Merry Christmas!

It's been a busy couple of months and the blog has been silent for a while - apologies to loyal readers. But the busyness has been all about the business and the family, both of which vie for top billing on a daily basis. The business won out this Christmas season, as we have stayed home to oversee the store's holiday activity. Meanwhile, both grandsons and their parents are in Denver, where they ARE having a white Christmas, just like the one above. Here in Canandaigua it's been almost spring-like and today there is only a dusting of snow on the driveway.

Today in Denver they'll be making cookies, decorating a gingerbread house and getting all geared up for Santa's arrival. Thank goodness for FaceTime - we'll be able to see the stockings hung by the chimney with care right along with them. And then tomorrow morning we'll adjust our inner clocks to Mountain Time and watch the happiness and glee of a 6 year old as he first sees the goodies that Santa brought. His 5-month old cousin will be pretty oblivious to all the excitement of the day, but I know his Mommy and Daddy will be recording every smile and babble.

We wish you all a joyous Christmas and holiday season and thank you again for your support of our efforts to make JOOLZ your special holiday shopping spot. There will be lots of joolz under trees for many delighted recipients this year. Enjoy them all!

yes, we make house calls

In today's busy world, most women are constantly juggling home, work, family and fun. That can often lead to many "I meant to ___________ today, but time just got away from me" days. What to do when you know you need/want a new piece of jewelry to go with a certain outfit and there's no time to shop?

Well....if you're like my friend, X, you mention to me at a party that you're looking for a necklace to go with some brown fall clothes. The next day, I make a trip around the shop, looking for likely contenders. Finding several, I call X and we agree to meet at her house later in the afternoon. I hop in my pink Mary Kay caddy (just kidding!) and take a collection of joolz for her to try on in the privacy of her home. She puts on her brown top and tries on several necklaces. One is just perfect. She smiles. I smile. Even her husband smiles, especially as the necklace has a finger-friendly, large toggle clasp. Totally and completely painless, minimal interruption to her day and everyone is happy.

No, I am not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV. But I do make house calls!

good news/bad news

No posts in about a month. Ouch!

The good news is that we ended our fiscal year on September 30th and sales were double digit percentages ahead of last year, despite the rocky economy. Thanks to all our wonderful customers, those who keep coming back and those who find us for the first time.

The bad news is that the home computer is still sick. I can't find several hundred e-mails and can't upload any photos from my camera. That software seems to have taken a hike. But now that our handsome, 12-week old, grandson has left after a wonderful 2-week visit, I will have some extra time to work on that. We've had several deliveries of new joolz and I want to show them to you. Please be patient. Images are coming....hopefully soon.

brain transplant

It's a scary thing when the BSOD (blue screen of death) shows up on your computer monitor.

We kept the home computer (also known as the Mother Ship) limping along, hoping that the blue would turn back to black and we would be able to laugh at our fears. No such luck. After a couple of v.e.r.y. frustrating days, we finally took our tower to the computer hospital. Initially, the diagnosis was hopeful, but after further surgery, the old hard drive was sent off to the morgue and the Mother Ship got a brain transplant (something I've often thought would be helpful for my own body).

New hard drive in place, Larry got to work putting all the pieces back together. It took a while, but eventually we found most everything again, although the font was the size of a pin head. Further adjustments brought it up to my preferred 12pts and I hope it stays that way.

But the bad news is that my Outlook Express seems to have been emptied out completely. That means that 5 years worth of saved emails AND addresses are gone, gone, gone....despite Carbonite. We'll have to make a few phone calls tomorrow to the computer hospital and to the Carbonite cloud, to see if there is any hope of retrieving them. If not, please be patient with my questions about "conversations" we may have had in the past. I may end up needing that brain transplant after all.

a hop across the border

Last week we celebrated our 42nd (!) anniversary and decided to take a spur of the moment trip to Niagara-on-the-Lake to celebrate. I called the Shaw Festival box office on Wednesday for Friday matinee tickets to see "My Fair Lady" and we were able to get seats in the 6th row. Amazing - as this is the show everyone is talking about this year. (And they're right - it's a fabulous production, one of the best we've ever seen. Get tickets if you can).


Then I thought, well, why not see if Lisa Ridout and her husband, Ben, could travel down from Toronto and meet us for lunch. Lisa and I had met in NOTL for lunch a couple of years ago and we both had loved the restaurant she'd suggested, Tony Deluca's Old Winery Restaurant, just outside the village. Trying it again, we arrived at just about the same time and had a delightful lunch on the outside patio.



While the food was delish, the best part for me was the extra-special dessert that Lisa brought with her....bag after bag full of gorgeous sterling silver and Swarovski crystal designs, many of which were new to me. We brought back almost 50 pieces of Lisa Ridout Jewellery (Canadian spelling, of course!), several of which we sold on Saturday before they even made it into the case.


Among the new pieces we have are this sterling silver Diamond Back necklace:

and the cream Swarovski pearl and sterling silver toggle Jackie O necklace:

As many of you know, Lisa's work can be found in Canadian jewelry stores coast to coast, but we are the only store that carries her in the US. Her work is unique and gorgeous, two words we like to use for JOOLZ, too.

gorgeous!

Two visitors from Syracuse were just in the store. As they were wandering around, looking at everything, one said to the other, "Who would ever think such a gorgeous store would be in Canandaigua?"


While we appreciate that they think our store is "gorgeous", we want them to think of Canandaigua as a destination for LOTS of gorgeous stores. We're on our way, but there's still work to be done. Our business development manager and the City Council need to make it a priority to recruit and bring in one-of-a-kind shops that will attract buyers with disposable income. They'll spend, they'll frequent upscale restaurants and they'll generate sales tax, which will go back to the community. It would be a win-win. Let's make it happen!

tricks of the trade

Keeping your joolz bright and shiny can sometimes be a challenge. Gold dulls, silver tarnishes and stones lose their sparkle. What's a girl to do?

What this girl does is head for the nearest Wegmans to buy a box of baking soda. A gem in its own right, baking soda is the answer to many household dilemmas. Did you know that you can:

• use a toothbrush dipped in baking soda to scrub the cutting wheel of a handheld or electric can opener


• remove crayon marks on walls with a damp sponge dipped in baking soda


• add a teaspoon of baking soda to your usual shampoo bottle to help remove buildup from conditioners, mousses, and sprays, and to improve manageability


• soak cosmetic sponges or makeup applicators in a baking soda solution overnight to remove leftover beauty products

Baking soda is also the easiest, cheapest and most environmentally-friendly way to clean your jewelry. Make a paste of 3 parts baking soda and one part water and work it onto and into your jewelry. Rinse it off with lukewarm water and then pat dry. You'll be amazed at how quickly your joolz lose their tarnish and get back their sparkle. Just another trick of the trade.