get the lead out - part X

I am on vacation next week. I can't wait.

The last time I made a Get the Lead Out posting, I was talking about getting my resume out there in November. October has plans of its own.

I'll admit something. Having such a large, long-ranging plan in my head has been challenging at times. When the next 10 steps ahead of you are revealed, it's hard to concentrate on what's right in front of you. It's easy to feel that the next step should be to call in reinforcements. Reinforcements aren't bad. Reinforcements don't mean you're weak. Please, reinforcements, come running.

The worry is manageable at this stage, when I stay focused on what is directly in front of me. I have a debt. It will be retired on November 20th, only if I stay disciplined. Ergo, discipline is necessary, along with hitting the Submit button on those transfers to my credit card. Meanwhile, there are few other options, and I'm working on them all. Today, for example, I got checks and a debit card ordered from my Colorado credit union. By next week, I'll be able to transfer my direct deposit and my auto pays and I'll be all set, thanks to Jeremy, the efficient credit union representative I've spoken with about a half dozen times since opening this account, more than I've ever spoken to a banker.

But like I said, October has plans of its own. In order to rent this place, the backyard needs to be lower maintenance. So here's what I want to do:
- Cut the azaleas down from the back wall, leaving the hostas and the sweetshrub
- Remove the dying shrubs from the back fence
- Fill in holes dug by the dog
- Remove the clothesline pole if possible
- Cut the honeysuckle from the vine
- Clean the gutters
- Pull weeds from the garden and seed with wildflowers
- Pull weeds from the blueberry patch
- Burn the burn pile for the last time
- Build a wall around the burn pile
- Fill with dirt and mulch (for a bird feeding station)
- Mulch the flowerbed against the back fence
- If time, plant something new against the back wall and mulch
- put a guard around the air conditioning unit
- cut down dead tree on side yard
- replace the dead tree with... something
- mulch the flowerbeds in the front yard too

My plans for help? Well, I have a 76 year old woman who's going to stay with me for a few days. I will have her weeding the flowerbeds in the front yard. The rest? I don't know. The thought of it all makes my head hurt a little. So I joined a fitness boot camp. I need someone to boost me up a little, help me manufacture some new energy for the plans.

I do this to myself all the time, I swear. So now, what I'm going to do is reel it back a little.

I have to cut down the azalea bushes. I have to cut down the azalea bushes.

I have to pay off my credit card, that's first. In the yard, I have to cut down the azalea bushes. That's first. If I don't get to the rest, I am going to take Mama Rose with me to Blue Ridge, Georgia, and we're going to ride the Blue Ridge Scenic railway and take in the fall colors. I'd love to be taking my parents with us. Maybe next time, mom and dad. The list is long, I know. I may not finish it the week of my vacation. I will finish it.

-- Laura

Guam, where I was born

This is a picture of Tumon, Guam. I was born in Agana. which was recently renamed Hagatna, to more accurately reflect the local pronunciation, though I don't know if the new name as stuck all that well.
For my parents, who remember some of the FIRST hotels to be built on Guam, here's something of the flavor of hotels they have there now. And if you're not into city scenes, here's something over the water. And a shot for those of you who like waterfalls.

I'd like to see it again, as an adult.

All these pictures are taken by JrManuel, a photographer who lives on the island, and clearly loves it.

--Laura

is the timing suiting me or am i just ready?

About a year ago, I joined an online financial tool -- mint.com
It's a cute, helpful budget device, collecting all your financial information in one location to provide a convenient financial snapshot of your activity. Additionally, you list all your funds, your vehicles and your home, and it accesses published resources to tell you their suggested value.
The news on my property has been discouraging. I have to say, I didn't think it carried up-to-date values on property until the day I saw the bottom fall out of the value of my home. In the space of two weeks, I went from a position where the sale of my home would bring me a 40-50K profit, to being upside down in my loan.
For all you math students out there, that affects your net worth!
Two weeks ago, I noticed the value of my home had increased. Still less than I owed on the note, but not as bad. This week, the projected value has increased again, and the good news to report is that if I sold it today, I could expect a profit. Not nearly as much as I could have gotten two years ago, but it's a start.
For me, it's encouragement. During these challenging economic times, I've been extremely fortunate to have a stable income. And I've been using the money to repair my debt position. While many have dug a deep hole of debt, I've been able to climb out of the hole. And when things turn around, I will be able to take advantage of the improvements.
Will I be able to sell my house before I move, or will I need to rent it until the prices improve? I don't know that yet. A friend of mine and I discussed that yesterday, how it's a shame that I'm not ready to rent right now -- with the flooding that happened this week, people are going to be looking for new places to rent; new places to live. I would love to be able to sell the house without a problem and move without having to worry about keeping this place rented. One of my friends rents her condo. Another friend rents her house while living in Arkansas. I know it can be done, but it definitely requires persistence.
Doing it alone is daunting. I will have to be committed to keeping this promise to myself in order to make it happen.

