and to get a cup of coffee.  When I got out of the car it was really too warm for coffee but I got some anyhow.  Needed a bit of kick this morning.  Then I made it too sweet and was trying to drink it down so I could add more coffee to the cup and doing this without allowing myself to gag.  When I have coffee, I don't feel hungry.  Now, if I could just survive on coffee, I'd be thin.  How does coffee effect you?  I try not to have it everyday because I don't want to get "hooked" on it.  So I have tea instead.

My display box didn't get painted until later in the day yesterday and I think that one more coat on the one side will do, gotta cover up some black marker.  When I got here to the shop this morn' and as soon as I entered, I could smell the paint and that has reminded me that it's really time to paint all the walls and do more sprucing up here.  I really like to paint.  I love how fresh and bright it looks afterward.  Add to my "to do" list!  Have a great day!