Downsizing a bit

 One benefit of a vending route is that it can carry into retirement.   :-) 

I should be a little more retired than I am and decided to downsize to save on funds. 

None of the candies I work with can be refrigerated because it invariably changes the color or texture and although it doesn’t affect flavor or freshness, it can be off-putting to customers visually, so I keep all candies at room temperature. Moving to a much smaller office makes it difficult but not impossible to continue a small route. 

I receive emails but it’s always just a return email address, no other text. I may begin replying to the emails wondering if there was a question, was a bot, spam, or comment. As far as I can tell, the comment sections are still working, so feel free to communicate with comments and email addresses. Will post any updates here.  

:-)

 Visited 2 stores. 

 One always does well, and she couldn’t have been nicer! I was stunned, I babbled something about a delay and a heatwave and she totally understood! Am going to find a way to keep this location as long as they’ll have me  :-)  

The other store is also a favorite and I’m not sure why! 

When it’s serviced properly (me!) it does just fine. When there are delays or the candy gets low, the area around the machine gets messy and sticky. The good news about that is that whenever there are sticky gooey fingerprints around a machine, that always means kids checking it out! They may be playing around it, messing with it, sometimes they pull too many candies out with their little fingers, but it’s invariably a good location and a little cleaning goes a long way. Whether the owner keeps the machine there is always up to them, but so far so good :-) 

                         

 

Alas…

 Not going to lie, I dread making my last visits so much that I haven’t serviced my stores yet. 

Will I be picking up the machines, giving them to their existing spaces, maybe 1-2 more visits, hoping for the best? 

The pandemic hurt many stores and reduced my route by over half with remaining stores staying strong. It was the heatwave of July/August that did me in, already forgotten and busy moving. 

There was a wonderful cooling rain during the week that’s lasting so far. I’ve already been back on the road but am having a heck of a time closing off the route, will stay posting here…

Hot Rain

 

Raindrops! Real live wonderful rain..! 

Alas, it was hot rain  :-/  didn’t last long and evaporated right away. 

 

It’s only supposed to be 86 degrees Monday and for a second I thought I could venture out to visit the route, but I don’t believe it yet.  

Gd bless my awesome customers/clients! It was a blast visiting stores, traveling, being productive and making money, the best memories ever, Thanku..! 

                                                    

                                                                   ~

Have a Good Labor Day Weekend!

 

Have a safe Labor Day Weekend ! 

 

  

                          

                                                                               ~

Heatwave variant 2.0 after pause

 The heatwave is back. I guess it never left, it took a 2-day or so break then resumed.

It’s not as fierce as before but that’s because I’ve gotten used to it I guess. 

Thermostats are saying it’s 109 degrees in direct sun. Digital thermostats say it’s 109 degrees but ‘feels like’ 119º

I’m not looking forward to closing a business that had so much potential but never got off the ground. I’ll try to keep as many clients as I can if any. 

The heatwave should conclude sometime in September. 

The Heatwave is over, sort of…

 The thermostats still say 100+ degrees, but the air is a bit cooler. 

Yesterday was supposed to be the hottest day of the year and it wasn’t too bad, so it can only get better I say! 

Since there was a promise of rain this week, I thought I could make it back to work this coming up Monday, but it looks like neither will happen just yet. 

September is a given, tho! 

Wave after wave after wave

  Heatwave continues unabated with no end in sight. 

It’s annoying, dangerous, and useless. 

If there’s a reason for it, please feel free to share. 

                        ~

   

More trees please 🙏

More trees please  🙏

 >Too many trees are bad for u. 

But the sun is scorching the blacktop and it’s actually melting in spots. 

>And that’s my problem how? 

There’s people suffering in this heat! 

>That’s why air-conditioning was invented. 

It’s not even August yet, the hottest month of the year! 

>Try throwing shade, maybe that will help. 

Wait a sec, who is this….? 

 

             ~ 

I found a blessing

 I found a blessing! 

During extremes, blessings are hard to find, but I found one. 

This gives me great hope because there may even be others. 

After micro-managing an oppressive heatwave and focusing on all necessary survival details, it occurred to me that one micro-annoyance I don’t have to deal with, during these extreme temps, there are no bugs! 

That is a mega-blessing to me! 

And during extreme winters, too! 

Ever the optimist, I found a blessing and I’m keeping it. 

                                                   ~