-Laura

The road is gone

This is the road I'd normally use to get from my house to the gas station. Well, it's the back side of that road. The front side was full of cars and others taking pictures and I couldn't get a shot. So I went to the opposite side.

enough already

Flooding all over the place today -- 100 roads closed in my county. 3 people dead in the county west of mine. We'd appreciate some clear skies.

get the lead out - part IX

If you don’t live in the south, you may be unaware that we are flooding. Well, that’s dramatic. Most of the flooding we’re experiencing is the result of overwhelmed storm drains. Once the rain slows a bit, it has time to catch up. It has served, however, to cancel most of my weekend plans, including a six week fitness boot camp I signed up for and today’s plans to weed my garden, the first step in my backyard fall preparations, which I’ll probably write about at some later point. Every time I try to weed, it begins to rain. I also discover that mosquitoes do NOT mind the rain. One day I’m going to accept that I’m highly reactive to mosquito bites, and I’m going to find something stronger than Cutter Skinsations to repel them. It seems nice. It smells nice to me, a girl. It moisturizes with Aloe and Vitamin E. It just doesn’t work.
So indoor boredom has brought me to the computer, and back to my main story.
I’ve gotten some interesting responses to the plan I shared in part VIII. Most of them involve some shade of You want to do this now? Are you insane?
The answer, of course, is no. I guess some are under the impression that stores magically open, fully evolved, from fairy dust.
I do think, however, that the best time to plan is when times are bad, so I can take advantage of improving economic conditions when they happen. And the declining economy has helped focus me, forcing me to divide my task into chunks I can manage more easily. Because I am impatient to move forward, it has helped me focus on what I can do NOW.
When I first entertained this idea, I was ready to relocate and open the store simultaneously. And that seemed like such a big job, it would keep me awake nights. I finally came to understand something. I have lots to do before I can start a store. So I don’t need to delay those things because the store remains a few years away. I also don’t need to delay a move.
But I will tell you, I realized this about a year ago. So, what has prevented me from calling a mover and loading up Pearly Lee and the dogs? When I last lived in Colorado, I was a student in Boulder. Some have asked if this goal to move is just a wish to relive the past. It’s a fair question, posed by people who don’t have all the facts.
In school, I worked full time and was still behind financially. I did lots of creative financing, and with credit card applications on every bulletin board, it wasn’t difficult to accumulate four or five. It didn’t seem foolish at the time, because other friends had them. However, where other friends were using them for skiing or camping equipment, I was paying for tuition and books, and getting seriously in debt. I remember how my mother once ordered a cake to be delivered to me on my birthday while I lived in the dorm. I worked in that dorm cafeteria. So I ended up cleaning the bowls they used to make it, standing in a yellow tiled kitchen with the window open, because even across campus, we could hear the sound of the crowd cheering while the Buffs played a football game.
When I graduated, my dad spent a lot of time and made a lot of phone calls, negotiating and berating creditors. With lots of resistance and very little assistance from me, he got my credit cleaned up. I was operating on autopilot, however. I made more than I spent because I didn’t spend that much, and that was fine. I didn’t have kids, I didn’t have expensive tastes, and if I wanted something big, I would put some money aside or put it on a credit card. I wasn’t really prepared for emergencies, but I hadn’t had too many emergencies, so I felt like I had a reasonable handle on things. But when I began assessing my situation, when I faced the prospect of changing the direction my path was taking, memories similar to that cake memory weighed heavily on my mind. Truthfully, I didn’t have much of a handle on things at all.
Do I want to move? Absolutely, I always have. I want to return, in part, because of the experiences I had while I was there. I enjoyed my surroundings – the low humidity, the changing seasons, the geography, the quality of life there. But I don’t yearn for a past I lost. I yearn to live in Colorado the way I should have the first time. I don’t want to return if I can’t do that. I’m older now, and time is nothing to fritter away. And I don’t want to be so bogged down with my financial burdens that I can’t enjoy a glass of wine in a field of flowers or be a part of a satisfying new adventure discovering a grove of aspen trees. And once I get there, I will decide if my idea of a satisfying adventure is a weekend at the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, or using a camping stove to heat up Spaghetti-Os. I’ll be honest. I think I want to do both.
And that is a perspective-changing realization. Back in October ’08, I had two debts, not including my house, and no real aspirations beyond a middle class routine where you “always have a debt.” But to move, and to do it successfully without creating more debt in the process, to start a business, to take care of myself by myself, I have to do things differently.
It’s now almost a year later. I have retired one debt. It will take a month longer than I hoped, but my payoff date for BOTH debts is November 20th. I joked with a friend of mine that I’ve become an expert in writing amortization schedules, to make sure I’m staying on track. At the beginning of the year, I promised I would not renew my driver’s license this year, that’d I’d be moving by October. I won’t be able to keep that promise, and I have been feeling defeated by that. But with a plan in place to rent my house, and with a debt off less than a few hundred dollars, I may not be moving in October, but I will be ready to look for a job in November.
Among other things. More on that later.
--Laura

