I heart viewer mail.....

By the way, the new STR kit arrived, and I will try to take some pictures here soon. It is gorgeous. But I feel I must respond to some viewer mail, and then get back to work on HOA stuff. The whole HOA thing is getting annoying. WAY too many meetings, which takes away my knitting time. We have so much work to do, being a new neighborhood.

Judy said...
I miss Yarns Forever too! However, since I am forced to work for a living, when Dianne stopped having evening hours and hired such an unfriendly person for the few Saturday hours the shop was open, she pretty much lost my business. Dianne WAS the shop, and when she wasn't there it just wasn't the same.

I did not originally get into the level of detail to address this, because it becomes the whole chicken or the egg argument. The local market was not buying enough to support the store. (Stores have huge overhead.) So she had to go on the road to do shows, which are potentially much more profitable (And heck, people are there to BUY. Just go to one yourself. It is fun.). Therefore, she had to hire employees to run the store in her absence. It is hard to find good employees, so she had to eventually cut back on her hours because she could not get enough GOOD staff. It also does not pay to keep a store open when very few customers come in during those hours. Therefore, people shop there less because she is not there or she is not open. So it is a vicious cycle, chicken or the egg. (Think, what would you do? And would the store have still been profitable? Good business practice dictates ending an unprofitable business and keeping the more profitable business.)

I personally think it is a little unfair to expect a store owner to always be there. They have lives too. Dianne often had to leave and close the store to run errands to take care of her family. She could not have run it alone for long. I have not seen Dianne in months, but that is as much my fault as it is hers. She is busy running her new business (For which I am happy and totally understand her time commitment there and don't expect her to drop that, so we email each other and read each other's blogs.), and I could not come to the store on Saturdays when she was there. It is on us to find out when she will be there, as much as it is on her to be there to see her customers.

Once upon a time I lived in NY, and the LYS owner was a real jerk, as were 80% of his employees. I shopped there anyway, even driving helter skelter to get to the store before it closed after work, because it was all I had. I supported that store even though the guy was a jerk, because it was a great store, with great yarns and great classes. It was my resource. Sure, I wish the guy was nicer, but I just gave it right back to them when they got witchy. :)

Don't take any of this response personally, I am just trying to put this out there so everyone can see each side of the argument. I also think it benefits the larger audience out there in knitblogland. It is my nature. I should have been a judge...or a psychologist.

Anonymous said...
"What are the three obstacles to work?Indecision, Indifference, and Fear."Interesting concept, and something I'll have to keep in mind. Because, of course, the next question (assuming the thing is a good thing to do) is what can be done to overcome the indecision, indifference, or fear. And that's where the rubber meets the road. OK, enough philosophy for now.

That is exactly the next question, grasshopper. You cannot stop at just the answer to the first question. The first step is to put a name to what is stopping you. The next step is to confront it. Say, "Okay, now that I know I am afraid, why am I afraid? What can I do to get past my fear?" Or indecision or indifference.

There is hope for all of us yet. :)

wrchili said...
I love the quote you used. I often let indecision and fear dictate far too much in my life as well, and I hate it. It's something I'm struggling with as well, because I'm afraid I'm going to wake up one day and wonder what happened to my life.

Amen. Don't live with regret. How about starting with just one tiny thing you are procrastinating on? Is there some class or some activity you want to start? Just sign up and do it. I promise you, you don't have to be perfect. Just try it. You might love it. And if you hate it, so what? Deciding that you do not like something or discovering that you are not good at it is not failure; failure is never having tried at all.

(An aside: You know, I think we women question ourselves even more than men. At least we seem to hold ourselves back more? Well, I know many men who question themselves in this way too, they just don't talk about it very much. And if they do, they talk about it with a woman like me...a nonjudgmental guy's gal. Anyway, it seems as though we hold ourselves back more. Maybe take a lesson from the guys, just go and do it?)

Again, this is the same advice I gave to my 30-year old friend going back to start med school. And I am going to be taking it myself today. :) Now, time to go make some phone calls along those lines. :)