JUST KEEPING OUR HEADS ABOVE WATER!!

THE SUN FINALLY CAME OUT AND DRIED EVERYTHING UP. I HAD SCHEDULED MORE HELP FOR THE WEEKEND, IT STILL WASN'T ENOUGH! WE SOLD 305 TREES FROM FRIDAY THROUGH SUNDAY!

THE YOUNG MEN WE HIRED TO HELP US WERE AWESOME! A FEW STARTED GETTING SICK, FLU-LIKE SYMPTOMS AND THEY STARTED PASSING IT AROUND. IT FINALLY WAS MY TURN......EVEN THOUGH I HAD A FLU SHOT IN SEPTEMBER, I WAS IN BED FOR TWO DAYS WITH THE FLU.
BY THE 11TH OF DECEMBER WE HAD SOLD  $60,000 IN TREES!  I FINALLY DUG OUT MY CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS AND FINISHED MY PUMPKIN SNOWMEN. THEY REALLY TURNED OUT CUTE, I THOUGHT!

AND THEN A SECOND STORM CAME...... DOUG CALLED AND TOLD US TO TAKE THE SIDE FLAPS DOWN ON  BOTH THE TENTS. .IT RAINED HARD ALL NIGHT  AND THE WIND BLEW HARD..........THIS IS WHAT WE WOKE UP TO.

TREES BLOWN OVER INSIDE AND OUT, WATER AND MUD EVERYWHERE!

 BUT THE BIGGEST  PROBLEM WE HAD WAS THIS BIG  BULDGE  IN THE TENT ROOF!

DOUG CALLED EARLY THAT MORNING  TO SEE IF HIS TENT WAS STILL STANDING....HE WAS RELIEVED TO HEAR IT WAS. ALL THE TENTS HAD MADE IT! I TOLD HIM ABOUT THE ROOF AND SENT HIM A PICTURE. HE SENT ABLE OVER TO HELP DARRELL.

THEY HAD TO TAKE ONE OF THE POSTS OUT, BUT FINALLY THEY WERE ABLE TO DRAIN THE WATER.

EVEN THOUGH  WE HAD TIED ALL THE BIG TREES OUTSIDE  TO THE TENT, WE STILL HAD BIG TREES DOWN.

DOUG CAME OVER LATER TO CHECK ON EVERYTHING....HE SAID IN ALL THE YEARS HE HAS BEEN DOING THIS.......NEVER HAD THE WIND BLEW THAT HARD AND RAINED THAT HARD  AT THE SAME TIME. WE FELT FORTUNATE THAT WE HAD COME THROUGH THIS STORM WITHOUT ANY MORE DAMAGE THAN  WHAT WE HAD.   THE BIGGEST WEEKEND WAS  COMING UP....I WAS DREADING IT! WE WERE  PROJECTED TO SELL 175 TREES ON SATURDAY AND 161 ON SUNDAY.  WE DIDN'T MAKE OUR PROJECTIONS....WE SOLD 106  ON SATURDAY AND 128 ON SUNDAY. BUT,  WE WERE  VERY BUSY!

WE HAD MADE IT THROUGH THE BUSIEST WEEKEND! IT SLOWED DOWN QUITE A BIT THAT NEXT WEEK. WE FINALLY HAD TIME TO TAKE OUR CHRISTMAS PICTURES. 

AND MAGGIE AND MARLEE IN THEIR CHRISTMAS HATS!

AFTER THE WEEKEND OUR TENT WAS STARTING TO LOOK EMPTY!

DOUG'S CREW CAME AND PICKED UP ALL OUR LARGE TREES THAT WERE OUTSIDE. WE WERE STARTING TO CUT BIG  TREES DOWN AND SOME WE WERE THROWING AWAY. ONE SLOW EVENING THE GUYS GOT TOGETHER AND DUG ONE OF THE LARGE TREES OUT OF THE GARBAGE AND CREATED THIS!

WE PUT IT OUT ON THE FLOOR TO SELL....IT SOLD WITHIN THE DAY!

SO, THEY STARTED CREATED ANOTHER ONE....

WE CALLED IT........NOBEL FIR........CALIFORNIA STYLE!!!!