intermission - part IV

Because it's funny:

In Memoriam: Mary Allin Travers

Mary Travers died last night, September 16th.

I hope you know who that is, but if you don't, she was Mary of the 60's folk group, Peter, Paul and Mary. You should follow that link and read the statement from her bandmates and friends, Peter Yarrow and Noel Paul Stookey. We should all be so lucky to have something just as nice said about us.

So I was brought up a bit short this morning when I got to work, mentioned her passing to the assembled crowd, and the response was, "Who's that?"

I had to sing a few lines from Puff the Magic Dragon before they knew who I was talking about. That was after I sang the If I Had a Hammer song, and they had no idea what I was singing.

When a celebrity passes, a person you never met, the only thing you can really comment on is how they impacted your life, and not who they were. By the same token, I think when you remember someone, you're doing that anyway, regardless of how well you knew them.

Hence, I share with you what I shared with my officemates. I was raised by hippies.

Now, my parents weren't Naropa Institute hippie fakers. I was raised by genuine organic farmers, people who did this before it was even mildly cool. Who planted gardens with a Burpee Seed Catalog under one arm and a Mother Earth magazine under the other. They were fascinated by earthen houses, solar power and cold frames. My parents protested the building of a creosote plant on an SAA classified riverway in South Carolina. My mom had a separate account for HER spending money, and it wasn't something dad dribbled funds into either, it was financed with chicken eggs, homemade bread, and stuffed animals she sewed when she wasn't doing community nursing in some of the poorest areas of rural South Carolina. My mother is a feminist who told an Edward Jones representative that if he was investing HER retirement fund, he'd better call and consult with HER and not ask for MISTER BURKE, THANK YOU.

And while my dad has to own up to an extensive collection of records by Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass, with all their suggestive cover art, they also listened to folk music. Dad decided that if Joan Baez were that ugly, she had to be a good singer. They both had records from the Kingston Trio, the Mamas and the Papas, and Peter, Paul and Mary.

That's what I grew up hearing. I know most of the lyrics to the Moving album and I think I could do a respectable job with the See What Tomorrow Brings album as well. They sang to me because my mother didn't sing. When I got older, I learned how to sing harmony while listening to Mary Travers, and I guarantee that, partly because of this education, I picked up tunes so easily my highschool choir teacher thought I could sight read. I made it to All-State HONORS choir because of those records. But that's not all. Because of Where Have All the Flowers Gone, I knew about Pete Seeger, who wrote the song. Because of Blowin' in the Wind, I knew about Bob Dylan, who wrote the song. Because of Leavin' on a Jet Plane, I knew about John Denver, and understood why my parents had John's albums too. Because of that, I thought Colorado... might be wonderful.

I guess it's fitting that I'd find myself a few years later in a boarding house on The Hill in Boulder, Colorado, listening to a Peter, Paul and Mary concert on public television, bawling my eyes out. I remember the caretaker of the boarding house knocking on the door to my room. I answered. She took one look at me and asked, "Are you alright?" I nodded, pointed to the television as if all would become clear if she saw what I was watching.

She paused only briefly. "Oh. Rent is due tomorrow." She had evidently decided I was not a suicide risk. The jury was still out on other psychiatric intervention.

I've learned my lesson. This morning, when I got such a similar reaction, I called my hippie mother.

She totally got it, man.

