The new shop!

I have had the most amazing week with my sister from New Zealand and her family, literally the best in over 10 years. Today she left to visit other family and friends in South Africa, and I had to head back to work.

This photo was taken on the way back from the Municipal building.

I don't mind so much as I am really excited about our new shop. I know it will take a while to become settled, but I think it will be worth it in the long run. We are in a section of the town we have never had a shop in before (yes, we have moved a good few times!!!) and I am looking forward to meeting new regular customers. Our current regular customers have followed us from shop to shop to shop over the almost 25 years we have been in business selling secondhand goods, so I know they will follow us.

The new shop.

My second favourite aspect of  this shop is the ample storage space at the back, so my house no longer has to be the storage receptacle for overflow goods. The aspect that makes me really happy, my first favourite, is my online sales storage and photography room is also being moved to the shop, which means I no longer need to spend my Sundays taking photos of our online stock, it can be done at the shop. Also, the irritation of gathering my online sales from the storeroom early in the morning to take to the shop in order to be packaged and sent is also a thing of the past. I already work Monday to Saturday, so free Sundays, and no more early morning order hunting expeditions sounds like bliss.

I took a few photos of the place being set up from the corner where my desk is.

Of course there are the usual irritations of moving shop. I have spent an inordinate amount of time standing in queues trying to connect the utilities. I had beginner trainees (trying) to deal with a business connection and not managing well at all, and becoming rather grumpy to boot, no doubt still nursing a lingering hangover. I was sent up and down a few times quite unnecessarily over TWO days, and since it is a government department it was best to smile and take it into my stride, which is still painful after my walk in the hills on Monday. Ironically our new shop is basically across the street from the Municipal building, which is a good thing as I still have to sort out the mess they made when I moved shop last time. 

My husband and a staff member deciding on placement issues.

Another irritation is the impatience of my online customers for their parcels to be posted. Did someone not provide the memo we have just had a whole whack of public holidays? When you get a message like...it's been eleven days and counting...!!! after they received an email saying I usually take 5 WORKING days to post orders, and they won their auction on a public holiday. Hopefully tomorrow my work station will be set up quickly so I can complete the orders and regain some peace.

Today I couldn't do much more than go through the frustrating process of sorting out an electricity connection, so I dyed my hair blue to celebrate the new shop. My daughter gave me heaps of incense for Christmas, and as soon as I have my desk packed, my orders completed and my crystals placed, I know will feel completely at home. I really have to add that once again Steemit has helped me enormously during this period, as the financial stress of this usually quiet time of the year (no auctions) and the expenses of moving on top of pre-existing debt was way over the norm, even for me, and I am used to coping with continual pressure. I did have a couple of meltdowns though, especially with the (good) overwhelming emotions I experienced after seeing my sister and my brother-in-law and my niece for the first time in ten years. I love them all dearly!!!

@onetree