UMTravels

Mostly a day off, but 1pm finds me meeting with Jimmy for a list of little things for the shop: Heater for under the desk Down light for the counter area Card holders for the lower racks Business card holders for the counter Letter size two side plastic flyer display Items we couldn’t find after […]

Up early as today is my FIRST alone shop day. Need to be at the shop a little before 11 to crack the safe, fill the till, pull back the curtains and unlock the door. A few people wandered in between 11-1, but the afternoon was quiet until about 4pm when Jimmy and Ron showed […]

Mostly not in the shop, but that doesn’t mean I’m not doing shop business. Blog posts Parts for additional 18″ rack New business cards Table tents I did run up to the shop for two reasons, to meet up with Jeff and Marvin and pick up half a 25# bag of bread flower and to […]

Spent the morning kerfing in the shop i.e. putting a thin slit in 1×2 stock to hold the wine description cards. Here is the setup: The 1×2 goes flat through the track setup with boards and clamps. The top board is to keep the 1×2 from pulling up and away from the saw blade making […]

Still plugging away at the remaining details for the shop, such as the 3×5 notecards and a way to mount them. The notecards will have the year, winery, wine, cepagè (what grapes and what percentages were used to make the wine), and a brief description of each of the over 300 different bottles of wine […]

Up again early this morning. The insulation crews are returning to finish winterization of the house, followed by a 10am phone interview with Alaska that whatever the opposite of “nailed it” that would be how that went, then I’m off to the store to do the last bits of this and that before the doors […]

6PM the day before we open to the public: And we already have our first artist show hanging (art won over wine maps in the on-line poll). The featured artist is Suzanne Brooker, artist, teacher, and author of the successful art instruction book, Portrait Painting Atelier: Old Master Techniques and Contemporary Applications. But, of course, […]

Just one more picture from last night. I packed a leather punch so that a belt that I gave CrowDog would finally fit around his skinny little waste. That is beadwork sewn onto buckskin making a pretty striking rodeo style belt buckle. I picked up several years ago at the Faerie Bazaar from Clyde Hall, […]

It seems everyone was a little tired from yesterday. Nobody rolled out of bed until 10:30am. Personally, I needed that extra rest (and still had an afternoon nap as well). “Breakfast” was at 12:30 after the boys returned from the coffee shop (no Half and Half or Splenda for Onyx’s coffee) and featured “European style […]

It was a VERY early morning after a very late night. It was mid-morning that I realized that I was so asleep in the shower that I forgot to shave. There was lots of napping on the boat ride north. Interesting what happened at immigration. We were the ones picked for more scrutiny. Not only […]

Today the crew at the house is insulating the floor and putting down new plastic in the crawl space. As for me, it’s borrowing Gnarlene’s truck again to move the last display fixture from the garage to the shop. You can see a glimpse of the new rack in this shot: Only two more racks […]

Another completely stuffed day for Uncle Markie. The electrician showed up at 9am to do the knob and tube inspection, and put in an exhaust fan in the bathroom. This is all part of a city program to insulate old houses. For an extra $80, he added an outlet (which you can see in the […]

Today’s post is going to be short and sweet, because my day was long and hard. Here is a short video of the shop as it stands near the end of the day: Beat. Going to bed because the electrician and the insulation guys show up at my house very early tomorrow morning. [214.1]

This would be me on my way to the plane last night — with a touch of Swanda’s Fall Decoration. Too bad I’m not headed to Las Vegas (not enough miles). Three scotches and half a sleeping pill means a restful flight to Miami, even in coach (albeit in 6C with extra legroom). Hour and a […]

Up at 7, to the shop at 10, to a trade tasting at 1:30, home for dinner and a change of clothes, then off to the airport for a 10:30plm red-eye to Miami, only to return tomorrow. The things I do to keep status on Alaska. And to answer the question, no upgrade (for either […]

By the time I left the shop at 3:30 this afternoon, all the wall racks were assembled leaving the floor racks yet to do, but now at least there is room to do it. The floor rack pieces being used as a carrier for where I have waxed the floor: Jimmy attaching the next section […]

Another day of running around doing stuff for the shop: Borrow truck (again) Load dishwasher and cabinet in truck Get stuck in traffic due to SR-520 closure Drop off stuff at store Return truck Walk home Make one more champagne rack leg Get stuck in different traffic Return to store Work until 6:30 Whew! But […]

The day before our lease officially begins, still no key to the store, but rather, a standing noon appointment to be let into the space. Jimmy usually arrives right at noon, with me following at 12:30 to avoid our grumpy landlord. That said, we had an incredibly productive day at the store. Not only did […]

Thank you Gnarlene for the lend of the truck today. Two loads later I have enough room to park the Miata in the garage! Sorry it’s crappy, but it’s a cell phone photo. Still a ton of stuff in there but still the first time in months that the car has been in the garage. […]

Oy what a day. By noon+ I was at the shop, and it was looking GOOD. Here is a shot of AFTER running the carpet/floor cleaner TWICE through the entire shop (bathroom excepted, for now). All afternoon, wash, dump the container, wash, scrape paint stains (50% our 50% from twenty years ago), wash, dump, wash. […]