Thanks Mary. I know you marched on Washington. I know you stood up for civil rights. But your songs were my lullabyes. I won't forget.

--Laura

“We’ve learned that it will take more than one generation to bring about change. The fight for civil rights has developed into a broader concern for human rights, and that encompasses a great many people and countries. Those of us who live in a democracy have a responsibility to be the voice for those whose voices are stilled."

--- Mary Travers

get the lead out -- part VIII

But what do I want the store to look like?
I want to be practical about this part. I’ve been visiting local bird seed stores for pointers. In this area of the country, they are typically in strip malls with a grocery store. And though there’s a strong pro-environment profile in the franchise’s mission statement, it’s not marketed in this area. Most of the stores here focus on the backyard birdwatcher, and finding them the best products for their needs. The retail space, therefore, is your basic rectangle, stocked from floor to ceiling with all kinds of product. Is that going to be my store? Maybe. But for right now, while nothing is set in stone or subject to the limitations of reality, I’ll describe what I’d like my store to look like. And for this exercise, I’ll be specific and refer some to Longmont.
During my April visit, I walked downtown quite a bit. It would be foolish at this point to set my sights on any one building. Downtown is littered with many buildings which could suit my purposes, even small homes converted to office or retail space like I’m familiar with in Helen, Georgia. One great advantage of this downtown area, however, is that it’s a primary north-south artery through town; not the only one, to be sure, but it receives significant traffic each day.
Within the 242 acres, there are nearly 300 businesses of all varieties and sizes. While I visited, I also compared Longmont’s Downtown with the nearby town of Loveland. Loveland differed in two respects, both I consider important. First, it had a split downtown, with the north and south roads leading through it acting like the legs of a ladder. It almost seemed as though it had been designed to keep the traffic clogging businesses off main street, situated on the perpendicular steps. It gives a divided feel the to the downtown area. I can see some advantages in terms of parking, on the diagonal, directly in front of the store you want to visit, but on the day I visited both, the downtown Longmont area was buzzing, even on a weekday, while downtown Loveland was deserted, and I was panhandled twice. Second, the residential area surrounding Loveland’s downtown is pretty shabby looking. I think that might have fed the decision to have Work/Play condos built as the main jewel in the center of Loveland’s downtown. I’d be interested in seeing if that development is going to take off as the economy improves – when I visited in April, the entire retail space was empty, beyond a salon and a pizza joint. As a resident, why would I buy into the Work/Play concept if there are no shops in the development? The answer is that, no matter how cute it is, I’m not going to buy there until things pick up.
And to be safe, I also walked around Twin Peaks Mall, also located in Longmont. For a year, I’ve been reading their local paper, the Times-Call. One thing I’ve learned from reading it is that there are MANY readers who LOVE to complain. However, they have a point when it comes to Twin Peaks Mall. With weeds growing through the concrete sidewalks and empty parking areas, you can feel the deterioration. From my reading, I gather there is some push and pull over using city money versus developer money to revitalize it. Regardless of your opinion, the development needs a facelift.
Main Street through Longmont is one of the primary arteries through town. Parking is located on the street, with parallel parking. Additional diagonal spots are located on the side streets. There are lots at various places behind the Main Street stores, with open, paved walkways from the rear to the front. And if you travel a few blocks back, there’s additional parking, but you’d have to take a few sidewalks back to Main.
So in the interest of being specific, here’s my favorite building. But there’s a problem with it, one I think is a deal breaker. There is no main floor. There are two units in this space, but both require climbing. It’s a shame, because while the downstairs unit would be darker, it has some nice exposed beams in the ceiling, and I could definitely work with it. But unless it could be made handicap accessible, I wouldn’t feel comfortable using it.
But now that we’ve established that it’s not ideal, let’s use it as a template, shall we?
The location is nice for a few reasons. Parking is close, from either side of the street. It’s also near a corner, where there’s additional diagonal parking, giving people choices. That’s not all. It’s positioned between popular restaurants, and near a coffee shop. Right across the street, there’s a church. It’s not a church anymore, but I suspect it won’t become retail anytime soon, so I wouldn’t need to worry about competition. It’s a historical landmark, and is currently being used as the St. Vrain Historical Society building.
One thing about renting retail space is to find the most square feet for your needs, but not too much. I want to have guest speakers and crafts for the children, but I won’t need that space all the time. Luckily, there are two nearby facilities which rent space: The Old Firehouse Art Center, and the Longmont Rec Center on Quail Road.
What else is good about the place? I think it positions me for outreach to the community, as it’s a block away from a daycare facility known as Our Center, which you can read about here. I would like my store to partner with them, if possible. I think they do a valuable community service. I’d also like to offer opportunities to local schools, for birdwalks. I’d also like to model a fundraising activity after something being done at another downtown restaurant, Abbondanza, described in this article.
Inside the store, I want to have some room to show off the merchandise. I don’t just want rows of feeders in boxes, but places to hang feeders. I don’t just want some bird baths, I’d like to have a few pumps working to make a water feature in the store. I want the kid’s area to be hands on, a place where kids aren’t afraid to touch things. I’d like to have a few comfortable chairs in the reading area, to entice people to browse. At the shade grown coffees and teas display, there should be hot tea and coffee to sample. I also want a wall with a large map of the state. During the year, I’ll use it to mark where my customers have spotted the first hummingbird of the season, or outline great trails for birding. I want to print out pictures that my customers email me with birds they’ve spotted at their feeders, or in the wild. I want to hold contests for amateur photographers. I want to make it easy for them should they want to get prints done of their birds. I’d also like to feature our contest winners through the year on a series of printed cards for sale in the store, with proceeds benefiting local wildlife organizations. I’d like to carry the work of professional local photographers, consignment style, with prints for purchase.
In downtown, I’d like to team up with the local downtown businesses. I think when you’re a small business owner, you hang together or you hang separately. There are lots of stores in the downtown area doing interesting things, and even as a bird store, I could support them. During the summer I’d like to get a local expert in, say from Audubon, and have him give a talk about urban birdwatching. But why contain that to my store, when the birdwatching is outside? Why not charge a nominal fee and have a progressive stroll through downtown? Each stop could be at a different gallery (there are 10), where there’s a selection of wines and appetizers from local restaurants. Some of the restaurants in the area feature locally grown produce and locally produced cheese from nearby dairies. If the group of us teamed up, I think we could easily be our own advocates for the Buy Local movement. At the end, I’d give each customer a LODO Gift Card, for use at any of the downtown businesses, so as a group we could track how successful the events were by how many cards were redeemed. The progressive lecture series could be geared for adults, teens or children, depending on need. That, coupled with participation in the events already ongoing in the area (Artlink, Second Fridays, the Outdoor Film Festival, parades, etc), should go a long way toward establishing a strong profile for my store.
I guess that doesn’t tell you much about the inside of the store, does it? Well, maybe it does. I’m a lot less concerned with which building I choose right now. I think that will ultimately be a decision based on the most favorable business factors I find when the time is right. But what goes into the store, and its profile, that’s up to me.