WE SOLD IT TOO!! OUR CUSTOMERS  LOVED THEM!!!
WE HEADED INTO THE LAST WEEKEND,  FRIDAY, DECEMBER 19, WE SOLD 31, SATURDAY 35, SUNDAY 29, IT HAD DEFINITELY SLOWED DOWN!!
SUNDAY WAS THE LAST DAY FOR OUR EMPLOYEES. WE WERE HOPING TO SELL OUT SUNDAY, WE ALL TRIED HARD, BUT BY SUNDAY EVENING WE STILL  HAD 29 TREES LEFT. ON MONDAY MORNING, WE JUST GOT OPENED AND GREG CAME WITH A TRAILER LOAD OF TREES. COLLEGE OF THE CANYONS HAD CLOSED THEIR LOT AND WE WERE  GETTING  ALL THEIR TREES!  DARRELL TRIED TO TELL GREG THAT WE WEREN'T SUPPOSED TO GET THE WHOLE TRAILER LOAD, THAT DOUG SAID WE WERE SHARING THE LOAD WITH STEVENSON RANCH LOT. HE SAID, NO, WE WERE SUPPOSED TO GET THE WHOLE LOAD.

DARRELL WAS UPSET!! WE HAD A FULL TENT AGAIN!  WITHIN THE HOUR, GREG WAS BACK AND TOOK HALF THE LOAD TO STEVENSON RANCH......WE SOLD 21 TREES ON MONDAY.

 DARRELL SET UP THE DRIVEWAY ALERTS AND WE SPENT SOME TIME IN THE RV FOR THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS....WE CLOSED AT NOON ON THE 24TH  WITH 10 TREES LEFT.

WE WERE OFF AND RUNNING!!

WE HAD SALES PROJECTIONS  FOR EVERY DAY AND THAT IS HOW WE WOULD SCHEDULE OUR EMPLOYEES. ON FRIDAY, WE WERE "PROJECTED" TO SELL 7 TREES, WE SOLD 30. THIS FAMILY CAME IN FRIDAY, FULL OF CHRISTMAS SPIRIT!

ON SATURDAY WE WERE "PROJECTED" TO SELL 10, WE SOLD 31, AND ON SUNDAY "PROJECTED" TO SELL 14, SOLD 30. WE HAD NOT SCHEDULED ENOUGH HELP AND DARRELL WAS LIFTING AND LOADING TREES ALL WEEKEND. WE HEARD ON THE NEWS A STORM WAS COMING........HEAVY RAINS EXPECTED. IT STARTED RAINING DURING THE NIGHT MONDAY AND BY THE TIME WE GOT OUT TO THE TENT EVERYTHING WAS FLOODED!

DARRELL STARTED DIGGING DITCHES TO DIVERT THE WATER.

THIS DITCH THAT SEPARATES US FROM CENTRAL PARK  HAS BEEN DRY EVER SINCE WE GOT HERE, TODAY IT IS A RAGING RIVER!

IT RAINED HARD ALL DAY, WE SOLD THREE TREES, CLOSED AT 6:00.

IT RAINED ALL NIGHT AND MOST OF THE NEXT DAY.  SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA WAS HAVING RECORD RAINS! IT WAS A MUCH NEEDED RAIN, THEY HAVE BEEN IN A DROUGHT FOR YEARS!! I HEARD ON THE NEWS SAN FRANCISCO HAD MORE RAIN ON SUNDAY THAN THEY HAD FOR THE WHOLE YEAR IN 2013!

WE HAD JUST SURVIVED WHAT WOULD BE OUR FIRST STORM OF THE SEASON!

OPENING AND THANKSGIVING

SO WE OPENED FOR BUSINESS ON MONDAY,  NOVEMBER 24, FROM 10:00 TO 7:00. WE DIDN'T HAVE OUR FULL CREW HIRED, BUT WE HAD A COUPLE OF THE GUYS COME IN TO SET TREES MONDAY MORNING.

LEWIS WAS A ROOKIE, BUT HE LEARNED FAST, JONATHON HAD WORKED HERE FOR A COUPLE OF SEASONS. DARRELL  HELPED THE GUYS GET THE TREES SET.

HE  WAS ALSO HELPING ME FINISH DECORATING THE CASHIER'S BOX.

 I THOUGHT IT TURNED OUT PRETTY GOOD!

BEFORE LONG, WE HAD A TENT FULL OF TREES!

WE WERE GRATEFUL DOUG'S CREW HAD SET UP THE LARGE TREES OUTSIDE!

WE HAD A FEW "LOOKERS" ON MONDAY, BUT DIDN'T SELL OUR FIRST TREE UNTIL WEDNESDAY.  DOUG HAD PRE-SOLD 170 WREATHS THAT WERE PICKED UP THAT DAY. IT WAS A REALLY GOOD DAY IN SALES! WE ALSO HAD A PASTOR LOOKING FOR ELEVEN TREES TO PURCHASE FOR HIS CHURCH. HE WANTED EIGHT OF THOSE TREES FLOCKED, TWO OF THOSE WERE 13'-14' TREES. HE WAS CHECKING OUT ALL  BENNETT'S LOTS BEFORE HE MADE HIS DECISION. HE ALSO  WANTED THEM DELIVERED SATURDAY MORNING.   HE SAID HE WOULD LET US KNOW IF HE WANTED THE ONES HE HAD TENTATIVELY  PICKED OUT BY CLOSING TIME ON WEDNESDAY. WE NEVER HEARD FROM HIM, WE WERE KIND OF RELIEVED, WE WOULD HAVE  TO  WORK  THANKSGIVING DAY TO GET THOSE TREES FLOCKED FOR HIM.  I COOKED A TURKEY WITH ALL THE TRIMMINGS ON THANKSGIVING DAY. DOUG CALLED SAYING THE PASTOR HAD CALLED HIM AND HE WANTED THE TREES AFTER ALL, GUESS  DARRELL WOULD BE FLOCKING TREES AFTER THANKSGIVING DINNER!

