In the last couple weeks I've had a number of small maintenance issues at the shop. I fancy myself capable of doing some of it but it seems to me that if I wait just long enough, Joan Martodam, a local carpenter (The Wood Woman Carpentry, 306-883-8826. She's done a lot of work around my house and is responsible for the beautiful renovation the salon underwent two summers ago) will be in for a hair appointment and while she's here, Taylor and I can pretend we don't know how to fix something and, fed up with our whining, fixes it for us. I guess I have ulterior motives to making sure her hair appointments are pre-booked every six weeks but if you happen upon her, don't tell her I said that.

Last week when a friend popped in to bring us some mid-day ice cream, he pulled the handle off the screen door. Even though we insisted (kind of) that it was already loose, he insisted on walking three doors down to the hardware store to get a new one and instal it for us. While he was working on that, Alex popped by to say hello and ended up helping Aaron fix the screen in the door as well (that I remembered was something I broke with my hamper of salon towels. I didn't bother telling them that and I'm at no risk of them finding out since they aren't likely to read this). A little later that day, another friend popped in to say hi and ended up working on our stereo a little.

Then somehow, all three of them ended up back at the salon together (the three of them are good friends, farmers and it's not farming season quite yet so they have a bit of free time still). If you've never been to my salon, its about 400 square feet and doesn't take much to get pretty loud and on those occasions when the planets align and the whole place gets hopin' with folks stopping in for this or that reason, it warms my cockles thinking about how terrific it is to have a business on main street of a very active small town and how great it is to have friends pop by to say hello, have a quick gab and maybe fix a thing or two if they happen to know how.

Not a week before my maintenance crew swooped in, our precious speaker stopped working. I headed down to the pharmacy, speaker tucked under my arm, to see if they had batteries that would fit. Not one, but three employees helped me out, insisting that batteries would cost me my retirement fund (if I had one! Incidentally, my new sandals arrived in the mail today from Germany and my love of such purchases are why I don't have a retirement fund but alas Reader, I'll save that for my therapist) and that they would search the backroom of the pharmacy for a new power cord for us to try.

What's my damn point, you're wondering? Other than inadvertently making myself and Taylor seem incapable of doing anything for ourselves? Well, I guess it's just to say thank you to this wonderful town for supporting me and my business. It "takes a village to raise a child" (something I am acutely and gratefully aware of.) but apparently it also takes a village (or small town in this case), to run a successful business. So in the spirit of Spiritwood Gratitude, come in this week a score some free backbar product I'm parting with after doing some spring cleaning of our shelves (backbar meaning things that we've got opened for salon use that just aren't getting used up) and while you're at it, snag some retail at 15% off (remember, I guarantee all the product I sell here so if you hate it, you can bring it back and exchange it so it doesn't become something you have to clean off your shelves, unused, next spring.)

Looking forward to seeing some of your beautiful faces in the shop this week, Readers! While I wait for you, I'll look for something for you to fix.

xoxo,
Rachelle