get the lead out - part VII

First, what I want my store to do:

According to a U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Survey, over a two-year period, one out of every four Americans does some bird watching. These are the bird watchers. However, of those 60 million watchers, only about half can identify even ten species. Only a fourth can identify twenty. Three percent, 7 million, know at least forty species and are therefore worthy of the more serious title, birder. For the record, I can identify 18.

Clearly, the larger target audience is the casual birdwatcher. These are people first coming into their own, enjoying the experience and delighting in each new discovery. I want to make that experience as interesting as possible.

I want to sell products, yes. But many of those products will also be available more cheaply in big box stores. What I must focus on is relationship. I know my own buying habits and the buying habits of other birdwatchers. They will occasionally go elsewhere if the bird store’s hours aren’t convenient or in search of a good deal. But all it takes is one negative experience with a big box store to convince them that paying a little more is worth it. And negative experiences with big box stores are more common than you might think.

I want to share enthusiasm with customers who want to learn. If someone knows 5 species of birds, I want to help them learn 5 more. If they enjoy watching birds while sitting on the porch, I’d like to show them how to enjoy birds in the local park, or wilderness trail, even during a downtown stroll. I want to expose them to local experts and give them fun ways for sharing the hobby with their children and their family.

I want to use the store as a vehicle for community involvement. Small businesses hang together or hang separately, and including my local businessmen means they are successful when I am successful. I also want to convey the idea that as a community, we can share with one another. I want to provide an easy way for people to connect. I want to be the person they call for all information about local birding activities.

I want to give back to the community, sharing some of my resources to make the community more bird friendly, providing organizations with fundraising opportunities, and sharing my knowledge with kids, youth groups, the elderly and other populations who might not otherwise be exposed to such a versatile hobby. You don’t have to be a tri-athlete to enjoy birdwatching. You don’t have to be rich either.