SO, AFTER DINNER, DARRELL STARTED IN FLOCKING TREES!

WE HAD A SEPARATE TENT FOR FLOCKING, WHICH IS SOMETHING WE NEVER HAD IN SAN ANTONIO, MADE OUR JOB EASIER! THIS BIG ONE HAD TO BE FLOCKED OUTSIDE, BUT IT DRIED QUICKLY. IT WAS 80 DEGREES THANKSGIVING DAY, WE WERE AIR CONDITIONING. 

WHILE DARRELL WAS OUT FLOCKING, A FAMILY STOPPED AND BOUGHT A CHRISTMAS TREE!

A LITTLE R & R, GETTING READY TO OPEN .................. OPENING

WE WERE LOOKING FORWARD TO A FEW WEEKS OFF. WE NEEDED TO CATCH UP ON HOUSEWORK, WASHING, SHOPPING  AND  SPENDING TIME WITH MAGGIE AND MARLEE. I HAD SAVED  SOME PUMPKINS FOR MYSELF, SO I COULD HAVE A FALL DISPLAY.

WE SPENT THE WEEK CATCHING UP, I  TOOK MAGGIE OVER TO THE PARK  WHERE WE COULD  PLAY  BALL IN THE BEAUTIFUL GRASS! SHE LOVED ROLLING IN THE GRASS!

   SOME OF THE TREES IN THE PARK WERE CHANGING TO THE COLORS OF FALL.

EVEN THOUGH WE WERE CLOSED, WE STILL HAD FOLKS STOPPING TO BUY PUMPKINS!  AFTER DOUG'S CREW CAME TO CLEAN UP, THESE WERE ALL THE PUMPKINS WE HAD LEFT!

AND THEN WHEN THESE WERE GONE, WE HAD FOLKS STOPPING WANTING TO BUY MY PUMPKIN DISPLAY PUMPKINS!!!
WE HAD HEARD ABOUT THE COLLEGE OF THE CANYONS' FARMERS MARKET HELD ON SUNDAY MORNINGS, SO WE HEADED OVER TO CHECK IT OUT.

IT WAS THE LARGEST FARMERS MARKET WE HAD BEEN TO IN A LONG TIME...AND THEY HAD LOTS OF BEAUTIFUL FRUITS AND VEGETABLES!

WE BOUGHT STRAWBERRIES, GRAPES, ORANGES, TANGERINES, A POMEGRANITE, AND ASPARAGUS. IT WAS ALL DELICIOUS.....WE KNEW WE WOULD BE COMING BACK HERE! WE STARTED WORKING IN THE CASHIER'S BOX, CLEANING AND GETTING OUT THE CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS. ON THE 19TH OF NOVEMBER,  THEY BROUGHT US 31 CHRISTMAS TREES, 28 SILVERTIPS, AND  THREE 13'- 14'  NOBLE FIR. DARRELL SET UP THE SILVERTIPS.

  LATER ON THAT DAY THEY BROUGHT US 30 MORE NOBLES. ON SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 23, THE CHRISTMAS TREE TRAINING  MEETING WAS HELD AT OUR LOCATION, ALL THE MANAGERS ATTENDED. DEIDRA DID REGISTER TRAINING AND THEY GAVE A DEMONSTRATION ON TREE FLOCKING. DURING THE REGISTER TRAINING I NOTICED WHAT WAS PRINTED ON THE BOTTOM OF THE  RECEIPT. I WAS PROUD TO BE WORKING FOR A COMPANY THAT KNEW WHAT CHRISTMAS WAS ALL ABOUT AND NOT AFRAID TO PROCLAIM IT!

 THEY SERVED US LUNCH, IT WAS VERY GOOD, AND WE FOUND OUT, WE ARE OPENING TOMORROW, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 29.  OUR HOURS WILL BE 10:00 TO 7:00 UNTIL FRIDAY, WHEN WE WILL BE OPEN 9:00 TO 10:00. WE DIDN'T GET EVERYTHING DONE WE HAD PLANNED, BUT WHEN DUTY CALLS.......