"Soulful Gifts to Lift The Spirit"

Monday, December 29, 2008

It's Christmas Every Day


One of the many reasons I entered the gift and gift basket business is because I’m creative and I love working with my hands. I love to sew, although I rarely get to sew these days. I love working with colors, with beautiful fabrics, and with ribbon especially.

But I’m genuinely interested in my customers. I want to know all about them, their families, their pets – whether alive or in Spirit -- how they heard about my Web sites, whom the gifts are for, and what the occasion is. The idea that they’ve chosen my gifts to express themselves is wonderful and makes my “work” worthwhile. To know that a percentage of your purchases will help the animals is so fulfilling to me and keeps the legacy of Tasha and Niki, my angel dogs, alive.

Yes, you’re going to receive e-mails from me. And it’s not because I’m bored, trust me. I want your orders to be handled exactly the way you’d like. I will track your shipments as if I’m eagerly anticipating receiving them myself. And I do worry about shipments until I know they are safe and secure in your hands or that of your gift recipients. This to me is what customer service is all about.

I’m so passionate about what I do that it keeps me up at night, wakes me up in the middle of the night, and wakes me up early in the morning. If I don’t get my ideas down on paper right away, I’ll never get any sleep.

Receiving an order from a customer makes me smile every time. And I thank God, out loud, for that. It’s like Christmas for me every day when new merchandise arrives. I am always so excited for you to see what I’ve found. I attend at least two major gift shows every year to keep up with the trends and seek out new and unique merchandise – something you are not going to find in most stores and certainly not in the “Big Box” stores.

Thank you for allowing me to experience “Christmas” every day at the Kindred Spirits Gift Shop. It is my pleasure serving you!

Inspired by the Pink Ribbon Ladies



The Internet can be a great social tool. Over the last couple of months, I’ve been so fortunate to have reconnected with some of my old friends, one of them my good friend Sue from high school 30 years ago. Another, Joel, via an e-mail sent to him by a mutual friend named Ione. All three of these friends have something in common: their lives have somehow been touched by breast cancer, either through family members, friends, or themselves.

Back in 2000 when I lived in Atlanta, I heard a radio advertisement for the Avon Breast Cancer 3-Day Walk. I started to cry. It took me years to acknowledge that when I’m touched by something that makes me want to cry, I have to get involved in some way. So sure enough, I signed up for the Lake Lanier to Atlanta 3-Day Walk that took place September 22nd through 24th, 2000.

Like a lot of walkers, I’m sure, my first thought was, Hey, I’ll lose a pound or two (I didn’t), I’ll raise money for cancer research (I did), and I’ll meet some great people (I did!). Our walking group, of which Joel and Ione were a part, met religiously every Saturday for six months and trained. Of course we trained on our own during the week. If anyone is thinking they want to sign up for the Avon walk now – no longer 3-day walks – you had better train for it. If you think walking a marathon a day – or 20 miles a day for three days back then – is a “walk in the park,” you will quickly learn otherwise. I felt bad for the few men here and there who signed up to walk for their wives or moms or sisters and didn’t train at all. These men didn’t even make it through the first day!

But then again, out of like 2,600 or so walkers, we lost about 700 of us after the first day/evening because, of all things, we just happened to walk through Hurricane Opal! And all we thought we had to worry about during our training period was keeping hydrated so we didn’t faint, and keeping our feet from getting blistered in the scorching Atlanta heat! Wrapping our feet in Zip-Loc bags and duct tape before putting on countless fresh pairs of socks, we learned, does wonders!

The first day of our event was truly nightmarish. Our camp for the night couldn’t be set up because the campground had been flooded with at least a foot of water. No food, water, and port-a-potties could be delivered. One of the two port-a-potties that had been delivered wasn’t even functional. Thousands of walkers having to use ONE port-a-potty? Uh, I don’t think so! Some people came down with hypothermia and had to be transported to the hospital. The rest of us cold and wet walkers were transported by buses miles away to a high school gymnasium so we could bed down for the night. It just seemed to be one disaster after another. Yep, not at all what we signed up for.

By midnight that night, still no dinner in our bellies, my walking partner and I were in our own homes in our own beds. I don’t know how Pam felt, but I felt like a total loser. My boyfriend at the time didn’t help me feel any better because, after all, he had told all his coworkers I was walking in this event – not one of them donating any funds, mind you – and he was only worried about saving face with them!

First thing in the a.m. the phone rang, and it was Pam telling me to get my walking shoes on, her husband was taking us to the location to meet up with the walkers that day. From this point on, the Avon walk became everything we had heard it would be: inspiring, emotional, uplifting, fulfilling . . . Cheerleading squads, motorcycle clubs, policemen, firemen, children -- people from all walks of life were cheering us on. We were amazed how many hundreds, if not thousands, of people would line the streets clapping for us and literally thanking us for walking that day. “Thank you for walking.” “Thank you for walking.” We were made to feel like heroes. And all we had to do was walk.

The best part, of course, was waiting in the stadium at the end of Day 3 for all the ladies in the pink jerseys, THE heroes, the breast cancer survivors, to come walking in. This definitely was one of the most memorable moments of my life, one I won’t ever forget.

All of us are touched by breast cancer somehow. If you are ever asked to donate to The Cause, please do so, either with your time and/or money. Give generously.

Here at the Kindred Spirits Gift Shop, I am collecting ideas so that I may provide individual gifts and create a special gift basket for the pink ribbon ladies. Let’s give the love, support, and inspiration these ladies need to get through the tough times ahead. Thank you for your input!

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Grateful


I have a wonderful man in my life who doesn’t mind all the time I devote to my pet “stuff” and my shop. There are three dogs in our household who keep me company as I spend many hours at the keyboard. The dogs will wag their tails and get excited when I tell them I’m making “pretty baskets” which will help the doggies. They will ride in the pet mobile with me as I deliver packages to be shipped to gift recipients all across the United States. Somehow they seem to understand it all. Or maybe they’re happy because I’m happy doing what I love. I have a great Webmaster who has guided me over the past year and captured my vision for the *new* gift shop. He knew what I wanted even if I didn’t.

As The Pet Guardian and now through the Kindred Spirits Gift Shop, I have been blessed to connect with many people over the years, many of whom have become great friends and whose friendships I cherish.

Who would know six years after my beloved dogs died what would be coming down the pike for me? The majority of those years were anything but a bed of roses. Losing my dogs and losing them in the manner I did broke my heart into a million pieces. I was so angry and bitter and incredibly sad. You can read a sampling of my life back then on The Pet Guardian Web site under Tasha & Niki’s story. I wouldn’t wish any of that on even my worst enemy. There are parts of my life while I was going through the grieving process that I just can't remember. Funny how your brain can protect you when what you are facing is just too much for you to handle.

Somehow, though, I knew I’d get through it, if only because I had been through the loss of my parents in my mid-20s and had experience with loss. So if and when you find yourself where I have been, you can believe me when I say, “I totally understand. I get it.” Because I do. I really do.

You’ll notice through the shop that I have a love of not only animals, but of angels and butterflies. I’ve chosen the butterfly as the symbol of my blog because to me the butterfly represents beauty, changes, taking flight, simplicity, and peace. At first, it is an ugly caterpillar and no one will give it a second look. But with time and dedication, it becomes something marvelous to the human eye. It is a natural wonder.

So, with my life, after getting through some tough times, a butterfly just reminded me of myself, actually. I had to take time and appreciate what I had and what I hope to be in the future. It is a symbol of hope for the animals and what I can do to make their lives better.

Let this be a welcoming place of feelings, hope, and joy.