Clara's Window

Store update: I now have functioning phone lines, freshly painted creamy yellow walls and darker yellow trim, and an electrician with marching orders to install track lights.

I've ordered pre-printed receipt books and snazzy little track light fixtures, empty bottles for essential oils and flower waters, and empty tins for my very own "Maine Morning Tea." I have a big box of lavender due from Provence any day now. Boxes and boxes of French soaps, bubble baths, sachets, and smellies also due to arrive any day. I have frames for my prints and my '30s Home Arts magazine covers. I finished the design for T-shirts and have an order in for 220 of them in various colors and sizes.

And yesterday I settled on the final missing link: Jennifer Pudney embroidery kits.

Now I just need a sign and shelves and I'll be in business!

Whew, what a lot of work. As usual, I owe a debt of gratitude to Julie for venturing out with me last week to shop for store furniture and fixtures. Again and again, she talked me out of some pretty hideous mistakes. "Um, Clara," she'd say in response to my holding up a big box of fuchsia-colored tropical patio lights, "Why don't we wait on those?"

In the meantime, last week Mr. UPS was delivering a whole bunch of boxes -- boxes of tissue paper, boxes of paper bags, and even boxes of boxes, which seems rather funny. Anyway, I thought I'd brought them all in, but then he pulled out another box for me. Printed on the outside: ASHFORD.

Surprise! As an early birthday present, my mother sent me an Ashford Joy. What indulgence, what decadence, what pure delight to have a second wheel dropped down from the sky. I've been coveting this adorable little gal for years now but couldn't possibly justify a second wheel, especially since my first is a Schacht. Needless to say, when not scraping and painting every possible surface in the shop, I had great fun with this new wheel all weekend.

Next on the list: getting a sign made. At this point I'll be in a better position to take pictures and post 'em here for your viewing pleasure.