Dude. Where Have You Been and When is the Next Drop?
It's been a wild couple of weeks since my last drop... actually, it's only been a week and a half, but time means nothing anymore.
On a normal production schedule, I post a drop of brushes on Tuesday, fill orders on Wednesday, pour blanks on Thursday, glue up my segmented blanks on Friday, and spend the next week turning brushes all day, every day. I spend the following Monday polishing and photographing the previous week's labor, and start the whole process over on that Tuesday. It's become such a ritual that I no longer think in terms of days. weeks and months -- time passes as "drop week" or "production week." It's fun, but grueling.
I've been a bit shaken up this cycle. It started last Monday, when I got my second Covid vaccination (YAY) ... the same day that Cash came home from daycare with some kind of wicked cold. My immune system just wasn't prepared for that 1-2-combination. I lost several days to illness, because I simply didn't have the energy to get off the couch. It was a rough week, BUT it allowed me to slow down and focus on my family a bit.
Last week my daughter turned 18! We celebrated by taking her to her favorite burger joint (the same one I took her to after her kindergarten Daddy-Daughter Dance) and helping her open a checking account. Sunday, we celebrated Senior Sunday at church and I got to stand up and brag about how great she is... it's my favorite topic and one I can talk about all day.
I'm finally getting over this cold/sinus infection and have been working on projects around the homestead. It's been refreshing to put in real manual labor on tasks that I've been meaning to do for a while. I've started reclaiming part of our yard that has, until now, been completely overrun by weeds. I've put in a walkway from the house to the shop (it still needs some work, but we're getting there). Most importantly, I've finished framing up the office and casting rooms in the new shop! That's been a fun learning experience (what I've learned is that I'm not great at framing).
I plan to spend a good bit of the next couple of weeks working on wiring the shop, celebrating my daughter's graduation and hanging out with family. That said, I have no idea when to expect the next full drop. I may take a cue from some of my competitors and list brushes as I complete them. This is not ideal, for anyone, but it's the best I can hope for right now until things settle down a bit. Keep an eye on my social media accounts for details on that.
As always, I appreciate your support and your patience,
Rob