I won’t share all my ideas. But I have lots of them, for entertainment, marketing, and advertising. And after my visit to Longmont in April, I’ve been able to flesh out these plans with specifics – a few great locations, a number of great community resources, and outlets for me to plug into as well, where I can begin connecting with my community from day one if I choose.

--Laura

intermission - part III

Saving all your vacation time until near the end of the year can really rock. Really.

get the lead out - part VI

I've returned from a wonderful weekend with my parents. They took such good care of me, I think I just may go back. I am glad to know they enjoyed the weekend as much as I did.

So after a break, I return to making a living or making a life.

This phrase sounds cliché. I think most people understand it. Yet, over the years I’ve gotten so far afield from the objective that I didn’t even notice. I think it’s easy to accept that “the way things are” is the best it’s going to get, rather than confront the reasons why things aren’t better. After 8 years of putting lots of energy into making the best of a bad situation, I realize how little I’ve ended up with and how differently I could be doing things.

I blame the Bush Administration.

I’ll tell you what I’ve discovered this year. I like surprising a fox or a rabbit or a bird on the nest. I like hearing an unfamiliar noise, standing still and waiting for it to reveal itself. I like not being able to see something at first because it is so highly camouflaged, then seeing it come into focus because I was patient enough. I like falling into creeks and coming out a little scraped up. I like not knowing what I’ll see, but knowing I’ll see something.

I like getting a D-minus in tomato growing one year to get a C-minus the next year. I like adopting the scientific method in the preparation of the perfect suet cake. I like capturing blurry images of wings on camera, then getting better with practice. I like learning what I do not know.

To some people who know me, this may seem out of character. Why is that? It’s the same thing with my writing and my interview with the painter. They have no idea because I work, I come home, I take care of the house, I prepare for a new day at work. I have driven hobbies and interests out of my life, dismissing them as superfluous.

But now, particularly after the summer I’ve had, when my friends call me, they often begin the conversation with “what trail were you on this weekend?” I like that. I like it a lot.

So do you want to hear a little more about my store?

--Laura

intermission - part II

Happy Labor Day -- we have something to thank Canadians for, afterall.

get the lead out - part V

So, after all that exhausting buildup, are you still with me? Do you still want to know the plan?
In broadest terms, the idea is simple. I am moving back to Colorado, where I went to college. When the timing is right, I’m opening a retail store catering to birdwatchers and birders.
This isn’t an elaborate plan. Granted, it would be a lot easier to pull off if I were still renting an apartment, or if my belongings fit inside a Ford Escort like they did a few years ago. It would also be a lot easier if I had money or retail experience.
So why do I want to do this, something which involves so many things I’ve never done before? And why do I believe I’d be successful doing it? You might be surprised by my answer. I don’t know.
That might sound incredibly foolish, but I will offer this to you. If you’d asked why I wanted to work for a small printer in north Georgia, I would have the same answer. “I don’t know. I need to make a living.”
That’s all I understood about myself then. I needed to accommodate my financial needs and my life would take care of itself. I think lots of people manage to appropriately separate their working life from their living life. Goodness knows that I’ve tried and become successful at it. But I don’t want to be successful at it anymore. I want them to match. I want to be completely impractical and find work that expresses who I am and what I believe.
My mom knew from a young age that she wanted to be a nurse, and I was always just a little jealous of that clarity. I’ve now come to realize that not knowing what I wanted to do has gifted me with the ability to do many things, if I can find the meaning for myself in the task. Is it a little oddball to reach 38 years old, wanting to open a business? I can see that point of view, but this isn’t just any business, it’s a business run the way I think they should be run. I see it more of a vehicle than a destination, a way to network within my community. In particular, the nature themed store becomes a way to support and advocate for a more natural lifestyle, a greener profile, a source of information and education about the natural surroundings, a way of educating and entertaining children and adults, and forming relationships within the business community.
And I want to live in the same community that supports my store. I want to walk to work. I want people to know that I belong there. I want my neighbors to visit my store and walk out with items I can vouch for.
So what if I didn’t know I wanted to be a birdwatcher when I was 13 years old? I came to it a little late. But I like watching birds. I like being outside. I can learn what I need to know and share this with other people. It is the vehicle to get me to a place where I not only make a living, but a life.
More on this after Labor Day. I'm taking a break from thinking so darn hard, and I'm going fishing.
--Laura

intermission

We all need a little break from heavy realities once in a while.