14 February 2008
Valentine’s Day
A long, full, rewarding day at The Rose and Thistle. The phone rang practically non-stop and customers came and went through the front door, from 9 a.m. until well after our posted closing time of 6 p.m. I think it was about 7:40 when we sold the last prepared dozen red roses to a desperate man who was frustrated that although he had bought his wife a washing machine for Valentine’s Day, tradition still dictated that he go home with roses! We got a good laugh out of that!
Throughout the day, fortified with coffee, doughnuts, and lunch from Sonic, we all worked our little butts off! I worked the front room of the shoppe, dealing with the phone and the walk-in traffic. Three designers and an assistant worked at the design table, making beautiful arrangements happen as if by magic, and another person processed cards and maps through the computer. The delivery coordinator was a genius, and had five drivers coming and going like perfectly aligned cogs in a wheel. The whole operation ran smoothly and although there was some stress over the occasional incorrect address, or super-picky customer, it was a joy-filled day.
We ended the day by gathering at a nearby Italian restaurant with a byob policy. We had great food, great company, a couple bottles of decent wine, and were able to wind down and glory in what we’d accomplished. It is a fun group, and a fun event to be a part of—I look forward to it every year!
Kyle even joined us for dinner, after his long day at work. By the time we got home, we were both pretty darned tired, and these Daily KRuMB entries had to wait until today!
My photo, though, that I snapped after getting home from dinner, is of a rose Denise gave me at the end of the day. Too blown open to sell, it is a gorgeous deep pink rose–although it looks rather red in my photo. I laid it on the Valentine “display” I have on our dining room table (candle in hurricane glass, on candle plate, with red and pink beads and hearts laying all around), and took a couple of pictures. This is the close-up of the rose, where the background stuff is all fuzzy, but you can still see some Valentine’s Day colour! I really like it.
So, please consider this my Valentine to all our wonderful readers. Hope your day was lovely!
~MB
Very nice. I like the framing here.